Let The Madness Begin

The brackets have been released and it is truly time for the best playoffs in sports to begin. March Madness brings excitement, surprise and entertainment to an otherwise dull month of March.

Louisville, Pittsburgh, North Carolina and Connecticut all received the #1 seeds.

Here's a look at the bracket (Click to enlarge):



I'm gonna make some opening round picks here...

Here is my main bracket (Click it):




Now as the tourney progresses and my bracket is surely destroyed, I'll discuss the matchups. I will say that my Final Four seems a bit chalk, and I am tempted to change it to go all chalk. I don't know if Memphis is as good as the hype and I know UConn can play for real.

Another thing I don't like about my bracket is that my highest seed in the Sweet Sixteen is a 7 seed.
THERE WILL BE A DOUBLE-DIGIT SEED IN THE SWEET SIXTEEN.
My money is on Maryland, despite having to beat California and Memphis to do so.

In the end, I find it tough to pick against Pitt, so I pick them to win it all. Will this happen? Probably not. Pitt having to potentially play the top three teams in the ACC in a row is going to be a challenge, as well as having to play Tennessee or Oklahoma State. Even Xavier could give the Panthers problems.

If Pitt makes the Final Four, I think they will take on the Tar Heels of North Carolina. UNC seems to have the easiest path to the Final Four. I would have liked to have seen Pitt-UNC in the Championship though.

I think Pitt beats UNC straight up in that matchup because the only guy who can play as nearly physical as Tyler Hans is DeJuan Blair. Levance Fields is just as good as Ty Lawson in my opinion. When it comes to making the smart decision and hitting the big shot, give me the guy who got tasered. Sam Young is just a man and I feel is set to have a big time performance in the tournament.

The only thing that could really hinder the Panthers is the officiating. If it's called close, Blair and the Panthers could be in trouble. If we get to a PItt-UNC game, expect there to be blood. Someone might die down low.

More to come on the tourney... Right now though it's off to French class. Parlez-vous Go Pitt.

P-I-T-T Let's Go Pitt!

The Pittsburgh Panthers mens basketball team has accomplished a lot this season. They went 28-3. They were undefeated at home. They beat the #1 team in the country... twice. They ascended to #1 in the polls, a first in school history.

Yet, none of that matters. Sure, it all looks nice, and a probable #1 seed in the NCAA tournament will be a a big deal for the team and school. But if this team is unable to at least get to the Final Four, it's all for nothing.

Luckily for the Panthers, this seems to be the best and most disciplined the University has ever seen.

Many people talk about DeJuan Blair and his physicality and how it is a game changer, and rightfully so. Blair is a tremendous talent. He is undersized for his position at only 6'7, but plays much bigger. Just ask UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, who has eight inches on Blair, yet was handled in both meetings between the Big East rivals this season.

Asides from Blair, this team boasts, in my mind, the best small forward in the nation, Sam Young. Young's ability to take over games with his athleticism and versatility makes him the biggest threat right now going into the post-season. He can knock down the 3, or take it to the hoop for the jam. His 31 points and 10 rebounds against UConn on Saturday showed just why every team in the nation should fear Young.

Even though I think highly of Blair and Young, I think the highest of Levance Fields. FIelds is also undersized, at only 5'10. He doesn't have the physicality or athleticism of Blair and Young, but he has something better: intelligence. Fields may be one of the smartest players I have ever seen at the college level. His assist-to-turnover ratio is the best in the nation and he rarely hurts the team.

The 'Big 3' of the Pitt Panthers is something special. But the role players are definitely noteworthy as well. Jermaine Dixon and Tyrell Biggs are great players, especially Dixon, who is the younger brother of Juan Dixon. Off the bench, the Panthers are one of the strongest teams in the country, with talent like Gillbert Brown, Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wannamaker.

The problem for the Panthers is if Blair gets into foul trouble, as they really have no one significant to come off the bench for him. In the Panthers three losses this season, Blair has fouled out of two of them and had 4 fouls at the end of the other. Pitt needs Blair to stay free of fouls, while still playing physical if they want to win a national championship.

