Quick Hits #4

Manny Being Manny:  Manny Ramirez retired from baseball on Friday as he faced a 100-game suspension for a positive drug test.  Manny had already been suspended for 50 games in 2009 for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and he apparently would have rather retired instead of serving a suspension that would have extended 2/3 into the 2011 season.

Manny Ramirez retired last week after a 19-year
playing career and 555 career home runs.

Manny is one of the most talented, I mean, tainted hitters to ever play the game.  His career 555 home runs and .312 batting average over 19 season stand out as Hall of Fame numbers, but Manny should not be expecting an invitation from the Baseball Hall of Fame anytime soon.  Two other players linked to using performance-enhancing drugs during their careers, Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire, have come no where near the requisite amount of votes to obtain entrance to the Hall.  Still, Manny is planning to stay off the grid just in case the Hall wants to contact him.  Manny released a statement shortly after his retirement that included the following:  "I'm at ease.  God knows what's best (for me).  I'm now an officially retired baseball player.  I'll be going on a trip to Spain with my old man."  Once again proving there will never be another Manny Ramirez.


Minnesota Du-who?:  David met Goliath for the NCAA Hockey Championship in the Frozen Four on Saturday night.  Minnesota Duluth, who had never won a national championship, went skate-to-skate with  Michigan, who had won more hockey championships than any other program in the country (9).  The Bulldogs beat the Wolverines on a sudden-death goal only 3:22 into the overtime.  It was an historic win for Minnesota Duluth as winger Kyle Schmidt netted the winning goal and put the Bulldogs ahead 3-2.  What a great way to win their first national championship!

The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs dismissed
Michigan with a game-winning goal only 3:22
into overtime for its first hockey national championship.

But more devastatingly, what a way to lose!  The Wolverines went from being positioned to win the national championship in one moment and to having it pulled out from underneath them the next.  Although it actually might be a better way to lose than to do what Butler did last week and watch the championship slip away brick after brick after brick.  Best line from a SportsCenter anchor covering the highlights of the championship game:  "Duluth, Duluth, Duluth is on fire!"


Jimmer Does It Again:  Jimmer Fredette won the Wooden Award on Friday night in Los Angeles and completed a sweep of this year's college basketball national player of the year awards.  Jimmer is the first BYU player to win the Wooden Award since Danny Ainge in 1981.  The Wooden Award voters include nearly 1,000 members of the college basketball media who each selected and ranked 10 players.  Fredette had 3,761 points, followed by Connecticut's Kemba Walker with 3,356; Ohio State's Jared Sullinger with 2,637; Duke's Nolan Smith with 2,371; and Arizona's Derrick Williams with 1,913.  Jimmer's focus now turns to preparing for the NBA Draft and his future career.  Jimmer has not commented on whether he will be going on a trip to Spain between now and then with his old man.

Another day, another national player of the year award for Jimmer Fredette. I
wonder if he will end up donating any of them to Deseret Industries at
some point because he has no place to store them all?

The Glory Days Are Over, Coach: A football coach who coaches 9, 10 and 11 year-old kids in Chula Vista, California was arrested after a confrontation with a parent that included a dispute over the recruitment of a "top" player away from the coach's team to another competing team.  The parent was reportedly punched, kicked and knocked unconscious by the coach.  Are you kidding me?!  And here we thought the recruiting environment in college football was passionate, scandalous and dangerous.  Apparently Chula Vista takes its Pee Wee Football even more seriously.  Can you imagine what Gene Chizik (Auburn's Head Football Coach) would have done to Cam Newton's Dad had he heard about Newton's offer to Mississippi State to "buy" his son's commitment to play football there.  Let's just be glad Chizik didn't grow up and learn how to coach in Chula Vista.

Saving The Worst For Last?

Connecticut is #1?
In what was easily the WORST NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game I have ever seen, Connecticut snuck by Butler 53-41.  Connecticut's size intimidated Butler into only making 3 out of their 31 2-point attempts by blocking 10 shots, distracting numerous more, and dominating the boards, 51-40.  It was just UGLY.  Butler played just a little better than a Church basketball team would have played.

All Butler Coach Brad Stevens wanted was for his team
to make more than 12 shots.

But before we pour it all on Butler, Connecticut didn't exactly win in style.  The Huskies turned the ball over 11 times, only scored 19 points in the first half, and went 1-11 from three-point range.  But give the Huskies credit, they stormed through the Big East and the NCAA Tournament with an 11-0 record, and they are the Champs for the third time, having won the title previously in 1999 and 2004.

Kemba Walker and the Huskies were just good enough
to defeat the Butler Bulldogs in the Championship Game.

