Only in Dreams...

I've witnessed a lot of amazing things in sports over the years. I've probably seen about 100 buzzer-beaters live either on TV or in person. But tonight's, was definitely my favorite.

With just over a second remaining, Austin Rivers finally went into his shooting motion. Swoosh! Game, Duke. The Blue Devils had erased a 10-point deficit by going on a 13-2 run in the last 2:10 to knock off North Carolina at Chapel Hill 85-84. I'm not sure if I woke up my roommate, but it certainly took all of my willpower to restrain myself from yelling. I had dreamed last night that Duke would win on a buzzer beater. But I've also seen the Blues hoist the Stanley Cup in my dreams, so I certainly didn't trust that vision. But here I am, having seen it with my own eyes, and I'm still having trouble believing it.

The Tar Heels dominated that game starting around 12 minutes into the first half and continued to do so until two and a half minutes remained in the second. Every time Duke would get a stop, they would turn the ball over, miss a three-point shot, or get to the free throw line just to miss one or both attempts. If the Blue Devils scored, Carolina would answer almost immediately. No matter what Duke seemed to do, they couldn't get the lead below seven points starting at the 17:35 mark of the second half. And then bang! In a 21-second span, Tyler Thornton and Seth Curry both knocked down treys and just like that, it was a two-possession game.

Duke then took a charge, Ryan Kelly bricked a three, but followed his shot just like we're all taught to do from age five and up, and got his own rebound. He faked a pass and nailed a jumper tow make a two point game out of it. Kelly hit another jumper on the next possession that followed a Tyler Zeller 1-2 free throw trip and cut it to one. Zeller got fouled again and repeated the previous trip, going 1-2, setting up Duke to tie it with a two or win it with a three after gathering the rebound. Rivers opted for the latter. With ice water in his veins and his dad, Doc Rivers looking on from the stands, he dribbled behind the three-point line for a couple of seconds and eventually took the biggest shot of his life over Zeller. Rivers with that shot created a three-way tie for first place in the ACC and a goat in Zeller.

From an objective stand point, it should be really difficult for UNC fans to be upset with Zeller. The guy is seven feet tall, so he's not exactly used to guarding out on the arc. He also posted a double-double with 23 points and 11 boards. So sure, he missed a pair of free throws down the stretch and gave up the winning shot, but Rivers was 6-10 from long range on Wednesday. As George McFly would say, making that shot was simply a part of River's density. At the end of the night, it was easy to see that North Carolina was the better team. If Duke had an off night shooting the three, the game would've been a blowout to begin the second half. The Blue Devils took 38 three-pointer shots tonight, making 14. UNC only shot six, making one. Threes are great and can change a game, but they're not nearly as reliable as taking the ball to the basket. Duke will need to work on their inside game if they hope to sweep the Heels on March 3rd when they meet at Cameron Indoor Stadium to close the regular season. But for tonight, they can enjoy a massive win over their arch rivals and Rivers can dream about it for the rest of his life.

SLU Update:
The Billikens embarked on their last tough road trip of the season on Wednesday night, beginning at St. Joseph's with a 72-60 win. SLU will remain in Philadelphia for their Saturday afternoon tilt with La Salle, who lost at Richmond on Wednesday, knocking them out of what would've been a four-way tie for second in the Atlantic-10 standings. That tie currently involves the Billikens, Xavier, and UMass, all of who are 7-3 in conference play, with Temple a half game ahead at 7-2. The game won't be an easy one for SLU, as the Explorers are undefeated at home this season, including non-conference games. However, just two weeks ago the Billikens became the first A-10 team to win at Xavier in six years, so nothing is impossible. A sweep in Philly would certainly set the Bills up nicely, though, as they would then roll home for a couple of home games against Richmond and Fordham respectively, who are a combined 4-18 on the road this year

Thanks to Duke Basketball on WhoSay for the photo.

