Black Friday, Fun with MS Paint

Yes, I'm so bored at work that I decided to do some very crappy editing.

Day in the life of Buzz Williams

Gents-

I saw this column(http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/chi-28-buzz-williams-marquettenov28,0,24619.story?page=1) in the Chicago Tribune.

Some interesting notes:
1) Buzz seems like a prick to his support staff
2) McNeal gets hurt he leaves him on the floor and moves the practice to the other end of the court?
3) Buzz is a Bible beater
4) Like devil's parents - he drives an Escalade

For some reason I read this and felt like this doesn't sound like a typical day for a top 25 coach...does it? --a spirtual mentor...seriously?

Q@daB Road Trip!!

Charlie Weis's Gunt and I will be in beautiful, world famous Hoffman Estates, Illinois this weekend to see Marquette take on two opponents that pass the "Well, they are a step up from Chicago State" test. MU will face Northern Iowa (drat, still a directional school) and Dayton.

Let's take a trip down Dayton memory lane.
2003
I am hoping to exact revenge on Dayton for their heartbreaking defeat our fearless Dwyane Wade led heroes in 2003. That game will live in infamy for "Give him the keys to the gym," "You got nobody that can do that," "Shut the hell up before I rip those braces off your face" and "We showed you our bibs, now you show us yours." CW'sG also flipped off a well-wishing Dayton fan. So much for Catholic school collegiality.
Here's the recap from ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=230042168#
It's hard to believe, but we had a serious crisis on our hands after this game. We had just lost back-to-back games on the road and there was some serious hand wringing going on. Also, check out the box score from that game. What in the wide world of sports was Chris Grimm doing playing 13 minutes to Steve Novak's paltry 4 minutes of run? Dwade shot 8-23 with 5 turnovers and Diener went 4-15 from the field. Ick!

2002
Midweek game at the Bradley Center resulted in a 73-51 MU romp. This game is most memorable for the best game sign I have ever seen: "We Destroyed Brooks Hall." So appropriate because of their swingman, Brooks Hall, and the fact that MU had just torn down the former union, Brooks Hall.

Our series terminated with UD after 2003 because they got all pissy b/c we moved the UW game the next year to accomodate ESPN. Apparently, some bad blood persists between the athletic departments. MU leads the all time series 21-13.

Dear Mr. Wilson...thanks but no thanks!

From today's JS article:

And Wilson is likely to keep playing for some time after announcing his college choice on March 8 - his mother's birthday. He said he's down to three schools now after doing a little dance with Marquette University that ended last week.

Ok I understand wanting to wait until your mother's birthday, I respect that based on what happened and I'm sorry for your loss, but didn't she have a birthday last March 8th? You could have had all this done last year when your name was still talked about much more. Its not like anything huge was going to change (oh wait...never mind). Besides its still would have only been a verbal.

Treutelaar said Marquette informed Wilson on Oct. 28 that they were no longer offering a scholarship. But two weeks later, Wilson said, the school contacted his father - James "Peanut" Wilson, who played on UW-Whitewater's 1984 NCAA Division III championship team - and said their offer was back on the table.

Um yeah, we can't wait around all year for you and Peanut to make up your minds and if you haven't noticed we are all out of scholly's and I assume we won't be losing anyone next year to transfer so you are SOL.

"That didn't make sense. I didn't really like that," Wilson said. "I told my father to tell them I didn't like them playing head games with me, and I told them they were off my list."

See previous comment. Head games...MU playing head games...we don't have any more scholarships left. maybe we called saying hey we got this Brett kid and he's accepted so we are all out. Sorry! MU really didn't like the fact that we probably offered you when you were in the 8th grade and paid for 50 trips to the BC just so you could remain a recruit, not a signee.

So Wilson will consider Michigan State, Oregon and Texas until decision day. But mostly, he'll be thinking about his senior season.

Enjoy your time in Racine this year...I'm sure you family will enjoy their many trips to East Lansing, Eugene, and Austin in the coming years much more than they'd enjoy the trip up I-94 past the Apple Holler! And one more thing...scoring 100 points a game with a high flying fast paced offense while playing lock down aggressive defense sure looks fun doesn't it?



Oh and congrats to the Big East on an awesome first month of college basketball! Cuse with an awesome win last night over Kansas. Cuse looks solid (except for their lame ass defense) and finally Jim Boehim decided it might be a good idea to play some games in non-conference away from the Dome to help solidify their NCAA resume. Wins over Florida and Kansas will look nice come March. Still looking forward to the annual Cuse meltdown followed by nice conference tourney run followed by NIT semifinals.

Also props to Notre Dame for their nice start. Harongody tried to give away the game last night but they held on. Should be a good matchup tonight against UNC. Hopefully Harongody and Psycho T are ready for one another. Side note: Can the Hoosiers beat Chaminade? That should be a great game as well.

I'm scared!

Through 4 games our starting center Mr. Dwight Burke has 8 pts, 10 boards, 15 fouls, and is only averaging 13 minutes per game. Yikes! I know with the supporting cast around him he doesn't exactly need to be superman, but this trend cannot continue when we start playing better competition. I've got no answer for this one. Thanks Mbakwe.

