Friday, March 30, 2012

Aaron Craft - OSU vs Kansas






Aaron Craft, Enough Said!


Starting Five: Ohio State Final Four Preview
By Ben Axelrod


COLUMBUS, Ohio — After completing its run through the NCAA Tournament’s East Region on Saturday with a victory over Syracuse, the No. 2-seed Ohio State men’s basketball team (31-7, 13-5) now turns its attention towards the Final Four, where it will join Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisville.

The Buckeyes’ National semi-finals matchup with the Midwest Region champion Jayhawks (31-6, 16-2) will be an 8:49 p.m. tipoff on Saturday, in a game that can be seen live on CBS.

Basketball School?

With the Buckeyes advancing to their 11th Final Four—during a season in which they won their third-consecutive Big Ten regular season championship—many are wondering if OSU is now just as well known for its basketball as it is its football. A native of Columbus, OSU forward Jared Sullinger knows that basketball overshadowing football in the capital city isn’t likely, but it is still a positive for his hometown, nonetheless.

“Hopefully people don’t say we’re just a football school,” Sullinger said.

“Now they can switch it and say we’re a football and a basketball school, but I doubt that will happen. It’s just a great situation for the city of Columbus.”

Since arriving at Ohio State in 2004, Thad Matta has embraced the football program, rather than use its dominance as an excuse for mediocrity, and said that the benefits of such strategy are evident in its results.

“I’ve always felt that we could have the best of both at Ohio State,” Matta said.

“With all the trials and tribulations that have gone on with football over the past year, I’m elated for the university, probably most importantly, that we have some great things happening.”

’07 All Over Again?

The last time the Buckeyes made the Final Four was five years ago, when each member of the current OSU roster was in either high school or middle school. A high school junior at the time of that team’s run to the National Championship game, OSU guard William Buford said that that Buckeye team helped pave the way for what this year’s team is doing now.

“It was great, just for the program. I was already committed, so you know I was watching it,” Buford said.

“They had great players and you knew they were hungry. It was just great to see them make it and then for us to be there, it being my last year, it’s just unbelievable.”

Despite achieving similar successes, Matta said that it was difficult to find any similarities between this year’s team, and the one that was led by freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley, Jr. five years ago.

“They’re completely different.” Matta said. “Not even close in my mind now. I couldn’t even draw the parallel.”

An Unfamiliar Rematch

Saturday night won’t be the first time that the Buckeyes and Jayhawks have squared off this season, although their Dec. 10 battle in Lawrence, Kan. was hardly a preview for their Final Four Showdown. Between Sullinger not playing due to injury, and changes to each team’s line-up throughout the season, neither OSU nor Kansas seems to be putting much stock in the Jayhawks’ nine-point victory three months ago.

“They’re a much better team than they were when we played,” OSU point guard Aaron Craft said.

“We’re a much better team than when we played, as well. Even if we didn’t have Jared, I think we’d be a better basketball team. It’s not about a game we had back in December. That’s such a long time ago.”

Matta agreed with Craft’s assessment of the value (or lack thereof) of the two team’s first meeting, stating that it’s hard for any team to maintain a certain level of play over the course of an entire season.

“They have made, as we have, the natural progression,” Matta said.

“Everybody’s gotten a little bit better, everybody’s gotten a little bit tougher, everybody understands the system that they’re playing.”

Matta’s Best Job

With a team that started off ranked No. 3 in the nation, many haven’t found OSU’s Final Four run unlikely, but with a roster that possesses just one senior and a junior in his first year playing for the Buckeyes, many are considering this to be Matta’s best coaching job in his eight years in Columbus.

Aside from forcing personalities and playing styles to mesh, Matta said that technology of all things has made this year’s team difficult to coach at times.

“This is, at times, crazy, with the type of things the players deal with, the media and the social networking and all that stuff. I’ve always said that every time you break a team huddle, the first thing guys do is grab their cell phones,” Matta said.

“I just tell them what they did wrong, and they grab their phone, and everyone’s telling them what I did wrong.”

Craft heaped praise on Matta’s coaching performance this season, stating that he’s a great role model for him and his teammates to be around.

“One of the best thing’s about Coach is he’s the same on the court as he is when he’s off the court,” Craft said.

“He’s always got a lot of fire and he’s just a guy that you like to be around.”

Media Motivation

Although Matta has certainly done his fair share of motivating this season, perhaps some of the Buckeyes most important bulletin board material has come from the media. Three days after thanking the media for negative comments following OSU’s Elite Eight victory over Syracuse, Sullinger again let the media know how important their criticisms of the team have been.

“We thank y’all for all the criticism that y’all gave us,” Sullinger said.

“It was awesome that this basketball team took its lumps early and realized that we could actually win, even in the times that we played bad.”

Matta said that he doesn’t mind what his players use to get them motivated for games- as long as it accomplishes just that.

“I want our guys to play their best basketball,” Matta said. “How they get to where they need to get, I really don’t care.”

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Ohio's John Groce to coach Illinois - OSU's Sullinger - Kansas vs OSU


Position-by-Position: Ohio State, Kansas fairly evenly matched

Jared Sullinger's balky back cheated us out of a one-on-one matchup between two of the best big men in the country back in December as Kansas got 21 points from Thomas Robinson in a 78-67 win at Allen Fieldhouse. But as luck would have it, we only had to wait four months to get a glimpse at the two future lottery picks trading low-post blows.

But seeing Sully and T-Rob go head-to-head is far from the only interesting matchup in Saturday's rematch between Ohio State and Kansas. Here is a position-by-position breakdown:

Point Guard
Without a hint of exaggeration, this may be the most intriguing individual matchup of the entire Final Four. Ohio State's Aaron Craft is arguably the best on-ball defender in the country. He doesn't give ball-handlers an inch of space and forces enough turnovers that SI.com's Luke Winn created a stat just to track them. Kansas' Tyshawn Taylor, on the other hand, has become notorious for the turnovers he commits and the bad shots that he takes. And while Bill Self would surely have less gray hair if Taylor had managed to eliminate that aspect of his game, there is no denying just how much the senior point guard means to the Jayhawks. He had 22 points, six boards, five assists and five steals against North Carolina. I've maintained all season long that Taylor is the most important player for Kansas, and if Craft can limit his production, that becomes a difference maker for the Buckeyes.

Edge: Even

DAUSTER: KENTUCKY-LOUISVILLE BREAKDOWN

Shooting Guard
This may as well be called the battle of the X-factors. Elijah Johnson has been terrific for Kansas down the stretch of the season. He's averaged 15.8 points in his last six games, providing an important third-scoring option alongside Taylor and Thomas Robinson. Johnson is, more or less, the reason that the Jayhawks advanced past Purdue in the Round of 32, as he finished with 18 points on a night that Robinson and Taylor combined to shoot 6-of-23. Lenzelle Smith Jr. plays a similarly vital role in the Ohio State offense. Smith had 33 points as Ohio State won two games in Boston last weekend, making arguably the two biggest shots of the game as the Buckeyes held off Syracuse in the Elite Eight. Smith also has a tendency to play his best when the lights are the brightest; he had 28 points in a win over Indiana this season and scored 17 in a win over Michigan.

Edge: Even

Small Forward
I should preface this by saying that the Buckeyes should have the advantage at the small forward spot because William Buford has become as inconsistent as he is talented. Buford is an important piece for Ohio State because of his ability to score the ball from the perimeter. When he is shooting well, it makes it that much more difficult for opponents to collapse on Jared Sullinger in the post. The problem is that those good shooting performances have become fewer and farther between late in the season. Buford was just 4-of-20 in the Boston regional, is shooting just 13-of-44 in the NCAA tournament and hasn't shot over .500 in a game since March 4, when he hit the game-winning jumper to beat Michigan State in the final game of the regular season. Travis Releford has developed a bit of a reputation as a defender, and while he's not necessarily a go-to scorer, he can chip in with 15 points on a good night.

Edge: Ohio State

Power Forward
Deshaun Thomas may end up being the key to this game for the Buckeyes. He's developed into one of the more explosive front court scorers in the country as his sophomore season has gone on, culminating in the 22.3 points that he is averaging in the four games in the tournament. The question for the Jayhawks is going to be how they matchup with him. Do you risk putting Thomas Robinson on him, or will Robinson's inability to be effective against Robbie Hummel be enough to scare Bill Self off of that idea? And if Robinson doesn't guard him, do you dare to put Jeff Withey on Thomas? Based on the way Kansas matches up with Ohio State, we may end up seeing quite a bit of Kevin Young in this game.

Edge: Ohio State

Center
The matchup that we are all hoping to see is Jared Sullinger and Thomas Robinson, two All-Americas and arguably the two best low-post scorers in the country. The interesting part here is that Jeff Withey may actually be a better matchup on Sullinger defensively for the Jayhawks. Sullinger struggles when he is guarded by players with more length and athleticism than him; Withey is 7-feet and one of the most dangerous shot-blockers in the country. The problem with that is Robinson would be forced to guard Deshaun Thomas. If Sullinger and Robinson do get matched up with each other, it will be a treat for every fan to enjoy; both players thrive on their strength and ability to establish position in the post. But where Robinson thrives on his natural athleticism to score over players he overpowers, Sullinger -- while heftier and more of a land-warrior -- is much more skilled and technical on the block.

Edge: Even

Bench
Neither team has much of a bench. Evan Ravenel and Amir Williams have both provided quality minutes when Sullinger gets in foul trouble, while Jordan Sibert and Sam Thompson have both seen minutes off the bench during the tournament. The reason that Kansas gets the advantage, however, is because of Kevin Young and Conner Teahan. Teahan has been an important piece for the Jayhawks all year with an ability to shoot the ball, but the more valuable piece will be Young. Early in the season, it was difficult to imagine Young earning playing time. But as the season went on, he's developed into a valuable piece off the bench. He brings energy and athleticism, and, more importantly, he allows the Jayhawks to go small when Withey is faced with a mismatch.

Edge: Kansas

Coach
With all due respect to Thad Matta, who is a sensational coach, I'm not sure that there is anyone in the country who has done a better job this season than Self. He led Kansas to a Big 12 title and has now taken the Jayhawks to the Final Four despite a roster that doesn't have a typical amount of Kansas talent. They also lost their depth when three freshmen were ruled ineligible. More importantly, Self has gotten his team this far with the mid-game adjustments he has made. The switch to a triangle-and-two defense was a major part of the reason that Kansas beat Purdue, N.C. State and North Carolina.

