The weekly BCS shuffle has provided
more drama this fall than Grey's Anatomy.
And if you've followed the national title hunt as closely as I have,
you've heard the term “style points” spouted a lot over the last
week or two.
What
the college football mouths are talking about when they mention style
points is that little something extra teams must do to break into one
of the five BCS bowl games. There are plenty of teams that must wow
the BCS with some additional offense or defense in the final three
games of the season.
This
is a great chance for bettors to play these programs that would normally get unattractive spreads.
The Big 12 is a
perfect example of where the value lies in style points. Texas, Texas
Tech and Oklahoma run a very likely risk of ending up tied atop the
South standings when it's all said and done.
In that case, the
conference tie breaker turns to the BCS rankings. The highest ranked
team will advance to the Big 12 title game where they will run over
Missouri and move on to play for the national championship.
In
order to get into that position, those three Big 12 South schools are
going to have to go all out. Expect the Sooners to pile on the points
if they get up on the Red Raiders next weekend – making Oklahoma
minus whatever a solid bet.
The
same can be said for the Longhorns. They face Kansas Saturday and
lowly Texas A&M in the final game of the season. Bettors can take
comfort in giving a ton of points with Colt McCoy and the Texas offense
trying to puff up their final BCS spot.
The
non-BCS schools in the bowl hunt, like Utah, Boise State and even
Ball State, are not only battling their final two foes of the regular
season but also each other. There is one glass slipper set aside for
these would-be Cinderellas. They'll be trying to score style points
with the BCS selection as well.
It's
worth taking a gander at the predicted bowl matchups and see who can
upgrade their purse by pouring it on thick in the final two weeks.
Don't fear the points.
The 2008-09 NBA season has some players
sporting spiffy new looks. We're not talking a full-out Queer Eye
makeover, but it's enough to make them stand out on the court without
even touching the ball.
So long cornrows
Some where Latrell
Sprewell is crying.
The tightly wound
braids that have adorned the heads of NBA superstars like Lee Nailon,
Ricky Davis and Brad Miller (for real) are finally on the way out.
Even king of the
complicated cornrow, Carmelo Anthony, has traded his trademark 'do
for a smooth half-fro. Melo recently opened a barbershop in Denver
and apparently his updated hairstyle is a publicity stunt. The spot
is called STUDIO 15, a homage to Anthony's jersey digit, and had its
grand opening Thursday.
I was hoping his
former teammate Allen Iverson would also ditch his well-known lid
when he was traded to Detroit earlier this week. However, it looks
like AI will be keeping his cornrows and won't go throwback Iverson
circa 1996.
It's just a matter
of time before the cornrow is phased out of the NBA, maybe opening
the door for the return of the flat-top fade or AC Green Jhuri Curl.
Thunder's jersey is not OK
Unwritten rule of
sports jerseys: One line of lettering (either city, school or team
nickname) above the number. Not this two-line bull crap the Oklahoma
City Thunder are trying to pull.
Take a look at the
Thunders' blue away unis. There's no room for paragraphs on NBA duds.
The Vancouver Grizzlies tried to get away with this and look where
they ended up.
Dress for success.
Go with just plain 'ole Oklahoma or OKC, like the Suns PHX third
jersey.
Not to keep
craping on Oklahoma City, but the team's color scheme is a little
90's Pistons. Detroit rolled with a greener blue (teal for you real
men) with red and yellow and look what happened to Bison Dele, Malik
Sealy and Grant Hill. Two of those guys are dead and one was inches
from meeting his maker.
If I were Kevin
Durant, I'd be careful. Very careful.
Probably his new glasses...
Is that Amare
Stoudemire scoring 49 for the Suns or Bo Outlaw? I can't see. I think
I need some of those snazzy sports glasses Amare is rocking this
season.
Last year it was a
change in jersey number, this time Stoudemire is following in the
footsteps of such goggled greats as Kurt Rambis, Orlando Woolridge
and Akeem (Not Hakeem) Olajuwon.
Stoudemire is
wearing the glasses to protect a torn iris, which sounds like the
most horrific injury known to man. They've got the athletic forward
averaging over 25 points and nine rebounds per game to start the
season, sparking early MVP talk.
Could Amare pull a
Rip Hamilton and continue to wear the protective device well after
his injury has healed?
Birds of a feather
How many logos
does one team need? The Atlanta Hawks have a franchise symbol for
every win they've picked up this year.
There's the
spread-winged hawk clutching the basketball, the old school pacman
look, the Ball State ripoff hawk head and A-Town Dance Team member
Briana. Yikes.
While the Hawks'
creative marketing squad is hustling in the front office, the players
are also doing their jobs on the hardwood. Atlanta is shutting down
teams to 86 points per game heading into Sunday's matchup with
Oklahoma City.
I'm not a huge NBA guy.
I'm not saying I'm a small man. I run about 6-foot-4 and would make a solid 15th option off the bench after the third assistant and waterboys had their minutes.
I'm saying the National Basketball Association doesn't tickle my pickle.
It's not that I don't like basketball or know nothing about the league. I have the same sort of demeanor about pro ball that most NBA crowds have.
I arrive halfway through the first quarter, sit on my hands for most of the game, then cheer like hell down the stretch.
I prefer the college game, and it's not just a desperate grab at my university glory days.
NCAA basketball is an event each night. The student section is infectious, spreading foul-mouthed mayhem throughout the arena. And the players leave their hearts, sweat, tears, skin and chances of getting laid later on the floor for 40 minutes.
NBA guys don't have to play for poonanny. They're in the NBA – which could stand for No Begging for Ass.
However, with the college season still a couple weeks away, I tried quenching my basketball jones (ooooooow baby, ooow ooow ooow) with the early NBA schedule. And frankly, I was surprised.
Anyone who watched the Houston Rockets slug it out with the Dallas Mavericks the other night might have thought they had stumbled upon one of those NBATV classics that run in between tape of Red Auerbach and Rick Barry doing granny-style free throws.
The game, which was Dallas' season opener, had the swagger of a college conference rivalry and not the first week of the season. By the atmosphere inside American Airlines Arena, you'd swear it was free Red Bull night. The crowd was loud and proud like my gay cousin and the mood on the floor was just as flamboyant.
The Rockets and Mavericks looked more April than October. The first half was filled with more chest bumps than the three-titted chick from Total Recall and both sides combined for 121 points. The game, that ended 112-102 in favor of Houston, even had some playoff-esk drama in the fourth quarter.
Ron Artest came to the aid of Yao Ming after a tangle with Josh “I'm the next Pacman Jones” Howard. I'm sure the 16-foot-tall Yao could've handled his own business, but who better to have your back than one of sports' craziest sum bitches.
The night before that, I took in the Boston Celtics' home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers and was treated to another dandy. These teams have a hate on for each other like they were separated by just a short stretch of Carolina country road.
The crowd at the Garden was already losing their minds from the Celtics' first ring ceremony since Larry Bird and Robert Parish were getting hammered the night before games. Add to that excitement a rematch with King James and the Cavs, who took Beantown to the limit in the second round of the playoffs.
Boston won last year's title on intensity and still have the amps cranked to 11. It fought back from a 7-point halftime hole, holding the Cavs to 16 points in the third quarter. It took the lead in the fourth before watching LeBron wet his pants on the foul line with the game on the line like a college freshman.
This energy and intensity is tough to keep up over an 82-game schedule, even for pros. But it will, however, sustain for at least the first month of the season. That's more than enough to hold me over until NCAA hoops begin November 10.
Thanks NBA. You're alright.