Adios Muchacho! 

Lane Kiffin was abruptly fired in the wee hours of Sunday morning after the team's charter flight taxied to the gate as his team returned from a 62-41 thrashing at the hands of the Arizona State Sun Devils. Kiffin had been the #1 whipping boy for USC as he lost his fan base, his team and more importantly games. He inherited a football program caught cheating and the NCAA slapped them with heavy sanctions. This is not the first time USC has faced the wrath of the NCAA for their cheating ways. The arrogant fan base demands nothing but their old glory days when Heisman Trophy winners dotted the sidelines and that damn white stallion raced around the track.

I'm no Kiffin apologist and I certainly am no fan of Southern Cal (they don't like being called that anymore) but the true villain of why this once highly esteemed football program has fallen as far as it has now resides in the Pacific Northwest. Yes, it's that gum chewing, smirking cheerleader, one Pete Carroll. He cheated and cheated until he was caught and fled for the millions Paul Allen and the Seattle Seahawks threw at him. And without even the slightest hint of remorse. I wish there was an NFL rule that prohibits coaches who put a university into NCAA sanctions from taking a NFL job until their prior university exits from probation. I'd pay to see that smirk wiped off Pete Carroll's face if that rule was in place today.

So I was wrong again! What's new? I usually make my picks with my heart and not that other important part of my anatomy. That said, I still think Michigan had the better talent, they just didn't have the best "college" talent. What Louisville and Pitino did to win works best in my opinion at the college ranks. Pitino has already crashed and burned twice tying to bring his full-court hackathon to the NBA. I also thought Michigan was victimized by a rather poor effort by the officiating crew. Louisville is hard to officiate in that they press the issue of bumping the ball handler as much as they can and the boys blowing the whistles didn't want to consistently stop the action. I get it but it's not fair to what Michigan wanted to do.
Finally, I would ask Coach Beilein why he elected to have the game dictated by Louisville's pint sized guards getting to the rim. Why no zone or packing the lane? I only ask because while at West Virginia he ran a 1-3-1 zone. He gets paid millions and he had the better future NBA talent, so I am a bit perplexed. In my opinion you never know when you'll get this opportunity and I would do anything I could to insure a better result, like winning.
In the end it was a great game to watch and will go a long way to supporting college basketball. So much better than having to watch a Wisconsin type game.

Okay, so I jumped right to tonight's championship game between Louisville and Michigan. I basically shipped over the entire Sweet Sixteen and you know why, I didn't care. My bracket had been destroyed. There was plenty of warnings heading into this year's March Madness that hailed it was any one's tournament but did you really think that a Cinderella  would actually win. It almost happened. Wichita State almost crashed the ball before turning back into a pumpkin.
We are now left with a battle between two power conferences. The Big East vs the Big Ten. It had to be. CBS didn't pay all that cash to watch two Mid-Majors battling it out.
So tonight, who wins? Is it the pressure of Louisville or the talent of Michigan? I'm going with "Go Blue". Look for a quick paced game with the 3 point shooting of Michigan to be the deciding factor.
It's officially Baseball Season!

  

Day 4

Play and survive was the tone Sunday with a number of great games decided by late buckets.

Ohio State/Iowa State had it all. Two teams evenly matched playing their tails off. A true March Madness buzzer beater that will enrich the highlight reels for years to come. Controversy... was it a charge or wasn't it a charge? In the end Ohio State moves on and sets up a classic match up of former Xavier coaches, Thad Motta and Sean Miller. You didn't think I wouldn't get a Xavier plug in did you.

Kansas found themselves down by nine at half to North Carolina and had made zero three pointers for their first three halves of the tournament before blitzing the 3-point arc for a quick 4 or was it five to take complete control over UNC and they move on.

Temple and LaSalle made the city of Philadelphia proud in their efforts Sunday although only LaSalle moves on. Temple battled tournament favorite Indiana to the every end before falling to the Hoosiers while LaSalle used a late tip in for their first appearance in the Sweet Sixteen since high top Converse were the rage.

