Shall we avoid Super Bowl talk today since it's a wee-bit possible there might be some coverage on the big game this week?

  • Do you all hate the Grammy's or the Pro Bowl more?  This past weekend's twitterfeed was filled with complaints about both, but I got the sense the Grammy complainers still watched the show.  I don't know anyone who watched the Pro Bowl.
  • I'm with Kanye.  I don't get the Taylor Swift thing.  If there's something more than that ascinine song about "Romeo and Juliet" that makes me scramble to change radio stations so quickly that I almost crash the car, please let me know.  Actually, don't let me know.  I'm not gonna like it.  I'm sorry. 
  • As I've written many times, Coach K has changed his recruiting practices and no longer reels in the game's best athletes.  He has not put a big time talent in the NBA since Luol Deng.  Anyway, if you're going to change your personnel, shouldn't you change your system to tailor to their strengths?  Not to get too X's and O's on you, but Duke runs a ball-denial defense, which means they are looking to contest every pass.  If you're going to be that aggressive, you need supreme athletes who can stay in their man's chest.  The Blue Devils can't do it and have not been able to do it since Shane Battier, Jay Williams and Carlos Boozer.  As a result, they give up a ton of easy buckets to quicker teams, which go uncontested since they have not had a shot-blocker since Shelden Williams. 
  • By the way, I really wrote that entire last bullet-point for Seth Davis (Duke alum), so he won't get suckered in for the 8th year running next season.
  • Georgetown has not won a title under John Thompson III, but they have buried their local competition.  Ever since JTIII arrived, Gary Williams and Maryland have disappeared.  Why?  A decade ago, Austin Freeman and Chris Wright would have played for the Terps not the Hoyas.
  • Kansas will get this thing figured out and win the national championship.  They are too talented and too complete. 
  • Roger Federer and Serena Williams made for a predictable Australian Open this year.  Federer is playing with house money now that he's broken the all-time Grand Slam record, which is a treat for the fans because he's letting his personality out.  After he was dominated for a set and a half in the quarters by Nikolay Davydenko, Fed was brutally honest in his post-match assessment saying that he knew Davydenko would fall apart if he hung around long enough.  Then, he played mind games by talking trash about Andy Murray to the press before their final.  Murray has the physical tools to beat Federer, so the Swiss (or maybe Jedi) master got in his head and destroyed from the inside out.
  • As for Serena, my wife said it best.  "It's too bad she's such an awful person because I would really like to like her."  Amen sister!
  • In a World Cup year, the European soccer fan is in a strange position.  Imagine if Team USA was more important to you than your NBA team.  So, you'd be watching the Lakers-Celtics "rivalry" game Sunday hoping Boston wins, but Kobe Bryant stays upright.  On Sunday, Manchester United took on one of their rivals (no quotes needed here) Arsenal.  Wayne Rooney is United's best player, but he's also England's best player.  For the first 60 minutes, Rooney was absolutely torturing Arsenal, but then he went down holding his knee late in the game.  If the broadcasters were any indication, the fans, United and Arsenal alike, were holding their collective breath.  He was just spiked by another player and returned to the game, but it's an interesting rooting experience that we don't get in the States.
  • For all the self-deprecating U.S. soccer fans, take pride that our best yanks are capable of playing with the world's best.  For years, I've killed Landon Donovan for not pushing himself and playing at the highest level of competition.  Now, he's not only playing for Everton (a top 6 English club), he's one of their best players.  Along with Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Charlie Davies and Michael Bradley, the list of world-class talent is growing.
  • As you wait for the National Signing Day special on iBNSports.com hosted by moi with Greg Biggins (ESPN Rise) and Garry Paskwietz (WeAreSC.com), check out this article by the LA Times hardest working man, Eric Sondheimer, on USC-bound WR Robert Woods and the foothold UCLA is gaining under Rick Neuheisel.  Sondheimer has actually seen these kids play and talked to them as opposed to the star-givers on the Internet, who go by how many top coaches are recruiting a kid.
  • Also, I have seen nearly every top Southland recruit play, so if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at jmoore@ibnsports.com.

Robert Woods is a great talent, but he's also a great kid, which means he's much more likely to reach his potential than some of his 5-star brethren.