Posts Tagged ‘Louisville Cardinals’

Cornell won the Ivy League for a second straight year - and got blown out in the first round both NCAA trips

The Other Side to March’s “Madness”

It’s been raining all day today (Friday) here in Knoxville, so I think it’s perfect time to do this post, one I’ve been conjuring up for the past week. A couple of disclaimers: first, it has little or nothing to do with anything Tennessee-related; secondly, overall it just isn’t going to be a happy post in any sense.

The NCAA Tournament is undoubtedly one of the greatest sporting events in the world. It’s my favorite time of the year, along with the fall of course. We all know why it’s so great – a champion being determined on the court, players rising to the occasion, teams playing their best basketball, schools you’ve never heard of putting a scare into a traditional power – so on and so forth. The office pool phenomenon is second to Super Bowl parties in sports-related hooplas. Everybody loves it and says that’s what makes college basketball so much fun to watch.

However, there’s a bad side to just about everything, and the NCAA Tournament/March Madness. And it’s one I’ve come to realize this past March more than ever before.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, friends and neighbors the NCAA Tournament is upon us.  Thus, we all get ready for the mayhem that accompanies that grand old tradition.  For what seems like forever, that has included watching endless hours of basketball courtesy of CBS Sports.  Now, generally, I am a huge fan of CBS Sports, and I favor their web presence when it comes to sports content on the internet. **

All that said, last year’s NCAA tournament almost drove me mad.  Actually it wasn’t the tournament, but the way that CBS covered the tournament on television.  That led me to fire off at the mouth a bit.  Since it is that time again, I figured it would only be appropriate to take a stroll down memory lane and look back on what I had to say about CBS’s coverage.  I do this for two reasons.

First, this seems relevant as we all get ready to become couch potatoes for a month.  This may be minimized a little bit due to the fact that CBS will be broadcasting all games online free of charge once again, but the fact remains a big flat screen is infinitely better than even the best computer monitor.

Second, I have been so busy that I haven’t yet gotten a chance to finish up my thoughts on the Oklahoma State Cowboys…

Thus, without further adieu, we go back in time to my post entitled simply:

CBS = Complete Bull Sh*t

The following is an excerpt from an archived post on Gate 21 which originally appeared on 31 March 2008.  To continue reading the original post in its entirety, simply click the title above, or the “Continue Reading” link at the foot of this post

I intentionally waited a few days before airing this complaint, mainly because I didn’t want my vitriol to be mistaken as nothing more than “sour grapes” over the BasketVols loss to the Louisville Cardinals.

Trust me, this has nothing to do with Tennessee, Louisville, or any other specific team…

For the past … well, it seems like quite a long time, now … CBS has been the exclusive home of the NCAA Tournament. I vaguely remember ESPN covering first and second-round games during the 1990s, but CBS is all we have had for a while. Either way, CBS has held a stranglehold on the Final Four since Billy Packer conned James Naismith himself into signing over the rights some time during the 1920s — back when Billy Packer was in his 50s.

First of all, I do want to applaud CBS Sportsline — CBS Sports’ internet division — for their ambitious decision to broadcast every tournament game for free on the web. Similarly, the CBS “Game Center” on the internet for each game — displaying myriad stats and information in real time — is amazing. It is as artful as it is impressive. Any fan can get up-to-the-second information on every facet of the game — including points, fouls, assists, shooting trends, whether a player is taking bribes to throw the game, which boosters the cute little cheerleader next to the basket is sleeping with, and so much more — via one of the best interfaces I’ve ever seen for statistical information of that kind.

Despite the minor fact that the bandwidth draw for the “March Madness on Demand” service has been so obscenely high that it has — at times — nearly crashed massive trunk lines on the web, I salute these efforts of CBS’s internet division. For reasons which will become clear in a second, in the future I may choose this as the only way I’ll watch the tournament — even if it is in a 5″ x 5″ low resolution streaming window.

Continue Reading >>

**Disclosure: While lawvol is a voting member of the CBS Sports Football Blog Poll and the CBS Sports BasketBlog Poll, neither this site, its editor, nor publisher receives any payment or other compensation of any type or kind in return for participation. Furthermore, neither Gate 21 nor lawvol received any benefit of any kind for this article, which was neither requested nor solicited by CBS Sports. This article represents the actual opinion of the author (for what that is worth) and was in no way influenced by any other person(s).

Check out the Full Poll Results at Garnet and Black Attack!

