Well

I should probably write something about this Kansas game. I should probably do some research or say something intelligent.

Here's the thing. I'm not really worried about this game. I mean, a #14 seed is always dangerous because they play loose, are fired up for the biggest game of their career, and you don't know a whole lot about the team. USC was worrisome because they athletic and the team seemed to be peaking at the perfect time. Kansas...right.

I mean, its Kansas. They have a top 3 (if not the best) point guard, a very solid (57% stone, to be exact) big man, and a great coach. They have tradition. But this isn't one of the better Kansas teams. In fact, this isn't a top 3 Kansas team in the last ten years. Its a good team. Its a young and improving team. But, simply put, it isn't ready to repeat.

Why MSU should win:
- More depth and athletes
- More balance
- More versatile


The Spartans go legitimately 9 players deep. Draymond Green is arguably the biggest scoring threat among big men right now. Summers and Allen, although inconsistent, can put up 20 on any given night. Lucas is quicker than Collins (kansas pg) and a great ball handler. Luscious is almost as quick and isn't afraid of anything. Suton consistently pulls down rebounds, no matter how big the competition is, and manages to get junk shots off. Gray/Ibok...have 10 fouls to give. Walton is a great defender, and as USC could tell you, can hit shots if left open. And I haven't even mention the x-factor ---- Raymar. If Raymar comes to play and everyone else plays their role, defending, rebounding, and distributing, MSU should move on easily.

Here is how I feel about Collins and Aldrich. In fact, I feel the same way about Blake Griffin, or any other superstar without much of a supporting cast: give him his. Let Griffin score 30. Let Collins and Aldrich score 40. Great. Now try to find a way to score 15 more.

MSU - 70
Kansas - 61

MSU First Round

The #2 Spartans take on the #15 Robert Zach Philip Morris the Cat [insert mascot name] tonight.  It should be din-din for the Spartans.  Should be.

We will break these down one by one.

Zach Morris: the [giant] cell phone toting, big hair wearing, Bayside Tiger repping preppy would make a great promotional player.  Unfortunately A.C. Slater had all the physical talent.  No word on whether the [fill in RM mascot here] have an A.C. Slater or two up their collective sleeve.

Philip Morris: A power house U.S. Corporation that has used smoke and mirrors to control the competition.  Posted up the Surgeon General successfully for decades.  Know to leave the opposition winded.  A tale of two games; sometimes filtered sometimes unfiltered.  All players mysteriously under the sign of Cancer.  There is DEFINITELY word on RM having cigs up their properly rolled t-shirt sleeve.  Perhaps best known for their motivational posters...

Morris the Cat: well, not much to say here.  I don't know that a tabby cat can really be a game changer.  I do know that Morris is good at responding to bells, so halftime and buzzer beaters should be his forte.  Also known to be quite finicky in terms of shot selection, the [insert mascot name] are loathe to take a poor shot.  Over-exertion requires a nap or two.  Although strong in the [scratching] post, Morris is susceptible to laser pointers and catnip.  Morris is also dangerous on defense, having 9 fouls to work with rather than the standard 5.

Robert Morris: The [still can't find mascot name] play in the NEC -- an acronym that doesn't have an athletic related search result on googles first page (19th result, page 2).  Obviously a powerhouse, the Colonials (not the architectural style) won their conference tournament for the automatic NCAA Tournament berth.  The NEC website notes that "[t]he postseason will begin for Robert Morris on Friday when the #15 seeded Colonials (not the house) travel to Minneapolis to face second-seeded Michigan State."  Sadly, and surprisingly the article fails to mention this, the postseason will also end during this game.  A colonial representative was not available for comment, mostly because the Internet is not accessible nor powered by candles or whale oil.

Above: the 2007 Colonials starting lineup (sans camera man/point guard Constantine Hampton III).  The Colonials no longer play coed, beginning with the 2009 season.

Above: This colonial home took Robert Morris to the brink last season in the All Colonial Classic.   Robert Morris prevailed in the semi-final, losing to eventual champion Colonial Penn (starring Wilford Brimley and Ed McMahon) in the championship game.  In a show of sportsmanship the rivals shared a Guinness Record setting bowl of oatmeal in the locker room.

MSU - 77

RMU - 60

Funny Things I Wish I Had Written

This is all for now. Perhaps more later. This whole job thing is really slowing me down.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/03/18/ncaatourney/index.html?bcnn=yes

Big. Ten. Champs. (Still)

A conference race that looked -- at least with 3 games left -- like it might come down to the last game of the season ended in a rout. After beating Purdue in East Lansing last Sunday the Spartans padded the outright conference title margin, winning by 4 games over 2nd place Illinois.

