Poll

Check out the poll on the top right of this page.. Who do you think is going to win the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship?

John Calipari to Coach the 'Cats

And just like that, the Kentucky Wildcats are relevant again. After missing big time with the hiring of Billy Gillispie, the decision makers in Lexington hit a home run with this hire. Coach Cal brings instant credibility to a program in need of a big-time personality. No offense to Gillispie, he was a terrific coach at Texas A&M, but he just isn't the guy for a traditional powerhouse such as the University of Kentucky. Calipari is that guy.

I am incredibly intrigued to see how this pairing works. Coach Cal was incredibly successful at UMASS racking up a 193-71 record in eight seasons before jumping to the NBA to coach the New Jersey Nets. After an unsuccessful stint in the NBA, Calipari took over the job in Memphis and has since turned them into one of the best programs in the country. He is a great recruiter that plays a up-tempo style that makes kids want to play in his system. One of my favorite quotes comes from Calipari in which he says that "I don't recruit role players". Bringing Cal to the SEC will do wonders in restoring the conference.

Now the real intriguing issue comes from the fact that Calipari has never coached at a major school in a major conference. He dominanted the Atlantic-10 while at Massachusetts and obliterated the Conference-USA while at Memphis, however, neither of these conferences offer the competition that Coach Cal will face at Kentucky. I have no doubts that he will turn the program into a perennial powerhouse. However, it will probably take a couple of years. So Kentucky will need to be patient with him. If the team struggles next year, boosters and alumni might be angry, but perspective is needed. Calipari is the right guy. Give him time and Kentucky will be successful.

I thought the decision makers at Kentucky were out of their mind when they mentioned their list of candidates and it included Rick Pitino, Jamie Dixon, Tom Izzo and others. None of these coaches would be bettering their careers by taking the job as the risk was just not worth the reward. But it is worth it for Calipari. There are two major knocks on Cal.. One is that he has never won a national championship. Number two is that he has never coached in a major conference. Accepting the job at Kentucky eliminates knock number two, and I have a feeling knock number one will be eliminated in a few years. This job doesn't come without risks for Calipari. Memphis could very well be better than Kentucky for the next few years and might even win a title without him. But if he can restore Kentucky to national prominence then he will have done something he never could have done at Memphis... become a legend at one of (if not the most) prestigious basketball institutions in America. For that, the risk is well worth it. I, for one, am excited to see the results of this marriage.

The Birthplace of Basketball Gets a D-League Team

This isn't about LA sports at all, but since I have tons of family from Springfield, Massachusetts, I thought I would point it out. "The Field", as locals call it, is getting a local NBA Development League team. I think it is a great idea. The city loves basketball and even a minor league team will probably gain a following. I have been to Springfield a few times and it really is a historical basketball city and considering the fact that the Hall of Fame is in Springfield, this pairing makes perfect sense.

Cat Scratch Fever

The Lakers will be in Charlotte tonight to take on the upstart Bobcats. I know they have only met 9 times, but the Bobcats are one of only a handful of teams to hold a winning record over the Lakers (5-4 overall) and they always seem to give the Lakers' nightmares. I think the simple reason for this is that the Lakers can't, and never have under Phil Jackson, been able to defend the pick and roll. Raymond Felton lights the Lakers up each time they play (I don't have the time now to look it up but trust me, he loves seeing those Purple and Gold jerseys). In that triple OT game in Charlotte two years ago he was able to get to the rim virtually every possession and he just absolutely sliced and diced the Laker defense.
All that being said, I expect it to be a different story tonight. With the Bobcats in the playoff race and hopefully garnering the attention of LA, I expect a good solid effort. I don't think it will be easy but I do expect the Lakers to walk out with a victory tonight. My prediction (likely to be wrong...):
Lakers 109 Charlotte 104
Feel free to post your predictions in the comments below and we'll see who was closest..

