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...

The Bye Week Blues. Gronk Style...

Well, when the week began, I was convinced that I wouldn't be suffering from the "bye week blues", and that I'd have plenty to chat about today despite the lack of any football actually taking place on the field. However, as is often the case, I was wrong. I mean, I wouldn't have any trouble talking college hoops right now, but I'd rather just stick to keeping that to Tuesdays. Nope, I'm not interested in why some goalie snubbed the White House, I don't wanna talk about the latest 3 AM battle between Nadal and Federer, and I could not possibly care less about what Peyton Manning currently thinks about the Indianapolis Colts practice facility. No sir. Right now, I'm just enjoying the calm before the storm, and patiently waiting like everyone else for one of the most wildly anticipated Super Bowls in recent memory. So, instead of contributing to the over saturation of minutia that every bye week eventually turns itself into, I'll save all my football stuff for next week. Yup, next Friday I'll have all the prop betting info you want, tell you who's going to win the game and why, and I might even have a few choice clips from Rob Gronkowski's appearance at Super Bowl media day. After all, you just know he's gonna be the one to put on a show...

So, my friends. I leave you with a little taste of what that show might look and sound like, and let you to another week of second guessing, hand ringing, and downright flip-floppery. Hey, this anticipation is part of the reason why we love sports, and I get that. But too much of a good thing is still too much of a good thing...

Have a good one friends, and I'll catch you Tuesday for my latest Top 25, and again on Friday for all the Super Bowl madness. Until then, enjoy your weekend. And here's to hoping it's a weekend full of plenty of fiestas for you to enjoy...


Teddy Williams...
100...

#$> 

College Hoops Top 25 (1/24)

You know what's better than being able to say I told you so? Having other people telling you, that you told them so, and having them thank you for it. Well, after an amazing weekend of football, which saw the Patriots and Giants both advance to the Super Bowl in different variations of a game ending field goal, that's exactly what's been being said to me. And it's been fantastic. Granted it was a little sobering when I found out that Patriots' beat writer, Mike Reiss, made the exact same prediction before the season even started, but that's not gonna take me down from this high. No sir. Now, I'll just have to spend 2 weeks figuring out a way to navigate around that 3 point spread that Vegas has so annoyingly bestowed upon us. Brutal. Oh well, at least Gronk should provide some relief from the madness when he takes the mic for Super Bowl media day. Yeah, should be instant classic type stuff, and if you didn't know that that's what you should be anticipating almost as much as the game, then there ya you. Consider yourself given the proverbial "heads up"...

Sports Entertainment personified.

But we'll have plenty of time for that in the 2 weeks leading up to this thing. Now, it's time to roll out the latest edition of my College Hoops Top 25. Naturally, Syracuse fell the first week I actually had them ranked at #1, but their fall from the top spot is only the first of many changes that see a Top 10 that has just as many teams in it from the Big East as it does the Mountain West. Check it out, and feel free to let me know what you think. I'm sure there's gotta be a Duke fan or two out there that's not going to enjoy the fact that one Big East team in particular has slid ahead of them in the rankings. Then again, I know there's probably a few fans of another ACC team that'll be pleased to see that I ranked their club so high. Like I said, you got comments, I'd love to hear 'em. It's highly unlikely that I'll take any of what you say into account, but I'm always down to listen and critique...

Enjoy...

Championship Picks: Setting the Stage for Some TYREEVENGE

Well, it's finally snowing in New England, and much like when you roll into the VIP with Michael Irvin, the white stuff has arrived right on time. After all, this is New England and this is the AFC Championship game. If we're not gonna have any sort of inclement weather, or at least the remnants there of, then what's the freakin' point? Without that, all you've got is a GQ QB chuckin' that thing around in the Robert Kraft & Sons upscale strip mall. So yeah, while I won't be hitting the slopes, and I likely just had a minor heart infarction while shoveling my driveway, I'd say if there had to be a weekend where this long awaited Winter weather finally arrived, then I'm glad it's this one. After all, it's been a while since the fans in that strip mall really had anything to cheer about by their standards, right? Maybe a little wintry mix is all they'll need to get them off their feet, while they watch their team attempt to win their first AFC Championship since 2008...

I like their chances, but let's just say, it's been a long week. Which is cool, because now it's time to play for a shot at the Super Bowl, and most importantly, a chance at some TYREEVENGE. So let's get to it...

College Hoops Top 25 (1/17)

Allow me to just get one thing out of the way before I debut my latest Rooch Nation College Hoops Top 25. That Saints/Niners game on Saturday afternoon might be the best football game I've ever seen. If you saw it, you know exactly what I mean, and if you missed it, well then you'll just be lying for the rest of your life when pimps like me ask you if you remember that game. And you best believe that people will be talking about that one for a while, because it was that good. The only game I can think of off hand that I enjoyed more was the Patriots/Panthers in the '04 Super Bowl, and seeing as that was a Super Bowl and it involved the Patriots, I think that should tell you how highly I thought of this latest battle by the Bay...

