I'm back again with the last of March Madness. Its now Final Four weekend when magic usually happens. I could make so many corny references on how special it is and where heroes are born. The games began on March 31st with two huge games. Let's get into it since I got some other things to cover from the Nets game experience and the shocking return of Brock Lesnar. I'm not trying to go on so many different topics but some really cool things that are going on and have gone on.
Saturday
6:00 to 8:00- I'm back at Applebees for some odd reason but that's where people like to eat. I'm not going to pass it up because I like the food and they have TV's everywhere. I'm with the same old gym buddies because they are the college basketball fans that are passionate. The other college basketball friends that I have are either away for college or working. I wish I could watch it with different people (Kevin Durkan or Evan Conti if you're reading, you guys would be my picks) but sometimes you can't. Louisville is playing Kentucky in the first game which is a huge rivalry. You have an historic coaching match up between Calipari and Pitino along with the teams playing in the same state. It sounds all perfect except the teams are very different. Louisville doesn't have much star power compared to Kentucky which made me think this game could get ugly. My prediction turned out to be wrong with Louisville out hustling Kentucky which they needed. They started to dominate the boards which is shocking considering the size that Kentucky has. Terence Jones and Anthony Davis usually take command of the boards but they seemed to get out hustled. Despite all the hard work, Louisville shot poorly which really hurt. The likes of Kyle Kuric, Peyton Siva, and Russ Smith simply weren't hitting shots which led to people being disappointed. Everyone wanted to see the upset in a big way because everyone hates Calipari. I'm not a Louisville fan so I didn't fully care for the game except for the enjoyment. The major reason for this was mainly because St.John's would always get dominated by them. They are my favorite team and I don't believe in the belief "root for whatever team that comes in your conference". Most teams in the Big East are usually teams that I hate because they are full rivals.
The second half started and both teams were shooting colder than the nachos that came out of Applebees. It was a disappointing meal and didn't help me cure a mini sickness that I got from Friday night. Don't go out without a jacket in a forty degrees night regardless if your at a bar or not. You will go outside and you will freeze. Anyway Louisville started playing tough and Kentucky started missing free throws. Kentucky is usually a good free throw shooting so it was odd. Eventually Lousiville's poor shooting really made them break away from being competitive. Anthony Davis had a monster game which shouldn't surprise anyone. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is someone that really shined once again with his relentless play. Kentucky was the well deserved winner like expected even though my meal was less than stellar. The atmosphere at Applebees was better than usual with many people yelling and making fun of Anthony Davis uni brow. That has started to become a trend of making fun of his uni brow. I'm a fan of it but people can go over board. He should shave it because it's an awful look but I'm not sure what's his explanation for it.
Future husband material?
8:30 to 12:30- I missed the 2nd half due to being at a mini-party. I went with my friends that really could care less so that stunk. The first half I watched and it was amazing how poor Kansas played. After Kansas played so well against North Carolina, it was shocking to see them struggle to score. Ohio State wasn't playing lights out but they were getting more stops and taking advantage of chances. Both teams didn't have much depth so the game lacked that. Paul was the only one really into it and pulling for Ohio State because he loves random teams with no explanation. Ohio State had a nice advantage going into half time but people eventually changed it because they are evil and don't appreciate the final four (or they really don't care of course). The night went from movies to a UFC tournament so things got hectic.I made sure to watch the 2nd half when I got home because its the final four! With relatives coming over for a family dinner tomorrow afternoon, I didn't want to drink so much because I can't tolerate old folks with a hangover. If you ever met old Croatians, they are already tough to co-exist with. If you try doing that then it will be a horrifying experience.