Senior night ended with a convincing win, hugs all around, and a new tradition post game. Best of all? The team "hung a damn banner."

Each of the seniors had their moment, their chance to kiss the S (and Ibok had 2 chances). Each player was presented with a framed jersey during the postgame program and given an opportunity to address the crowd.

This week Travis Walton was named B10 Defensive Player of the Year, Izzo B10 Coach of the Year, and Kalin Lucas B10 Player of the Year. Suton was 2nd team all conference and the top rebounder. Roe was voted to the all freshman team. The Spartans enter the tournament this weekend as the #1 seed, playing Friday morning against the winner of Minnesota v Northwestern. Pending the outcome of that game I will be leaving after work to see the Saturday games in Indy. You can never be sure what will happen in the B10 tournament. Often teams with little to gain in the way of seeding will, rather than risk injury or fatigue, bow out early.
Then the real tournament begins. Pardon me, Kenny Rogers, but March is My Favorite Time of the Year. Simply put:

Hopefully this is just one of three tophyies to enter the display case by seasons end.

Big. Ten. Champs.

After an up and down season (up: beating Texas, Illinois, and 11 other games away from the Breslin, down: losing to NC by 310, Maryland, and PSU and NW at the Bres) the Spartans found a way to close the door on the terrible, horrible, talent-devoid Hoosiers to secure the first outright B10 title since 1999.

If you weren't able to watch the game the final box score doesn't do the game justice. The box score is ugly. The game was disgusting. Think Richard Simmons singing backup for the Jonas Brothers, all covering [fill in your least favorite musicians] greastest hits. Since the Jonas Brothers can't sing or remember words to songs they couldn't ever begin -- for even one moment, in a parallel bizarro universe, under the most powerful hallucinagenic and inspriational drugs -- to write or perform...I imagine that nightmarish conglomerate singing anything by Van Halen. That is what the MSU Indiana game was like.

Chris Allen has managed to stay consistent. The interesting thing he is getting away with these days is tackling* people. With all the terrible calls during the game -- and there were plenty -- somehow Allen managed to get whistled for one foul. As a ratio of tackles to fouls I would say it was abotu 5/1. I suppose it is smart to keep doing it until you get called for it. Tackling tends to throw the offensive player off his game.

Roe dominated at times. Suton dominated at times. Then Suton stopped dominating.

It is good to have Raymar back. I hope he plays with this sense of urgency for the rest of the season. He has a unique skill set and size, and by focusing less energy on funny face production and more energy on dominating mismatches --- which he should always be able to find -- Raymar could be a double double guy EVERY night.

Lucas and Lucious (or luscious, to some) are the best true point guard combo MSU has ever had. There have been serviceable backups, but these guys are both for real. Lucious is just a player. He has no memory in regards to failure. He has a reset button. He smiles. He plays with energy. He has no fear. He is going to be very, very good in the coming years. Lucas is as good as he decides to be.

MSU has a ton of matchup advantages. Raymar is too big and long for guards and too quick and has too much range for big men to guard.

Suton can face up from 15+ feet and make you come out to guard him. He can put the ball on the floor and hit awkward shots consistently enough to go by if you overplay him. Suton can pass as well as any big man in the conference.

There are about 3 people in the country that can stay in front of Lucas. If you overplay him he should be able to get into the lane 99% of the time. He can hit from the outside enough to be a threat.

Roe is strong, quick, and handles the ball VERY well for his size. I really think he is a more polished (earlier in his career) Andre Hutson. He defends, has post moves, and doesn't make me nervous off the dribble anywhere on the floor. Like Suton, Roe has great vision and touch in making the extra pass.

Summers is probably the most improved player this season. He is playing with more energy, control, and most importantly confidence.

No one, I mean no one, can shoot free throws. Who do I want shooting with the game on the line? One might think "a guard!" Well "a" guard is true. Kalin Lucas is shooting nearly 81%. Who else? Throw a dart. Of course if you hit a player, any player, you are more accurate throwing darts than the team is shooting foul shots.

To be fair Suton is shooting nearly 83%. Others of note?

Morgan: 67%
Walton: 51.3%
Roe: 44.6%

Walton is a guard. A starting guard. A senior guard. A team captain senior, starting guard.

