Saturday Feb 27th Daily Thoughts and Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was a rough day for me. I went 6-6 in the NBA. It was awful. Sigh. The Hornets, behind David West's 40 points and 10 boards came from behind to derail the Orlando Magic, Cleveland, without Shaw, took out Toronto, without Chris Bosh, in overtime, and Dirk Nowitzki dropped 37 points on the Hawks as the Mavericks won in overtime. Sigh. Today I am going to talk a little about the SEC and the Olympics, to go along with some pretty good games today. In SEC Men's Basketball we've a group of good ones as Kentucky tries to wrap up the SEC as they head to Knoxville to take on the upset hungry Tennessee Volunteers, Vanderbilt travels to the Ozarks to play Arkansas, Ole Miss and Alabama square off in Tuscaloosa, Florida tries to lock up an NCAA Bid at Georgia, Mississippi State is fighting for their postseason life at South Carolina, and LSU looks for SEC Win #2 at Auburn. In the NBA there are some good ones as well as Milwaukee heads to Miami in a battle of playoff teams, Memphis plays at New York in what I think will be a very good one, and in another low key game that I can't wait to see the Pistons play at Golden State. Hope you guys enjoy.

My Thoughts.....

-SEC, fans and other random thoughts
The Southeastern Conference dominates collegiate athletics, or at least I believe it to be that way. We have won the last 4 BCS National championships and as long as Nick Saban and Urban Meyer man their current posts (saying that one does not get a better offer and the other doesn't die on the sidelines) than I don't imagine the SEC's dominance in football will stop anytime soon, but to be fair we'll jump back to 2000, where the SEC has won 5 national championships, the Big XII has won 2, and the Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-10 have each won one a piece. In Basketball the ACC has won 4 National championships since 2000, with the SEC and Big East next, each with two a piece, and the Big XII and Big Ten each having won one. And finally in Baseball the SEC, Pac-10, and Big XII have each won 2 National Championships, while the ACC has also won one, and Non- BCS Conferences have won 3. So in the final tally the Big East has 2 NCs, the Pac-10 has 3, the ACC has 2, the Big XII has 5, the Big Ten has 2, and finally the SEC has 9. Sounds to me like the best conference in the three major sports is the SEC. And maybe that has been the reason why the fans think they can do whatever they want and get away with it. I have no idea. But since I have graduated high school I have either seen with my own eyes or watched on television as SEC fans make general fools of themselves in front of everyone. And I'm not talking getting painted up or slightly drunk and having a good time, I am talking about the general lack of class that a lot of SEC fans have. Now just off the top of my head this is what I have seen in the media, whether through internet or TV, but LSU texting hateful things to Tebow before he came to the swamp, Ole Miss students recording themselves making blatant racist comments before a football game, Arkansas fans hitting, as in punching, opposing fans women before football games on two separate occasions, Alabama fans creating facebook groups about how they saw Tim Tebow cry and loved it, Tennessee burning and hanging dolls made to look like Lane Kiffen and burning furniture on his lawn after he left for USC, and just here recently State fans harassing DeMarcus Cousins and throwing bottles on the court, and then Kentucky fans doing the same thing to Devan Downey prior to their rematch with the Gamecocks this past week. What is wrong with us? I know their are many more cases but this is just what has hit the media. Seriously though, we as SEC fans need to get a hold of ourselves. There are 3 words that describe these actions: Stupid, Classless, and Stupid. You are damn right it needed to be repeated. I don't care what excuses you may have for your school but it does not change the fact those incidents previously mentioned, and the many that go unseen by the public eye, are flat out classless and stupid. I for one, and you can ask any one I have tailgated with, try my best to welcome other fans to the University of Mississippi, share my food and beverages, and try to help them have a good time. It's called southern freakin hospitality. And while I may not be a perfect example of it I do try. The SEC already has enough issues, with the Media getting tired of us being so good, the Officials embarrassing us in every single sport, and than a retard for a commissioner. I beg you as a fan of the Southeastern Conference to stop being such dumbasses. This goes out to every ignorant redneck and stuck up asshole.

