Patriots QB Matt Cassell Traded to the Kansas City Chiefs

Yep, after franchising the Tom Brady back up for the season the Chiefs have snagged him up. For the Chiefs this is a great move, they get an all star level quarterback (even though he now comes with an all star level price tag) and do not have to worry about developing some rookie QB they get in the draft. However, Matt's success over the past year may not translate to success with the chiefs next year. We have only seen one year of this guy as a starter, what if he is a one hit wonder? or what if it was the Patriots system instead of him? I am not trying to hate on Cassell, and hope in all the best, I am just trying to raise some questions.

On the other side of the deal I think the Patriots should not have franchised him. By franchising him it means you have to trade him as you would have two 14 million dollar QB's to pay, but by trading him it means you are banking on Tom Brady being 100% by the season opener. I think this is a risky move no matter how well Tom says he is feeling. He is coming off of a major injury that could alter his career, so I think the Pats should have kept Cassell as a backup, and then if Tom Brady held up trade him away. You might get less money, but the safety net you get would be priceless

Stephon Marbury plays first game with Celtics

Watch Live College Basketball and Football Online

It used to be awful being a fan of college sports and living in Europe. The only chances I used to get to watch games was to sleep over at a friends house and stay up until 5 in the morning. However, about a year ago I found ESPN360.

It is basically an online service that you can access anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection.
In total you get:

• around 50 live NCAA basketball games a week
• around 10 live NCAA football games a week
• live NHL games
• Daily episodes of Pardon the Interruption, Around the Horn, Outside the Lines, Mike and Mike, and Rome is Burning
• Daily highlight videos of most sports

One of the best things is that all the live games move to the archive section after they have streamed. Therefore even in february I can watch a rerun of all Florida's football games. 

In total it costs around $7/month if you opt for

 the month by month payments and it is the best buy I have ever made. 

Visit ESPN360 to find out more.

Some Screenshots:

The first one is the ESPN shows menu, the second one is the main interface, and the third one is me watching Georgia-MSU in late February :)

Michael Vick Released from Prison

Yep, Vick is back in the news. After last summer when his face was on ESPN more than Lebron James for the dog fighting incident, he has been let out of prison and allowed to spend his last two months of hi sentence under house arrest. Considering he was an NFL superstar this can't be the worst thing. I wonder who actually came up with this punishment.

I think now the more interesting thing is the question on how will he get back into the league. Most sports commentators at espn and si are supremely confident that he will find a place as a HB or TE, but I just do not see a franchise signing him. There has to be a point where no matter how much talent you have, it will not overshadow the negative image it gives the franchise. I mean PETA is pretty much going to set up camp outside the stadium of whichever team signs him. In an age where teams are instituting Wonderlick tests to get inside a players head to see if he will be a troublemaker, going to prison for dogfighting has to set off alarms in the heads of most GM's. 

I guess the only plausible option would be the Cowboys, but I think even Jerry Jones is getting tired of being a babysitter.

Personally I cannot wait to see what happens to Vick football wise the same way as I am curious to see what position Tim Tebow will play in the NFL. Let's just hope he has learnt that in prison he has no padding to protect him :) :)

73 Year Old Deemed Ineligible to Play College Ball

This is a post about the administrative bullshit that can destroy inspiring stories such as that of the 73 year old basketball player Ken Mink. After more than 50 years removed from college, he once again started playing for an NCJAA school only to be deemed ineligible because of an academic miscommunication. Apparently because of a faulty date on one of his classes, a clerical error, the NCJAA has said that Ken Mink is unable to play the game he loves.

How bureaucratic is the NCAA that they are willing to suppress a 73 year old pensioner showing that old age does not mean all you have to do is watch soap operas and talk about the weather? I understand that rules need to apply to everyone, but in terms of a clerical error decisions should not be made so abruptly without considering the circumstances.

Here is a profile done by Outside the Lines. To watch more outside the lines videos check out ESPN360.