Caption Contest.

OK, friends. The fella who supplies the best caption for this photo gets a Kringle.



Oh, and let's not forget to update the tote!

'IT'S INDIANA, IT'S INDIANA' RECORD: 2-2

20-POINT-PLUS LOSSES: 2

CRAYOLA CRAYON COLOR THAT BEST DESCRIBES THE HUE OF TOMMY'S SKIN: Burnt Sienna

Dear Ted Thompson

Please address our sieve of a defense next off-season! I know that in recent years you have primarily focused on the offense in hopes of surrounding Aaron Rodgers with as much offensive firepower so that you don't look like as much of a jack ass when you got rid of Brett Favre, but you obviously have biten off more than you can chew. Sure we have depth at WR and TE, which is great, but a number of these guys hardly see the field. Meanwhile, our d-line can't reach the QB with 1 10 foot pole, 1 of our starting linebackers was found on the shoulder of highway 174 in the middle of Ontario, while the other is just another over-rated Big11 player, our "outstanding" corners are approaching their 40th birthdays and are only outstanding because they play 1/2 of their games in the slow slop of lambeau yet get torched on turf, and our safeties have sooo much hair on their head that they can't even see to make an open field tackle. What the F? So I beg you TED, can you please refrain from "accumulating" picks by trading down and stocking up on a bunch of mediocre players and instead take the 10th pick that you'll have next April and select a competent and talented player that can immediately start and be a mainstay in our defense for years to come? Also, try not to take someone that hasn't played for like 14 months due to injury even though he looked awesome in that Bowl game against Oregon St. the previous season.

Here's to rebuilding our defense!

$

Anyone up for some Pat McCurdy

How can you not love this guy?

The Return of the Windbreaker

Judas Crean is wearing the windbreaker again tonight in Maui.  Additionally, It's Indiana, It's Indiana is getting whaled on 63-35 in the 2nd half.  Let's go Irish!

Please Welcome:

The latest eater at the Buffet ...

Oh, wait. He didn't pick a name yet -- and I continue to insist that posters only be referred to by their screen names so as not to arouse the suspicions of wives and bosses. Your cooperation is appreciated.

Anyway, we've got an operative placed deep within The Enemy's borders, and he'll be filing periodic missives on the latest goings-on in Buckyland, as well as copious amounts of YouTube footage.

And to get this off on the right foot:



Pork chop sandwiches, bitches.

Early Thoughts

While the first half of the UWM game was a little unexpected, I was pretty happy with end result and the overall effort throughout the game. UWM was shooting 65% almost 15 minutes into the game and they went into the half down 5, so I was pretty confident that when UWM would come back down to earth that we would walk away with it......and we did. Positives: 1) I like the new offense and I think it fits our team better than Crean's pro-style system of setting plays. Result....we are averaging over 100 points a game through 3 games! 2) Wes Matthews continues to display his confidence and assertiveness this year. What we thought he may do last year is coming to fruition this year. Again, I think that this is a credit to the new offensive system. 3) To further #2, Lazar Hayward (who might be the most underrated player in the Big East) has quietly put together a 3rd great outing and his 2nd double-double of the year. We are going to need his rebounds this year! 4) After shooting a bit too many 3's in the first half, which kept the game close, they came out in the 2nd half and did what they are good at....taking the ball to the hoop. I think after 4 years, they are starting to realize what they need to do to be successful. 4) Dominic James also had a quiet great game. 16 pts, 8 assists, and 3 steals. And he shot a pretty good percentage. I think that Dom is reverting to the other guys more than ever, and is settling into more of a distributing role. Perfect! The one large negative that I took out of this game is Dwight Burke. Thus far I am completely wrong on my prediction for him. Again, it's a little early, but against inferior competition he has been a complete waste out there. I'm afraid that he is not starter material at this point, and while he will continue to get the starts, I foresee Hazel taking away large amounts of minutes away from him and probably playing more mpg than Burke. Why is it so hard for us to find a competent big man? I would kill for Scott Merritt right now!

A Good Sports Guy Column??

I'm stunned. Not only is it good, it's a reasoned critique of his beloved NFL.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/partone/081121

