Sports News and Notes:
Vol. IV

Apr 8th, 2009
By D. Goard Jr.
d_goardjr@urbanpeephole.com

In My Mind… 

Greetings sports world! I’m back again for some great updates this time around. Which men and women’s NCAA team cut down the nets this year? Did Jay Cutler finally get his wish? New NBA Hall of Fame inductees and a preview of the up coming baseball season and more…

Last Man Standing

Congratulations to the 2009 NCAA champion North Carolina Tar Heels. They defeated the Michigan State Spartans 89-72 in front of a very pro-Spartan crowd at Ford Field in Detroit. It seemed like the Tar Heels were in control pretty much the whole game, even though the Spartans tried to make a run late in the second half. In the end, Carolina just had way too much fire power. Even MSU head coach Tom Izzo admitted before the game that if everything played out equal, the Tar Heels would probably pull it out. Therefore, MSU would have to play almost perfect. Ty Lawson was amazing and sharp shooting guard Wayne Ellington won the Most Outstanding Player award for his great play. I expect most of this team to enter the NBA draft later this year, leaving a lot of inexperience, but this is a team that rarely re-builds and seems to just re-load.  

Michigan State fans
 shouldn’t hold their head down for long. True, they lose team leader Travis Walton and a lot of size losing Goran Suton, Idong Ibok and Marquise Gray, but have a lot of returning talent. The Spartans will have a great nucleus with Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, Raymar Morgan, and Delvon Roe. A preseason top-10 pick for next year in my opinion.

Perfection

Wow. Congrats to the Connecticut Women’s basketball team on winning the title this year. They defeated the Louisville Cardinals 76-54 in St. Louis, Missouri. The game was never really close and that went for pretty much all of the lady Huskies games this year. There was nobody that even ended up within 10 points of any game. Sure, there were other great teams such as the 02’ U Conn team with Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird, and Swin Cash. Then of course the 98’ Tennessee team led by Chamique Holdsclaw and Tamika Catchings, who gets my vote for the best team of all time, but there’s a difference between best and dominant. This year’s U Conn team is the most dominant team I’ve ever seen in women’s basketball. There was never a time were there was as much space between one team and the rest of the field. They have the best point guard in the country, Renee’ Montgomery, the best wing and also best overall player in Maya Moore and arguably the best center in Tina Charles. Add in Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma and you have perfection.

MLB Preview

O.K. baseball fans, this past week the 2009 Major League Baseball season got underway. There were a lot of free-agent acquisitions this off-season moves that should make it a very interesting year. I know it’s still early but here are my early predictions for this up coming season. 
  

AL East- New York Yankees

I think this year they may finally do it. They’ve been slowed up by the Boston Red Sox the last few years, who has had their number. I love the new acquisitions of Mark Teixeira and C.C. Sabathia. They Yankees always have had the star power, now they just need the team chemistry to put them over the top.

AL Central- Cleveland Indians

Losing C.C Sabathia was a huge loss, but 2008 CY Young winner Cliff Lee should easily be able to move to that #1 spot in the rotation. They also signed pitcher Kerry Wood, who was very highly regarded before injuries slowed him down, limiting him to a closing role. Centerfielder Grady Sizemore is one of game’s brightest young stars and should have a breakout season.

AL West- Anaheim Angels

This may not be the most competitive division but the Angels will be tough team to deal with. They feature three all-star outfielders in Bobby Abreu, Vlad Guerrero and Torii Hunter. First baseman Jason Giambi and the Oakland Athletics could make it interesting, but I still like the Angels to come out of the West. 

AL MVP- Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians

To me, it going to be close between Sizemore and the Yankees Mark Teixeira, but I think Sizemore pulls it out. Don’t get me wrong, Teixeira should put up huge numbers in New York, but Sizemore has to do more with less talent around him.

AL CY Young- C.C Sabathia, New York Yankees

This is another close call between Toronto’s Roy Halladay and the Yankee’s C.C. Sabathia. Halladay has been one of the league’s most consistent pitchers but Sabathia is going to be tough this year. Possessing one of the best the fastballs in the league, combined with a lot of big “bats” in the line-up should make things easier for him.  

NL East- New York Mets

The Mets have plenty of talent to go around with Shortstop Jose Reyes, Centerfielder Carlos Beltran and also First baseman Carlos Delgado. They have great pitching with Johan Santana and are going to score a lot of runs this year in a very competitive NL East.

NL Central- Chicago Cubs

Chicago is loaded this year with Left fielder Alfonso Soriano, Right Fielder Milton Bradley and First Baseman Derrek Lee. Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals could make things interesting, but I like Chicago to win it. Hopefully the Cubs can shake the curse and finally win the big one this year.

NL West- L.A. Dodgers

It’s all about Manny in Los Angeles this year. It was very critical that they re-signed him to and extension this offseason. It’s simple, if Manny plays well, the Dodgers will be a threat, if he doesn’t, then I guess you know the rest.  

