Russell's Mea Culpa: Biteless Bulldogs Lack Fight, and Now I'm Eating Humble Pie

After Russell picked the Butler Bulldogs to take the NCAA Championship Game, we knew that he would be back here with his tail between his legs to let us know why he was wrong. Here's what Russell had to say:

Like the Butler Bulldogs, Russell is upset by the finale (Arbiter)

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Throughout the history of sports there have been dozens of ridiculous statements made by athletes. From Pete Rose "I did not bet on baseball" to Rafael Palmeiro "I did not take steroids period" as well as the myriad guarantees made by athletes that, in retrospect were total nonsense. Well after the the national championship game last night we may need to add my "They may be underdogs, but Butler will be Top Dogs on Monday" to that illustrious list. I believed in Brad Stevens, I believed in Matt Howard, I believed in the Butler defense, and now I believe I will be served humble pie at lunch for the next week.

In what was easily the most painful championship game to watch possibly ever, Butler battled early before folding like a cheap tent. But as UConn settled down the Bulldogs just got more frazzled, shooting heavily contested long jumpers that only contributed to scoring droughts that seemed to last almost as long as my Physics class. A team renowned for their defense and hustle did some of that, but their inability to score was truly astounding. Butler missed 22 out of 23 shots in the start of the second half! It was one of the most atrocious offensive performances in the history of basketball, and they picked a heck of a night to do it. Butler shot 18.8% from the field. Butler shot 3-31 from inside the paint with no points inside in the entire first half! Yes the Huskies big men were solid but this reflects badly on Butler not well on UConn's D. The Bulldogs got open looks, they had layups that rolled around and dropped out, they had good looks at the basket, but just couldn't get anything to drop.

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A Standing O: The Madness March-es On

Like Russell, I am mourning the death of my bracket. First it was Louisville dealing me a nice shot in the family jewels before an uppercut from the most awful foul ever killed Pittsburgh--and my bracket. So now that the Madness has settled, I'm left without a ton to root for. But Alex O gives me some hope in his latest post:

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At the bottom of this post are the odds for the next 2 evenings of madness. This is what one resorts to when their bracket has blown up----- Texas, Purdue, and Pitt not good picks. At least I am ahead of Rochelle Rochelle in the NYaT pool!

I am sure I am not alone in rooting for the dogs--- and I don’t mean the Huskies---- they are either a pick ‘em or a favorite. I mean the underdogs: VCU, Richmond, and Butler. I’ll even throw in BYU, why not. I’ll root for Jimmer, who was graced with a name that somehow reminds me of the famous Johnny Cash song “A boy named Sue” --- worth a download.

Interesting side note is that VCU and Richmond make Richmond the first city to have 2 sweet 16 teams since LA in 2007. More on that go here.

Estimates place the total dollar amount of American office pools in excess of $3 billion, with the total cost in lost productivity in the neighborhood of $1.8 billion. Wow, how about them apples.

It was nice to see that Yahoo in their matchup breakdown includes the spreads. To me it is essential in doing any analysis, the oddsmakers in Vegas--- or I guess in the Caymans for the on-line bookies, do their hard work and tell us what the spread is. Sometimes I think there are wrinkles. VCU has blown out its last 3 opponents after barely getting in---- how much is that a factor in the spread vs. Florida State?

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Upping the Ante on our NCAA Tourney Pool

Let all your friends know your skills

If you thought bragging rights was a pretty sweet deal, the prize for winning the NYaT NCAA tourney pool is getting even better. From our own Alex O: "I will donate this XL t-shirt to winner of your NYaT tourney contest. Order has been placed. I like that it does not have a year on it."

That's right; you not only get bragging rights and the ability to pen your own guest post about how you whooped all our butts, but you also get an awesome t-shirt to let everyone know for years that you whooped people's butts in an NCAA tourney bracket. Put your mad skills to the test against the rest of the NYaT field.

Zero dollars to join, zero risk involved. So go sign up now. Directions are here in this first post. Goodluck!

