LiveBloggin' the NBA Draft

This isn't going to last long folks. My hopes to see Greg Oden in Celtic Green next year have been dashed. He's going three time zones west, to Portland, where I'll never see him play. It's become clear from the past 8 years of awful luck and lottery picks, that Red Auerbach did sell his soul to the devil in exchange for a couple of World Championships.

First Pick: Trail Blazers, um let's see, um, gosh........do ya think, they....might take GREG ODEN? We're still waiting.....even though there's no drama here....we all KNOW who they'll take....do you think they might take Kevin Durant? Nah. Even if they do, the second pick goes to Seattle, so it's still three time zones.....
Portland Takes Greg Oden, of The Ohio State University.

Ok, kids. That's it. Live blog over. I might be convinced to update should Boston take the Drunken Dribbler, otherwise, tata for tonight.

UPDATE: OK, I fibbed a bit. I'm updating ahead of Boston's pick. Memphis takes Mike Conley, Jr, of The Ohio State University. He's the single season assist record holder for OSU and he made all the difference in many, many game for the Bucks this year. He's ready to run an NBA team and that was a great pick by Memphis. He and Greg Oden have never lost a home game in four years of high school basketball and one year of college ball. Great choice Memphis. Good luck Mike.

Boston and Seattle have worked out a trade. Boston takes Jeff Green. They will trade Jeff to Seattle, in exchange for Ray Allen and Wally Szczerbiak (pronounced zer-BI-ak).....Retired Guy likes this trade. Ray Allen is averaging 26 in the NBA and he has experience.

Hey University of Florida--Way to Stay Uber Classy

The President of the University of Florida, Dr. Bernie Machen, somehow, in the middle of an interview about a playoff for college football, manages to take a swipe at Greg Oden:

Dr. M: It's ridiculous. What a homer. I was at Michigan (as provost and dean of the school of dentistry). I know how they get in at Michigan. Don't talk to me about the Nobel laureates at Michigan.

Just look at Greg Oden's class schedule this semester. The Big Ten has fought the conference playoff, then they (complain) because Ohio State doesn't have a game in 48 days. (Actually 51 between the last game of the season and the BCS title game. The Big Ten traditionally ends its regular-season football schedule before Thanksgiving).

Greg Oden? Last I checked, Greg Oden played basketball, and has done nothing except be an upstanding citizen and the best player in college basketball this year.

This coming from an institution who had a tenured professor, John Hall, show up so baked for class that he rolled around on his desk, giggled extensively and then made You Tube history (UF, of course, removed the video, but trust me, it was ridiculous)?

I'd like to tell you that I'm surprised by this, but I'm not. It's about what I'd expect from a school like Florida, who has a fan base that spent the morning after their basketball championship, not celebrating their win, but saying horrible (and anonymous--you brave boys, you) things about Ohio State and inexplicably, Michigan:

Anon...
Hey Buckeyes, instead of spelling out OHIO at the football games, make it a word all your fans now have etched on their foreheads........LOSER.

Anon:
Florida OWNS Ohio State. Florida has proven the Buckeyes are no match for them. Give it up Ohio State because you suck.
Troy Smith=worst QB ever
Jim Tressel=worst dressed coach in history
Greg Oden=baby
Thad Matta=horrible coach

Anon said...
It was fantastic watching the Gators humiliate Ohio State once again for the National Championship. When will you Big 10/11 fans learn that the SEC is the best conference in football, basketball, hockey (we don't even have teams, but if we did they would be better), and all the other sports. Give it up Michigan and Ohio State. You both suck at everything.

Hopefully Florida will get to destroy Ohio State again next year. It is fun embarrassing their crappy coaches on national television.

Gator Dynasty said...

To All Michigan Fans:

We found out who the real Fab Five is last night. Florida's Fab Five, consisting of Noah, Horford, Brewer, Humphrey, and Green, is the best starting lineup every assembled. No doubt about it. Want to know why? They are clean (don't take bribes/money), and have actually won titles.

Can Michigan's Fab Five say the same thing? No, not at all. They never won the Big Ten. Chris Webber took money and had his fabulous timeout incident. They were a complete and utter joke.

Now I guess we see that the fan base is just following the example set by their President.

