Guards Rule The World

Before I begin, I have to give a shout-out to the homie, B-Lew, aka Brandon Lewis. He’s been telling me that guards rule the world for years, and I have refused to acknowledge it, but after what I witnessed over the weekend, I am finally a believer. With that being said…

Am I the only one who got all their Final Four picks WRONG??? I feel like the biggest dummy in the world for screaming “down goes Frazier,” and the #1 seeds that I picked to lose both ended up winning. I picked Louisville, due to their frontcourt, Pitt for the same thing, Memphis for the SAME THING, and OU for the same f*****g thing, and every single one of those teams let me down. The common theme of the opponents that beat them is all of their backcourts (with the exception of Memphis) were out-played. I figured the teams I picked would get just enough help from their guards to advance, but I was definitely wrong. But enough of the squads who didn’t make it; this is about the Final Four, the teams who found a way to make it to the Motor City, and the biggest reason they made it is due to their guard play.

Lets take a look at last year’s Kansas National Title team, and their three-headed monster of Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, and Sherron “The Chi-town Thrilla, UT Killa” Collins. We could even look at Memphis with Derrick Rose, Antonio Anderson, Willie Kemp, and that rotund brother that played back-up PG for Rose (mind’s drawing a blank, but you get the point). That matchup was dominated by guards, and in the end, they made the biggest difference in the game.

Fast-forward this year, and lets look at the biggest difference-makers left. With UConn, you have AJ Price, Craig Austrie, and Kemba Walker. Michigan State has Kalin Lucas (the Big Ten Player of the Year, and someone who’s game I used to HATE last year), as well as the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in Travis Walton, whose ridiculous man-to-man defense terribly exposed the homie, Terrence Williams.

As for the other game, there’s no need to mention of value of Ty Lawson. If he plays his best, they’ll win by a million. Hell, if he plays bad, they still have a great chance to win. You also have to account for Wayne Ellington, who seems to be forgotten, but is still extremely effective, and is capable of a huge game anytime he steps on the floor. I’ll admit that I don’t know much about Villanova’s guards, except for what I saw over the weekend. The three-headed trio of Scottie Reynolds, Reggie Redding, and Corey Fisher (who also happens to be the most gangsta guard in the tourney, due to being the kin of NY former kingpin, Guy Fisher) are all pretty solid and steady, and that’s truly what you need this time of year. We’ll see how things shake themselves, but I can tell you one thing:

I’m not making any more predictions. Be easy.

-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com

Where's the Energy...

BOOMER SOONER is down for the count...my energy is sapped right now. Debating on doing a post either later today or tomorrow. Not sure...

My head hurts...

Oh, and by the way, this is our 200th post. Thanks to all the readers who support ETSF, I really do appreciate you all. There's been so much opportunity for me personally to grow that its been amazing...

Damn this sounds like a suicide letter. LOL...

Big ups to the only other writer on ETSF, Mr. Kenny Masenda aka Soul On Ice. Poetic Wax is an understatement of his talent...

The LSC will have a revolution, it will not be televised...

Oklahoma's 2008-09 squad might've been the greatest light-skinned team of all-time since '97 Arizona with Bibby, Miles Simon, Bennett Davidson, and AJ Bramlett...

Fantasy Baseball will consume my life just like Fantasy Basketball and Football...

Are there people here that want to play Fantasy Baseball???

Christina Milian looks really good, oh boy...

I miss reading Calvin and Hobbes, ish was hilarious...

A-Rod needs to just man up, do some pushups and watch The Wire nonstop...

I'm going to make a real post, soon...

Michael Buffer announcing me at my birthday might be the biggest dream I have in life...

I take that back, I have a bigger dream. But I can't tell you all about it, yet...

My mama is the truth, even though she scares the mess out of me still...

WHY CAN'T ANYONE FROM OKLAHOMA MAKE JUMPERS?????

When does college football start again????

Mad I missed LeBron on 60 minutes, gotta find it online...

Like Paul Wall said, "The Internets is goin nuts..." my dudes in my network are killing the game...www.mrswagger.com - www.thefreshxpress.com - www.wtfmoments.org

BOOMER SOONER

-Ed.
http://www.edthesportsfan.com/

The Sweet 16 Rants (Part 2 of 4)

I swear this has been the weakest NCAA Tournament I've seen in a long time. Its probably just a random year, but it's been no upsets (Arizona does not count) no buzzer beaters, and no GUS JOHNSON calls!

In the Sweet 16 games, there have been 6 blowouts, 1 horribly played close game (Xavier vs. Pitt), and one ugly but competitive game (Kansas vs. Michigan State) and its been poor viewing for real. Anyway, let me know what you think of the games and stay tuned for the weekend games.

Oklahoma 84, Syracuse 71 - I got two words for you all.

BOOMER...SOONER...

Oh, and besides that did you see my dude Blake Griffin do the nasty dunk on the baseline and bust his face in the process? It takes a dude with a mean disposition and total disregard for humanity. Gotta love it.

Louisville 103, Ariona 64 - I'm not really sure what happened, I didn't get to watch any of this game. However, you beat a team with 3 potential NBA draft picks from Arizona (Budinger, Hill, Wise) by dang near 40 points...that's amazing. Lousiville might be a major problem. Jeez-us.

North Carolina 98, Gonzaga 77 - UNC is looking like they are back in rare form, and Tywan Lawson looks healthy. I hope Oklahoma can keep up, this should be a great matchup with the Sooners. Oh yeah, and Craig...I'll take that $10 bet on Oklahoma.

Michigan State 67, Kansas 62 - Michigan State rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit, holding Kansas to 26 second-half points and advancing to the Elite 8. Michigan State reminds me of the Knicks in the 90's, just ugly nasty basketball. I'm going to go ahead and say now that Louisville will roll Sparty (sorry Mel) by 15 points.

By the way, how's everyone's bracket doing? LOL, I guess that wasn't an appropriate question...can Sluggo and Phil hang on to their positions? We'll find out. Enjoy the youtube clip of Blake brushing his face on danger while dunking the ball like a beast that he is.

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

The Sweet 16 Rants (Part 1 of 4)

Pitt 60, Xavier 55 - First of all, I watched all of the games yesterday. Those 4 games might've been the worst college basketball games of all-time. My people who reside here in Cincinnati, I feel bad for you. I think there were a couple of suicide attempts last time I checked, but I don't blame 'em. Xavier played like they just went thru bootcamp during half-time then had to come back and play the 2nd half. I swear, was I the only one who thought Pitt was throwing the game? At one point, Big East player of the year DeJuan Blair got the ball in the post, roughly 3-4 feet away from the basket and attempted a fairly easy hook shot on the smaller defender.

I swear this dude put a dent in the backboard.

He hit no rim whatsoever, and the ball ricocheted about 6 feet in the opposite direction. Let me be perfectly clear, Xavier should've won but they played like horsesh*t too. Oh, and as far as I'm concerned, that three that Levance Fields hit at the end of the game does not give him "onions", if you watched that game he had been missing horribly on jumpers all game and mostly hitting long. At the end of the game, dude decides to try a 25 footer with time running out on the clock, he had no choice. Sad thing is, Pitt is my bracket champion. I really wish I had a redo at this point.