Anyway I finally go home from a head scratching night thanks to many obnoxious people (not that's it a bad thing). I check out the 2nd half and it just amazed me how poorly Ohio State shot. DeShaun Thomas was a complete liability by making poor decisions every time he touched the ball. Kansas frustrated Sullinger into taking too many difficult shots which led to an awful shooting night going 5 for 19. Kansas defense seems to move much faster than Syracuse which caused Ohio State to get flustered in the half court offense. Other than William Buford, nobody on Ohio State seemed comfortable. Thomas Robinson got going in the 2nd half with his mid range shot. Robinson has all the tools to be an all-star in the NBA, it wouldn't surprise me to see him end up better than Sullinger thanks to more explosiveness. I'm on couch watching him in awe wondering if he will be better than Chris Bosh after three years in the NBA. It may be a stretch but it wouldn't surprise me. Anyway back to the game where an eleven point lead was erased faster than I could imagine. Elijah Johnson continued his strong tournament by going 6 for 9. The game started getting tight with four minutes left with it still going back and forth. Aaron Craft would get a steal and score off Elijah Johnson but then the next possession he would get rejected by Jeff Withey. Withey came up with another huge block with just a minute left on Buford and it led to a fast break bucket for Elijah Johnson to put Kansas up three. Did Ohio State watch film after Withey rejected seven shots against N.C State? You have to be cautious when you drive to the hoop against them.
The game ended awkwardly with both teams turning over which led to Kansas making a smart foul by Aaron Craft when the game was a three point difference. Craft tried to miss the 2nd to get the ball back but it wouldn't happen. Kansas was going to the final after a slugfest where I couldn't believe they won after such a poor 1st half. I'm proud of Kansas though because they have always been my favorite "powerhouse" college basketball team. When you root for St.John's and Boston College, you don't exactly have much winning success at times. Kansas has won money for me in the past and has developed great talent like Mario Chalmers, Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins, Brandon Rush, and now Thomas Robinson. The game was also huge for my cousin Sandy because she is now in 11th place out of 412 people in the pool. That's really impressive for a woman that doesn't know that much. I'm jealous of course.
Anyway I finally go home from a head scratching night thanks to many obnoxious people (not that's it a bad thing). I check out the 2nd half and it just amazed me how poorly Ohio State shot. DeShaun Thomas was a complete liability by making poor decisions every time he touched the ball. Kansas frustrated Sullinger into taking too many difficult shots which led to an awful shooting night going 5 for 19. Kansas defense seems to move much faster than Syracuse which caused Ohio State to get flustered in the half court offense. Other than William Buford, nobody on Ohio State seemed comfortable. Thomas Robinson got going in the 2nd half with his mid range shot. Robinson has all the tools to be an all-star in the NBA, it wouldn't surprise me to see him end up better than Sullinger thanks to more explosiveness. I'm on couch watching him in awe wondering if he will be better than Chris Bosh after three years in the NBA. It may be a stretch but it wouldn't surprise me. Anyway back to the game where an eleven point lead was erased faster than I could imagine. Elijah Johnson continued his strong tournament by going 6 for 9. The game started getting tight with four minutes left with it still going back and forth. Aaron Craft would get a steal and score off Elijah Johnson but then the next possession he would get rejected by Jeff Withey. Withey came up with another huge block with just a minute left on Buford and it led to a fast break bucket for Elijah Johnson to put Kansas up three. Did Ohio State watch film after Withey rejected seven shots against N.C State? You have to be cautious when you drive to the hoop against them.
The game ended awkwardly with both teams turning over which led to Kansas making a smart foul by Aaron Craft when the game was a three point difference. Craft tried to miss the 2nd to get the ball back but it wouldn't happen. Kansas was going to the final after a slugfest where I couldn't believe they won after such a poor 1st half. I'm proud of Kansas though because they have always been my favorite "powerhouse" college basketball team. When you root for St.John's and Boston College, you don't exactly have much winning success at times. Kansas has won money for me in the past and has developed great talent like Mario Chalmers, Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins, Brandon Rush, and now Thomas Robinson. The game was also huge for my cousin Sandy because she is now in 11th place out of 412 people in the pool. That's really impressive for a woman that doesn't know that much. I'm jealous of course.