Dodgers Agree to Terms with Will Ohman

Finally a reason for me to post about my Dodgers...
The Los Angeles Dodgers signed veteran lefty reliever Will Ohman to a one year deal worth 1.35 million today plus incentives and a 2010 option. Since Ohman is signing so late in the offseason he is agreeing to start the season in Albuquerque to get his work in before being called up after a week or so. My thoughts on the deal:

• Considering Joe Beimel signed for 2 million with the Nationals a few weeks back, this deal is pretty good. In virtually all ways Ohman was better than Beimel last year. Relievers tend to fluctuate year to year but both guys are the same age (both turn 32 during the 2009 season) so their decline should be similar. Ohman struck out 53 batters in 58 2/3 innings last year compared to 32 in 49 innings for Beimel. Ohman also held lefties to a .200/.257/.314 line (for those not familiar I will use the triple slash formula where Batting Average is the first number, On-Base Percentage is the second number, and Slugging Percentage is the third). Beimel, by comparison, held lefties to a .278/.330/.311 batting line. So Ohman was better and comes cheaper than Beimel. Ohman also allowed fewer inherited baserunners to score than Beimel, although that could have been a one year fluke.
• My issue with the deal is this: The Dodgers constantly feel the need to spend money on bit players when they have suitable young players making the minimum salary who could fill in and either perform the same as or even outperform these "proven vets". This year they spent 2.35 million on Guillermo Mota and his 4.30 ERA. They spent 1 million for Brad Ausmus to get 80 at-bats while backing up Russell Martin. And now they pay Ohman 1.35 million to pitch maybe 50 innings as a situational lefty. The constant need for veteran leadership baffles me. I want talent and I'll take it regardless if it comes with veteran leadership. The Dodgers easily could have plugged in Ramon Troncoso and his league minimum salary to fill Mota's spot. Danny Ardoin could probably out-hit Ausmus and he is making the league minimum. And Scott Elbert, who has explosive stuff, could have filled in for Ohman while making the minimum also. I understand these deals won't make or break the Dodgers. However, in a horrible economy where teams are afraid of spending money, the money should be spent on impact players. Valuable young players are an asset that should be taken advantage of. Wasting them while filling their spots with recycled veterans makes me mad. I hope these guys prove me wrong. I have a feeling they won't. We shall see as the season starts. One thing is for certain... It feels good talking about the Dodgers again.

Is This the NBA or "Whose Line is it Anyway?"

Let me start this off by saying that the Cleveland Cavaliers are good. Actually good is an understatement. They are very good. They have a once-in-a-lifetime superstar LeBron James having a mind-boggling statistical season. They have a second option in Mo Williams who can score on his own and knock down the open jumper. Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak (I almost spelled that right without checking but I missed the first "Z"), and Zydrunas Ilgauskas can all space the floor and hit the open jumper. Ben Wallace and Anderson Varajeo are both outstanding rebounders and play great defense. And Joe Smith was a solid pickup who can play some minutes at the "4" and spread out the defense with his mid-range shooting ability. So it's obvious the Cavs can play; my issue is with something completely different.
The Cavs have been performing these little cute acts where the team essentially acts as pantomimes. LeBron sets the "camera" on a timer before jumping back into the picture. Four or five Cavs huddle around Gibson as LeBron tries to "start the fire" after Gibson hits a three. All this is just ridiculous and I think it's cheesy and not really all that funny. I'm all for a good celebration. I just don't like stuff like this that is so premeditated and still not very funny. And another thing... I'm happy the Cavs "love" each other as ABC announcers Mike Breen and Mark Jackson pointed out many times during the broadcast, but do we really think that is the reason they are 60-13 on the season? I mean I could assemble a team of four of my buddies and I and I'm pretty sure we would go 0-82. And we get along great and love each other. I'm a big believer in the general rule that winning creates chemistry. There are obvious exceptions (I'm looking at you T.O. and Starbury) but in general winning cures all. And the Cavs are winning at an incredible rate and it's because of their great team and not because they all take little pretend pictures together or huddle around Boobie Gibson's fake fire. But the media will jump at any little cliche and use it as a if it's the gospel. Oh well, what does it matter? We shall find out in June when the Lakers and Cavs meet up in what should be an incredible NBA Finals.
(Tip of the hat to Andrew... This one is for you buddy.)

