Lets Go In-Game Blogging...again

Sick opening put together by ESPN. Showing some great shots of our fine University. I love KU Hoops in HD. Sorry Football fans, KU is and will always be a Basketball school. Well, we are back giving this another try tonight. It worked well last time out and it was a KU laugher. Ron Franklin and Jay Bilas on the call. Lets see how many times ole' Ronnie boy can mis sthe action and get players names wrong. My man isn't what he used to be, but still has the good pipes.

8:01 Ron Franklin just spoke of Arizona missing their head coach "Lou" Olson. Rod Stewart still in the starting lineup, Rush coming off the bench. Eagerly anticipating Sasha Kaun's foul trouble.

8:06 Darrell Arthur in the posts, bowls over Jordan Hill for a charge. We still haven't scored. 4-0 Arizona.

8:07 My first sighting of Arizona assistant coach Miles Simon. Also known as my most hated player in my college basketball life. Foul #2 on Jordan Hill as Shady scores.

8:09 Russell Robinson a sick crossover and dish to Sasha for the "thunder jam."

8:10 Brandon Rush enters the game. Within 30 seconds, Rush hits a three and a layup off a steal. Think he makes a difference? Timeout Arizona. Ron Franklin says "its a 9-0 run by the Wildcats." It was time to retire five years ago Ronnie. 9-4 KU.

8:12 Darnell Jackson buries his first jumper. I get my first partial of the evening. 11-4. Under 11 TV timeout.

8:15 Shady puts up a serious brick from just inside the three point arc. Luckily, AZ turns it right back over. Rod Stewart scores off a Rush airball. 15-7 Hawks. The BCS standings just flash on the bottom of the screen. Missouri is #1. I just threw up in my mouth. West Virginia is #2, followed by Ohio State and Georgia. The Bulldogs are the best team of that bunch.

8:19 Bill Self hi-lo action at its finest. D-Jack hits Shady for his signature jump hook. 20-9, under 11 TV timeout. Arizona has seven turnover already and looks weak. It could be our swarming D.

8:23 Our first Cole Aldrich sighting. A sideline shot of bitterman Kevin O'Neill on the Arizona sideline. He is a red-ass in a sweet suit.

8:25 Bret Breilmeier basket an one for Arizona. I see he is from Mankato, Minnesota. I go there once a year. It is one of the most miserable towns in America. I'd advise you to never go there unless its mandatory. Chase Budinger buries a three. 22-18.

8:27 Russ to Sasha for another jam. 24-18 TV timeout. My wife leaves the room to go look for thank you notes online for our eighth month old son. Women are from Mars.

8:28 It took a whole minute for the Patriots to score on a pick six from AJ Feeley. Like the Eagles have any shot tonight. At least Feeley is married to the extremely hot women's soccer player Heather Mitts.

8:34 Budinger for three again. 26-24, timeout KU. He's already got 12. Nobody in college has a sweeter stroke. Self's rug is sticking out of the back of his head for real.

8:36 O'Neill brings Kirk Walters back in the game.

8:36 Walters fouls Arthur on a jumper. 28-24. So much for the goofy White guy.

8:36 Walters sits back on the bench. Budinger hits another three. 28-27. I smell trouble. We can't guard him. My lips are so chapped from today's Browns game and my chap stick has conveniently dissapered.

8:37 31-29 TV timeout. Brian Westbrook scores on a 1 yard TD run. Pats and Eagles tied at 7. How long until Brady throws a TD pass? I'll give it a guess on the time: 8:52. Lets see if i'm right.

8:45 Shady spilts another pair. KU now 4-8 from the line. 33-31. This bad free throw shooting is such a tired bit. Three Arizona big men have three fouls, yet we aren't taking advantage at the line. Two Jerryd Bayliss free throws and we are tied at 33. We are sleepwalking.

8:47 Major guard foul trouble for KU. Robinson just picked up his third. Stewart has two and is on the floor. Now Rush has to play more minutes than the doctors would like (already at 10). Lets see what Tyrel reed can do. 35-35. under 2:30 left.

8:50 B Rush for three. He's got 10. The crowd comes alive. 40-35. On the other end, Stewart picks up his third foul. Self has to go to...gasp....JEREMY CASE. Right now, our backcourt is Reed and Case. Man do we miss Sherron Collins.

