College Hoops Top 25 (2/14)

Well greetings, friends. I know you probably all missed me on Friday, but seeing as I couldn't bring myself to discuss a goalie's Facebook page or debate the merits of Paul Pierce as the greatest Celtic of all time, I figured it was as good a time as any to take some time off. Sure, I guess I could have discussed Jeremy Lin's sudden rise to fame in the NBA, but seeing that my thoughts on that topic are mostly negative and focused on the fact that the NBA is inept at nearly every level, I probably would have just sucked all the feel good out of what is supposed to be an inspiring story. So, it's probably better off that I left that one alone...

Instead, here I am on Valentine's day, set to deliver you with the latest version of my Rooch Nation College Hoops Top 25. Can't you feel the love? First, I don't break your heart by raining on your "Jeremy Lin" and Paul Pierce" parades, and now here I am freely handing over to you my take on the college hoops scene. Might not seem like much of a gift now, but when your rakin' in the loots come early April, I bet you'll be singing a different tune, and those assorted chocolates will have long since been relegated to the trash can...

So, without further dudes, here is my Valtenine's gift to you. Feel free to enjoy it with those aforementioned chocolates. Because like I always say, college basketball goes great with anything. Well, I don't always say that, but I might start now...

Enjoy...

College Hoops Top 25 (2/7)

So, to quickly recap the Super Bowl. The better team made more plays and fewer mistakes, and was able to hang on and win in the final seconds. Wes Welker not catching that pass OR Mario Manningham hauling in the grab I'll forever refer to as the "TYREEPEAT"? Just window dressing. Pivotal plays, to be sure, but neither is the sole reason, or even the main reason, that one team won and another team lost. The Giants were just the more well rounded team, and they proved that as the game went on. That's probably why I'm only mildly disappointed in the Patriots' loss. I didn't have a ton of confidence in them winning, I didn't expect them to be there in the first place, and I didn't walk away from that game thinking they were robbed or made one crucial mistake that cost them the game. The just weren't good enough to get it done, and while it pains me to say it, that's just the way it is...

OH! He's just my little Asian angel!

It's OK, though. They had a great season, and as a great organization, I can be assured that they'll put themselves in a good position to make another run at the Super Bowl not only next year, but for the foreseeable future. Besides, at least someone got to celebrate a World Championship, right? Yeah, in case you were wondering who that Giants fan was at the top of my page, that's my good friend Adam "Whitey" Rosen, looking not nearly as white as his nickname may suggest. I mean, Hell. If you can't feel at least a slight sense of happiness for a true fan like that to taste the spoils of victory, then I'm not sure you understand how the whole "fan" thing works. Sure, you might find it odd that Whitey attended the game with a small Asian boy that he may or may not have sold to Dot and Glen from Raising Arizona immediately after the game, but that's neither here nor there. And as long as I can go to sleep knowing that at least one true fan enjoyed this Championship at my team's expense, well then that's just all right by me...

Hey, it was another great NFL season, and I can't wait til the next one, but for now, I guess we'll just have to amuse ourselves with come college hoops. Which is great, for me, because that happens to be a field in which I fancy myself an expert. Let's take a gander at my latest Top 25, and check out the landscape before a legendary Wednesday slate of games will likely turn the Top 10 on it's ass. Mmmm Hmmm. Should be a great week of watchin'...

Super Bowl XLVI: The Polish Patriots & The Case of the TYREEVENGE

Four years ago, before making my prediction for Super Bowl XLII, I wrote down 2 things to take into consideration when picking the winner. Hell, I then went on to publish those things in this very same web space. Here they were:

1) The Patriots win big games

2) The Patriots win big games, by small margins


Then, I proceeded to pick the Patriots to win and cover, as 12.5 point favorites. So much for listening to my own advice. Would have still had the winner wrong, but at least I would have made some money. Oh well, let's see if I've learned anything over the past 4 years, and if I've learned to actually start listening to my own advice. My guess is no...

IT's the Super Bowl, friends. And after two long weeks, and 4 long years, it's finally here. Now let's see if we can't make some money, and the Patriots can't score themselves some TYREEVENGE...

Should be a good one. Let's go...

College Hoops Top 25 (1/31)

Right about now, depending on when you're reading this, Rob Gronkowski is at the podium at Media Day in Indianapolis, creating the material that will undoubtedly fuel the next 5 days up to the big game. Whether it's the talk about his high ankle sprain diagnosed by his father, or just some more of his meat head/frat house rhetoric, it'll be talked about, dissected, and created into YouTube parodies about 15 millions times before this sucker actually kicks off. As I warned you last week, it's gonna be great. But I'm not here for that today...

Nope, I'm here to roll out the latest edition of the Rooch Nation College Hoops Top 25. The Big XII is tumbling, some mid majors are rising, and with the selection of the Bracket Buster match ups last night, we've truly been signaled that the home stretch has officially been reached. Granted, it's one Hell of a stretch, but that's part of the reason this sport is so enjoyable to watch. Nearly every night, from now until the Tournament, there'll be games to watch that will prove pivotal when deciding who gets in, and where they play. It's just high stakes stuff, and probably the main element that has long since separated college basketball from it's NBA counterpart. That, and the fact that they actually call traveling and play team defense. But that's something you already knew...

OK, time to hammer this thing out so I can go enjoy Media Day before getting in some actual work, and then sitting down to watch some of those aforementioned pivotal games. See? Now you won't even need to go to Twitter or Facebook to check my status for today, because you know what I'm gonna be doing. I still might advise you to what I've been eating, though, so feel free to keep tabs on my, anyway...

Top 25. Let's go...