Sports Blog

02

The NBA: It’s fantastic (again)

 Feb 18, 2008

The NBA has received its fair share of ridicule and low blows from critics, fans and know-it-alls the past few years.
And, sometimes, with good reason.
Crooked refs, players mired on the IR raking in millions for nothing, and a few bad apples don’t exactly equal a Hallmark card.
Yet lost in all the vague end-of-the world proclamations and armchair social criticism from the uninformed is the fact that the NBA is on a roll.
And it has nothing to do with attendance, global interest or TV ratings.
It has to do with basketball.
Yeah, I know, it’s easy to forget – the NBA is a basketball league.
But the last few years, the ball has been darn good.
And it’s getting better.
The Hawks, Trail Blazers and Raptors – teams that just a few seasons back were nearly unwatchable – are on the rise.
The Celtics and Lakers are serious contenders again.
The Warriors, Suns, Jazz and Hornets are a blast.
And die-hards like the Pistons, Spurs and Mavericks have all made enough minor adjustments to stay competitive throughout the decade.
Add in the current fascinating mixture of young talent, international stars and big-name veterans with the recent flurry of blockbuster trades, and the second half of the 2007-08 season should be one for the books.
Yeah, there are still major issues the league has failed to address – guaranteed contracts and overpriced tickets lead the charge.
But the world’s most professional basketball league finally looks … professional again.



Posted by Brian T. Smith

Bucs fall to Bruins in disappointing fashion

 Feb 14, 2008

ETSU down 47-27 after first half

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
Johnson City, Tenn. – East Tennessee State’s up-and-down season has hit the wall.
The Buccaneers fell to Belmont, 87-75, on Thursday evening at Memorial Center before an announced crowd of 4,262.
And ETSU’s erratic performance left Bucs coach Murry Bartow searching for answers.
“Our guys are incredibly down right now after this game – we put a lot into winning this one game and we didn’t get it done … So, we can either sulk for a couple more days and Lipscomb will beat us, or we can try and bounce back and pick up our 15th win and try and get this thing heading in the right direction,” Bartow said.
ETSU’s loss to the Bruins follows a disappointing 68-56 defeat to Stetson last Sunday.
More troubling, though, was the fact that Thursday night’s game was a big one for the Bucs – a victory would have given ETSU a tie with Belmont for the top spot in the Atlantic Sun conference.
Yet the Bucs did little more than show up in a lackluster first half.
ETSU was outscored 47-27 in the first period, and the Bucs connected on just 5 of their first 20 attempts.
ETSU also committed 10 turnovers, gave up 20 points in the paint and hit just 18 percent (2 of 11) of its 3-point attempts in the first period.
“It feels real bad, I can’t lie about it. It feels bad right now,” said Courtney Pigram, who scored all of his team-high 16 points for the Bucs in the second half. “But we gotta get rid of it quick, though. We have to have a big turnaround Saturday.”
Following its dismal first half, a re-charged ETSU (14-11, 8-4) emerged in the second period.
The Bucs turned to a full-court press defense to disrupt Belmont’s (18-8, 10-2) motion-heavy offense.
And ETSU was able to pull within 64-53 when Pigram knocked down a 3-pointer with 12 minutes, 14 seconds remaining in the period.
Yet five minutes later, it was 79-58 Bruins, and the Bucs again looked out of synch.
“Are they really that much better than us, Bartow?” yelled out an ETSU fan from the stands.
Kevin Tiggs added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Buccaneers, while Mike Smith and Travis Strong contributed 13 points apiece and Andrew Reed collected a game-high 13 rebounds.
Shane Dansby scored a game-high 28 points for the Bruins and was 12 of 15 from the field.
“We feel confident when we play in here,” Dansby said. “And it’s not just one person. All of us can step up and hit shots and move the ball around and get us going.”
Belmont took a 17-4 lead with 13:23 remaining in the first quarter when Andy Wicke knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing.
Belmont then stretched its advantage to 25-11 after Dansby hit a 3 near the top of the key.
And while the Bruins’ offense moved and flowed in a tight rhythm, ETSU’s struggled from the opening tip.
Even more telling, though, was the Bucs’ visible lack of communication on the floor.
Pigram often appeared frustrated at the Bucs inability to run smooth offensive sets. And though Bartow constantly yelled and barked out commands from the sideline, he was initially unable to break though to his players.
“Our team’s got a big decision to make right now,” Bartow said. “I think the goal of winning the conference championship is out the window. So, as a team, we’ve gotta quit talking about that. But we can still win 20 games and we can still go to the NCAA tournament. It’s all still on the table.”
Belmont’s 87-point night marked the 10th time this season ETSU has given up at least 75 points.
| (276) 645-2569



Posted by Brian T. Smith

NASCAR Team Machine

 Feb 14, 2008

Is there really balance in NASCAR or are the image-makers at work again? Do you believe the hype. 

