Xavier Robbed

By Travis Williams
I completely understand that if you subtract 1.4 seconds from 1.2 seconds, your left with less than zero seconds.  I completely get that. 
So that portion of the referee's explaination as to why they ended the Butler/Xavier game following Gordon Hayward's bucket with 1.2 seconds remaining was clear. 

But how did it even get to that point.  For those that missed it let me recap. Butler trailing by one point with the ball and under twenty seconds remaining in the game, loses the ball.  As the clock ticks away, it "eroneously" pauses at 14.7 seconds and restarts about a second later.  Clearly giving the home team Butler additional time for a quality shot. 

After that quality shot was made, with 1.2. seconds remaining, and a timeout called the officials met for nearly five minutes and decided the game was over.

Xavier players were understandably upset.

What would have happened if Haywad were fould with 1.2 seconds left? Do you think the refs would have adjusted the clock then? 

Who knows. 

All we do know is that Tim Donaghy was not  officiating the game. 

Knight vs Calipari

Former University of Indiana coach Bobby Knight struck a chord with Wildcat fans this week by questioning UK's "integrity" with its hire of John Calipari. Scratch that. 

Let's take the politically correct newspaper jargon out and say what really happened.  Bob Knight, like he's been known for doing, simply spoke the truth and some feathers got ruffled.  That's right. 

The TRUTH.

The General simply stated:

"You see we've got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he's still coaching. I really don't understand that."

I'm not going as far as to say the man should never coach again. Just not at Kentucky. At least not this soon.  Didn't UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart learn anything from the Indiana/Kelvin Sampson drama just up the road?

Although our own Mr. Marvelous will point out that Calipari himself has never been found guilty of any wrongdoing, he's still been smack dab in the middle of two major infractions. 

And as Knight said, I just don't understand that.

Sure Kentucky's 11-0 start seems pretty

impressive now.  But the real question is how long will this season's ineligible player in superstar Derrick Rose.  Will John Wall's team suffer the same fate?
Only time will tell.  But why even take that chance? Especially at a University that's had its share of run ins already with NCAA. It was the perfect opportunity for UK to show they can run a classy program that stands for more than just wins and losses. Instead Big Blue Nation went for something "shiny." They chose to go the easy route and hire the guy who could get the program back in the national spotlight immediately. But if the Calipari era ends untarnished, we might be looking at a dynasty in the making.  However until then, the rest of the sports world has the right to wonder aloud if the Calipari hire was a good one. 

Cat fans get used to it.

Monday's Meeting (Limited Access)

As with every Monday, the guys from the Main Event Sports show and I flood each other’s email inboxes with our thoughts about the weekend in the world of sports. Among the topics this week were football games with some decisions that went well (Redskins) and some that didn‘t (Belichick). The ongoing sob story that is Louisville football. We also got to watch a legend in boxing grow even bigger.

So here is an edited glimpse into our Monday discussions.
Minus the name calling and insults.

UK:

The highly anticipated debut of John Wall finally happened. And man was he needed. Wall finished the game with 19 points including the game winner with .5 seconds remaining in the game to beat visiting Miami of Ohio.

Bell: Wall is cold! That shot is gonna boost his confidence even more. The team as a whole however wasn’t prepared for their opponent’s intensity. They’ve gotta know they’re gonna be a target all year so they’ve got to expect everyone’s best.


Trav: All of Lexington was on suicide watch! Wall saved the day and you couldn’t have scripted that last play any better for the freshman. But like I said on the show. UK has PLENTY of room for improvement and that in itself is scary.

Consensus: John Wall is a good and will get better, much like the rest of his team.

Belichick:

The Patriot’s coach is being ripped the day after a loss to the Colts. A large part of the blame is being directed at the hooded one and his decision to go for it on fourth and two in the Patriots own territory late in the game while up six.
A bobbled pass and textbook Peyton Manning drive later and Belichick is being skewered in the media today.

Mr. Marvelous: “I can’t argue with coach for making that call. Belichick has three good reasons why he can make that call. Super Bowl XXXVI, Super Bowl XXXVIII and Super Bowl XXXVIX. He’s also got a ring as for each as a reminder.