Edge: Kansas












Amid criticism, OSU's Sullinger shows growth on and off the court

This week, The Associated Press named Jared Sullinger a first-team All-America. Sullinger received the honor last year, too. So I guess the critics are right: He did not improve.
Sullinger is only a sophomore, but in a short-attention-span sport in a short-attention-span world, he already seems like old news. Sure, he leads Ohio State into the Final Four on Saturday. And (as the All-America honor indicates) he has been recognized as one of the best players in college basketball. But there was much more talk this season about Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis, who will be (and should be) the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA Draft. And Kansas star Thomas Robinson, who went from sophomore reserve to junior All-America. And Michigan State senior Draymond Green, who seemed to add a new offensive skill every week and led the Spartans to a top seed in this year's tournament.
Sullinger? He is ... uh, just really good. Again. As a freshman he averaged 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds for a Big Ten champion that earned a No. 1 seed. As a sophomore he averaged 17.6 points and 9.1 rebounds for a Big Ten champion that earned a No. 2 seed. People who expected him to dominate college basketball this year have been disappointed.
Sullinger seems like the same guy we saw as a freshman. But he isn't. And that is why he stayed in school.
Sullinger would have been a top-five pick in last year's NBA Draft. When a player of his caliber chooses to return to college these days, we tend to ask two questions: Can he improve his draft stock? And can he win the national championship?
Sullinger returned for a simpler reason: He needed to spend another year in college.
His father Satch, who coached him in high school, says: "My wife and I were really concerned, releasing a 19-year-old to the professional world, where the team camaraderie would never exist again the way it does in high school, grade school and college."
Sullinger has not had the year he envisioned -- or rather, he has not had the year that others envisioned for him. Draymond Green beat him out for Big Ten Player of the Year. NBA scouts don't seem to love him quite as much as they did a year ago. Sullinger has an impressive vertical leap for a 280-pound man, but he is not a quick jumper. Scouts worry his shot will get blocked a lot in the NBA.
It is not always easy being the flavor of last year. Sullinger, one of the nicest college basketball stars you could meet, seemed angry on the court at times this season. He complained too much to officials. He got frustrated by physical defenses.
When Sullinger was a freshman, the beauty of his game was that he didn't care about point totals or highlights. He could pass out of 10 double-teams, and when that 11th defender came to double down on him, he would pass again. But this February, he seemed so determined to prove his worth that he forced some shots.
As a freshman, Sullinger used Twitter as prolifically as his favorite low-post moves. But on Jan. 11 of this year, he tweeted: "I'm taking a social media vacation. I'm done with y'all" and he hasn't tweeted since.
Ohio State assistant coach Jeff Boals said: "You saw the vitriol that people would send these kids after a bad game, just unbelievable, the stuff people would write to him. Instead of responding to it or let it affect him, he just decided to get off it."
Satch says: "All you're doing is filling your head with a whole bunch of garbage. People have a right to say whatever they want. You also have a right not to read it."
In late February, after Sullinger looked especially frustrated in games, the coaching staff showed him film and tried to calm him down.
"He's not an emotional guy, so you knew it really affected him for him to show it," Boals said.
The public did not notice, but Sullinger has improved in subtle ways. As a freshman, he hoisted 12 three-pointers, and that may have been 12 too many (He made three). This year he shot 38, and he made 16 -- he is a genuine threat from the perimeter. Sullinger's numbers might look the same, but in context they are more impressive. Last year he had sharpshooter Jon Diebler and senior wing David Lighty to open up the defense. This year's Buckeyes do not have as many offensive weapons.
"They would double- and triple-team more," Boals said. "Very few teams played him one-on-one this year."
Now Sullinger may be the most important player in this Final Four. If the Buckeyes beat Kansas on Saturday, Sullinger has a puncher's chance of leading the Buckeyes past Kentucky in a national final. He has the size and skill to get Davis, the Kentucky star, in foul trouble, and that may be the only way to beat the Wildcats.
But that's just a basketball question. And this isn't really a basketball story.
"I don't know whether his skill level improved," Satch says. "It probably did. But the biggest thing that happened to him is he grew between his ears."
Jared is the youngest of three boys. His oldest brother J.J. played for Ohio State, and his brother Julian played for Kent State.
"I have three grown men now," Satch says. "Last year [Jared] still needed a father. Now he just needs counsel."
Fathers (or at least, fathers like Satch) usually want their sons to stay in college. Counsel offers advice when it's needed. Satch says he hasn't talked about the NBA with his youngest boy. But his concern about sending Jared into the professional jungle has waned.
"I have no worries about any of my sons," he said.
Jared Sullinger may yet grab that national title. But he has already achieved something greater this season: He has convinced his father it's OK to let go.








John Groce to coach Illinois

Illinois will hold a news conference Thursday to announce John Groce as the Illini's next coach, multiple sources told ESPN.com on Wednesday night.
Groce took Ohio to the Sweet 16 this season before the Bobcats lost to North Carolina in overtime.
Illinois was working on the news conference and release Wednesday.
Groce and athletic director Mike Thomas negotiated over the contract before a deal was finally struck earlier Wednesday.
Throughout the day Tuesday, Thomas said through a spokesperson that the deal wasn't done yet. Sources close to Groce said that he spent early Tuesday calling around to discuss the contract and ensure that it was the right deal for him.
An Ohio source said Groce was in Athens, Ohio, on Wednesday, and had a meeting scheduled with his team Thursday morning before flying to Champaign for a news conference.
Groce, 40, replaces Bruce Weber, who was fired March 9 after nine seasons. The Illini failed to reach the NCAA tournament this past season for the third time since 2008 and went 41-49 in the Big Ten during that span. Illinois finished 17-15 overall and 6-12 in the Big Ten in 2011-2012.
Groce has been one of the country's hottest coaching names after leading the No. 13-seeded Bobcats to a Sweet 16 run, which included wins over No. 4-seeded Michigan and No. 12-seeded South Florida, and ended with an overtime loss to top-seeded North Carolina.
It was Ohio's second appearance in the NCAA tournament in Groce's four seasons. The Bobcats won the MAC tournament title as a No. 9 seed in 2010 and went on to upset No. 3 Georgetown as a No. 14 seed in the NCAA tournament. They lost to Tennessee in the following round.
Ohio went 29-8 overall and 11-5 in the MAC this past season. The Bobcats finished third in the MAC East. The Bobcats have gone 85-56 overall and 34-30 in conference in Groce's four years.
Groce arrived at Ohio after being an Ohio State assistant coach from 2004-2008. With the Buckeyes, he developed a reputation as an elite recruiter as he helped sway Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. to Ohio State.
Groce was also previously an assistant at Xavier from 2001-2004, at Butler from 2000-2001, North Carolina State from 1996-2000 and Taylor (Ind.) University from 1993-1996.Groce was born in Muncie, Ind., and played for Todd Lickliter at Danville High School in Indiana. Groce later played at Taylor, an NAIA program.
He has recruited the state of Illinois before. At Ohio, he signed Bobcats current starting point guard D.J. Cooper from Seton Academy in South Holland, a Chicago suburb, and former Ohio player James Kinney from Champaign Centennial.
Groce or Illinois will have to pay Ohio $200,000 for terminating his contract early. He signed a contract extension in April of 2010 that took him through the 2014-2015 season.
Groce made a base salary of $250,000 in the 2011-2012 season. He also was given $25,000 for radio and television appearances and $25,000 for public appearances. He also earned bonuses of $5,000 for a conference winning record, $10,000 for winning the MAC tournament championships, $20,000 for winning two NCAA tournament games and $20,000 for being one of the final 16 teams remaining in the NCAA tournament.
Illinois owes Weber $3.9 million after firing him with three years remaining on his contract.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Dennis Rodman is Broke - Video of Worlds Tallest Man Dunking


World's Tallest Basketball Player Dunks With Worst Vertical Ever




Just about every professional basketball player can leap up in the air and slam dunk, but how many can throw it down while barely leaving their feet?
Only one player on planet earth is known to have such a skill, but he doesn't play in the NBA. The iconic Harlem Globetrotters employ this gargantuan.
Paul Sturgess is his name, "Tiny" is his nickname, but there isn't much that's small about this 7-foot-8, 325-pound mountainous man.
The pride of Loughborough, England, Sturgess played basketball at West Virginia's Mountain State University in part because he liked the gloomy weather and the mountainous geography reminded him of home.
In addition to being crowned the World's Tallest Professional Basketball Player by Guinness World Records, Sturgess is the proud owner of a viral Internet video. The clip, posted a few days ago, appears to show "Tiny" dunk with probably the worst vertical ever.
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Sturgess grew up playing soccer and golf in Britain. He didn't start playing basketball until he was 5-foot-6 at 14 years old. Surprisingly, his ridiculous height isn't the result of a bad pituitary gland. Sturgess told the AP a few years ago that his growth was natural.
The product of a 6-foot-8 father and 5-foot-5 mother loves swimming and playing video games such as Call of Duty when not traveling the world with the Globetrotters.