THE game and THE picture.

But enough football. I wanted to get on the record with my thoughts on that game, and I've done exactly that. As for the Patriots' chances this week, and whether or not I'll continue to push for my Patriots/Giants Super Bowl rematch, that'll have to wait til Friday. Today, I've got a new #1 to unveil, and a reworked Top 10 that's bound to leave some of you questioning which Big East school it was I actually attended...

So let's have at it, friends. Especially you, Celtics fans. You need some decent basketball to watch, right? Well, here ya go. This should help get you up to speed...

Playoff Picks With Pulp: A Big Weekend for Giants & Atheists

According to a recent poll, presumably done outside a church, prison, or GOP primary polling station, 43% of Americans believe that Tim Tebow's success is due in part to "divine intervention". Yup, better than 2 in 5 of your fellow countrymen believe that God himself (or possibly Jesus, I'm not sure how all that works) helps the Broncos quarterback win games. What do I think about divine intervention? Well as an Agnostic, I'm sure you could probably guess my views, but instead of me telling you, I'll let John Travolta have at it. I'm pretty much right with him up to and including the part when he shoots Marvin in the face. After that, shit gets a little dicey...



So yeah, divine intervention. Not something I believe in. I don't think God turned Coke into Pepsi, and I don't think he helps Tim Tebow win ballgames. But for those that do, I'm more than open to sharing your company. I mean, just look at Vincent (white) and Jules (black). They're buddies, right? So there's no reason why we can't all be friends, too. Now let's go have a Royale with cheese and figure out these playoff picks before some future tranny pops out of the bathroom with a God damn hand cannon...

Enjoy...

College Hoops Top 25 (1/10)

"When March Madness spills into April, that's the gravy. So get on the boat. The gravy boat!" Homer Simpson

You gotta love when Homer Simpson can do your talking for you, and for me, in the latest episode of The Simpsons, he did exactly that. OK, maybe I doctored the quote a tiny bit to cut through to the essence of the thing, but it's still encouraging to hear that even a football fan as big as Homer Jay can recognize how beautiful, and how downright American it is to be on board with college hoops. Even when the NFL is right in the juiciest part of it's schedule. Granted, he's a cartoon, and I'm pretty sure I'm the only one I know that still watches that show, but I think the overall point should still have no problem resonating with the masses. Or not. Either way, I'm always pumped for a positive college hoops reference in pop culture, and there was little chance I was going to hear that line and not somehow incorporate it into this week's Top 25. Not to mention he said it while wearing a gravy boat on his head and having his arm wrapped in support around Ted Nugent. Yeah, exactly. You would have tried to work it in there, too...

Top 25, friends. Hope on the boat, and let's have at it...

Wild Card Picks: The Lovely Ladies of Wild Card Weekend...

Well friends, much like the first snow to hit the Northeast, the playoffs are upon us. Time for legends to be made, frauds exposed and nails bitten down to the nub. Pretty much, it's the best of the best duking it out for the ring that will go on to define their career, and no matter what happens, we're sure to be entertained. It's really just a beautiful thing. A sweet science, if you will. Which is a lot better than that ESPN "Sport Science" segment, where they reveal the mystery of how Tim Tebow throws with his left hand and how it is a basketball gets it's bounce. And people wonder why I no longer watch SportsCenter...

There's another science at play this week too, though, and that's the science of handicapping these games and attempting to turn a profit. Usually a tough proposition, but thanks to a statistical anomaly, I'm thinking that this year's picks should be easier than in season's past. What is that anomaly, you ask? Well, as I combed through the stats and trends, courtesy of sites like Covers.com, I realized one very important fact: In a year where two of the worst statistical defenses in the HISTORY of the NFL (GB, NE), are the two #1 seeds, past trends and tactics need not apply. So, yes. I've read through all the numbers, combed through all the past results, and decided that this year, that information is absolutely useless. That doesn't mean I don't have a system in place to make my picks, it just means that I'll be doing it more based on what's happened this year as opposed to what may have happened in playoffs past. See? There's a method to my madness, now all we have to do is figure out if that method bares fruit...

So let's get to figurin'...

Oh and this week's theme is the sexy girls of the Widlcard Weekend, so allow that to serve as added incentive if you weren't already impressed with my new and improved method and were actually thinking about jumping ship before the page break...

College Hoops Top 25 (1/3)

Well my friends, here we are. A new year, and a new attempt at mastering the enigmatic contest that is the NCAA Tournament bracket pool. That, and another year of making it known on a weekly basis that I think most of the pollsters, from both the media and the coaching sides of things, aren't nearly as informed and knowledgeable as the average hard core fan. That hard core fan in this case, being your truly. Which is why you'll have to judge for yourself whether or not I actually believe the team I have at #1 is the best team in the country, or I'm merely putting them there to prove I'm not a "box score lemming" that just randomly assigns teams based on the public perception. That, will be your decision. The rest, are up to me...

It's college hoops, baby. And the race to March is now officially on...

Enjoy...