Super Bowl XLVI

I hate the New England Patriots. I cheered for the Steelers' biggest rival, the Baltimore Ravens, to beat them last week. I think if it came down to it, I would cheer for the Cowboys over them as well. I think the only time I would ever cheer for the Patriots, outside of the result of them winning indirectly helping the Steelers or the Rams, is if in some weird alternate multi-sports universe, they ended up with them playing the Detroit Red Wings in ice football. Which is why, even when the pattern Super Bowl pattern points to the Patriots winning, I'm picking the Giants. I'm ESPN Streak for the Cash picking the Patriots, but only to curse them. The pattern is of course that the regular season winner always seems to lose the rematch in the Super Bowl.

1999 Rams lost to the Tennessee Titans in the regular season, beat them in the Super Bowl.
2001 Patriots lost to the Rams in the regular season, then cheated their way to victory in the Super Bowl
2007 Giants failed to end the Patriots' perfect season in the regular season, but finished the job in the Super Bowl.

The only thing that I expect could save the Giants is, they weren't playing their best football when they beat the Patriots. Their defensive line has been practically unstoppable during the postseason and the last few weeks of the regular season. I feel that won't change in the Super Bowl and that Tom Brady will be pressured for much of the game. Unlike some quarterbacks, like Kurt Warner, who thrive in those situations, Brady gets flustered. It was evident during the AFC title game when the Ravens were all over him in the backfield. This will be the key to the game. New England's defense is incompetent and while Eli Manning isn't nearly as good as his brother, Peyton, Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees, he makes the passes he needs to make. Speaking of which:

I expect to see a little more salsa  from Victor Cruz as he dances through the Patriots' weak secondary as well. I'll take the Giants by a score of  31-26. And just for kicks, here's one more anti-Patriots extra as I'm sure Eric Cartman, a Denver Broncos fan, would put it:

"Well, Tom Brady's a bitch, he's a big fat witch,

he's the biggest bitch in the whole wide world,
he's a stupid bitch if there ever was a bitch,
he's a bitch to all the boys and girls.

On Monday he's a bitch, on Tuesday he's a bitch,
and Wednesday to Saturday he's a bitch,
then on Sunday just to be different he's a
super King-ka maya-maya beotch!
Have you ever met Patriots quarterback Tom Brady,
he's the biggest bitch in the whole wide world,
he's a mean old bitch and he has stupid hair."

I really think the hair part works well. Enjoy the game, the commercials, friends, and family. Go Giants!

Billikens Basketball is Back

On Wednesday night, the St. Louis University Billikens did something that no Atlantic-10 team had done in six years. They won at Xavier.

The little kid in me wanted to do what I did as an eighth grader when the Billikens won an NCAA tournament game against the University of Massachusetts. When SLU made it to the second round of the big dance, I had just gotten home from middle school and watched the last ten minutes or so of the game. After they won, I sprinted around my house yelling, slipped on the hardwood floor in the hallway and hit my knee, which hurt quite a bit. I then got up and continued running around the house in circles yelling. I was simply more cautious when I got in the hallway. I was at work, so I didn't do that, but I certainly wanted to run through the halls. SLU went on to lose to Kentucky in the second round and I hate them to this very day for that very reason. I at least got to have reverse revenge on the Wildcats through Duke, though.

What's reverse revenge? It's bragging rights that you didn't know about when you became a fan of a team. I became a fan of Duke because my dad liked them and because my Aunt Missy's father, Papa, was a basketball manager for them many years ago. What I later found out is that one of the most famous college basketball games of all time involved Duke beating Kentucky on a buzzer beater by Christian Laettner to advance to the Final Four. I have enjoyed reverse revenge on the Cowboys via the Steelers and the Brewers and many others via the Cardinals as well. It's not as good as seeing it happen and not needing Wikipedia or Youtube to pull it up, but it works well enough to shut up most people. But I digress.

I've added reasons to hate the Wildcats over the year, like how they ran a good man out of town in Tubby Smith and replaced him with a twice-proven cheater, in John Calipari. Maybe they'll run Calipari out of town if he gets a Final Four vacated there like he did at Memphis and UMass. Kentucky also seems to have a hand in keeping my brackets from winning every year. I still have placed high enough to make the money the last two years, but haven't won. And by money I mean play money because betting real money on such things isn't legal. Now, back to the Billikens!