Interesting Perspective on CC Contracts

http://www.brewcrewball.com/2008/11/19/665498/cc-s-choices

Class of 2010 committment

Per Todd Rosiak, Marquette has already received an oral committment for the class of 2010. Aaron Bowen, a 6'5" 185 lb shooting guard out of Jacksonville, Fl has decided to attend MU. I am a bit perplexed by this myself. According to the article, Bowen is an under the radar recruit because he hasn't played much recently due to a knee injury that he re-aggravated before the summer AAU circuit began. In being optimistic: 1)I like his size: 6'5" SG that is alledgedly athletic and a slasher type player. Word is that he can also play the point as well as slide to the 3, so he seems versatile. 2) Being that he is only 16, he could very likely still be growing and tack on a couple of inches and pounds before his freshman year. So the trend of adding size to our program continues to be the theme here 3)While his only other scholarship offer to this point was from jacksonville, he was receiving interest from Florida and Virginia Tech as well. Interest doesn't really mean much, but considering he has only played 2 years of high school ball, has been hurt, and is already taking notice by some quality schools says there is definite potential with this kid. What I don't like about this is his injury history. The guy is 16 and already has a knee problem, reagravated it this summer and had it scoped before the AAU circuit began. So what's going to happen as the competition level increases and he puts more stress on it every day? That being said, we already have injury issues so I don't see why we decide to offer to an "under the radar" recruit 1 year before the early signing period begins for that class. We still have over a year to scout and recruit these guys, so when we just start getting interest from big time prospects such as Snaer, Wilson, Colvin, Maymon, Cadougan, etc., why do we go out on a limb and offer to a young guy with a pretty serious injury history? It doesn't make a lot of sense to me with the success that the coaches have had in their first 6 months of recruiting. I believe Dale Layer was the head man on this, whom was also the head man with the Roseboro finding (which seems to be a diamond in the rough type player), so he must have had his eye on Bowen for some time and is seeing something that other schools aren't at this point. I hope he knows what he's doing in this case.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I believe that we only have 2 scholarships to offer for that class. This would leave us with 1 to spare, and we are still in need of another PG and/or a "quality" big man. I know we have added a ton of size already with McMorrow, O'Tule, and Roseboro, but they all seem to be more project material than anything. I would like to see us land a quality and "true" 5 some day. I know that they are few and far between but it doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up!!

So, I'm watching the Nebraska-Texas volleyball game tonight. Yeah, I love watching volleyball. Tall, in-shape college chicks wearing butthuggers and jumping around. The game is exciting as well with tons of momentum shifts. Well, Texas has an Outside Hitter with a classic name. Destinee Hooker - I kid you not. Destinee Hooker. Here's the proof:

http://www.texassports.com/sports/w-volley/mtt/hooker_destinee00.html

Kings of Leon Show Review – The Lost Post.

[Rubie sez: D3S mentioned that he had written a review of the Kings of Leon show from, oh, about three weeks ago, but had accidentally deleted it. Or so he thought. Through the wonders of the Interweb's "auto save" feature, I bring you Kings of Leon Show Review – The Lost Post:]

So, Rubie Q and I headed to the Rave last night for the Kings of Leon concert. A couple observations through the prism of my advancing age:

• The Rave is dirty, ugly, smelly, sticky and flat out gross. I effing love that place
  

• Tickets were $40 including Ticketmaster charges - I blame the new administration in waiting for that pinko BS
  

• The Whigs and We are Scientists opened - they were loud, really freaking loud. Rubie and I retreated to the bar so we could actually talk
  

• Three words sum up KoL: sweat, sex, testosterone
  

• Rock stars should not have haircuts like KoL - they are all obviously visiting stylists named Ramon
  

• I had no clue so many chicks liked KoL. Holy googily moogily. Young, fit, hourglass shaped, buxom, drunk girls. I justified my ogling with this comment, "Yeah, I know I'm engaged, but really, even if I wasn't, I still wouldn't talk to them so this isn't wrong."
  

• I still like girls with curly hair

• Apparently, the KoL girl fan dress code includes tights, a skin tight white long sleeve shirt and a black leatherish vest. I vote in favor of this garb - it really accentuates the plummage
  

• My doppleganger (where's the umlaut when you need it?) was there. Hofbrauhaus 2001 shirt, full zip hoodie - what a d-bag. He probably likes Tennessee or some other hillbilly, fallen from grace college football team
  

• In positive developments - I drank 6 beers and was still able to get into work at 6:45 today sans hangover
  

Big East Non-Conference Schedule Preview

I don't know why, but I get excited about interesting non-conference match-ups.  What follows is a preview of the big non-conference tests for each team.  I have made no attempt to project match-ups in tournaments.

Cincinnati

Nov 28 - vs Florida St

Dec 6 - UAB

Dec 13 - Xavier

Dec 18 - vs. Miss St

Dec 29 - @ Memphis

At least one Big East team is not afraid to schedule some decent non-conference team.  They will also play either Cal or UNLV in a tourney.

Connecticut

Dec 20 - vs. Gonzaga

Feb 7 - Michigan

As per usual, UConn plays all the garbage teams the Northeast has to offer.  They also play in the Paradise Jam, which includes Wisconsin and Miami.

DePaul

Dec 3 - @ Cal

Dec 13 - vs. UCLA in Anaheim

Dec 22 - vs. St. Louis

Lighter than normal schedule for DePaul.  Old Gill needs a win!  They also play either Creighton or Fresno St in Las Vegas.

Georgetown

November 27 - vs. Wichita St

Dec 13 - Memphis

Jan 17 - @ Duke

Georgetown is another East Coast bully.  They do play in the Old Spice Classic (that's the WSU game), which also includes Maryland, Michigan St, Gonzaga, Oklahoma St, Siena and Tennessee.  That's the best tourney this year.

