I am not at all embarrassed to profess my man-crush (or is it boy-crush?) on Davidson’s Stephen Curry. This kid is simply amazing. He has single-handedly made this my favorite NCAA tournament in years. He is going Randolph Childress on the entire field. Insane.
It’s crazy to think that all of the ACC schools passed on this kid. I love Wayne Ellington as much as the next die-hard Heels fan, but I’d kill to have Curry at UNC playing the 2 this year.
Who cares if he has more points in the tournament than chest hair? He’s no boy. Stephen Curry is the freaking man!!! Go Wildcats!!!
I couldn’t let this great weekend of college basketball slide without thanking the Dookies for making this yet another great birthday weekend for me. Thanks again for putting the full measure of your infinite suckitude on display for the nation to see for the fourth straight year in a row.
Four years, you say? Why yes, I do. However did I arrive at that number? I arrived at it thanks to this handy Performance Against Seed Expectations (PASE) chart courtesy of ESPN’s own NCAA tourney stat guru Peter Tiernan.
The chart basically lays out the expected number of wins a team should have based upon it’s seed in the tournament, from a high of 3.36 wins for a #1 seed to 0.00 wins for a #16 seed.
Did you realize that over the last five years Dook has been seeded #2, #6, #1, #1, and #1? According to the chart we should expect 13.77 wins for Dook during this stretch. Guess how many they actually have?
Nine.
Nine wins. A full 35% below the number of wins an average team would have in the tournament over the same stretch. The only reason they are even that good is because of their run to the Final Four in 2004 where Everybody’s All America JJ Redick shot a whopping 4-12 from the field en route to an utter waxing at the hands of the eventual champion UConn Huskies.
The numbers don’t lie. When it comes to putting their money where their mouth is, Duke is an utter joke over the last five years. Hopefully the selection committee is going to wake up and stop rewarding them these high seeds until they can prove that they actually deserve them.
And before you start with me, Carolina has been seeded #1, #1, #3, #1, and #6 over the last 5 years. This year isn’t over yet because UNC actually kicked the living crap out of both teams they played this weekend instead of being an errant pass away from losing to a #15 seed and then losing handily to the #5 team in the Big East. That said, we won’t know yet how Carolina will play against its seed in 2008. Over the last 4 years they should have 9.77 wins and they have 11, six of those courtesy of the 2005 National Championship. Werd.
If you count this year, Carolina should have 13.13 wins since 2004 by the time the 2008 tournament is over, and they’re at 13 through this weekend, so a win over Washington State this week puts them ahead of the game. So if they lose on Thursday, you can come back and tell me that they’re overrated too… .01% overrated, mind you, not 35% overrated. But I digress…
Anyway, my point as usual is that Dook sux and Carolina is teh rulez. Good times.
A French university has released a study concluding what I have long suspected: you should never, ever, under any circumstances mess with me because - as a left-hander - I will kick your ass.
The study says that we southpaws have the advantage in brawlin’. It also says we have the advantage in fencing, tennis, and baseball; three sports which I of course never took up. Way to think it through, Jamie.
No, instead I had to play basketball. Spoiler: I always dribble to my left because I have no handle. Spoiler #2: If going to the left doesn’t work, I go to the left some more. It’s true. Ask Jigga.
So back to this ass-kickin’ thing: If you look past the fact that this report on fighting was conducted by a French university and that I’m more likely to defend myself in a fight by hoping my opponent won’t want to hit a guy in the back as he’s running away and crying like a little girl, then I think it’s safe to conclude that I’m a friggin’ bad-ass and you should step the hell off.
Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to Dick’s Sporting Goods to buy a racket, a catcher’s mitt, a foil, a croissard, a plastron, and a mask.
Much love to Fake Steve Jobs for bringing me to this new level of musical enlightenment. I honor the place where your video-finding skills and my lust for nasty, bad ass, yodel-your-friggin’-face-off Dutch rock become one.
image credit: in picture, but I got this from SpinDoctors.com
We had dinner last night at Casa del Noped with Jigga, J-No, and the ever-cute baby Katherine. Somehow during dinner the Spin Doctors came up briefly, and I talked about how much I listened to their Pocket Full of Kryptonite album right around the time I was graduating from high school in 1993.
This morning J-No sent us this email after getting in to work.
As I was flipping XM channels on the way to work, I heard:
“if you want to buy me flowers, just go ahead now.
and if you, want to talk for hours, just go ahead now.” etc etc etc
What does the line at the end mean- where is says- Oh, your majesty…..forget the king and marry me…….. Who is he talking about?
