Monday, October 31, 2011

10 Things we Learned from Ohio State's Win over Wisconsin - BCS Standings - Andrew Luck - NBA Lockout -


Luck is facing unrealistic expectations at next level
Last night’s stirring, sleep-depriving, triple-overtime, 56-48 win over USC has advanced even farther the legend of Andrew Luck (even though he threw a key pick-six that set the stage for a game-tying drive and that overtime victory). Regarded not only as the clear-cut best prospect coming out (assuming he comes out) of college in 2012 but also as the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning in 1998 or fellow Stanford quarterback John Elway in 1983, Luck faces expectations that will be hard to satisfy, much less exceed.

Six years ago, former USC tailback Reggie Bush was building similar hype as he rocketed toward the Heisman. Not even a less-than-stellar, performance in the 2006 Rose Bowl, which featured un-Reggie-like numbers and a boneheaded decision to try a downfield lateral, could derail his candidacy to be the first pick in the draft — and the presumption that he’ll be the next Gale Sayers. Even after the Texans opted to pass on Bush, which came not long after the first reports of his receipt of cash and other benefits while at USC emerged, we all expected Bush to have a dramatic and immediate impact, and to put together a resume that would make him a first-ballot entry into Canton.

Similar expectations await Luck at the next level. Regardless of whether it’s fair or unfair, it’s a product of Luck’s performance at Stanford, media attention, fan anticipation, and a name that fits perfectly into a catchy slogan that creates hope for the worst teams in the NFL this season.

But should the expectations be so high for Luck? As one league source explained it on Saturday, some scouts think that Luck may not be the franchise savior/multiple Super Bowl winner/sure-fire Hall of Famer that everyone expects him to be.

Even if those scouts are simply choosing a contrarian view without firm evidence to support it, Luck would benefit from more people sharing that opinion. Otherwise, once he gets to the NFL he’ll have nowhere to go but down.







10 Things we Learned from Ohio State's Win over Wisconsin
By Brandon Castel
To read more from brandon go to theozone.net (best buckeye website out there)

1. Winning is more fun than losing. All sports fans know this. It is obvious and self-fulfilling and yet nothing reminds us more of how true this really is than a few tough losses. Ohio State players and fans have become accustomed to winning just about every week, so this year has served as a little reminder of what the other side feels like. It also reminded us all of how sweet a redemptive win can taste for a team desperately trying to stay together.

2. This team has more heart than we thought. After the Buckeyes blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter, I turned to a number of my colleagues and told them that this OSU team has no heart. It was the second time this season they blew a two-score lead in the fourth quarter and it looked like they were going to fall to 1-3 in the Big Ten when they could easily be 3-1. Heck, they could be 4-0 with a decent game plan against Michigan State. The fourth quarter of Saturday’s game just seemed to fit this team perfectly. They had found yet another way to create a spectacle and a new way to lose. Only they didn’t lose. With just over a minute on the clock after they fell behind, the Buckeyes battled back. Jordan Hall went 42 yards on the kickoff. Boom Herron fought for a big first down and then of course Braxton Miller saved the day. It was impressive to see this team fight back after all the reasons they have been given to quit.

3. Suddenly the Big Ten title goes through Columbus, again. How can this be possible? This team was done after just two games in conference play, and yet all of a sudden they are back in the race. They still don’t control their own destiny thanks to a missed field goal by Illinois on the final play of their loss at Penn State, but the Buckeyes almost have to be considered the favorites to win the Leaders division at this point. The Nittany Lions are 8-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play but they close out the season with Nebraska at home followed by trips to Ohio State and Wisconsin. If they win one of those they would be lucky. If they lose two of them, the Buckeyes could book a trip to Indianapolis by winning their final four games. Suddenly that doesn’t seem so unrealistic. They get Indiana and Penn State at home and Purdue on the road. The toughest remaining game is going to be in Ann Arbor to close out the year, but they will have DeVier Posey back for that trip.

4. Boom Herron is the soul of the offense. They will also have Boom Herron, who has quickly reminded us how good he was at the end of last year. In two games this year, Herron has racked up 274 yards on 56 carries and he has topped the century mark in five of his last seven games dating back to last season. He did a little too much East-West running Saturday, but it’s impossible to argue with his final tally of 33 carries for 160 yards. The Buckeyes should probably still find a way to get Carlos Hyde 6-7 carries a game, but it’s impossible to ignore the emotional lift Herron has given this team the last two weeks. He is putting his heart and soul into the rest of this season and in doing so, he has become the heart and soul of the offense. He can turn nothing into a big run and he does an incredible job of using his blockers.

5. Ohio State’s offensive line gives them a chance to win every week. Herron’s return coupled with that of Mike Adams has really started something special. It’s possible, if not probable, that this current offensive line is even better than last years—in large part because the three seniors are all better. Adams is playing at an elite level and Michael Brewster and J.B. Shugarts both played great Saturday, other than the obligatory false start for No. 76. Sophomore Andrew Norwell has fit right in at left guard and let’s not forget about some of the blocks thrown by Zach Boren, Adam Homan, Jake Stoneburner and Reid Fragel. Boren in particular just flattens people every week, but the way this group is starting to gel gives the Buckeyes a chance to be successful every time they take the field.

6. Braxton Miller is on the verge of stardom. Another part of that equation is Miller, who played the best game of his young career. He finished with less than 100 yards passing yet again, but there is no question that this kid is going to be a star if he can stay healthy. Forget the game-winning pass—which is impossible to forget because it was the signature play of his career and of this season—and Miller was still having a game to remember. He was running all over Wisconsin’s defense, picking up long third downs, and then he busted off a 44-yard touchdown run that looked more like Terrelle Pryor than anything he has ever done before. Miller is quick, he is elusive and now we know he can turn on the afterburners when he gets in the open field. The passing is still a work in progress, but Philly Brown and Jake Stoneburner didn’t do him any favors in the first half with those two big drops. As for the winning play, that is not something freshmen are supposed to do. They are supposed to make bad decisions, or at the very least commit to running the ball when it’s there. Instead, Miller kept his eyes downfield. He stopped just short of the line of scrimmage and heaved a pass to his buddy Devin Smith. It wasn’t a perfectly thrown ball, but it didn’t have to be. Miller’s scrambling ability had already sucked the defense in enough to leave Smith wide open. All Miller had to do was get it there.

7. The secret to success for Wisconsin’s offensive line. As it turns out, it’s pretty simple: hold all night long without a single penalty flag and then laugh when the referees call holding on the opponent. OK, so maybe that is a bit sarcastic, but it was almost comical that Ohio State had three holding calls against them while Wisconsin had nary a one. I have never been a fan of blaming umpires or referees for anything in sports, unless it is something so blatant that it warrants attention. That was definitely the case in this game, where Wisconsin’s offensive line mugged John Simon and Johnathan Hankins all night. Simon was tackled more times than Braxton Miller and Hankins nearly had his pads pulled up over his head on a few occasions.

8. Adam Bellamy arrived Saturday night. It would have been easy to write more about Simon and Hankins and how amazing they are because, well, they are that amazing. But we already knew that. It’s nice to be reminded week after week just how good these two guys are but Saturday marked the arrival of another member of the defensive line. Ever since Nathan Williams suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener, the Buckeyes have been looking for a third guy up front to come alive. Michael Bennett has shown flashes for a freshman, but Bellamy came alive against Wisconsin and it turned OSU’s defensive line from good to great. With all the attention being paid to the two Johns, Bellamy was all over the Wisconsin backfield.

9. Christian Bryant is who he is. It is better to realize this now and stop hoping for him to be someone else. That doesn’t mean Bryant won’t develop into a better, more intelligent version of himself, but if you take away his aggressiveness you take away the thing that makes him Christian Bryant. He is young and he is going to make mistakes. Those mistakes have cost them, especially the missed tackle at Nebraska, but the reason Bryant is starting instead of Orhian Johnson is because he has no fear when it comes to making plays. That is why they like him. Sure, he missed some tackles Saturday. He also missed a big interception that led to Wisconsin’s first touchdown. He also had a devastating hit on third down that forced a punt. This defense has a lot of guys willing to “do their one-eleventh,” they need a couple guys like Bryant who can step outside that to make a big play.

10. Can’t say enough good things about Ben Buchanan and the specials teams. Somehow I feel like I’m writing about Ben Buchanan every single week, but it’s hard not to. Maybe I just didn’t give punters enough credit in the past, but it’s impossible not to notice the season Buchanan is having. Outside of Simon, Hankins and maybe Zach Boren, Buchanan has been OSU’s most consistent player this season, and certainly one of their best. He was at it again Saturday against Wisconsin. His ability to flip the field and turn bad field position into good has really masked some of Ohio State’s youth and inexperience on defense. He had another fantastic punt that pinned Wisconsin inside the 10 yard line and also hit a couple of bombs. His hang time is getting better too, which has allowed guys like Ryan Shazier, Nate Ebner and Zach Domicone to fly down the field and make big hits. Give Orhian Johnson credit for a few nice plays on special teams too. Of course no one made a bigger special teams play than Shazier, who blocked the punt that was recovered by Curtis Grant near the goal line.



