Meet Jeremy Lin

The Jeremy Lin tongue wag.  It's a thing.

In 2006, Jeremy Lin's Palo Alto Vikings went 32-1 and won state.  He was the Northern California Division II player of the year.

No scholarship offers.

He was offered to walk on to his dream school, UCLA.  He was only guaranteed spots on the team at Harvard and Brown.  However, Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships.  Lin chose Harvard.

In his four years at Harvard, the team started to gain national recognition.  Lin's biggest performance, arguably, was a 30 point performance on the road against 12th ranked UConn in his senior season.  His four year run at Harvard ended with a first team selection in his senior season and numerous team and individual records set.

But like every other California-bred Asian who graduated from Harvard in 2010, Lin went undrafted.

Before the season started, he signed with the Golden State Warriors.  He spent the season back in forth between Oakland and Reno, where Golden State's development team play.  During the 2010-11 season, Lin playing sparingly when he was in Oakland.  However, he did gain a cult following among Asian American fans, being the first American in the NBA of Chinese or Taiwanese decent.  His game was praised by the likes of Derek Fisher.  He received nearly as many interview requests as fellow Warriors, Stephen Curry.  He was approached by people wanting to make him the subject of documentaries.

However, the first day day of training camp after the lockout Lin was released by Golden State.  In the next three weeks, he was picked up by Houston, waived by Houston and signed by New York.  A month later he was sent down to Erie for another stint in the D-League.  He was called up a week later and he is here to stay.

He was in the D-League fifteen days ago.  If you do not know the name Jeremy Lin, you have been living under a rock.

I know it is a long basketball season and this kid has only shined in three games.  He went off for 28, 25 and 23 points in his last three games and the Knicks are 3-0 in that stretch.  He has warranted all of the headlines on a team with Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Iman Shumpert and Tyson Chandler.

He has warranted almost Tebow-like coverage from ESPN and appears to be on an even-keel.  Tonight he plays the Lakers.  We can see Jeremy Lin on the court with Kobe Bryant.

We might not hear about Tim Tebow for an entire week.  Maybe for a few months if "Linsanity" could tongue wag his way to an NBA title.



UPDATE:  Tonight at MSG, Lin led the Knicks to a 92-85 win over the Lake Show.  This game was marked by weak guard play on LA's part.  As a result, Lin put up 38 points en route to the victory.

I will now often refer to Lin as the "Yellow Mamba."

Austin Rivers Provides Signature Moment

Austin Rivers emerges from the Dean E. Smith Center
in Chapel Hill for the first time,
taking with him 29 points and a place in Duke lore.

Tonight, Austin Rivers added to the lore of the Duke/UNC rivalry.

After we thought we had seen it all on Saturday night in Columbia, it turns out that it was just a warm up for Duke/UNC.

College Basketball's greatest rivalry took center stage tonight.  Duke beat North Carolina 85-84 and were down by 10 with 2:20 left in the game.  That was not what will be remembered about this game in ten.   What will be remembered, however, is the final shot that gave Duke the win.

Austin Rivers, a Duke freshman, went to Chapel Hill and hit a three to win at the buzzer.

Repeat: Austin Rivers, a Duke FRESHMAN, went to CHAPEL HILL and hit a THREE to WIN at the BUZZER.

Or to put it another way, my Consumer Ed teacher's nephew just went to Chapel Hill and beat the Tar Heels.

This will be in Duke/Carolina montages for years to come.  People will remember that shot as an important moment in College Basketball's best rivalry.  Put that together with the fact that Duke went on a 13-2 run to close out Carolina, that makes this the game of the year.

That being said, the only real bearing this game has is conference tournament seeding, bragging rights and potentially NCAA tournament seeding.  But that game was something more than that.  It's not every year a freshman wearing a Blue Devils uniform puts up 29 and hits a game-winning shot at the buzzer.  But in the world of college basketball when Miami can beat Duke and Deividas Dulkys can beat UNC by themselves, Murray State can be undefeated in February, Missouri is an elite team, the National Player of the Year may be a Perspectives grad with a unibrow.