Chomped Again

But this one actually doesn't hurt a bit.

Would I be wrong to say that that's the best team to ever play college basketball? If not the best then surely in the top two or three.

Congrats, Gators.

Some Thoughts About Tonight's Game

1) If Oden opens the game with a dunk, he'd better not get tackled in the celebration.
2) If Roy Hall is in the building, he'd best be sitting on the Florida bench.
3) Mike Conley. He is the fastest thing in Atlanta and Joakim Noah's mouth is included in that calculation.
4) If Ted Valentine is calling the game, the Buckeyes need to take their ball and go home. No good will come of staying and playing.
5) If there is a God of College Sports, Joakim Noah will break his wrist during one of his chest pumping celebrations of an "and 1" early in the game.

Get Ready, Sanjaya

Win or lose, we'd like to see Greg Oden let loose with one monster dunk right over Joakim Noah's cowering head. Just one.

Gahhhhh.

The dreaded event has come to pass. The Gods of Sport have chosen us to battle evil and save College Sport. I exaggerate not even a little bit. I received an email this morning from a colleague and Florida alum who said

Win or lose on Monday, both of us, we should be very proud; because with all due respect to Wake Forest, Michigan, and McGill, we are the TWO preeminent athletic programs in in North America.

I did not have the heart to correct his grammar or to tell him that I find it appalling that he would consider Florida in the same category as The Ohio State University. It's mortifying that he'd think that Florida is better than a storied, historical program like Michigan.

So now we come down to it. It's never just a game in Ohio. The Buckeyes are fully responsible for maintaining the karmic balance of college sports. The yin and yang depend upon it. We're fighting for good here and we must defeat evil.

In Ohio, a win will not go far in erasing the pain of January, but it's the flip side that is horrific to consider. A loss means we were unable to stop Florida from becoming the only school to ever hold simultaneous titles in football and basketball. FLORIDA. The part of Georgia that nobody wanted.

We must stop the likes of Urban Meyer and the "product" he puts on the field. We must stop Billy Donovan, who is playing UK against Florida for more money, while his kids try to make history. We must stop the Super Fan.

We must win for all that is right and good in sport. We must put Florida back in its place. We're counting on you, Mr. Oden.

Sanjaya's Popularity Explained

There have been many theories advanced to explain Sanjaya's inexplicable success on American Idol.
A conspiracy to ruin the show? Nope
A cartel of teen-aged girls madly in love? Close but not it.
Nah.


It's voters from the State of Florida, who have mistaken Sanjaya and his less than talented head of hair for another no talent head of hair--Joakim Noah.....watching Joakim shoot free throws is very similar to watching Sanjaya sing, don't you think?
Go Bucks!

Scarlet and Gray Cake

Those of you from the south might call this a Red Velvet Cake, but in honor of the Buckeye's Final Four appearance in Atlanta this weekend, I'm going to add a dash more red food coloring to the cake batter and then I'll see if I can mix up a nice gray color for the icing (we'll then pray that it doesn't look like a dead armadillo) and I'm gonna call it a Scarlet and Gray Cake.

Regardless of the coloring, as a kid, this was always my requested birthday cake and it remains one of my favorite cakes to make and eat. I haven't had one/made one since moving to Maine, so this is a lovely excuse to bake.

There are many red velvet cake recipes to be found; some recommend crushed pecans as a garnish and some (the heresy) advise the use of a store-bought devil's food cake mix and canned frosting, which absolutely does not do. Others substitute white frosting for the cream cheese. Not bad, but not great. This is my favorite recipe, from my good friend Joy's momma, Rosie, who hails from Russel Springs, KY.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)--I'm going to bump this up to three
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vegetable oil for the pans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely before frosting the cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter (1 cup), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Using a mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, and beat until fluffy. Refrigerate until the frosting stiffens before frosting the cake.

Basketball Trivia

We're just killin' time until Saturday.

For my dear friends in the ACC, Big East and SEC, here's a bit of men's basketball trivia for you:

The Big Ten has accumulated the most Final Four appearances with 39 (ACC - 38) and boasts the second-most national titles (10) in college basketball history. The only other conference to reach double-figures in national championships is the Pac-10 with 15 titles.