UConn 72, Purdue 60 - Watched none of this game, yet just by watching the highlights and past games…UConn is coasting to the Final 4. Yet, I still don’t believe. Purdue was ill-equipped to beat UConn, and Missouri is going to be ready. UConn better ramp it up or its going to be a rap.

Villanova 77, Duke 54 - We had a couple of folks over my house and we were watching this game and I just kept noticing something about Duke that I picked up on last year.

Duke is a mid-major team.

Now before you scream blasphemy and other slurs, curse words, and degrading my mama let me explain. Look at Duke’s team, they are loaded with shooters and they have no big man. In fact, ever since Coach K learned the “Princeton Offense” which focuses on motion, spacing, and fast pace, two things have happened. #1. Duke hasn’t been to the Final 4 since #2. They have not recruited a great big man. Let’s be clear, they haven’t had a good big man since Oklahoma City’s own (and Candace Parker’s own, even though I have no idea how it happened…) Shelden Williams aka “The Landlord”. He might suck now, but Shelden was a dominant force in the low-post and was a guaranteed 15/10/5 blocks a night. Now, Duke has 6’8” Kyle Singler as their biggest player on the court. He’s a helluva player, but on another team he’s maybe a 3 or 4. He’s Duke’s center! I haven’t seen Duke have this little athletic ability since, well…ever. Gerald Henderson is the only great athlete they have. Scheyer’s slow, Paulus is Paulus, Nolan Smith just isn’t good enough, Elliot Williams isn’t seasoned enough, and Singler’s a JV version of Detlef Schrempf.

- quick tangent, as most of you know I hate Duke. However, over the past year I’ve taken a liking (pause) to Gerald Henderson. I hate the clean-cut, goody 2-shoes boys that Coach K would bring in on past teams. So for the record I’ve only liked Corey Maggette, Dahntay Jones, and Jeff Capel. end tangent.

Anyway, Villanova exposed Duke as they simply had better athletes and played exceptional defense. However, I think they play just like Xavier, and if that’s the case then Pitt should find a way to beat ‘Nova. We’ll see.


Missouri 102, Memphis 91 - Due to regionality, I didn’t get to watch most of this game. However, I should’ve been paying more attention when I picked this matchup. When you realize that Memphis lost 3 NBA players off of their squad last year, and they replaced all-world PG Derrick Rose with all-american tweener PG/SG Tyreke Evans, I should’ve been paying more attention. Plus, Missouri plays just like Memphis, running up and down the court with reckless abandon and with similarly athletic players. Plus, they play D. Memphis had no shot, and I should’ve known it. My bad.

DID I MISS ANYTHING, WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS? EXPECTATIONS FOR TONITE? OH YEAH ONE MORE THING…

BOOMER SOONER…GET AT ME.

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

The Four-Point Play (Sweet 16 Edition)

ONE - And Then There Were Four: Who Will Be Representing in Detroit?

For me, this is easy. The four are going to be Louisville, Pitt, Memphis, and Oklahoma. I’m tired of the bandwaggoning Syracuse fans, who probably couldn’t tell me who Johnny Flynn was before the six-OT game. Oklahoma will take care of them. On top of that…you know what, I’m going to stop there for now. My bracket may be garbage now, but those Final Four picks are on point. (Ed's note - Ed's picks suck, he had Wake Forest in the Final 4, VCU in the Elite 8, Gonzaga beating UNC, and other absurd picks. Shoulda went chalk. Please note, do not confuse Ed The Sports Fan as being Ed The Knowledgeable Fan, clearly this isn't the case.)

TWO - No Big Surprise: What’s up with the #1 Seeds This Year?

Simply put, anyone who has watched college basketball all year saw this coming. None of the number ones are playing like true number ones (well, UConn is, but I’ll get to them in a minute). WTF is Louisville doing in a tug-of-war with Siena? UNC had difficulty putting LSU away, and it truly took a great second-half performance by Ty Lawson for them to pull that off. As for UConn, don’t be fooled by these two blowouts we’ve seen so far. UNC did the same thing last year, and eventually got their thang busted wide open against Kansas in the semi-finals (I still remember Billy Packer saying “this thing is OVER,” and that was with seven minutes left in the FIRST HALF). In my opinion, it’s a matter of time before the same thing happens to UConn. As for Pitt, I like them a lot, but remember: it’s still Pitt, and it’s still March, which still makes me nervous. I hope Jamie Dixon proves me wrong.


THREE - They Don’t Make ‘Em like They Used to: How Much Closer is the NFL to becoming The National Flag Football League?

This sh*t is getting more and more ridiculous every year. I’m all for safety of the players, but I’m more convinced that the NFL is ten seconds away from becoming flag. I think all of the changes are stupid, but there’s one that truly, TRULY bugs me. They’ve now outlawed hitting a defenseless receiver, and if you do so, it’s a 15-yard penalty. Let’s be for real here. I mean, how else should I say it? GETTING HIT IS A PART OF THE DAMN GAME!!! If the quarterback throws the ball to a receiver, and a defender is near, you’re supposed to separate the ball from man, or, in other words, blow his ass up. No one is trying to kill anybody; they’re simply making a play on the ball. If this keeps up, I may mess around, and go try out for Michael Irvin’s reality show after all. It ain't like I’ll have to worry about getting hit anymore.

AND 1 - Shut the *bleep* Up: Why Are People Trippin’ on The Big Aristotle?

Recently, The Big Homie, aka Shaquille O’Neal, challenged LeBron James to a pre-game skit contest. Okay, it isn’t really called that, but that was the first thing I could think of. Anyway, I’ve heard people saying the Suns should not be doing it, because they’re not in the playoffs, they suck, etc, etc. Here’s what those same people either forget or ignore. Shaq’s got four rings already. If he wants to have fun, he’s more than entitled to do just that. In short, quit hatin’.

Be easy.

-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com

The ETSF All-Goon Team

At ETSF, we take pride in not only talking about the usual happenings in sports, but also the talk that’s shared in barbershops, basketball courts, and amongst the homies. With this particular piece, we’re highlighting certain players that normally get shunned by mainstream sports media, but are loved and revered by our breed of particular fan. They are none other than…the goonies!

You’ve got to be able to hoop, and you must be a valuable part of your team. You can’t just be a tough guy, and be a sorry player. That doesn’t make you a goon; it just makes you sorry. Most importantly, in the words of Bishop from Juice, and O-Dog from Menace to Society, you just “don’t give a f***.”

So without further ado, here is the first-ever ETSF All-Goon Basketball Team:

Point Guard, Delonte West - Delonte West has always been someone who doesn’t get all the shine, but he’s also one of the most effective players on the Cavaliers. We all know he can score the ball and has handle, but he’s also an underrated defender, and will be a key piece to the Cavs title hopes this season. However, after looking at Delonte, besides the fact he's got the random red growth on his face, doesn't he look like an extra or stunt double for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony? Delonte Red-Bone...lol

Shooting Guard, Stephen Jackson - Stephen Jackson may be one of the more underrated players in the league (21 pts/5 reb/7 asts), which is not hard to do when you play in Golden State, and you’re hardly ever on national television. The man can shoot, score, handle, and will go play D as well. If people are willing to look past what’s easy to criticize, they’ll see this man is a LEGIT basketball player and a leader on his team. Plus, to keep his own teammates from being in a potentially horrible situation at the strip club, dude breaks up a fight/melee by pulling out the heat and shooting in the air. That is the kind of take charge attitude we all need on our basketball team.