Chris Allen is about 34% from behind the arc. The other 66% are airballs.

There is an outside** chance that the Spartans can be a #1 seed. It would require a lot of things to fall in place. At the very least MSU needs to:
1. Beat Purdue at home this Sunday
2. Win the B10 Tournament
3. Have some people lose. Preferably Duke, NC, Oklahoma, Pitt, and Uconn. All in the first round of their respective conference tournaments. For good measure Memphis and Kansas can lose too.



* Of course it isn't a pretty form tackle that Allen attempts. It is more like "oh shit that guy shouldn't be that wide open...oh shit that's my guy. Oh shit I have depth perception problems and I'm pretty sure I just ran into him. I managed to look like a drunk newborn baby giraffe on ice skates."
**Very far outside. Think: Respert against umm. Waaay outside.

wiscansin and purdue wrap up

The loss to Purdue was surprising not in that MSU lost, but in how they lost. It was a mess.

Reffing was bad both ways. Lots of missed calls, inconsistency, and flat out wrong calls. That didn't lose or win the game.

MSU had 22 turnovers. That, alone, didn't lose the game.

The difference was shooting. Purdue couldn't miss and the Spartans couldn't make a layup. At one point Purdue had made something like 6 three's to MSU's 1. Despite that 15 point Boiler advantage from distance MSU was down only 11 at the time. That stat might lead one to believe that the Spartans were hitting everything inside. That was not the case. Going in to halftime Purdue's lead was less than 5 despite the fact that Suton, Roe, and Lucas had left about 6 easy layups on the floor. MSU just couldn't hit anything.

Lucas is getting to the rim more often -- at least in the second half -- in the last 4 games. However, his shooting percentage is terrible. Trrble. Even though I hate to see 2 of 11 and 3 of 14 performances I still like Lucas being more aggressive and getting to the rim. Nothing is worse than running your offense from 35 feet, getting over played, and not going by someone* that obviously can't stay in front of you**. Too often MSU guards creep further and further from the basket in the name of running the offense and forget basketball 101: the goal on offense is to score. If someone is overplaying you go by them. Forget the play. You don't get points for running the play. The refs don't stop the game to say "hey, you know what? good job forcing that pass just because that's what the play called for. 2 points green." The play is supposed to facilitate scoring. If you can skip to step 2, the actual scoring, you should do that.

Chris Allen. What more can I say? Plenty.

Watching the last game a few things were apparent. He isn't a genius.

Prime example : on the defensive end Allen watched a Purdue shot go off the rim and head out of bounds. Purdue touched it last, quite obviously. Gus Ganakas knew that Purdue touched it last. So, of course, Allen ran to the sideline to save the ball. On the defensive end. Gus Ganakas knows you don't save the ball under your own basket. Allen's failed attempt (redundant redundant) to save the ball looked strikingly similar to a bounce pass thrown to a spot (like a QB might attempt, throwing to a spot rather than a person). That spot happened to be the middle of the lane. The defensive paint. Where Purdue players were. Where you would gladly fight your mother to be with the ball on offense. That was the play that best describes Allen's game right now. Allen is no stranger to jumping in the air with no particular thought process or premiditation, but this time he decided to do it 1. with his back turned -- upping the difficulty factor from his normal routine, 2. on the defensive end, 3. to save the ball (that was off the other team), and 4. ended the perfect play by making a nearly perfect bounce*** pass into the paint. Purdue completed the perfect play by missing the layup****.

Also apparent: the game is too fast for Allen. There are two kinds of slow. This is really an extension of the above, but there is mentally too slow and physically too slow. Suton was (and sometimes is) physically too slow. Suton knows what to do most of the time but everything is exxagerated. If Suton is out of position, even by a little bit, there is no recovering. He is athletically slower. If Suton loses concentration or has an off game mentally the game is too fast for him.

Allen shows signs of being very athletic, but the game is too fast for him. The difference with Allen is that he has no idea where he is supposed to be. Worse? He appears to have little capacity to ever fully understand where he is supposed to be. At one point against Purdue Allen lost his man for about 5 seconds on defense. Considering the speed of the college game 5 seconds is an eternity. In 5 seconds a division one basketball player might think to himself, hey, maybe I should be guarding someone. I mean I'm not doing anything else right now. During my third scream induced myocadial infarction of that defensive series Allen had a thought somewhat similar to that, found his man setting up a tent and starting the camp fire in the lane, and sprang in to action. Luckily Purdue had no idea that the man was open either and waited for Allen to realize before taking advantage. At that point Allen ran at his man and executed a perfect form tackle. Honestly he could have played corner for JLS. Get burned, recover, hit your man no matter if he has the ball or not.