SLU hasn't had an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament since the Larry Hughes season that Kentucky ended. They went on a crazy run to win the 2000 Conference USA tournament, allowing them to lose to current head coach Rick Majerus' Utah squad, but that was an automatic berth. Everything is coming full circle now for the Billikens. The man who knocked them out of their last tournament is trying to lead them back there and their next big test is on the road against the last team that they defeated in the NCAA tournament: You guessed it. Frank Stallone. No, just kidding, it's UMass like I said earlier. But how often do I get to make references to old SNL bits in a sports blog? I think it's allowed since it's from roughly the same time period as the NCAA tournament game I'm referencing.

SLU's RPI jumped nine spots up to 42 in the country after Wednesday's win over Xavier. If they can knock off the Minutemen on Saturday, SLU would take the tiebreaker against one of the four schools that they are currently tied with for the conference lead before coming home against a very beatable St. Bonaventure team. Due to the Xavier victory, UMass isn't a must-win, but it certainly would be nice for the Bills to keep their run going before coming back home to Chaifetz Arena, where they lose very rarely and springboard SLU's season towards an at-large NCAA tournament berth that they've been anticipating for over a decade.

Quick Picks

I'm 5-3 this postseason and owe being over .500 to the Giants coming through for me in Green Bay last week. That said, I'm going to take the 49ers over the Giants today and get off of that train. The Giants' running game has struggled at times this year and they're now faced with one of the top running defenses in the league. Unless the Giants just crush Alex Smith, I don't see them stopping the 49ers through the air and I see Vernon Davis causing matchup problems over the middle.
49ers 27 - Giants 23

As for the "Teams Ryan Hates Bowl," I'm going to take the Patriots over the Ravens. I know that my high school could score on the Patriots through the air, but I still have zero faith in Joe Flacco. As much as I hate Tom Brady because he dynasty started with a bad non-fumble call hurting the Raiders followed by cheating, I still think he's a good quarterback. The Ravens only hope is to stop the running game, but that's where the Pats' defense is at least halfway competent.
Patriots 28 - Ravens 22

May Tebow Be With You

It's been a week and I'm over the Steelers loss to the Denver Tebows, er...Broncos. It was painful to watch, but the reality was, with the team as banged up as they were, they just weren't going to be able to make another Super Bowl run this year, and I suppose I'd rather have them lose to a silly sideshow than a team I actually hate, like the New England Patriots.

We didn't deserve to win the game, with the way we played. After our second drive, our offense pretty much shut down until the second half, which allowed the Broncos to build a two touchdown lead on their own field. Our secondary looked like it belonged in the Alamo Bowl. How a team allows over 300 passing yards on just 10 completions is beyond me. Sure, with a lot of our defensive linemen hurt, the pass rush isn't going to be as good, but that doesn't directly result in our corner backs and safeties not being able to tackle. I can't really explain how Tim Tebow keeps winning, I just know that he does. I hope he will at least continue it this week. The Patriots have 13 players listed as questionable going into tonight's game, according to Mike Rodak of ESPN. This gives me hope that more Tebow magic could be available. That, and the fact the Patriots have just a terrible defense. I feel that this game will be much closer than the beat down that took place in Denver, but I feel Tebow might turn back into a pumpkin soon and the carriage ride could be over.

I'm taking the Patriots in this one: 27-20 (Prove me wrong, Tim Tebow, prove me wrong!)

As for the early game on Saturday between the 49ers and Saints, I feel that the matchup probably favors San Francisco. They're at home for one and they have the top rushing defense to pit against the Saints' strong rushing attack. When a top offense takes on a top defense, the defense usually wins. That said, the St. Louis Rams stayed with the 49ers twice and they looked really unimpressive in both games. I still don't feel that they're that good of a team, nor do I feel that Alex Smith is that great of an NFL quarterback. Drew Brees, on the other hand, is a former Super Bowl MVP and if the ground attack doesn't do much, he can still make the offense work by throwing screen passes to Darren Sproles and hitting his myriad of receivers. Brees spreads the ball around like Antonio Cromartie spreads his, well, you know (click the link if you don't know). I have to take the Saints in this one, just due to experience and the quarterback factor.