Small Forward, Ron Artest - We all know that no team of this caliber would be complete without Ron Artest on board. He’s been tremendous on every squad he’s played on, and now he’s helping the Rockets move up in the Western Conference. We all know he’s a defensive presence, but he can also put the ball in the hole in a variety of ways. Besides all that, he's made every goon move a goon would make...fight random people at any time, started a record label, got ridiculous parts, logos, statements in his haircuts, and would probably open hand smack you in front of your girl and dare you to do something. My kind of dude.

Power Forward, Kenyon Martin - K-Mart has been one of my favorite players, since he was swatting away shots and dunking all over people’s heads in Cincinnati. He was the best big man in college basketball, the #1 pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, one of the up-and-coming power forwards in basketball, and, now he’s doin’ his thing for the Denver Nuggets. Now, he's knocking down Trina too, and to prove it he's got a huge tattoo on his neck with Trina's lipstick imprints (times 12) and its so outlandish I feverishly think its absurd yet Ed wants one simultaneously. Oh, and I got to mention he’s from the crib (Dallas, STAND UP).

Center, Rasheed Wallace - ‘Sheed is the undisputed leader of the squad. People have known about him since his days at North Carolina, the Bullets, Blazers, and now the Pistons. He’s a true old-school player, always been one of the most unguardable power forwards in the league, and whether you love him or hate him, someone you would always love to have on your team. Plus, he’s the perennial leader in techs, and while some may question his antics, you can’t question the fact that Rasheed Wallace is a champion, and he wears #36 which in my books is a goon number for someone in the NBA.

Coach, John Chaney - John Chaney is one of the greatest coaches the game of basketball has ever seen, and while it was close between him and John Thompson (Ken’s favorite coach of all-time), Chaney gets the nod to lead our squad. His former players love him, and cats like us do as well. I’ll never forget his post-game conference after a Temple-UMass game, when he threatened to kill John Calipari (it’s even funnier, since they are friends now), and when he sent in a goon to foul St. Joseph’s John Bryant, and the goon actually ended up breaking O’Bryant’s arm. The reason was because he felt the referees were missing calls against his team. What makes it even more classic is what he said after the game: “I’m going to send in what we used to do years ago. I’m going to send in the goons.” Believe it or not, he would be one of the best ones to keep this team in line.

Is there someone we forgot? Isn't Shaq an easy honorable mention? What about A.I.? Who are your favorite goons? Let us know...

Be easy.

-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com

Unsportsmanlike Conduct - Chalk It Up...

Every Monday, Ed The Sports Fan brings you the biggest storylines over the past weekend so that you can be thoroughly entertained like when you saw Memphis losing to Cal-State Northridge with 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter and immediately realizing that your bracket might go up in flames. Oh boy.

1. My Bracket Is Now A Coaster, Should've Picked All Favorites... - Here are some thoughts me and SB had about the 1st two rounds of the NCAA Tournament...

The Big East is what we thought it was. The Big "Beast" lost only twice in the NCAA tournament. I mean, six of out the remaining 16 teams are from the Big East! So much for my ramblings on the ACC being the better conference. Speaking of which...

The ACC was NOT what we thought it was. Only UNC and Duke are in the Sweet 16. Maryland got it's ass kicked by Memphis. The other ACC teams didn't even make it out of the first round. Wake Forest didn't even bother to show up against Cleveland State, thus torpedoing my bracket (I had Wake in the Final Four for some reason), Boston College quit in the second half against USC, and Florida State and Clemson had no business losing to Big Ten dregs Wisconsin and Michigan respectively. I guess the ACC was a bit overrated after all.

Arizona bailed out the NCAA Selection Committee. The NCAA Selection committee covered their own ass in pairing Arizona against Utah in the first round. UTAH??!!! I mean, who was the 5th-seed and who really was the 12th-seed? Are you kidding me? Look for Arizona's run to come to a resounding THUD against Louisville in the Sweet 16.

The Play-In Game is played out. Someone needs to take this concept out back and shoot it. I mean, do we really need the Play-In Game? It's nothing more than an embarrassment and a money grab for the schools involved and the NCAA. And despite what the NCAA is telling everyone, the Play-In Game is NOT a part of the NCAA tournament!

2. Jay Cutler vs. The Denver Broncos - Ok look, at this point the dissension between Broncos' QB Jay Cutler and the Broncos organization is in a tailspin. Its like a relationship with your girlfriend and she openly tells you that she really wants to try and pursue a relationship with her previous boyfriend (Matt Cassel) the comes to find out that she's re-married (to the Chiefs) and now says that she wants you and only you. ARE YOU NUTS, if that happened to me she'd get 86'd to the curb ASAP. Cutler's never going to buy into Denver now, and if your a Broncos' executive thinking long term, you need to make the move so that Cutler does not become a cancer. Its their own fault, and it takes a big man to look aside differences. But guess what, not everyone is a big enough man to accept that. Its easy to talk about someone else dealing with it, but until you go thru it then shut your yap. He doesn't want to be there, the team made him feel unwanted, and your telling me (sports prognosticators) that he should quit being sensitive and stay there? Please...

3. The Syracuse Bandwagon... - In a recent Facebook message note that I've been heavily engaged in for the past week, I've noticed that all of a sudden everyone is a HAYOOGE 'Cuse fan. "They're going all the way!" One FB friend said, which I then retorted, "Can you name one great Syracuse player before Carmelo Anthony?" I got silence. (By the way, Billy Owens, John Wallace, Derrick Coleman, Pearl Washington, and Rony Seikaly would have all been acceptable answers...) Just like my man Kenny followed up with later, its a reason that they were ranked #20 most of the season. They have talent, and a pretty good coach, but they are sporadic and extremely streaky. So now they're supposed to win the whole thing? Y'all letting 6 OT's fool you? Come on now, I expect better...


Unsportsmanlike Conduct - Where Is Gus Johnson??? RISE & FIRE! - Ok, I think its a given that Gus Johnson is everyone's favorite announcer for CBS. Yet, I swear every good game that has been called has been done by Verne Lundquist, who has as much juice on the mic as Eskimo's in Alaska. Not much. Gus Johnson d@mn near has an annuerism, stroke, and cramps all while spitting glory and angst as game winning shots, defensive plays of genius, and utter stupidity happen right before him. I demand that CBS fix this now, because the public is clamoring for more Gus (nh) and it needs to happen NOW!

Is Gus Johnson the best commentator ever? Does he even touch Marv Albert? What about Keith Jackson for college football? Let me know, and hope your brackets are still alive.

Shout out to King Phil and Forna Funky Fixation as they lead the ETSF Bracket Challenge. Ed is currently is 32nd out of 50, Ken is 39th out of 50. Obviously we have no idea what we are talking about.

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

We'll Miss You Eric Maynor

RIP to my bracket by the way. I had VCU going to the Elite 8, and they should've beat UCLA.

Yeah I know, I'm an idiot. Thanks for telling me, again.

His status from ESPN's Chad Ford on his upcoming draft status:

The good: One of the purest point guards in the country, Maynor has excellent court vision and creativity. And throughout most of his career, he has posted an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio. On top of that, he has turned himself into an impressive scorer with deep range on his jump shot.