Join NYaT's Tournament Pick'em and Win Blog Bragging Rights

March is halfway done but the Madness is only getting started. We're talking about the NCAA Tournament, a time when everyone has a team and dreams live and die on the sound of a buzzer. Here at NYaT we're keeping up the tradition of the blog league and anyone who wants to can join and take on college hoops expert Jay Hyne (hint: he's probably picking UConn) and the rest of the NYaT bloggers.

Follow this link to get you started: http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/62720/invitation?key=80dbee3a509eff71

What's the prize, you ask? A chance to be able to brag for an entire year that you are the best of the blog and the right to write your own blog post lauding your own picking ability. Last year, I finished 12th out of 13th in the NYaT league and this year I'm out for revenge. So try your best against NYaT's best and see if you can be King of the Blog on April 4th.

Three Reminders: Poll, Fantasy Baseball and NCAA Tourney Pick'em

Three reminders for you on this Tuesday night before LOST as the New York Rangers fight for their playoff lives with the Montreal Canadians.

First, we have the poll going on the right side for the best closer in New York. Right now, it's a runaway win, but there's still time to vote.

We also have a free Fantasy Baseball league with two open spots and a NCAA Tournament Pick'em League with NYaT bragging rights on the line.

Picture from the Albany Times Union

NYaT's Free Tournament Pick'em League

Are you interested in joining our free NCAA tournament pick'em league? Well the details are below so make sure to sign up to earn NYaT bragging rights. No cash involved--just the chance to reign supreme over all NYaT readers! And if you're interested in our fantasy baseball league, there are a few spots left.

Hello NYaT reader, I would like you to join our group in Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick'em! To accept the invitation, just follow this link. For reference, here's the group information. Group ID#: 118751 Password: nyat -- Tournament Pick'em Commissioner http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1

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The paradox: 2009-10 UConn men's basketball

I'm not sure what to make of this 2009-10 UConn men's basketball team anymore. Two days ago, on Saturday, they got embarrassed at home by Cincinnati, shooting 34% from the field and losing 60-48, their lowest point total since 2002. In doing so, they completely embarrassed Jim Calhoun, who had just returned after missing 7 games in 3.5 weeks, leading some to believe that the players had simply quit on their coach. Calhoun, in turn, said he was embarrassed by his team's performance and that it was one of the worst games of his entire career.

But today, just two days after the Cincinnati debacle, UConn delivered its first road win of the year by upsetting No. 3 Villanova in Philly. Every aspect of their game improved. The Huskies shot 48% from the field and 80% from the line, far exceeding their season average of 68%. Jerome Dyson neutralized Scottie Reynolds but grew fatigued from his efforts, shooting only 3-14 from the field for a total of 15 points. Kemba Walker picked up the slack, going 6-10 for 29 points (14-16 FT) with 9 boards, 3 assists, and only 2 TO.

Just an aside from Head Coach Emeritus Jimmy Dugan. Stanley...Stanley Robinson! You're still turning the ball over too much. Ten times in this last game. Now, now, now that's something I'd like you to work on...before next season.

Going into today's game, people were down on UConn. The Hartford Courant predicted that the Huskies would have to run the table in the regular season, or dominate (and perhaps even win) the Big East Tournament, just to make the NCAA tournament. It's hard to argue with that. Clearly, UConn dug itself a very deep hole. But today, the Huskies played intensely and with real passion. Their defensive effort was up with 8 blocks, and the team hit its free throws for once. Maybe Calhoun screamed especially loud at them in the locker room, berating them enough that they're scared into playing hard for him again. Who knows.

What I do know is that UConn has 2 tough home games coming up vs. WestVa and Louisville and another battle on the road at Notre Dame. But if the Huskies play those teams like they did against Villanova today, and if Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker don't get injured, they can still make a run.

College football needs a "No-Tampering" Rule

By now it's old news, but just in case you missed it, Jim Mora is out in Seattle, Pete Carroll is out at USC and into Seattle, Lane Kiffin is out at Tennessee and into Southern Cal. And UT fans are not happy about it.

