This week, both the AP and Coaches preseason men's college basketball polls were released.
North Carolina was unanimously named the No. 1 team by both polls and with good reason. The Tar Heels are returning a roster that is almost as talented as an NBA team. Almost every player from last year is returning, and the Tar Heels put together a top-notch recruiting class to boot. With reigning National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough (22.6 ppg, 10.2 rpg), Wayne Ellington (16.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Danny Green (11.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and Ty Lawson (12.7 ppg, 5.2 apg) UNC is clearly the favorites heading into this basketball season.
As far as surprises in the polls, I found it surprising to see Tennessee ranked so low (No. 14 AP, No. 13 Coaches). The Vols did lose Chris Lofton and Jajuan Smith, but I think they could be better this season. Last season, Lofton didn't look like his old self, probably because he was battling cancer. However, losing Lofton isn't going to hurt UT as much as people think. Taking his place will be Scotty Hopson, Rivals.com's No. 5 prospect in 2008. Throw him in there with three other top 70-prospects (Emmanuel Negedu, Renaldo Wooolridge and Philip Jurick) and an already talented roster featuring Tyler Smith, Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince, and surely the Vols are a top-10 team. They are at least better than the AP's No. 13 team, Memphis.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Primm done
On Wednesday, Oct. 15, former MTSU student and Murfreesboro native Shane Primm was defeated by rear naked choke in a quarterfinal bout against Team Mir's Eliot Marshall on season eight of "The Ultimate Fighter." The loss most likely ends Primm's chances of winning the show since his only possibilities of returning would come if another fighter leaves the show due to injury, misconduct, etc., and since Primm was beaten in dominating fashion, it is unlikely he would be the first choice to return.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Troy embarrasses FAU on national TV
The defending Sun Belt Conference champion, Florida Atlantic, saw its chance of repeating as SBC champs greatly diminish on Tuesday.
Troy put a 30-17 schooling on the Owls in front of a national audience on ESPN.
Here are a few thoughts on the game:
Penalties, penalties, penalties
These teams did not do their conference proud on national TV. There were so many penalties in the first quarter that it made one wonder if these two squads were really Division I-A (I'm protesting renaming it FBS) teams. There were 11 total penalties in the game with nine coming in the first quarter alone. To make matters worse, most of the penalties were the kind that result from mental errors. Of the first quarter penalties, six were false starts or offsides infractions.
What happened to FAU?
FAU won the conference last season and returned nearly its entire team from a year ago. The Owls had eight players appear on the preseason All-SBC First Team, including five on defense. Cornerback Tavious Polo picked off seven passes last season. Quarterback Rusty Smith is the reigning SBC Player of the Year and linebacker Frantz Joseph is the preseason SBC Defensive Player of the Year, yet this team is 1-5 with a disappointing 0-2 conference record. Despite all the talent on defense, the Owls are giving up 30.7 points a game. On paper, this is easily the most talented team in the conference, but it sure hasn't played like it.
What happened to Rusty Smith?
Statistically, Smith was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in 2007. He completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 3,688 yards (283.7 per game) and 32 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. He had the look of a guy that could make it into the NFL after his senior season. He had the NFL size (6-5, 212) and some amazing numbers as just a sophomore. However, he's taken a huge step back this season. Smith has a measly 48.8 completion percentage for 1,367 yards (227.8 per game) with five touchdowns and nine interceptions. Of the seven SBC quarterbacks that have thrown at least 100 passes this season, Smith ranks seventh in pass efficiency. Also, he's thrown a whopping eight interceptions over his last three games.
Turnovers
Last season, FAU had an incredible +18 turnover margin. This season, the Owls have committed 16 turnovers and forced five. In 2007, cornerbacks Tavious Polo and Corey Small combined to intercept 12 passes, the highest total among cornerback duos. Thus far, they have managed only one pick apiece. Polo is suffering the same fate as Smith--after looking like a potential pro in 2007, he's looked average in 2008. On the flip side, FAU needs to coach its players on how to hold onto the ball. In six games, the Owls have fumbled the ball 12 times. How many other teams out there fumble twice every game?