The bad: Maynor plays in a weak conference. With the exception of a few excellent performances in the NCAA tournament as a sophomore, he rarely has gotten to show off his talent against the best competition. He struggled in VCU's one big nonconference game this season versus Oklahoma, going just 5-for-19 from the field and turning the ball over eight times.

He also needs to add strength, isn't a super athlete and sometimes tries to do too much with the ball.

The upside: To me, Maynor would be the biggest draft sleeper. He has all the tools to be an excellent NBA point guard. If he were playing for Duke or Kansas, he'd be in the lottery conversation right now. If he can have a big game in the opening round against UCLA, one of the top defensive teams in the country, I believe he could crack the lottery in June.

Hope you go to the Thunder, or somewhere where we can see you blossom. Thanks for the memories. MAYNOR 4 PREZ (after Obama)



Do any of you guys got anyone your gonna be sad to leave for the league, or just finish they career? I know I feel that way about Maynor and Blake Griffin (who's daddy is an Alpha) but who are your guys?

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

The Four-Point Play (March Madness Is Here Edition)

(Ed's Note: If you haven't signed up for the 1st Annual ETSF March Madness Pool (Powered By Dime Magazine) then sign up here. Times running out!)

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=20500

ONE - "Down Goes Frazier! Down Goes Frazier!" Which number one seed will fall first?

Mark my words: UConn will lose first. I hate to say it, because I truly do like the Connecticut Huskies, but they miss Jerome Dyson BADLY right now. They’re leaning on AJ Price to do it all in the backcourt right now, and that’s not gonna get the job done. If their frontcourt plays out of their minds, then it may make up for it, but they’re already pretty good as it is, and I really don’t know if they can play much better. I just don’t see Pitt having trouble getting to the Final Four, or Louisville. UNC should be straight too, as long as Ty Lawson is ready to go.

TWO - More Valuable: Great Frontcourt or Great Guard Play?

Conventional wisdom says guards rule the world, and I’m inclined to agree. Then I took a look at the last team to repeat as national champions in college basketball. No disrespect to Florida’s backcourt, but they won those titles based on their frontcourt being superior to everyone else’s. Hell, they even had the nerve to compare Joakim Noah to Magic *bleeping* Johnson!!! I see Pitt having that same factor this year, as well as Memphis, Oklahoma, Louisville, and even Texas, even though UT does have AJ Abrams in the backcourt.

THREE - Who are your favorite players and teams from March Madness of all-time?

For me, it’s easily the Fab Five teams of the early-90’s, with C-Webb, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson. You can also put the 1990 and 1991 Runnin’ Rebels teams up here, as well as Arizona’s 2001 team with Jason Gardner and Gilbert Arenas in the backcourt, and Richard Jefferson, Michael Wright, and Loren Woods in the frontcourt. Other teams include three 2003 squads; the Texas Longhorns (even though I hate UT), led by TJ Ford, Royal Ivey, James Thomas, and Brandon Mouton, the OU Sooners with “Flawless” Hollis Price, Quannas White, Ebi Ere, and Big Kevin Bookout, and the Syracuse team with Carmelo, Jerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick, and Billy Edelin.

AND ONE - Brother President Has Spoken: Who Do You Have Winning it All?

I gotta admit that it was pretty funny watching Coach Jeff Capel get aggravated when a reporter brought up President Obama saying that OU won’t win, because they don’t play enough players. As much as I love OU, the prez is telling the truth (I still have them going far, though). He has three number one seeds in the Final Four, which is way too many this year, but he’s far from being the only one guilty. There’s just been too much inconsistency with the top teams all season long. For now though, it’s time to get ready. The best time of the year is only hours away…

Be easy.

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

The '92 Fab 5 of Michigan vs. The '90 Bad Boys of UNLV

(I was going to write about my favorite team, the 1997 Arizona Wildcats, but I was sitting here last night reading Kenny's article at UNLV's 1990-91 squad, then I watched some stuff on YouTube on the Fab 5 of Michigan and I was just thinking about how nice they were. Then I slept on it. This morning, when I woke up...the inspiration hit me. Here it goes...)

The game of all games. The Michigan Fab 5 vs. the Runnin' Rebels of UNLV. In the early 90's, this is the gold standard of what college hoops meant to the upcoming generation x'ers, y'ers, and most notably the hip-hop generation. They were from all across the nation, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, L.A. Some became superstars in the NBA, some had nice careers, some never made it. Who would win in a mythical battle of supremacy? Where would they play this game? What's the middle-ground, neutral site between Michigan and Nevada? OKLAHOMA CITY OF COURSE! (Boo's from the audience) Hey, its my article, they can play wherever I choose! The Ford Center it is. Lets take a look at the squads.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE...

Intimidation 101: The 1990 and 1991 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

My first memory of March Madness is of these UNLV basketball teams. They were, by far, one of the best and most feared teams in college basketball, then and ever since. They included Greg Anthony running the show, Stacey Augmon as their defensive specialist, Anderson Hunt as a deadly shooter, and, of course, Dallas’ own Larry Johnson.

Simply put, it was the first time I watched basketball, saw two teams in warm-ups, and knew a game was over before it even started.

In a 34-game span, they won by an average, AN AVERAGE, of 27.3 points per game. They would smash on people in the Big West Conference, smash on folks in the bigger conferences, so either way you looked at it, they were the real deal. The only other team that comes to mind, given them being in a small conference but still smashing on big schools, is the 2008 Memphis Tigers. Had they finished the job last year (I’m is still sick about that finish), they might have had the torched passed to them. Anyway…

Their swagger was that authentic; they were just that gangsta. The orchestrator of this collection of talent was Tark the Shark, Jerry Tarkanian. He was able to get the most out of all his players, allowing them to hoop and play at a pace that flustered, frustrated, and pretty much pissed off all their opponents, and even when the mainstream would hate on them (same thing that happened with the prior Georgetown Hoyas and Fab Five Michigan team soon after), he had his player’s backs. Nolan Richardson, the former Arkansas Razorbacks legend, says UNLV is the best team he’s ever seen, and is not sure that anyone else is even close. The Duke Blue Devils, the team most people love to hate (me included), had to see UNLV in the tournament twice. Even as much as I hate Duke, I’ve never accused them of being scared of anybody…except for those UNLV teams back in the day. UNLV destroyed them in the title game in 1990, but came up short in the semi-final the next year. To this day, I’m convinced UNLV lost that game, partly because they didn’t take Duke seriously.

So for me, this is my favorite time of the year, because it allows us to see great teams, great players, great stories, and it allows us to reminisce, and take trips down memory lane, and it’s impossible to take that trip without acknowledging one of the most dominant runs in modern college basketball history.
Be easy.

-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com

P.S. If you haven't signed up for the 1st Annual ETSF March Madness Pool (Powered By Dime Magazine) then sign up here.
http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=20500

Unsportsmanlike Conduct - Fill Out Those Brackets

First off, if you haven't signed up for the 1st Annual ETSF March Madness Pool (Powered By Dime Magazine) then sign up here.

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=20500

Now, with that being said. I really don't have much energy to make a post today. I've been up all night working (I do have a real 8-5 job) and recovering from a long weekend. Shout out to my boy Deontray for his 23rd b-day (bar crawl for the ages), shout out to Mel G for her 30th b-day in Vegas, and shout out to all my peoples who get it in playing Taboo. You know who you are.