This is just another thing that convinces me that the NCAA has to get their shit together. It is just a bureaucratic system that would put the soviet communist party to shame. They have 'meetings' and mathematical formulas to decide which team makes the tournament or which team gets to play in the national championship and yet still manage to screw things up (oklahoma over texas?) so bad that they piss off the president. To their credit, it is hard to decide between teams with similar records and few head to head matchups, but that is no reason to do a shitty job.

Here are just a couple of ideas I have that the NCAA should take a look at:

• Respect the head to head: After records, head to head matchups should be the decider
• the NCAA could generate schedules, in a way where the strengths of schedules have much less variance, thus giving more weight to the win loss records of teams
• Get rid of the bowl system: the reason for the bowl system is a method designed to share the wealth between the major conferences. Now most people are saying to get rid of the bowl system and implement a playoff. This may be difficult without extending the football season or shortening the regular season games. My idea is for there to be a one game playoff. This would mean that 4 teams get a shot at a national championship. You may say that this isn't too different, but lets think about this.

One Game Playoff System:

Set up:

• 4 teams - 2 semifinals
• winners of those games play for national championship

How to choose the 4 teams:

• 9 or 10 toughest conferences are chosen as a sample group
• teams have to have won their respective conference tournaments
• then compare records and strengths of schedules

So lets take last year as an example, the conference winners were:

SEC: Florida

ACC: Virginia Tech

Big Ten: Penn State

Big East: Cincinnati

Big 12: Oklahoma

Conference USA: East Carolina

Mid American: Buffalo

Mountain West: Utah

Pac 10: USC

Now there are quite a bit of conferences that are left out, and this is part of the initial weeding out phase. Then the records and strength of schedule will decide the 4 teams that will participate in the playoffs. These two aspects have to be balanced out, and this is where the mathematical formulas can come in. The one good thing about using mathematics is that they do not see the name on the jersey, just the facts, and at this point it can be used effectively as to void selecting a school like Florida just because of its name. 

The main subjective part will be left to weeding out the less competitive conferences, and this can be done through a vote. 

This way at least 10 teams have a legitimate shot at the national championship, and maybe with this kind of system Utah wouldn't get screwed in the anus.

Devon Harris Makes a RIDICULOUS Buzzer Beater - MUST SEE

It seems to me that every year there is a set of game ending buzzer beaters that make sports one of the most exciting things to watch on tv. However, i dont know if its just my deteriorating following of the NBA, partly because I have learnt how to watch college basketball on ESPN360 :), but it seems to me as if this is a weak year in terms of buzzer beaters. The last couple of days changed all of that.

It began with Dwight Howard's pre game warm up of firing a turnaround from the ball rack that is placed at half court. It was the biggest swish I have ever seen, I am surprised the net didn't just vanish into thin air. If you missed it and want to see the highlight check out ESPN360.

Dwight's drainer was almost like a warning. A warning for us mere mortals to get our eyes prepared for what was about to come two days later. There have been many half court buzzer beaters, even to win games, but Devin Harris' chuck to beat the Sixers was without a doubt one of the most ridiculous buzzer beaters I have ever seen. The reason is simple. If you look at the replay it shows how Devon has no control of the ball. The ball is merely bouncing between him and Andre Iguodala and in the last .1 seconds he somehow grabbed the ball and heaved it at the same time. You can see everything you need to on the Sixers coaches' facial expression. He looked as if he just realized he dropped a load in his pants and had no way of getting to a bathroom to clean it up.

I don't think there is anything more that has to be said on this topic, except to provide a link to the actual video:


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Top Ten Youtube Videos of All Time

Since this is a blog dedicated to sports, I have tried to put as many sports references as possible. It is important to realize that this is 'my' list of top ten youtube videos, as I am pretty sure there could be hundreds of these list compiled. So here goes, the top ten youtube videos countdown:

#10 - Air Up There 720

I have included this video simply because of how it took the streetball world by storm. When this came out it took dunking to a new level.

#9 - Reporter argues with Anchor

This reminded me of a scene from a Will Ferrell movie, but it was real lol. The high point of the video is definitely when the anchor creams the reporter with the "you used to be my boss, but you aren't anymore. What happened there huh?". Classic.

