"Finally," Marquette is 2-0.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Marquette forward Lazar Hayward "finally steps up," and that this was the Lazar Hayward Coach Buzz expected to see in the season opener. Exact quote.


"This was the Lazar Hayward coach Buzz Williams wanted to see - banging in the paint, grabbing rebounds, spacing the floor, firing up his teammates.

In other words, doing all the stuff he didn't do in Marquette University's opener."


"Finally" = one game.

Ow, my brain.

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"Failure" = Three #1 Seeds, 7 Tournament teams, 5 Sweet 16 Teams, 2 Final Four Teams

Misleading Headline on SI.com

"Dan Patrick Radio: Boeheim Explains Big East's Failure"

Actual content of link

"Boeheim says the fact the Big East didn't get a team in the final game doesn't mean the conference isn't strong. He says you have to evaluate how many teams went far."

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(Humming 'Dueling Banjos' as I Write This)

A columnist for Georgia's Gwinnett Herald writes in an oddly titled piece that "The South Needs MLS." MLS has recently announced plans to expand to Seattle in 2009, and Philadelphia in 2010. Another round of expansion by two teams is likely to follow in 2011; with the leading candidates being St. Louis, Portland, Ottawa, Vancouver, Miami, Montreal, and New York City (Queens). The closest MLS presently gets to the South is Washington, DC, Columbus, Ohio, and then a whole lotta nothing between there and Houston. Note lack of Southeastern cities' interest.

The writer then shows why Commissioner Don Garber is calling the shots, and he's writing for Atlanta's version of the Daily Herald. The entire piece seems motivated only by the author's desire to personally have a team, yet he almost goes out of his way to show why the region doesn't deserve one.

First off, let's deal with the poor wording of a headline. As far as TV ratings go with a national TV contract, MLS needs the South more than the South appears to need MLS.

Our writer says that he lived in Europe for a while and would love to get swept up in that soccer culture again by having his own team. My response is..."What soccer culture"? The SEC is one of only two BCS-level NCAA conferences that doesn't offer a championship in Men's Soccer (The Big XII is the other). I think that's due to several reasons, one being the cultural prominence of football and the region's success at the college level and bringing up a wealth of successful players from Florida to Texas and everywhere in between. There may also still be a cultural stigma attached of regular, normal, southerners not wanting anything to do with a pansy sport like kickball with all its fer'n'rs and queer-o-sexuals.

He also points out the notorious fair-weather fans in Atlanta, and even more specifically, points out the two failed attempts for MLS to place teams in the South, in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale in the early years of the league and how it was pretty much an abysmal failure. Again, not that surprising.

He thinks a team would work well in Carolina (and to an extent I agree with him there), but he offers Greensboro as a possible site. There we part ways. Now, I can't speak from experience because I've never been to Greensboro, but perhaps that should be telling as to Greensboro's drawing power as a city.

He thinks a Carolina team (in Charlotte, Greensboro, or Raleigh) would do well to market themselves as "the Southeast's team" much like the Atlanta Braves have done. He makes this suggestion apparently unaware of the vast difference popularly, financially, and culturally between MLB and MLS. Case in point; the Red Sox are arguably a "regional team" representing all or most of New England. Same with the New England Revolution. Fenway sells out every night. The Revs have trouble drawing more than 15,000 to games.

Personally, I think that St. Louis and Miami are probably the next two to get in, but think St. Louis and Portland (and maybe Montreal) probably most deserve to get in. We'll probably see it announced either at the Board of Governors Meeting at MLS Cup in November, or before the MLS Draft in January in St. Louis, which I will be covering for YCS.

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Kirk Herbstreit sucks

ESPN's Sportscenter tab "#1 and #2 Teams Upset"

Yes, that's right.
#2 Kansas's loss to #4 (now #1) Missouri, on a neutral site, is an "upset."
Aren't we taking this "season of upsets" a little too far here?

Also.....

Kirk Herbstreit is a dumbass. He pins the "unfairness" of Mizzou having to play in a conference title game while Ohio State doesn't have to on conference commissioners. Never mind that there are certain prerequisites for having one that are actually in the NCAA bylaws. Note the conferences with title games, and what they have in common.

ACC- 12 teams
SEC- 12 teams
Big XII- 12 teams
C-USA- 12 teams
MAC- 13 teams

You can only hold a conference title game if your conference has 12 teams or more and you can split into divisions. That's the whole reason why the SEC poached Arkansas from the old Southwest Conference almost 20 years ago. That's why the old Big Eight confrence snatched up Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor. That's why the ACC added Miami, VaTech, and BC. To get to 12 teams so they could hold a conference title game.

My opinion: If conferences want to hold a cash grab known as a conference title game, then there can be no complaining of unfairness when a team actually has to play in one. Kirk Herbstreit replied in the affirmative to "So by having to play Oklahoma, doesn't Mizzou put themselves in a position where they can only lose what they've already gained?"

There's one game left in the season. Mizzou hasn't "Gained" the national title game yet. They're Big 12 North Champions. Woohey! That's like saying a basketball team with the lead with 2 minutes to go is unfairly made to play the last two minutes and "lose what they already have."

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Two Many Puns

Headline for Chicago Sun-Times Preview piece for tonight's Fire-DC United playoff series.

"Misfiring Fire needs to finish, or it'll be finished."

Ugh.

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From the Bad Headlines Department

This would be the headline to the announcement of UConn's schedule:

Husky men get busy early in schedule

Remember folks, friends don't let friends write headlines drunk.

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