Louisville

Nov 30 - vs. Western Kentucky

Dec 18 - vs. Mississippi

Dec 20 - vs. Minnesota

Dec 27 - UAB

Dec 31 - UNLV

Jan 4 - Kentucky

Where's the beef?  UL plays a good number of decent teams, but their non-conference schedule could easily lack any tourney teams.

Marquette

Nov 28 - vs. Northern Iowa

Nov 29 - vs. Dayton

Dec 6 - Wisconsin

Dec 16 - vs. Tennessee

Dec 22 - @ NC State

Our schedule isn't too bad this year.  I wish the Chicago Invitational was higher profile, but it's close to home so we can't complain.  Adding NC St and Tennessee really, really helps.

Notre Dame

Nov 24 - vs. Indiana in Maui

Dec 6 - vs. Ohio St

Feb 7 - @ UCLA

The ND schedule is not good.  Indiana sucks and tOSU didn't even make the tourney last year.  Kudos for UCLA game though, particularly since it's at Pauley.  The Maui field also includes Alabama, St. Joe's, Oregon, UNC and Texas, which is a damn good field.

Pitt

Nov 28 - vs. Texas Tech in Legends Classic

Dec 17 - Siena

Dec 21 - @ Florida St

They play either Miss St or Washington St on Nov 29, but both of those teams are suspect.  This schedule is probably the most disappointing in the league.  You are a Top 5 preseason team!  Schedule someone!  When Siena is your best guaranteed game, you should be embarrassed.

Providence

Nov 27 - vs. Baylor in Anaheim Classic

Dec 6 - Rhode Island

Dec 20 - @ BC

Another weak one, but Providence is rebuilding, so I can give them a pass.  The Anaheim Classic also includes Charlotte, Wake Forest, Arizona St and St. Mary's, which is a solid field.

Rutgers

Dec 28 - @ UNC

Um, yeah.  Rutgers sucks, but there's no reason they should be playing road games at Princeton and Delaware.

St John's

Nov 18 - @ BC

Dec 27 - Miami

Feb 19 - Duke

Pretty solid for St. John's, but they will get rolled against UM and Duke.

Seton Hall

Nov 20 - vs. USC in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off

Would it kill you schedule a team with a pulse outside the tournament?  The Puerto Rico Tip-Off also includes Missouri, Memphis, Xavier and Virginia Tech.

South Florida

Nov 19 - @ Virginia

Dec 3 - @ UAB

Dec 16 - vs. Vanderbilt

USF plays a ton of road games, which is no surprise when Syracuse draws more for the G-Town game than you do for the whole Big East slate.

Syracuse

Nov 18 - Richmond

Nov 24 - vs. Florida in CBE Classic

Nov 28 - Virginia

Dec 20 - @ Memphis

An absolute jaw-dropping schedule for Syracuse.  Not only do they play in a decent tourney, they play a non-conference road game.  Sweet fancy Moses!  They will play either Washington or Kansas in their other CBE game.

Villanova

Nov 29 - Penn St or Rhode Island

Nov 9 - vs. Texas

Nov 11 - St. Joe's

At least they play a monster team in Texas, but the rest of the schedule is schlock.

West Virginia

Nov 28 - vs. Iowa

Nov 29 - vs. Kansas St or Kentucky

Dec 3 - @ Mississippi

Dec 7 - vs. Davidson

Dec 27 - @ Ohio St.

Pretty solid for WVU, no really big names, but some decent teams.

The Soothing Strains of Raf & McDonough

Lordy is it great to have college basketball back!  You know what else that means?  That's right kids - it's time to hear Sean McDonough call Bill Raftery a drunk.  They are announcing the St. John's-Boston College game in Boston tonight.

In the second half - a Red Storm...eh, fuck it, at Redman (!) barreled into the scorers' table and elbowed McDonough right in the melon, it was a big shot.  They kept showing the replay and Raf was laughing at him.  When they went to the next TV timeout, they showed the replay again and Raf signed off with this beauty:  "Look at you, you coward."

I have to give McDonough some equal love.  The BC crowd was booing the refs and he quipped: "Fans here in Boston getting testy, after all, it's been, what, a week since their last title?"

Those are good burgers, Walter.

I'm interrupting the usual sports-banter and Sly-bashing to write a review on the new burger joint I tried: Five Guys Burgers and Fries. This place just opened yesterday about a block from my office and I ate there twice today.

The extensive menu offers burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, and vegetarian something... all with different vairations and optional fresh-cut fries. The kicker is that they have free peanuts in the shell for you snack on while waiting or to have as an additional side. The plan was to only have dinner there with the lady-friend who had been dying to try their burgers but then the boss-man invited me to lunch; couldn't say no to the guy who signs my paycheck.

So for lunch I had the Bacon Cheese Dog (Bacon up that sausage, boy). I love bacon and I really love bacon on my hot dogs (this is my major concern with the Dog House). My only complaint was that the cheese could use some improvement as it was only a slice of American Cheese... I would have preferred some cheddar or fake cheese. The nice part was that they split the hot dog length-wise and then used it to to hold down two strips of crispy bacon. For those of you that enjoy citing my "scrawny ass", I assure you that I have the arteries of a 65 year old.

