Time to blow whistle on NBA officiating

We have seen some great drama unfold thus far in the playoffs. "Big Baby" Glen Davis showing you can never underestimate the heart of a champion when he hit a 21 foot shot at the buzzer. Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony have not only been money in the bank on the court so far this postseason, they have been money in the bank for bettors, going a ridiculous 17-0 against the spread (depending on what number you got on the Cavs and Nuggets on Monday night.  But bettors could have laid 9.5 with the Cavs and taken +2.5 with the Nuggets).   While things have been thrilling for the most part, there has been too much involvement from officials at key junctures of games. Also, whats the deal with two different types of flagrant calls to choose from? Now this is just starting to get ridiculous. Twenty five years ago in one of the most popular NBA Finals ever, Kevin McHale hit Kurt Rambis with the clothesline heard round the world. Ok. it was at least seen throughout the Forum. In today's NBA, McHale would have been certainly been thrown out of that game and suspended for the following game. The refs let the highly competititive and talented players play and the series ended up being a classic largely due to the great NONSTOP action and high scoring games.   Just because there are different types of flagrant calls in place does not mean that referees need to start implementing them. Looking at the remaining teams left in the postseason, we have are the makings for an... [More]

Will Stafford be Lion King at NFL draft?

On Saturday it is expected that with the No. 1 overall pick, Detroit will select Georgia QB Matthew Stafford. Lucky for Lions fans that Matt Millen is no longer GM, because he may have drafted wide receivers Michael Crabtree or Jeremy Maclin instead. Currently, Stafford is the favorite at 1/5 to be the #1 overall pick. Some other players in the hunt to go #1 overall are Baylor OT Jason Smith (3/1), Virginia OT Eugene Monroe (6/1) and Wake Forest Aaron Curry (10/1).   There are only supposed to be 2 or 3 running backs taken in the 1st round of the draft. With so many NFL running backs having a short NFL career, general managers don’t want to invest too early with this position. In fact, don't be surprised if 20 selections go by and no running backs are taken. It looks like Ohio State's Chris "Beanie" Wells will be the first RB selected Saturday. A couple other RB's that may go in the 1st round are Georgia's Knowshon Moreno, and UConn's Donald Brown. We have a prop on the "Number of Running Backs taken in Round One" and it is 2.5 Under -160.   If you root for a team that needs some pass catchers, then this year's draft should provide help. The frontrunner to be the first wideout selected is Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree. He would be a sure fire top 5 selection if he didn’t have below average speed. Another player that will be drafted right around when Crabtree figures to go is Missouri's Jeremy Maclin. While Maclin doesn’t have the pass catching ability that Cra... [More]

Remembering Kalas & Mark "The Bird" Fidrych

On Monday, the sports world lost a pair of indelible figures in Harry Kalas and Mark Fidrych. Kalas, as you may know, was the voice for many NFL Films productions, a job he held since 1975. In addition to the NFL Films gig, Kalas was the play-by-play man for the the Philladelphia Phillies.

What set Kalas apart from his contemporaries was he had a unique of narrating. When he spoke, it was slow, almost methodical, yet gritty. I still have his voice imprinted in my head from when I was a 11 year old kid in the mid 1980s. This is when ESPN would constantly show NFL Films presentations with Kalas.

Mark "The Bird" Fidrych started his career in 1976 by winning the Rookie of the Year. He tossed a complete game 2 hitter in his first start.  He went on having a ridiculous 24 complete games in '76 and was the MLB leader in E.R.A. (2.34). Fidrych's career was cut short due to arm problems in 1977 and retired in 1980.

It's especially sad that both passings came unexpectedly. But we shouldn't stay upset for long. Both these men were grateful of the lives they lived, and that's why they were able to accomplish great things.

I wanted to pay my respects to Kalas by including a clip he did on Roger Craig back in the day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOJZqdvGjAA

Michael Perry is an oddsmaker with ... [More]

I Bet the Law and the Law Lost

Monday morning, as I was glancing through the odds on "Most Outstanding Person" for the Final Four, I noticed that the odds for Ty Lawson were even money. I decided to put a couple on Lawson to win MOP. After Lawson's 22 point, 8 assist, 7 rebound effort against Villanova Saturday, it's looked as if he would be almost a shoe-in to win the "MOP" assuming North Carolina took care of business against Michigan State.

When Wayne Ellington was announced the "MOP",  I needed to to go the fridge to get some ice for my mouth after my jaw hit the table. Frustrated that I just missed out on what looked like an almost certainty, I decided to watch the game over again.

Right from the opening tap, Lawson got each of his teammates involved. When Carolina grabbed an early 10-5 lead, every starter had already scored. This did a world of good to confidence of the team, and a result UNC lead by double figures 5 minutes into the game, and coasted the rest of the game.

Yes, Ellington's shooting percentage was very impressive, especially from 3 point range, where he went 3/3 in the championship game and 5/7 on Saturday. Howevever, this is what he is supposed to do, this is his specialty. I could see Ellington winning the ward if he would have a high number of rebounds or assists against Michigan State, but he didnt. In fact, he didnt have a single assist against the Spartans.

Lawson was so spectactular, not only in the tournament, but for the entire season (winnin... [More]

Expect Calipari to Call Kentucky Home

Memphis has given Kentucky permission to speak to John Calipari about their head coach vacancy. Now, its just a matter of time before Calipari bolts for greener pastures in Lexington.

Kentucky looked a bit foolish letting Tubby Smith leave for Minnesota two years ago. All Tubby did in 10 seasons, was win 268 games, go 120-40 in the SEC, and oh yeah, win a national championship in 1998.

Smith's replacement, Billy Gillespie, had a couple nice teams at Texas A&M, but he only had coached at UTEP a couple years prior. If you are a prospective recruit, I think you would rather play for a coach like Smith over Gillespie just because of the experience he has which he can bestow upon you.

Now that they have dropped the ball on two occassions, expect Kentucky to do some damage control and hire Calipari. There are alot of upset boosters and the program is starting to take a step back, so they need to throw out the full court press on him if they want to return to prominence in the near future.

Its not a slam dunk that Calipari willl leave Memphis. Now that the NBA has increased the minimum age to play to 19, he often gets guys who intend to play in college one season (Derrick Rose, and very soon Tyreke Evans). Reason being, is that Memphis plays in a weaker conference, and so players have the opportunity to pad their stats a bit. Also, they do not get worn down as much as if they played in a upper echelon conference.

My money's on Kentuck... [More]

Perry' Perspective - Why College Hoops is Better than College Football

I love college football as much as anyone I know. At age 10, I can still remember vividly the 1984 Orange Bowl, where Nebraska decided to  go for two points and win the national championship, only to come up   short, and lose 31-30 to Miami.

Seven years later, at the same venue, when Colorado beat Notre Dame 10-9, I decided that night that I was   going to go to school in Boulder. 

When thinking of great college football postseason moments, I would say there are two more college football postseason moments that have rivaled the two that I just mentioned.

The first would be the Texas/USC Rose Bowl in 2006. You had the most electrifying quarterback in college  going against the most electrifying running back in Reggie Bush. Young scores in the last minute and Texas wins 41-38.  

The next season, we see a David vs Goliath matchup, in Boise State against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. I dont think I know a single   person who bet on Boise. Boise executed a perfect hook and lateral on 4th and 18 to send the game to OT. After OU scores in OT, Boise does the same, and runs a perfect statue of liberty play for the 2 point conversion to win 43-42.

Amazing stuff.

But it could have been better.  

My first memory of college hoops is when North Carolina beat Georgetown to win the 1982 college basketball tit... [More]