Sports News and Notes:
Vol. III
Apr 1st, 2009
By D. Goard Jr.
d_goardjr@urbanpeephole.com

In My Mind… 

Where do I begin? There have been some pretty interesting things that have been going on lately. Who made it to the Final Four? What’s going on with the Kentucky Basketball program? Why did Ryan Moats get pulled over? What’s the latest on Terrell Owens, Antonio Margarito’s secret weapon? And more… 

Final Four

We’re now down to the final four teams in the NCAA tournament. Now, I’ll admit that this isn’t the four teams I predicted, but they all took care of the business they needed to make it to Detroit. These teams are led by very experienced coaches. In fact, with the exception of Villanova’s Jay Wright, the field consists of coaches who have won at least 1 NCAA championship. Here’s the final four: 

Midwest: Michigan State Spartans

While the state of Michigan has been hit hard due to the economy, the Spartans should give them something to smile about. Tom Izzo coaches a very disciplined team that has great fundamentals. The Big Ten player of the year, Kalin Lucas and Goran Suton pretty much lead the charge. Not the best scoring team, but they always seem to be in a position to win due to great defense, rebounding and taking care of the basketball. The reason I didn’t initially pick the Spartans to make it to the Final Four, is because they don’t really have a go-to player. They have a great all-around team, but not many superstars. In the end, team chemistry and the fact that different players have stepped up every night for them is the reason they made it here. 

West- Connecticut Huskies

This season has been a roller coaster ride for the Huskies. They were a mainstay in the top 5 regular season rankings for most of the year, but could never quite put it all together. Losing shooting guard Jerome Dyson earlier in the season to injury was a huge blow to the team. However, point guard A.J Price and center Hasheem Thabeet have keep them rolling. I had the Memphis Tigers coming out of the West region, but they ended up getting eliminated by Missouri. I thought the Memphis defense and athleticism would win out but it obviously didn’t turn out that way. If A.J Price can keep playing at a high level, the Huskies definitely have a chance at a championship. 

East- Villanova Wildcats

Villanova is a great team that has been overshadowed by teams like Pittsburgh and Louisville in the Big East conference. I guess coach Jay Wright may end up with the last laugh because they are one of four still standing. The Wildcats are battle tested and are very tough and scrappy team. They remind me of a rugged, inner city high school team who just isn’t afraid of anybody. Big man Dante Cunningham is tough and athletic and point guard Scottie Reynolds is a big-time scorer who scored 40 points in a game earlier this season. I picked Pittsburgh to come out of this region because even though Villanova has great guards, I didn’t think they had the “Bigs” to get it done.  

South- North Carolina Tar Heels

At least I got one right. The Tar Heels were my pick and probably a lot others pick as well to win the South. As I’ve stated before, this may be the most talented team in the field. When you combine a team full of future NBA pros and combine that with experience and good coaching, it usually turns out well. The healthy return of Tywon Lawson has paid huge dividends for the Heels. With so many weapons such as Tyler Hanbrough and Wayne Ellington, it’s no surprise North Carolina has been on such a roll. Now I’m not the one to switch picks or anything, since I initially picked the Pittsburgh Panthers to win it all, but Carolina is looking very tough to beat right now.  

Celebration in Lexington


Kentucky Wildcat fans are celebrating right now and for good reason, they may have found their answer at head coach. Former Memphis head coach John Calipari has agreed to a new 8-year deal worth approximately $32 million which would make him the highest paid coach in college basketball history. He replaces former coach Billy Gillespie, who left after only 2 years on the job. Gillespie probably best known for taking Texas A&M to the sweet sixteen in 06-07 and also was also a former assistant for current Kansas coach Bill Self that were responsible for some of the top recruiting classes in Illinois that included Dee Brown, Luther Head and NBA all-star Deron Williams. 

I personally think Gillespie was not given a fair chance after such a short tenure. I think he is a good coach and should have no problem landing elsewhere, but going 40-27 in 2 years isn’t going to cut it in Lexington. He couldn’t handle the expectations that were put on him. You have to understand that Kentucky isn’t your ordinary college basketball fan base. Think Alabama football or The New York Yankees. They expect to win every game! They expect championships. They play in a $30 million dollar practice facility. They’ve been spoiled by the greatness of former head coaches Rick Pitino and the late Adolph Rupp. 

Enter John Calapari. He is one of the few coaches out there that has the charisma and moxie to deal with the high expectations from the media and the Wildcats rabid fan base. When times get tough, he’s able to take all the criticism and put everyone at ease. He may not be the best X’s and O’s coach, but in my opinion, he’s the best recruiter in the country. Who else is going to get the top three recruits in the 2009 class to come to Memphis? He doesn’t have the resources that North Carolina and UCLA have. He plays a wide open style of offense and pressure defense that appeals to many high school prospects. He also has not only coached in the NBA before, but knows what it takes to get there because he has sent plenty of his players to the league. It remains to be seen if those talented recruits will follow Calipari but regardless, expect Kentucky to reclaim their spot at the top with the other college basketball elites. 

Missing from Minicamp? 