A ‘broke’ and ‘sick’ Dennis Rodman is way behind on his child support payments

It's a story we've seen all too many times. A famous athlete divorces his wife either during his playing career, or just a few years removed from it while the endorsement opportunities are still rolling in. The athlete gets tagged for child support and/or alimony payments that are in line with a level of income that dwindles significantly within a few years. The famous athlete then gets way, way behind on those payments. Toss in a hard-partying lifestyle, way too many appearances at way too many pathetic public events, and you have the case of Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman.
Calling Rodman "broke" and "extremely sick," Dennis' attorneys (working pro bono) are arguing in court that he is unable to keep up with his own living expenses, much less those of his ex-wife. Here's the sad tale, from the Los Angeles Times:
Rodman is behind in his payments and faces a court hearing Tuesday in Orange. He faces up to 20 days in jail for failure to pay spousal and child support, according to an attorney for his ex-wife. As of March 1, Rodman, 51, owed $808,935 in back child support for the 9- and 10-year-old children that he had with his third wife, Michelle Rodman, said her attorney, Jack Kayajanian, in court documents.
Rodman also owed $51,441 through March 1 in back spousal support, Kayajanian alleged in court documents.
Rodman's attorney, Linnea Willis, did not specify in the documents what she meant by "sick." It's unclear if Dennis is suffering from some sort of malady, is broken up by the burden of his debts, or if she's referring to the "well-documented drinking problem" his manager told ABC News about on Tuesday. What is clear is that this is just sad, sad, sad.
The former Defensive Player of the Year and seven-time rebounding champ really only had one highly salaried season as a player even by the relative salary definitions of his era. He was one of the lower-paid players on his team until 1996-97 before making just under $9 million (listed at $9 million, but he lost a chunk of that due to an 11-game suspension) during his second championship run with Chicago. The next season he made half of that in an incentive-laden contract, because the Bulls were wary of his behavior.
Dennis has made no attempt to hide his soiree-hopping, party boy lifestyle; but it should be noted that for every tacky body spray launch or vodka bar appearance Rodman struts into, he's being compensated for his time. These are paid appearances, even if Dennis is running on a D-list just above "Hobie" from Baywatch these days. This isn't to tell you that Dennis isn't blowing his money at these shindigs, but it's also not as if you have to think of the children every time you see him and his Ed Hardy cap on a red carpet somewhere.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Matt Bush fall From Grace - Final 4 - AP All American Basketball Team