The only question I have for Florida Gulf Coast is, how did you lose to Lipscomb twice this year? These guys are both talented and extremely entertaining to watch. I only wish more coaches preferred their fast breaking style of play.

It's now time for the Sweet Sixteen and time for the chalk to step up. I fully expect teams from the so called power conferences to take back the tourney. My picks for the Final Four are Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Indiana. Then again, I'm stuck near the cellar in my Tourney Bracket, so don't take these picks to Vegas.

  

Day 3

On the hits just keeping on coming.

Gonzaga, do you realize what you have done? Never again in the history of March Madness will a team outside the so called power conferences ever be trusted with a #1 Seed. You may be able to run the table in the weaker than weak West Coast Conference but you puked when it counted, March.

Best game of the day featured Butler vs Marquette and they didn't disappoint. These two teams met back in Hawaii in a game decided by a miracle three buzzer beater and judging how close the game was throughout they could keep this going for hours. Wait till next year when Butler joins the Big East.

VCU ran into a team with a handle and it was curtains for the hackers from Richmond. Great to see them get manhandled.

Arizona sent the Crimson of Harvard back to Beantown but let's give it up to a team of true student athletes and how college sports should be.

It's now time for the Sweet Sixteen and how's your bracket? Mine is utterly been destroyed but that's why we are hooked yearly on March Madness.

 

Day 2

Let me get right to the point. Georgetown is a fraud year in and year out. Given that John Thompson II only won one title over all the years he roamed and intimidated the sidelines with the talent he acquired on a yearly basis it's no surprise his kid, John Thompson III has no freaking clue what he's doing. My problem is I get hooked every year on picking these sorry saps to advance in my bracket and every year I get hosed by the Hoyas. The Princeton offense needs to be kicked out the door.

I am exuberant though over the early departure of the Wisconsin Badgers. I hate there style pure and simple. Slow and slower. Isn't it time for Bo-ball to be extinguished.

Nortre Dame needs a makeover and I'm not talking about the players. They simply need to tell Adidas to stuff those neon green uniforms. You are a great school with a great athletic tradition and you do not need any gimmicks. The Yankees don't break out new uni's at playoff time.

I need to give a shout out to the A-10. They have been dominate so far. As a Xavier alum, I'm proud of what our conference has accomplished even though it's sickening we aren't in the tourney.

UCLA is another flawed program that needs a makeover. I think that's coming rather quickly with Ben Howland being shown the door.

One last thing and it's about style. So called expects like to say the NBA is a players league and college basketball is about coaches. I would hope to think that after watching teams like Florida Gulf Coast that it is all about the players and their love of the game. Basketball at it best is meant to be played fast.

Day 1.

March Madness is off and running and there is plenty to talk about already.
First and foremost, New Mexico has to have been the most over seeded team in the history of the tournament. If I had seen even five minutes of any one of their games I would have had them losing right away instead of advancing to the Sweet 16. Go Crimson!
Hey Seth Davis and Jay Bilas, what sort of weed have you both have been smoking, considering your shout outs that Arizona and Syracuse were heading home early. Just a quick question, did you even see Belmont or Montana play this year? Belmont wasn't exactly blown out but they were never, never a serious threat. I turned off the Cuse game right away as it was blow out city.
You had to feel sick for Davidson. The played a near perfect game. Marquette, so far the luckiest team in the tournament was 1-10 from beyond the arc and then quickly flushed three 3's very late to get themselves back in the game. The ending was miserable as Davidson threw the ball away and then played no defense on a nearly uncontested layup for the Marquette victory.
Hey Zags, you were almost a trivia answer as to who was the first #1 seed to lose to a #16. It's tough sometimes to play that first tournament game but at least you won.
Great comeback by St. Mary's as they nearly provided one of those patented buzzer beater March Madness moments.
Finally, how many comericals are there? These kids can never get tired playing two minute shifts. Take the timeouts away from the coaches and we'd really see games decided by the players

Who Who !!