Are you surprised with the bracket? I'm not, and I think the committee did a fine job. Would've liked to seen St. Mary's get in there because Patty Mills is a problem. Other than that, no qualms. In fact, I'm going to try and give you live coverage of the Dayton Regional as Pitt takes over Dayton, Ohio in hopes of getting to the final four. Plus, the hometown Oklahoma State Cowboys will be there in full force as well. (Might have to breakout one of my O-State shirts) Kenny was going to fly down to Miami to cover the regional down there, but evidently there won't be enough scantily clad women out and about yet because of the weather and Kenny said F it then he ain't going.

Kenny will be highlighting the most feared team in NCAA College Basketball history tomorrow. Any idea of what team he's talking about?

Plus, Ed will discuss his favorite all-time NCAA Champion. Here's a hint, they two best players were both super light-skinned. If you can figure that team out, I might have a special surprise for you. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Finally, here's my Final Four prediction. I'm sure you all will agree with me in these choices. (Yeah right)

MIDWEST - Louisville
WEST - Memphis
EAST - Pittsburgh
SOUTH - Oklahoma

I've got Pittsburgh beating Louisville for the 2009 National Championship. There, I said it. How nuts am I?

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

The Upset Special

Is the reason why you watch the NCAA Tournament. March Madness, if you will. You watch it just like you watch a movie, a thrilling TV series (The Wire, 24 comes to mind), or when the club lets out at 2 in morning and you see a fight break out, and you know better that its time to go yet...you just can't stop watching.

Ok wait, I drifted for a second. My point is, that's what makes March Madness so great, the unexpected. It wouldn't be fun if someone told you AHEAD of time that Virginia Commonwealth was gonna upset Duke, you wouldn't have all of a sudden irrationally said, "I knew VCU could do it" and lied to your fellow man and said you had them going in your bracket. If someone told you that George Mason would make a run for the ages into the Final Four, you'd call them a pure and unadulterated idiot. Because it just sounds blasphemous. Stephen Curry makes us (light-skinned people) believe that the miracle is possible.

Or that the majors of college basketball aren't as major as we think. Those one-and-done college players weaken teams that should be great. Realize that Kevin Durant would be a junior at Texas right now, that Beasley would be a sophomore at K-State. Derrick Rose a sophomore at Memphis, Greg Oden and Mike Conley would be juniors at Ohio State. Tyrus Thomas would be a senior at LSU! (Go look at the '06 draft class, that might be the worst class ever. Take out B-Roy and there's not an all-star in the group. No one's even close for real. Jeez-us...)

After watching the conference tournaments and the injuries and lack of completeness from the "great teams" in this college basketball season, I'm going to make a proclamation right now. This will be one of the greatest March Madness NCAA Tournament's, ever. Yeah, I said it. Here are a few reasons why:

- Can anyone definitively tell me who's the best team in the country right now? Don't worry, I'll wait...

- The powerhouses of college basketball all have major flaws; Duke has no interior presence, UCLA has no #1 scorer, UNC is just lethargic, UConn lost their starting PG, Pitt lacks big-game experience, Louisville is inconsistent, and Memphis and Oklahoma haven't played anybody. Do you honestly trust any of these teams?

- There are so many good mid-majors right now that they are beginning to not be mid-majors. What do I mean? Is Memphis a mid-major? Is Gonzaga a mid-major now? No. They get as many 5-star players as other major teams. (Trust, at Gonzaga they get the best players in the Pac-NW, not Oregon, Washington, or Wazzu) At this point, I'd say Butler and Xavier are in that mix too. Plus, there are other teams like VCU, Creighton, and Dayton that are poised to make a run.

- No one wants to be great. Look at folks who were ranked #1 this year, they all lost. There are alot of teams (mostly out West) who have received ZERO love and when you have to make your brackets, don't be surprised when Washington messes up your whole bracket. BYU and Utah will probably both win their first round games. So be smart about this.

Also, if your looking for some help, my dude Antone's been using this efficiency rating that factors in a lot of statistical variables that shows how good teams really are. He told me about Missouri about 3 months ago and I told him he was nuts. Last time I checked, Missouri was the only top seed remaining in the Big 12 conference tournament. So go to www.allhiphopsports.blogspot.com to learn more about it, and download a mixtape while your there lol...

WHO'S YOUR UPSET SPECIAL? HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR THE ETSF TOURNAMENT YET? SPOTS ARE FILLING UP FAST! CLICK THE LINK BELOW OR ON THE RIGHT SIDEBAR TO SIGN UP, GET AT ME!

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=20500

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

Four-Point Play: Countdown to Madness

ONE - Terrence Williams: The Best Under-the-Radar Player in the Country

Yesterday, I got word from one of my boys that the co-Big East players of the year are DeJuan Blair from Pittsburgh and Hasheem Thabeet from UConn. Once this happened, I asked “what about Terrence Williams,” the explosive all-everything senior from Louisville. Dude will probably make first-team Big East (if not, that will truly be a damn shame), but make sure to watch for this man in the tournament next week. Louisville is my dark horse to make the Final Four, and a large part of it is because of Williams. At some point in the game, you’ll see him play up to four positions, and play all of them fairly well. Dare say, he may end up being the 2003 Marquette version of The Great Dwayne Wade.

TWO - Time To Start Dancin’: Are You Ready for March Madness?

This is, by far, my favorite time of the year. Right now, conference champions are being decided, and while the big teams are already penciled in, you have North Dakota State, Cleveland State, Robert Morris, and other mid-major schools who all earned the right to go to next week’s field of 64. There’s nothing like March Madness, and for the people who live it as I do, they’ll most certainly agree. Make sure to have a bracket (or two, or three) filled out, but whatever you do, don’t pick all #1 seeds to make it to the Final Four. It happened last year, but that will NEVER happen again. Oh yeah, and even though Davidson didn’t win their conference, they’ll still make the tournament, watch.


THREE - Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant Duel Last Night

Last night, I turned on Sportscenter (my nightly ritual), and after seeing the Texas Tech Mike Singletary go absolutely ballistic, the highlights of the Rockets – Lakers game came on. When they play, it’s usually Artest or Shane Battier sticking Kobe, but for this contest, Artest got the honors for the majority of the night. Anyway, after a quiet first half, Kobe proceeds to lose his damn mind, and score 31 points in the second, with quite a few of ‘em coming on Ron’s head. No big deal, because Kobe pretty much does this to everybody, but then Artest started talking crazy. Look, I hate Kobe as much as the next man, but I wouldn’t catch myself saying a word after I got torched by him, but like Ron kept saying over and over last night, he’ll see him again.

AND ONE - Staying Put: What does the LT re-signing do for the San Diego Chargers?

LaDainian Tomlinson agreed to restructure his contract to remain with the San Diego Chargers, and even though I am not a Chargers fan, I’m glad this was taken care of. LT is one of the best to tote the rock, and even though he hasn’t been able to stay healthy, I still consider him to be a top-three running back in the league. I already have the Chargers penciled in to win the AFC West; beyond that, there’s no telling. A lot of factors come into play, including the status of the Colts, Patriots, and Steelers, but the Chargers should still be in the mix, thanks to keeping their franchise player in the fold.

Be easy.

