BrokenCowboy: Sports Views with a West Coast Bias

One Shining Moment

Now that the Florida Gators have wrapped up their second consecutive national championship, I think it's time that we pause to reflect on the eloquence of Joakim Noah as he expressed what lay ahead for him and his teammates: "We're gonna do it BIG tonight! We're gonna do it HUGE all day and all night! You guys have no idea what i'm talking about, but my boys know! Dem Gator boys know!" Let's see Joakim, is it something like this:


It's my guess that the party's still going.

But there's business to attend to, namely the announcement of the winner of the Innaugral Broken Cowboy March Madness Out-of-Office Pool. Congratulations go out to Vijay, who rode dem Gator boys to victory. When reached for comment, Vijay had this to say: "We're gonna do it BIG tonight! We're gonna do it HUGE all day and all night! You guys have no idea what i'm talking about, but my boys know! Dem Oracle boys know!" It sounded like he was dancing at the time, but I have no video to confirm this... His prize will be in the mail just as soon as I get his address.

Tale of the Tape

In one of the more intriguing matchups (at least for me) of the first round, the sixth seeded Louisville Cardinals will face the eleventh seeded Stanford Cardinal. Though it looks to be an uphill battle for the Mighty Card, Stanford is a team that just might surprize a few people. Go Card!

	Stanford	Louisville	Advantage
Mascot	Cardinal	Cardinals	Push
Coach	Trent Johnson	Rick Pitino	Louisville
Conf.	Pac-10	Big East	Stanford
Record	18-12	23-9	Louisville
vs. Top 25	4-4	2-5	Stanford
vs. Arizona	0-2	0-1	Push
Reb. Marg.	5.8	2.3	Stanford
Blocks/Game	6.1	4.3	Stanford
FG%	44.9%	43.2%	Stanford
Opp FG%	41.2%	40.1%	Louisville
3PT/Game	5.7	7.4	Louisville
FT%	69.1%	67.1%	Stanford
PPG	69.93	71.44	Louisville
Pts Allowed	66.77	62.94	Louisville
NCAA Apps	15	33	Louisville
Final Fours	2	8	Louisville
Nat'l Champs	1	2	Louisville
Known For	Nobel Winners	Horses	Stanford
Known For	S. Court Justices	Horses	Stanford

Madness, Madness, They Call It Madness...

Since it's bracket time, I thought I'd host an office pool for anyone who wants to put his or her bracket up against the rest of the world. Interested? Wait, here's the coolest part -- there's no entry fee, but the winner will receive a copy of the not-so-recently released DVD "Cinderella Man." (Yes, I know it's a boxing movie, but at least the title fits with the March Madness context. Plus, it's a good flick.) I know what you're thinking: "But how can I ever expect to compete with the BrokenCowboy?" Don't worry -- if I end up winning I'll happily donate the prize to the second-place finisher!

Anyway, here's how to join the fun:

1. Follow this link to Yahoo! Sports, where you'll find their Tournament Pick'em page.
2. Click on the big button that says "Join a Group".
3. If you don't already have a Yahoo! ID and password, you'll be asked to sign up. It's painless.
4. Click on the big button that says "Join Private".
5. Enter this Group ID: 94392
6. Enter this Password: madness (case senstive, by the way)
7. Set up your entry.
8. Send me an e-mail (brokencowboy at charter (dot) net) and tell me your entry name and real name.
9. Enjoy!

PS -- Did I mention the prize?!?

Tracking the Pack

Now that the Pac-10 season has arrived at its half-way point, I thought it might be time to take stock. Though it might be hard for some on the other side of the country to believe what they've been reading lately, this is one time you can believe the hype. The Pac-10 is the best conference in basketball.

Okay, before you start worrying about locusts descending my the millions and rivers running red, relax. The world is not coming to an end, only the conventional wisdom that tells you that the nation's best basketball is played along the Atlantic coast or in the nation's heartland. The defending champs (Florida) still look pretty good and Roy Williams has his Tar Heels poised for another deep tournament run, but there is no conference better from top to bottom than the Pac-10.

If you throw out bottom-feeders Oregon State and Arizona State, you could make a credible argument for each of the other eight teams in the league to make the NCAA tournament. (This will never happen, but you can be certain that any of those eight that don't go dancing will at least get the NIT consolation prize.)