The Colts would’ve marched down the field and scored anyway. Manning had heated up and was picking New England apart anyway. Belichick made the right call, and if it wasn’t for a bobble of the ball we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.
You’ve got Tom Brady, it’s two yards, why not?


Mike Brown: And that’s why you do radio. The Patriots offense at that time in the game was out of sync. The Colts defense was breaking on passes... the crowd was into it and the Patriots defense had actually defended the Colts well on the on their next to last possession.


If I’m Belichick, I’m punting. Make Peyton Manning go 60-70 yards for a TD rather than thirty. Plain and simple.

Consensus: We never came to an agreement on this one.

Louisville wins first conference game:

Louisville finally dropped that conference goose egg from their record with a win Saturday. Although a win, it was against the Syracuse Orangemen who were also winless in conference play coming into the game.

Haven: Well Louisville can say they won another Orange Bowl!! Get it? Orangemen. Orange Bowl? Well the real joke has been UofL football this year. The Cards had less than 50 total yards at half-time to a team that routinely gives up way more than that per down. If it wasn't for a botched extra point and some great special teams play Guy we would have lost another one.

Consensus: Lets Fire Kragthorpe and try to get the program back on track



Pac-Man

Manny Pacquiao obliterated Miguel Cotto Saturday in Las Vegas. In the later rounds Cotto looked to regain some bounce in his step, but in reality he was just running from Manny and that devastating left hand. Kinda sad.

But will we ever get to see the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Pacquiao fight everyone is asking for?

Marvelous: Mayweather has to fight the fight the fans want to see. I was shocked that Manny dominated Cotto the way he did. He should be able to give Floyd a run for his money but Floyd due to his speed. But in the end, Mayweather will win just because the way I saw him whoop Juan Manuel Marquez who went toe to toe with Manny on two occasions and held his own. At the end of the night, Mayweather will shut down Pacman.

Consensus: We’re putting our combined paychecks of $37.50 on Mayweather to win.

Be sure to check our next show.  Every Saturday 6pm EST.

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NFL Kobayashi Maru

By Travis Williams

Let me drop a hypothetical scenario on you to test your football mental prowess. Nothing to complex, but lets just add some other elements for the hell of it.

Imagine you and two of your friends are at the doors of the biggest football party ever. Beer is flowing freely, Mike Ditka is telling Walter Payton stories. Deacon Jones is comfortably seated in a plush chair while verbally spanking T.O. about his whining. And Prime Time himself, Deion Sanders is enthusiastically trying to convince anyone who will listen that he ran a sub 4.2 forty-yard dash at the combine in “89” (with a curl).

It’s thee spot to be and you just wanna make your way through the door. Right when you’re about to cross that thresh hold, number 52 Ray Lewis stops you.

You want to get in? You gotta answer a simple two part question for Ray Ray.
Who’s the best quarterback in the National Football League? And why?

What? Not quite the Kobayashi Maru huh? There are only two choices right?

A: Tom Brady
B: Peyton Manning

Your first friend chooses “A” without hesitation.

Final answer.

It’s a no brainer for him. Brady is a four time pro bowler with three Super Bowl rings and almost 30,000 career yards passing. No brainer. Not to mention he’s also married to a super model, even better. Your bud waltzes through the door and Refrigerator Perry pour him a cold one. Sweet.


You’re next friend steps up to take his turn. He chooses “B” even though he knows the first guy chose Brady and made it in. You shake your head in disbelief and then remember why it’s required that you always speak slowly to your friend. He’s just not the coldest beer in the fridge.

But why not choose Manning? The guy has a career QB rating of 95.4. Pro Bowl MVP, three time NFL MVP, Super Bowl winner and was behind the biggest playoff comeback in NFL history against Tom Brady and the Pats in 07. Oh and lets not forget he has a laser rocket arm.

He’s choosing Manning. Final answer.

Ray gives him a stoic nod and lets him pass. Your friend proceeds to play flag football with Randall Cunningham. Told you it was the biggest football party ever.

It’s now your turn. You know an answer of Manning or Brady gets you in a Twitpic with Ochocinco. But just as you form your lips to give your answer it hits you.

What about Drew Brees?

The 6’0 Brees has an unmatched ability to place the ball exactly where it needs to be every time. His accuracy is almost robotic. You saw the Giants game. At one point Brees completed 15 passes in a row including a 29 yard pass to Marques Colston in which he placed the ball perfectly between two defenders.

