March Madness 2011

March Madness Bracket

March Madness is among us and attached is my bracket, named after Brendan Sherrer, the University of Washington Human Victory Cigar.

2011 Sports Preview

 

Husky forward Mathew-Bryan Amaning looks to bring the Huskies to the Big Dance in March.

2010 was a great year full of sporting events. 2011 is sure to have exciting NFL playoffs, the rest of the NBA season, and the start of the next great MLB season.

 

2011 Winter Classic

Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins will host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals in the annual Winter Classic, which is to be played outside at Heinz Field. The forecast calls for a high of 50°, which is the same as the forecast in PHOENIX, ARIZONA. Along with unusually warm weather, there is also a chance of rain. Due to the weather threats, the game has changed from 1 p.m. EST to 8 p.m. EST. Crosby recently had his 25-game point streak snapped against the Islanders. The two of the best players in the NHL will go against each other in one of the biggest hockey games (aside from the Stanley Cup Playoffs) in the year.

NFL Playoffs

As the NFL regular season is about to come to an end, one cannot forget what all has happened in 2010. 2011 is sure to not disappoint. The MVP of the season is to be chosen and it is most likely between Tom Brady and Michael Vick, one of the most intriguing athletes of 2010. Those MVP candidates have a chance to lead their teams to the Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Along with great teams, there are some disappointments. In the NFC West, also known as the NFL Worst, a 7-9 team could make the playoffs. Also, some high profile teams had some upsetting seasons. The preseason Super Bowl favorite Dallas Cowboys lost their “star” quarterback Tony Romo early in the season leaving the team to only have one win heading to November. The Arizona Cardinals had a disappointing season after their Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner retired. The Cardinals had three different quarterbacks (Derek Anderson, Max Hall, John Skelton) start a game, and two of them were rookies, one being undrafted. The Cardinals finish their season in San Francisco and will most likely receive a 10th overall draft pick and will seek for a franchise quarterback.

2010-11 NBA Season

Many people expected the Miami Heat to have the best regular season record of all time and easily make it to the NBA Finals after they got LeBron James and Chris Bosh in free agency and resigned Dwayne Wade, creating their own Big 3. After a slow start, many people questioned their decisions to take their talents to South Beach, but they quickly got their act together. They have won 15 of their last 16 with the lone loss coming to one of the best teams in the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks. The Heat are currently .5 games behind the Eastern Conference leading Boston Celtics. In the West, it seems that the season will be a race between three teams: Spurs (28-4), Mavericks (24-7), and the back-to-back champions Lakers (23-10). However, the young OKC Thunder (Sonics forever!) led by Kevin Durant can be a threat in the playoffs.

2011 MLB Season

The next MLB season does not start for a few months, but it is never too early to talk about baseball. The Giants surprised everyone and one the World Series. They were able to win it all with Cody Ross, a normal outfielder from free agency, and Edgar Renteria along with some of the best pitchers in the MLB. The question is… can they repeat? The LeBron James of baseball this offseason was Cliff Lee, the man everyone wanted. Lee ended up with the Phillies, the team he played with 2 years ago in the World Series against the Yankees. Another star free agent was Jayson Werth, previously with the Phillies, who took $126 million for 7-years with a team who has never had a winning season, the Washington Nationals. The Nationals will also have the 18-year-old star Bryce Harper most likely start in the minor leagues but will probably play in the majors by the end of the season. However, “star” pitcher Steven Strasburg will be out for the season from recovering from surgery. The 2011 baseball season is far from starting and predictions will be made later.

BCS Title Game

On January 10, 2011, Auburn and Oregon will play each other to see who is the best team in college football. Click here for previous coverage of BCS Title game.

Husky Basketball

The Huskies ended 2010 on a high note by beating USC and UCLA in Southern California. They are currently 10-3 (2-0 PAC-10) with 2 of their losses coming from the Maui Invitational against then #9 Kentucky and #2 Michigan State. Though the Huskies are no longer ranked, they are still one of the best teams in the country and the best in the PAC-10. 16 of their next 17 games will come against the other PAC-10 schools and they will play Seattle U. The Huskies should easily make the enlarged NCAA Basketball Tournament and have a chance to be a ranked team by the end of the year. Currently they are 3rd in the country in points per game with 87.9 and are no lower than 26th overall in rebounds per game (40.5), assists per game (18.1), and field goal percentage (.483). Senior forward Mathew Bryan-Amaning has developed into a strong post presence and Junior guard Isaiah Thomas has become one of the best guards in the PAC-10.

Huskies win Holiday Bowl 19-7

Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP Chris Polk

Click here for 2010 Holiday Bowl Preview.

As I sit here on a cold New Year’s Eve in Arizona in my Washington Huskies Holiday Bowl sweatshirt, I am quite happy that the same team (Nebraska) didn’t embarrass the Huskies twice in one season and once in a bowl game. This time, the Huskies flexed their muscles and beat the Cornhuskers 19-7.