For dinner I had the Little Bacon Cheeseburger. Why Little? Because the regular is two patties my friends and at the early dinner time of 5:15 I just was NOT feeling a full size. While this was no Sobelman's or Fred's Burger, it was definitely delicious and, again, the bacon was nice and crispy.

Speaking of Sly, I checked this place out with him prior to going as there is one in Pewaukee. While Sly had not been, he did pass along that there was also one in Madison and that the White Sox Fan had vouched for it. As you all know from the days of Louie D's, the White Sox Fan loves a good burger.

First Ever Soccer Post...

I can't stop laughing at this...I don't remember this move from my few years playing soccer but its frickin' awesome.

The Chronicles of Sly-dell

So, our rotund buddy took the White Sox fan's extra ticket for the MU game last night. He calls me around 6pm, wondering if I would like to meet him for a beer. Of course, I say yes. Firstly, for some reason, he was at Goolsby's. That was his first mistake. Then, he refused to pick me up because he "had a great parking spot, hehehe." Fucking Costanza. Ok, whatever Sly, I'll meet you down there at 6:20-6:25 at Turner's. So, I barrel into Turner's at 6:25 and head back to the standard northeast corner of the bar where Reid & Sheets' Va Jay Jay are parked. We chitchat, drink and there's no sign of Sly-dell. I'm heading to the end of my Red and, still, no Sly. Now it's 6:55, still no Sly. Ok, whatever, dude's always late, I'll just meet him at the game. So our troika is heading out the door, laughing about where Liedl could be when we hear, "Where the hell were you guys?" Of course, Sly was at the bar the whole time, but neglected to even walk around the bar once to see if we were there amongst the 30 total people. No call, no text, not even a walk around the bar. Sly-dell is the only person on earth that could miss 3 of his best friends sitting 25 feet away from him in an empty bar. He has the field vision of Tavarious Jackson. Ah, snap!!

This Just In:

The Marquette - Chicago State game was a vignette of what we can expect in Season One of the Buzz Regime. After all, nothing allows one to make sweeping generalizations about everything from Coach Buzz's defensive philosophy to his clock management like a game against a team from the Great West League.

At least that's what certain commenters at the Scout board would have you believe, anyway.

Lookit: in a game like this, two things matter: (1) win, and (2) don't get injured -- and they're not necessarily in that order. We accomplished both goals last night. End of story, thank you, drive home safe -- good night now.

Also: I think Wes will average 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals a game this year. I can say this with complete confidence after two games.

Most Hated Coaches - Big East Version

Here’s my hate list of Big East coaches. I considered level of heartbreak, team conduct and sideline conduct in compiling these rankings.

1. Louisville - Rick Pitino
There’s only one place to start: Pitino is the devil. He ran the score up on MU in 2004 when Diener was hurt. He fabricated a JS article with false Merritt quotes in 2005. He has ripped our hearts out multiple times in the Bradley Center. I can’t stand this guy. I wonder if it still hurts when he pees?

2. Pittsburgh – Jamie Dixon
I can only think of one word: bitch. He constantly has that whiny look on his face, he team is full of dirty goons and he has accused us of being dirty. Luckily, we own him in the regular season at 4-1 in BE play. Way to put so much emphasis on the BET so your team fizzles in the NCAAs every year you numbnuts

3. Connecticut - Jim Calhoun
Calhoun is just a prick. His teams are full of thugs and he still plays them despite legal entanglements. I’m so glad we put a beat-down on them in 2006. Somehow, he has about 12 players every year that stand taller than 6’9”.

4. Seton Hall - Bobby Gonzalez
What a fucking clown. He is such an asshole that he got suspended by the BE for criticizing the officials. His players have injured James and he was screaming while MU was shooting free throws last year. An absolute piece of trash. Luckily, we’ve never lost to him.

5. Syracuse - Jim Boeheim
Dixon is a bitch and Boeheim is a whiny bitch. He’s always crying on the bench and then crying in March when his team gets left out of the tourney. Hey, Boeheim, how about you coach all of your big recruits so they don’t lose at home to multiple mid majors every year. You can also play a road nonconference game every now and then. Bonus points for coaching Eric Devendorf

6. West Virginia - Bobby Huggins
It’s good to have Bobby back. He is such a surly prick and he has coached some horrific goons – Maxiell being my prime target. He’s easy to loathe. Bonus points for giving us the classic DUI stop a couple of years ago

7. Georgetown - John Thompson III
Big East royalty. Coaches the most overrated and luckiest team in the league. They were fucking handed the conference title last year by the referees.