Now, I’m not the biggest Terrell Owens fan, but I honestly can’t deny the fact that he is a flat out playmaker. Sure, he’s a diva and whines a lot, but he’ll go down as one of the best wide receivers to play the game. When it was reported that he didn’t show up for voluntary mini-camp, I thinking, here we go again. Come to find out, he was actually accepting an award for charity work he has done. So, the more I thought about it, T.O. has never been to a voluntary team workout. He keeps himself in great physical condition and happens to have his own personal trainer. He has a vigorous workout routine that would rival anyone’s in the league. Now, should he be at mini-camp with his new teammates…yes, but I guess if T.O. comes to mandatory training camp in great shape, and continues to make plays, what can you say? 

Too little….Too late


While there are plenty of positive topics to talk about, this certainly doesn’t fall in that category. Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats was recently informed about his mother-in-law who happened to be suffering from breast cancer. Doctors told him the cancer had a taken quite a turn for the worst and it was critical that he and his wife Tamisha get there as quickly as possible. So they did what anyone else would have done and rushed to the hospital.  

Now before I go on, let me say first that I think being a police officer is the hardest job in America. They have to come to the aid of citizens no matter what the situation is; Murder scenes, robberies and all types of domestic disputes. So, Ryan Moats and his wife were pulled over outside the hospital by Dallas police officer Robert Powell. They apparently ran a red light rushing to get over there be by the side of their loved one. The couple pleaded with the officer that they had a family emergency, but Powell paid no mind. He ordered them out of the vehicle with his gun out even though Moats was not armed. Tamisha Moats walked off anyway and went to her mother’s side while her husband was still be being detained. Ryan Moats pleaded with the officer to just give him a traffic ticket and to let him go, but had no luck. Even the nurses from the hospital begged the officer to let Ryan go. Powell continued to check for other warrants and even threatened to tow his car and take him to jail. When Moats was finally let go, his mother-in-law had already passed away.  

I felt terrible when I heard this. How can a simple traffic violation be more important than someone’s life? What if this happened to me or any of your families?  A few days later officer Powell issued an apology in which Moats reportedly accepted. I must say he’s a better man than me because what he did was uncalled for. This type of behavior has no place in our society. I think the only reason he even apologized is because the situation became so public. Officer Powell, if you’re listening, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Hands of stone 

I’m going to turn my attention to boxing for a second to talk about former welterweight (147 lbs) champion, Antonio Margarito. Nicknamed the “Tijuana Tornado”, Margarito, at one time was one of the most feared men in the sport. Not the most technical boxer, but his height and reach for a welterweight (5-11), his desire and punching power made him a difficult match-up for many boxers. No one really wanted to fight him.

How much was he feared? Even one of boxing’s biggest stars, Floyd “Money” Mayweather turned down the opportunity. Mayweather was offered $8 million to fight Margarito and instead decided to fight Zab Judah for $4 million. Finally the up and coming Miguel Cotto took his challenge, but was no match for Margarito as he crushed the undefeated Cotto, giving him his first loss. 

What’s his method to success? In a recent bout with savvy veteran Shane Mosley, Mosley’s trainer Nasim Richardson watched Margarito get his hands taped before the fight and noticed something wasn’t right. There was a plaster type substance on the wraps of Margarito’s hands and Richardson had it investigated. As boxing officials looked on, his hands were re-wrapped and went on to fight Mosley. Margarito ended up losing a very lop-sided fight, prompting the referee to stop the fight in the ninth round. He had never lost in that type fashion, prompting everyone to think that maybe he’d been cheating this whole time. 

Margarito was then suspended from boxing professionally anywhere in America for a year and while he does have the option of fighting in his native Mexico, he lost a lot of respect in the boxing world because of the investigation. I wonder how long this has been going on? When he fought Miguel Cotto, it looked like Cotto got hit by a bus after the fight. Maybe it’s because he was hit repeatedly with “concrete” punches. 

A few other things… 

“Jay Cutler is our Quarterback”… Those were the words of new Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels while commenting on the future of the franchise. McDaniels obviously is trying to get back in good graces with his star QB, but the damage may already be done. The Broncos have decided to go ahead and grant Cutler his wish by trading him to another team. So I guess that means Jay Cutler could be my quarterback. Maybe even your quarterback.  

Michael Vick is scheduled to be released from prison this summer. He did the crime, did the time and should be able to move on with his life, hopefully in the NFL. However, in a recent court filing for his bankruptcy case he said he hopes to resume his career and earn a substantial living at $10 million a year. Seriously?! Based on what? Mike Vick must have bumped his head while in jail. I think he eventually plays in the league again, but it’s no way an NFL team pays him that type of money right out of the slammer.  

Seth Curry, the younger brother of Davidson All-American guard Stephen Curry has decided to transfer. He led the Liberty Flames in scoring at 20.6 pts a game which is also tops for all freshmen this year. Wanting a higher level of competition, he will transfer to play for the Duke Blue Devils in the ACC. It’s a win-win for both sides because Curry will get more exposure and it gives Duke the star power they’ve been looking for. Due to NCAA rules, he has to sit out a year due to the transfer, but it should be well worth the wait. 



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