Saints 38 - 49ers 30

The early game on Sunday I feel, is the easiest straight up pick of the week. The Ravens have finally gotten their home playoff game that has alluded them for years. Their defense is as strong as ever. And the Ravens beat the Texans 29-14 in Week 5 when Houston was at their best and still had Matt Schaub taking snaps. They're now down to their third string quarterback, rookie T.J. Yates, at this point. I just don't see a rookie going on the road against a top defense and being mistake-free enough to come away with this win. I mean, the Ravens don't have a great quarterback either in Joe Flacco, but he has much more experience managing games than Yates does. I think the Texans' only chance is if they can completely shut down Ray Rice and the Baltimore running game. Houston's defense is certainly their strong suit, so they can for Flacco to beat them, they might have a shot. I'm still taking the Ravens.

Ravens 16 Texans 10

For the last game of the weekend, we have one of those classic playoff scenarios. We have the best team, the dominant team, in the Green Bay Packers. They nearly went undefeated in the regular season and simply dominated the NFL this season. We also have the New York Giants, the classic "they're hot at the right time" team. We saw this match up in the NLDS between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies and we know how that ended (See right for emphasis, especially Carp's face).

I'm going to go ahead and ride the crazy train, and pick the Giants on this one. A lot can be said for hot teams and the Packers aren't in mid-season form right now. Their offensive line is beat up and Aaron Rodgers hasn't thrown a pass in a game situation in three weeks. On the other side of the ball, the Giants defensive line finally has all of its starters together, which was not the case when these two teams met during the regular season. Eli Manning has been in the zone lately and the Giants have managed to get their running game going again in recent weeks. I went with the most logical picks last week and only went two for four. Let's see what a little bit of crazy will do.

Giants 27 Packers 25

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...


The Rams announced yesterday that they have hired Jeff Fisher as the team's new head coach. Or should I say Fisher hired the Rams, as he was choosing between them and Miami? Either way, this was a big victory for the Rams. The head coaching pool was pretty thin this season with Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden looking to remain with their television jobs for at least one more year. Fisher was the best candidate available, so it was important for the Rams to acquire him. For the first time since Dick Vermeil left, they've hired a coach who has previous experience in the NFL as a head coach (I'm not counting Jim Haslett since he was an interim and wasn't hired as an actual head coach).

The Rams already have a few building blocks in place with Sam Bradford at quarterback, probably one more good year out of Steven Jackson in the backfield, James Laurinaitis at linebacker, and Chris Long on the defensive line, who had a Pro Bowl caliber year regardless of what the idiot voters said. 13 sacks in a season when your team is almost always behind is impressive. First-round pick Robert Quinn also looks like he could be a solid player in upcoming years, especially with better coaching. The Rams also have the second pick overall in the upcoming draft and quite a bit of cap space.

Fisher chose the Rams because they have an attractive situation, even after yet another abysmal season. I don't expect the Rams to return to the playoffs next year, but if they add more weapons around Bradford (including drafting Justin Blackmon out of Oklahoma State) the one year turn around from a weak team to a power is possible in this league. The 49ers have shown us that this season. The 1999 Rams showed us that more than a decade ago by being the first (and last) team to go from 0-8 in a division to 8-0 in a division in a year's time. I'll give a true prediction on what I see the Rams doing once I see the schedule come out this spring, but for the time being, I'm hopeful that my other team can get back on track.

Photo from prosportsblogging.com

Elliott Phones Home

It's been quite the ride for Blues goalie Brian Elliott this season. He signed a two-way contract with St. Louis after a tough season which he split between Ottawa and Colorado after being dealt to the Avs late in the season. Elliott came in, won the backup job from Ben Bishop, who also played well in the preseason, and he hasn't looked back since.

Starting netminder Jaroslav Halak got off to a rocky start and Elliott was there to save the day, so much so, that when friends asked me what goalie was playing that night and I responded that Elliott was starting, they would say things like,"Oh good, we'll win tonight." That's a pretty high confidence level to have with a backup goalie. Elliott's play was so good that it took away from the fact that Halak wasn't playing up to his potential and it allowed Halak to get his game together. Halak now is 7-0-3 in his last ten starts and if the Blues could score in a shootout, it would be even better. I don't want to give Elliott all the credit for Halak's success, as Jaro certainly has been making lots of saves, many of them quality ones. However, Elliott's stellar play took pressure of Halak and now it doesn't seem to matter which goalie Hitchcock starts, as the Blues will have a solid backbone in either player.