Since the inception of the NCAA Tournament in 1939, the Big Ten has recorded the most appearances of any conference in the Big Dance with 180 (ACC, 167) and has the second-most NCAA Tournament victories with 289 (ACC, 323).

The Big Ten is the only conference since 2000 to advance five different programs to the Final Four. The ACC and Big 12 have each had four different schools reach the national semifinals over that time span, followed by the Big East (3), SEC (2) and Pac-10 (2). Michigan State leads the Big Ten with three appearances (2000, 2001 and 2005) while Illinois (2005), Indiana (2002), Ohio State (2007) and Wisconsin (2000) have each earned a Final Four spot since 2000.

O-H(Pause for effect) I-O

I wanna go back to Ohio State

To old Columbus town

To the stadium to hear the band

By far the finest in the land
I wanna go back to Ohio State

To old Columbus town

I wanna go back, I gotta go back

To Ohio

Ohio, Ohio

The hills send back the cry...O-H

Were here to do or die...I-O

Ohio, Ohio

We'll win the game or know the reason why

And when we win the game, we'll buy a keg of booze

And we'll drink to old Ohio till we wobble in our shoes

Ohio, Ohio, we'll win the game or know the reason why

Ohio

First in to the FINAL FOUR, BABY. Oden-rated? Nah. Just good!
We're in Baby.....now pleeeeeze, pleeeze, pleeeze. Do not make us play Florida.

OH. What A Night

Ohio State 85. Tennessee 84.
Ohio State rallied from a 20 point first half deficit. It was a nail biter, but these Buckeye refuse to lose. They remind me of another team.

Oh. My. Goodness. (Go Bucks!)

One of my little Michigan friends sent me the above picture with a question:
If Ohio State loses do you think Samson will shave his pretty locks in mourning?
Answer: I'm guessing not, as a high quality mullet such as this has obviously taken many years to cultivate and separation from lovely mullet could not be easy.

Why oh why do they always have to be OSU fans? Why can't we find a Michigan fan lacking in good taste and common sense?
I can only hope that this was taken years ago when mullets were in style.

My little Michigan friend was kind enough to offer best wishes for tonight's game and to let me know she's pullin' for the Bucks. That's so sweet, isn't it?

Sweet 16

We're gearing up for the big game tonight--the 32-3 Ohio State University Buckeyes vs. the Tennessee Volunteers (24-10).

The Bucks and the Vols have already played this year, with the Buckeyes eeking out a 68-66 win at home. That win was the first of 19 in a row for Ohio State, who ended the season with a Big 10 Championship (both regular season and tournament crowns) and ranked #1 in the country.

These teams have changed since that meeting in Columbus--both have gained maturity (including Greg Oden, the oldest looking 18-year old on the planet) and big game experience, so this should be a great game. We take nothing about the Big Dance for granted and know that any team can win on any given day. To help the Buckeyes pull out a win, I'll be wearing the same outfit that I donned for every Ohio State regular season football game (oh that I'd worn it on January 8th....). It works. I know this because the football team never lost while I was wearing it.

I'm not the only superstitious basketball fan out there. ESPN reports on Ohio State coach Thad Matta's little quirks:

Thad Matta takes a 32-win Ohio State team into San Antonio this week. His Buckeyes are deep, athletic, offensively explosive, defensively resolute, physically mature and mentally tough.

In other words, there are a lot of very good reasons why the Buckeyes have won 19 straight to get to this point.

But judging from Matta's behavior, it could all go to hell in a heartbeat without a stick of chewing gum.

Before every game, he has to have a piece of Juicy Fruit or Orbit -- "I don't know which one he chews currently," associate head coach John Groce said -- presented to him by a team manager. Matta has to unwrap it himself, then wad up the wrapper, then shoot it into the trash can behind the bench.

Every game. Without fail. Lest the Earth split open and swallow him on the spot.

Or maybe it's the tie choice that has kept the Buckeyes rolling. Before each game, Matta's daughters, 8-year-old Ali and 6-year-old Emily, have to pick out dad's neckwear.

"Sometimes it might not match," Groce said. "But if it doesn't, that's OK."

At this point, Matta would wear a maize-and-blue tie if his daughters selected it. There is no going against the established ritual.

This Is Usually The Kiss of Death

We should be out of the Number 1 spot by the end of the weekend.