-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com

Install-A-Husband 1.0

(Believe it or not, Ed doesn't always write about sports. I occasionally dabble into other things such as relationships, music, entertainment, etc. I recently did an article for my folks over at The Fresh Xpress where I am the "Editor-At-Large" lol, don't that sound like some live sh*t?? Anyway, this is one of the more popular articles so I figured I'd share it with my peoples. More sports programming tomorrow and Friday, I promise. Without further ado...)

AN OPEN LETTER WAS SENT TO A MANUFACTURER'S CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT FROM A FRUSTRATED WOMAN WHO JUST RECENTLY ACQUIRED (COMMITTED TO) A NEW SOFTWARE/HARDWARE PACKAGE FOR HERSELF. CHECK IT OUT...

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance, particularly in the flower, dinner, and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs:

* Romance 9.5
* Personal Attention 6.5
* Feet Rubbed 2.0

Also, the system then installed undesirable programs:

* NBA 5.0
* NFL 3.0
* MLB 4.1
* Fantasy Football 17.0
* Strip Clubs 69.0

Finally, certain programs will simply not run:

* Conversation 8.0 runs a reverse mute function
* Housecleaning 2.6 crashes the system
* Fellatio 68.0 requires a password which I don't have

Please note that I have tried running Nagging 5.3, His Momma 2.1, and Girlfriend Tag-Team 13.2 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do?

Signed,

Desperate.

=======================================

DEAR DESPERATE,

First, keep in mind,

* Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package
* Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Please enter command: ithoughtyoulovedme.html and try to download Tears 6.2, upload Breakfast & Bed software, and do not forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update.

If that application works as designed, Husband1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0,Flowers 3.5, and Trip to Jamaica/Bahamas/Hawaii 23.0.

However, PLEASE BE ADVISED that overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, PlayStation 3.0, XBox 360.0, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. (Please note that Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Farting and Snoring Loudly Beta.)

WARNING - Whatever you do, D0 NOT under any circumstances install Mother-In-Law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources.) In addition, please do not attempt to re-install the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0 and may cause ex-girlfriend hackers to download Husband 1.0's software. (!!!!!)

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program and built for the long haul, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend:

* Cooking 3.0
* Hot Lingerie 7.7
* Wear Pumps In Bed 2.0
* Pay For Occasional Dinner 1.1
* Oral Sex 12,000.0

Good Luck Desperate

Thanks,
Management

YOU THINK WE COULD GET A FEMALE TO WRITE AN INSTALL-A-WIFE 1.0 (OR FOR SOME OF YOU 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, ETC...LOL) LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, GET AT ME!

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

Deron Williams is the best point guard in the NBA, period.

With the above title for this post, there’s sure to be plenty of disagreement, and for good reason, but in my opinion, he’s not only the best point guard right now, he’s been the best point guard in the league for the past two seasons. The fact that he has yet to make an All-Star team sickens me to the core, and it makes me wonder, more and more, what the hell the coaches are looking at, as justification for him not making one.

He is the true definition of point guard. When you watch the Jazz play, everyone is involved, and it starts with Williams leading the show. He has the freedom to call his own plays, yet everyone on offense touches the ball, which is very much taken for granted. There’s no doubt in my mind that he could play in a faster system, a la Phoenix, New Orleans, or even Dallas, but he still excels in a half-court setting.

His handles are top-notch, yet grossly underrated. He’ll cross you up in a second, pull-up on the drop of a dime for a jumper (he arguably has the wettest mid-ranger jumper of any point guard in the league), blow by and dunk on you, or anything else you like. He can literally score in just about any kind of way, and it starts with his ball-handling. There aren’t too many tricks, and he’s deceptively quick, so you may never see it coming, until there are two or three more points on the board.

This man can literally see everything on the basketball court. Once again, it isn’t so much flashy as it is purely efficient. He may have the highest basketball IQ of any player, every single time he steps out on the court. If it’s time to pass, he’ll do so, and he’ll get it to someone where they are in perfect position to do nothing else except score. It’s impossible to not be a better player with this dude, because he’ll make the game that much easier for you. If you think I’m lying, watch a Jazz game, and see cats like Ronny Brewer, Paul Millsap, and Mehmet Okur (dare say, Carlos Boozer) get off, and while they are all good, solid players, I think that Deron Williams makes their jobs much, much easier. Watch the last two Jazz runs in the playoffs and see how no one player, or any scheme, could slow this man down. Simply put, Deron Williams is a grown-ass man.

Like I said at the beginning, there is sure to be disagreement among the people who think Chris Paul is better, Nash is better, Tony Parker, and Chauncey Billups, and that’s perfectly fine. In my opinion though, the best point guard in the league resides in Salt Lake City.

Be easy.

-K. Masenda.
http://www.edthesportsfan.com/

Unsportsmanlike Conduct - Black-on-Black Crime

Unsportsmanlike Conduct - Every Monday, Ed The Sports Fan brings you the biggest storylines over the past weekend so that you can be thoroughly entertained like when you forget to set your clock forward and you're so late for church service that you make it "on time" for the 2:00 afternoon service. Classic.

1. Call The Rivalry On Vacation - UNC Beats Duke...Again - I'm not a big North Carolina fan, and I supremely loathe Duke, but I would always consider this a rivalry. Until now. Tyler Hansbrough just went 4-0 in Cameron Indoor, and indelibly left his stamp on North Carolina history. I would venture to say he is the anti-J.J. Redick. Yet, he's probably just as, if not, more disliked than Redick. Hansbrough's 17 points and 8 rebounds led the way to the 79-71 victory over Duke. UNC as we all know is loaded, and from the looks of it, will be staying loaded with their incoming classes. However, what is up with Duke? Duke is starting to remind me of the Pistons after they won the '04 championship. Like they can turn it off and on when they feel like it. But they can't. Until they get some legitimate posts then they're gonna be forever in trouble. When's the last time they had a Boozer? Brand? Even Shelden Williams? They ain't tough, they softer than Charmin, softer than hot Velveeta, softer than a baby's wishes. You get the point, I'm predicting a 2nd-round KO for the Dookies. UNC? I ain't ready to call it yet. Pitt's looking like my favorite. We'll see...

2. T.O. Goes To The Buffalo Bills (From SB @ klowntimes.net) - WOW!!! That's what folks in the sports world were saying after news broke on Terrell Owens signing with the Buffalo Bills last night. A lot of those same folks are wondering why in the world would Buffalo want him? After all, did the Bills not see what happened not only in Dallas, but in San Francisco and Philly before that. I think the T.O. signing may not be as bad for Buffalo as people may think for the following reasons:

- It's a one year deal. Even though the Bills are obligated to pay T.O. the guaranteed $6.5 million for this season, IT'S ONLY FOR THIS SEASON. The Bills go into this knowing that they would on the hook for the loot, regardless if T.O. behaves or not. The worst case scenario is if T.O. does act a fool, the Bills don't have to worry about bringing his ass back.

- T.O. will be motivated to prove Dallas wrong. Owens has his best seasons in his first years with his teams. In Philly, he scored 14 touchdowns before he got hurt. In his first year in Dallas, he caught 85 balls and scored 13 touchdowns when Bill Parcells coached him. Hell, the season after that he caught 81 and scored 15 touchdowns. Now people are not only doubting that he will be on his best behavior, but that his best years are behind him. Owens, for all his issues, is a hard worker. Look for Owens to try his hardest to prove the critics wrong.

