Max answer's PTI questions

PTI is a show on ESPN usually involving Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon who debate the day's sports and entertainment headlines. I'll pretend the question's are aimed at me (this is from Monday 4/30's show).
The first word:

1) Is one game enough?
I don't even think Rondo intentionally bumped the referee anyways, so I wouldn't have given him more than 2 regardless.  But since the Celtics had already lost game 1 to the Atlanta Hawks the NBA can't have the Celtics down 0-3 in the series by the time Rondo comes back, so 1 game was pretty much by default.  Ironically, they lose game 1 with him most of the game, and they win game 2 without him, go figure.

2) What does comeback mean?
This was a choke if I've ever seen.  The Grizzlies were up by 24 points with 8:00 minutes left in the 4th quarter and preceded to get outscored 28-3 the remainder of the game including a 26-1 stretch to lose the game by 1.  It doesn't mean much, I still think this is going 7 games, and if Memphis can win a game in LA this week, they take the home court advantage back in the series.

3) Did schedule lead to injury?
I've said this before playing 66 games in 120 days can cause injury.  And because of this shortened truncated schedule, the Bulls can kiss the championship goodbye due to Rose's ACL tear.

4) Should RG3 be upset?
So, the Redskins trade 3 draft picks to St. Louis to trade up to pick Griffen at #2 and then in the 4th round they draft an equally capable QB out of college in Michigan state's Kirk Cousins, and the fact they have a backup capable of winning games in Rex Grossman, what the hell is that franchise doing?  Griffen should still win the starting job, but will be tougher.

5) Impressed by debut?
He's 19 years old, but already Bryce Harper has already made noise for the Nationals.  In his first game on Saturday he fired a strike from LF to home plate, that, if the catcher held onto the ball would have ended up winning them the game instead of losing the game.  Tuesday night he started the game-winning rally in the 9th with a leadoff double down 1.

Headlines:

1) Nike Rep Blames Adidas Shoes?
What a stupid statement, like the shoes you wear causes injury.  Next time a star player with Nike shoes Adidas should pipe "wouldn't have happened wearing Adidas."

2) Any chance for Knicks Tonight?
The only chance for the Knicks was to lose by less than 30 like they did Saturday, and probably less than 20 as well.  With Amar'e Stoudamire out for likely the series by punching a fire extinguisher case after game 2's 10 point loss, the Knicks have no chance to win this series.

Mailtime:

1) Interference on OT goal?
There's always a lot of traffic in front of the goalie on goals, Brodeur was outside the crease and may or may not have initiated contact to begin with

2) Did Mavs blow best chance?
First games in a 7 game series aren't that importnant, but on the road when you lead for most of the game was dissapointing, but would be more dissapointing if they lost this at home.

3) Does New Logo makes Nets Hip?
This makes the Nets hip??  Looks like a logo a team from the 1930's would use.

4) Should Ump Tackle streaker?
They should worry about action on the field, but when a streaker runs past them and theirs no security in sight, I see no problem with the ump tackling him.

Big Finish:

1) More Impressive: Spurs or Lakers?
Andrew Bynum with a triple double and the Nuggets were playing better then the Jazz the Spurs opponent.

2) Still hasn't homered?
It's April 30, who cares?  Maybe if at June 30 Pujols has less then 10 home runs, people can start to worry.  He's still getting used to AL pitching spending his entire career in the NL.

3) Good fit with Raiders?
If Matt Leinhardt likes holding a clipboard I guess, but he probably won't even play.

4) Not ready to retire yet?
He may not be ready, but not a lot of teams are going to pick up Donovan McNabb, yet alone start him, so he may not have a choice

5) Who yah got tonight?
Pacers don't fall behind 0-2 at home, they win.

Max answer's PTI questions

PTI is a show on ESPN usually involving Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon who debate the day's sports and entertainment headlines. I'll pretend the question's are aimed at me.

The First Word (note, this is from Wednesday's show [4/18/12]):

1) Worthy of lengthy suspension?
Absolutely.  As of the show airing it was indefinitely and now it's 25 games meaning if the Coyotes were to win the Stanley cup, it would continue into next year.  It's not the first time Rafi Torress has been in trouble from the NHL disiplinary office and even though Marian Hossa who Torres launched off his feet to crush, got released from the hospital with no apparant injury.  I would've suspended him for even longer.