But wait...there's more! Kiffin is not leaving Tennessee all by his lonesome. Let's take a look at who and what will be joining him at USC:

1. Monte Kiffin, defensive coordinator
2. Ed Orgeron, assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator
3. An entire class of 9 incoming mid-year recruits, whom Orgeron has instructed not to enroll in UT courses, lest they complicate the transfer process to USC.

As you might expect, all of this is having a devastating impact on Tennessee's recruiting class.

Personally, I am disgusted by the entire story. Please excuse my strong language, but how can anyone argue with the increasingly commonplace belief that today's coaches are whores on a neverending prowl for more money??

Pete Carroll, in his "long" 9-year tenure at USC, won 7 PAC-10 titles and 1.5 national titles. He was one of the faces of college football. Yet he is leaving to take an NFL job with the mediocre Seattle Seahawks, despite a mediocre track record in pro football (33-31 in 4 seasons with the Jets and Patriots). Sure, he'll probably make more money, but that's not the point. He is leaving behind three recruiting classes who enrolled at USC at least partly on the expectation that they would play for Carroll under Carroll's system. Now those players will play under Lane & Monte Kiffin under a distinctly Tennessee-flavored system.

And how can you not feel sorry for Tennesee? Sure, they might have seen this coming when Al Davis (who inexplicably refuses to abandon JaMarcus Russell!!) got fed up with Kiffin and cut him loose. But now Tennessee has lost its head coach, assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator, and defensive coordinator. Not to mention 9 mid-season recruits. And...some of their players in the upcoming season will be playing for their third coach in three years. Yeesh.

So what, if anything, should be done about this mess? To me, it's simple: the NCAA needs a no-tampering rule. The NBA has it (remember the Miami Heat getting busted for tampering with Pat Riley when he was still under contract to coach the Knicks?). The NFL has it (remember when Washington was alleged to have tampered with Albert Haynesworth when he was still on, ironically, Tennessee?). Well, some are calling for the NCAA to install a no-tampering rule, and I agree.

Here is the NFL's definition of tampering: the term tampering as used within the NFL refers to any interference by a member club with the employer/employee relationship of another club or any attempt by a club to impermissibly induce the person to seek employment with that club or with the NFL

Tell me why this couldn't work in the NCAA! Why should any team be allowed to step in between another team and its player or coach, and woo that person into abandoning his contract by offering more money. In the law, that's called "tortious interference in a business relationship" and it's illegal because in the context of sports, you're not just hiring a coach to help your own team -- you're helping your own team at the expense of the other teams.

Indeed, as the website states, a systematic effort to induce employees to leave their present employment and take work with another is unlawful when the purpose of such enticement is to cripple or destroy their employer rather than to obtain their skills and services in the legitimate furtherance of one's own business enterprise.

In my opinion, while USC was clearly trying to help itself by hiring Kiffin and most of his staff, the purpose was also to cripple Tennessee and any other team that poses a threat to USC's goal of winning the national championship next season. That's why teams spend big bucks to bring in big name coaches -- to get a staff whose skills they enjoy and nobody else does.

Besides, the entire story just reeks of greed. This isn't pro football, where players (like the coaches) follow the dollars. This is college football, and these recruits and players trust their future careers in the sport to their head coach. So when the coach jumps ship after one year and brings most of his coaching staff with him to some other program, he is deserting an entire team of unpaid collegiate student-athletes. It's not like Kiffin got a 250% raise. He went from making millions to making, possibly, another million on top of that. And for what? To return to USC, where he once coached? Grow up, Lane Kiffin. You had a great setup in Tennessee, coaching with your dad in the best conference in college football. Don't run at the first opportunity to return to what's comfortable. You could have done great things in the SEC. Fleeing back to Southern Cal makes you look like a liar and a coward, and that's just not fair to those Vols players.

Why Don't Teams Up By 3 Foul?