UCLA is nails. When Ben Howland came home to guide the Bruins (18-2, RPI #1) a few years back, this is exactly what we saw coming. The talent is arguably the same, but now that there's some actual coaching going on in Westwood -- perhaps for the first time since John Wooden gave up the reins -- the Bruins will likely be one of the top teams in the country for years to come. Few teams are as aggressive on the defensive end as this group, and that intensity will serve them well in March -- and April. It'll be a shock if they don't win the conference, grab a #1 tourney seed, and cruise to the Final Four. As for the future, this year's one weakness -- size -- should be addressed nicely when Howland welcomes the nation's top recruit next year, 6'9" center Kevin Love.

A notch below UCLA is Oregon (19-2, RPI #14), led by Player of the Year candidate Aaron Brooks. It wouldn't be too much of a surprize to see Oregon make a deep March run.

Arizona (14-6, RPI #6), still smarting from the home court ass-beating they took last weekend from North Carolina, can take solace in their lofty RPI and superior athleticism.

Washington State -- yes, Washington State -- has enjoyed a great season highlighted by wins over Gonzaga and Arizona. With the three-point shooting of Derek Low, the Cougs (17-4, RPI #33) will be dangerous come tournament time.

If there's been one disappointment in the conference, it must be the Washington Huskies (13-7, RPI #72). Picked by most to challenge UCLA, Oregon, and Arizona for the league title, the Huskies jumped out to a gaudy 10-1 record thanks to a schedule full of Twinkies like Nicholls State, Northern Iowa, and Eastern Washington. UW still hasn't won a game away from home, and if I were Mike Montgomery, I'd be asking my old buddy Tyrone about Seattle-area housing.

So if we assume that UCLA, Arizona, Washington State, and Oregon are all locks for the tournament, the fifth guaranteed bid will certainly go to the Stanford Cardinal. The Mighty Card (14-5, RPI #30) shook off a troublingly inconsistent start (losses to Air Force, Santa Clara, and Cal) to grab a 6-3 conference mark, good enough for a tie for third place. Stanford solidified its postseason case when they came back to stun UCLA, 75-68, on national television last Sunday night, and they'll have a chance to push for a higher seed when they take on Gonzaga tonight.

The good news for Stanford is that they are incredibly young. They start two freshmen and two sophomores, and only one senior logs significant minutes. All of this youth certainly contributed to the Card's shaky start, but the future looks incredibly bright.

Seven foot freshmen Brook and Robin López have been exactly as advertised. For a year now we've been hearing that they were further along than the Collins twins were when they arrived in Palo Alto, and they haven't disappointed. Both players are strong fundamentally, which is surprizing for big players who likely didn't have to play the right way to be successful in high school. They easily carve out position on the blocks and are aggressive offensive rebounders. Brook has already developed a quick jump hook that looks good from as deep as twelve or fifteen feet, and both brothers are comfortable shooting long jumpers from the top of the key. They play well together, either from a high-low or double post set. As a bonus, they are both terribly imposing on the defensive end, swatting shots like flies. Brook recently blocked twelve USC shots on the way to recording the first triple-double in Stanford history.

The team's leading scorer, though, is sophomore small forward Lawrence Hill. The López presence allows Hill to spend most of his time on the perimeter (he's already knocked down 24 three pointers), but his size (6'8") gives him a huge mismatch when he wants to bring his smaller defender into the post.

Sophomore guard Anthony Goods runs hot and cold, but when he's been hot he has carried the team to wins over Washington and Washington State. The team's glaring weakness, though, is at the point guard position, and this impacts Goods. Sophomore Mitch Johnson had the job as the year started, based on his performance last season as Chris Hernández's back-up. Based on his ball control and decision-making last year, it looked like Johnson would develop into a solid point guard, but that hasn't worked out.

The problem with Mitch is that he just can't score, so no one has to guard him. He shoots his jump shot standing sideways, like a man trying to slide past a turnstile without turning it. It is predictably inconsistent. When someone does choose to guard him, Johnson seems to surprized that he immediately passes the ball into the stands or dribbles it off his foot. This inconsistency is born out in his conference stats: he had fifteen assists and fifteen turnovers before righting the ship this past weekend against the L.A. schools.