Monday
8:00 to 8:40- I'm starting early because the train ride to the city to watch the game was ridiculous. For like two months, their would be always a bum that would enter the subway and start a speech on how poor they are. It would be pretty annoying especially when it happened to me four times in a row. They would rant on how they would just like that one warm sandwich. It would be the same thing which makes me wonder if they ran a cult or something. I managed to lean back and just listen to my IPod without a care in the world. The national game started to excite me because I was watching with a bunch of guys that knew their stuff. The odd combination was that it was with mostly black people which was awesome. I've never really watched basketball with them before so it would be cool and funny to see their reaction to crazy plays. People were texting me also about the possibility of Kansas having any shot of winning this game. It was highly unlikely but if they win the battle of rebounding and don't show so poorly like Louisville, you never know. The bum finally went away after ten minutes which was a blessing. I'm finally in the city and trying to avoid some other bums. This world is very cruel these days because the increase of bums have really caught my eye. Anyway I finally get to the complex and I'm thirsty. Coronas will be the selection for tonight because I'm not taking the train home at midnight drunk.
9:30 to 11:15- The game was interesting early on because it was so fast paced which led to so much yelling. We all realized that Kansas didn't have a prayer if they continued try to play Kentucky's style. Kentucky has numerous guys that can take it coast to coast then finish. Kansas had two guys at best in Taylor and Johnson. Kansas was hanging around early but then they started to miss too many shots that were rushed. That lead to Kentucky getting on the fast break scoring on easy dunks or hitting free throws. It was a nine point game fast and Bill Self had to call timeout because he's a very intelligent guy that knows he can't let this game get away. It amazed me how well Kentucky passed the ball which is a big thing in a John Calipari offense. On the next three possessions, Kentucky scored on assisted plays with Marquis Teague hitting some big shots. Teague hasn't been a huge star in the tournament but he has played a decent role in the Kentucky season. My favorite guy to talk so far is Jameel who is a disgusted Georgetown fan. Even though I hate Georgetown with complete passion, I could feel his pain. He knew his basketball saying that he couldn't understand why Georgetown could never win the national title since he became a fan. He makes a good point because Georgetown has developed some big time NBA talent. While he went on a mini rant with people telling him to shut up (I love it), Kentucky continued to dominate while Kansas couldn't hang. Dorion Lamb got going who seems to be their main scorer this tournament. I haven't heard much about Lamb before the tournament other than he can get hot at any time. He's been hot since the tournament began it seems like. The half ended with Kentucky up by fourteen thanks to some last minute buckets by Taylor and Robinson. We all realized that this national title game could end up getting ugly which surprised nobody. Kentucky was just too good this year and wasn't going to be beaten unless North Carolina was fully healthy.
North Carolina's backup point guard was the mascot for most of the season.
The second half begins with both teams struggling to score. Kentucky has finally been slowed down and starts to get sloppy with too much fancy passing. Kansas couldn't do much better and eventually found themselves down by sixteen again after a Terence Jones dunk. As I'm watching the game, I realize that nobody has really talked about Anthony Davis performance. The uni brow is always a nice topic to discuss but Davis seemed to be mostly a non factor on the offensive end of the floor. He was still rebounding and his usual blocked shots but he never got going offensively. Kansas cut the lead to ten thanks to some neat passing by Taylor to get some easy looks. People started to get excited but all of a sudden I get a text saying that someone is arriving on Raw. With massive rumors that Brock Lesnar is supposed to return, I knew I couldn't miss it. With the game going on, I pretend to get a phone call and told everyone it was from a girl. They all understood because women are the only excuse to miss the game. It's all about that money and a** according to these nice gentlemen. I go in the other room to put the USA network to see the usual John Cena promo. It amazes me how loud this crowd is in the American Airlines arena (home to the great Miami Heat). They are going insane screaming "Yes" and "You're a loser" to John. I was reading tweets all night how the crowd was fantastic which led to the huge "We Want Lesnar" chants. The arena was absolutely buzzing while I was getting way too excited. It was a good thing that eight people were in the living room that were still yelling and having a debate about if the Thunder are the best team in the NBA. All of a sudden, Brock Lesnar appeared and I started marking out (jumping up and down in non-wrestling terms). Lesnar came out to a huge pop from the crowd and I'm still shocked. It has been eight years since I've seen Lesnar on Raw. Cena starts to clap while Lesnar just looks at him like he's an idiot. They go to shake hands but Brock picks him up and hits the FS. All hell is breaking loose with the crowd going crazy. I'm jumping around like a six year old usually does on Christmas. It was an awesome moment to see Brock return because it has been long overdue. Eventually I collect my thoughts and go back to the game where people are still yelling. Everything seems to be working well with my birthday just an hour away.