- Buffalo is in dire need of another playmaker on offense. Lee Evans only had 3 touchdown passes. Josh Reed only caught ONE touchdown pass. Owens had 10 touchdown catches last season. One of the reasons Buffalo collapsed down the stretch was because of its inability to score points and move the ball. Owens will be a HUGE upgrade for the Bills offensively. The mere presence of Owens will not only decrease the amount of double-coverages on Reed, but will prevent defenses from loading up to stop the Bills' running game.

In addition to the benefits on the field, Buffalo will also benefit in merchandise sales (when was the last time you saw someone outside of Buffalo rock a Bills jersey?). In short, the Owens signing will not hurt the Bills as much one may believe. Still, I find myself saying one word over and again, even as I type this. WOW.

3. The World Baseball Classic, Watch It... - Just trust me, watch it. When you watch the Dominican Republic play Puerto Rico, its going to be 50,000 islanders having a major salsa fest while sh*t-talk and home runs are exchanged. Besides, I gotta hold down "Da P.R. Baby." Let's get it.

4. Unsportsmanlike Contact, Black-on-Black Crime - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. "Sugar" Rashad Evans - I was over my buddy Skinner's house last night watching UFC 96 - Jackson vs. Jardine, and while I was taking money from my boy Don Quixote on the undercard fights, we were prepping for the main event. Rampage ensued to breakdown Jardine over the three-round bout and got an exclamation point knockout to end it. Rashad Evans was doing color commentating the fight and when Rampage is declared the winner, these two dudes head up in the ring. They've already been slated to fight in the 205-pound Light Heavyweight Championship and they're ready to go. I have deduced that in UFC fight history, these two are probably the first two brothers to fight against each other, maybe ever. My man Rampage ensues to say, "All I gotta say is, but its gonna be some BLACK-ON-BLACK CRIME!"


Lol, I don't know if I want to be mad or laugh. I think I'm gonna laugh because that ish was hilarious. Its probably the first time that I've ever been super excited about watching a UFC fight. I'm a boxing loyalist, always have been. However, I'm a Rashad Evans fan, watched him on the Ultimate Fighter series, and he's soft spoken but righteous in the ring. I like Rampage too, and that makes it even better. Looking forward to seeing the matchup.

AM I WRONG THAT IT TOOK TWO BROTHERS TO FIGHT FOR ME TO BECOME SUPER INTERESTED? WILL YOU WATCH RAMPAGE VS. EVANS? LET US KNOW.

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

Reggie Miller - Beyond The Glory

Most of you all know that I tend to buck trends of fanhood for my favorite teams/players/etc. Well, when I was growing up back in the '90's EVERYONE AND THEY MAMA was Michael Jordan and Chicago Bulls fans. Some folks gravitated towards Penny and Shaq and the Magic, and in the late 90's shifted to the Lake Show as well. Who did Ed The Sports Fan choose as his favorite player in the league (#2 favorite player - Shawn Kemp) none other than the mercurial Reggie Miller. Enjoy his "Beyond The Glory" documentary at your viewing pleasure.

ALSO, WHO WERE THOSE PLAYERS/TEAMS THAT YOU WERE FANS OF THAT DEFINITELY BUCKED THE GOING TRENDS...LET US KNOW, AND ENJOY THE WEEKEND!









-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

The Four-Point Play (Dallas, That's My Hood Edition)

ONE - How The Hell You Gon’ Get Fired…On Your Day Off?!?!: The Dallas Cowboys Release Terrell Owens

I didn’t think Owner Jerry would do it, because in doing so, he would have to admit (openly or otherwise) that he made a grave mistake by bringing this man into the organization in the first place. I’ll be the first to say that it probably won’t make the Cowboys better right away, but it’s not like, how can I say this??? It’s not like we made the playoffs last year any damn way. Sometimes, you have to weed out the crap in order to get better, and while Eldorado Owens wasn’t nearly as toxic as he was in Philly, he was still toxic enough to be a distraction, and for that, he can take his foolery elsewhere.

TWO - Crap or Get Off The Pot: More Dissension in Big D

Usually when you see a sports-related story in Dallas, it’s about the Cowboys, but this one is about the Mavericks and the recent tirade from Mark Cuban. He basically let everyone know he won’t put up with a garbage effort, and if it continues, they won’t be around next season. Say what you want about Cuban, but this man wants to win. He does everything he can to put a winning team in place, and while it’s one thing to lose, it’s another to play with a lack of effort, or, as the great philosopher Pedro Cerrano (Major League II) said, “no marbles.” If the Mavs drop games they have no business losing, they can forget about the playoffs. They got it together last night, and beat San Antonio, and we’ll see if this same effort and urgency can get them through the rest of the season. Hopefully, they’ll take Cuban’s words to heart, because he certainly aint playin’.

THREE - Is Duke/UNC the best rivalry in College Sports?

This Saturday, Duke and North Carolina will take their rivalry to the Dean Dome, and I couldn’t be more excited. For some people, it may be the best rivalry in all of college sports, and while I disagree (my personal one is OU/Texas football), this one ranks in the top-five, easily. They’re both having great seasons, the first game was pretty good, and I expect more from this one. As much as I hate to say it, Duke will find a way to pull it out.

AND 1 - What’s the Fate of the Allen Iverson Experiment in Detroit?

Ed thinks Iverson should go to bench, while I strongly disagree, but I can’t act like Detroit hasn’t been playing better ball lately in his absence. They’re currently on a three-game winning streak, and it has to be mentioned that Rip Hamilton is starting in place of Iverson, who’s out with a back injury. For someone who happens to be a life-long Allen Iverson follower, what I am seeing lately bothers me deeply. At the same time, it doesn’t surprise me, because a lot of people had reservations about making this trade for him in the first place. The Pistons are playing well enough now to where more people are asking if Iverson should come off the bench. The thought of The Answer coming off the pine absolutely sickens me, but it’s beginning to become a reality.

Be easy.

-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com

The 1st Annual ETSF March Madness Pool

Brought to you by DIME Magazine, Ed The Sports Fan and DIME are inviting YOU to come and participate in the 1st Annual ETSF March Madness Pool. The winner will receive (as of now, maybe more to follow) a free 1-year subscription to DIME Magazine. The cost of entry is free, and the only rule is there is no whining and plenty of trash talking.

You got what it takes? Sign up using the link below. Please be advised that you will need a Yahoo! ID signup for the tournament.

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=20500

GOOD LUCK!

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com

You’ve Lost Your D@mn Mind...

Today’s article will focus on some of the teams and players of the past week who have made questionable moves, overpaid for a free agent, did something else incredibly questionable (or outright stupid), or simply put, lost their damn mind. Of course, this is all the opinion of ETSF, which we feel is mostly right, but we’re certainly down for a good debate.