2)  How impressive is feat?
Jamie Moyer just became the oldest pitcher to ever win a major league game with a 5-3 win over San Diego on Tuesday night.  That's a great feat in it's own right, but I think the biggest feat is that he has 232 career wins after the age of 30!  That's a lot more than pitchers have in their entire career.  That and the fact he was almost out of the league makes 232 career wins after age 30 more impessive then becoming oldest pitcher to ever win a game.  With the style Moyer pitches he can probably last a couple more seasons.

3) is Carmelo this year's Dirk?
No, because the Knicks aren't even that good.  Sure, the Mavs may have gotten a bit lucky last year winning the championship, but at least they were a legit championship contender finishing 3rd in the West.  The Knicks won't be finishing higher than 7th in the East, and will be a complete surprise if they even make it past the second round.  Chances are they won't even get past round 1, yet alone win the championship

4) Does NBA have a tanking problem?
If the NBA actually drafted in the order teams finished (worst record drafts 1st, second worst second, etc), then I'd agree.  Golden State is tanking however in order to keep their draft pick.  If Golden state finishes outside the top 7 their 1st round pick goes to Utah.  Charlotte, however is just bad.  When your best player wouldn't come off the bench for some of the good teams, your team was doomed from the get-go.

5) Blocking player's transfer?
Next time a coach wants to leave a school for greener pastures and more money, the players should block the move.

Report Card:

1) Grading Philly Daily News Backpage?
A. It's not this from the NY Post Saturday: https://twitter.com/#!/maxl100/status/193769353030799361/photo/1 but the Philly Daily news labeled Sidney Crosby a "cowardly Penguin."

2) Grading Spurs win?
B+.  Last week with Kobe Bryant, the Spurs let Andruw Bynum get 30 rebounds in a home loss to the Lakers.  This time in LA without Kobe, the Spurs handed the Lakers their worst home loss in 4 or 5 years.

3) Grading Throwbacks?
F.  Uniforms looked mustard color.  Horrible design by the Steelers

4) Grading Ultimate Frisbee Catch?
C.  There's an ultimate frisbee league, and you actually got the jumping, 1 handed catch on video??

Big Finish:

1) Will Attend Fenway Ceramony?
Good, Terry Francona should attend it.  He was contemplating not attending, but wanted to do it for the fans.  Him, along with Bill Buckner got one of the biggest ovations at Friday's ceramony for Fenway's 100 year anniversary.

2) Entire Starting 5 Going Pro?
Not surprising, everyone saw that coming.  Now let's see if the coach joins them.

3) Pistons Led Cavs 100-50?
2 bad teams, but this is what happens when 1 bad team is actually trying to win games (the Detroit Pistons) and 1 bad team that just wants the season to end and is sitting everyone relevent (Cleveland Caviliers).

4)  12 Wins For Redskins?
What does Alex Trabek, the host of jeopardy, know about football??

5)  Will Canucks Be Swept?
Even on Wednesday I would've said no.  The games have been close; 3 previous games were all tied or 1 goal games in the 3rd period.  President trophy teams don't get swept in the first round.  They may still lose, and probably will, but because they won Wednesday night, they probably stretch this to 6 games.

MLB predictions

Aside from a couple games over in Japan last week, and the opening game in North America last night, today is the opener for most teams, so seems like a good time for my predictions

AL East:
1) Yankees
2) Sox
3) Blue Jays
4) Rays
5) Orioles
Yankees are the Yankees, their old but they'll be fine.  Sox have a new manager, GM, but are Yankees light and want to rebound from last year's 3rd place finish.  They'll be without a closer as they traded their closer last year to Philadelphia, and the one they traded for Andrew Bailey is out until at least July.  Blue Jays and Rays could be flip flopped, both are young, both could surprise and challenge for the playoffs, but both play in the wrong division.  The Orioles are a shoe-in for last.