So far, this has been the craziest start of a College Basketball season that I can remember.  Every week there's a new hero.  From Brandon Paul, to Deividas Dulkys, to Marcus Denmon to Austin Rivers.  This weekend there will most certainly be a new hero and a new hero.

Who knows.  Maybe the Pac-12 will have a legitimate team come tournament time.

Crazier things have happened this year.

Kobe Surpasses Shaq For Fifth On Scoring List

Michael Jordan passed the torch to Kobe Bryant.  
Kobe might just carry that torch to the
top of the NBA's scoring list.

Following a 90-95 loss to the 76ers, in which Kobe Bryant put up 28 points, Kobe passed Shaquille O'Neal for 5th on the NBA's all time scoring list with 28,061.  Here's the scary part about it, Kobe is not cashed.  He can still put up 40 points in a given night.  He is still the league's best closer.  He can still hang with Derrick Rose and LeBron James.  He can still go out there and win at least one more title.  He could pass Kareem.

Kobe Bryant is only 33.

Now history aside, Shaquille O'Neal used this as an opportunity to ask Kobe how his ass tastes personally congratulate Bryant.  After the game, Shaq told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith,  "I want to personally congratulate Kobe on being the greatest Laker ever.  His accomplishment is great and well deserved, and I'm really proud of him.  He told me when he was 18 years old that he'd go down as the greatest Laker ever, and one of the greatest players of all time.  And he wasn't lying."

For Kobe's thoughts on his achievement and O'Neal's comments, watch his interview with Stephen A. Smith below.

Kobe Bryant SportsCenter (TM) Interview with Stephen A. Smith (02/06/2012)

Now people are coming around to the fact that Kobe Bryant is this generation's Michael Jordan.  He is not as great as Jordan and will never be, but at the end of the day, his resume might be just as great.

But for now, Kobe needs to play out the string of his career and then his case will be open to the court of public opinion.  Congrats to Kobe Bryant, the best player in the NBA of the 2000's.  One of the best players this game has ever seen.

A Perfect Ending To A Fairytale Week In Tiger Nation

Marcus Denmon scored 9 straight points to
give Missouri the lead for good.
Consider this a parting shot.

Let me preface this post by saying that no amount of words can properly put Saturday night's Missouri/Kansas game.  If you were not there, I apologize for the fact that I could not make this event come alive on to your computer screen.

Having said that, I have attended two great games in my life.  Wheaton-Warrenville South Tigers 31 Glenbard West Hilltoppers 24: Champaign, Illinois November 28th, 2009.  Missouri Tigers 74 Kansas Jayhawks 71: Columbia, Missouri February 4th, 2012.  The latter one easily outdid the former.

As a Mizzou student, the lead up to this game started last semester when my roommate and I camped out with one of his friends overnight to secure tickets to the game.  It was a cold and wet night.  Steve Moore came into our tent.  I picked up my ticket in time to get to my first class at 9 A.M..  Afterwards, I took a nap and woke up at 6 P.M to find out that the last ticket had been claimed roughly ten hours after I had claimed mine.  It did not matter because it was Kansas and therefore, it was the most important game of the year.

What was not expected, was that Mizzou would finish their non-conference schedule undefeated.  The Missouri Tigers had become all of the rage by the time Hate Week started.  They were 19-2 with their only losses coming on the road against a hot Kansas State team and a fluke against lowly Oklahoma State.  They had knocked off Baylor in Waco, who currently holds a 21-2 record and was undefeated just days before they had to play Missouri until losing to Kansas.

Now before I go any further, if you told me four years ago that Missouri would beat Texas in football and basketball AND beat Texas and Kansas in basketball in the same week, I would have called you crazy.

Not so much this year.

In a game that the Tigers almost threw away, they knocked off a down Longhorn team in Austin and had five days to prepare for Kansas.