Earlier in the season Taylor Martinez and the rest of the Nebraska football team beat the Huskies 56-21. However, that one game did not stop the Huskies in their first bowl game since 2002. Everyone loves a comeback, now especially Husky fans.

Washington sophomore tailback Chris Polk rushed for only 55 yards in the first meeting between these two teams in September. On a cold Thursday night in San Diego, Polk had one of the best games of his short career at Washington with 177 yards rushing with a touchdown and 22 yards receiving. Those stats helped him lock the Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP Award. Quarterback Jake Locker did not have a good outing in September against Nebraska but did not have an outstanding game in the Holiday Bowl but was able to do what he was known for in his early years on Montlake Boulevard, running the ball. Locker rushed for 83 yards and added the other touchdown in the game. Passing was not necessary for this victory.

Along with the offense stepping up, the defense improved tenfold. They recovered one fumble and caught one interception as well as forcing “star” quarterback Taylor Martinez to leave the game. The Washington defense also drew a holding in the end zone against Nebraska to give the Huskies 2 points on the safety. The defense held Nebraska to 189 total yards (98 passing/91 rushing) and had a great game from Holiday Bowl Defensive MVP linebacker Mason Foster. With everything going great for the Huskies, something had to go wrong. Kicker Eric Folk missed two field goals, both to the left with one hitting the goal post.

The Huskies finished this great year with a 7-6 record, much better than their 0-12 record from two years ago. They will hope to have another successful year next year without their star players Locker and Foster. There will also be some competition for the quarterback position between Keith Price, who played against then #1 ranked Oregon and in the Holiday Bowl when Locker got hurt, and Nick Montana, the name explains everything.

Click here for photos from the 2010 Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California.

2011 BCS Championship Game

On January 10, 2011, Auburn and Oregon will play in Glendale, AZ to find out who is the best team in the country. The BCS Championship game this year features 2 of the 3 undefeated teams (Oregon, Auburn, TCU) in college football. The game features Heisman winner, the $200,000-man, Cam Newton for Auburn and Heisman candidate LaMichael James who finished 3rd in the voting. The game is sure to be a good one and nobody is quite sure who will win. Vote in the poll below for who you think will win the BCS National Championship Game…

Washington Huskies 2010 Holiday Bowl

Since their season two years ago, people knew the Washington Huskies football team couldn’t get any worse. In 2008, they had the worst record in college football at 0-12 and fired their coach. They got a new coach from USC, Steve Sarkisian, and had a respectable 5-7 record last season. Quarterback Jake Locker had the opportunity to leave college football and be the #1 (or top-5 at least) pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Instead, Locker decided to come back to Seattle for his senior season so he could experience something new to him, a bowl game.

At the beginning of the 2010 season, many people had high hopes for Jake Locker and the Huskies. Locker was projected to be a Heisman candidate and lead the Huskies to an unlikely Rose Bowl appearance. In week 1 however, the Huskies lost an easily winnable game to BYU 23-17. Locker’s Heisman hopes were erase after he failed to lead his team to a late victory. The next week the Huskies rebounded to beat Syracuse and looked forward to a good game against Nebraska. The game did not go in the favor of Washington. The then #8 ranked Cornhuskers won 56-21 and limited Jake Locker to completing only 4 of his 20 passes and 2 interceptions. The game was a nail in the proverbial coffin of Locker’s hopes of being one of the best quarterbacks in college football. The Huskies were able to give #18 USC their first loss of the season the next week. The 2-2 Huskies lost 4 of their next 5 games. After their bye week, the Huskies won a nationally televised Thursday night game against UCLA and needed to win their next two games to be bowl eligible. Jake Locker, broken ribs and all, was able to lead his team to victories over California and Washington State, sealing their bowl hopes.

The Huskies clinched a berth in the 2010 Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl in San Diego, California against… NEBRASKA. The Huskies wish to avoid another terrible loss in their first bowl game since 2002. Since the loss to Nebraska in September, the Huskies have begin to rely less on quarterback Jake Locker and give sophomore running back Chris Polk more opportunities to shine. He finished the year with 1238 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. For Nebraska, quarterback Taylor Martinez hasn’t been as good as he was against Washington earlier and the season and has been plagued by injuries. Currently, Nebraska is a 14 point favorite to win the game on December 30th. However, Washington is going to give Nebraska a run for their money and try for a win in Jake Locker’s last collegiate game.

#24 Huskies stunned on the road by Arizona St.

After putting the first 2 points on the board in the game, baskets for the Huskies were scarce for the rest of the game. Arizona State didn’t let the two point deficit in the first 30 seconds of the game phase them at all. ASU kept scoring while the Huskies were forced to come back.

The Huskies’ only lead was after the 2 free-throws by sophomore guard Isaiah Thomas. The Huskies finally managed to make a field-goal 8 minutes into the game, after ASU F Rihards Kuksiks scored 6 of his 27 points on two three-point shots. It was a low scoring game at first but it seemed to be that ASU started to score while no shots were falling for the Huskies.