.BCS Standings - October 30, 2011
Year: 20112010
Week: 8 | 9 | 10
Rankings: Select One Overall USA Today Coaches' PollAP Top 25Harris PollLegends PollConference Rankings ESPN.com Power Rankings ESPN.com Bottom 10 ESPNU Fan Rankings

BCS Standings
1 LSU .9734 1 1 2853 .9923 1 1457 .9878 2 3 1 2 2 3 3 .940
2 Alabama .9591 2 2 2775 .9652 2 1434 .9722 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 .940
3 Oklahoma State .9310 3 3 2594 .9023 4 1314 .8908 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1.000
4 Stanford .8615 6 4 2552 .8877 3 1323 .8969 6 5 4 6 8 8 5 .800
5 Boise State .8522 4 5 2438 .8480 5 1237 .8386 4 4 5 4 4 6 4 .870
6 Oklahoma .7760 9 7 2158 .7506 7 1117 .7573 5 6 6 5 5 5 6 .820
7 Arkansas .7033 10 8 2015 .7009 8 1046 .7092 7 10 10 16 7 4 7 .700
8 Oregon .6916 7 6 2266 .7882 6 1175 .7966 13 16 7 15 14 13 13 .490
9 South Carolina .6177 13 11 1696 .5899 10 919 .6231 10 7 14 11 10 10 9 .640
10 Nebraska .6156 14 9 1918 .6671 9 973 .6597 12 13 8 9 16 18 14 .520
11 Clemson .5961 5 10 1697 .5903 12 779 .5281 9 17 11 7 9 9 8 .670
12 Virginia Tech .5683 12 12 1594 .5544 11 871 .5905 11 12 13 10 11 17 12 .560
13 Houston .4698 17 14 1320 .4591 14 679 .4603 13 8 0 8 13 23 11 .490
14 Kansas State .4600 8 15 1126 .3917 19 440 .2983 8 9 9 12 6 7 10 .690
15 Michigan .4512 18 13 1426 .4960 13 734 .4976 17 11 17 13 20 0 18 .360
16 Penn State .4022 19 16 1117 .3885 15 646 .4380 16 15 21 14 17 19 15 .380
17 Michigan State .3076 11 17 1049 .3649 16 528 .3580 20 22 12 21 21 24 20 .200
18 Georgia .2899 22 20 724 .2518 20 410 .2780 19 18 0 18 15 15 19 .340
19 Arizona State .2362 21 19 825 .2870 18 445 .3017 21 24 18 24 25 21 23 .120
20 Wisconsin .2159 15 18 960 .3339 17 463 .3139 24 0 20 0 0 0 0 .000
21 Texas .2117 24 24 323 .1123 25 122 .0827 15 14 0 17 12 12 17 .440
22 Auburn .1490 23 25 199 .0692 NR 41 .0278 18 19 16 22 18 11 16 .350
23 Georgia Tech .1276 NR 21 466 .1621 23 193 .1308 23 23 22 23 23 0 0 .090
24 West Virginia .1139 25 22 456 .1586 21 270 .1831 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
25 Southern Miss



Were Fisher, Kobe down with 50/50 split? Maybe, as some players are.
Everyone is not on the same page in the NBA labor negotiations. The owners are not a unified front and neither are the players.
I have heard from players willing right now to take a 50/50 split of basketball related income (BRI) — the league’s revenues — and get on with a season right now. How many players feel that way? There’s no way to know, but other media members have heard the same thing. There are also plenty of players — and virtually every NBA agent — who don’t want the union to go below 52 percent.
Is Derek Fisher among the group good with a 50/50 split? That’s what Jason Whitlock reported at FoxSports.com.
The belief that NBA Players Association president Derek Fisher has been co-opted by commissioner David Stern — and promised the commish he could deliver the union at 50-50 — caused NBPA executive director Billy Hunter and at least one member of the union’s executive committee to confront Fisher on Friday morning and make him reassess his 50-50 push, a source familiar with the negotiations told FOXSports.com Friday afternoon…..
According to my source, at least one five-time champion, NBA superstar with the initials K.B. was on board with Fisher’s push for a 50-50 split. Hunter is firm that the players should not accept less than 52-48. According to my source, Hunter and a member of the executive committee convinced Fisher to stand firm at 52-48 after they questioned the Lakers point guard about his relationship with Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver.
No doubt Whitlock has a source that told him this. Is it true? Who knows. That source has an agenda — he doesn’t want the players to go below 52 percent. Said source clearly fears things are going that direction, so the source leaks this stuff about Fisher hoping that it adds to the pressure on Fisher not to “cave.”
Reading between the lines of Fisher and Billy Hunter’s words, it sounds like Fisher told David Stern and the owners that if they really gave in on system issues — leaving the system of contract lengths and exceptions close to what existed in the old deal — then they could talk about a bigger share of BRI for the owners. But the hardline owners want both a system that reins in big teams and gives them a majority of BRI (even 50/50 is not an even split because the owners get expenses off the top).
Really, the two sides are very, very close to a deal. A deal that neither side is going to like, which is the nature of compromise. But as long as the hardliners like the Fox Sports source drive the bus we are not going to have a deal. We are not going to have NBA basketball.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Week 9 College Football TV Schedule-NCAA approves scholarship reform - Crosby Return to be Soon - Hamilton HR -


Week 9 College Football TV Schedule
Friday, Oct. 28
8 p.m.
BYU at TCU
ESPN
A win for TCU could place it back into the Top 25.

Saturday, Oct. 22
12 p.m.
Michigan State (11) at Nebraska (14)
ESPN
Another big game for Michigan State—a win here and it's a definite Top 10 team in the BCS standings.

Missouri at Texas A&M (16)
FX
A game between two teams that are in the Big 12 but want out.

Purdue at Michigan (18)
ESPN-2
Michigan has a chance to right the ship, as it needs a win this week.

North Carolina State at Florida State
ESPN-U
FSU looked like the team from the beginning of the season last week against Maryland.

Northwestern at Indiana
Big Ten Network
IU may have lost 5-star recruit Gunner Kiel, but a win against Northwestern may get him back.

Central Michigan at Akron
ESPN-3.com
MAC powers COLLIDE!

12:21 p.m.
Arkansas (10) at Vanderbilt
SEC Network
Arkansas dipped in the BCS standings after narrowly defeating Ole Miss. A blowout victory over Vandy will move the Razorbacks back up the polls.

12:30 p.m.
Virginia Tech (12) at Duke
ESPN-3.com
Va. Tech needs a blowout victory this week to remind everyone it is one of the best teams in the country.

3 p.m.
Boston College at Maryland
ESPN-3.com
ACC mediocrity at its best this week.

3:30 p.m.
Baylor at No. 3 Oklahoma State
ABC
Oklahoma State may be on upset watch this week against the high-powered Baylor offense.

Oklahoma (9) at Kansas State (8)
ESPN
This is Kansas State’s toughest and biggest game of the year.

Georgia (22) at Florida
CBS
UGA finally is ranked in the Top 25. It cannot afford a slip up this week in the swamp.

West Virginia (25) at Rutgers
ABC
WVU was crushed by Syracuse last week; does it suffer the same fate against Rutgers?

Navy at Notre Dame
NBC
Notre Dame blew its big chance at cracking the Top 25 in losing to USC. Now its BCS dreams are dead.

Iowa at Minnesota
Big Ten Network
Big Ten mediocrity at its best this week!

Wake Forest at North Carolina
ESPN-U
Wake Forest is one of the best unranked teams in the country.

5 p.m.
Hawaii at Idaho
ESPN-3.com
WAC powers COLLIDE!

7 p.m.
Ole Miss at Auburn (23)
ESPN-U
Can someone please notify me how Auburn is still ranked?

Mississippi State at Kentucky
ESPN-3.com
Two teams jockeying for SEC position as bowl season is coming quickly.

7:15 p.m.
South Carolina (13) at Tennessee
ESPN-2
How does this SC team play without two of its best offensive weapons?

8 p.m.
Clemson (5) at Georgia Tech
ABC
Clemson has been knocking teams out with an offense led by QB Tajh Boyd. How many points does it score on the Yellow Jackets this week?

Stanford (6) at USC
ABC
Stanford gets its toughest matchup of the year against USC this week. Oh, and "Suck for Luck!"

Wisconsin (15) at Ohio State
ESPN
Wisconsin lost on a last-second play last week. How do the Badgers fare on the road under the lights of the Horseshoe?






God told Josh Hamilton he was going to hit a home run
Josh Hamilton hit a huge homer to put the Rangers up by two in the 10th inning of last night’s thriller. After the game, he said this:
“I would tell y’all something, but y’all wouldn’t believe me … The Lord told me it was going to happen before it happened. You hadn’t hit a home run in a while. You’re about to right now.’”
Before we go any further, can I tell you how much I wish that David Freese, when asked about his walkoff homer in the 11th, said that Satan had told him he’d do it, and then he held up the devil horns, Dio-style? That would have been epic.
Anyway: I realize that I’m a big damned-to-Hell agnostic type and everything, so I’m not an authority here. I’m not going to push my non-belief on others. Even if I don’t subscribe to it, I’m not one of those militant atheist types who turn going after religion into a crusade (those people have their own, almost religious zealotry that is more than a little ironic). I think religion can be an important part of a person’s life. I’ve seen it work wonders in people. So if Josh Hamilton believes that God told him he was going to hit a home run and that fills him with wonder and purpose, I feel great for Josh Hamilton.
But can I ask the believers out there: If there is a God, do you really think He rolls like this? That He takes interest in the events of Man on such a granular level that He’s not only telling a guy like Hamilton that he’s going to hit a homer, but He’s also going to note beforehand that Hamilton hadn’t hit a homer in a while? God cares about baseball stats? Is God … a sabermetrician?!
No, of course he isn’t. If He was, He would have said “Josh, you are going to get on base.” Or else He wouldn’t have cared about baseball at all, because I’m told statheads hate baseball and only love numbers, so never mind.
Anyway, theology is not my bag. Maybe God does tell people when they’re about to do their job well. When you’re omnipotent you can multitask. Attend to the suffering here, orchestrate the wonder and miracle of creation there, smite the wicked in another place and still have all of the time in the world to tell rich athletes that they’re about to do something special. Really, it’s not a problem.
Is it?