So Connecticut's the #1 team, right?  Well, the UGLY National Championship win by Connecticut did not convince everyone that they are the Champs.  According to the final ESPN/USA Today Coach's Poll, there is one coach out there who thinks that Ohio State is the #1 team in the country.  Since the final poll of the season remains anonymous, we may never know which of the 31 voters put OSU as the #1 team instead of the 30 other voters that voted for the winner of the Championship game.  By the way, Ohio State lost in the Sweet 16 round...it's not like they reached the Championship game or even Final Four!  Ohio State was ranked #1 for the majority of the year, was the #1-ranked team by the selection committee when the brackets were put together, and were picked by many experts to win the tournament, but they lost when it mattered most!  This is like saying that the New England Patriots were the Super Bowl Champions even though Green Bay actually won the Super Bowl.
I'm thinking there are  a few reasons why a voter might do this (feel free to add your own):

1) He coaches Ohio State
2) His team was upset by a lower seed in the NCAA Tournament and currently hates the "one-and-done" tournament format so he voted for the best "team"
3) He runs the BCS Football Championship where the champion is largely determined by voting
4) He had a "hanging chad" on his ballot
5) He thought he was voting for the team with the most hypocritical football coach

Whoever it was should have to at least be accountable for his vote because it makes a mockery out of College Basketball, the NCAA Tournament, and Connecticut.  Step up and explain, sir!

Jimmer is #1!
While Connecticut may have left doubt in some people's minds about which team is #1, there appears to be little doubt who was the #1 basketball player this year:  Jimmer Fredette.

Jimmer has rolled through the Awards season as easily
as he split double-teams this season.

There may not be another BYU player or even another college basketball player like Jimmer for a long time.  Jimmer will have a chance to add the last of the college basketball awards, the Wooden Award, to his trophy case on Friday, but for now he can enjoy this long list of post-season awards and accomplishments:

Naismith Award
Oscar Robertson Trophy
Adolph Rupp Award
Associated Press NPOY
Sporting News NPOY
Basketball Times NPOY
SI.com NPOY
CBSSports.com NPOY
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

Jimmer is also a consensus first team All-American, named to teams honored by the USBWA, NABC, AP, Wooden, Sporting News, Basketball Times and many other media outlets.

So, what did you do during your Senior year in college?

Quick Hits #3

V-C-told-U-so:  VCU has reached the Final Four as an 11 seed after upsetting "power conference" foes USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State, and Kansas along the way.  VCU, George Mason (2006), and LSU (1986) are the only teams to ever advance to the Final Four as an 11 seed.  Incredible.  When the brackets were revealed on Selection Sunday, many experts questioned the Selection Committee's decision to include VCU and UAB in the 68-team field because they felt that many other teams were more deserving based upon their regular season and conference tournament performance.

VCU could be the national champion even though they
should have never been given a shot to get to the Final Four.

VCU's inclusion in the tournament was questioned because they had lost 7 conference games in a sub-par conference, including a home game to lowly James Madison, and had a much lower RPI than other teams that were left out of the tournament.  Many have suggested that because VCU has now made the Final Four, then they must have been deserving of being included in the tournament from the beginning.  I wholeheartedly disagree.  Such a rationale would make no sense given that the Selection Committee's job is to select the tournament teams based upon their resume and previous performance, not to project how a team would perform in the tournament.  Does VCU deserve to be in the tournament simply because they have won 5 games in a row?  Absolutely not.  If that is the case, then teams such as Louisville and Vanderbilt (who both lost their first games to lower-seeded teams) should not have been included in the tournament either.  Good for VCU, but saying that they have validated their inclusion in the tournament would be taking the easy way out.

Let The Jimmer Simmer:  Meanwhile, the debate continues about players that have already exited the tournament - will Jimmer be a good pro?  Many will continue to debate Jimmer's professional abilities leading up to the draft and even throughout Jimmer's career.  But why are so many people so adamant and passionate about this topic?  Because there is no debating the fact that he is one of the best collegiate basketball players in recent memory.  We should all stop being so concerned about how good a pro he may or may not be.

Jimmer Fredette excited the entire college basketball world
this year with his ability to score and lead BYU to wins.

Will his success or failure in the NBA take away from his outstanding college career and all the excitement he created not only at BYU but throughout college basketball?  It shouldn't.  Instead of being so focused on hypothetical situations and what he may not be, let's stop and appreciate some of the fantastic things he accomplished as a collegiate player: Fredette led the nation in scoring with 28.9 points per game, averaged 32.7 points per game in the NCAA tournament, led BYU with 4.3 assists per game, shot 40% from three-point "Jimmer" range, shot 89% from the free throw line, shattered the BYU career scoring mark after scoring a mind-boggling 1,068 points this season.  Even more important:  Jimmer is a winner.  He leaves BYU as the all-time leader in team wins as a player.  Certain writers in the media may not appreciate Jimmer, but he has already been selected by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as the winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy which is presented annually to the National Player of the Year as selected by the writers.  By the way, Rick Reilly is not considered a Basketball Writer by the USBWA or Dan Patrick.  That is worth a listen!