AL Central:
1) Tigers
2) Indiana
3) Royals
4) Twins
5) White Sox
Tigers won the division in a landslide last year as they were the only team that finished at or above .500 last year, and they just got better with the addition of Prince Fielder.  Since going into the 2010 All Star game 15-1, Ubaldo Jiminez is a pedestrian 14-20 since and in order to catch the Tigers, Jiminez needs to get back to his first half form from 2010.  Last place finishes and high draft picks seem to have paid off the Royals with the likes of Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordan in the big leagues.  Season ending injury to closer Joakim Soria will hurt.  Twins got bit by the injury bug last year, and if they can stay healthy they may pass the Royals.  White Sox are rebuilding, but can still finish as high as 2nd just because 2-5 are so jumbled.

AL West:
1) Angels
2) Rangers
3) Mariners
4) A's
Angels added C.J. Wilson from Texas and Albert Pujols from St. Louis, while Texas replaces Wilson with Japanese import Yu Darvish.  Both the Mariners and A's will be horrible offensive teams; Mariners made better moves over the winter so they get the higher spot.  This will be the final year with only 4 teams in the AL West as the Houston Astros move from the NL Central to the AL West next year

NL East:
1) Phillies
2) Nats
3) Braves
4) Marlins
5) Mets
Phillies have to survive until June when they'll get their big hitters Ryan Howard and Chase Utley back in the lineup.  Nats phenom Bryce Harper should be in the major leagues sometime around June 10, if the Nats can hang around until then they'll have a great team.  Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzales the 2 ace pitchers are 22 and 24 respectively and Harper is 21, they'll be good for a while with Harper and Strasburg anchoring the team.  This is the final year for Chipper Jones, who hopes he has a better October then last year; Braves were up 11.5 on August 30 and missed the playoffs.  The Marlins have a new name, new park and new faces, but in order to even be successful they have to have Josh Johnson pitch a whole season which hasn't happened in 4 years.  Mets are still recovering from Bernie Madoff, don't have enough to challenge with the other 4.

NL Central:
1) Brewers
2) Reds
3) Cardinals
4) Pirates
5) Cubs
6) Astros
The Brewers don't have a great bullpen, but they have a great offense and a pretty good rotation.  I think that's enough to get them past the Reds.  Reds have a terrible bullpen, ok rotation, but great offense, how will they handle expectations?  Cardinals are the reigning World Series Champs, but will be hard pressed to get back there without Pujols.  Pirates haven't had a winning season since 1993, that should change this year, but still not enough to compete.  Theo Epstein, new president of the Cubs will have a tough year, that team needs a complete makeover.  They were able to get rid of Carlos Zambrano, but they still have a couple other bad contracts to get rid of.  The Astros are awful and will be shocking if they didn't get to 100 losses.

NL West:
1) Giants
2) D'Backs
3) Rockies
4) Dodgers
5) Padres
If the Giants can actually score some runs with Tim Lincecum on the mount this year, they should win the division with that great rotation.  D'Backs were the division winners last year, but came as a surprise, not sold on them this year.  Troy Tulowitski and Carlos Gonzales are great players for the Rockies, but they need some pitching to win which they don't have much of this year.  Magic Johnson just purchased the Dodgers, so hopefully he can turn them around.  Matt Kemp needs to compete for a triple crown to give them a chance.  Padres may not have a player hit 20 home runs this year and traded away their best player

Wildcards:
Red Sox and Rangers in the AL, D'Backs and Reds in the NL. Red Sox and D'Backs get eliminated in that Wildcard series.

Division series:
AL: Yankees over Rangers and Angels over Tigers
NL: Phillies over Giants and Reds over Brewers

Championship series:
AL: Angels over Yankees
NL: Phillies over Reds

World Series:
Angels over Phillies in 6 games.

Max answer's PTI questions

PTI is a show on ESPN usually involving Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon who debate the day's sports and entertainment headlines.  I'll pretend the question's are aimed at me.

The First Word:

1) Why did Kentucky win?
They won, because they were better, had better players, and made less mistakes then Kansas did.  I can't count the number of times Kansas missed layups.  Even though UK shot less than 27% in the 2nd half (26.9%), they were up 14 at half and held Kansas at bay.  There were 2 key plays in the game:
1) Kansas had trimmed an 18 point deficit down to 14 at halftime.  They scored first to begin the 2nd, forced a UK missed shot, had a run out on the subsequent rebound and missed a dunk that would have gotten it to 10.
2) Down 5 with 1:37 to go, Travis Relaford went for a steal, missed and got called for a reach-in foul.  Anthony Davis made 1 of 2 free throws, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist blocked Tyshawn Taylor's layup at the other end and that was that.  Kansas made it a competitive game after trailing by double digits most of the game, but the missed layups really hurt them, and was the main reason why they lost.