I took a step back to my youth and stayed out late last night attending  "The Who" concert in Phoenix, AZ. I say that because the first time I saw The Who in 1967 I was fifteen. It was their initial American tour and they were but the warmup band. The headliners that night were Herman's Hermit's but my buddy Bill Moriarty and I went to see The Who. They were a brash loud British band that closed out their concerts by tearing up the stage and destroying their instruments, something I just had to see. Their play list was a short one but offered early hits like Substitute and My Generation. We didn't get to hear any on their early stuff last night as they performed music from the album Quadrophenia followed by a five song encore that had the arena rocking. I left knowing that I got my money's worth and if they offer me another opportunity down the road, I bet I'll be there again. Not waiting 45 years between concerts this time.

Elaine, Elaine, Elaine

I was fifteen when "The Graduate" debuted with Kathrine Ross playing the role of Elaine Robinson. I was smitten immediately. She was gorgeous. She was every teenage boys dream.
I noticed in today's newspaper that she is celebrating her 73rd Birthday. How could that be?
So, I give a Birthday shout-out to Elaine...many more. Firing up the DVD tonight.

Flu be Gone

Like many many Americans this winter I encountered my annual bout with the flu over the weekend. I didn't make it an hour into my trading day Friday, having to pull the plug and head back home and the warm cozy confines of my bed. I was lucky to secure a Doctors appointment, hoping after seeing me cough and sneeze all over him, prescribe me a quick remedy. But not so. I only had the crud, nothing more. He told me my son Mark though was really sick, having a full outbreak of influenza. That didn't make me feel better... only worse for my son.

It's funny how our bodies can go into complete shut down mode whenever threatened by aches and pains. I normally try to get a good six to seven hours of sleep a night but I truthfully slept thirteen hours straight Friday night. My wife said she checked to see if I was still breathing. I awoke had a cup of tea and was in much need of a mid morning nap. How could I be tired? The afternoon nap was even better. Whoever said you can't catch up on your sleep???

In between naps, thank god for stupid sappy movies. "You're Got Mail" and "Double Jeopardy" served as entertainment for the day. I also inhaled countless episodes of "Diners, Drive-In's and Dives". Thank the lord the bar wasn't set too high. I would have watched the sign off pattern if it meant wasting time.

Food or the lack of an appetite is also an intriguing element for flu goers. I had my full of Chicken Soup and drinking Ginger Ale. I think I mentioned more than handful of times nothing tastes good. I think I was in "starve a cold" mode but I sure was hungry. Unfortunately, my napping got in the way of meals. It's was a good time to start a diet.

I've been vocal enough about not getting a flu shot every year but I have already marked my Outlook Calendar to insure I trek to the local Walgreen's to get my 2013-2014 flu shot. No more lost weekends for me ever again.

Lefty...Right On!!

I have always been a big Phil Mickelson fan. I live in Arizona and have had the opportunity to watch him play ever since his days at Arizona State. I love to follow him every Phoenix Open for the pure excitement that he provides, good and bad. Besides, I hate Tiger Woods.

The other day when "Lefty" said "So I'm going to have to make some changes" I thought he'd striped it down the fairway, something Phil doesn't seem to do enough of with his Driver in his hands. What he was referring to was his tax bill as a California resident. He said he was in a group targeted both federally and by the state. The fruits of his labor, something that he's worked a lifetime to perfect were going to cost him. A whole lot.

It's not usual for a professional athlete to open up about his personal finances or talk tax rates. I really cannot recall another time when I have heard anything like this. We all know these guys make a bundle and likely pay the max to Uncle Sam. This time it came from someone with a fresh take on what a higher tax bill really means and what one can do to just say no.

I had a conversation the other day over lunch with someone with a differing view on taxation and he was rather surprised by the actual math of every sixty-three cents of Phil's dollar going to the taxman. It hit me, people are either too stupid  or too lazy to do the simple math. Why is it that we only are surprised to hear those we classify as wealth object about their tax bill. Why doesn't every working American take a real look at their "take home" pay and raise a ruckus. All Americans should be united, yet there are way too many that object to the type of success that Phil Mickelson has achieved in his life. He did it all himself. No one else put in the work.