#8 - Ovechkin's goal against Phoenix

Probably the most ridiculous goal in NHL history. Nuff said.

#7 - Gerry Dee

The best stand up comic I have ever seen. I can watch this clip hundreds of times in a row and still laugh. You might have heard of Gerry Dee, he is the sports reporter for the Score.

#6 - "I'm gonna get 69 sex"

HAHAHAHAHA finally someone who says exactly what they are thinking

#5 - Bubb Rubb and Lil Sis

the whistles go whoooot whooooot

#4 - Full Court Basketball Shot

This is the ESPN top ten feature that was ranked #3, #2 and #1.

#3 - The Trinity Miracle

The combination of the actual play and the excitement of the commentator make this video simply amazing.

#2 - The Chicken Factory

I first saw this 6 years ago and when compiling this list I once again came across this video and just exploded with laughter.

#1 - Say Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaah

Considering the cult following the leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama has gotten, this is undoubtedly the number 1.

Is the level of play in the NBA exceeding physical limits of players?

Injuries are part of sports, there is nothing anyone can do about it, and every year we hear of a couple of NBA superstars who fall victim to the injury bug. I don't know if it is just me or have seen way more superstars go down with injury this year more than any other. I have made a list of the latest this season in the NBA:

• Andrew Bynum - knee
• Amare Stoudemire - eye
• Kevin Garnett - knee
• Marcus Camby - ear
• Danny Granger - foot
• Greg Oden - knee
• Tracy McGrady - knee
• Al Jefferson - knee
• Andrew Bogut - back
• Chris Bosh - knee
• Jameer Nelson - shoulder
• Michael Redd - knee
• Tyson Chandler - ankle
• Carlos Boozer - knee
• Gilbert Arenas - knee

Now I can think of three possible explanations for this influx of injuries to the basketball royalty:

1. It is a random phenomenon. Every year there are tons of injuries, maybe this is just one of those years where it has been the superstars who have gotten injured. I guess this is plausible, as every injury is an independent event probability wise
2. The players who I grew up with, who I deem to be superstars are aging. Let's face it, players like Kevin Garnett Tracy McGrady are basically dinosaurs. However, most of the guys on this list are fairly young.
3. In my opinion the most plausible explanation is that the nature of the game has exceeded the physical capabilities of the players. Let's face it, the strength and size of athletes these days are pushing the limits of the human body. Is it possible that this strength and athleticism is finally catching up with the athletes. For example every game you see players just hurling themselves at the rim, and the speed of the game and athleticism make the game dangerous. I am not saying this is the explanation, but I think that it is important to make sure that the athleticism of players may be getting out of hand.

Top 10 Post Game Press Conferences

The Darko Milicic video (view it here) inspired me to create a top ten of post game press conferences. I have surfed youtube long and hard (that is what she said) to bring you the ultimate top ten. Enjoy :)

Number 10: Rasheeds Knowledge of SAT Vocab

To be honest 5 seconds after I saw this I went to dictionary.com to make sure felonious was a real word.

Number 9: Allen Iverson has to practice?

This one probably should be lower down the list but it has been sort of played out.

Number 8: Dirk Moonlights as an exterminator

Tell tale sign #46 that a creature is an oaf: he destroys all life forms that are within his vicinity with bare hands

Number 7: Chad Johnson takes a hit

I am endlessly searching for the video of the hit that did that to him.

Number 6: They are who we thought they were

Just a classic.

Number 5: Who the hell is this guy?

If you ever wondered what it would be like if Robin Williams interviewed Bill Belichik and Tom Brady...

Number 4: Allen Iverson wants relationship with Michael Jackson

Freud is spinning in his grave...

Number 3: Lebron didn't go to college

Showing why Lebron should have stopped by the ESL classroom once in a while

Number 2: Kevin Borseth's Rant

What does come back and lay an egg mean?

Number 1: The Dark One shares

Undoubtedly the number one in this list.

I have put all the videos into one segment that you can watch right here:

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Oklahoma City Thunder's new mascot is a......BISON??