Troy is just one of those teams
Although it is on a much smaller scale, Troy is one of those teams that every season just make you say, "How are they that good this year?" The Trojans are 3-2 (2-0 SBC) despite the fact they lost all their stars from a year ago. In fact, they lost their top starter at every skill position on offense from the 2007 team. Gone is SBC Offensive Player of the Year Omar Haugabook. No more Kenny Cattouse, former starting running back. Starting receiver Gary Banks has departed. And don't forget corner Leodis McKelvin, taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Despite all the personnel losses, it looks as though Troy and Arkansas State are going to be duking it out for the SBC title.
FAU plays dirty
Following MTSU's win over FAU on Sept. 30, one MTSU player told me that the Owls are a dirty team, and after watching them tonight it's clear to see the truth in that statement. FAU receiver purposefully tore the helmet off MTSU cornerback Ted Riley last Tuesday; a foul that was completely unnecessary. Against Troy, the Owls were no more tact. Of FAU's seven penalties against the Trojans, one was a personal foul, one was an illegal block in the back and another was a face mask. FAU appears as they have no respect for their opponents, which is unfortunate considering how terrible they've played.
Troy put a 30-17 schooling on the Owls in front of a national audience on ESPN.
Here are a few thoughts on the game:
Penalties, penalties, penalties
These teams did not do their conference proud on national TV. There were so many penalties in the first quarter that it made one wonder if these two squads were really Division I-A (I'm protesting renaming it FBS) teams. There were 11 total penalties in the game with nine coming in the first quarter alone. To make matters worse, most of the penalties were the kind that result from mental errors. Of the first quarter penalties, six were false starts or offsides infractions.
What happened to FAU?
FAU won the conference last season and returned nearly its entire team from a year ago. The Owls had eight players appear on the preseason All-SBC First Team, including five on defense. Cornerback Tavious Polo picked off seven passes last season. Quarterback Rusty Smith is the reigning SBC Player of the Year and linebacker Frantz Joseph is the preseason SBC Defensive Player of the Year, yet this team is 1-5 with a disappointing 0-2 conference record. Despite all the talent on defense, the Owls are giving up 30.7 points a game. On paper, this is easily the most talented team in the conference, but it sure hasn't played like it.
What happened to Rusty Smith?
Statistically, Smith was one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in 2007. He completed 58.7 percent of his passes for 3,688 yards (283.7 per game) and 32 touchdowns with only nine interceptions. He had the look of a guy that could make it into the NFL after his senior season. He had the NFL size (6-5, 212) and some amazing numbers as just a sophomore. However, he's taken a huge step back this season. Smith has a measly 48.8 completion percentage for 1,367 yards (227.8 per game) with five touchdowns and nine interceptions. Of the seven SBC quarterbacks that have thrown at least 100 passes this season, Smith ranks seventh in pass efficiency. Also, he's thrown a whopping eight interceptions over his last three games.
Turnovers
Last season, FAU had an incredible +18 turnover margin. This season, the Owls have committed 16 turnovers and forced five. In 2007, cornerbacks Tavious Polo and Corey Small combined to intercept 12 passes, the highest total among cornerback duos. Thus far, they have managed only one pick apiece. Polo is suffering the same fate as Smith--after looking like a potential pro in 2007, he's looked average in 2008. On the flip side, FAU needs to coach its players on how to hold onto the ball. In six games, the Owls have fumbled the ball 12 times. How many other teams out there fumble twice every game?
Troy is just one of those teams
Although it is on a much smaller scale, Troy is one of those teams that every season just make you say, "How are they that good this year?" The Trojans are 3-2 (2-0 SBC) despite the fact they lost all their stars from a year ago. In fact, they lost their top starter at every skill position on offense from the 2007 team. Gone is SBC Offensive Player of the Year Omar Haugabook. No more Kenny Cattouse, former starting running back. Starting receiver Gary Banks has departed. And don't forget corner Leodis McKelvin, taken in the first round of the NFL draft. Despite all the personnel losses, it looks as though Troy and Arkansas State are going to be duking it out for the SBC title.