 For a couple of weeks, Elliott ranked number one in the league in G.A.A, save percentage, and shutouts. He still remains second in all of those categories (1.62 G.A.A., .940 SV%, and five SO) after a couple of bumpy games in Detroit (not exactly easy assignments), but he rebounded with a shutout on Saturday night against Colorado. The stat I find most impressive is easily the shutouts, as the only goalie he trails, the Kings' Jonathan Quick, has started in 35 games (sixth most in the league) but Elliott has only started 20 (29th most in the league).

Elliott would've played in Montreal on Tuesday, earning the start with Saturday's shutout, but head coach Ken Hitchcock opted to give Halak the start, as it was his first game back in the Bell Centre since being dealt to the Blues in the summer of 2010. Halak didn't disappoint in his return home, shutting out the Canadiens while making some tremendous saves, including the one shown in the video below, against a shorthanded breakaway. The video also shows him receiving a standing ovation from the Habs fans as he was leaving the ice.

That is probably the most impressed I've ever been with an opponent's fans. Montreal, you have some real class. Chris Pronger (when healthy) still comes into St. Louis and gets booed, which I'll never understand. He was traded when he would have rather stayed with the Blues, has never badmouthed the team that I've heard about, and is a great overall hockey player. To each their own, I suppose.

The Blues play Ottawa in early February, but Elliott's homecoming will happen a bit sooner due to his stellar play. It was announced today that he will be the lone representative for the Blues in the All-Star Game, barring injury to another player that was already selected. The Blues do rank second in the west right now and have a chance to slide into first with a win tonight over Vancouver, but most of the team's wins have occurred with different players stepping up each night. Alex Steen could've been considered as he was one of the team's scoring leaders before missing the past two weeks, as could David Backes, who represented the team at the game last season and currently leads the Blues in goals. However, the reality is no one on this club, aside from Elliott, really has "all-star" numbers. But that's just fine, as I'd much rather watch a team with incredible depth that should claim its first playoff berth in three seasons than a team with one superstar who is a lock to make the NHL All-Star Game.

Home Cooking for the Blues in January

My hockey club has been playing extremely well as of late. The Blues are just one point back of the Chicago Blackhawks for the lead in the Central Division. The Colorado Avalanche went into Chicago last night and left with a 4-0 win. Hopefully, they come into St. Louis tired and the Blues can use their one day off to spur them past the Avs and into the top spot in the Central and maintain pace with the Vanouver Canucks for the top spot in the conference, as the Canucks are leading late in the third period in Boston. The Blues's dramatic comeback on Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers showed the heart that this team has. They spent virtually half of the second period shorthanded, getting completely hosed by the referees with bad penalties going against the Blues and obvious calls not being whistled on Edmonton. Getting the first power play goal after a quick delay of game penalty in the third was huge. TJ Oshie completely running one of the Oilers and not retaliating when they cheap-shotted him for making a clean hit was even bigger. The Blues went back to work on the power play, tied the game, and they just kept the momentum from that point on in the third. Matt D'Agostini wristed a laser past Devan Dubnyk to put the Blues back in front and they held on from there.

With the Blues playing nine home games in January and just two on the road, they have a terrific opportunity to separate themselves from some of the lower teams in the conference and perhaps build a bit of a lead on Detroit and Chicago. The Blues' home record is an outstanding 16-3-2, which ranks tops in the NHL for home wins. Winning the division would be a huge advantage, as the winner will likely get the top seed and the two runners up could face each other in the first round as the four and five seeds. Not only will that knock out one of the better teams in the conference early, but that will be a tough, tiring series that could lead to the winner being too beat up to make much noise beyond that round. This month is critical with all of the road games that the Blues have to play in March. They must position themselves well now so that they can withstand a possible slump later, as I hold the same thoughts as team president John Davidson. "I don't want to make the playoffs, I want to win the playoffs."