Brees has thrown for over 4,000 yards in each of his past three seasons including a record breaking year in 08.

The former Boilermaker also knows how to spread the ball around. He’s thrown TD passes to seven different Saints this year and has six receivers with double-digit catch totals.

Yea sure he doesn’t have the rings of Manning or Brady but his chances to get one this year are as good as any right?

So in the tone of that ESPN radio commerical you nervously blurt it out.

“Drew Breeeees!!”

And you‘re in the door.

That’s right. Drew Brees gets you in because the Saints gunslinger has in fact become arguably the best signal caller in the league. Doesn’t even sound right when reading to yourself huh? For the past couple of years when debating this topic the only acceptable answer has been Brady or Manning. To pick one over the other for any reason was pretty much splitting hairs. But this year Brees has not only joined the duo, it can be argued that he has surpassed them.

If the MVP candidate Brees can lead the Saints to a Super Bowl victory this year, look for him to appear atop other lists as the best QB in the league. But for now that crown is up for grabs and you‘re in the party.

And as you sit back and listen to all the NFL greats trade war stories, you notice another average joe like yourself enjoying the scene.

“Hey, who did you pick? Manning? Brady, Brees?” you ask in a whisper.

He looks at you like an idiot and replies, “Rothliesberger. Two rings in four years, no brainer.”

Tidbits:



Rondo and Paul

The NBA has decided not to fine Chris Paul or Rajon Rondo for their brief on the court run-in earlier this week. After Rondo’s Celtic’s handed the Hornets a 97-87 loss, Rondo appeared to have a few words for the Olympic guard Paul. Among them reportedly were that Paul would never win a ring.

Paul later took a subtle poke at Rondo by saying, “"I think Rondo's a lucky guy to be able to play with a guy like Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and [Kevin Garnett], Rasheed Wallace."

Celtic guard Ray Allen has also denied reports that he later apologized to Paul for Rondo’s actions.











Brand Jordan

Michael Jordan’s youngest son Marcus made some news this week in his college debut for Central Florida. Just not in the way any other freshman probably would. The youngest Jordan made the decision to wear a pair of Nike Air Jordan’s during UCF’s game against St. Leo despite the school’s contract with Adidas. As a result Adidas has decided to cancel the remaining deal with the school. Reports indicate that deal is worth around $1.9 million over five years.

Expect the Knights to sign with the elder Jordan’s label shortly. Nothing spells forgiveness like a few extra million and storage room full of Air Jordans.

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Just Lending a Helping Hand..

By Travis Williams
So Card fans here you are. It’s October and the University of Louisville football team is sitting at an unimpressive 2-4 mark in the third season of the Steve Kragthorpe era (yes this is only the third season).


What the hell happened?

Seems like it was ages ago when Louisville fans actually cared how the BCS ranking system worked.

**Sigh**

The city has since gone on to debate much more frivolous things such as healthcare reform and arena funding. Pretty pathetic.

Well I’m here to help. Since Kragthorpe is playing the role of shy girl at the dance, I’m going to make the first move. I’m going to help draft your resignation letter for you Steve. Feel free to wordsmith where you deem necessary but please try to stay within the essence of this draft.

Now to ensure I make this as effective as possible, I took some advice from an article entitled “Resigning with Class: How to Diplomatically Resign From your Job.”  I’m not suggesting that I’ve never resigned or been fired…I’ve just never done it “diplomatically.”

I found two tips I thought would be helpful in your situation. First one, timing. According to the article, the standard time to submit a resignation is two to four weeks but you should “consult your employee handbook to be certain.”

I doubt the university has anything in the handbook regarding resignation time frame when it comes to completely destroying the football program. But to be safe, we’ll go by the standard. Two to four weeks puts you around early November giving you the option of submitting this letter before the West Virginia game. My suggestion however is afterwards. There’s a good chance morale will be low and a resignation letter could be the catalyst that pushes the team into somehow pulling off a surprising win in your final three games. Use it.

The next nugget of advice touches on negotiating a fair settlement. Tread lightly here Steve. I suggest something along the lines of this:

“Upon receiving this formal resignation, I fully expect the University of Louisville to supply me with a bus ticket to the destination of my choice along with the nameplate on my desk at season’s end.”