Long, maddening fall for former No. 1 Matt Bush

Matt Bush was viciously drunk. He had removed his belt, swung it at a passing car and crashed his vehicle when trying to flee the scene. A fleet of police arrived to arrest him. Hog-tied on the ground, Bush kicked, screamed and carried on like a toddler denied a toy. “I don’t care,” he yelled. Then he started to cry.
Video of the arrest on June 28, 2009 remains archived for posterity. Fox News anchor Rick Folbaum took great glee in recounting Bush’s fall from No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft to wailing face down in a San Diego parking lot.
“Apparently,” Folbaum said, “there is crying in baseball.”
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On a gorgeous day in Port Charlotte, Fla., last spring, Bush leaned back on a bench outside the Tampa Bay Rays’ complex and talked about that day. He called himself an alcoholic and said he hoped to God that was his nadir. He looked lean, healthy and handsome. At 5-foot-9, he could’ve passed for college student instead of professional athlete. His size belied the magic in his right arm. Bush could throw a baseball 97, 98, sometimes 99 mph. The Rays, like so many before them, forgave Bush for what he did because of what he could do.
“I was insane that day,” he said. “Not only was I definitely in fear of my life, I didn’t know if I was going to kill someone, take my life. It was scary. I knew it was close to happening. I could sense it. I didn’t really realize what was going on. When all the cop cars were there, it set in. That’s when you see me hysterical and crying. I thought the worst of the worst.”
The worst of the worst was in the past, Bush said. He was clean and sober and ready to play baseball. He was sure of that. He would convince himself so. The only thing left from that day was the sickening aftertaste of sitting in a locked cell, wondering how the hell he got there and how he could get out, a moment that refused to stop haunting him.
“I have dreams still that I’m in jail, that I don’t even realize it, but I’m going to be there for a long time,” Bush said. “It’s scary what I got away with.”
Today, Matt Bush is in jail. He is going to be there for a long time. A Florida judge Monday set his bail at more than $1 million after Bush allegedly stole his spring roommate’s SUV Thursday night, got drunk, climbed on stage at a strip club before bouncers booted him, headed back on the road and hit a 72-year-old motorcyclist named Tony Tufano. Bush reportedly ran over Tufano’s head while peeling away. He drove from the carnage with a .18 blood alcohol level and a septuagenarian lying in the street in critical condition.
In the four days since Bush’s ill-fated joyride that led to seven charges, including three felonies, the Rays have tried to figure out why this happened, how it happened. Nobody knows. Not Bush’s teammates, not his coaches, not the employee-assistance program staff. All truly believed Bush, 26, had stayed away from alcohol since the 2009 DUI. Not even Brandon Guyer, Bush’s roommate this spring, suspected anything.
The two had bonded since Rays camp started in mid-February. They went fishing almost every day. Guyer cooked dinner for Bush almost every night. On Thursday, Guyer wanted to go to the Rays’ complex and Bush offered to drop him off and take his Dodge Durango back to their apartment. Guyer didn’t realize Bush’s license was still suspended. He never had let Bush drive before and figured it was harmless.
Immediately, Bush headed an hour northwest to Sarasota, Fla. What took him there remains unclear. Increasingly clear is the damage left in his wake. Tufano remains hospitalized with a brain hemorrhage, a collapsed lung, a broken back, broken ribs and a broken wrist. Strife continues to ripple through a betrayed organization and a family grieving for a patriarch breathing through a respirator.
“We’re still a little numb to it,” Rays general manager Andrew Friedman told reporters Sunday.
Friedman said the Rays will cut Bush, a move a source said should happen sometime this week. It will come days after Bush met with Friedman and manager Joe Maddon to discuss his demotion to Triple-A. While such roster moves often come with sadness and rancor, Bush’s felt almost upbeat. They talked about how far he’d come, how he’d fought his alcoholism, how proud they were of him.
What an incredible story it was going to be when sometime this year Bush finally made his major-league debut.
In a sport where alcohol plays such a massive part in all social settings – on the same day Bush was arrested, Boston reliever Bobby Jenks, another player with alleged alcohol issues, was charged with a hit-and-run DUI as well – there was a great story in Bush’s continued sobriety, one to tell when he finally arrived in the big leagues. Like Josh Hamilton, another former top overall pick who struggled with addiction, Bush’s successes were redemptive, even inspiring to addicts who fight to stay clean for even a day or a week. During a two-hour conversation last spring, Bush detailed the goriest times of his life, the lowest of lows, sure that talking about them would prevent their recurrence.
“If you want to hear the whole story, I can give it to you,” he said. “It might take a while.”
Bush grew up in San Diego. His parents both worked for local schools, his dad, Danny, an electronic technician and his mom, Theresa, a custodian. They raised him a Jehovah’s Witness, something with which Bush said he never was altogether comfortable. His athleticism won him favor with his dad anyway. Danny grew up with an abusive stepfather who wouldn’t let him play organized baseball, so he lived vicariously through Matt.
By his senior year at Mission Bay High School, Bush was a legitimate top 10 prospect, ranked behind better-known college players like Jered Weaver, Justin Verlander and Stephen Drew but tantalizing nonetheless. When the hometown Padres chafed at selecting Weaver and Drew, both clients of Scott Boras, Bush reached out to the team and said he’d love the privilege of being the top pick. It was perfect: The team would glean great public relations for picking the local kid No. 1, and he was thrilled to play shortstop and accept a bonus offer of $3.15 million, well under what Weaver and Drew wanted.
“I was always just imagining how great a million dollars would be, or possibly two,” Bush said. “It’s hard to explain, I guess. It was the greatest thing I could ever imagine. All I really wanted to do was play professional baseball, and it was surreal to know I was going to be a high draft pick, but to be No. 1 in my own hometown. It was too much.”
The pressure was immediate. Only two No. 1 picks in the game’s history – injury-prone New York Mets catcher Steve Chilcott and New York Yankees phenom Brien Taylor, who hurt his arm in a fight – hadn’t made the major leagues. Weaver grew into one of the best pitchers in the American League, Verlander the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young winner, and Drew a solid everyday shortstop. The No. 1 pick wasn’t the domain for cute stories or guesses or going cheap.
The Padres’ impulsiveness soon resembled recklessness. Bush didn’t have a driver’s license, and the team didn’t know that his older brother Jeremy, who would chauffeur him around the team’s complex in Peoria, Ariz., had two DUIs and spent more than a month in jail on a domestic-violence rap. Nor did they realize at the pool near where Bush lived, people would bring 30-packs of beer and toss a can to anybody who asked. Two weeks after Bush signed, he hit a party at the pool, then went with Jeremy to a nearby bar, McDuffy’s. The bouncers refused to let the Bushes in. They jumped a side rail. When bouncer Eric Edwon put Bush in a headlock, he bit Edwon’s arm. Police charged Bush with felony assault, and the Padres wondered what they’d done. They looked into voiding the contract but refused to let free such a dynamic talent based on one incident.
Bush’s orgiastic life continued unabated. He was 18, unsupervised and rich. Women were everywhere. He made daily trips to the mall. A Louis Vuitton backpack for $1,100? Sure. A new outfit for Jeremy and him every day? Of course. By the time the season ended, Bush’s stuff didn’t fit in his Range Rover, so Theresa drove from San Diego to load the remainder into her truck.
The Padres had paid him $150,000 to sign. Another $3 million was coming in 2005, and when it did, Bush blew through it, too. He bought a Mercedes CLS class and drove if for 1,000 miles before trading it, along with his Range Rover and $60,000, for a new Bentley. A few months later, he traded the Bentley for another car. Every new purchase enthralled him, gave him a high he couldn’t find on the baseball field, where he struggled through injuries and never hit. He kept spending until there was nothing left.
When he was arrested Thursday, Bush had only $2,000 in his bank account.
It’s funny to look back at the MLB Scouting Bureau’s video of Bush as a high schooler. All 5 minutes, 53 seconds of it are Bush pitching. While Bush’s continued drinking added weight, neutered his bat speed and turned him into an everyday oaf, it didn’t affect his arm, the body part his addiction couldn’t steal, not yet. By the time the Padres decided to convert Bush to a pitcher in 2007, he had hit .219 in 259 games and committed more errors (76) than he drove in runs (70).
Almost immediately, the move looked inspired. Bush was hitting 98 mph on radar guns in rookie ball, where as a 21-year-old he struck out 16 batters and walked just two in 7 1/3 innings. The Padres moved him to Low-A Fort Wayne, where he debuted Aug. 9, 2007. In his first inning, Bush gassed a 99-mph fastball. His arm felt loose. There were fans, unlike at his previous level, and he wanted to show off. He threw a perfect slider for a strike and heard a crunch. Bush left the game, worried something was wrong. His arm felt fine the next day. He picked up a ball and tried to throw it. The ball barely went 10 feet.
The ulnar collateral ligament in Bush’s right elbow had snapped. He underwent Tommy John surgery when the swelling subsided. He would miss the rest of 2007, all of 2008 and fall back into the pattern of trouble that seemed certain to doom his career.
While rehabbing in Peoria in 2008, Bush was injured in a bar fight. Before spring training in 2009, he got drunk, drove to a nearby high school in San Diego, assaulted two students, yelled “I’m Matt [bleeping] Bush” and hit a curb driving away before he was arrested. The Padres designated him for assignment and found a taker in the Toronto Blue Jays, who acquired Bush and placed him on their 40-man roster. Danny came with him to spring training for the first few weeks to babysit Bush.
“As soon as he left, I felt lonely,” Bush said. “I was down. I was scared. My dad was there with me. It was comforting. I was safe. From that moment on, it went back to the same routine. I managed for a little while. Eventually, I had a couple nights where I was lucky to make it to the field.”
One night, Bush stayed out until 6 a.m., missed a 7 o’clock workout and woke up at noon. Another, he allegedly threw a baseball at a girl who drew on his face when he was passed out drunk. Toronto released him April 1, 2009.
Bush returned home to San Diego. He played basketball, went fishing, immersed himself in video games. Anything to replace the alcohol. Sometimes he’d say he needed to go to the grocery store and spend hours driving around, passing liquor stores, tempting himself, weighing the benefits and detriments of another drink. He tried outpatient rehab. It was laughable. Drinking turned into a game, a test, one he knew he couldn’t win.
The night of his first DUI runs a frightening parallel to his most recent arrest. Nearly three months of sobriety had lulled Bush’s family into not monitoring him with necessary vigilance. His dad was in the shower. He told him he was going to go to Wal-Mart for a video game and asked his dad where the keys were to his Cadillac CTS. Danny told him. Bush drank until he passed out in the car. When he awoke, he started drinking again, shot after shot from airplane bottles.
“It scared me,” Bush said. “I’ve never truly been able to say or think that I’m not afraid to die, like it’s no big deal. I don’t want to die. But that’s exactly what I was doing. Each time, I was getting closer and closer.”
He hasn’t watched the video. Bush said he didn’t need to see himself at his worst or hear the smarm of Folbaum. Its existence saddened him enough.
“Sometimes I want to go to YouTube,” Bush said, “to see if maybe someone has a video of me pitching.”
For the next four months, Bush stayed at Rancho L’Abri, a now-shuttered rehab center about 30 miles east of San Diego. He went to daily meetings and learned about addiction. He was sober for the first time in too long. The Rays sent a scout named Jake Wilson to visit Bush. They wanted to sign him and place him at the Winning Inning, a baseball-and-life-skills academy in Clearwater, Fla., that emphasizes discipline and religion. Hamilton spent some of his recovery there.
Bush stayed in the same room Hamilton did during his time at the Winning Inning. Bush worked out during the day with Roy Silver, a former Cardinals minor-league player and manager who runs the program, and spent weekends with his friend Bill Manion fishing at Lake Tarpon and ponds around Pinellas County.
While he spent much of 2010 injured, Bush impressed Rays officials enough to earn a 40-man roster spot before the 2011 season. After surgery on his radial nerve, Bush finally, after five years, pitched a full season as a reliever. In 50 1/3 innings at Double-A Montgomery last season, he struck out 77 hitters. Had he continued to pitch well at Triple-A Charlotte this year, Bush would’ve been among the first pitchers summoned upon injury or ineffectiveness in the bullpen.
“I like the way he’s dealing with everything,” Maddon, the Rays’ manager, told the Tampa Bay Times in late February. “Here’s a young man that’s gotten a second chance, and he’s done a lot of good with it.”
How that good went so bad so quickly still preys on the minds of those closest to Bush. Maybe he was fooling everyone and played sober like a superb character actor. Maybe something pushed him and he snapped. Maybe it was like the last time, the culmination of all those clean days – nearly 1,000 this time – proving too difficult to withstand, the force of his addiction’s strength greater than the will to fight it.
“I’m in his corner,” Silver said. “He’s not in the corner with me right now. You never can go into life without being prepared. I know where Satan lives. He dominates this earth.”
Silver is mad. Steaming mad. Mad and sad and disappointed. He watched Bush sweep floors and pray and do everything he was supposed to at the Winning Inning. Silver tried to teach Bush: never let up, never give in – never take sobriety for granted. This wasn’t the holistic therapy found at Rancho L’Abri. Silver valued accountability.
“There’s always a place you can go or a phone number you can call,” he said. “Cancer is not a choice. This is a choice. It’s called free will.
“I’m not a believer in the gene factor.”
On that day he spoke last spring, Bush was engaged and open, his answers quick and assured. He paused only when asked the age at which he took his first drink.
“I might’ve been 10 or 11 years old,” Bush said. “It was my dad. It was after a Pop Warner practice or game. I was really mad at the coach. I wanted to quit. [Danny] said, ‘Ah, it’s just been a bad day. Have a beer.’ He cracks it open. It was nasty, but I wanted to drink it, so I kept going. I remember going to Sports Authority and stumbling into stuff. I don’t think my dad really understood.”
Danny Bush, who did not return a message left at his home, didn’t know his real father, who, according to Bush, was an alcoholic. Danny’s brother, Bush said, was an alcoholic and drug addict who died of a brain aneurysm. Danny drank, too.
“He’d say he’d have one or two,” Bush said. “He was lying. He was having more than one or two.”
Soon after Bush entered rehab at Rancho L’Abri, he said Danny stopped drinking. Doctors had advised him to do so because of Hepatitis C, Bush said. He still didn’t seem to understand Bush’s sobriety. Bush’s family visited one day to meet with him and a counselor at the center, Dennis Plunkett. While Theresa and one of Bush’s sisters asked about his health, Danny, Bush said, wanted to talk baseball – about Albert Pujols and Manny Ramirez and everything else going on around the game.
Bush’s family and his girlfriend, Andrea Cattron, implored Danny to focus on Bush’s health, and leading up to the 2011 season, he had started. Sure, he called a little too often – almost every day just to check in, Bush said, which got annoying – but it’s easy, from the outside, to understand why: Whether one believes in genetics, deed or both, Danny had lit the fuse his son, the one he so desperately wanted to succeed, couldn’t put out.
As he tried to rebuild his relationship with his father, Bush offered a reminder almost every time Danny tried to steer the conversation to baseball.
“One day it’s going to be gone,” Bush would say, “and I’m just going to be your son.”
Nobody saw Bush more last year than Andrea Cattron. Their relationship was in its sixth year. During spring training, Bush talked about her moving to Alabama with him and how it might serve as a precursor to marriage. She arrived from her home in Michigan and spent the season with him.
“Everything was going really good for him,” Cattron said. “His arm was good. Emotionally he was good. Maybe he just got a little too ahead of himself and thought he could do it on his own. Maybe he needed that emotional support.”
Cattron is trying not to speculate. She hasn’t spoken with Bush in a few months. She still considers herself his girlfriend. He needed a break. Some time, she said, to experience sobriety on his own.
“Matt is not a bad person,” Cattron said. “What he did is really awful. And I’m so sad for Mr. Tufano and his family. But he’s not this cruel-hearted, callous person.
“This isn’t the Matt that I know.”
It’s not. That Matt Bush was sweet, kind, tender, sensitive. He would tell her he loved her and thank her for her support and say how much he appreciated her attitude that if he fell down eight times, she was going to help pick him up for a ninth, no matter how much it hurt, because that’s what love is, a commitment that transcends everything.
Even if to everyone else Bush is nothing more than a selfish drunk, behind every selfish drunk is someone he treats right, someone who sees him as a person worth loving. And even though what Bush allegedly did plumbs the depths of human ruin – stealing from a friend, endangering the life of every person on the road and ultimately putting one man’s into peril, all things for which he deserves the punishment the law provides – he is no one-dimensional villain. He is a man with a disease – a vicious, unrelenting disease.
The problem with how Cattron viewed him – the problem with how everyone viewed Bush – was that it never matched how he saw himself. He was OK until he wasn’t. He tried to assure himself he was better: “I’ve never been so dedicated to baseball and life. I know I’ll get there. I know it.” God, he tried.
But when minutes bled into hours into days into weeks into months into years, at some point no amount of rehab or incentive or even the taste of a major-league mound could keep him from doing what his brain told him to do. And it frightened him that would never change.
“I could tell everyone I was doing great, this and that,” he said. “My reality was very depressing for me. Inside, I knew it was a lie. I could only go for so many days without feeling an extreme urge to say it’s OK – it’s all right to just have one. It’s OK to have two. It’s fine to have three. And then, who cares?
“After that, I was gone.”
Matt Bush couldn’t drive last spring, either. First the DMV in California told him he needed to fill out an SR-22 form and get an ignition interlock device because of his DUI. He did both. Then there was something about old points on his license, and spring training was about to start, and rather than fight, he figured getting back into a car could wait.
“I have driving problems, that’s for sure,” Bush said. “Well-deserved, to say the least.”
He could wait no longer this spring. He was so close, too. To the major leagues, where he may now be persona non grata, though as long as he throws 97 or 98 or 99 that’s no certainty. And to three years of sobriety, or at least people think so. And perhaps even to rescuing himself from whatever chased him from Arizona to San Diego to Florida, up Interstate 75 and into the life of a man who was riding home on his Harley after babysitting his granddaughter.
If Tony Tufano dies, Bush almost certainly will spend at least two years in jail. A hit-and-run DUI resulting in a death in Florida carries that minimum penalty, plus the other counts could result in a longer sentence. Tufano’s survival would lessen the penalty, particularly since Bush pleaded down his previous crimes to misdemeanors.
For now, he sits in Charlotte County jail, wondering how the hell he got there and how he can’t get out. This time, it’s not a dream.