The War of Attrition

That's basically what the Lakers game was today. The Lakers sleepwalked their way through their game this afternoon in the ATL. Both teams played horribly and both teams shot the ball terribly. The main difference is that the Hawks were able to hit 10 of 19 from 3-point land while the Lakers were a miserable 4 of 20 from behind the arc. The only Laker starter that had a good game was Pau Gasol as he managed to score 21 points on 7 of 10 shooting. But that in itself was an issue because he only had 10 FG attempts. Lamar Odom led the mediocrity with a 3 for 14 doozy, Trevor Ariza and D Fish were both 3 for 11, and Kobe had another bad shooting night at 7 for 19 (That's 6 of 7 games for Kobe at below 40%). Overall it looked like a game the Lakers might steal but when Mike Bibby (who, along with Detlef Schrempf, was put on this Earth to beat the Lakers) had his three bounce off the back rim, on top of the backboard and then back through the net I just knew it was one of those nights. Overall nothing to worry about besides the extra game the Cavs gain in the standings after their beatdown of the Mavs. Hopefully the guys regroup and take care of business in Charlotte on Tuesday. It's easier said than done as the Bobcats have been notoriously difficult for the Lake Show to dispose of. Today was one of those days that makes me beg for baseball to start. Only 8 more days...

UCONN, Nova advance

Congratulations to UCONN and Villanova for advancing to the Final Four last night. Both games were exciting and the Villanova/Pitt game included plenty of back and forth action. Here are some thoughts I had while watching the games:
UCONN 82 Missouri 75:

• Kemba Walker is explosive. The young freshman had 23 points, 5 boards, and 5 assists to lead the Huskies into the National Semi-final next Saturday. He was extremely quick and could finish amongst the trees once he got deep into the lane. I was thoroughly impressed with the young man. I just wonder where he got so tough?? Where is Jay Bilas when we need answers like this? "He has that New York City toughness that he obtained while growing up playing in the playground". Oh thanks Jay, I'm glad you didn't mention it multiple times on the broadcast. But I digress..
• Missouri plays fast and wreaks havoc on it's opponents. Just ask Hasheem Thabeet. While Hasheem has never been a true offensive threat in my opinion, he still averages 13.5 ppg on the year. But Saturday night he looked lost and didn't belong anywhere near that court. Thabeet had 5 points on just 4 field goal attempts and didn't block a single shot. To be fair, I must point out that he had 13 boards, but Mizzou's rotation doesn't include a single player over 6'9" so to say I was unimpressed with Thabeet would be an understatement. Let's just say if I was an NBA GM with a late lottery pick and Thabeet's name was still on the board I would have a tough time pulling the trigger. But that's why they are there and I'm writing a blog that no one reads. Moving on...

Villanova 78 Pitt 76:

• What in the world was Reggie Redding thinking?? With 10 seconds to play and Nova up by two, he ignored the wide open Corey Fisher in the corner and launched a deep pass down court to Dante Cunningham. Except there was one problem: Cunningham had a Pitt defender draped all over him. After an incredible play to keep the ball in bounds by Cunningham, Pitt advanced the ball down court where eventually Lavance Fields drew a blocking foul on the Nova defender and proceeded to tie the game from the line with 5.5 seconds to play. That was a very questionable decision by Redding and by questionable I mean dumb.
• Luckily for Villanova, Pitt was in an equally giving mood. Despite there being 5.5 seconds remaining, Jamie Dixon had his team press following Fields' free throws. After Cunningham caught the inbounds pass a few feet above the three point line he immediately threw the ball to Scottie Reynolds who was streaking up the sideline. Reynolds navigated his way up the court and straight to the rim where he finished the play to give Nova the win. You just can't make it that easy for Nova. If there were 2 or 3 seconds to play, the press would have been a decent decision because there will only be enough time for a desperation jumper. But with slightly more than 5 seconds to play, there is a world of time for the offensive player to get all the way to the hoop. And that's what Reynolds did. If Pitt had their defense extended to half court only instead of full court, they would have had some defenders in the key to challenge Reynolds' layup. Instead, they are going home and Nova is advancing. Such is the way of March Madness.
• Quick side note: What a calendar year for Philadelphia sports. First the Phillies win the World Series, then the Eagles make the NFC Championship in a game they should have won, the Flyers are the fourth seed in the East, and Nova is going to the Final Four. Even the Sixers are playing suprisingly well despite not possessing a single player with an outside jump shot. Let's see if our Philly brethern lose their bitter edge.. Thought about it, it's not happening. But seriously it's been quite a year for sports fans in the City of Brotherly Love. Now if only LA can have it's turn this year...