I need to figure something out. And I've needed to figure it out for a while. But this blog finally gave me the forum to ask the question. Why don't teams, when they're up by 3 points and only time left for one shot foul? Why do they give the other team a chance to hit a 3 and tie it up rather than foul and make it almost impossible for the other team to tie it up?

This happened in the Siena win over Ohio State. Ohio State was up by 3 points with time for one shot for Siena at the end of the first overtime. Instead of fouling on the Siena players, Ohio State allowed Ronald Moore to tie the game with a three (they would later also allow him to beat them with a three in the following OT which is a problem in and of itself).

So how could have this been avoided? Ohio State should have fouled Siena before they coucould attempt a shot. This way, the maximum amount of points they could have scored was two points. The chance they would have gotten another shot at the ball is minimum. They would have to make the first, miss the second, grab the rebound and score. The degree of difficulty of this is MUCH higher than making a three pointer.

Although it makes all the sense in the world, this doesn't seem to happen many times if ever. I'm not sure if Thad Matta sent his Buckeyes out there to foul, be he should have. Coaches are always worried about criticism that their methods will make the game boring or criticism that they're stopping the clock. But the point is not to avoid criticism, but to win, so I think more teams should think about fouling at the end of the game to preserve their leads.

Keeping the "Student" in "NCAA Student-Athlete"

Jay did so well last time, we decided to bring him back for another go around. Did I mention he is in law school? That may come out in this article. I think two of the most lightening-rod topics in college sports is whether student athletes should get paid and whether there should be a college football playoff. Jay's going to tackle the former, we'll let Barack take the latter. Since I can't turn on Sportscenter (or a Presidential press conference, it seems) without something about A-Rod, let's go to the other side of the salary spectrum. Let's see what Jay has to say about paying NCAA athletes.
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One of my friends at UConn Law recently wrote an article for the Connecticut Law Review in which she argued that NCAA athletes ought to be paid. Her main rationale was that because NCAA athletes generate massive revenues for the colleges at which they play, they should receive a share of the profit.

I couldn't disagree more. A full athletic scholarship is more than sufficient compensation, especially for the few student-athletes who turn pro. I understand that players such as Tim Tebow, Greg Oden, and Candace Parker are worth far more to their colleges than the value of their athletic scholarships. I also understand that the NCAA has become a highly commercialized industry. But let's look at the practical difficulties associated with paying NCAA student-athletes.

First, student-athletes are already being paid. NCAA colleges award more than $1.5 billion in scholarships every year. And the future value of the education received is even higher. How much more money will Luke "Don't Call Me Farva" Harangody make with a degree from Notre Dame than if he never escaped the McDonald's fry cooker? Besides, what about a women's volleyball player at Holy Cross? Do you think she generates more money for HC than she receives in the form of a full scholarship? No way. The education is far more valuable.

Second, a student-athlete who needs more money than his full scholarship provides has other resources. The NCAA Special Assistance Fund and the Student-Athlete Opportunity Fund provide financial resources so that colleges do not have to pay their players. Even if these two programs are not enough, athletes can apply for student loans. That's what all of us "regular" students have to do. Borrow money from the government to buy ramen noodles just like everyone else!

Third, there is the workers' compensation issue. Monetary compensation would place student-athletes under the definition of an "employee" in most states. Funding workers' compensation will cost schools money, since they would need to purchase insurance coverage. This would be especially problematic in some states, like Nevada, that specifically include college athletes in their definition of an "employee."

Fourth, there is the problem of unionization. Paying student-athletes would make them "wage earners" under the National Labor Relations Act. As wage earners, student-athletes would have the right to unionize and to engage in collective bargaining. All university policies and procedures would be negotiable, including the amount of pay, rules regarding transfers, practice regulations, and curriculum requirements. The NLRA might even allow student-athletes to strike. Imagine having to cancel the Final Four because the four teams decided to strike in order to force the schools to raise the players' stipend or salary. It is a terrifying thought. It cannot be allowed.