So when I heard Phil sort of backpedal and say that he no long will publicly criticize the government for taking most of his paycheck, we lost an important voice of reason. I hope Phil will reconsider and drill his Driver directly at Washington and for his sake Sacramento.

What...Me Worry?

Bernanke held true to form yesterday in a speech at the University of Michigan, providing equity traders with another blanket buy recommendation, as he reiterated his call that interest rates don't have a snow balls chance in hell of moving higher in the foreseeable future. And that foreseeable future is at least through the end of 2014. The Fed will roughly dump $80 Billion a month in new liquidity into the marketplace. He's not called "Helicopter Ben" for nothing. Granted we have an abundance of mixed economic signals, growth versus "new normal" stagnation. The "fiscal cliff" was averted to some degree, just don't let the common man in on how his paycheck shrank though an increase in the payroll tax.

Next up is a much more important matter and that is the potential raising of the Debt Ceiling. The U.S is set  to hit the debt ceiling in mid-February and given the rhetoric coming out of our dear President at his last first term press conference yesterday, expect one heck of a battle. He said he will not negotiate. After a contentious battle over the fiscal cliff negotiations where Obama demonized Congressional Republicans, don't expect Speaker Boehner or Senate Minority Leader McConnell to hand him any chance to take another victory lap. Get ready for a rock'em sock'em time on Capital Hill.

Let's be frank, the Debt Ceiling is a whole lot scarier than the Fiscal Cliff. If the borrowing limit is not raised, we could be flung into utter economic chaos. Our credit rating surely will be cut, likely raising rates and our borrowing costs. All sorts of payments would be jeopardized, like Social Security , Medicare, Defense and interest on the national debt. Spending cuts would have to be enacted immediately, fueling a potential recession.

In conclusion, it ain't pretty folks and to think this needs to be negotiated between President Barrack Hussein Obama and Congress should scare the hell out of you. Tell me what these elected officials have done for the good of the country lately? So look for each partner in this mess to ultimately pat each other on the backside as they kick the can down the road once more. This country needs a serious discussion on tax reform and spending cuts. I just hope it's in my lifetime.

Brain Kelly...Really!!

I was switching between a couple of NBA games last night when I noticed ESPN was reporting Brian Kelly had interviewed for the vacant Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach position. This comes a couple of days after his Notre Dame Fighting Irish laid a huge turd in the BCS Championship game and a few days removed where he professed he had his best job and he wasn't leaving Notre Dame.

For Notre Dame this is nothing more than a sucker punch, especially if it's true the interview took place just hours after that horrific loss. He's another coach who screams about loyalty but is always a heartbeat away from listening to any offer that would increase his already bloated checking account.
This might be nothing more than Kelly's willingness to listen to what might lie ahead or just plain stoking his ego.If he's looking for a bit of leverage in his Notre Dame contract, he's very lucky I'm not the one calling the shots. I would be walking him to the door and slamming it on his sorry ass. The line is long of coaches ready and willing to now take on the Notre Dame job.

This surely will pass and Kelly will be back on the Notre Dame sideline but for ND loyalist this stinks.

Stink...Stank...Stuck

There was no joy in my house last night as the less than Fighting Irish fell off the "BCS Cliff" in their effort to unseat Alabama. My son who was spared the waste of time watching the mismatch live while he was in flight asked when I turned off the game. My response was, when ND won the coin toss and elected to defer and allow the Crimson Tide to begin their offensive thrashing. There were plenty of things that went wrong for Notre Dame, like a couple of stiff calls that went against them in the early going but and this is a big BUT, there was no way on January 7, 2013 that Notre Dame was going to beat Alabama. They were by far the more physically dominating nasty team. On both sides of the ball. Bama played the game of their year, while Notre Dame simply never answered the bell. Bad decision.