UCLA Basketball End of Season Summary

The UCLA basketball season came to a crashing end last Saturday as the Bruins were destroyed by Villanova 89-69 in a game they really never had a shot in. While some (extremely) biased fans will argue that the draw was unfair as UCLA had to play the Wildcats in Philly in a building they play three home games in every year, the reality is that UCLA was just not very good. And really that was to be expected this year despite what most people thought. After all, the Bruins lost Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute to early entry to the NBA draft, plus athletic center Lorenzo Mata to graduation. Westbrook and Love were top five picks, and all three guys are making an impact on their respective teams as rookies. So even though the Bruins won 26 games, it was a mirage as the team had no impressive wins. Their non-conference schedule was soft (a Howland tradition), the showdown games turned out to be battles of disappointing teams (Texas and Notre Dame), and they lost all their real challenges in league (Arizona St., Washington on the road). I guess what I'm getting at is that UCLA met their expectations this year.
So how did this year happen. I already talked about losing the three NBA players and Mata, and that level of talent is difficult to replace. However, I think three issues were really to blame for the (relatively) average season in Westwood. Number one: Collison didn't seem to be himself at all this season. For the first time in four seasons he was the number one option and having defenses gameplan for him seemed to be too much to handle. While his numbers were similar, I think Bruin fans were just expecting more from him when he declared he was returning for his senior season. Number two: Jrue Holiday playing out of position. I don't think this was mentioned nearly enough. Holiday came in as a combo guard who felt most comfortable playing point. However, when Russell left and Darren came back, a hole was opened at the two so Jrue filled the spot. Overall, Holiday played good defense, rebounded well for a guard, and was a great passer. However, he left something to be desired as a scorer. I think this is more a product of Holiday not feeling as comfortable on the wing rather than playing point. And Howland's system requires so much from the point guard that other players often don't get the ball in their hands enough to make plays. And that's what Jrue Holiday is, an excellent playmaker. We saw it against VCU when Collison was in foul trouble as Holiday had one of his best games with 13 points and 6 assists while consistently getting into the lane and wreaking havoc. So if Holiday comes back, which I don't think he will, I would love to see him playing the point full time. Number three reason: The lack of a killer UCLA defense this year. This can be attributed to three things: 1. Westbrook and his incredible on-ball defense leaving early, 2. Mbah a Moute and his defensive versatility leaving early, and 3. The lack of any shot-blocking presence. Alfred Aboya and Nikola Dragovic mostly take charges. Drew Gordon will be an elite shot-blocker but he was foul prone and out of control this season. In fact, no Bruin averaged more than 0.6 blocks per game. And when your perimeter defense isn't as good as usual you need someone to challenge shots and that just wasn't there this year.
In my eyes the Bruins really didn't underacheive this season. In reality, they were basically what we should have expected to begin the season. However, at UCLA, most folks expect a championship every year (which is ridiculous) and so they were dissapointed. Next year will probably be similar to this year but I will touch on that later.

Pau Magnifico

The Lakers held off the New Jersey Nets last night to win their fifth straight. On a night where Kobe fought what he called a "jammed" ankle and another sub 40% shooting night (his fifth in six games by the way), the man who stepped up was the seven-foot Spaniard, Pau Gasol. I have a strong belief that Pau is not truly appreciated by the media and often fans as well. His per game numbers aren't jaw-dropping (18.9 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 3.6 apg), yet he is consistently good and oftentimes great. He is as efficient as they come in the NBA as his 57.2 FG% can attest to, and never seems to tire despite leading the Lakers in minutes and playing all but one game this year. He is a remarkable player who at seven-feet can run the floor, handle the ball, both make and catch tough passes, finish with both hands, and play with his back to the basket or in the high post. Add it all up and I think you can make a strong case that Pau is the MVP of this 2008-2009 Lakers team. I know it's blasphemous to say in LA but I think that it might actually be the case this year. At any rate, us Lakers fans are plenty lucky that we stole this man for Kwame Brown's expiring contract etc..

Welcome

Hey. So I randomly decided to start this blog on a whim one night (tonight) and here it is. I have always thought it would be fun to have a forum such as this to openly discuss sports and although I have zero expectations I still think it will be fun to get on my soap-box and discuss sports in general and Los Angeles sports in particular. I am a life long Dodgers fan, Lakers fan, and as a UCLA student I also love the Bruins. I am not an apologist and can be very critical of players, coaches and management. However, I am not pessimistic and too much negativity ruins following a team. Anyways if you happen to stumble across this site on accident and feel like contacting me, feel free. My email: vinnietremonti@yahoo.com. Thanks. Hope you enjoy.