Isaiah Thomas lead the team with 20 points and star senior Quincy Pondexter lead the team with 8 rebounds, around their averages. However, Quincy Pondexter only managed to score 9 points, below his average of 21 PPG.

For Arizona State, Kuksiks lead the way with 27 points and 9 rebounds and Jamelle McMillan, son of Portland Trailblazers and former SuperSonics coach Nate McMillan, had 3 assists and 2 steals.

The Huskies 19 points in the first half set a season low for points in one half, beating  their previous low of 24 which came from a win over Montana. The Huskies seemed to be in over their heads going into halftime, but cut the lead to single digits until ASU put the game away with key baskets and making free-throws.

Washington only made 12 of their 21 (57%) free-throws while Arizona St. made 30 of 38 (79%). Making at least 85% of their free throws could have helped Washington win. Washington was also out-rebounded 39 to 29. Washington only had 7 offensive rebounds which did not always lead to points.

The Huskies fall to 10-4 on the season and 1-2 in the PAC-10. They will take on Arizona in Tucson tomorrow and then play Stanford and California in Seattle.

GO DAWGS!

Oregon beats Washington in Seattle

The Washington Huskies lost to Oregon 90-79. The loss ended the Huskies 18-home-game win streak.

“Oregon outplayed us,” Washington’s Quincy Pondexter said. “There’s not much you can say. We didn’t come with the same heart, desire and passion they had.”

Washington will look to bounce back and beat Arizona State in Tempe on Friday night and Arizona in Tucson on Sunday.

Go DAWGS!

New Year’s Day Sports

January 1: A great day for Sports

Professional sports are never late to start. The Winter Classic, the NHL’s outdoor hockey game, and many premier college bowl games will be played on the first day of the year.

NHL Winter Classic

The Boston Bruins will host the Philadelphia Flyers at Fenway Park in Boston. The third Winter Classic will host one of the most famous rivalries in the NHL. The Bruins hope to stop the recurring tradition of the Away team winning the past games, including the predecessor to the Winter Classic, the Heritage Classic. This will be the first time that Ty Conklin is not on the outdoors ice. He played as an Oiler in Alberta in 2003, a Penguin in Orchard Park, NY, and as a Red Wing in Wrigley Field in Chicago in 2009. It will be 33° in Boston, perfect outdoor hockey weather.

Rose Bowl

The PAC-10 Champion, Oregon Ducks, will take on The Ohio State University Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli will try and lead the Ducks to victory in their 4^th Rose Bowl apperance. My Pick: Ducks win

Sugar Bowl

The Florida Gators will take on the Cincinnati Bearcats. The game will be Tim Tebow’s last college game and coach Urban Meyer’s last before he takes his famous leave of absence. The Gators will be playing inspired football and would want to win a game for one of their best quarterbacks of all time. My Pick: Gators win

Quincy Pondexter helps Huskies get 1st PAC-10 win

Quincy Pondexter lead the Huskies with 20 points and 10 rebounds, which helped them score 76 points. THe DAWGS lead by 10 at halftime, but the lead dropped to 6 to end the game. The Oregon State Beavers only managed to score 70 points against Washington. Ask any player, they’d agree the game was too close. Oregon State once had a 9 point lead.

Washington plays Oregon on Saturday looking for their 5th straight win. I have to keep it brief because I’m going to watch the Winter Classic.

GO DAWGS!

Texas Tech fires head coach Mike Leach

Leach was fired for the treatment of an injured player

“I don’t believe Leach should have been fired. There are more aggressive coaches in college football…”

Texas Tech fired their football coach, Mike Leach, after he sued the school about his suspension from the team. Leach would have received $800,000 bonus in his contract. Texas Tech suspended Leach from coaching the Red Raiders against the Michigan State Spartans in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, TX.

The controversy arose when Leach sent WR Adam Jones into a shed during practice because Jones had a mild concussion. Leach apparently said he would kick Jones off the team if he left the shed. Texas Tech said if Leach did not apologize, in writing, by December 28, he would be fired. Leach refused to do so and so Texas Tech took action and suspended Leach. Then, Leach sued the school looking to coach his team in the Alamo Bowl. Texas Tech fired Leach due to “a defiant act of insubordination.” Defensive Coordinator, Ruffin McNeill, will coach the team in the Alamo Bowl on Saturday. Players have since come out and said that Leach has been abusive with players before. The controversy will play-out well into 2010.

I don’t believe Leach should have been fired. There are more aggressive coaches in college football that may have done worse things. Leach is just one of the few to get caught. Sure, the situation could have been managed better. Leach shouldn’t have made Jones sit in a shed one time and an electrical closet the next. There are better places to send atheletes with concussions. Whether this takes place at other schools, high school or college, or even with NFL teams, we will find out.

Last February, Leach signed a 5-year contract extension with Texas Tech.