Forget steroids in baseball, NCAA football playoffs, and even the financial crisis. This is a mystery that needs to be given top priority. Since I first heard that the Oklahoma City Thunder are having a Bison as their mascot, I have sat at my desk trying to think of the connection. I am pretty sure that the guy who was supposed to come up with the mascot just blatantly forgot to do it and therefore drew a last minute bison. He then tried to salvage the whole idea by calling him Rumble, which I guess was a good enough connection for the OKC organization. These guys have to get their shit together, I mean it is bad enough that their team has the colors of a play dough set and the logo of city zoo. 

I am pretty sure that this was inevitable though, I mean were they not thinking that they might have a mascot problem when they named the team by a sound? Even though I still expected them to come up with something that looks a little more like a basketball mascot than a giant bundle of pubic hair. Couldn't they at least get a really cool looking bison? with armor and weapons? Did they have to go with the Chewbacca gone gay look?

To cap off my frustration, I have thought of 3 mascot-ish ideas that would be better suited for the OKCT:

1. A mascot song, which would be a compilation of various thunder storms. I realize this is unorthodox but at least its oozing with creativity, and how cool would it be to have thunder go off after every three pointer
2. Open up the roof of the stadium and only allow the team to play during storms. I know again unorthodox but you must agree it would be amazing.
3. Invent a new superhero called Thunderman. This is cheesy but it would create countless marketing opportunities for the organization.

Watch Alex Rodriguez Apology for Steroids LMAO

Yes it is another baseball player who was caught for doing steroids. I am gonna go out on a limb here, but I am starting to believe that the MLB has a drug problem. I have honestly stopped caring about this topic months ago, but A-Rod's apology and press conference stirred some things. First of all, when he held an interview with espn (you can watch the entire interview right here at ESPN360) his excuse for taking steroids was that he was young and stupid. But he was in the league for 6 years before that. It is not like he was a 12 year old who was curious about these tablets they were giving him. The only thing I will sympathize with him on is the fact that he did have huge expectations placed on him.

Then came the press conference. I just have one question for A-Rod, Could he not have memorized that? I mean if I am able to memorize 4 page speeches for a m

easly english speech contest that does not matter for anything, I would expect A-Rod to at least lift his eyes off the paper. In addition, did anyone get the feeling that he had never seen the apology before that reading. At times its almost like he was surprised by a comma or an end of a sentence. I am not saying he is not sorry for his actions, but come on, these apologies are bullshit anyway, he might as well indulge us a little. 

Darko Milicic takes verbal profanity to a whole new level

Honestly, when a friend first showed this video to me I wanted to go cry my eyes out. However many times Iverson says the word 'practice', this is still by far the best post game interview in the history of professional sports. If anyone can find a professional athlete putting such a marvelous string of slurs together in the space of a minute I will make sure to post it on this website and apologize to Darko Milicic. For know, Darko is my hero for showing that Eastern Europe has freedom of speech like America cannot even imagine haha. If it wasn't for this outbreak of....well let's call it emotion for lack of a better word, then I would still be hating on the Dark One for being one of greatest NBA draft busts since Sam Bowie*, but because of his ability to put together grammatically correct sentences I respect him more than if he could actually make a three once in a while. 

*Sam Bowie was drafted before Michael Jordan...yea good move.

Idiot tries to sell Phelps bong on ebay and gets arrested

I am actually kind of caught trying to decide whether this was a good idea gone bad or just a stupid idea inevitably gone bad. Either way, the guy who tried to sell the bong on ebay has been arrested along with seven other for possession of weed. However, no charges have been pressed on Phelps. Hmmmm, so is smoking weed not the same as possession? I guess you have to have your name on the bag itself for it to be considered possession. Look, no matter how big the celebrity is, he is under the same law that everyone else is. How come everyone he was lighting up with get arrested yet he is left to go only with a suspension from swimming. It's not like he can't swim now either, its just that he cannot compete, which judging by his recreational activities he wasn't planning on doing anyway. 