After reading Jennifer’s email I realized that there are probably many of you out there who are not aware of the deep, multi-layered complexities of the Spin Doctors’ work. I sent J-No the following thoughtful, insightful, utterly deep, and - some might say - brilliant reply. After reading it, I knew I must share it with you, the gentle blizzog reader whose thirst for Spin Doctors wisdom and insight will never be fully quenched.
Man, do I love the Spin Doctors. The song you are referring to is called “Two Princes“, and was the Spin Doctors first big hit. With a light, upbeat, whimsical set of lyrics, the song depicts the classic love triangle between two men of very different means and a hottie.
The song’s title refers to the two princes that the hottie can choose between. The lyrics are sung from the perspective of the poor guy in this triangle, and he explains the difference between himself and the other “prince”. Lines like “One has diamonds in his pockets / This one, said he wants to buy you lockets” depict the great disparity in buying power between the two men.
The line you are referring to, “forget the king and marry me,” is the singer’s plea to the hottie (the princess) to ignore what her father (the king) would want her to do (marry the rich prince) and marry the poor prince instead.
The song never says if they ended up getting together, but I’m guessing they did. Why? The Spin Doctors’ next big hit was “Little Miss Can’t-Be-Wrong”, whose spiteful lyrics about a significant other who is always right shows that the group grasped the true meaning of marriage.
Deep stuff. Rich. And Compelling. The Spin Doctors, baby. Soak it in.
I need to give up this computer stuff and become a full-time pop culture maven. You’re welcome.
The average size of the British bust has grown for a 34B to a 36C in the last 10 years, though experts can’t exactly agree as to why.
In totally unrelated news, I have developed an affinity for fish ‘n’ chips, bad dental hygiene, and Manchester United football, and see myself moving to London in the near future.
Larry is the night security guard at the office building of one of my clients. He’s a really nice guy and always up for a good sports chat or at the ready with a funny story.
Today on my way out the door Larry was just settling in to the front desk, checking his logs. Because he didn’t see me, I called out, “What’s the word?”
Without missing a beat, Larry replied, “Thunderbird.”
Dick Clark shouldn’t do any more New Year’s Rockin’ Eves.
You know you are thinking it too.
I’m right, aren’t I? Don’t get me wrong, I feel awful for the guy, and I’m glad for him that he’s still able to do something he clearly loves.
But just because he can do it, does it mean that we have to like it? It bums me out. And let’s face it, that’s really the last emotion you want to feel when you’re getting ready to ring in the New Year. You’re all like, “Wow, this year is going to be great. I’m going to fulfill all my hopes and dreams,” and you’re feeling pretty upbeat - and maybe a little buzzed - and then they flash poor Dick up on the screen to slur down the final seconds of the old year….
… and then it’s the New Year but you’re too busy thinking about Dick and how hard it must’ve been for him to teach himself to speak again and how energetic he used to be and sound, and how now he just seems old and sad. Courageous, yes, and perhaps inspiring, but more old and sad. And then you’re not thinking about all your hopes and dreams for the New Year. You’re thinking, “Shit, I hope I don’t have a stroke.” And what fun is that?
I think someone in the organization needs to sit Dick down and say, “Remember when Michael Jordan came back and played for the Wizards? And it was kinda cool to see him, but he really wasn’t the same Michael, and ultimately it was a big bummer….” Or they should say, “Remember the last season of ‘Growing Pains’, when Mike Seaver was a teacher and it was just kinda weird and awkward and not really very good?” Or they should say, “Remember Caddyshack II, or Teen Wolf Too or Staying Alive? Do you see where this is going?”
Alas, I’m guessing that my plea will fall on deaf ears. After all, I think Dick Clark owns 86% of Hollywood, so it’s likely that he’s going to go when he’s damn good and ready.
He’s definitely earned the right, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. In fact, I’ve decided what I’m going to do about it. And no, smarty pants, it’s not going to be “change the channel” or “watch something else, asshole.” You think I’m seriously going to watch Carson Daly? There’s not enough booze on the planet for that to happen.
No, what I’m going to do is just start pretending that Dick is really Joe Namath.
I think it’s a win-win for me and Dick. Dick can still keep ringing in the New Year. I can still keep watching, pretending that it’s Joe Namath and Suzy Kolber at midnight instead of Dick Clark and Doris Day, and everybody gets to have a truly happy New Year. And that’s what it’s all about, right?