8. Villanova - Jay Wright
I won’t say anything bad about Jay Wright. I’m afraid that if I do, I’ll end up in cement shoes in the Delaware River. Bonus points for enamoring Tom Crean with the all guard offense

9. Notre Dame - Mike Brey
I have nothing against Brey. I abhor ND with the power of a thousand suns, but it seems like Brey is a good guy. I have to put him this high because of his association with ND and Shrek

10. DePaul - Jerry Wainright (pictured above)
“Old Gill needs a win.” He looks like Hubert from “Best In Show.” Extra points for coaching the 8 year wonder, Sammy Mejia, and for losing to UW in the NCAA tournament while at Richmond

11. Rutgers – Fred Hill
He is a recruiting menace and is exceedingly annoying on the sidelines. He jumps around about as much as Crean

12. Cincinnati - Mick Cronin
Cronin looks like he’s 10 years old

13. Providence - Keno Davis
Considering his team lost at home to Northeastern tonight, I should bump him up a bit on the list. Also, extra credit for that stupid first name and the nepotism and then abandonment of Drake

14. Norm Roberts - St Johns
Tough to dislike this guy, St. John’s is uglier than a Lou Carnaseca sweater though. Chris Mullin and Felipe Lopez must be embarrassed. They get about 1,500 people for their games at MSG.

15. South Florida – Stan Heath
I just feel bad for the guy. He got jobbed at Arkansas and he has absolutely no hope of turning things around in Tampa. Then again, he does live in Tampa. Keep your distance from Chuckie

16. Buzz Williams – Marquette
Of course Buzz is my favorite, helped greatly by his elimination of the dribble hand-off

O'Tule Out...Supposedly

Told you I had a bad feeling. The internets are saying O'Tule is out for a month. A big man with foot problems, is, unfortunately, not a big man.

http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=10384.0

Opening Day!

While I won't be able to enjoy it like most of the crew here, it's a pretty exciting day in the world of Marquette basketball! The season opener against Houston Baptist tonight, the beginning of the Buzz Williams era, and the potential to add to an already heralded recruiting class that is arguably the best class in MU's history. So here are a few thoughts:



1. While it's too early to grade Buzz Williams' success as a Big East coach, I don't think you can really ask for any more than he has already done. Buzz, like Tom Crean, was pegged as a great recruiter and he already has proved his competence in that area. This is his first class, but I will go out on a limb and say that he is a better recruiter than Crean. He not only has brought in highly ranked prospects, but he has pulled them out of damn near the four corners of the country, and while doing so has concentrated on our own state as well. Furthermore, he has voiced the necessity to have a well balanced squad and has proven so by having a recruiting class that could essentially play 5 positions.....legitimately.



2. Buzz has really provided a breath of fresh air after nearly a decade with Tom Crean. Sure we all loved Tan Tommy and what he brought to the program, but we all know that he didn't always represent the program with the school/students/and alumni first and foremost on his mind. And in all honesty, he seemed to hurt Marquette's public image within the state and specifically in the Milwaukee area due to his arrogance and aloofness. To make things worse, it sounds as if Tom was quite the Diva behind closed doors at Marquette. So looking back, while we all seemed to panic on that day in early April, I think it's for the better. As I referenced the breath of fresh air earlier, from what I've seen already, he seems to be very humble, down to earth, and overly appreciative of the opportunity that Marquette has given him. He also seems to be in the public eye much more by doing a large amount of interviews for local TV and radio stations. So overall it seems that not only will Buzz maintain the level of success that Crean has initiated, but he will also improve the overall image of Marquette basketball which will hopefully lead to more support in the Milwaukee area. I mean, how awesome is the Bradley Center atmosphere when games are sold out! It would be outstanding if we could get to a point where the Bradley Center is sold out year round to season ticket holders.

3. First game on what looks to be another exciting FINAL year for the "3 amigos". It's been fun watching the 3 of them grow as ballplayers and further Marquette's success as a basketball program. So the big question that remains is, can they take us to that next level in the tourney as the likes of Wade, Diener, and Novak did? I personally think they can.

4. Big day in the recruiting world as a number of big time recruits are planning on committing today......some of which on ESPNU @4pm EST.

Michael Snaer - I think we have the worst odds in this case. I think the MGM Grand has us at 10:1. Kansas is the likely leader with Florida St. right behind them. Prediction: Florida St. He just looks like a Florida St. guy (Although, he would fit perfectly into our lineup next year). In all, Snaer is THE GUY we want. That class would be absolutely sick!

Jamil Wilson - Prediction: Michigan St. I think that all along his parents and partially himself wanted to committ to Marquette. Afterall, most competitive conference, lots of nationally televised games, good program, and best of all.....it's 30 minutes from home so family could follow his career. However, I think that once the "bigger" programs started sniffing around they became enticed and decided to string out the committment in hopes of that North Carolina type offer. Well, here we sit, Marquette has a full committment and therefore no scholarship to offer at this point so Buzz withdraws his offer. Uh Ohh! Sorry pal, too late I guess. While it never hurts to have too much talent, I personally don't think that we need another 6'7" SF/PF type guy. I'd love to have him, but at this point I'm hoping for a SG that can shoot the 3 and defend. While we have all of this size and athleticism coming in, I still think that we are lacking that sharp shooter that can put the nail in the coffin.

So, my prediction is that we do eventually land another SG for the class of '09. While I'm not quite sure how that will shake out in the end with the scholarships, I'm pretty sure it's going to happen. I'm putting my money on Sherrod Wright.

That is all. Enjoy the game tonight! Lets get a W, but more importantly lets get out of there without any injuries.