NL MVP- Manny Ramirez, L.A Dodgers

Manny is the best right-handed hitter in the game and one of the best offensive players I’ve seen in a long time. If he can keep his head straight and focus on the task at hand, I think the award is his to lose.

NL CY Young- Johan Santana, New York Mets

Johan Santana just might be the best young pitcher we have in the league. The Mets should win a lot of games this year and Johan will be a big reason why.  

Cincinnati to Tucson?

Xavier Head coach Sean Miller will pack his bags and move to Tucson, Arizona to become the new men’s basketball coach. He was offered the job last week and turned it down, only to go back and accept the offer a few days later. Miller faced a tough decision to leave just as his good friend John Calipari experienced a week prior before leaving for Kentucky. It’s hard to leave a place when you build something and watch it succeed as Miller did at Xavier. But there are certain jobs out there that you just can’t say no to and Arizona happens to be one of them.

I think this is great fit for the Wildcats, bringing in a young, feisty head coach who has proven to be a winner in his short, but successful coaching career. It remains to be seen if he will still imply the same up-tempo system as Hall of Fame head coach Lute Olson did, but should still be competitive either way. It seems like lately the Xavier basketball program has seen a lot of good coaches come and go through their program such as the late Skipp Prosser to Wake Forest, Thad Matta to Ohio State, and now Sean Miller to Arizona.  

Ask and you Shall Receive

Quarterback Jay Cutler has been traded to the Chicago Bears. Everyone knew he wanted to be traded but it was just a matter of when and what team. From the Bears point of view, they apparently got tired of flip-flopping quarterbacks and went after a bonafide starter. Cutler is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and should make the Bears a serious threat in the NFC Central. Even though they got the player they wanted, they gave up way too much in my opinion. They ended up giving two first round picks, a third round pick and also QB Kyle Orton.

The Denver Broncos came away as the Victors in this transaction. Sure, they lose a pro-bowl quarterback, but they get a serviceable one with Kyle Orton. Orton actually had some games last season where he put up good numbers and had the Bears playing good football. They then help solidify their future by getting two first round picks and a third round pick which should equal out to 3 more starters in the line-up. Unless Denver totally blows these draft picks, I think the Broncos got the better of the deal.  

Only the Best

The Basketball Hall of Fame introduced 5 new inductees in this year’s class. I know a lot of topics in sports are up for debate, but some of these are as clear cut as it gets.  

Michael Jordan

I mean really, was there any doubt? This is the first time he has been eligible for the Hall and there was no debate about this one. The greatest basketball player in NBA history finally gets his due. His work ethic, drive and talent level was the best I’ve ever seen. 6 championships and multiple scoring awards and other personal achievements made this one easy.

David Robinson

One of the “good guys” in the NBA, Robinson was a leader on and off the court. After his college career at the Naval Academy, he went on to win two NBA championships, had 10 all-star appearances and an MVP all with the San Antonio Spurs.

John Stockton

A master of the pick and roll, John Stockton was one of the game’s best point guards in league history. He is the all-time leader in assists and steals, while helping to make the Jazz a perennial playoff team in the Western Conference.

Jerry Sloan

In an era where NBA coaches are in and out of jobs like a revolving door, Sloan has been a mainstay in Utah for 21 years. No coach in any major league sport has been with the same team as long as he has. Sloan is a tough hard nosed coach whose key to success has been discipline and execution.

Vivian Stringer

Vivian Stringer has led 3 different teams to the Final Four in her 38-year career. She is third on the all time wins list behind Tennessee’s Pat Summit and Texas Head Coach Jody Conradt. She most recently led Rutgers to the Final Four in 2007. 

A few more things... 

Plaxico Burress was recently cut from the New York Giants. He’s got a lot of legal woes going on right now and I think the Giants got tired of dealing with it. It’s sad, because on the field, Plax is definitely one on the best wide receivers in the NFL. There are early rumors of him maybe ending up in Chicago to team up with new quarterback, Jay Cutler. Stay Tuned... 

Courtney Paris, the All-American center for the Oklahoma Sooner women’s basketball team is now in debt. Paris, a daughter of former San Francisco 49ers lineman Bubba Paris, told the home crowd at senior day that she guaranteed they would win a championship. If not, she would pay back every dime of her athletic scholarship that was awarded to her. The Sooners started off well, but went on to lose to Louisville in the Final Four. Paris was recently interviewed and said they she “would make good” on her debt. Sooner fans should appreciate someone being so competitive, especially someone who has dominated women’s basketball the last four years.
  

There were a few NCAA players to declare for the draft, but none bigger than Blake Griffin. We all knew it was coming; it was just a matter of when. Most likely the #1 pick in this year’s draft, he combines a high skill level and a high motor to go along with it. I personally would love to see him land in Oklahoma City. Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green equal playoffs in the near future.



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