Two days later was national signing day.  A day in which Dorial Green-Beckham, arguably the best football prospect, signed with Gary Pinkel and the Missouri Tigers.  The M-I-Z...D-G-B sign is still hanging from the facade of the Sigma Nu fraternity house on College Avenue in Columbia.  Later that night, the first tent was set up in anticipation of College Gameday.

The next day, I had a Political Science class with friend and Mizzou superfan, Steve Goldberg.  After class finished at approximately 1:45 P.M. that afternoon, he left to help a group of students set up a tent and wait in line for College Gameday, 55 hours before tip off.  For his efforts, he was interviewed by several media outlets.  Most notably, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

College Gameday came to Columbia on Saturday morning before the game.  ESPN had fallen for the Missouri Tigers basketball team.  The analysts picked four Tigers in a College Basketball fantasy draft. Digger gave the crowd the obligatory "best fans" line.  Kim English put Michael Dixon Jr.  as well as the Delta Gamma and Tri Delta (Delta Delta Delta) sororities on the spot during the show.

As for the game itself, this was the last Mizzou/Kansas game in Columbia before the Tigers leave the Big 12 for the SEC.  It may be the last time these two would ever play in Columbia.  This was an opportunity for the Tigers to make another big statement on the national stage.  Mizzou has been on the rise in football and basketball for the better part of the last decade.  In 2010, Mizzou celebrated their 99th homecoming by knocking off #1 ranked Oklahoma in football.  In 2011, Mizzou celebrated their 100th Homecoming (a tradition that had been invented at Mizzou) by beating Iowa State 52-17.  The next month, amidst rumors that they were going to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, did just that.  Less than a week ago, Dorial Green-Beckham signed a letter of intent to play for the Tigers.  Now they had their chance at a parting shot at their most bitter rivals from the west.  A rivalry that dates back to the Civil War.  One of the most hate-filled rivalries in Columbia.  The start of Rivalry Week.  College Gameday.  Kansas brought their storied program and national champions and Missouri brought a team hungry for success on a national stage and a fan base hungry for national recognition.  Both teams brought Top 10 rankings.

All of the talk between fans.  No Mom Tom.  Brendan Hudson.  The time for all of the fanfare was over.  At 8 P.M. Saturday night on February 4th, 2012, it was time to play basketball.

The game had an Ali-Frazier vibe to it.  Missouri took a 5 point edge into the locker room.  The game continued to go back and forth.  Kansas made a run, Missouri responded with a run of their own.  With 6 minutes left in the contest it was 64-63 Jayhawks

Cue Kansas.

Conner Teahen stole the ball Matt Pressey and made a three pointer on the other side of the court.  Kansas 67 Missouri 63.  Michael Dixon and Matt Pressey both missed three pointers on the next possession and Thomas Robinson made a jumper at the other end of the court.  Kansas 69 Missouri 63. Marcus Denmon then turned the ball over and Tyshawn Taylor dunked it with authority.  Kansas 71 Missouri 63.  Marcus Denmon would miss a three-point shot on the next possession.  The game was over.  Kansas had found a way to rain on Missouri's parade.  Rock Chalk Jayhawk.

Or at least that's what it seemed like.

Thomas Robinson would miss, get his own rebound and turn the ball over on the next Jayhawk possession.  Denmon made a layup and "T-Rob" would send Denmon to the line soon after.  He would make 1 of 2 shots.  Missouri's poor free throw shooting in the second half would have been a major gripe of fans had the outcome been different.  Kansas held a five point lead.

Robinson would turn the ball over on KU's next possession.  Marcus Denmon, then jacked up a three-point shot and without regards to the laws of physics, the ball went into the net.  Kansas 71 Missouri 69.  Was this really happening?  Missouri had come back from the dead to make it a game.  The crowd was split between screaming at deafening volumes and having a collective heart attack.  Phil Pressey then stole the ball from Tyshawn Taylor and Denmon would hit a three from the corner to take the lead.  The crowd erupted.  Missouri 72 Kansas 71 with 56 seconds left in the game.  Marcus Denmon had just gone on a 9-0 run.