Pens GM wants Crosby to Come Back at Home

Responding well to contact, Sidney Crosby is closing in on his return to the NHL. [Ray Shero] is hinting that the time is nigh. In an interview on Sportsnet's 590 The Fan in Toronto, Shero talked about the progress of Crosby, who has been quiet since he was cleared for contact. ... [Maybe] the juiciest part [of the interview] was saved for the end. Straight up: Will Crosby play Saturday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs? "No," Shero responded. "I'd like to play him at home first probably. Does it matter though, really? He's going to want to play. The thing with Sidney is that he really wants to play. If I say 'Listen, we want to hold you out until the following Friday because we have a home game' he's going to look at me like 'huh?!'"



NCAA approves scholarship reform
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The scandal-plagued NCAA is moving swiftly to clean up its image.
On Thursday, the Division I Board of Directors approved a package of sweeping reforms that gives conferences the option of adding more money to scholarship offers, schools the opportunity to award scholarships for multiple years, imposes tougher academic standards on recruits and changes the summer basketball recruiting model.
"It was one of the most aggressive and fullest agendas the board has ever faced," NCAA President Mark Emmert said. "They moved with dispatch on it, and I think they're taking positive steps for schools and student-athletes."
For decades, outsiders have debated whether college scholarships should include more than just the cost of tuition, room and board, books and fees. Now they can.
The board approved a measure allowing conferences to vote on providing up to $2,000 in spending money, or what the NCAA calls the full cost-of-attendance. Emmert insists it is not pay-for-play, merely the reintroduction of a stipend that existed for college athletes until 1972. He also compared it to the stipends received by other students who receive non-athletic scholarships.
Some thought the total amount should have been higher. At the Big Ten's basketball media day in Chicago, commissioner Jim Delany said studies have shown the average athlete pays roughly $3,000 to $4,000 out of his or her own pocket in college costs.
But many believe the measure is long overdue.
"I think it needs to happen or else I think what's left of the system itself is going to implode," said Ohio University professor David Ridpath, past president of The Drake Group, an NCAA watchdog. "We've always lost the moral high ground by saying the educational model is what makes this thing go. I think we're delivering a model that can exploit kids while they're here."
Extra money won't solve all of the NCAA's problems.
Schools must infer the cost of additional funding and it will have to be doled out equally to men's and women's athletes because of Title IX rules. While BCS schools have the money and are expected to swiftly approve additional funding, it may prove too costly for non-BCS schools.
There are fears it will increase the disparity between the haves and the have-nots and could prompt another round of conference realignment.
The board also approved a measure that will give individual schools the authority to award scholarships on a multiple-year basis.
Under the current model, those scholarships are renewed annually and can be revoked for any reason. If adopted, schools could guarantee scholarships for the player's entire career and would be unable to revoke it based solely on athletic performance. Scholarships could still be pulled for reasons such as poor grades, academic misconduct or other forms of improper behavior.
Ridpath said he's personally been involved with 50 or 60 appeals cases after a coach pulled a player's scholarship.
"The reason usually is they find a prettier girl to bring to the dance," he said. "If you're Frank Beamer or Nick Saban, they make a lot of money, and they should be able to coach that kid up."
University presidents are moving quickly to repair the damage caused by a year full of scandals.
Schools from Miami to Boise State, including the reigning the champions in football (Auburn) and men's basketball (Connecticut), have all come under NCAA scrutiny. The U.S. Department of Justice started asking questions about scholarships, Congress has held hearings about a variety of NCAA-related issues and conference realignment has continued to spin wildly.
So, the NCAA's board went back to basics and placed a renewed emphasis on academics.
In August, the board approved raising the four-year Academic Progress Rate cutline from 900 to 930 and linking that cutline to eligibility for postseason play. On Thursday, it passed a four-year plan to phase in the new requirements.
During the first two years, 2012-13 and 2013-14, teams scoring below 900 on the four-year average would be ineligible for postseason play unless the averaged 930 on the two most recent years of data. In 2014-15, teams that do not hit the 930 mark would be ineligible unless they averaged 940 in the two most recent years. After that, everyone must hit 930, no exceptions.
Schools that do not make the grade could also face additional penalties such as reductions in practice time and game limits, coaches suspensions, scholarship reductions and restricted NCAA membership.
The board also approved a measure to include the provision in its bowl licensing agreements, which means it will apply to football teams, too.
UConn's men's basketball team could be the first team to feel the impact.
After posting an 826 last year, a UConn official has said this year's mark will be approximately 975. It would give Connecticut a two-year score of 900.5 and a four-year average of 888.5 -- both too low to make the basketball tourney.
"That's unfortunate," Knight Commission member Len Elmore said. "It's a cautionary tale, but the need for, again, focusing on the true mission of the university is to graduate players and you can't fail at the most important task whether you're national champions or not."
Emmert said if the new rule had been used last year, seven men's basketball teams and eight football teams would have been ineligible for the postseason. And there's almost no way out for teams who don't make the grade.
"You can appeal, but we are going to be very, very strict about appeals," said Walt Harrison, chairman of the committee on academic performance. "So we really don't expect waivers to be a major factor."
As part of the plan, the board agreed to raise eligibility standards for incoming freshmen and junior college transfers. Previously, high school seniors needed a 2.0 GPA in 16 core courses. Now they'll need a 2.3 and will have to complete 10 of those classes before their senior year.
Junior college transfers will need a 2.5 GPA and can only count two physical education credits toward their eligibility.
The other big issue was summer basketball recruiting.
The board has agreed to drop the text messaging ban and allow unlimited contacts to prep players after June 15 of their sophomore year. But coaches. But instead of having 20 evaluation days in July, coaches will have four in April, previous a dead period, and 12 in July. And they'll have more on-campus contact with recruits and current players during the summer. Some of those details will be worked out in January.
Jim Haney, executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, said the changes could help limit the influence of agents or unscrupulous coaches, which has become yet another problem for the NCAA.
"In the summer, there are third-parties looking to access our student-athletes as well, work them out," Haney said. "So by allowing access in the summer, we allow coaches to empower our players to become better players."
The NCAA still has plenty of issues to tackle.
In January, the board is expected to get recommendations on how to shrink the massive rulebook. On Thursday, it backed a plan to focus on integrity issues rather than specifics, and it could include a new definition of who qualifies as an agent. A vote isn't expected until April.
The NCAA did not talk about its long-discussed agent registry or forming panel to help college players make decisions about turning pro.
And it still plans to scrap the current two-tiered penalty structure in favor of four categories with specific penalty guidelines. A vote on that will not likely come until next October.
"I think there's a recognition that the (old) process invited people to step over the line because it was very convoluted," Elmore said. "Now we're getting swift, severe sanctions, and that's what we need."

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Beasley sues AAU coach, former agent in one ugly mess - Buckeyes 1961 Team to be Honored


Beasley sues AAU coach, former agent in one ugly mess
College recruiting is an ugly, dirty business. One most basketball fans just try to ignore it because, well, we love the game and don’t like to see its reputation sullied.
But a lawsuit filed by Timberwolves forward brings it all out in the open, as reported by the Washington Post.
In September Joel Bell, Beasley’s former agent, sued him for wrongful termination. Beasley has countersued and made some strong — but believable — allegations, throwing a number of people under the bus including former Kansas State (and current West Virginia coach) Bob Huggins.
A Maryland-based sports agent and a youth basketball power broker conspired to foster a relationship with NBA player Michael Beasley from the time Beasley was 14 years old with the intent of securing the rights to represent him professionally, according to a civil suit filed by Beasley in Montgomery County Circuit Court.
Beasley asserts in his suit that Bell Sports Incorporated President Joel Bell bankrolled Curtis Malone’s nationally recognized DC Assault summer basketball program and that in return Malone felt obliged to steer Beasley, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, to Bell for professional representation. Beasley’s suit contends that, along the way, Bell and Malone violated NCAA rules and federal laws governing agent conduct.
Beasley’s countersuit says that Huggins gave another Beasley AAU coach a job as a K-State assistant to make sure he landed Beasley. He accuses Malone of being a “runner” for Bell — a guy who develops relationships with players to steer them to agents, then gets kickbacks. The suit claims a man Malone introduced his mother to paid for her to live near her son at K-State, covering her rent.
Beasley also admits he got illegal benefits. By the way, all of this is still within the NCAA’s statute of limitations on violations.
I have no idea who is in the right in this particular case. But what is proposed here is not out of the question at all. It happens all the time. Not every elite recruit, but a lot of them. More than you want to know.
By the time elite players like Beasley are teenagers people know who they are and that there is potential there. And that is when people start trying to get a piece of what is seen as a commodity. Sometimes it’s family members. Sometimes its AAU coaches. Sometimes it’s agents. Sometimes different groups of them work together.
But the end result is people guiding a teenager to what is best for those around him and not what is best for him.
It’s an ugly, ugly mess. This lawsuit just shined a light on it.



Forget Jerseys, Let’s Actually Honor the 1961 Buckeyes
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS, Ohio — "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
That line from A Tale of Two Cities has been passed around, recycled and quoted since Charles Dickens first wrote the novel in the mid 1800’s. What directly follows that now-famous phrase has never reached such wide-spread acclaim.
“It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.”
No words could better describe the 1961 season at Ohio State.
Led by Bob Ferguson and Paul Warfield, the ’61 Buckeyes had everything at their fingertips. Despite an early-season tie with TCU, Woody Hayes and his team would still have had the chance to play UCLA in the Rose Bowl with a consensus national championship on the line.
Instead, they spent New Years at home while Alabama defeated Arkansas 10-7 in the Sugar Bowl to capture the Associated Press national title.
When the Buckeyes run out of the tunnel Saturday night at Ohio Stadium, they will pay tribute to that ’61 team, which did capture one national championship from the Football Writers Association of America.
This year’s alternate “Pro Combat” jerseys are as much a merchandising ploy by Nike and Ohio State as they were in years past, but if nothing else they should remind us to stop and truly honor a great Ohio State team that never really had its moment in the sun.

