Category / Basketball

by admin

Dancing Days

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just two pools this yearone at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend, as the work pool died due to lack of interest.  I will be in Milwaukee tonight to watch the Purdue Boilermakers make their third straight tournament appearance, hopefully advancing past this first weekend.

Last year’s champion, Villanova, gets the overall #1 seed and are my pick to advance to the Final Four.

Purdue ends up as the 4 seed in the Midwest, and I have them going to the Elite Eight, before falling to Oregon.  I have tickets to the first two games, so I hope they can at least win those 2.

Continue reading →

by jim

Building It Back Up

2 weeks after trading Derrick Rose, the Bulls continued their makeover for the 2016-2017 season by agreeing to sign Chicago-native Dwyane Wade.  Wade, a 34 year old guard, had spent his entire career with the Heat, winning 3 NBA championships.  He joins a Bulls team in transition, Rose, Joakim Noah, and Pau Gasol all gone from last year’s starting lineup.  At his age, Wade will likely play second fiddle to Jimmy Butler as the Bulls try to head back to the playoffs without a major rebuild.

by jim

Tearing It Down

derrick-roseAfter 8 years of hopes, dreams, and frustrations, the Bulls bid farewell to former MVP Derrick Rose yesterday, trading the former superstar to the Knicks, along with Justin Holiday and a second round pick in 2017, for Robin Lopez, Jose Calderon, and Jerian Grant.  Rose, the overall number one draft pick in the 2008 draft, had trouble staying on the court in the last 4 seasons of his tenure, missing more games than he played.

Rose’s career with the Bulls started off with great promise, leading the team to their best showings since Michael Jordan retired the second time following the 1997-1998 NBA Championship.  They looked to be a team on the rise following the 2010-2011 season, which they finished with the best regular season record in the league and lost a hard-fought Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat.  The following December, Rose signed a 5-year contract extension and the Bulls looked to again challenge for the Eastern Conference title.  Sadly, in the first game of the first round against the Sixers, Rose tore his ACL and the favored Bulls were quickly eliminated.

Rose missed the entire 2012-2013 season, despite being cleared by doctors to play in March.  He finally returned for the start of the 2013-2014 season, but a torn meniscus in late November again put him out for the season.  The next two seasons were marred by inconsistent play, more knee injuries, coaching turnover, and a sexual assault lawsuit.  When the Bulls failed to make the playoffs this past season, changes were bound to be made, with this being the first.

by admin

Sweet Sixteen

As we head in to the Sweet Sixteen, I’m currently towards the bottom in my work pool, thanks to upsets galore that have wiped out many of my picks.  3 out of my 4 Final Four picks are still alive, but with plenty of people picking Kansas to win the whole thing, I’ll need to get as many early points as I can.

2016Souths16

Some tough breaks here in the South bracket, but the good news is that my champion is still alive.

2016Easts16

My best bracket to date, with only 3 losses. Continue reading →

by admin

Tournament Time

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m in three different pools again this year, one at work, one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend.  The Purdue Boilermakers return to the tournament for the second straight year, though they will likely not have an easy go of it.

2016SouthThe South bracket has the overall #1 seed in Kansas, who is also my pick to win the whole shebang.

2016EastThe Big 10 is well represented in the East region, with both IU and Wisconsin picked to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

 

Continue reading →

by admin

College Basketball Tipoff

mackeyarenaThe Purdue Boilermakers kick of the 2015-2016 season today, meaning it’s time to take our first ever look at the results of the whopping 10 college basketball games I have attended in my lifetime.  You’d think it would be more, since I was a big fan and we had a great team while I was in school, but for some reason I only made it to 2 games while enrolled in college.  The other 8 have been post-graduation.  Anyway, without further ado, here are the standings for those 10 games.

All-Time Team Records
School Won Loss Winning Pctg
Virginia Commonwealth Rams 1 0 1.000
Purdue Boilermakers 7 3 0.700
Northwestern Wildcats 2 2 0.500
Long Beach State 49ers 0 1 0.000
Illinois Fighting Illini 0 3 0.000
Houston Cougars 0 1 0.000
by admin

What To Do With Derrick Rose?

derrick-roseFollowing the 2010-2011 season, the Chicago Bulls looked to be at the top of the basketball world.  They had just finished with the best regular season record in the league, they lost a hard-fought Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat, and their young superstar, Derrick Rose, was just named league MVP.  However, things did not go as planned.  Multiple knee injuries kept Rose off the court for much of the next 3 seasons, and tensions grew between the hometown star and the team he grew up cheering for.  Things may have come to a head yesterday, when Rose was accused of drugging and gang-rapping an ex-girlfriend in a civil suit.

Rose, of course, released a statement, claiming that he will be proven innocent.  The Bulls released a much shorter statement, and you could feel that Rose’s time in Chicago may have just gotten shorter.  Only time will tell if the allegations against Rose prove to be true, and an initial reading of the lawsuit does show some problems in the accuser’s accounts, but this type of accusation causes damage regardless.

by admin

The Final Four

2015FFWith four teams left to go, my bracket ended up being half right.  I was perfect on the left hand side with Kentucky and Wisconsin, but my predictions were a little less good on the right hand side.  Louisville, at least, made it to the Elite 8, but Iowa State flamed out in the opening round.  Assuming Kentucky finishes things off and wins the whole thing, I should end up winning something in the work pool.

by admin

Sixteen Is So Sweet

As we head in to the Sweet Sixteen, I’m currently tied for first in my work pool, while I’m sure I’m trailing well behind in the other pools.  3 out of my 4 Final Four picks are still alive, but with everyone having Kentucky winning the whole thing, I’ll need to get as many points early as I can.

2015midwestsweet16Things look OK here in the Midwest region, where I have 3 out of the 4 remaining teams.  Assuming Kentucky makes it out, I should remain in the hunt.

2015westsweet16Things look about the same in the West region, although there are more opportunities for me to gain points moving forward.

Continue reading →