Ochocinco Soccer Situation:  With the NFL Lockout now in its third week with no end in sight, it appears that NFL players, including Chad Ochocinco, are bored and need something to do.  Chad Ochocinco, who has successfully kicked an extra point in a recent NFL game, recently went through a five-day tryout with the MLS team, Sporting Kansas City.  Ochocinco, who played soccer in high school, practiced with the team, played in a reserve game this weekend, and has been awarded an honorary reserve spot on the team.  Ochocinco will not be paid for practicing with the team (which is only a little less than what an MLS player actually gets paid), but he is excited about his new-found job:

Ochocinco is just kickin'
it during the NFL lockout.

"This is so awesome I'm an honorary member of SportingKC and can train with the reserve team as long as I want," Ochocinco said in a tweet. "Totally awesome ILuvKC."

Does anyone else now want to see David Beckham take a hit by Baltimore Ravens' linebacker, Ray Lewis, or is that just me?  At least Ochocinco is as they say "staying out of trouble", which is more than can be said for Dallas Cowboys' receiver Dez Bryant.

Jimmer, You've Been Reilly'd!

I have spent the last four days in New Orleans watching BYU lose an overtime thriller to Florida, witnessing Butler make yet another run to the Final Four despite being seeded 8 in the Southeast bracket, and - according to Rick Reilly - sinning just by osmosis.

Rick Reilly has been voted National
Sportswriter of the Year 11 times, but he
is not a fan of Jimmermania.

I find many of Rick Reilly's articles to be witty and entertaining, but little did I know that much of that wit may actually be masking his ability to effectively communicate and support his biased opinion.  Rick Reilly has been a full-fledged BYU hater since at least 2001 when he wrote here (with many inaccuracies) about how BYU's older football players gave them a distinct advantage over the younger, and therefore less talented, smaller, and weaker opposing players.  I have always found this argument to be rather amusing because although BYU was 9-0 in 2001 when Reilly wrote the article, no one ever made this argument from 2002-2004 when the Gary Crowton-led Cougars would amass a 13-25 record.  BYU magically went from an NFL-ready team in 2001 to a Geriatrics ward in 2002.

In Reilly's most recent religious jab at BYU and Mormonism, he wrote here about Jimmer Fredette's last collegiate game and Jimmer's inability to be a star performer at the next level in the NBA simply based on his performance against the Gators, while also throwing darts at Jimmer's religion.  I'm sure Jimmer would be the first to tell you that he did not play his best on either end of the floor against Florida, which was one of the reasons why he and the "pizza delivery guys" came up short in the Sweet 16.  Over time, Jimmer will have the opportunity to disprove Reilly's contention that he will be an ineffective NBA player, but my bigger issue with Reilly is the way he hides behind his magic curtain by not allowing comments to be posted at the end of his articles, thus preventing his readers from publicly sharing their own opinions or providing a forum to disprove his conclusions based on actual facts, forcing many readers, including Ryan J., to post their opinions here.  During the past couple of days many have come to Jimmer's defense (including to the defense of his Mormon religion) such as here and here.  Good stuff.

No doubt Reilly missed out on Jimmer's spectacular
42-point performance on the road against
Colorado State on January 22, 2011.

Clearly, Rick Reilly didn't have the mtn (but of course who does?) during the basketball season and based his arguments on the 30-second SportsCenter highlights he saw throughout the year leading up to the Florida game.  As Ryan J. pointed out in his "Letter to Reilly", Rick Reilly evaluated Jimmer's potential as an NBA player based upon a single performance in which he still scored 32 points.  Personally, I would have loved to have read Rick Reilly's article criticizing Kobe Bryant's capabilities as an NBA player when he shot 6-23, including 0-6 from three-point range, turned the ball over 4 times, and only scored 23 points (well below his average) in Game 7 of the NBA Finals!  Lucky for Kobe, his own "pizza delivery" buddy, Ron Artest, saved Kobe and his beloved Lakers from a loss to the rival Celtics on basketball's biggest stage by scoring 20 points and nailing a three-pointer in the final seconds to seal the NBA Championship.

Kobe is relieved that no one judged his ability to play
in the NBA based upon a single-game performance.

Jimmer will be the first to tell you that although he has been voted an AP All-American and is the favorite to win the Naismith Award (College Basketball's Heisman Trophy) this weekend, he has a lot to work on in order to translate his talents and skills to the next level.  He has been there before.  He was a good Freshman when he came to BYU, but he worked hard to achieve All-American status during the past four years and will likely be a lottery pick in June's NBA draft.  As Rick Reilly so eloquently pointed out, Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook said, "I know from just watching (Jimmer Fredette) he's going to be a great NBA player."  Reilly's second-grade response to Westbrook's analysis: "No! No he isn't!"  Thanks, Ricky, but I'm going to go with the All-Star basketball player's opinion when evaluating Jimmer's potential as an NBA player, not an established "funny-guy" and long-time BYU-hater.

Which makes me wonder:  Which side of the argument would Rick Reilly have taken if Jimmer had gone on a mission?

Maybe we would have seen that Kobe article after all...