The Road To The Final Four Starts on High Street

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State University will hold a team send-off for Thad Matta and the men’s basketball team this week as they head to “The Big Easy” for the NCAA Final Four.
The University and its athletics department are encouraging Ohio State fans to line the sidewalks from High St. and Woodruff Ave. to High and West 11th Ave. on Wed., March 28th as the Buckeyes leave for New Orleans.
Rain or shine, OSU fans are encouraged to bring signs and wear Scarlet and Gray to support their team, which will drive down High Street in the team bus around 5:15 p.m. on its way to Rickenbacker International Airport.
The No 2 seeded Buckeyes will face fellow No. 2 seed Kansas on Saturday in New Orleans after knocking off Syracuse—the No. 1 seed in the East Region—this past Saturday in Boston.
Sophomore Jared Sullinger—who was named to the AP All-America first team on Monday—led the way with 19 points and seven rebounds, as Ohio State knocked off the Orange 77-70 at TD Garden in downtown Boston on Saturday evening.
One day later, the Jayhawks punched their ticket to the Final Four with a 80-67 win over North Carolina on Sunday. The win for Kansas sets up a rematch with the Buckeyes, whom they defeated 78-67 back on Dec. 10, 2011 in Lawrence.
Ohio State and Kansas will play in the later game Saturday, tipping off at 8:49 p.m. ET on CBS, while the Bluegrass matchup between Kentucky and Louisville will tip around 6:09 p.m. ET.



Thomas Robinson leads AP first team
Kansas forward Thomas Robinson has even more in common with Blake Griffin now. Not everything, though.
Robinson, who played through personal tragedy as a sophomore reserve, capped his junior season by being a unanimous selection to The Associated Press' All-America team Monday, a day after leading the Jayhawks to the Final Four.
The 6-foot-10 Robinson averaged 17.9 points and 11.8 rebounds this season and he was a first-team pick by all 65 members of the national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25.
The last unanimous pick was Griffin in 2009.
"It's a blessing to be named even in the same category as Blake Griffin," Robinson said. "For that to happen, I'm glad all the hard work is paying off."
Robinson did find some similarities between them besides being Big 12 Player of the Year.
"That man jumps out the gym. He looks like a superhero when he takes off," Robinson said. "But we both try to be aggressive. He knows what he does well. I feel the same way. I know what I do well."
Joining Robinson on the first team were Jared Sullinger of Ohio State, the first repeat All-America in three years, freshman Anthony Davis of Kentucky, Draymond Green of Michigan State and Doug McDermott of Creighton.
Davis received 63 first-team votes while Green, the lone senior on the team, got 53. Sullinger had 30, one more than McDermott. The voting was done before the NCAA tournament.
Robinson received nationwide support as a sophomore when he lost his mother, grandmother and grandfather in a three-week period. He not only became a starter this season, he became a star.
"It's an unbelievable honor for a kid that came as a semi-highly recruited guy, played seven minutes as a freshman, 10 minutes as a sophomore, endured the tragedies he's had and then somehow made so many sacrifices, not only for the betterment of himself but the betterment of all of us," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "To be unanimous, it's just something that blows me away."
Robinson is Kansas' first All-America since Wayne Simien in 2005.
The 6-9 Sullinger, who was selected Most Outstanding Player of the East Regional as he led the Buckeyes to the Final Four, is the first repeat All-America since North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough in 2009.
"It means a lot when your name is with Tyler Hansbrough, Psycho T. He was a great basketball player," Sullinger said with a big smile as he used Hansbrough's nickname. "It means a lot. I think it's a credit to my teammates."
Sullinger, the first player to repeat as a freshman and sophomore since Chris Jackson of LSU in 1989 and 1990, averaged 17.6 points and 9.3 rebounds while shooting 53.9 percent from the field. He is the fourth Ohio State player to repeat joining Jerry Lucas, Robin Freeman and Garry Bradds. Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said it's no surprise Sullinger has already sealed a place in the history of the program.
"I think that's one of what was important to us when Jared came here," Matta said. "We knew he was going to be a special player. And to see him get these accolades he has received and won at the level he's won at speaks volumes to the player he is and that select category and only being a sophomore let's you know what a great player he is."
Davis burst onto the national scene as part of the Wildcats team that spent most of the season ranked No. 1 in the poll and then entered the NCAA tournament as the overall No. 1 seed. The 6-10 Davis was chosen the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 14.3 points, 10 rebounds and 4.6 blocks while shooting 64.2 percent from the field.
The last Wildcats to be first-team selections were freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins in 2010. At least one freshman has been on the first team five of the last six years.
"It means a lot, especially for a freshman," Davis said before admitting he surprised himself this season. "I thought I would just come in here and hit a couple of shots, block a couple of shots, get a couple of dunks. I never thought I would be this successful in college."
He said he has been successful because of opportunities.
"My teammates have been doing a great job of giving me the ball," he said. "And basically, all the teams that were driving inside, giving me a chance to get blocks. We're just out there having fun."
The 6-7 Green averaged 16.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals while doing everything the Spartans needed on the way to sharing the Big Ten regular season title, winning the conference tournament and being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
He is Michigan State's fourth first-team selection joining Magic Johnson, Shawn Respert and Mateen Cleaves.
"It's an honor because those are the guys who I looked up to, paved the way for me, starting with Magic and going to Respert and Cleaves," Green said. "Those guys, every time I walk into the gym I see their names up in the rafters and that's a goal that everyone has who's playing. Just being mentioned in the same sentence with those guys means a lot. All of them are winners, all of them are great players and all of them are successful and great people."
McDermott is Creighton's first All-America and he joins three-time selection Pete Maravich of LSU as All-Americas coached by their fathers.
The 6-7 sophomore was third in Division I in scoring with a 23.2 average. He averaged 8.2 rebounds and shot 61 percent from the field, including 49.5 percent from 3-point range.
"It's really special. It really hasn't hit me yet. Later down the road it will," McDermott said of his selection. "It's something real cool to be in the company of some of those names. Creighton never had one. It's really cool to be able to be the first, especially with all the great players who have been at Creighton over the years."
Coaching a son who is the star of the team did bring about a different problem for Greg McDermott.
"It could be a situation where if your son was a borderline player that your fans get upset if you put him in the game," he said. "Our fans get upset if I take him out."
Junior guard Isaiah Canaan of Murray State was joined on the second team by seniors Marcus Denmon of Missouri, Tyler Zeller of North Carolina, Jae Crowder of Marquette and Kevin Jones of West Virginia.
Sullinger was the only member of the preseason All-America team to make any of the postseason teams. Harrison Barnes of North Carolina, Jeremy Lamb of Connecticut and Jordan Taylor of Wisconsin were honorable mentions. Terrence Jones of Kentucky was the fifth member of the preseason team.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Buckeyes Advance to Elite 8 - First Thoughts After Win - OSU No Longer Doubting Thomas -



Ohio State gets big games from Deshaun Thomas, Jared Sullinger to oust Cincinnati

BOSTON (AP) -- Jared Sullinger and the Ohio State Buckeyes had blown a 12-point lead and fallen behind Cincinnati in the second half of the East Regional semifinals.
It was time for the "cool guys" to take a seat, and let the blue-collar team take over.
Sullinger scored 23 points with 11 rebounds and Ohio State turned back Cincinnati's last charge with a 17-1 run to beat the Bearcats 81-66 on Thursday night and advance to the NCAA regional finals for the first time since 2007.
"We've got two types of basketball teams: We've got the cool guys and then the blue-collar guys," Sullinger explained. "I thought to start the second half we got into the cool-guy mode and we kind of let our guard down. ... I mean, we just came out and decided to be cool guys, and they came out and they stung us, and then we got ourselves back into another basketball game."
Deshaun Thomas scored 26 points for the second-seeded Buckeyes (30-7), who will play Syracuse at the TD Garden on Saturday. Aaron Craft added 11 points - all in the second half - with five assists and six steals, taking charge during the second-half run that turned a four-point deficit into a double-digit lead.
Cashmere Wright scored 18 and Sean Kilpatrick had 15 for the No. 6 seeded Bearcats, who were attempting to match Big East rival Syracuse by beating a Big Ten opponent to advance to the East Regional finals. The top-seeded Orange advanced earlier Thursday by beating fourth-seeded Wisconsin 64-63.
It's the first trip to the regional finals for Ohio State since it lost in the 2007 championship game to Florida. The Buckeyes lost in the round of 16 in each of the past two years.
"Coach (Thad) Matta has been through two Sweet 16s where the train kind of stopped. And we wanted to make sure that this train was going to keep rolling," Sullinger said. "It's tremendous to be in a situation like this, and it's a blessing. But at the same time we can't lose focus."
Wearing fluorescent orange shoelaces and piping on their jerseys, Cincinnati (26-11) fell behind by 12 at the half before going on a 19-4 run early in the second. The Bearcats led 52-48 with 11:34 to play when Matta called a timeout and ripped into his team.
The Buckeyes allowed just one free throw over the next 5 1/2 minutes.
"They had 20 points in nine minutes and were shooting 80 percent, and some of that goes to them," Craft said. "But we didn't play defense like we did in the first half. We did a great job of sticking together and getting stops."
That effectively ended the season for Cincinnati, which fought its way back into prominence after a Dec. 10 brawl with crosstown rival Xavier.
The Musketeers, who were unbeaten and No. 8 in the nation at the time, lost their top three scorers and then five of their next six games. But Cincinnati, which fell to 5-3 with the 23-point loss at Xavier, won 10 of its next 11 games despite using a four-guard offense made necessary by the six-game suspensions of Yancy Gates and center Cheikh Mbodj.
The Bearcats reached the final of the Big East tournament and beat Texas and Florida State in the NCAAs to reach the regional semifinals for the first time since 2001.
"We've come a long way. I take a lot of pride in that. Nothing's been given to us," Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said. "In the Big East, rebuilding a program has been a tough chore the last 10 years."
Ohio State, which lost to Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game, reached the round of 16 by beating 15th-seeded Loyola of Maryland and No. 7 seed Gonzaga. The Buckeyes were among four Ohio teams in the round of 16. Ohio plays North Carolina and Xavier plays Baylor on Friday.
Despite just about 100 miles separating their campuses along I-71, Ohio State and Cincinnati had played just once since the 1962 national championship game.
This one was evenly matched - for about 30 minutes.
The Buckeyes led Cincinnati by five when Thomas hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Ohio State scored 10 of the last 13 points in the half to open a 37-25 lead. But Cincinnati opened the second half with a run of its own, tying it 41-all on JaQuon Parker's baby hook shot in the lane.
The Bearcats led 52-48 on Gates' three-point play with 11:34 left. But Ohio State scored 17 of the next 18 points to put it away.
"In the last 10 minutes, we challenged them. It was time," Matta said. "It's obviously a very, very good feeling to be down to eight tomorrow night, whenever the games end, with a lot at stake. I mean, so much is put on now, the NCAA tournament. I couldn't be happier for this team."