Johnson's struggles have forced him to the bench, moving Goods to the point guard. I expect the Cardinal to continue to improve over the next few weeks as their younger players gain confidence and experience, but when they lose their final game, I guarantee it will be because of guard play.

If Johnson can get better -- and I think there's a chance that he could -- Stanford just might be able to join the upper ranks of the conference over the next few years along with UCLA and Arizona. Here's hoping...

Huggins and the Mouse that Roared

Finally, someone at the University of Cincinnati has gotten it right. Having long since grown weary of head basketball coach Bob Huggins' tired act, university president Nancy Zimpher presented the Huggy Bear with an ultimatum: cigarette or blindfold? According to a letter sent to his attorney, Huggins has until 2:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon to decide between a resignation or a firing. Either way, Huggins is out after sixteen years on the bench at Cincinnati. My response? Good riddance. (Dick Vitale, by the way, disagrees with me.)

I wrote about Huggins a few times last year, first when he was suspended following a DUI, again when the university shortened the suspension, and once more when he officially returned. Each time I expressed exasperation with the university's consistent pattern of ignoring the many shameful aspects of Huggins' tenure. In addition to his DUI, the legal problems of his players and their zero percent graduation rate, while debatable in its accuracy, all must have been an embarrassment to the institution. But university officials stuck their heads in the sand and ignored it all -- or so it seemed.

Apparently President Zimpher has been frustrated with Bob Huggins since she arrived on campus two years ago, and this recent development is merely the culmination of a long struggle between the two. At first glance, it seemed like maybe this was only a reaction to all that had come before, but according to the text of the letter sent from the university, there's a bit more going on.

Basically, the university was unhappy with Huggins as an employee. The letter briefly summarizes the history of their disappointment. Here are the highlights:

In June of 2004 the university decided to cancel the automatic roll-over clause in Huggins' contract. Almost all big-time coaches have these clauses so that they always have at least four or five years remaining on their deals. The reasoning behind this is that it might be difficult for a coach to convince a recruit to commit for four years if he only has two or three years left on his contract. In reality, it's nothing more than built in job security.

In May of 2005 the university decided that Huggins' contract would not be extended beyond 2007. In a nutshell, they wouldn't mind if Huggins stayed for two more years, since they were contractually bound to pay him, but they weren't interested in anything beyond that. They told him that he could continue coaching, or they could negotiate some type of buy-out for the final two years.

Huggins did not respond. Instead of picking up the phone or having his attorney send a fax regarding his decision, Huggins had the bright idea of calling a press conference and announcing that he would honor the final two years of his contract. Based on the tone of the letter and a little bit of common sense, I'd say this is where the wheels fell off for Huggins.

At this point Huggins still probably felt that he was in control of the situation. He was the basketball coach, right? He was untouchable. There were even rumors that he was trying to gain leverage by contacting some boosters who would threaten to end their donations to the university if Huggins were dismissed. I don't think any of this won him any favor with Zimpher.

From this point on, discussions began in earnest to negotiate a settlement between Huggins and the university. Huggins expressed that coaching the final two years of his deal wouldn't be a good idea, "as it was not good for anyone," and the university seemed to agree. What they could not agree upon, however, was how to sever their relationship. When Huggins neither responsed to their suggestions nor offered any of his own, Zimpher and the university played their final hand. And so Tuesday's ultimatum, which seemed sudden, was actually a long time coming. Better late than never.

Huggins will either be fired (and paid approximately $1 million for his trouble) or he can resign and accept another position within the university for the remaining two years of his contract for which he would be paid close to $3 million. If he chooses this expected option, however, the university hopes to make him behave. Here's an interesting clause included in the closing of the letter:

Mr. Huggins also must agree to represent the University of Cincinnati positively in public and private forums and not engage in conduct that reflects adversely on the University. Finally, he must agree to perform his duties and personally comport himself at all times in a manner consistent with appropriate ethical standards set by the University.

Again, better late than never.

All of this reminded me of a conversation I had with a college friend of mine several years ago. In an idealistic mood, this friend argued that universities should not have sports teams because an athletic program compromises a university's primary objective, which must always be academics. This point of view was far beyond my comprehension at the time, and I'm not sure I'm ready to accept it even now, fifteen years later, but my buddy the Mouse was certainly looking in the right direction all those years ago. No institution of higher learning can in good conscience place an academic program above its academic reputation, and that's just what was happening at the University of Cincinnati until this week.

