Y2K-U: Cousin Dan's Weekly Update

A little stream of consciousness from watching far too much sports this weekend…

--So, Ohio State and Wisconsin are allegedly the two best teams in the country? If you read this blog, you know my feelings on the Buckeyes, who are one 2-15 from 3 day away from losing on the first weekend. Which makes it doubly disappointing that Wisconsin couldn’t find a way to score 50 points in their game on Sunday. So, now we’ll be subjected to a whole bunch more stories about Grandpa Oden and his merry men, and maybe a number one overall seed, but I still don’t think too many teams who have at least one capable defensive big are quaking about facing OSU.

--Which led to the OSU fans storming the floor? Seriously? Hey, kids…you’re NUMBER ONE! Number One does not storm the floor. Chalk up another one in the “Why I root for Michigan” column in their annual battles despite a lack of actual caring, right behind “because Michigan’s actually a good school” but just ahead of “Michigan never burns their city down.”

--You want a real scary team? I’ll give you a scary team. (Wait for it. You know it’s coming. That’s right!) How about those Kansas F’n Jayhawks? To borrow a Scott Van Pelt phrase, they are just dump trucking the opposition right now. Granted, most of the teams in the Big 12 are a half-step up from whoever Memphis is playing, but when you’re winning one game 92-39 and leading another 51-20 in one week’s time, it’s time to stand up and take notice. To borrow another phrase from a Goldman Sachs All-Star I know, watch out for Sherron Collins, the frosh dynamo who just puts the ball in the basket in every way possible. Which is, after all, the object of the game.

--Glad to see Henrik Stenson win the Match Play, and not just because the sportsbook ban prevented me from playing Ogilvy at 35-1. Stenson is 30, but I learned after the match that his wife (linkto: http://www.golfonline.com/golfonline/slideshow/0,17572,1535946,00.html) is going to go to college to play golf this year. Just found that interesting. Dude just beat Tiger in Dubai and won the match play, ranked in the world’s top ten, and his wife is going to college.

--UNC-Maryland was one of the better games anyone’s seen in a while. If you want to figure out who UNC is going to lose to in the tournament, find a team that (a) has athletes, and lots of ‘em, (b) won’t be scared when UNC rips off eight in a row, and (c) will let UNC choke it away in the end. Seriously, every UNC loss is the same now: they get down late, and then they just start chucking despite having an All-American center who is permitted to travel! It’s bizarre but heartening for the rest of us.

--And the next team to beat UNC might be Georgia Tech, who has the athletes and the home court Thursday night in Atlanta. The way that Georgia Tech is playing, I have to admit that I have absolutely no idea how my beloved Wahoos beat them on Saturday. But getting away from the game for a second, my clear favorite moment of that telecast was the announcer’s discussion of who should be player of the year. There are six clear candidates, and any unbiased observer can name them: Dudley, Thornton, Singletary, Hansbrough, Dowdell, and Reynolds. That’s it and that’s all. And the telecast got it right!! Way to go, Steve Lavin and Dave O’Brien! That said, what are the chances that TBPAD® Josh McRoberts screws two of them out of first team all-conference status? If you said 100%, you know the crooked ACC politics. So what if McShuffle isn’t in the top TWENTY in scoring in the conference? He gets lots of rebounds (because he’s tall) and blocks (because he’s incapable of fouling). Mark my words on this one…it’s probably Reynolds and Dowdell who miss first team so The Best Player At Duke gets his rightful spot.

--If anyone tells you they know what to expect from Memphis and their upcoming two seed in the Big Dance, they’re either John Calipari or lying.

--Duke women go undefeated through the toughest schedule and conference in the land. I wonder what idiot left them off the entire ESPN Mag top-8 preview. (Not entirely my fault, though. I’ll think of a good excuse why it happened later).

--Haven’t mentioned UCLA yet. They just keep winning. Howland’s a great coach. But still think something’s missing. Maybe I just can’t believe Darren Collison is as good as he’s playing. If he is, the Bruins are the lock-iest team to get to the Final Four. With him, they just don’t seem to slip up.

--Finally, this is a Yankee-haters site, so I’m pretty stoked to see pitchers and catchers reporting, and the Banks already whining. Deej and A-Rod don’t have sleepovers. Moose doesn’t like Pavano. Mo wants a contract. And all Yankee$ fan$ want to talk about is a 20-year-old pitcher who is assuredly the next Roger Clemens while the current one pitches to his son in Astros camp. Guess what, Yank$ fan$? Phil Hughes ain’t the answer in ’07, which means that you guys have the second, nay, third best rotation in the AL East. Which could mean another tough October in the Bronx. (Note: this item is not meant to spur on 4 anonymous posts regarding the Mets’ current starting debacle; it’s just an observation)

Championship Week starts Thursday…it’s the most wonderful time…of the year!!

- Cousin Dan