The good news? Maurice Ager. Plenty of people liked Ager and he is in the NBA. Ager didn't play defense consistently. Ager made the same mistakes as a senior that he made as a freshmen. Ager is the career leader in jumping in the air, with the ball, with no plan or reason for doing so. Ager wasn't a particularly talented ball handler. I have a feeling Allen has been watching old Ager game tape.

Wis can sin

This is where I get my obligatory Bo Ryan looks like Mo from the Simpsons reference in.

I have to give credit to Suton. Although he has had a quiet few weeks Suton is still leading the conference in rebounding and has improved an unbelievable amount on the defensive end. Gray is the bizarro Suton. Gray has gotten worse each season, which makes his 5th year quite unfortunate to watch. This week Suton earned even more love for saying "I don't like Wisconsin...they're dirty." I don't like Wisconsin either. And they are dirty. AND I like futons -- I mean they are possibly the most functional furniture ever invented. (bizarro world futon? The Papasan chair. Useless and uncomfortable. Designed, at best, for cats).

Wiscansin is probably my least favorite conference team in basketball. Wisconsin has been the ugliest team in basketball for the last 10+ years, both in terms of style of play and literally. They are ugly.

I have no logic behind my score this week, other than losing to Purdue providing motivation and Wiscansin being a crappy team from the top down. Bo Ryan did the Soulja Boy (to relate to recruits no doubt). Luckily it scored him 4 gumps that look like they fell out of the ugly tree, hitting every branch on the way down, who set illegal screens. His offense is set for the next 4 years.

MSU - 68

Wisky - 59

* By someone I mean anyone in the conference, if not country. Lucas is too fast to overplay. 8 times out of 10 Lucas will get by anyone who is guarding him. That will be followed by a missed layup 65% of the time.

** By you I mean Kalin Lucas, not you the reader. You [the reader] are not very good at basketball. Suton could stay in front of you [the reader] 100% of the time. Carrying a futon. With a suit on. Standing in croutons.

***The perfect bounce pass was of course the result of a failed attempt to throw the ball off someone's foot. Had the bounce pass been intended the pass would have sailed into the 4th row*****.

**** The Purdue player [engineer lite] was likely confused as to why anyone, even Gus Ganakas, would save the ball in that spot on the floor, in those circumstances, in that manner and promptly missed the layup.

***** Unless the 4th row was near the intended target, in which case his pass would have been air balled by 15 feet for no reason, in other words landing in the 18th row.

Starting a Small Business

If you have empty plastic bottles you should hold on to them. I'm starting little venture out of our house. Out of our basement to be speficic.

Because, although hope springs eternal, our basement eternally springs. Matt's Spring Water is officially open for business.

Ahh yes, hope springs. Like "I hope this vaccuum goes out of control and sucks this house down on top of me" or "I really hope that's a sleeping bag I see stowed on the floor over there in the corner" or even "Oh good! I was hoping the carpeted room would get a good deep cleaning." Hope.

I thought basements were good places to store things. Seasonal things. Seldom used things. Things that might, yet again, be of value some time down the road. Our basement is currently storing two types of things:

1. Water
2. Things that's shouldn't be sitting in water

I don't much like Tom Hanks. I mostly think he is annoying. But he serves as a good example through his role he played in "The Money Pit." The problem with the money pit comparison is that our money would be getting laundered in the deep, wet, fungus infested bowels of our home. Plus we don't have a spiral staircase.

If Noah saw our basement he would say "daaamn, that's a lot of water." I know it is, Noah, now get a bucket.

So if you've ever had a wet rug or carpet you know it doesn't take long to have that smell. I cleaned it up, put some fans down, and waited. Then I went to the internets to find out the best way to get rid of the smell (until we pull up the carpet in the spring).

Internet: Baking Soda.

Me: Baking Soda?

Internet: [staring at me like how dare you question google]

Me: Baking Soda it is

Here's the deal. Water is sneaky. The carpet looked dry. It seemed dry. So I put down 2 big containers of the ole Arm n Hammer. Nothing but the best.

The result? All the mess but none of the effect of 90% of 6th grade science projects. My rich red carpet was 3 tone: red, mush, and white powder. It was a new style I call "who the hell let Gary Busey in my basement?!"