FAU plays dirty
Following MTSU's win over FAU on Sept. 30, one MTSU player told me that the Owls are a dirty team, and after watching them tonight it's clear to see the truth in that statement. FAU receiver purposefully tore the helmet off MTSU cornerback Ted Riley last Tuesday; a foul that was completely unnecessary. Against Troy, the Owls were no more tact. Of FAU's seven penalties against the Trojans, one was a personal foul, one was an illegal block in the back and another was a face mask. FAU appears as they have no respect for their opponents, which is unfortunate considering how terrible they've played.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Oh, how the mighty have fallen
For the first time in my young, 22 year-old life, the University of Tennessee is not the best team in the state.
That distinction, oddly enough, goes to Vanderbilt, a 5-0 team that boasts wins over Auburn, South Carolina and Ole Miss.
Unfortunately for the Vols, they're not even the second-best squad in the state. That title belongs to the forgotten child of Tennessee football, MTSU. Yes that may be a controversial statement, but the 2-3 Blue Raiders hold wins over Maryland and Florida Atlantic, while UT has managed to defeat UAB and Northern Illinois. It's going to be difficult to convince someone that the Vols possess better wins than MTSU.
In fact, Tennessee may not be the third-team in the state, but they sure are giving Memphis a run for its money. The Tigers are 3-3 with wins over UAB, Nicholls State and Arkansas State. Both have beaten UAB, however, Memphis did it at UAB while UT was playing on its home turf. Normally I would say UT would have won even if the game was played in Antartica, but I'm not so sure considering the Vols only managed one touchdown against Northern Illinois. Also, Northern Illinois doesn't look like a contender for the MAC title while Arkansas State is one of the early favorites to take the Sun Belt crown, and given that the MAC and SBC are fairly comparable conferences, I'd give a slight edge to the Tigers.
So, that leaves UT as the fourth-best football team in the state of Tennessee, behind a perennial SEC doormat, a school that has been playing D-I football for about 10 years and a basketball school from Conference USA.
At least they're still better than Chattanooga
That distinction, oddly enough, goes to Vanderbilt, a 5-0 team that boasts wins over Auburn, South Carolina and Ole Miss.
Unfortunately for the Vols, they're not even the second-best squad in the state. That title belongs to the forgotten child of Tennessee football, MTSU. Yes that may be a controversial statement, but the 2-3 Blue Raiders hold wins over Maryland and Florida Atlantic, while UT has managed to defeat UAB and Northern Illinois. It's going to be difficult to convince someone that the Vols possess better wins than MTSU.
In fact, Tennessee may not be the third-team in the state, but they sure are giving Memphis a run for its money. The Tigers are 3-3 with wins over UAB, Nicholls State and Arkansas State. Both have beaten UAB, however, Memphis did it at UAB while UT was playing on its home turf. Normally I would say UT would have won even if the game was played in Antartica, but I'm not so sure considering the Vols only managed one touchdown against Northern Illinois. Also, Northern Illinois doesn't look like a contender for the MAC title while Arkansas State is one of the early favorites to take the Sun Belt crown, and given that the MAC and SBC are fairly comparable conferences, I'd give a slight edge to the Tigers.
So, that leaves UT as the fourth-best football team in the state of Tennessee, behind a perennial SEC doormat, a school that has been playing D-I football for about 10 years and a basketball school from Conference USA.
At least they're still better than Chattanooga
Petruzelli takes a Slice out of Kimbo
Many people who have been waiting for Youtube sensation turned mixed martial artist, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson falter finally got their wish on Saturday.
The former street brawler who rose to fame through a series of viral videos finally experienced the first hiccup in his short and controversial MMA career.
Slice was TKO'd by "The Ultimate Fighter" season-two contestant Seth Petruzelli in only 14 seconds. The loss was a devastating one for the inexperienced Slice, who has been headlining EliteXC cards despite the fact that he has only four professional fights to his credit.
I've had mixed feelings about Slice's MMA career and must confess that I am not disappointed to see him lose. He had turned into an enormous hype machine that was built more on style than substance, and EliteXC has exploited his internet fame from day one.
My biggest beef with Slice has been his reputation. I've talked with many people who think that Kimbo could knockout any living person based solely on some backyard fights they've seen on the internet.