Another thing, the guy trying to sell the bong was asking for $100,000. HUH? Only a bong smoked by Jesus would sell for that much. Go for something more realistic like $10,000. When I saw this I immediately got the image in my head from Don't be a menace to society while drinking your juice in the head (great movie btw) of the scene where Loc Dog asks for 3 million salary to work as a crash test dummy. 

I suppose the guy also wrote this request with crayons before he submitted it to ebay.

Terrell Owens Writes A Children Book with the Greatest Title Ever

Yes, I am pretty sure that your thoughts are exactly the same as mine: We live in a world where Terrell Owens is a published author. This in itself is a catastrophe for a lack of a better word, but the story does not end here. The title of the book reads: Little T Learns to Share. This is coming from the guy who has disrupted three franchises and three quarterbacks because he complained that he did not get the ball enough. 

The product review from amazon.com reads:

Young children will learn an important and valuable lesson about sharing through this wonderfully illustrated and fun book written by NFL star Terrell Owens. Little T is a boy who doesn't want to share his new football; he is afraid that his friends might mess it up. When he tries to play by himself, however, he realizes that football isn't any fun alone. Thanks to his mother's good advice, he wins back his friends, and learns the virtue of sharing and the importance of being fair.

Does anyone else realize that taking sharing advice from T.O. is basically the same as taking free throw advice from Shaq or gaining weight advice from Manut Bol. This is ridiculous. I am actually thinking about shipping the book from the states to england so I can have a personal copy. Maybe it is just the cover that presents the sharing image so that parents buy the book for their children but when the children read it at home it provides secrets and crucial tips on how to get Donovan McNabb to look like an ass. 

If this is his idea of a joke (I'm pretty sure it is), then I have to admit it is pretty funny. It would be even funnier if he sent Romo, Garcia and McNabb signed and noted versions. You know, so they feel special. 

On a last note, the cover says that it is written with Courtney Parker. I have this lingering thought that It is supposed to say: "Written by Courtney Parker, Terrell Owens was the guy who sat next to her screaming at her to make his biceps more ripped"

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Tim Tebow will revolutionize the NFL

Watch all of Tim Tebow's last season games with the Gators on ESPN360  

These words came out of the mouth of the ex-Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden about a week ago and they have echoed in my head. Gruden believes that Tim Tebow, the starting quarterback for the Florida Gators will create a wave of ultra athletic QB's who are just as likely to run the ball as they are to pass it. The reason why I am coming back to this topic is that I watched a replay of Florida - Vanderbilt (gotta love the ESPN360 :) where UF almost shut out the Commodores were it not for a mercy call of a touchdown in the third quarter. However, the way Tim Tebow dominated made me think about Gruden's statements. You think about it, it is only natural for NFL teams to start adopting features of the ever so popular spread offense we see almost every college team running. It would be more of a spread-wildcat hybrid. This is where Tim Tebow comes in. If you have Tebow in the backfield, you have to respect his run. For example against Vanderbilt he took two steps forward as if he was going to run and it completely sucked in the secondary leaving Percy Harvin open for a 50 yard bomb in the end zone. 

There are three critcisms of Tim Tebow floating around:

1. His arm is not on par with other quarterbacks
2. NFL defenses are much faster and stronger, he will be less of a beast relatively speaking
3. NFL franchises do not want to injure their franchise quarterbacks

I think it is best to take these in turn:

1. Anyone who has seen a Florida game will attest that this is not true. He can hit receivers 50 yards on the run or he can easily hit the dragging shallow route between the numbers. Last night in addition to the florida game I watched Georgia - Alabama and I have to say that based solely on throwing, Tim Tebow impressed me more than Matt Stafford. I think its just a case where because his running game is so good people automtically dogg his throwing.
2. NFL defenses are faster, but so are NFL offenses, and forget about the fact that UF doesn't allow Tebow to lift heavy weights so he doesn't get too big. Tebow can get even stronger.
3. Then instead of placing franchise tags on two QB's and paying round 30 mil (a la Patriots) you can afford to have a franchise QB with a Tim Tebow to run the wildcat. 