Week 1

Through 6 January 2009

Well, given the fact that the collective SEC Blogging brain trust simply couldn’t give up on a good thing, this week Gate 21 along with a host of real blogs (ones that actually know what they are talking about) proudly debuts the first SEC Basketball Power Poll, ranking the relative “power” (hence the name … pretty cool, huh?) of the basketball squads for each of the SEC-member schools on a weekly basis throughout conference play.  In the future, these ballots will be submitted by the various members at the first of the week with the results being posted over at Garnet and Black Attack Thursday-ish.  Since this week is the first week of the 2009 Poll, however, well … we’re running behind.

Anyway, here’s my ballot for this first week in the SEC Basketball Power Poll, along with a feeble attempt at explaining why I’m such a moron.

In all its radiant glory:

So there you have it, my pre-SEC conference Power Poll rankings which are worth almost nothing.  In a few weeks we should have a much clearer picture of who is for real and who is not.  For now, however, we are really left to little more than educated guessing.

The Rest of the Power Poll

Now that you have wasted your time looking at my ballot, go check out what everybody else is saying over at Garnet and Black Attack, where the final poll results will be posted Thursday-ish.

– Go Figure …

Check out the Full Poll Results at Garnet and Black Attack or SEC Power Poll.com

Week 2

After another weekend of excitement, here’s my ballot for this week in the SEC Power Poll.

Here they are, in all their radiant glory:

I imagine I will catch the ire of some of the Arkansas fans, among others, this week but I’m used to being wrong.  As always, feel free to let me know where I am wrong or right.  Final ballots are due by Wednesday, so don’t take too long…

The Rest of the Power Poll

Now that you have wasted your time looking at my ballot, go check out what everybody else is saying over at Garnet and Black Attack or SEC Power Poll.com.  I’ll post the final poll results once it is released later in the week.

More later today, once I get a chance to come up for air…

– Go Figure …

I somehow managed to miss these yesterday in the run-up to the game against Louisville, but the boys over at Awful Announcing have discovered a site with pictures of Bruce Pearl from his high school yearbook, with a Superfly afro.

All I can say to that hairdo is … “Baaauun-Chicka-Baaun-Chow“

Man, I find more reasons to like Bruce Pearl everyday…

– Go Figure …

Images Courtesy of: The Dirty

Well, I’m not going to pretend that I am happy with the result of the BasketVols‘ game against the Louisville Cardinals, no one likes losing … but I am so happy with this season that I can hardly contain myself.

I would have loved to see the BasketVols advance to the Elite 8 and set one more team record, by advancing farther in the NCAA Tournament than any other Tennessee team. I would have loved to have seen the Vols have a shot at making the Final Four, but it just wasn’t in the the cards. Still, I am so amazingly proud of this team and what they accomplished this year.

As odd as it sounds, I am so happy that, finally, Tennessee fans have earned the right to be disappointed that basketball season is over …

In years past, when the Mens basketball season ended, there was little to be disappointed with. If (and that is a huge “if”) Tennessee had made the NCAA Tournament, the Tennessee faithful had no reason to be disappointed — in years past, just getting there was all that was ever expected. You can only be disappointed if you expect more. You don’t get disappointed, unless you care. Now, for the first time in my entire lifetime, all of Orange Nation cares.

This year was very special for the Tennessee Basketball program, it was a coming out party of sorts. For the first time since Coach Mears walked the sidelines in Stokely Athletic Center, Tennessee fans had a lot of reasons to get excited, and for the first time Tennessee “belonged” at the forefront of the world of college basketball. As long as Bruce Pearl is coaching the Vols, I think they will continue to “belong.“

In the end, tonight’s game against Louisville was far from the best game that the Vols have played this year. Early fouls for Wayne Chism, inconsistent play at point guard, the inability to beat the press, and a lack of offensive rhythm, and a long list of other things really killed the Vols down the stretch. None of that really matters now. The only thing that matters now is what did the season represent?

Progress…

This year the BasketVols end the season at 31-5, better than any other team in the history of the University of Tennessee. After more than 40 years, the outright SEC Championship belongs to the Vols. Tennessee both beat the No. 1 team in the country, and earned the right to be the No. 1 team in the country. For the first time since the 1970’s, Tennessee filled its arena for every game. The list goes on.