First Thoughts From the Buckeyes' 81-66 Win Over Cincinnati in the NCAA Tournament
By Tony Gerdeman

First Thought

I wrote in this space last week that it was time for William Buford to become a complementary player and not an integral one. I think he listened to me in this game.

With how cold Buford has been of late—he was 1-8 in this game from the field—it only makes sense to look at other options to pick up his scoring slack. Fortunately, the Buckeyes have been able to do that the last couple of nights with Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith.

Buford as a complementary feature can allow for his poor shooting because Ohio State isn't relying on him. Even though he was just 1-8 from the field, I thought he did a fair job of not going 1-14.

In other words, he didn't keep shooting.

But we can't talk about his performance without also mentioning his huge three-pointer to cut Cincinnati's four-point lead to one with under twelve minutes to play.

He is in the game for a reason, and when that reason isn't being realized, he can have the tendency to force things. He should be credited with remaining somewhat calm, despite what must be constant swirling in the head.

Though it seems that Thad Matta may want to switch Buford's mindset to 'First do no harm'.

Sub Thought

The Buckeyes only played eight players tonight, and two of the three reserves (Sam Thompson and Evan Ravenel) played just two minutes.

Shannon Scott played 16 minutes tonight and did a quality job of running the point for Ohio State.

When Scott was subbed in during the second half for William Buford, the Buckeyes lead it 55-53 with around nine minutes remaining in the game. With Scott at the point, and Buford on the bench, the Buckeyes went on a 15-6 run.

They never looked back after that.

Scott helped Aaron Craft and Lenzelle Smith break the press with ease and finished with three assists and just one turnover. It was a needed outing for the freshman and he never looked out of his comfort zone—provided he wasn't shooting the ball, of course.

Strategic Thought

I discovered tonight that the best way to defend the Bearcats was to let them shoot jumpers. They would have no answer for my defense. I would tell my players to get up in their faces, and then once they got the ball, back off about ten feet and say, "Pfft. I'll give you that all day."

As we all know, a Cincinnati Bearcat can't be disrespected like that, so they would have no choice but to shoot the open jumper, and then I'd already have half my team down in the paint rebounding.

Whole Thought

One of the reasons that this was a very good win for the Buckeyes is that they built leads in two different ways.

In the first half, they abused Cincinnati's zone defense with Deshaun Thomas in the lane and Lenzelle Smith on the baseline. Thomas and Sullinger hit the glass, and played some hellacious two-main basketball between them.

Then in the second half Cincinnati changed things up and scrapped their zone defense. It took the Buckeyes five or six minutes to adjust, but they finally got there. Once they did, they dominated the Bearcats just like they had in the first half, only different.

Their ability to excel against different defenses is what makes a team like this a difficult out in the tournament.


Perspective Thought

CBS needs to get rid of their silly zipline camera and eight-miles up view from above. They are terrible angles and diminish what we can actually see on our televisions.

Television sports directors are some of the dumbest people on the planet, and they never fail to fail me.

Clearly, these new shots with this camera were like a kid with a new toy, but it's a toy that nobody else wants and nobody is impressed by.

"Hey everybody, look at my brand new Hasbro Fecal Organizer!"


Impure Thought

Right now, I think about 74% of all Buckeye fans (male and female) would leave their significant other for a serious relationship with Aaron Craft, and none of their friends or family would look at them with anything but complete understanding.

"How could you not!" they'd say, "He's Aaron Craft, for crying out loud."


The best thing about him is that he plays basketball the way it is supposed to be played—constantly. Defensively, he's relentless like a waterfall. He just keeps coming, wave after wave. He's a one-man infantry.

It was amazing to watch him defend in this game. Clearly, the Bearcats had no idea he was going to be this disruptive. He finished with six steals, and probably caused six more than went to his teammates.

Several times Cincinnati players were looking to challenge him off the dribble. They had their moments early in the game, but after that, Craft battened them down like hatches in a hurricane.

Final Thought

I said in this week's Water Cooler that Jared Sullinger would be the key to an Ohio State national championship. After tonight's first half performance, I was almost going to have to side with Ben Axelrod's choice of Deshaun Thomas.

However, I stuck with Sullinger and he never slumped. He didn't have one great half and then one blech half. He scored ten points and grabbed nine rebounds in the first half, and then scored 13 more points in the second half.

He was Ohio State's one offensive constant in this game, and that's exactly what he'll need to remain if the Buckeyes are going to win it all.



Buckeyes reach Elite Eight, and no longer doubting Thomas

BOSTON -- When Deshaun Thomas entered the Ohio State program, he did it in the shadow of highly touted classmate Jared Sullinger. Hardly an afterthought as a McDonald's All-American, but certainly not the prize of the recruiting class.
Buckeyes head man Thad Matta and strength and conditioning coach Dave Richardson immediately took the route of bulking up the 6-foot-7 Thomas, adding 20 pounds to his frame. Thomas, always known as a scorer, was still able to put the ball in the basket -- but wasn't able to remain on the court due to his inability to guard and play long stretches without being fatigued.
On Thursday night, Thomas never left the court in the first half against Cincinnati, playing all 20 minutes and scoring 20 points before the break.
"He was the key for us tonight," Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft said following the 81-66 victory that put the Buckeyes in the Elite Eight. "He kept us in the game in the first half."
Last year was a challenge. If he wasn't making shots, there was little reason to have Thomas in the game.
"He tried so hard last year, but every time we put him in the game, teams just went right at him," Matta said.
It was late in the season that Matta and Richardson got together and decided that they would reverse field with Thomas, instead electing to have him shed the weight he gained.
"The weight he put on affected his movement and his ability to get up and down the floor," Richardson said. "It just wasn't going to work."
Now Thomas is down to 214 pounds and has become a difficult match-up. Still regarded for his offensive exploits, he's become a solid defender --- clear by the job he's done recently on Michigan State's Draymond Green, Purdue's Robbie Hummel and Gonzaga's Elias Harris.
"I'll be honest," Thomas said. "Last year coming off the bench, I just wanted to score."
That was no secret. Now he does more than just score.
It wasn't an easy task for Thomas, though, replacing the do-it-all veteran David Lighty in the starting lineup, a mammoth task for a guy who was considered one-dimensional. Lighty was a fan-favorite, the guy who could score, rebound, pass and was also one of the most versatile defenders in the country.
"It was tough," Thomas admitted. "Dave Lighty was the heart and soul of this team. He did everything."
On a night where senior William Buford and the defensive-minded Craft were no-shows on the offensive end in the first half, it was Thomas who carried the Buckeyes. Thomas and Sullinger managed to outscore Cincinnati in the first half, Thomas making 8 of 12 shots while Sullinger nearly added a double-double with 10 points and nine boards by the time the two teams went into the locker room.
Ohio State took a 12-point lead into the second half, but the Bearcats wouldn't go away -- even taking the lead on Cashmere Wright's 3-pointer with 14 minutes left in the game. Cincinnati did a solid job taking away Thomas, for the most part, in the second 20 minutes -- but that opened it up for his teammates. Craft started to get hot on both ends of the court, Sullinger took advantage of fewer double-teams and Thomas still managed to play a critical role down the stretch with high IQ plays.
"He takes good shots now," Craft said of Thomas. "Last year it was really tough to get the ball back when we gave it to him."
Ohio State now advances to play Syracuse with a Final Four berth on the line. This is a Buckeyes group that many feel underachieved this season. It was a team selected as one of the elite entering the season, but one that finished in a three-way tie for the Big Ten regular-season title with Michigan State and Michigan and one that lost in the league tournament championship game. Despite a subpar (and that's putting it nicely) performance from Buford, the Buckeyes survived against sixth-seeded Cincinnati. Thomas led all scorers with 26 points, grabbed seven rebounds and was solid on the defensive end.
"Everything to do with offense," Ohio State guard Lenzelle Smith said. "Deshaun is all about it."
That's the old Deshaun Thomas. The new one can score -- and isn't a liability on the other end of the floor. While Sullinger drew the assignment of containing Bearcats man-child Yancy Gates, Thomas provided support in holding him to just seven points and five boards. He was also agile enough to chase around Cincinnati's guards on the perimeter.
That wouldn't have been possible a year ago.
"Not a chance," Thomas said.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Ohio is more than just Buckeye State - Thad Matta Presses on with Handicap -Tiger Woods Ready to Roll