2) What's next for Calipari?
A very good question.  Now that he's got Kentucky their first title since 1998, any time they don't win a championship will be a failure.  Tubby Smith succeeded Rick Pitino at Kentucky, won the 98 title his first year, never back it back to the final 4 after that, and the UK fans ran him out of town.  Every stop in college under Calipari has been a success: got UMass to #1 in the country and the 1996 final 4; and got Memphis to the 2008 championship game.  However, he had a brief career in the NBA with the Nets where he had a disasterous 72-112 record in 2 and a quater seasons.  With as many as 4 people leaving school (Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Doron Lamb and Terrance Jones) with a possibility of a 5th (Marquis Teague), he'd have to do a serious effort to reload.  With John Wall already with the Washington Wizards (played for Calipari in 10 at Kentucky), if the Wizards win the lottery and draft Davis they would have two Calipari players on the roster, and with an interem coach he could bolt back to the NBA like Pete Carroll bolted back to the NFL after winning a championship at USC after having a medicore career in 2+ seasons with New England.  Since the Wizards have an interem coach, Calipari would draw interest, but I think he enjoys his time in college, and the recruiting trail is next for him.

3) Best big man since Duncan?
Yes.  There haven't even been that many other true "big" man to come through college since Duncan anyways.  Kevin Love at UCLA and Joakim Noah at Florida would be the only ones in the running with Davis anyhow. 

4) RG3 refuses to work out with Colts?
Well, when was this "workout" supposed to be anyways, because he was in Denver at the women's final four?  It's non news worthy, the Colts have their sights set on Andrew Luck, and I think Robert Griffin wants to go to Washington more anyways; the offensive system works better for him then in Indianapolis anyways.

Headlines:

1) Will Tiger win the Masters?
I can never get into a golf tournament, even the Masters even on Sundays, even if it's close.  Tiger won his last tournament, and plays well at Augusta, but you have better odds picking the field then picking 1 player, especially when the field has caught up to Tiger and has won the last 13 majors.  I'd look for Angel Cabrera, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott or Rory McIlroy to challenge Tiger for the green jacket on Sunday

2) What's at stake for Griner?
Nothing, because she's a junior, so she'll be back next year along with the rest of the key contributors off of that team.  Women's basketball isn't like men's basketball, most of these players stick around for all 4 years, only player I can ever remember leaving early was Candace Parker of Tennessee, and Griner has already said she'll be back for her senior year.  Anyway, the team only has 3 seniors and 2 of them don't even play that much, so they have the ingredients ready to get back here next season.  There's more pressure on Baylor as a team because basketball is a team sport: 39-0 heading in, and with a win would be the first team in basketball history to finish a season 40-0.  They would be the 7th women's team to finish undefeated, but the highest previous total was 39-0.  Indiana, the last men's team to finish undefeated, was 37-0.  With teams only being allowed to play a maximum of 31 or 32 regular season games, it'd be pretty difficult to pass 40-0.  Notre Dame was just in the championship game last year and Baylor couldn't even get to the final 4, so if ND starts out hot, that 39-0 record could be all for nothing.  Note Baylor ended up pulling away the final 10 minutes to win 80-61; a lot closer then the score indicated

3) Claiborne's score leaked?
Who cares that Morris Claiborne the LSU CB scored a 4 on the wonderlic test?  I don't even know what this test is.

Word:

1) __________ to give Votto Big Extension
Costly.  The Reds own their own TV station (FS Ohio), but unlike other teams that own their own TV stations (Nationals, Orioles, Indians, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets), the Reds don't get as much profit as those previous 3 do.  With Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols both gone from divisional rivals and out of the division, the Reds can compete for the next couple years.  However, putting 22.5 million for 10 years to 1 player with not a high payroll team can cost them.  Joey Votto is a great player, now probably the 2nd best offensive player in the division, but a 10 year extension for $225 million is big.  Brandon Phillips, a key cog for the offense is probably gone after this season because the team will have no money to pay him.  The Reds organization put all their eggs in 1 basket, I hope it works out for them and he doesn't get hurt like Joe Maeur did for the Twins.