Kerry Wood Now In Stock., Available For Purchase

Says Tom Haudricourt.

DO NOT WANT.

Big East Preview...Preview

Ok, I'm committing myself to putting up some interesting Big East posts in the next couple of days. Here's a preview of...the preview:

• DT3's most hated Big East teams - a 1 through 16 retrospective
• DT3's most hated Big East coaches - a 1 through 16 retrospective
• DT3's most hated Big East players - a 1 through 16 retrospective
• DT3's Big East predictions - I'm telling you fuckers right now that Notre Dame is way too fucking overrated and will spit the bit this year. Also, I want Pitt to fucking lose every game besides Notre Dame b/c Jamie Dixon is a weasel, DeJuan Blair is fat and Bobby Knight likes them!!!
• Big East Non-conference games to Watch - I love non-conference games, I'll go through the biggest ones for the league. Notre Dame vs Bryant will not be included.

I Have a Bad Feeling About This

I don't know why, but I can't shake the feeling that Marquette is embarking upon a rough year compared to our previous performances. I know, I’m the negative guy around here along with Rubie, but I see some very concerning things. I think we’ll make the tournament, but I believe we’ll be a double digit seed and finish around 9-9 or 10-8 in the league. Here are my concerns

No frontcourt – we don’t even have bodies! O’Tule and Burke, that’s it. I would kill for Chris Grimm right now. O’Tule fouled out in 15 minutes versus CSU-Pueblo. What happens when both O’Tule and Burke have two fouls with 12 minutes left in the first half? Need I remind everyone that the Big East include Hasheem Thabeet and Luke Harangody, plus the 18 or so 6-9 wings from U of L. Yuck.

New coach – I love what Buzz has done on the recruiting trail, but he’s the most inexperienced coach in a league of legends. Pitino, Huggins, Calhoun, Boeheim. Christ, the second tier includes the likes of Dixon and Wright. By the way, DeCourcey was on 1250 yesterday morning. The d-bag Michigan guy, you know, the one with the “girlfriend” named Katie, asked DeCourcey if the Big 11 had the best collection of coaches in the nation. DeCourcey gave him the biggest bitch slap ever and said that the Big East coaches were better “because they actually get good players to play for them. The 15-25th best players in the Big East would be all conference players in the Big 11.” He didn’t even mention the national titles and Final Four appearances
Injury bug already – Fulce could help out, but he’s out until mid-December and Cubby is still hobbled, not a good start

Schedule – anyone else see the final 5 games? UConn, Pitt, UL, Georgetown and Syracuse? Ick! We better be in good shape by then
Lack of 3-point threat – Let’s face it, the Big 3 can’t shoot the trey, at all. Cubby can get hot and his shoulder really hampered him last year, but how do we get him on the court? Hayward can hit the three, but, as I’ve said, he’s very smart and selective with it – we can’t have him throwing up bombs or we have zero chance at offensive boards

I took a step in the right direction with being positive last year. Outside of a couple of meltdowns (home against DePaul and BET against Seton Hall), I kept the faith. I’m still keeping the faith, but really downgrading my expectations this year.

Badgers receive letter of intent from big, slow, white guy

I'd like to thank E-money for reminding us that the early signing period has started. From my brief glimpse of jsonline this morning, I was pleased to see that Buzz had used his Texas charm to bring in some big men and a legitimate point guard; hopefully Junior Cadougan will understand the importance of such things as stretching, drinking fluids, eating bananas, and sharing the ball.

I was also pleased to see that the Badgers have provided us with some excellent fodder in the coming years with the signing of Mike Bruesewitz and Diamond Taylor, "two players who fit the Bo Ryan mold". Mike Bruesewitz, as you can see from the pic, is a big white guy from MN... just what Bo Ryan loves. And with a name like Diamond Taylor, I'm sure some sort of scandal involving drugs, drunken sorority girls, or "free" sneakers is going to arise... should be entertaining.

E:60 Last Night about DWade

its crazy to think he was going through all this, not to mention having a child of his own, during his years tearing it up in CUSA at Marquette. I love seeing those old MU clips. He's a freak!

Early signing period nears

So the early signing period for the class of '09 begins shortly and we are still waiting for word from the likes of Michael Snaer and Colvin. According to a number of sources, Snaer has stated that Missouri is essentially out of the running leaving Marquette, Kansas, and Florida State in his final three, and also Chris Colvin has reportedly scratched MU off of his "short" list (quotes because he has like 10 schools on his list). Interestingly enough Snaer has announced that he will announce his committment THIS Wednesday at his high school. Very exciting but I am not at all optimistic like I was with the Jeronne Maymon presser. Here's my opinion: 1. This is eerily similar to the Iman Shumpert situation this year. 3 schools (MU, top notch basketball school, and then a mediocre ACC school....weird), top 20ish recruit, announcing at a large press conference, and in need of a top notch guard. 2. Kansas is the winner - Kansas has offered to like 4 top 20 guards (1 of which is ranked the#1 prospect, and the others also in the top 20), all of which has Kansas on their short list. Being such a successful program they will likely land 1 or 2 of them. Aside from Snaer, the other 3 have already stated that they are planning on waiting until spring to decide on their destination. That being said, if Snaer had is eye on Kansas, it's a perfect opportunity for him to committ to them early and let Kansas build around him as they wish. So this announcement date makes a bit of sense. This is all just a theory of course, but we are up against stiff competition and the last time we had this battle we lost.....ahem....Tyshawn Taylor......Bob Hurley.....dick. So while I am hoping we are the winner here, I am not going to hold my breath over it. I guess we shall wait and see on Wednesday.