8:54 D Jack swats Bayliss at the buzzer, but Jawaan McClellan buried a three the previous possession. We are tied at 40 at the half.

What I don't like is that KU shot over 50% from the field and are tied. I was also way off on the Brady TD pass call.

Just Another Case of MTAC

Classic performance by a Kansas team in a big game. Almost as if they were donning KU basketball uniforms, in the biggest game of their year, and in the history of the program, the Kansas Jayhawks self-destructed and lost 36-28 to the hated Missouri Tigers at Arrowhead Stadium. I cannot sit here and opine how you how upset I am by this loss because truth be told, if KU loses tonight to Arizona in basketball, I will be way more pissed.

However, I did make it a priority to watch the game. The MTAC crew headed down to one of our favorite sports bars to grab some food and watch the game. We had three KU grads in attendance and while we were into the game, something was missing. Right off the bat, you could tell this wasn't going to be KU's night. Chase Daniel hit Martin Rucker on a 4th and goal at the one. 7-0 Mizzou at the end of one. Jayhawks QB Todd Reesing hadn't been picked off in 213 straight passing attempts. That all changed on a drive that followed the first Mizzou TD. Reesing was behind receiver Marcus Henry in the endzone and was intercepted.

It was a sign of things to come. Daniel, unstoppable all night long, made perhaps the play of the night. On a third down at the KU 11, a three man rush pushed Daniel out of the pocket. He seemingly scrambled for 30 seconds before finding a streaking Danario Alexander for a TD. 14-0 Mizzou. That is when I turned to my friends as uttered one of my famous phrases usually saved for KU basketball games: "I know a losses when I see one. This is a loss."

There was more. Kansas kicker Scott Webb, money all season, doinked one of the right side upright from 33 yards with KU down 14-0. He had a shot at redemption from 45 on KU's next possession and hooked it to the left. The offense, so precise and hot all year, could not get anything going against the Tiger D until it was too late. Give KU credit though, they never stopped fighting and actually had the ball with 17 seconds left trailing by six. Think those Webb kicks were huge?

The truth is, Missouri was a better team. Chase Daniel was an absolute stud going a ridiculous 40-49 for 361 yards and three TD's. His escapability was on full display as everytime he needed to make a big play, he delivered. KU's defense had an answer for him. It didn't matter where this game was played, Missouri was winning it. To say it was typical KU would be stretching it, but one does wonder why teams in the Crimson and Blue uniforms seem to do things completely out of character when the lights are brightest.

Kansas Football fans have nothing to be ashamed of. This team battled until the end and had a season nobody in their wildest dreams ever though they could. They were over-matched all game long, yet battled back to within a score of winning the game in the end. They just dug themselves too big of a hole. “I certainly was disappointed in the way it ended, but we’ll live to fight another day,” Coach Mark Mangino said. “Get ready, make preparations for the bowl game and try to do our best to finish this season on a winning note.

KU's Perfect Season Spoiled by Tigers - Ryan Wood, Lawrence Journal-World

Arrowhead Aside, the Better Team Won - Tom Keegan, Lawrence Journal-World

Mizzou Leaves No Doubt About Which Team is #1 - Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star

Daniel Was the Difference - Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star

Coast to Coast...like Tyus Edney against Mizzou

While everyone is talking about College Football's wacky season right now (Can the National Title game really be West Virginia/Missouri?), don't forget about the sport where the champions are decided on the court, rather than by the computers. We had lots of upsets yesterday and games of consequence that will get lost in the shuffle. But not your friends at MTAC. To quote the Cable Guy, we are "all over it like a lampshade." Don't forget tonight, we've got Kansas/Arizona on ESPN at 8PM EST from Allen Fieldhouse.

Xavier 80 Indiana 65 in Chicago - One of my boys is a huge IU fan and went to the game. I received the following email from him last night after 1 AM. oh lord...we have a LONG way to go. our defense, rebounding and overall toughness were clearly lacking in our last two games, both of which were against the best two teams we've played. What happens when we play really good teams? Good thing we've been blowing people out and Eric Gordon is a scoring machine until I pony up $$$ for tickets. Make sure you all see the highlights, IU's Jamarcus Ellis was posterized by C.J. Anderson.