For weeks, NASCAR television and radio pundits have breathlessly told fans that the 2008 Sprint Cup season will be impossible to forecast.
According to the image-makers, every driver in the 43-car field can win Sunday’s Daytona 500 or any other event. Races will be ‘‘crazy, spectacular, and spell-binding.’’
Don’t buy the hype from the well-paid hucksters.
While the Toyota contingent will be stronger, the NASCAR spotlight will continue to focus on the Hendrick Motorsports juggernaut.
With the addition of fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Hendrick has by far the strongest lineup to go along with the most talented crew chiefs, engineers, mechanics, tire-changers, etc...You get the big-money picture.
Just consider the success of Earnhardt, Jr. and two-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson so far at Daytona. For good reason, the pairing of Earnhardt and Johnson with four-time series titlist Jeff Gordon and the emerging Casey Mears has already been dubbed as the “Fantastic Four.’’
With the various mega-teams, mergers and affiliations, the top level of NASCAR is looking very much like the Formula One Series where a handful of owners control everything. Anyone miss the Abingdon-based Morgan-McClure Motorsports team yet?
One year ago, the thought of Earnhardt fans actually cheering for anyone in a Hendrick car would have been laughable. The diehards in the Junior Nation referred to Hendrick Motorsports as the ‘‘Evil Empire’’ or much worse.
Just last week, we saw Earnhardt win the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona with help from his once-reviled new teammates. There were no fights in the stands or flying projectiles.
Whether his old guard fans like or not, Earnhardt has made the best move of his career. And as Dale Jr. goes, so goes NASCAR.  If Earnhardt wins more races, the TV ratings and track attendance will rise dramatically.
As for the actual balance of power on the track, don’t look for that to change.
Much like in Major League Baseball, the day of the little teams and unlikely success stories are gone. Big money — see the Hendrick machine, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees — rule.



Posted by Allen Gregory

The refs blew it

 Feb 13, 2008

Forget all these excuses you’ve heard the last couple of days about “Clockgate,” the fiasco which happened at the end of Monday night’s women’s basketball game between Rutgers and Tennessee in Knoxville.
Rutgers wasn’t robbed of its well-earned win by a clock malfunction. Nor was it human error by the timekeeper.
And while you’re assigning blame, don’t give any to the Lady Vols. In fact, give a whole lot of praise to Nicky Anosike for waiting out about a five-minute delay and then cooly draining the game-winning free throws.
Blame officials Bob Trammell, Tina Napier and Bonita Spence, who completely blew it by failing to use the replay system for what it’s supposed to do—right obvious wrongs.
For those of you who haven’t seen what happened, here’s a quick review: Down one point in the last 10 seconds, UT hunted a game-winning shot.
Shannon Bobbitt missed a jumper. Candace Parker rebounded and missed in the lane. The clock then freezes on 0.2 seconds while Anosike grabs an offensive rebound, tries to go up for a shot and is pulled down from behind.
If there was ever a classic replay situation, this is it. And if there’s a more clearcut call made for replay reversal than this one, I’ve yet to see it.
Yet the officiating crew—led by Trammell, a Final Four veteran—somehow botched the ruling completely, saying that Anosike’s rebound, attempted putback and foul all occurred in 0.2 seconds or less.
If you believe that, you’re either wearing orange-colored glasses or you’re related to one of the officials. ESPN replays later Monday night showed the sequence from Anosike’s rebound to the whistle blowing for the foul took 1.3 seconds.
Now I wasn’t a math major in college (I was more like a playground hoops major, but I digress), but I know 1.3 seconds is longer than 0.2 seconds. And the officials should have had either the competence or the guts to get the call right.
You know what happened after Trammell and Co. turned the endgame into the 1972 Munich Olympics. Anosike, a 64 percent free throw shooter, hit both to give the Lady Vols a tainted 59-58 win.
That sequence highlighted the biggest problem with the women’s game as opposed to the men’s game—weak officiating. As much as men’s basketball insiders criticize Ted Valentine for his showboating ways on the court (and he does love to call attention to himself), do you think he would have upheld the ruling on the court after looking at that replay? Heck no.
Rutgers coach Vivian Stringer said if it had happened to decide a national championship, she would have been out of a job, such was the fuss she would have raised.
A lot of other people should have been raising it, too. But incredibly, the SEC and Big East Conferences, which supplied the refs Monday night, signed off on the endgame.
Apparently, it’s more important to believe every excuse you hear instead of just looking at the facts. And the facts are the officials robbed Rutgers. Period. 



Posted by The Continuous News Desk
College Sports

Is this George Wythe’s best team?

 Feb 11, 2008

I’ve seen George Wythe High School’s boys’ basketball team play quite a bit over the last 10 years.
Such stars as Lance Goff, Matt Williams, Kevin Forrester, Lamar Davis, Seth Gibson, Derrick Davis and Cole Wilder have rolled off the assembly line at the Wythe County school during that time and the Maroons perennially dominate the Hogoheegee District.
The old adage – they don’t rebuild, they reload – seems to always apply in Wytheville. However, this year’s George Wythe version may be the best team head coach Al Copenhaver has put on the floor during that time.
They have the Hogoheegee’s top player in senior Tennis Simon, who can hurt teams in a number of ways. He’s put up some gaudy statistics, which is impressive considering he’s usually on the bench in the second half as George Wythe’s leads usually approach 50 points.
But there’s more than just Simon when it comes to the Maroons – much more. GW’s depth is perhaps its most impressive quality. GW is so deep that 13 different players have scored double figures at least once this season.
So deep that despite second-leading scorer Devin Smith sitting on the bench with an illness on Friday, George Wythe still managed to put 95 points on the board against Patrick Henry.
George Wythe plays an unselfish, up-tempo. pressing style. It’s an entertaining brand of basketball for the fans and also fun for the players.
“We have fun,” senior guard Brandon Davis said on Friday. “We don’t try to take it too far. We have a lot of seniors and we try to play together, have fun and get the job done.”
George Wythe has just two regular-season games remaining – Tuesday’s clash with Hogo rival Chilhowie and Wednesday’s non-district game against Fort Chiswell. Then the postseason begins.
Defending regional champ James River figures to be GW’s top challenger within Region C. Meanwhile, Southwest Virginia hoops observers are already dreaming of a possible GW-Gate City matchup in the state tournament.
Gate City eliminated George Wythe from last year’s VHSL Group A state tournament with a thrilling quarterfinal victory. Maybe this year the teams will meet up again with even more at stake.



Posted by Tim Hayes

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