These people tend to ignore the fact he is 34 years-old, has only been training MMA for about a year-and-a-half and has never truly been tested. His supporters like to point to the devastating knockouts of Bo Cantrell and Tank Abbott, as well as his submission victory over former heavyweight boxing champ Ray Mercer. Nobody mentions that Mercer was 46 years-old, with little to no training when it comes to ground fighting when they fought or that Abbott, who even in his prime was little more than a street fighter like Kimbo, had lost seven of his previous eight fights heading into his fight with Slice and had won one fight since 1998. Cantrell has a 10-11 pro record and his loss to Slice was his fifth defeat in a row.
Then there is the James Thompson fight--the fight I thought would hush all those lauding Kimbo as the greatest heavyweight of all-time. Slice defeated Thompson in the third round of their scrap in controversial fashion. Nevermind that Thompson was winning the fight on all judges' scorecards or that he at one point landed something like 30 unanswered strikes to a prone Slice. The biggest revelation to come out of that fight was the fact that Slice was unable to KO Thompson. Now, officially he did receive the TKO victory, but many believed the fight was stopped early. The fact that Slice was unable to put "The Colossus" to sleep was unforgivable. After all, Thompson has been knocked out an astonishing eight times in 23 fights. The man is notorious for having a glass jaw and the great brawler could not knock him out.
The Thompson fight also exposed Kimbo's non-existent ground game. Thompson was taking Slice down with lumbering takedowns for which Kimbo had no defense. If he couldn't defend the takedown against Thomspon, what's going to happen to him if he ever fights someone with even an average ground game?
After bashing Kimbo for the previous three paragraphs, I will give him some props. He does possess that "you've gotta see it" factor. I, like many others, have watched his fights on the internet and the dude can beat the poo out of people. I have seen all of his fights because, I must admit, I'm interested in seeing him fight. It's probably naive to expect people to grade Kimbo on his merit and not his hype, but he is a spectacle that makes you want to see him knock someone's teeth out. And, win or lose, I'll still tune in.
It's interesting to see where Petruzelli goes from here. He wore out his status as a prospect after compiling a 0-2 record in the UFC, and a win over Slice does not make "The Silverback" a contender. But his management has to love this win.
Petruzelli, regardless of whether he wins another fight, is a promotable figure that can always be billed as the guy that beat Kimbo Slice. Even if he flares out on the national stage, his name will be big enough to headline smaller shows for the rest of his career.
The big question though, is where do Kimbo and Petruzelli go from here? Slice looks like he's been knocked down a peg, and it will be interesting to see how EliteXC markets him from now on. I think his next fight will be against Ken Shamrock, his original opponent for this card, but after that I don't know what the organization will do with him. He's obviously still a crowd-drawing name, but to retain that luster he's going to have to win. It's going to be difficult for EliteXC to find beatable opponents for him that they can sell. Sure, they could go out and get some no-name and throw him to the wolves; people will watch Slice regardless of who he's facing, but to really get the people watching, it's going to have to be a name people recognize.
Petruzelli's situation is even more complicated. I don't think the Kimbo win gives him enough fame to headline a card, but he's definitely main-card material. Does this victory turn him into a contender? I don't know, but I would have to say probably not. Another issue is Petruzelli's weight class. He has competed at heavyweight in the past, but he's a natural 205er. His original fight was to be held at light heavyweight, but the Slice fight was worth it for him to move up. I've read rumors that he could fight EliteXC light-heavyweight champ Rafael Feijao next, and that fight would certainly be marketable.
If I were EliteXC I would pit Slice against Shamrock next and beyond that maybe they can convince Justin Eilers to move back to heavyweight or perhaps they'll give him a crack at Jon Murphy, it's difficult to tell. As for Petruzelli, I think he will probably get a fight against someone he can easily beat, again, maybe Eilers, and then let him have a go at Feijao.
The former street brawler who rose to fame through a series of viral videos finally experienced the first hiccup in his short and controversial MMA career.
Slice was TKO'd by "The Ultimate Fighter" season-two contestant Seth Petruzelli in only 14 seconds. The loss was a devastating one for the inexperienced Slice, who has been headlining EliteXC cards despite the fact that he has only four professional fights to his credit.