11:20 to 12:15- The game is around five minutes left when I start watching again. Anthony Davis finally hits a shot much to the delight of a few Net fans in the place. They dream of getting Davis by winning the lottery. I'm happy I don't root for a team that puts their hope on winning the lottery. Kansas won't go away though with Tyshawn Taylor really stepping up in this game. He is the only Kansas player that had a better than average game shooting a high percentage and making plays all around. He cuts the lead to nine after a few jump shots. The lead gets cut to seven after Robinson hits two free throws which gets people nervous. Robinson didn't play very well this game due to being severely double teamed a lot and going up against a team that can athletically stop him. Kentucky got a much needed three from Teague but Kansas answered right back with a three from Johnson. This game wasn't ending that fast which was great to see. Robinson got to the free throw line and cut the lead to five with just a minute and thirteen seconds remaining which had people jumping. Now all Kansas needs is Mario Chalmers magic and this would be the greatest come back in history. I'll never forget that 2008 since it was the only time I was a March Madness pool with over three hundred people in (YES!). Tyshawn Taylor tried to be the hero again but got blocked by Kidd-Gilchrist then got called for a charge. Taylor was way too over aggressive which sums up his career. Taylor can be so brilliant at times then make bone head plays like that. He's not a player I loved in Kansas because of bone head plays like that. The game was still six after Taylor hit another jump shot which shocked me. Teague missed a critical free throw which gave Kansas a chance to cut it to three. Johnson had a nice look after a great pump fake but it was a clear travel. That ended Kansas hopes of winning after Lamb hit two free throws. Kentucky won the national title and it hit mid night so the birthday celebration was hear. We all took a shot of absolute to celebrate the night but I had to get home because class started at 8 am for me the next day. I really need to book my schedule much better next year.
Kentucky deserved to win this game with a very controlled offense and simply playing more efficient. Jones and Kidd Gilchrist weren't mentioned a lot in this game but they each made some timely plays. Despite a horrendous shooting performance, Anthony Davis managed to still make a big impact on the game. Kansas simply was out matched and didn't good performances out of Robinson or Withey. It was nice to see the game get competitive at the end though because that's what you want as a casual fan not worrying about either team or your bracket. I found out the next morning thanks to Kentucky that I won a whopping twenty dollars in one pool for coming in 3rd (YES!). It caught me by surprise but thank you Kentucky. I'll make sure to use this money wisely (either a meal or beer is what I consider wisely). I'm going to do a whole March Madness round up on Friday on the highs and lows of the tournament for me. It will be just a full recap of some amazing moments and other moments where I screamed why.
Here Comes The Pain
Its like 2003 all over again with these two gentlemen.
The return of Brock Lesnar on Monday Night was something that will never be forgotten. While Brock has several critics, nobody can forget what he did for the three years he was with the company. He put on some phenomenal matches and was becoming a huge face in the company. People seem to forget how much Lesnar did for the company due to being there not very long comparing to other wrestlers. Brock didn't look to be in the greatest shape Monday but don't discount the fact that he's dealing with injuries and illnesses dating back from the past few years. Now according to reports, Brock has already gotten heat backstage which doesn't surprise me at all. People always get jealous when someone comes in that is going to take another big spot. It does hurt because I'm always a guy that wants to see young talent but Brock won't be here for long. He is probably sick of the critics and wants to make one huge return. What shocks me about the contract he signed was that he'll make several appearances this year including twice a month. That seems really odd which makes me wonder what are they going to do with him. I'm not sure that you want him to compete unless its at a top four PPV. Also you don't want to ruin feuds by making them to early because the point of all this is to have Lesnar be in a big match for Wrestlemania 29. They could go in so many directions and I'll be mostly happy with whatever they do. The one thing that will annoy me is if they do Lesnar vs The Rock at Mania because they don't have much history except that Brock beat him for the title ten years ago.