On the Warpath

In a curious announcement late last week, the NCAA banned the use or representation of Native American mascots by schools participating in any post-season tournaments.

What exactly does this mean? Schools like Florida State (Seminoles) or Illinois (Fighting Illini) will still be eligible to participate in NCAA tournaments, but they'll have to leave parts of their identities behind. There will be no dancing mascots during timeouts, and if their nickname normally appears on their uniforms, it will have to be either covered up or removed. It's my guess, however, that "tournament jerseys" bearing the schools' names rather than nicknames will be created and sell like gangbusters.

The deeper financial significance lies in the second tier of the NCAA's decree. No school with a Native American mascot or nickname will be allowed to host an NCAA tournament game, meaning that baseball powerhouse Florida State would have to give up the considerable revenue that comes from hosting NCAA regional and super regional baseball series. Either that or strip their field of all Seminole references and images. Illinois and Utah (Utes), both frequent sites for NCAA basketball tournament games, would face the same decision.

Though there are some who disagree with the edict, accusing the NCAA of strong-arming its member institutions in the name of political correctness, I think it's time these mascots were put to rest.

Certain forward-thinking schools came to their senses on their own. The Stanford Indians became the Cardinal in the early '70s, and more recently the Eastern Michigan Hurons switched to the Emus while St. John's dropped Redmen and now call themselves the Red Storm. Other schools, however, need the push that this rule will provide.

By forcing its members to rethink their nicknames, the NCAA is taking a stand against racial intolerance. We would not, after all, buy a jersey for a team called the Pittsburgh Negroes or the Kansas City Jews, but thousands of Seminole, Brave, Ute, Illini, and Chippewa jerseys are sold every year.

Hopefully the NFL and Major League Baseball are paying attention. The teams with probably the two most egregious examples of culturally offensive mascots are the Cleveland Indians and the Washington Redskins. The Indians' mascot Chief Wahoo, with his hooked nose and enormous buck-toothed grin, seems to be from another century, during a time when racist caricatures were common and acceptable. In Cleveland the calendar appears stuck in the 1800s.

And the Washington Redskins? Schools like Florida State can at least argue that they are honoring a particular tribe's heritage and bravery in battle, but the professional football team that represents the capital city of the United States of America uses a racial slur as its nickname. Imagine if they were the Washington Japs or Niggers? How long would that last?

It's my hope that the NCAA's recent ban on such offensive mascots and nicknames serves as a wake-up call not only for colleges and universities around the country, but also for teams like the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, and Atlanta Braves. This is the 21st century, after all.

Choke On This

While I'm trying to digest the best weekend of college basketball we've seen in quite some time, a reminder of why the NCAA tournament is the best sporting event out there, there are two images that I can't quite get out of my mind.

First, there was Lute Olson, sitting bravely before all the world and trying desparately to explain what happened as his team's lead evaporated in the final four minutes of Saturday's semi-final match-up with top ranked Illinois. As he answered the questions one by one, being sure to single out players like Hassan Adams, Channing Frye, and Salim Stoudamire for their outstanding efforts on that night and thirty-six others this season, there were moments when the pain showed through. As he struggled to answer questions about turnovers and missed lay-ups, he frequently stopped in mid-answer, perhaps struggling with the questions he was asking himself. I hung on his every word, probably because I know what it is to lose a game you should've won. (Sure, there's a big difference between middle school basketball and the NCAA, but only in the dollars and the details.)

The second image came moments later when ESPN analyst Doug Gottlieb popped up on the screen to offer his view on the game. His one word reaction? "Choke."

The idea that there are games that one team should win is debatable, especially when we're talking about athletics played at the highest level, but as long as people lose matches and teams lose games, writers will tell us that they've choked.

Greg Norman choked when he couldn't close the deal at the Masters so many years ago. But didn't Faldo make some putts coming home? The Yankees choked when they lost to the Red Sox in last year's American League Championship Series after winning the first three games, a collapse that might be the biggest choke of all time. But didn't the Red Sox have to win those final four games?