I've had mixed feelings about Slice's MMA career and must confess that I am not disappointed to see him lose. He had turned into an enormous hype machine that was built more on style than substance, and EliteXC has exploited his internet fame from day one.
My biggest beef with Slice has been his reputation. I've talked with many people who think that Kimbo could knockout any living person based solely on some backyard fights they've seen on the internet.
These people tend to ignore the fact he is 34 years-old, has only been training MMA for about a year-and-a-half and has never truly been tested. His supporters like to point to the devastating knockouts of Bo Cantrell and Tank Abbott, as well as his submission victory over former heavyweight boxing champ Ray Mercer. Nobody mentions that Mercer was 46 years-old, with little to no training when it comes to ground fighting when they fought or that Abbott, who even in his prime was little more than a street fighter like Kimbo, had lost seven of his previous eight fights heading into his fight with Slice and had won one fight since 1998. Cantrell has a 10-11 pro record and his loss to Slice was his fifth defeat in a row.
Then there is the James Thompson fight--the fight I thought would hush all those lauding Kimbo as the greatest heavyweight of all-time. Slice defeated Thompson in the third round of their scrap in controversial fashion. Nevermind that Thompson was winning the fight on all judges' scorecards or that he at one point landed something like 30 unanswered strikes to a prone Slice. The biggest revelation to come out of that fight was the fact that Slice was unable to KO Thompson. Now, officially he did receive the TKO victory, but many believed the fight was stopped early. The fact that Slice was unable to put "The Colossus" to sleep was unforgivable. After all, Thompson has been knocked out an astonishing eight times in 23 fights. The man is notorious for having a glass jaw and the great brawler could not knock him out.
The Thompson fight also exposed Kimbo's non-existent ground game. Thompson was taking Slice down with lumbering takedowns for which Kimbo had no defense. If he couldn't defend the takedown against Thomspon, what's going to happen to him if he ever fights someone with even an average ground game?
After bashing Kimbo for the previous three paragraphs, I will give him some props. He does possess that "you've gotta see it" factor. I, like many others, have watched his fights on the internet and the dude can beat the poo out of people. I have seen all of his fights because, I must admit, I'm interested in seeing him fight. It's probably naive to expect people to grade Kimbo on his merit and not his hype, but he is a spectacle that makes you want to see him knock someone's teeth out. And, win or lose, I'll still tune in.
It's interesting to see where Petruzelli goes from here. He wore out his status as a prospect after compiling a 0-2 record in the UFC, and a win over Slice does not make "The Silverback" a contender. But his management has to love this win.
Petruzelli, regardless of whether he wins another fight, is a promotable figure that can always be billed as the guy that beat Kimbo Slice. Even if he flares out on the national stage, his name will be big enough to headline smaller shows for the rest of his career.
The big question though, is where do Kimbo and Petruzelli go from here? Slice looks like he's been knocked down a peg, and it will be interesting to see how EliteXC markets him from now on. I think his next fight will be against Ken Shamrock, his original opponent for this card, but after that I don't know what the organization will do with him. He's obviously still a crowd-drawing name, but to retain that luster he's going to have to win. It's going to be difficult for EliteXC to find beatable opponents for him that they can sell. Sure, they could go out and get some no-name and throw him to the wolves; people will watch Slice regardless of who he's facing, but to really get the people watching, it's going to have to be a name people recognize.
Petruzelli's situation is even more complicated. I don't think the Kimbo win gives him enough fame to headline a card, but he's definitely main-card material. Does this victory turn him into a contender? I don't know, but I would have to say probably not. Another issue is Petruzelli's weight class. He has competed at heavyweight in the past, but he's a natural 205er. His original fight was to be held at light heavyweight, but the Slice fight was worth it for him to move up. I've read rumors that he could fight EliteXC light-heavyweight champ Rafael Feijao next, and that fight would certainly be marketable.
If I were EliteXC I would pit Slice against Shamrock next and beyond that maybe they can convince Justin Eilers to move back to heavyweight or perhaps they'll give him a crack at Jon Murphy, it's difficult to tell. As for Petruzelli, I think he will probably get a fight against someone he can easily beat, again, maybe Eilers, and then let him have a go at Feijao.
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