And that’s it Steve. Don’t stray too far on this one. Keep it simple. Asking for much more than this could make the separation ugly. See you have to understand that you’ve taken so much from the university already.

Our respectability as an athletics program that could do more than just win at basketball to name one. Every Louisville fan remembers that shellacking at Rutgers last year. Getting your tail whipped 63-14 on ESPN on a Thursday is sure to ruffle some feathers.

Lets not visit that memory any longer and focus on the now. The now is that you can use this letter to openly admit the missteps you took during your tenure. Like how your questionable play-calling made hometown hero Brian Brohm’s decision to return for his senior season, regrettable to put it mildly. Or how you failed to build on the momentum of an Orange Bowl victory as just about any other football coach could have. Or that taking over offensive play calling duties isn’t such a great idea if you’re job is already on the line.

Take a deep breath and let all of those things out in your letter. You’ll feel better for it.

And if this gets to be too much you can look on the bright side. You’ll still be known as a coach who can turn a program around.

Are the Broncos for Real?

            Many of us who take the NFL communion faithfully every Sunday have been asking this very question.  The Denver Broncos are one of five teams currently undefeated.  Sitting at 5-0, Kyle Orton, yes Kyle Orton has the city with thin air somewhat long winded when discussing Super Bowl possibilities. 

            Who woulda thunk it?

            Just a couple of months ago Brandon Marshall was acting a plum fool in practice and demanding a trade.  Franchise signal caller Jay Cutler was traded for some draft picks and a QB (Orton) with a career passer rating of 71.1.  Not to mention legendary coach Mike Shanahan was replaced by first timer Josh McDaniel who looks young enough to be carded at any bar. 

            This thing had rebuilding year typed all over it in 150 pt. font so anything above .500 would be acceptable at this point in the season.  But no one outside of the Broncos locker room predicted a start like this.

            Which makes me wonder, does an unblemished record after five games give you reason to start thinking about playoff matchups?

            Child please!!!

            Have you really stopped to take a look at this perfect record?  A win against the Browns (1-4), the Raiders (1-4), the Bengals (4-1), Patriots (3-2) and the Cowboys(3-2).  Let’s start with the positive.  Anytime you beat Bill Belicheck while Tom Brady and Randy Moss are playing, I’m giving you props. Plain and simple, that’s a good win.  And that’s it for the positives.

            The Broncos beat up on two of the worst teams in the league in the “Reydars!!!” and the Browns.  They slipped by a talented Bengals team on a tipped pass to Brandon Stokley and needed Tony Romo to forget it was fourth down to get past Dem Cowboys. Who tries Champ Bailey twice in a row anyway?

            Before I get all kinds of emails with that old “well it’s not the Broncos fault” opening sentence. Let’s get one thing out in the open.  It’s not their fault.

            As an NFL team, you do what you’re supposed to in order to win. If an overrated quarterback wants to throw at one of the best corners in the game twice, that’s his fault.  If a team’s secondary lets a man slip behind them late in the game then that’s on them.  If you get two scrimmages scheduled early in the season then you win them.

            The point I’m trying to drive home is that a 5-0 record is nothing to get worked up about.  There have been plenty of teams to bolt out of the gate like Usain only to finish like Eight Belles (PETA that was not meant to be funny).  

            Now with games against the Chargers, Steelers and Ravens lined up and waiting, let’s see if that pretty lil undefeated record remains intact.  If it does, I’ll be the first person in line to pave the new Kyle Orton Ct.

            Gotta win a Super Bowl to get a whole street in Denver.    

Louisville

            By now everyone has heard that two University of Louisville basketball players were arrested over the weekend for resisting arrest.  Team captain Jerry Smith and Terrence Jennings were at Kye’s in Jeffersonville when apparently the two were involved in an altercation with police. 

            And now reports from the AP wire state that battery and disorderly conduct have been added. 

            In a statement released by the university, the two apologized for fighting with police while coach Rick Pitino stated the matter would be handled internally.

            Note for our younger readers: If you’re not making spectacular plays at a college or university and you “fight” with a police officer, your mug shot will look a lot worse than below.