Never is the choke label more abhorrent than when its applied to college players. When we're talking about a group of eighteen- and nineteen-year-old kids, it's a bit much to expect things to turn out the way you expect them to. (Doug Gottlieb, the one-time blue-chip prospect who bounced from school to school should know this well.) No matter how much "analysts" like Gottlieb try to convince us that these players are pseudo professionals just biding their time until the NBA draft, they're still just college students, not a whole lot different from your old roommate who could never seem to get to class on time. (Okay, maybe that was you.)

The point is, what happened to Lute Olson and the Wildcats on Saturday night was not about expectations. Certainly, whenever any quality team -- especially one led by a Hall of Fame coach -- has a fifteen-point lead with 2:30 to play or eight points with a minute left, the win is expected. But sometimes shots stop falling on one end of the court while they're pouring in on the other. Sometimes one team becomes exhausted while the other is suddenly energized. Sometimes things don't go as planned.

It isn't choking, it's sports.

Final Four Picks

Here's a quick look ahead to this weekend's games, at least how I see them...

On Saturday, I'm looking for the hometown crowd to push Illinois past Arizona, and Washington will beat Texas Tech.

On Sunday, it'll be Kentucky over Duke and Carolina over N.C. State.

And so what about you, loyal readers? (I think there are four of you now.) Any predictions?

How the Other Half Lives

Much of the sporting world is completely absorbed in the NCAA tournament. Will it be the North Carolina Tarheels finally delivering a long-awaited championship to Coach Roy Williams? Will Illinois’s juggernaut season culminate in a victory in the final game? Will Bobby Knight erupt?

These are all compelling questions, but they should not obscure what’s happening on the women’s side of the game. In case you haven’t been paying attention, here are two story lines worthy of your time.

First, I give you the Stanford Cardinal. They finished the season riding a twenty-game winning streak and ranked #1 in the nation. They were Pac-10 regular season and tournament champions, but none of this was enough to earn them a top seed in the NCAA tournament. The idea was that the Pac-10 was too soft, so the Cardinal was relegated to a #2 seed in the Kansas City region.

The Pac-10, it turns out, isn’t quite as soft as the seeding committee thought. All four conference teams selected for the field advanced to the second round (Arizona State, USC, and Oregon were the other three), and ASU joins the Cardinal in the Sweet 16. The Sun Devils have a tough match up with North Carolina coming up, but look for super frosh (and Pac-10 Player of the Year) Candice Wiggins to lead the Cardinal to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

But there’s an even bigger story coming out of the women’s bracket. Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt became the winningest coach in college basketball history when she won her 880th game on Tuesday night as the Volunteers topped Purdue 75-54.

In my mind, Coach Summitt is the most influential basketball coach to walk the sidelines in the past fifty years, and I’m not just talking about diagramming plays or breaking down defenses. Coach Summitt, for lack of a better term, is the Mother of Women’s College Basketball.

Consider this. She earned her first win at Tennessee thirty years ago at the age of 22. There were 52 fans in attendance, and I’m guessing she knew half of them by name. Today, the University of Tennessee is a basketball school – a women’s basketball school. The Volunteers regularly play in front sold-out crowds in excess of 10,000 at the arena which is now known as The Summitt.

Here’s more. There have been twenty-four NCAA women’s tournaments, and not only has Tennessee been to all of them, they’ve advanced to the Sweet 16 every time. Dean Smith had a streak of thirteen years in a row, and Mike Krzyzewski is currently working on an eight-year run, but twenty-four years is simply unbelievable.

Since Coach Summitt is only 52 years old, there’s no telling what her final victory total will be. She’ll likely cruise past the thousand mark and settle in somewhere around twelve or thirteen hundred, a record which will never be approached.

So when you're through cursing Wake Forest for ruining your chances in your office pool, sit down and spend some time watching the women's game. At the very least, make a point of catching their Final Four. Stanford and Tennessee will likely meet up in one of the semi-final games, and it could be the best game of the weekend -- women or men.

West Coast Update

Just a quick post to report on the status of the seven West Coast teams I highlighted last week...

Three teams lost in the first round: Stanford, UCLA, and St. Mary's.
Two teams lost in round of 32: Gonzaga and Pacific.
Two teams are still playing: Arizona and Washington.

The overall record so far, then, sits at 6-5 with at least another win or two coming from the Huskies and Wildcats. More later.