Texas 97 Tennessee 78 in Newark - MTAC's #1 team went down in a heap thanks to a hot shooting Longhorns squad (63%) and and equally cold shooting Vols team (38%). Incredibly, Texas had four players scored 21 or more. DJ Augustine led with 23, Conner Atchley had 22 and 11, AJ Abrams and Justin Mason both had 21. This could be Tennessee's bugaboo all year, if a team can break their press and can score with them, they are in for trouble. Meanwhile, the Big 12 all of a sudden looks like a three team race with Texas and Texas A&M (NIT Champs) looking very strong early.

Texas Tech 73 Gonzaga 63 in Alaska - This is why I love college hoops. Texas Tech can look so bad one week in losing to Sam Houston State, then go to Anchorage and knock off Gonzaga in the Semis of the Great Alaska Shootout with their best player Martin Zeno scoring just two points. Butler 81 Texas Tech 71 - In the finals of the Great Alaska Shootout, The Butler three-point shooting brigade exploded to take the title. They shot a disgusting 16-24 from deep, led by AJ Graves' 6-8. Butler is for real again this year.

North Carolina 73 BYU 63 in Las Vegas - The Heels weathered a tough BYU storm to take the Las Vegas Invitational crown. They did it without PG Ty Lawson who played just two minutes and left with a right ankle injury. It was Tyler Hansbrough's 21 and a big three by Wayne Ellington with 2:06 left that sealed the win for UNC. "I couldn't run on it full speed," Lawson said. "I don't know how long I'm going to be out. We'll check it out when we get back to school." Watch out for BYU. This team can play and 6-11 Trent Plaisted is one of the best players you've never heard of. He had 24 and 17 in the loss.

Michigan State 75 Oakland 71 - Another game by the Spartans that renews my beliefs that they aren't that good. The Spartans play to the level of their competition. So far they've struggled with two D-II teams, losing one of them (Grand Valley State), hung tough with UCLA, then escape against Oakland? Jeckyl and Hyde. Goran Suton had 15 and 20 rebounds to go with Raymar Morgan's 18.

Louisville 64 Old Dominion 53 in Las Vegas - A night after being upset by BYU and failing to deliver on the much anticipated matchup with UNC, the Cards bounced back with a tough 11 point win. Earl Clark had 11 and 15 rebounds, Terrance Williams had 20, and Derrick Caracter supplied 13 off the bench, which Rick Pitino has shortened to three men: Caracter, Edgar Sosa, and Will Scott.

The East Still Blows

It is Friday November 23rd at 10:20 EST and I am looking at the NBA standings. I note to myself as I view the page on the web that the NBA Eastern Conference is still lame. It had all the makings of an improved group a month ago, but now, it is lame again. And hey, it only took three weeks into the season this time! 4, count em, 4 of the 15 teams in the East are above 500. In the West, you ask? Try doubling it to 8!!! It is obvious that Boston and its PGA Tour is for real. Pierce, Garnett, and Allen show no signs of let up and the Celtics have it working at 10-1. Their average margin of victory is over 14. Detroit is also very solid and has played through road trips, injuries, and baby births to sit atop the Central. Joe Dumars will always field a competitive team. Period. Orlando is 11-3 but they have as much depth as the roster on Real World San Francisco. Dwight Howard is "Puck" and that is about it. The rest of the teams are very average to below average, although Lebron is there and also New Jersey will make its usual run once Krstic and Marcus Williams and Vince get right. Teams like Atlanta and Miami and Chicago should be better but they are not. Three of the most overrated players reside there with Josh Smith, Shaq, and Ben Wallace. Put the 6-6 Houston Rockets in the East and they could win it. In the West right now they are 9th. What an old bit this has become. Posted by The Deez.

Oh My Lord....

By midnight tonight, my alma mater could be the #1 team in the country IN FOOTBALL. I can hardly believe it myself, but it all right there for the taking. The Kansas Jayhawks control their own destiny. The LSU Tigers, seen as the mightiest team in the country, couldn't take care of ole' Pig Sooeee in Baton Rouge and the 'Hawks are on the cusp of something nobody in this country could have ever thought fathomable, a #1 ranking in Football. And on December 1st no less.