A few years back, none of this was possible…

Tonight was an end of sorts. Three fabulous young men: Jordan Howell, Chris Lofton, and JaJuan Smith young men I am proud to say represented my alma mater, played their final games for Tennessee. To each of them, we owe our thanks. Good luck gentlemen, and Godspeed …

Tonight also represented the final sentence in this 2007-08 chapter of the basketball program. With that, the most remarkable season in Tennessee Mens Basketball history comes to a close.

Ultimately, however, the loss to Louisville does not represent an end, but rather a beginning. Three years ago, Tennessee was mired in the throes of perpetual mediocrity. Now, the future looks bright. In just three short years, Tennessee has come so far under Coach Pearl’s leadership. Tennessee is now — legitimately — a basketball school. Tennessee took huge strides this year, and next year they will take some more. No matter what happens in the future, I know I will always look back and say that it all truly started here, in 2007-08.

In the end, a win against Louisville in Charlotte would have helped the BasketVols take one more step forward, but the loss isn’t a step backward. Coach Pearl summed it up best when he recounted to Bob Kesling what he told the players after the game: “Tonight could have added to this season, but in no way did it detract from it.“

Now there has been a great deal of discussion swirling about whether Indiana or some other suitor will come calling to try and pry Bruce Pearl away from Tennessee. I have refrained from writing on that until now, because there were more important things at hand. I plan on covering it a bit more in the future, but for now all I can say is that I hope Bruce Pearl remains in Knoxville for a very, very, long time to come. I personally have never believed in a coach in any sport more than I believe in Bruce Pearl — and if I feel that way, I can’t imagine how much the BasketVols believe in him.

To the BasketVols I send my sincerest thanks — you all were great this year, and I hope it was as rewarding for you as it was for all of the members of the Orange Nation. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your effort and work.

This team made basketball fun again….

As for Louisville, they will go on to play the Tarheads in the Elite Eight. They played tenaciously tonight, and I wish them all the best as they advance in the tournament. Though I’m disappointed that the Cardinals beat the Vols, Rick Pitino and his Louisville squad can make up to me by beating the Tarheads by 80 — no, let’s make it 90 — on Saturday.

In closing, all I can say is that despite the fact I started this blog as a “football” blog, this season has changed that. Thus, while I haven’t quite figured out what I’m going to do yet, no longer will this blog be about “Life, the Universe, and College Football” with only the add-on of “Plus Basketball” it’s time that my little corner of the Tennessee and SEC sports world recognize that the Tennessee Volunteers aren’t just about football, and give credit to Coach Pearl’s program. For now, I’ve adopted the new byline of “Life, the Universe, and the Bounce of the Ball“…

I welcome any suggestions or thoughts from the blogosphere for a “revised” byline.

There is no question that I hate to lose as much as the next alum or fan, and I am disappointed, so very disappointed to see it all end. Yet, after what I have seen from Coach Pearl and this team — all the promise for the future, all the fun of this season, all the excitement of actually being a contender in the NCAA Tournament — I can honestly say, when it comes to sports …

… this is the happiest I’ve ever been to be disappointed.

– Go Figure …

Update: 28 March

Here are a few other thoughts on the game worth reading:

• Standing O for the Tennessee Volunteers – Rocky Top Talk
  
• Louisville 79, Tennessee 60 – The Bruce Ball Blog
• Crapola — Fulmer’s Belly
• A Look Back at Last Night – Third Saturday in Blogtober
• Louisville Ends Volunteers Season — World According to MoonDog
• A Picture Tells the Whole Story — Pigskin Pathos
  

With a win tonight in the Sweet 16, the BasketVols will take the next step in cementing their place as the greatest Tennessee Mens Basektball team of all time. They will be tested, that is for sure, but everything tells me that tonight Bruce and the Barbarians will be ready, and will not disappoint.

Though I rarely make prognostications, I predict Tennessee will defeat Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals tonight somewhere on the order of 76 – 70. Hopefully I’m not completely crazy, but I believe in this team.

For a more in depth breakdown, see the Bruce Ball Blog and Rocky Top Talk — any statistical analysis I would write would pale in comparison. For a lighter, and really ponderous take on the match-up, slide on over to Fulmer’s Belly.  Tipoff is tonight at 9:57 on CBS.

In the meantime … (note spy movie music in the background…)

It’s time for a battle … it’s time for a reckoning … and it’s time for Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals to pay for their actions, and Bruce Pearl is the ready hold them accountable!

Go Vols! Beat the Cardinals!

– Go Figure …