Remembering ’61

There were a lot of memorable moments for the Buckeyes during the 1961 season. For starters, it was the year that Woody Hayes coached his 100th game at Ohio State. To celebrate, three of his players eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark in the same game.

Woody was giddy with excitement.

That was also the year Hayes went for two against Michigan with a 48-20 lead in the fourth quarter. There were many other great moments, most of them involving the “Thunder and Lightning” backfield of Ferguson and Warfield, but 1961 will always be remembered as the year the faculty voted down the Rose Bowl.
Ohio State was stacked heading into the 1961 season. They had won national titles in ’54 and ’57, and many expected the Buckeyes would compete for another championship after returning 26 lettermen from a team that was 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten.
The fact one of those 26 was Bob Ferguson made all the difference. Considered to be perhaps the greatest fullback in school history, Ferguson was a consensus All-American the year before when he ran for 853 yards and 13 touchdowns.
A bruising runner out of Troy, Ohio, Ferguson was joined in the backfield by a pair of speedy sophomores in Paul Warfield and Matt Snell. They were so elusive that Hayes initially considered playing one or both of them at quarterback.
He was desperately trying to replace the team’s MVP from 1960, Tom Matte, who had thrown for nearly 800 yards the previous season—which at the time was the second most in school history.
Woody eventually settled on a pair of juniors named Bill Mrukowski and John Mummey. Neither could pass like Matte, who by then was playing with the Baltimore Colts, but both were built like fullbacks, their positions in high school.
In passing situations—yes, he was that obvious—Hayes would bring sophomore Joe Sparma off the bench to play quarterback. A product of Massillon, Sparma was a tremendous athlete who would later go on to pitch for the Detroit Tigers.
In 1961, however, he completed only 16 of his 38 pass attempts for 341 yards. That was good enough to lead the team, but it didn’t matter. The Buckeyes could run the ball on anyone, thanks in large part to their dominant offensive line.
Senior Chuck Bryant and junior Bob Middleton were the star ends in Woody’s offense, but the Buckeyes also had a pair of excellent offensive tackles in Bob Vogel and Daryl Sanders. Both juniors would eventually become first round NFL draft picks following the 1962 season.
Senior co-captain Mike Ingram and center Billy Jo Armstrong anchored the interior of the offensive line while Cleveland-native Rodney Foster played the other guard spot.

Stumbling Out of the Gates

In 1957, the Buckeyes won their second national championship but finished No. 2 in the Associated Press Poll behind Auburn. It would have been a consensus championship—and probably should have been—if not for a stunning 18-14 upset loss to Texas Christian University in the season-opener.
Hayes and his Buckeyes were looking to avoid the same fate in ’61 when they opened the season with TCU in the Columbus. They did, sort of.
The Buckeyes were ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll heading into the season, but they looked like the best team in the country on their opening drive. They went right down the field on a 56-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 2-yard pass from Mrukowski to Chuck Bryant.
With a 7-0 lead in the opener, Hayes predictably decided to shut it down. His defense— led by ends Sam Tidmore and Tom Perdue, along with linebacker Gary Moeller—held the Horned Frogs scoreless for three quarters.
It looked like Hayes might get away with a conservative win, but TCU’s 6-7 quarterback Guy “Sony” Gibbs found Jim Glasscock on a 12-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and suddenly the game was tied.
The Buckeyes still should have won the game, but Hayes made a strange decision to have his quarterback—who was a high school fullback—throw the ball in the red zone. Gibbs intercepted Mrukowski at the goal line and the game ended in a 7-7 tie.
“That was as bad a game as I’ve ever coached,” Hayes said after admitting he never should have called for a pass at the TCU 10-yard line.
“We should have chopped away for at least two more plays since we were within field goal range.”
This would come back to haunt them again in 1978.

Getting Back on Track

Hayes was never a master strategist but he was an exceptional motivator. The Buckeyes would bounce back the next week with a 13-3 win over UCLA and suddenly the ’61 season was back in full swing.
Ohio State annihilated Illinois 44-0 in the Big Ten opener and shut out Northwestern 10-0 in Evanston the following week. The Buckeyes ran for 357 yards in a 30-21 win over Wisconsin on Homecoming Day in Madison, and defeated No. 9 Iowa 29-13 in Columbus.
Ferguson was leading the way. He would eventually finish second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Syracuse’ Ernie Davis, but he had plenty of help in Ohio State’s week-eight victory over Oregon. Three Buckeyes—Ferguson, Mummey and Bob Klein—each ran for over 100 yards as the Buckeyes beat the Ducks 22-12 in Woody Hayes’ 100th game at Ohio State.
Hayes was 71-23-6 as he neared the end of his 11th full season in Columbus.

The “Go-for-two Game.”

Fans on both sides will forever remember it as the game Woody Hayes tried to run up the score on “that school up north,” but there were a lot of historic events that took place in the ‘61 Michigan game.
For starters, Ohio State recorded its 400th victory (against 180 losses and 44 ties) with a 50-20 trouncing of the Wolverines in Ann Arbor. It was the highest point total ever scored by the Buckeyes against their archrivals—later tied by the 1968 Ohio State team.
In his last collegiate game, Ferguson ran for 152 yards and four touchdowns, becoming the first Ohio State player in history with four touchdowns in one Michigan game. The Buckeyes outgained the Wolverines 512-271 that day thanks in part to two of the longest scoring plays in the rivalry’s history.
The first was an 80-yard touchdown pass from Sparma to Bob Klein. Under normal conditions, that would have grabbed the headlines, especially in ’61. It was, after all, the longest scoring pass play in the history of the OSU-Michigan game.
But it wasn’t even the best play of the day. That honor went to Paul Warfield. The Warren Harding graduate had one of his magical runs that day, as he sprinted 69 yards on an end-around. It was the longest scoring run from scrimmage in an OSU-Michigan game, but only those who saw it will truly remember it for what it really was.
All of that was overshadowed by Woody’s decision to go for two. This would happen again in 1968, which is coincidently the only other time Ohio State put 50 on the scoreboard against Michigan.
In explanation in ’61, Woody concocted an flimsy story about his assistant coach Ernie Godfrey. According to Hayes, he wanted the game’s total points to equal 70 in honor of Godfrey’s 70th birthday because the long-time kicking coach would be retiring after 32 seasons.
No one believed his story, especially in Ann Arbor.

November 28, 1961

There are not many “dark days” in Ohio State’s football history: the day Woody punched Charlie Bauman, the day Cris Carter was ruled ineligible, the firing of Earle Bruce and March 8, 2011 when Jim Tressel stood up and admitted his 10.1 violation.
In 1961, all of that was in the future. The Buckeyes were beating Michigan on a regular basis, they were competing for national championships and everyone seemed to be in love with Woody Hayes.
Everyone that is except Ohio State’s faculty council. They were disenchanted with some of Hayes’ antics—both on and off the field—and felt football was getting too big at Ohio State. (If only they could see it now.)
They were worried the University was becoming known as a “football school,” which hindered their image in the academic community. Many also thought the Rose Bowl, now the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio, was becoming too commercial.
On November 28, 1961, one of the “darkest days” in school history, the faculty council voted 28-25 in a secret ballot against playing in the Rose Bowl. The council was perfectly fine, however, with accepting “its share of the Rose Bowl receipts” even after declining to allow Hayes and his team to play in the game.
Following the vote the students rioted for two days and Hayes stewed inside, but eventually his voice of reason prevailed.
“We have had to learn to accept defeat under pressure and that may help us now,” he told a group of OSU alumni at the Hollenden Hotel in Cleveland.
“Although it is difficult to explain to the boys when, after 15 years, the Rose Bowl is jerked out from under them.”
Their loss was Minnesota's gain. The No. 6-ranked Gophers went to Pasadena in Ohio State's stead and beat up on UCLA 21-3 for their only Rose Bowl victory.
It is one of those moments that will always be remembered, and the 1961 Buckeyes were a team that should never be forgotten.

Big Ten Football Standings

LEADERS DIVISION
Penn State 4-0 1.000 2-0 1.000 7-1 .875
Wisconsin 2-1 .667 1-0 1.000 6-1 .857
Purdue 2-1 .667 1-1 .500 3-3 .500
Illinois 2-2 .500 1-2 .333 6-2 .750
Ohio State 1-2 .333 1-0 1.000 4-3 .571
Indiana 0-4 .000 0-3 .000 1-7 .125


LEGENDS DIVISION
Michigan State 3-0 1.000 1-0 1.000 6-1 .857
Nebraska 2-1 .667 1-0 1.000 6-1 .857
Iowa 2-1 .667 1-0 1.000 5-2 .714
Michigan 2-1 .667 2-1 .667 6-1 .857
Northwestern 0-4 .000 0-2 .000 2-5 .286
Minnesota 0-3 .000 0-2 .000 1-6 .143

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

NBA talks to resume Wednesday - Ohio State joins helmet craze with a new lid for Wisconsin game


Ohio State joins helmet craze with a new lid for Wisconsin game
It seems like every week teams are doing something to make their uniforms a little more snazzy and this week it's Ohio State's turn.
On Monday, Buckeye tight end Reid Fragel tweeted a photo of the new helmets his team plans to wear for this weekend's game against Wisconsin. And they actually look pretty fresh (do the kids still use the word fresh?) with silver sandwiching a red panel down the middle and the player's numbers on either side.
The entire uniform is part of the Pro Combat series by Nike, which also has made uniforms for Michigan State, Stanford and LSU.
While the new helmets -- and uniforms -- are cool, the Buckeyes probably won't need any more motivation to get amped (do the kids still say amped?) for a game against a Wisconsin team that is reeling after a last-second 37-31 loss to Michigan State last weekend.
Ohio State has had two weeks to prepare for this game and get its offense squared away after a questionable effort in the 17-7 win against Illinois. In that game, Ohio State completed just one pass — albeit for a touchdown — and managed just 228 yards of total offense. The Buckeyes seemed content keeping the ball out of the hands of quarterback Braxton Miller and relying on the legs of running back Dan Herron and the Buckeye defense, which forced three turnovers.
But Ohio State won't have the luxury of using just half of the offense against a Wisconsin team that scores quickly and will be motivated to erase last week's loss.