The first party we’ll cover is the Washington Redskins, and whoever signed off on the Albert Haynesworth seven-year, $100 million contract. Washington, you all have lost your damn minds. I say this right now: GOD BLESS Albert Haynesworth for getting his money. I’m all for a player getting what they deserve, especially since a team can cut a player anytime in the NFL, and not fully honor their contract, so for that, big ups to Haynesworth for getting this contract, and being able to take care of himself, and his family. Now that I have that out of the way, we have to examine his history. He hasn’t played a full season since his rookie year, he’s injury-prone, AND he’s a head-case. Plus, it can’t be ignored that he performed tremendously in a contract year. I don’t see how Washington didn’t take that into account before they offered him this big-ass contract. They say “it aint trickin’ if you got it,” but this right here is ridiculous. There’s a reason Tennessee didn’t match this offer, and it’s because they’re not that crazy. The ‘Skins now have one of the best defensive tackles in football (I’m not prepared to say he’s the undisputed best), and it should help their defense, but I still think they grossly overpaid for his services. On top of that, I’ll go on record, right now, and say they will not, WILL NOT, win the NFC East next season. On top of this signing, they also gave DeAngelo Hall (who I’m a fan of) a monster contract, along with releasing Jason Taylor.

TJ Houshmandzadeh, you’ve lost your damn mind. I mean, Seattle?!?! Granted, money talks, which seems to be the theme with the article so far, but I refuse to believe the Seattle Seahawks are a contender, nor are they a threat in their own division, let alone the rest of the conference. Sure, he’ll be the number one receiver on their team, but we still don’t know who their quarterback will be (even though it looks like it may end up being Seneca Wallace), but I would have thought he would pick the Vikings, who at least won their division last year, or even stayed in Cincinnati, and played with a top-ten quarterback in Carson Palmer.


Jay Cutler, you’ve lost your damn mind. Don’t get me wrong; Cutler is a good quarterback, but not to the point where he should be throwing temper-tantrums about the possibility of being traded. Darn near every player is trade-bait at some point in their career, and unless you’re Ben R, Brady, or Peyton Manning, you’re far from safe, homie. Given the fact that he was also the quarterback of one of the biggest collapses I’ve ever seen, he really doesn’t have much of a leg to stand on at this point. Charge it to the game, and get ready for next season.

Be easy.

-K. Masenda
www.edthesportsfan.com

Unsportsmanlike Conduct - my president is cool

Unsportsmanlike Conduct - Every Monday, Ed The Sports Fan brings you the biggest names over the past week so that you can be thoroughly entertained like when you are at the club and you see two chicks fight and completely reveal their..."goodies" and no one comes to break up the fight. Classic.

1. Kobe gets 49, but the Big Homie gets the W – Shaq looked like he was back from NBA Live '98, using turbo and everything. Very impressive sir, however, I was watching this game until halftime, then I had to run and make some moves real quick. I call my boy Phil, who's an avid Lakers fan, to check on the score. He retorts, "Yeah, Kobe just put up 17 in 7 minutes. Kobe is the greatest." First off, why do all you Lakers fan have to try and preach to me the greatness in Kobe Dean? You already know I don't like him, in fact, I think he doesn't help old ladies cross the street, takes the cream and the clear, drinks the last of someone else's juice, and loves white women. Ok wait...anyway, yes he's great. One of the greatest of all time, but I don't care. When I saw him crash into Bynum's leg when he got hurt last month, Kobe didn't get up and see if his boy was ok. What did he do, he made a hella screw face and was mad at Bynum like, "Dang now we can't win the finals because of your dastardly knee." YOU CRASHED INTO HIM! If LeBron's teammate got hurt, he'd be right there. I'll take LeBron or DWade please, thanks. (Ok, you can begin being mad at me.......now.)

2. Time To Get Paid, NFL Edition – Here's a list of some of the HA-YOO-GE deals that got signed via free agency/trade:

Albert Haynesworth, Washington Redskins - 7 years/$100M
Nmandi Asomugha, Oakland Raiders - 3 years/$45M
DeAngelo Hall, Washington Redskins - 6 years/$55M
Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs - Terms Undisclosed
Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants - 4 years/$25M
Bart Scott, Baltimore Ravens - 6 years/$48M
Brian Dawkins, Denver Broncos - 5 years/$17.5m
Keith Brooking, Dallas Cowboys - 3 years/$TBD

Excuse me while I go take some HGH and go put some tackling dummies on layaway for when I have a son. Anyway, isn't it a recession? Where the hell did the Redskins get all that money from? Secondly, how the hell did the Chieftains pull off that doozy with the Patriots. Belichek must've done Chiefs GM Scott Pioli a solid, because they got Cassel and Mike Vrabel for a 2nd round pick? For real? That's almost as bad as when the Lakers traded Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol...ok its DEFINITELY NOT THAT BAD, but still. However, the biggest two people in the free agent class to be signed to me is Brian Dawkins leaving the Eagles and Keith Brooking signing with the Cowboys. Dawkins first, McNabb might be the QB of the Eagles, but Dawkins was the QB and the heart of the Eagles defense. Definitely one of my favorite players, the Eagles are in trouble unless they go get someone immediately. (Go get Darren Sharper right now...) As for the Cowboys, sigh...look, honestly it might've been a smarter move than signing Ray Lewis because you already got Zach Thomas and Bradie James at the middle backer position, and Keith is an exceptional LB. He isn't as fast as he used to be, but he can still get it done. Great move by the 'Boys. That will be the last compliment I give Dallas for about 4 months.

3. 2 NFL Players lost at sea... – Remember when this happened with Bison Dele aka Brian Williams in the 90's? I've heard in the area of the gulf that Detroit Lions free-agent defensive end Corey Smith and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were at, that people have turned up missing in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if there were pirates in that area for real, regardless let's hope that these two guys get back home safe.

4. Message for Detroit Pistons coach Michael Curry – Put Iverson on the bench, your team and players will all be better for it. Trust me.


5. The World Baseball Classic - Go Puerto Rico! – This is going to be classic, literally. The World Cup of Baseball is in Puerto Rico and I...will be watching from home. Dammit. However, take the atmosphere of the World Cup and add to that some good ole baseball and talking shit. Oh, and A-Rod's playing for the Dominican Republic with Big Papi David Ortiz...that should be interestante. Let's see if Team USA can be more competitive that the lackluster performance they had last year.

6. With the 1st pick in the 2009 NBA Draft... – My main man, Blake Griffin...look how mad he is after he gets up from hitting the hardwood and taking out computer montiors.


Ladies and Gentlemen, Blake has displayed how true, big, light-skinned brothers from Oklahoma act. Don't tread baby.

7. Unsportsmanlike Conduct - On The President Holding up the Game for 5 minutes... – (From AB.com) More definitive proof that the president is indeed, black. Exhibit A: Shows up at NBA basketball game. Gets free ticket hookup. Arrives fashionably late, with weedcarriers in tow. Forces 5 minute delay of tipoff. Sits front row, rather than high up in suites (like most Presidents) where he can't be seen or touched. Swills beer. Pops sh*t to hometown fans, long after his team has been mopped off the floor. Leaves early to go hit the clubs.


LOL! Quick note, can we stop saying "My President Is Black?" Trust, I know the song is hot, but got damn. I can obviously see my pres has some melanin. I definitely am still overwhelmed with everything that is going on for our people. However, I would like to try a different phrase. "My President Is Cool." "My President Has Sense, not Cents." "My President Is Smart." I dunno, maybe I'm just off.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE CRAZY WEEKEND? LEBRON VS. D-WADE TONIGHT, WHO YOU GOT?

-Ed.
www.edthesportsfan.com