Darren McFadden, the fabulous Arkansas tailback and Heisman candidate, did everything in dominating LSU. He rushed for 206 yards and three TD's, plus he threw another. As good a LSU has been this year, that SEC gauntlet may have finally caught up to them as their defense looked gassed in the second half. Arkansas ran for a sickening 385 yards. The Tigers have lived dangerously for weeks, winning every close game, but they couldn't do it one more time. Now the national title picture has opened up to two teams in particular that in my opinion aren't deserving of a title shot.

Ohio State - One loss to Illinois. A pathetic pre-conference schedule that included Youngstown State, Akron, and a bad Washington team. A pathetic Big Ten conference this year that had no real contenders other than the Buckeyes. Trust us, the OSU wants no part of the National Title game against a spread offense team like Missouri, Kansas, or West Virginia.

West Virginia - Steve Slaton and Pat White are tremendous athletes with sick speed. That said, they lost to South Florida. How can they be taken seriously? When your best two wins are over Mississippi State and Cincinnati, you cannot be in position to win a national championship.

At least if Missouri wins out, they will have wins over two top 10 teams (Kansas, Oklahoma). The same can be said for KU if they win out. You want to know who would deserve a title shot if they win out? Georgia. Unfortunately for the Dawgs, they need Kentucky to beat Tennessee Saturday to get a shot at the SEC title game. If they got that shot and beat both Georgia Tech and LSU in the next two games, how can you tell me that they don't deserve it over OSU or West Virginia?

Please, someone, give me a playoff already.

Hunter the the Angels for $90 Million?

I'm sorry, is it just me of is Torii Hunter not even close to being worth $90 million over 5 years? Evidently, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim think I am wrong. They reportedly just handed this crazy contract to Hunter and are now loaded with outfielders. To me, this is a stunner. This is a guy coming off a career year, hitting .297 with 28 HR's and 107 RBI. Giving five years to a soon to be 33 year old center fielder when you don;t have a hole there doesn't make much sense to me. Didn't the Angels brass see what has happened just two years into the Yankees deal with Johnny Damon? He is already in left-field and has seen his offensive numbers dwindle.

For the second straight offseason, it appears as if the Angels have overpaid to get a center fielder. Last winter, Gary Matthews Jr., coming off his one good major league season, was handed a 5 year, $50 million deal, which had everyone in baseball scratching their heads. It came out during Spring Training that Matthews was sent a shipment of HGH in 2004. While playing gold-glove caliber Center, Matthews battled injuries all year and hit just .252, with 18 HR's and 82 RBI.

Back to Hunter. While he is the best defensive Center fielder in the game, he is coming off a career year and is already on the down side of his career, there is no way he repeats the numbers he has had over the last two seasons. Losing Orlando Cabrera in the lineup already weakened one position on both sides of the ball, so bringing in Hunter levels that. It should be interesting to see what the Angels do with Garrett Anderson, Reggie Willits, Juan Rivera, and Gary Matthews Jr. I expect you would see Anderson becoming a full-time DH, assuming Vlad Guerrero is healthy enough to play in the field. They are stuck with Matthews as nobody is going to pick up four more years at $10 million per for him.

The Hibachi is Hot...And Injured

We at MTAC find Gilbert Arenas mildly amusing. He has mad game, is a crazy gunner, and loves to tell the world exactly what he is thinking. Well the man who once called himself "The Hibachi" is now on the shelf for three long months die to knee surgery. He is bummed out about it. Real bummed. He wants you to know just how upset he is.

In his nba.com blog, Arenas gives you more than just his thoughts on his injury. I guess the Hibachi is now single too:

When stuff goes bad it goes bad. I just broke up with my girlfriend and I don’t get to see my kids for a while because of the breakup. That happened right before those two games last week. I was so happy, went out and performed well with 30 and 11 and came back the next night with 28 and I was thinking, “Oh yeah, it was her that was bringing my spirits down…” Now she’s back in California. You ask for space, you know, because everything feels closed in … the house is dirty, the kids are drawing on the walls and on the couches and you’re thinking, “Oh man, I can’t do this. I’m not playing well and I’m coming home to all this.” So you ask for space and now you got clean walls, clean furniture and you’re lonely. And now you got to sit out three months. Oh man. I guess it has to get bad so it can get good. I’m not talking to my girlfriend. There’s a thing, “Watch what you say,” sometimes. She said, “I don’t want you to call me. I don’t want you to ask me about the kids. We’re going to do this on our own.” So, I decided, “OK.”

Is this guy the best or what?