How Sweet It Is

Ohio State took over the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press college basketball poll Monday, the first time the Buckeyes have held the top ranking since 1962 when they were led by Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek and on a run of three straight Final Fours.

But even during basketball season, football is still king in Ohio:

The turning point for the Ohio State men's basketball team came in mid-January after OSU football coach Jim Tressel addressed the team at coach Thad Matta's request.

Tressel led OSU to a Big Ten championship last fall and the Bowl Championship Series title game vs. Florida in January.

"Tressel delivered a heck of a message about everyone staying on the same page," Matta said Monday. "When coach speaks, no eyes come off him."

Thanks in part to Tressel, the Buckeyes have a swagger that was absent in the first half of the season, when Matta said players were a bit overwhelmed by expectations.

"Guys were too tight," Matta said. "I've always wanted them to enjoy basketball. It's a kid's game."

O-H..............I-O

Number Two Defeats Number One

Alternate Heading: Number One Defeats Number Two (Depending On Which Poll You Choose)

Number one or number two Ohio State defeated number one or number two Wisconsin 48-49 yesterday in Columbus to claim the Big 10 Championship for the second year in a row.
It was an ugly, ugly game (the Buckeyes haven't won a game scoring fewer than 50 points since 1982), but it's much better to win ugly than lose pretty.

It may have been freshmen Greg Oden's final game at Value City Arena. Oden (number 20 and the oldest looking 18-year old on the planet) is expected to be the first player drafted this year should he declare for the draft. Retired Guy would like to see him playing in Celtic Green next year. I think he looks smashing in that little scarlet and gray number.

The Darkest Day

Thirty-five years ago today, one of the most horrific events in all of sporting history occurred during an Ohio State/Minnesota basketball game:

Ohio State was leading Minnesota 50-44 with 36 seconds left and was in a position to take over first place in the Big Ten. Buckeye center Luke Witte is fouled hard while driving for a layup. As he's lying on the floor, Minnesota's Corky Taylor punches Witte in the head and then knees him in the groin. Gophers player Ron Behagen charged off the bench, kicked Witte in the head and stomped him unconscious. Minnesota players and fans, including several members of the football team, cornered Ohio State forward Mark Wagar and beat him. One of the Gophers basketball players was future baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield. This fight made the Pistons/Pacers fight look like school girls pulling each others' hair. This was a bloody, violent beating and the brawl went on for a long time.

Fans booed Witte as he was hauled off on a stretcher and taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he spent the night in the intensive care unit. Witte required 29 stitches in his face and suffered a scratched cornea that permanently dulled his vision. He suffered a concussion.

The incident had a profound impact on my little hometown of Ashland, Ohio for two reasons:
Luke Witte's parents had moved to town about six months before and had quickly become known and liked in town. Secondly, the Minnesota head coach was Bill Musselman, our own Bill Musselman.

My father was watching that game on TV and I remember lying in bed, reading with a flashlight under the covers. Suddenly I heard him half moan, half cry "Ohnoohnoohno" in a voice that I didn't recognize. A few minutes later he slipped out of the house and went for an extended walk around the neighborhood. He ended up at the college President's house questioning (at least I assume he quetioned) how Bill Musselman, the Bill Musselman we all loved and adored could have allowed or encouraged such violence (and everyone in Ohio firmly believes to this day that Musselman was mostly responsible for the brawl).

Musselman, a native of Wooster, Ohio (a mere 20 miles from Ashland) was previously respected for his success (including three Division III defensive championships) at Ashland College. He was widely blamed for fostering a thuggish Gopher atmosphere -- for instance, he had his team perform dunks and slams during pre-game workouts, unusual for college basketball. Musselman denied that he ordered his team to play dirty or to initiate fights, but was fired by the University of Minnesota anyway.

Witte was never the same player after that. He went on to a career in the NBA, but his game was more tentative.

Ohio State fans still believe that criminal charges should have been filed against some of the Minnesota players and because of the horrible violence of the event, it's never been replayed on television. Many folks who saw the event when it happened have never quite recovered from it--my father included. His voice still shakes with emotion whenever he speaks of that game or even Luke Witte's shortened professional stint with the Cleveland Cavs.