Just imagine an offense where you can run regular sets, as well as run spread offense variations. How do you plan for that type of team?

I might be biased a little because im a tebow fan, but I do agree with Gruden, Tebow should be the number one pick in next year's NFL draft. I have provided some highlights of Tim Tebow for all the skeptics of his throwing:

The Online Store Up and Running

Check out the sports retort online store, where you will find handpicked DVD's, books, video games and sports equipment for all your athletic needs. I will also be announcing a product of the week every friday. Check out the store by clicking here.

Is the Slam Dunk Contest Deteriorating or are we just spoiled?

Last night, around halfway through the slam dunk contest I had an epiphany. See I was trying to figure out why none of the dunks seemed impressive, even though on paper they were feats of human performance. Let's see there was Rudy's one handed grab of a pass off the back of the backboard, JR's double bounce dunk which didn't look that good but must have been a bitch to get the timing right, Dwight's alley-oop on a 12 foot rim and Nate Robinson's dunk over dwight. All of these dunks seem spectacular, yet as I was watching it live I just wasn't excited. Not one of them made me jump up down as if Greg Paulus sunk another 35 footer. This made me wonder why though, as when that guy from the Harlem Globetrotters dunked on 12 feet I went crazy, yet Dwight's off the backboard on the same height with almost no effort seemed almost routine. After a good nights sleep I have come up with three potential reasons why I, and several other people who I know watched the dunk contest remain unfazed by last nights event.

1. The lighting. Before you dismiss this is a minor part of the slam dunk contest puzzle, think about this: If you ever played NBA Live 06 (or whichever one is the first one with the dunk contest), then you remember how there were lights everywhere, and after each dunk the arena went dark except for some spotlights. This is similar to how it was a couple years ago (circa the robbery of Andre Iguodala). However, this year it seemed like the recession poured into the NBA arena and David Stern opted to go with 'let's make it feel like a high school gym' approach. Whoever saw last nights contest must admit that there was a theatrical element missing.
2. The expectation of Dwight Howard. Let's face it, I was watching the contest on tv and I could feel how Dwight had the whole gym in the palm of his hand right before his first dunk. Everyone, including myself, were awaiting some elaborate plan where dwight would arrive on segway and dunk with it (ok not that but you get the point). The problem is, there was such a build up that anything less than impossible would be unacceptable. Sometimes hype is a bad thing. The thing is, it looks like the hype for the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest is already building, as Lebron James pronounced that is entering his name into the event. Sorry Lebron, but you are going to build up such expectations over the next year that unless you do a 360 double through the legs you will be deemed a failure.
3. The last reason is that we are spoiled. Yes, we take it for granted that these guys are doing something inhuman every year. Personally, I judge everything against Vince's 2000 campaign, and that along with my stubbornness of considering anything other than Vince's dunks 'average' is the reason why I am so unmoved after a slam dunk contest. I can only remember one other dunk that I deem to be of Vince caliber: Jason Richardson's off the backboard through the legs, which was pure perfection (how Fred Jones WHO? took the title that year I will never understand). It's not just Jason and Vince who are culprits, we can put EA sports into that list as well. By making it possible for us to virtually do a double through the legs or a 720 tricks us into thinking that anything less is nothing, even if we are comparing virtual with real life. We are stupid that way.

Below I have provided some highlights of the dunk contest as well as Vince's and Jason's massacres. Enjoy.

Lingerie Football League. Yes, it exists.

No this is not some commercial, this is an actual sports league. You have to give props to the guys who invented it, they took the premises of sex and football and were able to combine into one event. Finally we can watch porn and football at the same time without having to be in Tucson during the Superbowl (shout outs to Comcast). I have seen some of the video and the hits are no joke. These girls do not care about their faces or bodies. Heck, they only have a simple hockey visor to protect their face, and some custom designed shoulder to make sure we can see the twins. I for one cannot wait until the season gets under way. Partly to see the games themselves and partly to see the response of the American Association of Christian Schools. For now, enjoy the highlight mix below and pray that this is not another XFL, but a league that will stay with us forever.