With that said, I see that Panthers making a deep run in the tournament, as well as winning a Big East Championship. Anything less than a Big East Championship and a trip to the Final Four should be deemed a failure for this team, because they are THAT good.

Guerin

Yesterday, the Penguins acquired Bill Guerin. All they had to give up was at most a 3rd round draft pick.



Great trade.

Basically, in the last couple weeks, the Penguins have received Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, and Bill Guerin. Their point totals add up to 82. Basically that means one of these guys will get a point every game.

All we really lost was Ryan Whitney. Whits was a good talent, but he missed much of the season with injury and was never really able to mesh back in with the group it seemed. He put up 13 points in 38 games this season.

They Pens have thrived with a new coach, a new system and Chris Kunitz. I think that the addition of Guerin and Adams only helps this cause. Both guys bring some much needed grit to the offensive game.

This team is very good right now and I can't wait to see what they can do when Sidney Crosby comes back to the lineup. The Penguins are going to be a tough out for any of the higher seeds come playoff time.

The State of the Penguins 2

1. Evgeni Malkin is the MVP.
2. The trade for Chris Kunitz was a great decision.
3. Firing Michel Therrien took balls, but it needed to be done, and was a good decision.


With that said... this team has been a disappointment. Yeah yeah, I know, they aren't the team from last year. I get that. But with the, in my opinion, two best players in the NHL on their team, battling for a playoff spot is not acceptable.

I write this in the eve of the trade deadline, fully expecting to wake up to big news.

However, I am skeptical about what Ray Shero is thinking about doing here. The main talks have been about Staal leaving. Jordan Staal is a great two-way talent who is still very young and has his best years ahead of him. If he is traded, it NEEDS to be for a major talent winger who can be secured for at least a couple years.

Shero should not trade Petr Sykora at all. Do I even need to show the SCF Game 5 winner?

I really don't know if we should make too many moves here. This team is starting to click at the right time, and pulling the trigger on a shake-up may not be the right move. Although, it did work last year, and who the hell am I anyways.

In Shero We Trust... I think.


I am going to attempt writing tomorrow, as I will be hanging with my shoulder surgery-recovering friend all day.

-Right now though, I have some questions. I don't want to get bashed by anyone here, especially on The Pensblog, because I am a big fan of everything those guys do.

I am a huge Pens fan too. Even to the extent of spending many hours crafting a tin-foil Stanley Cup last Spring. I'm a former season-ticket holder as well, well my parents were. Wish they wouldn't have given those up... I love the Pens and always will.

But, I am having questions about our captain. Sidney Crosby is a great player, one of the top three in the NHL. But recently, he doesn't seem himself. He doesn't seem to have fun at all and appears to get annoyed easily. Also, his durability is coming into question for me. He has been missing a lot of games the last couple years, and I wonder if it's holding him back some. Sid doesn't seem to have that explosiveness with the flair of elusiveness that he used to. He doesn't go charging to the net while cutting through defenders, and has yet to have one of those "Wow!" plays that we have grown used to. A little more effort from Sid needs to be expected.

Hopefully I'm not criticized for this, but if so, oh well. It's how it is. I'm a huge Crosby fan, I think he's a great player, like I said. But he needs to show me more if he wants my vote as the best in the league, because right now he's being upstaged by a member of his own team, as well as his rival Alex Ovechkin.

I have a feeling that SId will prove me idiotic, as is usually the case and be big down this stretch into the playoffs.

-If the Penguins get the 8th seed or 7th seed, they will maybe be the dangerous team at those positions in NHL history and could even win the Cup. No joke. You know the NHL is wanting that Pens-Caps matchup in the first round.

I suck.

Yeah, I've been gone for a while. No one reads, sue me. School has been rough, and I have felt a lack of creativity.

But, I'm back, and I'm feeling good. I'm ready to tear it up. Watch out.

In my absence...



the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Those were good times. My life went nuts then. I took like a week off school, it was worth it.

I feel that I have held a lot back in the past on this blog. No more. I have no reason to play conservative, and if you have a problem with it, bite me.

Let's kick the tires and light the fires.

90's Music

Super Bowl XLIII Analysis

So, I'm going to go position by position and do some comparison.