Speaking of Ole Miss, for those who do not know, the Colonel Reb, old man with the hat and the cane, is officially gone as the mascot. He has been banned from being at games for many seasons now but he will also no longer be sold on clothing, hats, etc. This past week the students held a vote as to whether or not we should get a new Mascot. Now for those of you that do not know I have not been at the University of Mississippi this past semester but from what I was lead to believe their was a vote for a Land Shark to be the Mascot (but Powe hasn't graduated yet?) or for Admiral Ackbar, a Star Wars character that was the leader of the "Rebels", most commonly known from Star Wars 6 when he uttered his famous line "It's a trap!". In all honesty both of those sound silly. I realize that many people see the Colonel as a a representation of the OLD SOUTH, and therefore he must be a racist symbol. Really? I mean of all the things that the NCAA has forced Ole Miss to get rid of I can wholeheartedly agree with the Confederate Flag, and I don't really have a problem with the Colonel not being on the sideline. I would like for him to still be there but I can live with him not being at the games. But why should the University of Mississippi have to change their Rebel? UNLV has essentially the smae guy with a bigger squarer jaw, a feather in his hat, and switched the cane for a belt buckle. Yet he can stay? I'm lost. I realize that I am going to have to accept that he's gone but let me be the first to say this is bullshit. I am all for trying to help the image of the State of Mississippi, hell I wanted the students to stop screaming the South Will Rise Again at football games. But I don't see how taking the Colonel away is going to help. And I mean I know some schools have some weird stuff patrolling the sidelines for their team, I mean Stanford has a tree, and Alabama has an elephant, even though they are the Tide. I'll let you figure out how those two are related. Miami, the Hurricanes, have a duck, and the Volunteers in Tennessee have a Blue Tick Hound. So while some left center mascots have been chosen over the years I just think changing Colonel Reb may have hit this one over the foul line. We need to try again. That being said, if he really is gone.. then I have to lend my support to Admiral Ackbar. Anytime you read that Ole Miss is favored to do well, beware, ITS A TRAP.

As a small note, I want to congratulate Jarvis Varnado of Mississippi State for becoming the NCAA's all time leading shot blocker. That goofy looking bean pole has made teams change their entire offensive gameplan around him. No one is brave enough to go in the lane. Congrats Varnado and thank god you are a senior.

-Olympics, Lindsey Vonn and Ice Hockey
Lindsey Vonn's Olympics are over. Sad. She came away with a Gold and a Bronze Medal. And you know what. People are saying that she had a disappointing Olympics. And it is not just the media, 55% of Americans think Vonn had a disappointing Olympics. I disagree. Von may have come in to the game with great hype surrounding her but she said her only goal was to compete and win at least one Gold Medal. So why was she disappointing? I mean it is like people have forgotten that she did not hurt herself just ONCE but TWICE. In the Gold Medal she did win she said she was in great pain throughout the entire race and it was pretty obvious that she was favoring the leg the entire way down. Yet she still one GOLD. That is incredible. In another race she was in first before crashing. Oh yeah and by the way she BROKE her pinkie. I have to be honest I believe that Vonn had a great performance, and I would love to see anyone else be able to do what she did in the same amount of pain.

On to some more positive moments from these olympics HOW ABOUT THE HOCKEY TEAM?!? The women, who fell short 0-2 in the Gold Medal game to Canada, who by the way celebrated by drinking beer on the ice, won silver, and the Men are going to be playing Canada in the ReMatch on Sunday for the Gold. I'll start with the women and for those who did not watch the game it was a great one but I got the feeling that the United States women were the better team but that they came in to that game thinking that they should easily win the game. The Canadian women came to play and thus earned their Gold, and the right to drink beer on the ice in celebration. I laughed when people came out and said that was inappropriate. Put in the same situation, upsetting the #1 seed, winning a Gold Medal, in front of your home crowd. Yeah I want to see any of those people that deem drinking a beer on the ice inappropriate deny a brew in that situation. As for the men, they struggled a bit with Switzerland, being tied 0-0 after two periods, but than being able to find a way to get 2 goals in the last period to take the win, then against Finland, the same team that has knocked the United States in the last two Winter Olympics, the United States came out on fire and would coast to a 6-1 win. The Canadian Men's team opened up by destroying Germany 8-2, then Crosby defeated Ovechkin 7-3 in the quarterfinals, and yesterday Canada defeated Slovakia 3-2 setting up the rematch with the United States. For those of you that have been living under a rock recently the United States upset Canada earlier this Olympics during the Preliminary Rounds. This is going to be a huge match up with a packed crowd, and even more watching at home. That said I expect Canada to win. The US has confidence, and knows how to beat the Canadians, but I think that Canada is just going to want it more. A win for the Canadians is just going to mean more, while it would be another great upset for the young US team, the pressure that has been put on the Canadian Hockey team is far greater, therefore a win would bring much more happiness to our neighbors up north. I hope the Americans win thought. USA USA

My Picks.....

SEC Men's Basketball

#2/#2 Kentucky Wildcats 27-1 (12-1) @ #19/#17 Tennessee Volunteers 20-7 (8-5)
11:00 AM
CBS
Line: Kent -3

Players to Watch: Kent G John Wall 16.7ppg 6.2apg 1.9spg, Kent F DeMarcus Cousins 16.3ppg 10.2rpg 1.6bpg, Kent F Patrick Patterson 15.1ppg 7.6rpg 1.1bpg

Preview: Kentucky is a game away from clinching the SEC, which Calipari says means "nothing", and Tennessee is looking for a SIGNATURE win that will not only assure them of an NCAA Tournament bid but will also get them a great seed in their bracket. In their first meeting Tennessee nearly upset the Wildcats in Lexington. This looks like a great game and I expect Tennessee to take this one to the wire, but I think the 'Cats edge them in the end.