Tracy McGrady gets blocked by the rim while dunking

Yes, this is fairly embarrassing considering this is the same player that threw off the backboard alleyoops in two consecutive all star games. The thing that shocks me the most is the consequence. I was watching Pardon the Interruption on my ESPN360, and I could not believe what I was hearing. Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser actually ripped into him claiming that T-Mac is done. All because of a misstep on a fairly difficult dunk. I have provided a link to it so you can judge for yourself, but I think its preposterous that a player is deemed to be 'done' for something as stupid as missing a dunk.

Madden Draws Penis while Broadcasting

I guess it was only time before some sports broadcaster got unlucky and drew the symbol of the frat guy on the television screen. The only thing I would like to know is what would Freud say about these little Madden mishaps :) :)

UNC outlasts Duke at Cameron Indoor

If you want to see a replay of this game plus all the live college basketball and football games you want, sign up for ESPN360.

To start off I think I should make it clear that I am a Duke fan, and I might as well come out and admit that this post might be a little subjective. I am really glad that the first post I am writing is a review of an episode of the historic Duke-UNC rivalry. I watched the superbowl two weeks ago and if I had the choice to watch one of the two I would choose the mythical battle at Cameroon Indoor every single time. Before I get to the actually summary, I want to run down my top reasons for loving this game so much:

1. Without a doubt, together Dick Vitale and Mike Patrick form the best duo in broadcasting. He's playing like Barishnakov will echo in my ear for days to come, as well as Dick's description of Coach William's suit as not a K-mart special.
   
2. There is no team that plays harder or with more emotion than Duke. Let's face it, when you compare Duke's roster with that of any other ACC team, Duke severly lacks athleticism. Let's face it, Scheyer taking free throws is freakishly similar to that of a JV girl. However, even because of the athletic deficit, Duke runs over many of these teams.
3. Cameron Crazies. Case in point: Speedo Guy. 'Nough said.
4. JJ Redick. Yes, everytime I see someone with a Duke uniform I get images of JJ spotting up from 40 feet (vs Miami).

Now to the game itself. Overall, I would describe it as a UNC sandwich. The first 5 minutes were dominated with UNC jumping to an early lead, mainly because of Deon Thomson who, based on his facial expression, hit five shots in a row for the first time in his l

ife. However, once Duke hits one three they usually hit 8 more. I am pretty sure Greg Paulus was born fading away, and because of this he can drain it from 30 feet right in Lawson's face. He is also the hardest worker on the court at any time. Let's face it, when he stands next to Ty Lawson he looks like 170 lbs of jell-o, yet you can still see him diving into the second row for a loose ball. 

After Greg Paulus' three Duke came back and was actually winning by 9 at one point, and I think if it wasn't for the halftime intermission then Duke could have stayed on top. However, Duke's shots started rimming out and just like the booms and busts of the economy, once it gets going you cannot stop it. The dagger came when Hansbrough was able to put the lead into double digits with a three ball. Yes, Tyler Hansbrough made a three, and it wasn't an open one either. It was in Kyle's eye and at least a foot off the line. Duke did manage to get the lead down to 8 but that is as low as it would go. In the end UNC prevailed in the heatfest. 

I do have to make several statements before 

I end this post. 

• McClure is the most underrated player in college basketball. He gets maybe 2 shots a game because he is on a team with Henderson, Singler, Smith, Paulus and Scheyer, but he has such an impact on games with clutch steal and offensive rebounds. Look at him, he has the build of a point guard yet he pulled down 8 offensive rebounds against Miami. 
• Gerald Henderson has blossomed into an amazing basketball player. All he did last year was dunk a couple times a game, but now he is rebounding, he is driving and dishing, he is making threes, he is dropping clutch shots (eg Wake Forest), and he is still dunking like there is no tomorrow. 
  
• Congrats to Tyler Hansbrough, along with Greene, they are the first UNC players to go 4-0 at Cameroon Indoor Stadium.

Dick V's quotes of the game:

"Lawson hasn't been able to penetrate and Ellington hasn't been able to hit it" :) :)

"He cares about one number: winning this game" (???)