Spring Training can't get here soon enough for me.

BCS Championship Game

ND IRISH VS CRIMSON TIDE

It's roughly six hours before kickoff in the last college football game of the year and it's time to weigh in on who I think will win the national championship.
Let me first give you a bit of my history. I live within a ND family and house. My wife is a St Mary's grad (1975) a time when Notre Dame was first welcoming coed's on campus. My Father in Law is a Honorary Monogram member, the highest honor bestowed on an individual who supports the university. My wife's sister and brother both attended ND and my Mother in Law has had 8 seats on the fifty for over 20 years. I went to Catholic schools my entire life and one of my best friends at the time, Bob Thomas, kicked the winning field goal in the 1973 Sugar Bowl to give Notre Dame the National Championship.

But, my son Craig was wrongly denied admission to Notre Dame at a time when he met all the necessary qualifications to have gained admittance. He deeply wanted to spend his college years in South Bend. I was more than irate, I was angry and in my anger I swore off all things related to Notre Dame. And boy did I pick a good time to turn my ire against the Irish. They stunk year after year, so much so it was hard to conceal my amusement while watching on Saturday afternoons. I would tell my wife and all withing my vocal range, that not to worry, their Women's programs were top notch. And when my Xavier Musketeers eliminated the basketball version of the Fighting Irish in last years march Madness, I had my revenge. And boy was it sweet.

Oh yea, the game tonight. The Catholics vs "If you Ain't Cheating you're not trying" SEC. Notre Dame versus Alabama. Television and Vegas couldn't pick a better pairing. I'm taking the points (9 1/2) and Notre Dame to win outright.You could say I'm trying to get back in God's good graces but I like that Notre Dame finally has the gang upfront to make the difference. Offensive wins games but Defense wins championships and Notre Dame simply has the better D. I also think Everett Golsen will have Bama remembering what 'Johnny Football" did to them in a HOME loss.

This will be a war. But when the stadium clock strikes 0:00, Notre Dame will putting on the championship gear. Final Score: Notre Dame 24 Alabama 23 ( same as 1973 Sugar Bowl)

I Hate Instant Replay

Instant Replay / I Vote No

If you are sitting on the fifty, mid-court, luxury box, enjoying a few beers with buds at the local bar or even watching on your insanely large 80" Plasma at home, the words you now dread to hear are, "the previous play is under review".
Technology is ruining spectator sports, especially Football and Basketball as we used to know them. The pursuit to correctly break down each and every play in a football game or significant moments in basketball games like last second shots, has turned me off so much that I'm thinking about watching cartoons (Bugs Bunny is my all time favorite) rather than tuning in another game that lasts far too long and disrupts the normal flow of a game. Human error is part of the game. If human error is part of the game, let the officials call the game. Players, coaches and officials will make mistakes. It's all part of the game we love best.

I have basically had it. Throw in the fact that many of these reviews still don't get it right. They seem to take forever or should I say as long for the network to run like 8 or 10 commercials. I only wish you can hear my blood curdling screams. My wife unfortunately can.

Last nights Colorado / Arizona Pac-12 basketball game that opened conference play for each team is a perfect example of what's wrong with referees being able to overturn something they already have correctly ruled on. The play in question at the end of the game was a bang bang shot right at the buzzer. Did the shot beat the game clock or was it late. They ruled initially the shot was good. Then the fun started. The ref's are subjected to look at TV monitors and slo-mo playbacks provided by television replays. Angle after angle, real time and slo-mo over and over and over again. Did he or didn't he release the ball before the clock expired? And after all the looks they disallowed the bucket and the game went into overtime.

Did I mention the game was played in Tucson, on UA's home court in front of a raucous pro UA crowd. And Arizona won in OT.

I was so ticked off I refused to go back to viewing the Fiesta Bowl between Oregon and Kansas State fearing another break in the action so a zebra would consult another tv monitor.
I immediately switched to CBS and watched Person of Interest. At least it wasn't a re-run!