Internet fail! Happy to be back in the land of the living...
- The best time of year for weekday daytime sports. On the West Coast, you open your eyes to Syracuse and Georgetown at the Garden. It's a beautiful sight!
- By the way, Syracuse heads into the tourney with back-to-back losses and a looming question mark over the head of Arinze Onuaku, who left today with a knee injury. If he cannot go, the Orange are toast. They don't have the size or depth to make the Final Four without him. Although, mama just said, "He's fine. He will be back for the NCAA Tournament."
- As Chris Wright goes, Georgetown goes.
- Montana made the "Dance" last night out of the Big Sky. They also signed two of the best guards in Los Angeles this season because they make early offers and are academically lenient. Who says the big boys have all the advantages? Watch out for the Grizzlies in three years when Kareem Jamar (Westchester) and Vaughn Autry (Gardena Serra) are coming into their college primes.
- Is there a worse ticket in sports than the Pac-10 Tournament opener last night? Thanks to USC's dismissal, Staples hosted just the #8 vs. #9 game last night. The Ducks prevailed over the Cougars in front of dozens of spectators.
- Did you see my movie idea on Twitter? We'll call it The Longest Offseason starring Jeremiah Masoli, LaMichael James and Jamere Holland. It's directed by Chip Kelly with a special guest appearance from LeGarrette Blount. Think The Longest Yard meets Mighty Ducks.
- Nomar Garciaparra signed with the Red Sox for one day, so he could retire for his "beloved" team. Maybe I'm "misremembering," but he was not so beloved when he left. If I recall correctly, he was sulking in the dugout when Derek Jeter dove head-first into the stands. Then, the trade that shipped Garciaparra out of town was the catalyst for the Red Sox World Series win. He had his moments, but we're not exactly talking about Cal Ripken and the Orioles here.
- Fantasy freaks, keep an eye on the Minnesota Twins closer situation. They always figure these things out and they'll still win a lot of close games. If Francisco Liriano gets moved to the back of the bullpen, he could be the steal of the draft.
- I also love Javier Vazquez as a fantasy sleeper. He'll be going up against other back of the rotation starters, so expect him to get run support, which translates into wins. Also, Vazquez always sneaks his way to the top of the strikeouts leaderboard.
- Tiger Woods road to recovery did not begin in that robotic press conference and it won't be spurred on by the ridiculous Ari Fleischer hire. He is a golfer and he needs to play golf. He'll tee it up in two weeks at Bay Hill and then the Masters in April. Now, we'll see if the golf throngs can resist cheering on his Sunday charge.
- Mike Holmgren looked at his QB options in Cleveland and asked a simple question, "What's behind door number 3?" Derek Anderson was cut; Brady Quinn is set to be traded; and Seneca Wallace was signed as a back-up. According to reports, behind door #3 is Jake Delhomme. So I'll ask, how about door #4?
- Real Madrid spent 260 million Euros in the offseason to sign a "dream team" of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema. However, their recurring nightmare happened again yesterday as they were dumped out of the Champions League in the second round for the 6th straight season. Ronaldo has been worth every penny, but Kaka is stuck in the Portuguese star's shadow and Benzema is nowhere to be found.
- Wayne Rooney is the best footballer in the world right now. He's the hardest working star, on-field that is, in the sport. While most strikers settle for the glitz and glammer of scoring goals, Rooney revels in sprinting back on defense, only to sprint forward again and cut defenses open.
- I don't buy the Dallas Mavericks as contenders. They've always been soft in the Dirk Nowitzki/Mark Cuban era. Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood might get them past Denver, but they are not beating the Lakers in a seven game series.
- The Lakers will not go down as an all-time great team, but they have that kind of talent. They embrace complacency. On the one hand, you have to marvel at how many game-winning shots Kobe has taken this season, let alone made. On the other, don't you have to question why the champions need a baseline fadeaway at the buzzer to beat the Toronto Raptors in the Staples Center to end a three-game losing streak? The NBA regular season is meaningless, but it'd be nice if the teams pretended like it wasn't.
Notre Dame alum Zach Hillesland says, "Arinze Onuaku has arms like legs and legs like people."