Despite back strain, Tiger Woods says he's ready for Arnold Palmer Invitational
jeff ritter
ORLANDO -- Tiger Woods declared himself physically ready to compete after an 18-hole pro-am round Wednesday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational despite adding a back strain to his list of ailments.
Woods, who withdrew from the final round of WGC-Cadillac Championship two weeks ago because of a strained Achilles, tweaked his back on the sixth tee when he stopped his swing short due to a camera click -- a move he's displayed before. While walking off the tee, Woods snapped at the photographer and briefly crouched to stretch his lower back. He went on to birdie that hole and seven of his final 11 for an unofficial eight-under 64 at Bay Hill, where he's won six times.
"I guess one of the so called professional photographers took a picture right in the middle of my downswing," Woods said afterward. "I stopped it, and then felt a pretty good twinge in my back. Walked it off and then tried to hit one down there, hit it in the fairway, but didn't feel very good. But after a couple of holes it loosened up, and I'm good to go now."
Woods showed no sign of a limp during his practice round, and he said he has recovered from the Achilles tendon injury that forced him to withdraw at Doral. Woods played his first public rounds since that injury on Monday and Tuesday at the Tavistock Cup, a two-day exhibition, and he's appeared healthy all week.
"I've had some good therapists on board, and they have done some really good work," Woods said. "I feel great, and that's the nice thing about getting treatment for three days, just getting off of it and just working on it two or three times a day, and good to go."
Woods spoke to reporters after his pro-am round. He was not asked any questions about his former coach Hank Haney's book The Big Miss, which will be released next week and reportedly says that Woods suffered a serious leg injury training with Navy SEALs. The book also shares personal details of his life. Earlier this month at the Honda Classic, Woods refused to answer questions about the book and had a minor confrontation with a reporter who asked about it.
But Woods did offer a surprise for those wondering if he may have overextended himself by playing a full round at Bay Hill, which seemed to be his third straight day of golf with four more still to follow: Wednesday was actually his fourth consecutive day of golf.
"You guys don't know, I played Augusta on Sunday," Woods said. "That's one of the reasons why I played Tavistock. It felt great at Augusta, and that was the test. I played Tavistock because of that test, and here I am ready to go."
On Wednesday Woods was paired with three amateur partners and appeared to be in high spirits for most of the day. He was joined inside the ropes for part of the round by his swing coach, Sean Foley, and ex-NFL star-turned-broadcaster Ahmad Rashad.
Woods had the first tee time of the day, 7:30 a.m., which has usually been his preference for practice rounds, and Rashad stopped by during Woods's early- morning warm-up. When Woods finished hitting wedge shots, he handed the club to Rashad, smiled and said "Thank you, son," and left his friend alone to wipe down the club.
"When Tiger plays, he zones out. Maybe he'll be a little more relaxed today," Rashad said near the first tee.
Other than the incident with the photographer, it appeared Woods was feeling fine throughout the day. On the opening tee, he took a 3-wood and hit a fade, a similar ball-flight to the tee shot he hit on the 12th hole at Doral, which turned out to be the knockout blow that sent Woods limping off the course. This time Woods appeared pain-free.
Woods said he's confident his rehab was sufficient to prepare him for his final push to the Masters, which begins in two weeks.
"I've had tightness before, but not to that extent," he said of his withdrawal at Doral. "But treatment afterwards always gets it right back to where it should be, and that's one of the reasons why I wasn't really that concerned about it."
Woods also said that he has altered his practice schedule recently to take some of the strain off his Achilles and his surgically repaired left knee.
"I've changed my practice routine based on that," he said. "If things aren't feeling right, I just won't hit balls for four or five hours. I'll go work on something else. You've got to work around it."
In one of the day's lighter moments, one of Woods's amateur partners drained a birdie on the opening hole and performed a Tiger-esque fist-pump before remembering Woods was watching him.
"I don't plan on making those," said Ed Brandt, a vice president at Mastercard. "But after I did the first pump, I asked Tiger, 'Did I get that right?' And he said, 'You got the first part right' -- making the putt."








Despite handicap, Buckeyes coach Matta presses on, stays active
Jeff Goodman
BOSTON -- No one notices the special chair that rests a few inches higher than the remainder of the coaching staff, the black brace concealed underneath his pant leg or even the limp that is rarely noticeable while he walks up and down the sideline in front of the bench. No one is aware of the days when Ohio State coach Thad Matta's two daughters had to yank off his sneakers, how he is laid out, relegated flat in his bed following a game or a recruiting trip, and how he cannot lift a suitcase or take out the garbage.
Matta's life changed on June 16, 2007.
"I just tell them it's a sprained ankle if they ask," he said.
But Matta is handicapped, or "handi-capable" as he like to call it.
The back pain began when he was 15 and resulted in a trip to the Mayo Clinic. His first surgical procedure came shortly thereafter. However, Matta managed to battle through it as a teenager, played college basketball and even participating in marathons and triathlons. Matta's wife, Barbara, was well aware that stress made the back pain worsen -- ever since they met at Butler in the late 1980s. His playing career ended in February of his senior season when his back gave out and he was sprawled on the Kiel Auditorium court in St. Louis.
There were times when it got "crooked" and he would need medication, massages -- or a combination of both. Shortly after the Buckeyes' Final Four run in 2007, where Ohio State lost to Florida in the national title game, Matta was on the golf course when his back gave out following a routine swing.
"He couldn't walk," Barbara Matta said. "The disc was pushing on the nerve. We took him to the hospital it was so bad."
Two days later, Matta underwent four hours of surgery.
Matta and his wife were informed the odds were about 200,000-to-1 that something could go wrong. He was the one.
Matta woke up and couldn't move his right foot. He had "foot drop," which meant his foot literally flopped over and had no support or stability.
"They told me it should come back in a couple days," Matta said. "Then it was a couple weeks, then months and then years. They knew it wasn't coming back."
So too, after a while, did Matta.
"I came to that realization," he said. "But it took a while."
Matta, with no use of his right foot and barely able to walk, traveled with his family to New York City less than two weeks later to support Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. at the NBA Draft.
A couple weeks later, the night before the start of the all-important July recruiting period, when coaches are able to watch the top high school players from around the country, Matta went to grab his toothbrush out of the bottom of a cabinet, rolled his ankle and thought he broke it. While on the road, saddled with a cane, the ankle swelled up, became black and blue, and Matta beckoned the pilots to take him back to Columbus.
Then came the surgery performed by Dr. Antonio Chiocca on Aug. 1, 2007, in an attempt to save the foot.
"We tried to clean up the nerves to see if we could give him a chance of getting better," Chiocca said. "But it didn't work."
Matta wasn't allowed to drive. That's when he was given the ankle-foot brace orthosis that enables him to walk without dragging his foot. He's got about 15 of them, just in case he misplaces a couple.
He constantly falls while getting dressed because of the difficulty balancing on one leg. He even had to attend handicapped driving school, but probably the most difficult aspect of this was it occurred back when his two daughters, Ali and Emily, were 7 and 8 years old. Matta wasn't able to pick them up or even put them on his lap, so he wound up reading more books and playing more board games with them.
"They wanted to be on Daddy's lap," Barbara Matta said. "And Daddy wanted them."
"That was brutal," Thad added. "Not being able to pick them up. They're older now, but that was difficult after it first happened."
But Matta rarely looks in the mirror and feels sorry for himself. Although, Chiocca has been instructed him to spend much of practice in a chair that sits in the middle of the court, the chair is almost always empty. During games, Matta roams the sidelines -- wearing black tennis shoes -- with a slight limp. However, few are aware of his condition.
"His close friends," Barbara Matta said. "But it's not like he hides it, either."
"We've kept it quiet," Thad Matta added. "I have a new sense and appreciation for handicapped people."
Matta went out on the football field -- in shorts and with his black brace -- in front of 100,000 fans. On Wednesday afternoon, a day before the Buckeyes' Sweet 16 contest against Cincinnati, Matta took the court in Boston for an open practice wearing shorts -- and his brace clearly visible.
"It's not as if he's ashamed of it, but he's a private person, so that's why he hasn't told people," Barbara Matta said.
Matta is ready to disclose his condition to the world. His close friends are aware. Former assistant Sean Miller, now the head coach at Arizona, said Matta was one of the most AVID workout guys he knew before the surgery.
"He'd run eight miles a day," Miller said. "We'd run around the tennis court when we were at Xavier and he'd be two laps ahead of me. He was the most physically fit guy I've ever been around in my entire life. To see him not be able to do those things anymore is incredible. It's hard for me to see it, but he's handled it so well. Very few people could have handled it like Thad has."
Matta still does as much as possible to remain in shape. He tries to spend 40 minutes a day on the elliptical and lifts light weights, but it's nothing compared to the old days -- when on his birthday, he would try and run a mile in five minutes plus his age (in seconds).
"It is what it is. It's the hand I've been dealt," Matta said. "It's definitely affected my mobility, but I can't let it completely change my life. I've never really asked, 'Why me?' "
Ohio State senior guard William Buford and the rest of his teammates rarely, if ever, hear Matta talk about his foot.
"I've never heard him mention it," Buford said. "He's never complained about it. Not once. Not to have any feeling in your foot, it sucks."
"You can tell it bothers him sometimes, but he never brings it up," sophomore Aaron Craft added. "The only time he does is when we talk about being sore, he says how we have no idea. But he doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for him."
Matta is 44 years old and is in his eighth season as the head coach at Ohio State. He has a 219-64 career mark in Columbus, has seven years left on his contract and said this won't alter how long he winds up staying with the Buckeyes.
"The biggest fear you have is being debilitated," Matta said. "I'd like to see 50 or 55. Quite honestly, when you've got a staff like I do, it makes things easier. This is a tough job, but I enjoy what I do."
Matta gets an aisle seat, one that is able to recline completely, on charter flights. He has his own chair down at the Peach Jam event in Augusta, Ga., in which he's down the far end in hopes of avoiding any potential collisions. There are still injections, muscle activation training and days when he has difficulty getting out of bed. There was some discussion about a nerve transplant in another country, but he has opted against it.
Every now and then, Matta still gets that burning sensation down the side of his right calf. He used to get excited, run into the trainer in hopes maybe feeling was coming back.
Nowadays, he knows what it means.
"It would be a miracle," Chiocca admitted.
"I know I'm not getting it back," Matta added. "And I'm OK with it now."







Ohio is more than just Buckeye State
By Jason King
Before he joined Ohio State's basketball team in Boston for the Sweet 16, Buckeyes athletic director Gene Smith spent the early portions of the week traveling throughout the state for business meetings.
"Everywhere I went, all anyone wanted to talk about was the NCAA tournament," Smith said. "There's a tremendous amount of basketball pride in this state."
Especially this week.
The NCAA-title-contending Buckeyes may be the state's most popular program -- but they're far from the only reason Ohio citizens from city to city are strutting around with their chests puffed out.
For the first time in history, four of the 16 teams remaining in the NCAA tournament are from the same state.
Not North Carolina, where Tobacco Road is lined with some of the most tradition-rich programs in the country. Not Texas, Florida or California -- huge states with more than enough Division I prospects to fill out the rosters at the large number of nearby universities.
No, the first state to ever have four teams advance to the Sweet 16 is Ohio, where nearly every resident will have a team to root for this weekend. Ohio State and Cincinnati face off Thursday in Boston. Approximately 30 minutes after Xavier plays Baylor in Atlanta on Friday, Ohio will play North Carolina in St. Louis.
"There are so many great institutions here," Smith said. "Everyone is connected to one of them."
Other states have had three teams reach the NCAA tournament's second weekend, the last one being Tennessee in 2007.
But the fact that Ohio touts 25 percent of the Sweet 16 field clearly makes it the country's best basketball state in 2011-12. Heck, even the schools that didn't make the tournament had banner seasons, as Cleveland State, Akron, Kent State and Dayton all won at least 20 games.
Satisfying as it's been, people in the state's basketball inner circles struggle to pinpoint one, underlying reason for the success.
"The fact that four Ohio teams are in the Sweet 16 is probably just a coincidence," said Quentin Rogers, who coaches an Ohio Red squad which has won four AAU national titles in the past five years.
"It's just one of those years where the ball happened to bounce our way."
People such as Rogers deserve credit for at least some of Ohio's success. Rogers coached four Ohio State players -- sophomores Jared Sullinger, Aaron Craft, Jordan Sibert and J.D. Weatherspoon -- on the same AAU squad.
He obviously helped prepare them for the college level.
Sullinger and Craft both started as freshmen.
"Things like this are cyclical, but Ohio has clearly taken a step forward," Cleveland State coach Gary Waters said. "Players are much more prepared when they get to college. The coaching they're getting is strong, both at the AAU level and the high school level."
Still, it would be misleading to insinuate that Ohio products are the sole reason for the success of these four programs.