A Husker that would fit in perfect with the Packers Defense

We Lost to the Fucking Vikings...seriously?

Boy what a pathetic performance again by our beloved Packers. First and foremost, we were lucky to even have a shot at winning that game late as our offense was horrible and defense not much better.

Wide Right-There is no excuse for missing a 52 yarder in the cozy confines of the dome especially after a perfect snap and perfect hold. Crosby just flat missed it wide right. It would have been an awesome win instead now we have to deal with both the Vikes and the Bears for the division title.

-Special Teams-Now we know why they call him Will the Thrill...not the smartest guy in the world, but when he gets the ball in his hands watch out. Oh and I think the punter experiment is just about over. He was killing us in the field position game and he doesn't have an excuse either because of the confines.

-Offense-We have a very prolific offense but when our o-line (especially the left side of Colledge and Clifton) can't hold blocks in both run game and pass game and get penalized for false starts and holds all game long it puts A-Rodg and Grant behind the 8 ball.

-Defense-No complaints about the secondary...they kept us in the game and are playing phonemically right now and they finally caught some balls. As for the rest of the defense, the linebackers and d-line are all struggling. Sure we have a lot of injuries, but we can't get off blocks, over pursue the ball a lot, have too many arm tackles, and can't get off the field toward the end of the game when we need a big stop. That's 2 weeks in a row when the opponents (and their respective prolific offenses) just drove right down the field in the later half of the 4th quarter.

Coaching-Slowly starting to feel like $ and Rubie. Two weeks in a row McCarthy screwed up the use of time outs. why challenge to see if Peterson is down on the 1. Not only do we lose a time out as no angles even remotely show that he was short, but if they do take away the TD our defense had no shot at stopping the run game when all the needed was a few feet not to mention we'd have enough time to drive down the field. I know I was pissed cuz I'd rather have 2 time outs to help get us down the field. He got bailed out by a nice return and a lucky bounce, but then decided to run the ball 2 times instead of attacking with some time outs and plenty of time to get closer. Yeah I had a lot of confidence that Crosby was going to make it but why make it harder than it needed to be. 2 running plays set up 3rd and 6...the Vikes bring everyone so that all 4 receivers had one on one coverage. The check down calls for Driver to just stop there and make the catch and then try for the 6 yards. Hit him with one of those slant patterns to at least get him moving which he probably would have taken to the house since the DB had given him a clear lane up the field.

In conclusion, a huge missed opportunity...again! Now it sets up an absolute must win against the Bears next week who have the same crappy offense the Vikes have, but a defense that is going to frustrate the hell out of us again. Looking forward to it!

Feeling Better About Living in Wisconsin

I was very scared to see the results for the below JSonline poll.  Looks like Packer Backers are coming to grips with reality.

67% of 7000 people said they would rather have Aaron Rodgers than Brett Favre at this point.

"But It Will Be Good for the City"

Out of morbid curiousity yesterday, I hopped on Ticketmaster.com to check out availability of MU tickets. The UW game is sold out - duh. Most interesting was the glaring lack of ticket sales for the UWM game. Row J seats on the side of the court were available. What wrong UWM fans? Still bitter about the hundo we dropped on you last year? Or are you too depressed that the man that made UWM a "national player," Bud Haidet, is leaving? What a rivalry!

Check Out Travis Diener...

I think this might have been his first game back. Had a nice highlight on ESPN highlights, but got T'd up for this.

[Rubie sez: Figured it'd be easier to embed this one, too. Nice T, Muttonchops.]

K-Suck

Another football post for E. As you may have heard, the glorious reign of Ron Prince is coming to an end at K-State. Check out this fantastic YouTube video of Mr Prince trying to pump up the students with the most pathetic mascot, Willie the Wildcat, helping out with his very own Hot Lixx guitar. Classic stuff, termination was assured after this debacle. Please note the foam head and man arms on the mascot.



Also, I can't figure out how to imbed the video - help there would be appreciated.

[Rubie sez: I didn't want to edit your post, but I thought it'd be easier to just embed the video rather than providing a detailed explanation of how to do so in the comments.]

Worst in the Majors?

From SI.com's Truth and Rumors:

A group that tracks every ball hit in the majors says Derek Jeter is the worst fielder in baseball. Stats guru Bill James, author of the "Baseball Abstract," and a panel of nine other voters, ranked Jeter 22nd among all major-league shortstops, with one calling Jeter "the least effective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position."

Hmm. I know a certain portly first baseman who'd like a word with these folks.