The nation’s most complete low-post player spent the summer shedding fat, adding muscle and improving his cardiovascular health. The 6-9 forward will be more mobile, his mid-range game has improved and he’s more motivated than before to dominate. Yes, the guy who was an All-American as a freshman will be even better as a sophomore. That’s a scary thought.




NBA talks to resume Wednesday
NEW YORK -- Officials from the NBA and players' association will meet Wednesday, less than a week after three days of talks with a federal mediator couldn't produce a deal to end the lockout, a person with knowledge of the plans said.
Talks broke down last Thursday after players said owners insisted they agree to a 50-50 split of revenues before they would further discuss the salary cap system. By not reaching an agreement last week, the NBA will likely be forced to cancel more games to go with the two weeks that were already scrapped.
There was a far nastier tone than usual to the breakdown, with union president Derek Fisher of the Lakers accusing deputy commissioner Adam Silver and Spurs owner Peter Holt, chairman of the league's labor relations committee, of lying during their press conference.
But just as they have multiple times this month when they walked away from the table without another meeting scheduled, the sides are getting back at it relatively quickly.
The meeting, first reported by the New York Daily News, will be small groups from each side, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details of the negotiations were to remain private. Commissioner David Stern will take part after he was forced to miss the session last Thursday because of an illness.
Stern said without a deal last week, he feared games could be lost right through Christmas. The sides tried, spending 30 hours together while meeting for three straight days for the first time since the lockout began July 1. They made some progress on minor issues, but continue to be stuck on the two main ones.
Players proposed lowering their guarantee of basketball-related income to 52.5 percent, leaving the sides about $100 million apart annually based on last season's revenues. They are also sparring over the length of contracts and the raises attached to them, along with the penalties teams would face for exceeding the luxury tax level.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Rare free kick leads to huge, last-minute win in Miami - Report: NBA has laid off 400 since lockout start -


Biggest potential obstacle to a UConn repeat? The NCAA

Connecticut’s talented enough to repeat as NCAA tournament champions. But it may not get the chance.
NCAA president Mark Emmert said Monday that among the proposals the D-I Board of Directors is voting on Friday includes academic requirements for postseason play, namely a basic Academic Progress Rate (APR) minimum of 900. As reported by USA Today, the minimum would likely apply to the 2012-13 season, but directors have the option of adding it this season. (Read more about the APR changes here.)
That means the Huskies – who had a four-year rolling APR of 893 last spring – wouldn’t be able to meet the new standard and defend their title. The Hartford Courant reports UConn would need multiple years of high APR scores to improve its four-year APR average.
As expected, UConn officials aren’t happy about this.
“I am strongly in favor of holding colleges and universities responsible for meeting APR standards,” UConn President Susan Herbst told the paper. “There are many reasonable penalties for failing to meet these standards, and a postseason ban is one of them. My only addition to the conversation is that institutions need time to prepare, to make sure that all of their academic supports are in place, so that players and coaches are ready to meet the expectations of presidents and the NCAA. … I don’t know that the ramp-up time is settled yet, in the discussions.”
It’s not time for Husky fans to panic. Not only does the Board need to approve the change (which is probable), it also needs to implement it immediately, which is pretty much the opposite of how the NCAA handles things.
Still, given how UConn coach Jim Calhoun has butted heads with the NCAA recently, the NCAA’s vote is prime material for conspiracy theories and a tense time for any Husky fan. It’s not often a rules change KO’s a potential repeat champion.






Rare free kick leads to huge, last-minute win in Miami



That's when things got interesting. According to the Miami Herald, rather than take a few shots down the field, Belen coach Rich Stuart made one of the rarest calls in all of football: He had his team attempt a free kick.
"It's unusual, but it is completely legal," Greater Miami Athletic Conference head of football officials Joe Underwood told the Herald. "It is a free kick that can be taken following a fair catch, and it doesn't matter if it is off a kicking tee or not."
Hardly ever used outside of high school football (you can see former Arizona Cardinals turned Houston Texans kicker Neil Rackers attempt a free kick -- and miss horribly -- in an NFL game here), a free kick allows a team to attempt a field goal off a tee or held by a holder, just like a kickoff, after it fair catches a punt. Only the opposing team can return a miss (since a block is made impossible) and the opposing team must stand a full 10 yards away from the line of scrimmage. The kick is worth three points, just as any other field goal is.
For Belen's kick, the placing at the 39-yard line made the free kick a 49-yard attempt by placekicker Sergio Sroka, who had missed a potential go-ahead field goal just moments before.
This time Sroka drilled the kick, giving the Wolverines an unlikely 30-28 lead, an edge which was padded by an interception return for a touchdown by Michael Ugarte to complete the 36-28 final score.
If you haven't heard about the free kick rule before, don't worry, you're hardly alone. In fact, even Sroka himself didn't know about the rule until he lined up to try the game-winning kick.
"I didn't think I'd get another shot after I missed. I never knew about that kick or that we could do that. It was a lot of pressure off my shoulders."
According to Stuart, the program was only made aware of its ability to try a free kick by Julio Fortay, a math teacher at the school who is a retired official and once served as the head of GMAC football officials.


Report: NBA has laid off 400 since lockout start
You can't make a golden omelette without breaking a few eggs that just want to do their jobs and have nothing to do with your cooking.

The NBA obviously is in a bit of a bind with the lockout putting a clamp down on revenues since it's a sports league that doesn't actually have a sport. And on the whole, the league and its teams are managing the downturn in creative ways. For instance, not only are they not paying the players, they're also laying off lots and lots of people. From Sports Business Journal:

The NBA has lost about 400 jobs as part of the collateral damage inflicted on the league and its teams during the four-month-old lockout.The job losses are estimated to number roughly 200 at the NBA’s headquarters and its international offices and about 200 across its 30 teams since last season and over the course of the lockout, said a source familiar with the league’s business dealings.
via SBJ: NBA job losses near 400 since end of season - NBA - Sporting News.

The NBA has said that most of its layoffs were not tied to the lockout, that they simply were part of a cost-saving initiative. Here's the bind. It's hard to criticize the NBA for implementing the lockout as the only viable way to cut down on costs, and then criticize them for layoffs which is another way to cut down on costs.

If the league wanted to shift the perception of victimizing labor in multiple spots, they should release a review of the other ways they've saved costs. The NBA operates in a luxury industry. As such, they'll often overspend on meals, perks, and intiatives. Showing that those various expenses have also been curtailed would paint a more complete picture. Because the image that's been painted publicly is just that the owners think the only way to get their finances in order is to either sacrifice the game through a lockout or fire people.

And that doesn't help with the whole "cold-hearted, blood-sucking corporate monster" thing, which isn't accurate. All employers go through cutbacks in personnel, especially in this economy. You can argue that with things like a $930 million media deal and the other assorted revenue streams, they shouldn't have to enact such measures, or that if they ran their teams better, they would be more popular and drive more revenue (which are decisions from the top-down), but there's a line to walk in regards to the reality of the situation.

That will likely be of no comfort to the 400 people who have found themselves out of work in such an opulent industry.

Monday, October 24, 2011

NBA Lock-Out-Would Lovie Smith be interested in Buckeyes?-NCAA pushes $2K increase for athletes - Top 25 College Football Polls -



Expect NBA to indefinitely postpone start of season soon

When the NBA labor talks blew up last Thursday, we all knew it would just be a matter of time before more games were cancelled. Probably Monday or Tuesday of this week. The first two weeks of the season we already toast so what was next, another two weeks?
How about just saying it’s indefinite?
That’s what is likely to come down in the next 48 hours. Ken Berger at CBSSports.com tweets.
Pretty widely expected that NBA’s next announcement will be that start of season postponed “indefinitely,” or “until further notice.”
Question is, will league and union meet/bargain before that announcement is made? Nothing planned for (Sunday), source says.
It is expected that the two sides will sit down again later this week, although nothing is yet set up. That’s the pattern of these talks: meet for a few days, have an ugly break up with public sniping, calm down for a few days then get back at it. The two sides are dug in and while you and I could find a middle ground that would end this lockout pretty quickly, right now neither side will go there.





Would Lovie Smith be interested in Buckeyes?

What if Ohio State wants to make a coaching change and Urban Meyer isn't the guy? There are no obvious choices out there, no former Ohio State coaches or players who seem ready to step up and take what figures to be a daunting job. Michigan State and Nebraska just increased the salaries of former OSU defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio and former OSU player Bo Pelini in what appeared to be pre-emptive strikes. But frankly, neither was (or is) a slam dunk to get the job. Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith might have a shot if he wants it; unlike a lot of pro coaches, he has college coaching in his background and was a good recruiter when he was an assistant at Ohio State.