Fifth, what about tax law? Colleges don't pay tax on income directly related to carrying out their educational mission. But they are taxed on unrelated business income at the usual corporate rate. If student-athletes were paid, athletic programs probably would not be considered "substantially related" to the college's tax-exempt purposes, and thus college athletics would lose the tax-exempt status they currently have.

Sixth, schools will have trouble paying their student-athletes. In 2006, only 19 of the 119 Division 1-A football schools generated more revenue than expenses. As for the other 100 schools, the median net loss was $8.9 million. Paying student-athletes would require schools to cut other costs. Imagine the University of Texas School of Law firing a contracts professor because Mack Brown needs to pay a prized running back more than the University of Oklahoma is offering. Again, a terrifying thought. This sort of competition, if left unregulated, would destroy any hope of achieving parity in the NCAA. Not to mention the corruption. Remember "Happy" from the movie "Blue Chips"? Every school would have one. Oh my goodness gracious.

Seventh, there are Title IX issues. If schools pay their athletes, Title IX would require them to give female athletes the same or substantially the same amount of compensation as male athletes. Accordingly, to satisfy federal law, colleges may be forced to cut non-revenue-producing male sports.

I am convinced that paying student-athletes would be a disaster. It would widen the gap between the Haves (the University of Florida) and the Have-Nots (Bucknell University), therefore destroying whatever parity currently exists in college sports. It would lead to rampant corruption in the form of under-the-table enticements. And it would eliminate any remaining shreds of amateurism in the NCAA. I know that some student-athletes generate millions for their colleges, while they are left with "only" a free education, but we are talking about a very small percentage of all college athletes. As the TV commercial constantly reminds us, most NCAA student-athletes go pro in something other than sports. Similarly, most NCAA student-athletes are not Tim Tebow and do not generate millions for their schools. So let's treat them like regular students and keep them off the payroll.
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Great job again by Jay. Thanks again to him! I was always pretty indifferent if they paid student athletes or not but this certainly gives me a whole new perspective on the situation. Less than three weeks until my trip so before--and certainly during--that time you'll be seeing a lot more great posts from Jay.

Year of the Husky

Well WoWo did a great job in our first guest blog, but it's time to pass the torch. When I joined the Brandeis radio station, I was first on a show with "Broadway" Ben Wolinsky and "Jersey" Jay Hyne. So you're in good sports hands here.

Let me tell you a little more about Jason Hyne. Jay is studying to become a Doctor--a Juris Doctor. After graduating from Brandeis (where we met on our freshman hall), Jay went on to UConn Law School where he's currently finishing up his studies. Jay and I celebrated in pure, uninhibited joy when Aaron "F*ing" Boone hit a majestic shot into a Bronx night and celebrated when David Tyree found a football on the side of his helmet. We don't agree on hockey (he roots for the Demonic team from the Dirty Jerz, where he's originally from) or what constitutes a "sport", but that makes for so many fun debates. One place I'll certainly agree he has a little more knowledge than I have is college basketball. Here's his post:
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It's official: UConn basketball is back. The men and women are ranked #1 together for the first time since December 2003, just a few months before both teams would win the national championship. The men are 21-1 with an undefeated road record and 8 wins against ranked teams. The women are equally hot at 21-0 and haven't lost a first place vote in the rankings since the second week of the season.

Good things come in threes, and the UConn men are vying for their third national title. The timing fits, too. They won it all in 1999 and 2004, and a championship this year would continue their pattern of winning a title every five years. The women are a different story, cutting down the nets in 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004. Typing that sentence still gives me goosebumps. Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma have already cemented their places among the best college hoops coaches of all time, and if Geno takes his girls all the way this season (wow, does that sound bad) he might overtake Pat Summitt as the best coach in women's basketball history. Tennessee fans would argue with that, as Summitt has won 8 titles versus Geno's soon-to-be total of 6, but Auriemma's championships have come over a much shorter period of time. 6 championships in 14 years is more impressive than 8 titles over 22 years. Especially when you consider that Geno will have won all but one of his championships within the last 9 years. Plus, Geno has two undefeated seasons (this year could make it three) compared to Summitt's one.