There are a combined 16 Ohio natives on the rosters of the state's four Sweet 16 teams. Ohio State and Ohio University each have six. There are two at Xavier and Cincinnati, one of which is standout forward Yancy Gates.
That means factors other than homegrown talent have come into play: passionate fan bases which produce sellout crowds, athletic departments that make financial commitments to each program and -- more than anything -- four really, really good coaches.
Instead of letting a December brawl with Xavier ruin his team's season, Cincinnati's Mick Cronin turned in one of the best coaching jobs in the nation by leading the Bearcats to a fourth-place finish in the Big East. Xavier went the opposite direction for most of the season under coach Chris Mack before rediscovering itself in March.
Ohio's John Groce may be sought after by bigger schools during the offseason after leading the Bobcats to the MAC tournament title and a victory over No. 4 seed Michigan during the NCAA's opening weekend.
Groce was an assistant under Ohio State coach Thad Matta both with the Buckeyes and at Xavier, where Matta coached before moving to Columbus.
"Thad doesn't think of it this way," XU athletic director Mike Bobinski said, "but his hand is over a lot of what goes on in our program. He got the ball rolling back in 2001 and we just built on it."
Cronin and Mack both have long-standing ties to the state. They were each born in Ohio and are coaching at their alma maters.
"We all think it's a pretty cool thing," Bobinski said. "There are so many common threads between the four programs. We're only four miles away from Cincinnati. We've always been proud of the basketball that's been played here in Cincinnati. Then you've got the Thad Matta connection to us and Ohio and now at Ohio State.
"There are a lot of things that go into this that make it really unique and really interesting. Then, if you go out a little bit further, you've got Kentucky and Indiana and Louisville in the Sweet 16, too. They're all a short drive away.
"It says a lot about what college basketball means in this area."
The question now is, how long it will continue?
Ohio University has a tough draw with No. 1 seed North Carolina, but Xavier has a good chance of defeating Baylor on Friday. And whoever wins Thursday's showdown between Cincinnati and Ohio State will have a legitimate shot of reaching the Final Four.
Rogers, the AAU coach, would love to be in Boston to watch the game. But he has another commitment.
"I've got a new young crop of kids I've got to coach in a tournament," he said. "You'll be hearing some of their names soon. Trust me."

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Cabrera Takes a Grounder Off the Face - 16 things you need to know about the Sweet-16


Miguel Cabrera gushes blood after taking grounder off face (Video)





Everybody's going to point and snicker and say, "And that's why Miguel Cabrera shouldn't be playing third base," after the Detroit Tigers slugger took a grounder off his face Monday.
Everybody should cool it. Cabrera has been receiving a lot of attention (medical and otherwise) after the impact of a grounder hitting just below his right eye caused profuse bleeding, prompting him to leave a Grapefruit League game against the Phillies. Cabrera's eye seemed to be OK, but he was taken to a hospital, reportedly for stitches and X-rays.
As the video replay appears to show, Hunter Pence hit a sharp grounder that bounced off the lip of the infield dirt, taking a bad hop, hitting Cabrera in the right cheek after shattering a lens of his sunglasses. (Perhaps a cut by the plastic is what caused the blood.) Regardless, it's a play that could happen to anyone, even a great third baseman. Even someone who isn't a great third baseman but still has great hand/eye coordination like Cabrera does.
Cabrera hasn't played third regularly since the first weeks of the 2008 season, when he was so bad that Tigers manager Jim Leyland moved him to first base. But because of Prince Fielder's arrival and other roster-wide limitations, the Tigers are asking Cabrera to move back to his old position. To his credit, Cabrera has answered the call by slimming down and trying his best enthusiastically.
Perhaps it's not the best solution, especially for the likes of pitchers Doug Fister and Rick Porcello, who will rely on their defense more than other pitchers. And maybe the Tigers won't use Cabrera that much at third by the time the season is said and done.
But sometimes a bad hop is just a bad hop. Flukes happen at first base, too. The Tigers can't use nine DHs, no matter how much they might want to.



16 things you need to know about the Sweet-16
Troy Machir

1. Mid-Major Madness?
Mid-major teams are just 32-53 in Sweet-16 games since 1985. The most success by mid-majors came last year, when five small-conference schools made the Sweet-16 and two of them advanced to the Elite Eight and eventually the Final Four. Xavier and Ohio are the only mid-majors in the Sweet-16 this season. This is Xavier’s fourth Sweet-16 appearance since 2008, but had never been seeded lower than sixth. Only five mid-major teams seeded No.10 or higher have advanced past the Sweet-16 since 200.

2. Lower Seeds Struggle
Since 1985, teams seeded No.10 and higher have gone just 13-46. Only two No.14-seeds have made the Sweet-16 (Chattanooga – ’97 and Cleveland State – ’86), and both teams lost. Three No.13-seeds have made the Sweet-16 and all three (Bradley – ’06, Valparaiso – ’98, and Richmond – ’88) lost. Since 2000, teams seeded No.10 or lower have won just six times, and have lost 20 out of 26 games. This season there are three teams seeded No.10 or lower competing in the Sweet-16. This is also the third consecutive year that three teams seeded No.10 or lower have advanced to the Sweet-16. The most teams seeded No.10 or lower to ever compete in the Sweet-16 in one season was four back in 1999.

3. Straight Chalk
This is just the seventh time since 2000 that all No.1-seeds have advanced to the Sweet-16. Since 2010, only six No.1-seeds have advanced to the Sweet-16, and of that group, only three teams advanced to the Elite Eight.

4. Four Alive in Ohio
For the first time in tournament history, four teams from one state have advanced to the Sweet-16. No.2 Ohio State, No.6 Cincinnati, No.10 Xavier, and No.13 Ohio all advanced to the Sweet-16. Cincinnati and Ohio State will face-off in an interstate battle to determine one of the Elite Eight teams from the East region.

5. No Fives Alive
This is the first time since 1992 that no No.5-seeds have advanced to the Sweet-16. Only two No.5-seeds advanced to the Round of 32 this year, and both teams, New Mexico and Vanderbilt, lost.

6. The Scores
In 1988, No.1-seed Oklahoma set a Sweet-16 record by scoring 108 points against No.5-seed Louisville. The final score was 108-98, which is the Sweet-16 record for most combined points scored in one game. The least amount of points scored by one team in a Sweet-16 game was 43, set by No.5-seed Maryland back in 1985 and by No.10-seed Miami (OH) in 1999. Maryland lost to No.8-seed Villanova by a final score of 46-43, which still stands as a Sweet-16 record for the fewest combined points scored in one game. The largest point differential in a Sweet-16 game was recorded in 2009 when No.1 Louisville defeated No.12 Arizona by 39 points, in a 103-64 blowout.

7. The West Was Not Won
No teams from the Mountain and Pacific time zones are in the Sweet-16. Only three teams from the two time zones made the Round of 32 and all three teams lost. Baylor is the Western-most team remaining in the tournament.

8. The Rematch
No.1-seed Kentucky and No.4-seed Indiana meet in a rematch of their instant classic from December 10, when Christian Watford hit a buzzer-beater to defeat the Wildcats 73-72. The game will take place in Atlanta on Friday at 9:45PM. This is the only tournament game thus far that has been a rematch of a regular season game.

9. High School Sweethearts
18 different high schools have more than one former-player on Sweet-16 roster. The Brewster Academy has five former-players still standing, the most of any high school.

10. State’s Rights
The state of Indiana has more players competing in the Sweet-16 than any other state. 25 Indiana-natives still have a chance to cut down the nets in New Orleans. Ohio has the second-most representatives with 23, and North Carolina has 18. In all, 36 different states have representatives on Sweet-16 rosters.

11. The Wolf Pack is Back
This is the first time since 1985 that North Carolina State has advanced further in the tournament than Duke. This is just NC-State’s first Sweet-16 appearance since 2005 when they were a No.10-seed. Overall, NC-State is 2-2 in Sweet-16 games since 1985.

12. No Home-Court Advantage Out West
The West Regional in Phoenix, AZ will have no teams participating that are located within 1,500 miles of the arena. Marquette and Louisville are both located roughly 1,700 miles away, while Michigan State is 1,900 miles away and Florida over 2,000 miles away. The three other Regional sites have at least one participating team that is located with-in 500 miles of the arena.

13. Bobcats are Lucky No.13
Ohio has made the NCAA five different times, once as a No.12-seed, twice as a No.13-seed and twice as a No.14-seed. They have won as many games in the 2012 NCAA tournament as they have in their entire tournament history. They become just the fifth No.13-seed to make the Sweet-16, and if they can beat No.1-seed UNC, will become the first No.13-seed to ever advance to the Elite Eight.

14. The Six-Game Streak
14 of the 16 remaining teams will not play for the 2012 National Championship. Since 2002, Every National Champion has compiled two regular season win streaks of at least five games and has advanced to the semifinals of their conference tournament. Of the 16 remaining teams, three teams (Marquette, Indiana and North Carolina State) do not meet the requirements.

15. No No.15-seeds in Sweet-16
This was the first time in Tournament history that two No.15-seeds had advanced to the Round of 32, but thanks to Xavier and Florida, this will be the 27th consecutive year that a No.15-seed has be absent from the Sweet-16.

16. 16 Teams Remain, But There Is Only One Kentucky
Of the 16 remaining teams, Kentucky is the overwhelming favorite to cut down the nets iN New Orleans. The odds of them winning the entire tournament from here on out are at a staggering 9-5. Only the Florida Gators have a larger average margin of victory (30) than the Wildcats (15.5). But the Wildcats defeated the Gators three times during the regular season with a an 12.6 point margin of victory average.