BCS Standings

1 LSU .9702 1 1 2854 .9927 1 1457 .9878 3 3 1 3 2 3 3 .930
2 Alabama .9627 2 2 2777 .9659 2 1434 .9722 2 2 3 2 3 2 2 .950
3 Oklahoma State .9240 4 3 2559 .8901 4 1301 .8820 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1.000
4 Boise State .8302 5 5 2410 .8383 5 1213 .8224 5 5 4 4 6 8 6 .830
5 Clemson .8240 7 6 2346 .8160 6 1174 .7959 4 6 5 5 4 4 4 .860
6 Stanford .8124 8 4 2523 .8776 3 1327 .8997 9 7 6 8 14 21 9 .660
7 Oregon .6877 10 7 2136 .7430 7 1121 .7600 12 14 7 12 12 12 12 .560
8 Kansas State .6681 11 10 1764 .6136 12 827 .5607 5 4 9 6 5 5 5 .830
9 Oklahoma .6642 3 8 1866 .6490 9 964 .6536 7 8 8 7 8 11 14 .690
10 Arkansas .6581 9 9 1851 .6438 8 974 .6603 8 12 11 15 7 6 7 .670
11 Michigan State


AP Top 25

1 LSU (49) 8-0 1489 1
2 Alabama (10) 8-0 1448 2
3 Oklahoma State 7-0 1326 6
4 Stanford 7-0 1318 7
5 Boise State (1) 7-0 1269 5
6 Clemson 8-0 1225 8
7 Oregon 6-1 1136 9
8 Arkansas 6-1 1003 10
9 Michigan State 6-1 964 15
10 Kansas State 7-0 945 12
11 Oklahoma 6-1 912 3
12 Wisconsin 6-1 887 4
13 Nebraska 6-1 756 13
14 South Carolina 6-1 675 14
15 Virginia Tech 7-1 673 16
16 Texas A&M 5-2 614 17
17 Michigan 6-1 508 18
18 Houston 7-0 400 21
19 Texas Tech 5-2 350 NR
20 USC 6-1 340 NR
21 Penn State 7-1 312 NR
22 Georgia 5-2 290 24
23 Arizona State 5-2 239 24
24 Cincinnati 6-1 71 NR
25 West Virginia 5-2 64




NCAA pushes $2K increase for athletes
WASHINGTON -- NCAA president Mark Emmert said Monday that he supports a proposal to allow conferences to increase grants to student athletes by $2,000, "to more closely approach" the full cost of attending college, beyond the athletic scholarships athletes receive for tuition, fees, room, board and books.
Emmert told the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics that the proposal will be finalized this week and he'll ask the NCAA to support it. He noted that student athletes have limited opportunities to work outside the classroom and playing fields, and that the current model of athletic scholarship has not changed for 40 years.
Emmert said he'll also ask the board to allow colleges and universities to provide multiyear grants, instead of year-to-year grants.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Big East Basketball - Aaron Rodgers’ brother to start at QB for Vandy - Buckeye Football Recruits



Aaron Rodgers’ brother to start at QB for Vandy
After nearly helping lead Vanderbilt to an upset over Georgia in a relief effort Saturday, Jordan Rodgers will get the opportunity to lead the Commodores’ offense from the outset this coming weekend.
Wednesday evening, head coach James Franklin confirmed the early-week chatter and announced that Rodgers will get the start at quarterback against Army Saturday. Rodgers, who transferred to Vandy from the JUCO ranks in 2010, will replace Larry Smith, the team’s starter since the season opener.
This will be Rodgers’ first career start at this level.
“Jordan will start the game. He’s having a good week of practice and we thought he made some really good plays on Saturday,” Franklin said following practice Wednesday. “There are some things that we’ve got to get cleaned up, but they’re very correctable things.”
“It was a combination of some of the playmaking he brought. I thought how he fought, how he competed and how he broke tackles, he really gave us some momentum plays when we needed it. I think we kind of fed off that, so we’ll keep going with it and see what happens.”
Rodgers, whose brother is former Cal and current Green Bay Packers star QB Aaron Rodgers, replaced Smith early in the second quarter of the 33-28 loss following the former starter’s second interception in 10 attempts. While his passing stats were nothing to write home to brother about — he completed just 4-of-19 passes for 47 yards and a pick — Rodgers did rush for 80 yards on 11 carries, and the Commodores scored all 28 of their points after Smith was benched.






Big East Quotable

Cincinnati: "What I've realized is it's just as hard to maintain a successful program as it is to build one. It never ends, at least not in the Big East."
-- Coach Mick Cronin


Connecticut: "I don't love this team like I loved last year's team. Yet. But they're pretty likeable."
-- Coach Jim Calhoun


DePaul: "We need to play pressure defense and run. It's what we have to do. Our pressure defense has got to be the difference-maker for us."'
-- Coach Oliver Purnell


Georgetown: "The world doesn't know what we're going to have. Losing Austin Freeman and Chris Wright, those two guys have had the ball in their hands for most of their four years, so I understand that."
-- Coach John Thompson III


Louisville: "We're a little unsettled right now because of the situation with [freshman] Wayne [Blackshear, who is awaiting clearance from the NCAA]. With him, we are an extremely good team. Without him, we are very good."
-- Coach Rick Pitino


Marquette: "I fear we may have bitten off more than we can chew with our nonconference schedule, but I also hope that will prepare us better for the Big East and then again for March."
-- Coach Buzz Williams


Notre Dame: "I saw that we were [picked] ninth, and I like that 9-hole. We've come out of that before."
-- Coach Mike Brey


Pittsburgh: "I like this team. We've got a lot of guys who played a few minutes last year. We lost three good players, so usually you're not picked that high, but we are based on past history because they think we're going to have somebody. And I think we will."
-- Coach Jamie Dixon


Providence: "I want to do it my way. That's not to be arrogant. I can steal pieces here and there, borrow an idea, but I want Providence to be Providence and to find our own way. That's the only way I know."
-- Coach Ed Cooley


Rutgers: "We want a winning record in the Big East. That's our goal, to do something our predecessors haven't done. I don't know if that's going to be one over .500 or six or seven games over, but that's the goal."
-- Coach Mike Rice


Seton Hall: "It takes five solid years to really build something. There is no quick fix, and if you try to use one, you'll be out of a job."
-- Coach Kevin Willard


South Florida: "The big challenge for us is to be consistent, to not be that up-and-down team. We need to learn how to handle the highs and the lows."
-- Coach Stan Heath


St. John's: "I never had a team this young in a league this good, so it will be difficult. But I don't want to hear about how we're young. That's an excuse."
-- Assistant Gene Keady, filling in for Steve Lavin


Syracuse: "Fab [Melo] lost 30 pounds. That's the big difference for him. Last year, his biggest problem was getting up and down the court. Once he got there, he could do some things. He just couldn't get there."
-- Coach Jim Boeheim


Villanova: "I think he's ready, like he's waited his turn and it's his time. He knows it's on him now."
-- Coach Jay Wright on Maalik Wayns

West Virginia: "Usually you have two or three older guys, so they can help you out as you try to fix things. Well, we've got trouble all over the place and you can't fix it all."'
-- Coach Bob Huggins


Buckeye Football Recruits
WR 1 Dorial Green-Beckham
(Hillcrest HS)
Springfield, MO 6-6/220/4.47 Med Yes Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, USC

DE 3 Adolphus Washington
(Taft HS)
Cincinnati, OH 6-6/240 Med Yes Alabama, Kentucky, Miami (Fl), Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Boston College, Florida, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, USC

RB 4 Rushel Shell
(Hopewell SHS)
Aliquippa, PA 5-11/215 None Yes Committed to Pittsburgh

RB 5 Brionte Dunn
(GlenOak HS)
Canton, OH 6-1/220 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State


OT 9 Jordan Diamond
(Simeon Vocational HS)
Chicago, IL 6-6/290 Med Yes Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa, Miami (Fl), Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin

OG 3 Jordan Simmons
(Crespi Carmelite HS)
Encino, CA 6-5/340/5.10 Med Yes Arizona, Auburn, California, Georgia, Miami (Fl), Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, SMU, TCU, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington

OLB 3 Ifeadi Odenigbo
(Centerville HS)
Centerville, OH 6-3.5/217/4.50 Med Yes California, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford, UCLA

OLB 6 Deaysean Rippy
(Sto-Rox HS)
Mc Kees Rocks, PA 6-2/200 Med Yes Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Colorado, Florida State, Iowa, LSU, Maryland, Miami (Fl), Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pittsburgh, UCLA, USC, West Virginia, Wisconsin

RB 8 Warren Ball
(St. Francis DeSales HS)
Columbus, OH 6-2/200 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State


WR 13 Brandon Sheperd
(Central HS)
Chesterfield, MO 6-2.5/185/4.45 Med No Cincinnati, Colorado State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, LSU, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Northern Illinois, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Tennessee, Tulsa, USC, Vanderbilt

S 13 Deon Bush
(Christopher Columbus HS)
Miami, FL 6-1/185/4.40 Med Yes Alabama, Auburn, Boston College, Florida, Florida International, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, LSU, Miami (Fl), Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Purdue, Rutgers, Tennessee, USC

S 14 Demetrious Cox
(Jeannette SHS)
Jeannette, PA 6-1/185 Med Yes Arizona State, Kansas, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Wisconsin

RB 15 Greg Garmon
(McDowell SHS)
Erie, PA 6-2/200 Med Yes Buffalo, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, West Virginia

WR 15 Cyrus Jones
(Gilman School)
Baltimore, MD 5-10/185 Med Yes Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Maryland, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia

WR 20 D'Vario Montgomery
(Winter Park HS)
Winter Park, FL 6-3/211 Med No Alabama, Florida, Florida International, Florida State, Georgia, Iowa, LSU, Miami (Fl), Ohio State, Rutgers, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, UCF, Wake Forest, West Virginia

OLB 20 Joshua Perry
(Olentangy HS)
Lewis Center, OH 6-3/225 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State


S 20 Jordan Diggs
(Island Coast HS)
Cape Coral, FL 6-1/194/4.60 Med Yes Auburn, Boston College, Connecticut, Florida, Florida International, Florida State, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Miami (Fl), Michigan State, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, South Carolina, South Florida, Tennessee, UCF, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, West Virginia

S 24 Devan Bogard
(Glenville HS)
Cleveland, OH 6-1/175 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State


OT 31 Nick Davidson
(Eden Prairie Sr.)
Eden Prairie, MN 6-6/280 Med Yes Clemson, Duke, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Ohio State, South Carolina, Stanford, Virginia Tech

WR 32 Joel Caleb
(Clover Hill HS)
Midlothian, VA 6-2/200 Med Yes Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia

WR 39 Monty Madaris
(Moeller HS)
Cincinnati, OH 6-2/190 Med No Boston College, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Florida State, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Syracuse, Wisconsin

WR 40 Dwayne Stanford
(Taft HS)
Cincinnati, OH 6-4/195/4.50 Med Yes Alabama, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Florida State, LSU, Miami (Fl), Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Stanford, Texas Tech, USC

TE 22 Blake Thomas
(St. Ignatius HS)
Cleveland, OH 6-4/240 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State

MLB 25 Luke Roberts
(Lancaster HS)
Lancaster, OH 6-2/225 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State

OG 29 Patrick Elflein
(Pickerington HS North)
Pickerington, OH 6-3/270 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State


S 29 Bam Bradley
(Trotwood-Madison HS)
Trotwood, OH 6-1/195 Med Yes Arizona, Boston College, Florida, Illinois, Louisville, Miami (Fl), Michigan State, Missouri, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Vanderbilt

MLB 30 Mason Monheim
(Orrville HS)
Orrville, OH 6-1/219 Med No Illinois, Akron, Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Iowa, Kent State, Miami (Oh), Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Toledo, Western Michigan, Wisconsin

DT 31 Vincent Valentine
(Edwardsville HS)
Edwardsville, IL 6-4/315/5.20 Med No Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Purdue, Tennessee, Wisconsin

S 36 Karl Joseph
(Edgewater HS)
Orlando, FL 6-0/190 Med No Cincinnati, East Carolina, Florida, LSU, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, South Carolina, Tennessee, UCF, West Virginia

DT 38 Alex Pace
(Glenville HS)
Cleveland, OH 6-3/260 Med No Air Force, Cincinnati, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Syracuse, Toledo, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Ohio, Youngstown State

S 39 Chaz Elder
(Banneker HS)
College Park, GA 6-2/172/4.79 Low Yes Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Clemson, LSU, Mississippi, Ohio State, Purdue, Southern Miss

CB 40 Najee Murray
(Steubenville HS)
Steubenville, OH 5-11/172 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State

S 42 Tyvis Powell
(Bedford HS)
Bedford, OH 6-3/180 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State


MLB 50 Nathan Ricketts
(Holland HS)
Holland, MI 6-2/215 Med No Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Syracuse, Toledo, Western Michigan

CB 54 V'Angelo Bentley
(Glenville HS)
Cleveland, OH 5-10/182/4.45 Med No Akron, Cincinnati, Illinois, Kent State, Ohio State, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Texas

RB 55 Danny Dillard
(Venice Senior HS)
Venice, FL 6-2/200/4.40 Med No Boston College, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Miami (Fl), North Carolina, Ohio State, Purdue, South Florida, USC, Western Kentucky

WR 55 Frank Epitropoulos
(Upper Arlington HS)
Upper Arlington, OH 6-3/195 Verbal Yes Committed to Ohio State


WR 57 Ian Thomas
(Franklin HS)
Reisterstown, MD 6-1/190 Med No Auburn, Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Miami (Fl), Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Southern Miss, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin

S 57 James Sanford
(Xenia HS)
Xenia, OH 6-2/185 Med No Cincinnati, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Purdue, Toledo, Ball State, Bowling Green, West Virginia

DT 60 Jordan Washington
(North Gwinnett HS)
Suwanee, GA 6-2.5/275/5.58 Med Yes Mississippi State, Ohio State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, South Alabama, South Florida, Southern Miss, Troy

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

NBA session ends, more talks planned - Bob Knight in hot water with NCAA?- 10 burning questions heading into 2011-12 college hoops season




10 burning questions heading into 2011-12 college hoops season
Seth Davis
1. How much will college basketball benefit from the NBA lockout?
How is the average diehard NBA fan going to spend this winter if the lockout doesn't end? Spend more time with his wife and kids? Take piano lessons? Read? Volunteer?

Please. He's gonna watch basketball and there will only be one place for him to turn. So the question is not whether college hoops will benefit, but by how much, and in what ways. Will we see a bump in TV ratings? Will attendance figures climb? Will there be more media coverage due to the vacuum left on the evening news and in the local newspaper? (Note to kids: Ask your parents what a newspaper is.) Maybe the benefit will manifest itself in that hard-to-measure but eminently critical category of buzz.

I love the NBA, but it is serendipitous that the work stoppage is occurring at a time when college hoops is flush with marquee players. So I expect this sport to win a lot of converts this winter, and I hope they'll stick around long after the lockout has ended.

2. Who will be this year's VCU?
It was truly incredible that in the very first expanded NCAA tournament in 26 years, Shaka Smart's VCU Rams made it all the way from the First Four to the Final Four. Could it possibly happen again this season?

It's doubtful, of course, but there's no shortage of candidates. For starters, I've got my eye on two teams from the Missouri Valley. Creighton boasts arguably the best player in all of midmajordom, 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Doug McDermott, whose father, Greg, is the Bluejays' coach. McDermott is not quite Jimmerific, but he's a heady, versatile scorer who shined over the summer for USA Basketball at the Under-19 world championships. Meanwhile, Gregg Marshall's Wichita State Shockers lost several starters from the group that won the NIT, but he has been stockpiling talent for years and his program is bound to break through sometime soon.

Elsewhere, Harvard brings its entire roster back from the team that came within a fallaway buzzer beater of reaching its first NCAA tournament in 65 years, and Detroit has an excellent chance to unseat Butler in the Horizon League thanks to the presence of 6-1 sophomore guard Ray McCallum, Jr. But the hands-down, set-your-DVR mid-major to watch this season is Belmont. Rick Byrd's Bruins play an exciting, up-tempo style that last year saw 11 players average at least 10 minutes per game. Belmont won 30 times and prevailed in the Atlantic Sun championship game by 41 points before bowing out to Wisconsin in the NCAA first round. That experience will be a boon for the nine players among those 11 who are back this season.

Belmont won't be easy to find on the tube, so be sure to give them a gander on Nov. 11. That's when the Bruins open the season at Duke. We won't have to wait long to see whether this team has the chops to pull a VCU next March.

3. Has Pittsburgh recovered from its latest snakebite?
I'm not sure the average college basketball fan -- or even the diehard fan -- is totally aware of the record Jamie Dixon has assembled. Over the last decade he has coached Pitt to eight straight NCAA tournaments, earned two No. 1 seeds, won three Big East titles and accrued the highest win percentage (.708) in league games of any coach in Big East history.

Yet, as Dixon is no doubt tired of hearing, his program has still never made it to the Final Four, and it is finding ever more creative ways to keep from getting there. In 2009, the Panthers reached the Elite Eight for the first time, only to lose on a last-second mad dash by Villanova guard Scotty Reynolds. When last year's tournament ended in the second round with that bizarre foul fest against Butler, it marked the third consecutive season that Pitt lost a game in the tournament by three points or fewer. You've heard of Team Heartbreak? This is Team Snakebite.

Is this the year Pitt finally is the biter instead of the bite-ee? Well ... why not? The Panthers are a much more likely candidate to win an NCAA title than UConn appeared to be entering last season. We usually think of the Panthers as a bunch of underrecruited overachievers, but this season the team will be anchored inside by two former McDonald's All Americans in 6-9 junior Dante Taylor and 6-9 freshman Khem Birch, who is arguably the best player Dixon has ever recruited. Throw in a veteran backcourt led by Ashton Gibbs and Travon Woodall and Pitt looks like a Final Four team -- again. All they need is a little more snake oil.

4. Who is the nation's best freshman?
Or to rephrase: Who is Kentucky's best player? John Calipari has brought in his usual stellar haul in 6-10 forward Anthony Davis, 6-6 forward Michael Gilchrist and 6-2 point guard Marquis Teague. (The fact that Calipari swiped Teague from right under Rick Pitino's nose was a nice little bonus.) Those three could split the balloting when it comes time to vote for national freshman of the year, but that award pales next to the opportunity to win a national championship.

Freshman watching is always fun in college hoops, but this season features a particularly watchable crop. Uber-scorer Austin Rivers will step into the starting backcourt at Duke with the greenest of green lights. Point guard Josiah Turner (Arizona), shooting guard Bradley Beal (Florida), power forward Cody Zeller (Indiana), small forward Quincy Miller (Baylor) and power forward LeBryan Nash (Oklahoma State) will all have similar opportunities to make an immediate impact.

The smart money is on Rivers or Davis, but nobody ever accused me of being overly smart. So I'm going with the late addition at UConn, 6-11 center Andre Drummond. He isn't as offensively polished as the other top candidates, but he has the power and athleticism to dominate on the defensive end. He's also a good passer with a high basketball IQ, which means he could improve quickly. Yes, it helps to be old in college basketball -- especially during the tournament -- but talent still trumps experience. And no player in America has more pure talent than Andre Drummond.

5. Who will win the Tyshawn Taylor Social Media Award?
Remember that embarrassing fight that occurred two years ago between members of the Kansas football and basketball teams? You might not have heard about it if Taylor, a 6-3 guard, hadn't revealed on his Facebook page that he had dislocated a finger in the skirmish. Four months later, Taylor again took to Facebook to voice frustration over reduced playing time and suggested he might transfer. His decision-making on the court hasn't been much better, which helps explain why Kansas has exited the last two NCAA tournaments earlier than it should have.

Taylor is back for his senior season, and I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he has learned his lesson. But it's only a matter of time before another player does something foolish from behind his laptop. College students have always said and done stupid things (present company included), but in the past those transgressions were committed in private. Now all the world is a computer screen, so it's not a question of whether someone else will write something regrettable. It's only a matter of who and when.