Kentucky by 1

#16/#20 Vanderbilt 21-6 (10-3 @ Arkansas 14-14 (7-6)
12:45 PM
ESPN 360
Line: Vandy -1

Players to Watch: Ark G Rotnei Clarke 15.9ppg 1.2apg 1.2spg, Ark F Marshawn Powell 15.1ppg 6.6rpg 1.2bpg

Preview: I think Vanderbilt really needs to watch out here. They struggled at home against Georgia the other night and now they take on a team that can upset you in the Ozarks. The big problem with Arkansas is how do you recover from a loss to LSU? LSU had not won a single SEC game until this past week until the Hogs laid a giant egg in Baton Rouge. That being said I really have to worry about the confidence of the Hogs.

Vanderbilt by 7

Ole Miss 18-9 (6-7) @ Alabama 14-13 (4-9)
1:00 PM
ESPN 2
Line: Bama -1

Players to Watch: Miss G Chris Warren 16.7ppg 3.3apg 1.2spg, Miss G Eniel Polynice 10.2ppg 4.3apg 1.3spg, Miss F Murphy Holloway 9.8ppg 7.5rpg 0.5bpg, Bama G Mikhail Torrance 15.3ppg 5.1apg 0.8spg, Bama F JaMychal Green 14.8ppg 7.2rpg 1.8bpg

Preview: Big Game for both teams, as both are fighting for NIT Bids. Bama is losing grip fast while Ole Miss probably needs one more win to be guaranteed a shot at the invitational. This past week Ole Miss came from behind to beat Auburn in Oxford, and Alabama lost on the road at Mississippi State in a great defensive showdown. The Rebels came from behind by 20 the last time these two faced off, and now the Tide are going to be looking for revenge. The Tide's biggest problem right now is getting out of the slump they are currently in having lost their last 2 and 7 of their last 10. It should be interesting.

Ole Miss by 2 <----- UPSET

Florida 20-8 (9-4) @ Georgia 12-14 (4-9)
3:00 PM
ESPN 360
Line: Flo -1

Players to Watch: Flo G Erving Walker 13.2ppg 5.1apg 1.5spg, Flo F Alex Tyus 12.3ppg 7.0rpg 1.0bpg, UGA G Dustin Ware 8.3ppg 3.5apg 1.0spg, UGA F Trey Thompkins 17.8ppg 8.1rpg 1.1bpg

Preview: Florida needs a win here to wrap up an NCAA Bid. While Georgia's record may not look pretty the Bulldogs have a knack for upsetting teams in Athens. I think this will be a great match up between Parsons/Tyus vs. Leslie/Thompkins. Florida edged out the 'Dawgs in Gainesville in their last meeting. This should be a fun one to watch and I think that Florida is just too hot right now.

Florida by 5

Miss State 20-8 (8-5) @ South Carolina 14-13 (5-8)
5:00 PM
ESPN
Line: MSU -1

Players to Watch: MSU G Dee Bost 12.6ppg 5.2apg 1.3spg, MSU F Jarvis Varnado 13.3ppg 10.9rpg 5.1bpg, SC G Devan Downey 22.9ppg 3.5apg 2.9spg

Preview: This game really intrigues me as the Bulldogs are fighting for an NCAA Tournament invite but South Carolina has this thing about stopping teams in their tracks in Columbia. Devan Downey, still the leading Candidate for SEC Player of the Year in my opinion, seems to be running low and gas and he is going to need another player to step up and help him if the Gamecocks are going to be able to pull off the upset of State. I don't think that anyone will against the best defense in the SEC.

Miss State by 2

LSU 10-17 (1-12) @ Auburn 13-15 (4-9)
6:00 PM
ESPN 360
Line: Aub -8.5

Players to Watch: LSU G Chris Bass 2.5ppg 3.3apg 0.9spg, LSU F Tasmin Mitchell 17.6ppg 9.6rpg 0.6bpg, LSU F Storm Warren 11.9ppg 7.3rpg 1.4bpg, Aub G DeWayne Reed 16.1ppg 4.4apg 1.4spg, Aub F Lucas Hargrove 13.3ppg 7.2rpg 0.5bpg

Preview: This is a very interesting match up as the Bayou Bengals are coming off their first SEC win of the season, one in which they held a commanding lead over the Arkansas Razorbacks for almost the entire game, and now they have confidence and nothing to lose heading in to Auburn this weekend. I said about a week ago that I would not be surprised to see LSU win at least one of their last 4 if not all of them. That being said I think Auburn will be looking out for them today.

Auburn by 12

NBA

*Game of the Day*
BUCKS by 1 @ heat (1.5) <----- UPSET

The Rest:
nets @ CELTICS (-10) by 16

BULLS by 6 @ pacers (-3) <----- UPSET

GRIZZLIES (-2.5) by 1 @ knicks

TRAIL BLAZERS (-3.5) by 10 @ timberwolves

rockets @ JAZZ (-9.5) by 8

pistons @ WARRIORS (-3.5) by 1

Alright guys hope you enjoy and if you have any comments or ideas just let me know.