We'll start with offense.
___

-Quarterback-


Ben Roethlisberger vs. Kurt Warner
-Ok, yes, Warner has better numbers. Big Ben has at times been a little erratic and ended up making bad decisions. But, I give the edge to the Steelers on this one. Here is why. If you put Big Ben there with Warners line and with Boldin, Breaston, Urban, Pope and most importantly Fitzgerald lining up to catch passes, he would soar to all new heights. What I like about Ben is his ability to make plays and throw on the run. His size is his biggest strength.


-Runingback-


- While Edgerin James and Tim Hightower have been getting better, I will take Willie Parker, Mewelde Moore and Gary Russell any day. Parker has that ability to break the big one at any point and might be ready for a big game. Moore has the ability to catch the big pass on 3rd down and Gary Russell has been great on short yardage situations. James and Hightower are very good together, but facing the Steelers defense is going to be their biggest task ever. So the edge goes to the Steelers.


-Wide Receiver-
(Yeah, bite me.)

- Well, this is a no-brainer. The Cardinals biggest strength is at wide-out. Fitzgerald and Boldin are so dangerous, but former Woodland Hills star Steve Breaston can be a real threat as well. Santonio Holmes has been a real player throughout the playoffs and is my dark horse to win MVP in SB43. Hines Ward is Hines Ward, The knee will be fine. No excuses from Hines. Also, there is Nate Washington, who has become a big time contributor to the team and is a threat with the deep ball. However, you can't discount what the Cards have, edge: Cardinals.


-Tight End-


-This basically comes down to Heath Miller against Leonard Pope. I am going to say this clearly: Heath Miller is a top 5 Tight End and should be a X-Factor for this game. Big time edge: Steelers.


-Offensive Line-


-This is tougher than I originally thought. While the Steelers have allowed 21 more sacks than the Cardinals in the regular season. However, the Cardinals could not run the ball well this season, and the Steelers run game has been improving greatly. But, the difference in sacks just has to give the edge to the Cardinals.

___

Now for the defense.

-Defensive Line-


-I'll be honest, I don't know much about the Cardinals defensively. But, what I do know is that up front, the Steelers are one of the best. It all starts with big ole Casey Hampton, who clears the lanes for the linebackers and safeties to come flying in. But, the line is more than Hampton, Aaron Smith is one the the most underrated players in the NFL. He is a tremendous talent. Darnell Dockett leads the way for the Cardinals and could be a big force in this game if the Steelers O-line isn't ready. But, edge: Steelers.

-Linebackers-


-Please, do I even need to write anything. Woodley, Harrison, Farrior, Foote, Timmons... Edge: Steelers.

-Cornerback-


- This is an interesting debate. I think the Steelers have great depth at corner and they have a unit that gave up the fewest passing yards in the regular season. Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, Deshea Townsend, andWilliam Gay are a group that can hang with the best of them. The Cards bring a good crew to the table as well. Antrel Rolle, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Ralph Brown all bring talent to this corps and can be very dangerous. But, I think that the Steelers are a little bit better and will have to be considering the receivers they are facing. Slight edge: Steelers.

-Safety-


- Adrian Wilson for the Cardinals is a play maker. But, the edge has to go to Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu. Both guys are great players, especially Polamalu, as the Ravens found out. His skill is just a rare talent, one that can't be matched. Polamalu is my other choice for a potential SB43 MVP. Edge: Stillers.

___

-Special Teams-


- Another very close one. Santonio Holmes has been very good at punt returns, but the Cardinals aren't slouches either. The coverage units are both good as well, with former Steeler leading the way for the Cardinals. Mitch Berger has been questionable at times this year and hopefully that won't be something that hinders the Steelers in this game. The edge goes to the Steelers because of Jeff Reed and his ability to make the big kick.

___

-Coaching-


-This is a close one. In one hand, you have old Steeler coaches, who know player tendencies and weaknesses. In the ther hand, you have a legend and a brilliant mind with Dick LeBeau. The familiarity the old Steeler coaches have I think might give the Cardinals a slight advantage in this one. Edge: Cardinals.
___

It seems as if the Steelers have the advantage, but who knows, anything can happen.