6. How spicy will the Crosstown Shootout be?
I have long maintained that Cincinnati-Xavier was the most underrated rivalry in sports. The two teams have played annually since the 1927-28 season. The neighborhood brawl took on the name of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout 23 years ago, long before the whole corporate sponsorship thing jumped the shark. Perhaps more people would be attuned to the intensity of this rivalry if the schools were in the same conference, but it also hasn't helped lately that Cincinnati has been going through an extended down period in the wake of Bob Huggins' firing.

However, when the two teams meet at Xavier's Cintas Center on Dec. 10, it could mark the first time in 19 years that both teams are entering the game ranked in the AP's top 25. If that's the case, it will truly be must-see TV. This rivalry has always been spicy, but it looks to me like it's about to get extra hot.

7. Which underachieving big man will make a giant leap?
I wouldn't quite call it a trend, but as I scan the college hoops landscape, I see an awful lot of tall young men who played rather small last season. That's not surprising considering big guys usually have a harder time adjusting to college because they are not used to going against players their size. There are not many quality big men in college hoops to begin with, so a rapidly improving center can make a huge difference.

Duke junior Mason Plumlee looked like a lottery pick early last season, but he disappeared after point guard Kyrie Irving got hurt. Michigan State sophomore Adreian Payne never fully recovered from the shoulder injury that prevented him from lifting weights until January. Gonzaga junior Elias Harris regressed thanks to a host of nagging injuries and a conspicuous lack of toughness. UCLA center Josh Smith showed promise as a freshman but struggled with conditioning and foul trouble. Villanova's Mouphtao Yarou started every game as a sophomore and got plenty of rebounds, but he played stiff on offense.

Then there's the enigmatic (to put it kindly) Renardo Sidney of Mississippi State. When he wasn't missing practice, getting into fights with teammates or wheezing in pain from being so out of shape, Sidney actually showed flashes of brilliance. He surprised me by declining to turn pro last spring, but just when it appeared he might be coming into his own, Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury left him home from the team's summer exhibition trip to Europe. Sidney is talented, but would you wager your net worth that he has finally gotten his act together? Neither would I.

So that leaves Fab Melo, Syracuse's 7-foot sophomore center. If you had seen this kid play in the big high school showcases, you would have thought he was a can't-miss prospect. The Big East coaches thought so, too, which is why they tabbed the Fab One as the league's preseason freshman of the year. Once the games started, however, Melo looked dazed and confused, especially on defense. What little confidence he had was shattered by Jim Boeheim's inexplicable habit of keeping Melo in the starting lineup and then yanking him a few minutes after the tap.

I will be very curious to see whether Melo makes the textbook frosh-to-soph leap this season because a) he's good enough to do it, and b) it would exponentially increase Syracuse's chances of winning a national championship. So this isn't just a burning question, but a big one as well.

8. Just how impenetrable is the top tier?
Every preseason ranking I've seen has North Carolina and Kentucky in the top two. Most every list also has Ohio State, UConn and Duke in the top five. So that's the consensus top tier, and forgive me if I stifle a yawn. If the 2011-12 season were a movie, we'd have to call it "The Usual Suspects."

I'm all for the blue bloods, but college basketball needs a variety of flavors. We like our sport to taste like ice cream, not bread. Remember how much fun those San Diego State-BYU games were last year? Isn't it cool when Butler or Gonzaga creeps into the conversation for a high seed? Even a power conference team that exceeds expectations can provide a nice jolt of excitement. Remember, in last year's preseason rankings UConn was picked to finish 10th -- in the Big East.

Who are the potential party crashers this year? Baylor and Memphis are on a lot of top-10 lists, and for good reason. Scott Drew and Josh Pastner have been recruiting way above their heads, and they both got lucky last spring when their top underclassmen decided to return to school. It would be pretty cool if Michigan was able to enter late February still in position to challenge Ohio State for the Big Ten title. Mike Montgomery is also going to have a nice team at Cal, thanks to the presence of ready-to-be-discovered swingman Allen Crabbe.

But the team that is both good and intriguing enough to break up the blue blood club is Vanderbilt. Over the past few years the Commodores have been a respectable but nonthreatening bunch. This year, however, they will excel in every category. They have size, depth, athleticism, experience and quality point guard play, and Jenkins is arguably the best pure shooter in America. Kevin Stallings is an excellent coach and a good guy, and Vanderbilt is one of the finest academic schools in the country. This will be a fun team to watch and an easy team to root for. Now all they have to do is knock off Kentucky and Florida.

9. Speaking of Florida, how many basketballs do the Gators plan on using?
I don't know the answer, but I hope it's more than one. The Gators return their backcourt tandem of Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton from the squad that reached the Elite Eight last season. To that mix they are adding Beal as well as 6-3 Rutgers transfer Mike Rosario. It's nice to have talent, but if you have too many guys who play alike, it doesn't work. In this case, those four guys have one thing in common: They all need the ball in their hands.

That's not to say that they're selfish. It's just that they are all true scorers, and none of them excels at spot-up shooting or coming off screens. Rosario, in particular, could have a hard time adjusting. He averaged more than 16 points per game during his two years at Rutgers, but he was the team's first, second and third option, and he often appeared allergic to moving without the ball. Rosario left New Jersey because he wanted a chance to win, but that means blending in with players who are as good, if not better than him. Easier said than done.

Even though Florida graduated senior forwards Alex Tyus, Chandler Parsons and Vernon Macklin, I expect them to be strong up front because they have Patric Young, the 6-9 sophomore who excelled for Team USA over the summer at the Under-19 world championships. The question, then, is whether the Gators will find the right chemistry among their little guys. Short of playing with an extra ball or two, that is going to be one tall task.

10. Will Wild Bill ride again?
Regular visitors to this space know all about the legend of Wild Bill, aka Bill Sproat, the literally-larger-than-life senior at Utah State who dons hilarious outfits at home games in an effort to distract opposing foul shooters. The Aggies lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament last year, so Sproat did not get to unveil the blockbuster costume he promised at the Final Four. Sproat just turned 28, but he is still a couple of semesters from earning his bachelor's degree. So he'll be ready to break out his Wild Bill act again this winter, right?

Well, maybe. I caught up with Sproat this week, and he told me he believed it was time to hang up his teapot hat. "Wild Bill is done," he said. "I don't want to be that guy that's just kind of holding on while nobody likes it anymore. I had two solid years of it. I might as well go out like Barry Sanders and not like Brett Favre."

On the other hand, Sproat unleashed Wild Bill at the Utah State-Wyoming football game last week, when he dressed up as Braveheart and rode a unimog onto the field. So he's not completely closing the door on a cameo during hoops season. "I definitely won't do it every game, but maybe I'll do a couple of outfits sometime," he said. "I have endless ideas of costumes I want to do. It really is addicting. It's so much fun."

The same could be said for college basketball right now. It's addicting. It's fun. It's hot. And it will be the only game in town to ward off the chill of a long, hard winter.







Bob Knight in hot water with NCAA?
There are probably critics of the man who were waiting for such news. Bob Knight, a frequent critic of the NCAA, appears to have run afoul of its rules while helping his son Pat recruit two Indianapolis players to Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. The Star on Friday published a story about Manual High School's Jason Smith and Northwest's Donnell Minton committing to play at Lamar, where Pat Knight is in his first season as head coach. Minton and Smith said they talked with Bob Knight for about five minutes each on the phone during recruiting. NCAA rules generally prohibit anyone other than basketball staff members from recruiting.





NBA session ends, more talks planned

NEW YORK -- NBA players and owners spent a marathon 16 hours meeting with a federal mediator and planned to return early Wednesday to continue the talks.
They didn't emerge with the deal Commissioner David Stern wanted Tuesday, but things went well enough that owners decided to alter their plans after previously saying they weren't available Wednesday.
The sides met beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday and went late into the night, finally breaking after 2 a.m. Wednesday. It was more than twice as long as any previous negotiating session since owners locked out players when the old collective bargaining agreement expired June 30.
Both sides left the meeting without commenting at the request of federal mediator George Cohen.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass issued a statement, saying: "Federal mediator George Cohen has asked both sides to refrain from making public comments. Both sides have agreed."
Owners originally ruled out labor talks for Wednesday and Thursday because they have two days of board meetings planned, but the labor relations committee that was set for a morning presentation will instead return to resume discussions with the players.
Owners still will meet later in the day to discuss plans for expanded revenue sharing among teams. Players have wanted that as part of the CBA process, believing it's a way for the league to address its losses. But Stern said it can't come until after the labor deal, so they first know what savings are coming from there.
Although the fact that talks didn't break off is good news, one person with knowledge of the process said not to presume there was any serious progress. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because of Cohen's request.
Joining Stern, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver and other top league officials Tuesday were 13 team executives making up the labor relations committee, including Dallas owner Mark Cuban, Lakers owner Jerry Buss, Knicks owner Jim Dolan, Spurs owner and committee chair Peter Holt and Heat owner Micky Arison. The players had their entire executive committee, led by president Derek Fisher of the Lakers, except for Bucks guard Keyon Dooling.
The sides have been divided mostly by two issues, the division of revenues and the structure of the salary cap system.
Players oppose a hard salary cap, and they believe owners' attempts to make the luxury tax more punitive and limit the use of spending exceptions will effectively create one. Also, each side has formally proposed receiving 53 percent of basketball-related income after players were guaranteed 57 percent under the previous collective bargaining agreement.
Stern said last week that he wanted a breakthrough Tuesday, even saying his "gut" told him there might not be games on Christmas Day if there wasn't an agreement before his owners' meetings.
Tuesday marked the 110th day of the lockout. Stern wiped out the first two weeks of the season -- exactly 100 games -- last week. The cancellations marked the NBA's first work stoppage since the 1998-99 season was reduced to 50 games.
More could be coming without a new collective bargaining agreement soon. The sides have been going nowhere despite frequent meetings in recent weeks, so Stern said they welcomed help from Cohen, who was present for talks between NFL owners and players for 16 days in February and March before that mediation broke off.