But as any college basketball fan will tell you, it is much harder for a men's program to stay dominant than a women's program. That is why Calhoun's performance this season has been even more impressive than his UConn "counterpart" (read: rival). Consider their 2006 Elite Eight loss to the University That Shall Not Be Named. UConn dominated the regular season with a roster set a record for producing FOUR first round draft picks (Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, and Josh Boone) as well as one second round pick (Denham Brown). That team was loaded and was immediately decimated by the draft.

Huskies fans wondered how Calhoun, a man known more for his love of the F word than for his patience, would react to a rebuilding phase. But Calhoun proceeded to calmly reconstruct a champion. He waited for A.J. Price to recover from a brush with death (brain hemorrhage) and a brush with the law (stealing laptops). He allowed players with tremendous upside potential to develop (Jerome Dyson, Jeff Adrien). He searched for recruits near and far (Kemba Walker from the Bronx, Stanley Robinson from Birmingham, Alabama). He even found Hasheem Thabeet in Tanzania.

The team Calhoun built has been slow to develop, slower than any other UConn squad since 1990, when Tate George hit The Shot. The Huskies actually missed the 2006-07 NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years. They earned a 4 seed in 2007-08, only to lose to San Diego in the first round. Aside from stuttering through a few Erin Andrews interviews, Calhoun seemed to take it all in stride. He let Curtis Kelly and local favorite Dougie Wiggins walk. He shrugged off Thabeet's insane comments on the cover of ESPN the Magazine. And he stopped screaming about his biggest UConn bugaboo - atrocious free throw shooting - at postgame press conferences.

So, where do we stand? The team has finally realized its potential. Throughout the last two seasons, UConn played like a bunch of scared freshmen and sophomores (which they were) and would fold if they trailed by more than eights points. Now, they have a swagger that is supposed to come with a roster full of talented juniors and seniors. They are leading the league in blocks for the eighth straight year and have absolutely dominated on the road. From their comeback win at Gonzaga in December to their win at Louisville only hours after being named the top team in the country, this team is simply intimidating. Thabeet's presence inside cannot be measured by numbers, although he is easily the leading shotblocker in the country. I have seen countless big men literally run away from the basket because of Thabeet's wingspan, which is about two inches shorter than the alien that killed Dr. Okun in Independence Day. The guard play has been tremendous as well, with Price and Dyson averaging over 10 ppg and Walker not far away with 9. And then there is Jeff Adrien, who can sleepwalk through a double-double against just about anyone.

While the #1 spot has been a revolving door this season, most of those teams have faltered in big games. UNC lost to BC, Pitt lost to Louisville, Duke lost to Wake Forest (and got crushed by Clemson shortly thereafter), and Wake Forest has lost to everybody. UConn, on the other hand, just keeps getting stronger. The fans can sense it, too. I attended the UConn-Providence game in Storrs, and the place was absolutely packed. There were countless chants of Num-Ber One and the players lived up to the billing. The people of Connecticut know that something special is happening. When the women travel to North Carolina to play the #2 Tar Heels on national TV, and crush them by 30 points, you know what's coming. When both students and regular fans are lined up outside Gampel for two hours in 5-degree windchill just to get in, you know a championship is on its way. When you know that the only way you can lose is if Thabeet picks up three fouls in the first three minutes, you know you are The Contender. While I think the Huskies could afford to lose a game or two to keep their egos intact, a #1 seed seems likely, and if that happens, watch out. It is an exciting time to be in Connecticut right now.
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Thanks to Jay for that article. I, too, am a big Husky fan. Being from New York, there's not really a college team I identify with, so I sort of attached myself to Connecticut when they had Ray Allen and Israeli legend Doron Sheffer in the backcourt. I'm glad to see they're back in national prominence and I'm looking forward to watching how they do in the tournament.

We'll have some more of these guest blogs coming up...thanks to Jay and Ben for their great work so far!