2) Seahawks new uniforms are ______________________
Oregonian.  Nike unveilved new uniforms for all 32 NFL teams.  Nike is also in charged of handling the Oregon Duck uniforms, I don't think they've had the same pant/shirt combination in the last 3 seasons.

3) The Fray's national anthem was _____________
Not neccessary.  I like a couple of The Fray's songs, but can people just sing the anthem and get on with the game?

4) Jets on "Hard Knocks" would be ________________
Media driven.  They've already been on once.  Get another team, but put a camera on linebacker Bart Scott though.

Big Finish:

1) 5 game suspension?
I'll take it.  Ubaldo Jiminez hit his old teammate Troy Tulowitzski in the back over the weekend.  5 game for a pitcher is 1 start, not a big deal.

2) Back on the rise?
Los Angeles Clippers are on a 6 game winning streak, their best in 20 years.  Their game against the Lakers tomorrow will go a long way to deciding who wins the Pacific division and avoids the Thunder in the second round (division winner would finish 3rd, second would finish either 4th or 5th and would play West #1 Oklahoma City in second round).  Clippers currently trail by a game and a half and have a game in hand

3) Mood in Bulls Corner (Wilbon is a bulls fan)?
Tired, this is what happens when you play the equivlant of two college seasons in 1 season (66 games in about 125 days).  Their still 2.5 up on Miami in the East, 9 up on Indiana in their division and have already clinched a playoff spot.  Once Rose gets back for the playoffs, they'll be fine.

4) 4,000 fewer seats?
That means the Redskins have 4,000 less tickets to give away this year if they collapse down the stretch.

5) Will Yanks win this year?
6 times Kentucky has won a championship, the Yankees have won the World Series the following October.  I say it ends this year, the AL is too strong, and the AL representative has lost in 4 of the last 6 World Series

women's tournament predictions

Kingston region:
#8 Kansas state 48 vs. #1 UConn 74.
This is the 5th time in 11 years Kansas state has ended up in UConn's bracket, but first time they will get the chance to play them.  Last year as an 8 seed, Kansas state lost to Purdue in Storrs in the first round.
#3 Miami 65 @ #11 Gonzaga 72.
Don't call it an upset!  Last year Gonzaga got to play their first 4 NCAA tournament games at home in Spokane, WA which is not surprising they made it to the elite 8 as an 11 seed last year.  This year they play the first 2 rounds at home, and get a decided advantage against a team traveling 2,800 miles west.  Miami was 3-3 in true road games against NCAA tournament teams this year.
#7 Green Bay 73 vs. #2 Kentucky 61.
Another game which shouldn't be that much of an upset.  Green Bay is 31-1 on the season and probably underseeded, and Kentucky is probably overseeded.  Green Bay knocked off host Iowa state Saturday while UK had trouble against 15th seeded McNeese state
Raleigh region:
#7 Louisville 65 @ #2 Maryland 64.
Coin flip game, but going with the Big East team since I have them advancing in my bracket
#6 Arkansas 54 @ #3 Texas A&M 73.
Texas A&M is the defending champions, they won't lose at home
Fresno region:
#1 Stanford 78 vs. #8 West Virginia 69.
This should be closer then it probably should be.  Stanford has won 29 in a row since a loss to UConn in mid November, but haven't really been challenged.  Of those 29 wins, only 4 have come against teams that made the tournament.   West Virginia tied for 4th in the rugged Big East and handed Notre Dame 1 of only 3 losses on the year and the only 1 at home.
#5 South Carolina 56 @ #4 Purdue 54.
Purdue averages 67.3 ppg while USC gives up only 50.4 ppg.  Offense wins during the season, defense wins championships
Des Moines region:
#2 Tennessee 83 @ #7 DePaul 61.
Tennessee is 19-0 all time against DePaul, and has never lost in the round of 32.  That's good enough for me.