The most likely scenarios are with Cena like how you saw Monday night and for the fact that if Brock stayed all these years with the company, he may have been the guy to be the face of this company. The other guy is obviously The Undertaker because of all the feuds they had back in the day and just last year, when Undertaker challenged him right after Lesnar lost his UFC title to Cain Velasquez. Those two match ups would be perfect for Mania because they have a huge back story to it. During the year, they could do something with the The Rock and possibly even CM Punk. Punk could always get under Brock's skin in a heart beat and they could have something there. I love the options for what they can do with Brock, but the main thing is to make sure they use him right for Mania. It's the biggest stage of the year and people want to see something fresh. That's why the contract seems a bit too excessive but you can't hate on it if you're a Lesnar fan which I am. Once I got into UFC, I was way over Lesnar ditching the company. It bothered me for a while but once I saw how awesome UFC was, it didn't annoy me anymore. I'm happy he's finally back and that he proved me wrong because I thought it would be a few years before he'd come back. I'm pretty positive that they can't screw this up even if they do something with Rock versus Lesnar at Mania. It would be a bit of a disappointment but still these are two iconic stars. The only thing that would be a huge let down is if they feud Lesnar with a returning Dave Batista. That would be beyond lame because it wouldn't be pretty. I'm a pretty big Batista critic but if he returned, I would understand it for business. That's a whole different topic though but the fact is I'm so excited to see Brock back and it should be really exciting to see what they could do with him. Also I can't help but bring the possibility up about bringing Paul Heyman fan. I've been a life long supporter of Paul for what he did with ECW and being the main reason why CM Punk actually made it to television. Heyman is an absolute genius and would be a huge asset to the return of Brock. That would be incredible to see but I'm not sure if that would happen. Imagine a Lesnar- CM Punk feud with Paul Heyman being in the center of it since both guys are "Paul Heyman guys". I need to calm down because I'm getting too excited about these possibilities. Thank you for coming back Brock, you have been missed.
Nets Game & Plugs
I'm not going to full in depth about the Nets game. It was fun watching them beat the Pacers in shocking blowout fashion. The few things I got from the game was Deron Williams is so much fun to watch. I already know Deron was elite but the guy is a joy to watch. Marshon Brooks could be a star in the league if he improves on his play making skills. We know he can score but I'd like to see him do more. Kris Humphries should contend for most improved player of the year because Kris was forever a bust. It shocks me to see how much he improved running isolation plays and making a huge impact. That's all that impressed me about the Nets other than that, they aren't very good. Gerald Wallace is a horrible fit for that team and has one ugly jump shot, but you already knew that. For the Pacers that will make the playoffs and somehow beat the Knicks last night (YES!), they seemed out of it. Paul George is going to be an impact player in this league with his freakish athleticism and improved jump shot. Indiana has a nice core but they need some more star power. I'm not high on Darren Collison and Roy Hibbert needs to improve on his fitness. He seems fatigued through out the game and seemed to be dis interested. Indiana can make a run if they add some more star power with this young talent or the young talent could start becoming stars. I sat in the 6th row during the game which was an awesome view. They were only thirty dollars so it was well worth it. You will see the picture of Denis Svircic and I right below here.
Oh my goodness!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/allenstreck
Twitter: @AllenOutraged
Gmail: AStrk19@gmail.com
Old Blog: http://allen-strk.blogspot.com/
Feel free to leave a comment below or contact me on any of those links above.
No comments:
Post a Comment