Weekend thoughts

Some thoughts on the tournament which got wittled down to 16 yesterday:

-Only 4 times since the NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 has a 15 seed defeated a 2 seed and hadn't happened since 2001 when Hampton defeated Iowa state; it happened twice on Friday in a span of about 3 and a half hours.
-Speaking of lower seeds knocking off high seeds UNC-Asheville became only the 3rd 16 seed since 1985 to go into halftime with a lead over a a #1 seed, however Syracuse prevailed in the 2nd half and Michigan state, UNC and Kentucky all won their games by double figures, so we'll have to wait 1 more year to see a 16 defeat a 1.  Mark my words it will happen...eventually.
-The state of Ohio goes 8-0 in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament and will comprise 25% of the sweet 16 field next weekend.  This is the first time ever four teams from one state will make the sweet 16.  Cincinnati rivals Xavier and Cincinnati are still on course to play for the championship and ultimate city bragging rights, but first Cincinnati has to get through Ohio state; the final team, Ohio University, the final team from the buckeye state, gets UNC.
-Want a reason why college basketball is better then the NBA?  If Norfolk state Missouri was an NBA series, Missouri would win that series in 5 games.  However, since it's the NCAA tournament and only one game, Missouri is ending their season a lot early then they had planned because they didn't play as well defensively as they had the whole season and Norfolk state shot about 25% over their season average.  If they play 100 times, Missouri wins 99, however the one they lost is the one that counted.
-Watching a game, you can tell which coaches are good and which one's aren't just by how well their teams handle time management in close games.  Good coaches will go over time and situation at a minimum once a week so it stays fresh in the players mind even in crucial moments.  With 8 seconds left down 3, St. Bonaventure failed to get off a tying 3 pointer against FSU and that falls squarely on the coach.  Taking the 2 with 6 seconds is fine, because you can extend the game and at worst you'd still be down 3, but once you get the offensive rebound off that missed 2, what are you doing taking another 2?  You don't have time to foul them, take the 3!  If the coach had gone over time and situation, they may have been prepared better.
-On the women's side of things, chalk mainly held as it usually does with the exception of Marist who knocked off Georgia and is well on their way to making another sweet 16 appearance for the 2nd time in last 5 seasons, both as 13 seeds.  Alls that standing in their way is St. Bonaventure who won their first NCAA tournament game Sunday.
-I would love to see a Delaware vs. UConn championship game.  Delaware is 30-1 on the year lead by a player of the year candidate Elena Delle Donne, who is the 2nd best player who's ever gone to a small school after Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri state who leaf SMS to a final four appearance in 2001.  Elena Delle Donne got recruited by Geno Auriemma to play basketball at UConn and was on Storrs for all of 2 days before she decided to go back to Delaware for reasons unknown.  She took a year off for volleyball, went back to play basketball at Delaware and turned them into a top 7 team in the country.  I'd love to be at the stadium should a UConn vs. Delaware matchup take place for the championship.
The Amherst women's senior class went into Holland, Michigan for the D-3 women's final 4 with an NCAA record 124-6 record including a 51 game winning streak dating back to January of 2011...they left Holland and ended their career with only an overall record of 124-8.  That's the second time in 3 years they've gone into the D-3 final 4 unbeaten on the season only to lose in the semifinals.
- I get why you play consolation games (send out teams on a high note), but I don't see why it's neccesary.  The d-3 consolation game (the men got rid of theirs a few years ago and only the women play one now) was between Amherst and St. Thomas.  Amherst was the reining champs riding a 51 game winning streak before losing, St. Thomas had won 30 straight prior to losing as their last loss was on the first day of the season.  St. Thomas was excited to get another game against a quality opponent to help them next year should they get back in this spot, Amherst had no motivation.  Amherst started the game up 10-8, st. Thomas went on a 20-8 run from there to go up double digits, got the lead as high as 20 in the first half, and Amherst never got it below 7 the rest of the way.  Losing in the semi's is bad enough, I think it's time to scrap the consolation game.

Best day of the year

The first day of the NCAA tournament is one of the best days of the year, if not best day of the year.  Games from 12:15 in the afternoon to about 12 at night across 4 different channels all going on simultaniously, today's the day to have multiple TV's in your house.
As for my predictions I have Baylor, Michigan state, Florida state and Georgetown in the final 4 with Georgetown beating Michigan state for the championship.  Time to enjoy the best 3 weeks of the hoops season!