Kansas would get their chance to win.  This is where Tyshawn Taylor earns his status as the goat.  On the Jayhawks' next two possessions, Taylor would miss two free throws and turn the ball over.  Michael Dixon made two free throws with 10 seconds left in the game and Elijah Johnson missed a desperation three at the end of the game to seal a 74-71 victory for the Missouri Tigers.

To their credit, Missouris' fans acted like a Top 10 crowd by not storming the court.  They were too busy watching Kansas standout, Thomas Robinson cry.

I could go on talking about the scene after the game.  The honking horns, the after-party and the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity blasting "Black Betty" from their porch on Maryland Avenue after the game.  I can talk about the guy who brought the Quantrill flag to the game and College Gameday.  I can talk about how Frank Haith boarded his team up in a hotel after the game so they would not party too hard and overlook Oklahoma, who they play on Monday.  I can talk about the guy who got his "Digger Please" sign taken away.  I can talk about how the crowd did the Missouri Waltz over and over again throughout the day.  I could talk about how I laughed to myself when the crowd said "STEEEEEEVEEEEEE" whenever Steve Moore was introduced or made a big play because of an inside joke I have with a friend.  I can talk about how I get goosebumps and tears in my eyes watching Denmon hit the shot to bring the Tigers within two points on their final run.  I can talk about how I will still be describing every aspect of this day, night, week, weekend and game for the rest of my life.  I can talk about how proud I am to be a Missouri Tiger.  I could recruit thousands of Tigers to recall every detail of the game and the events leading up to the game.

But none of these words will completely put into perspective how monumental the last seven days was for Missouri Tiger.

That's me at the far left.  

An Unremarkably Giant Super Bowl in Indy

Ahmad Bradshaw takes a seat in the end zone for the
game winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLVI

Giants 2 Patriots 0.  This is the head-to-head advantage the New York Giants have in Super Bowls against the New England Patriots.  It was also the score of last nights game New England ran their first play from scrimmage.

That being said, what was the story of this Super Bowl?

Having watched the whole game, I fail to see what the big story to take from this was.  Of course, we could take Eli Manning besting Tom Brady for the second time.  We could take Eli having passed up Peyton in the "titles won" department.  We could talk about the role Rob Gronkowski's injury had to do with the outcome of the game.  We could talk about the defensive prowess of Jason Pierre-Paul.  We could talk about how the Patriots and Giants could have played a more disciplined football game.  We could talk about what New England could have done differently on their last drive.

Honestly, it did not feel like anything special.  This was not Santonio making a catch in the corner of the endzone, it was not a ravaged city having their day in the sun, it was not Justin Timberlake sticking gum on David Tyree's helmet and it was not Peyton Manning or John Elway getting the title monkey off their back.

Ladies and gentlemen, this year's Super Bowl was nothing special.

I will remember this game as another failure for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick as well of the group of people I watched the game with.  The game itself was not special, for it lacked that signature moment.

Aside from that, congratulations to Eli Manning on winning his second Super Bowl MVP award.  Congrats to M.I.A. for your middle finger during the halftime show will provide us with stale, boring halftime shows for another seven Super Bowls.  You are truly the goat of the night.  I would also like to wish the best of luck and a speedy recovery to Giants Tight End Travis Beckum who tore his ACL in the second quarter of tonights game.

Now it is time for ESPN to tell us what to think of this game and First Take to spend 5 more days on Tim Tebow.

UPDATE:  ESPN has told us that Eli Manning is now a future Hall of Fame Quarterback and now a better Quarterback than Peyton.  He also told us that Mario Manningham made the catch of the game on the last drive on the sideline.  I can agree with that, but I can not fathom why they would compare that to David Tyree's catch.  As for Eli Manning, I can see him as a Hall of Famer but he's not better than Peyton and/or Brady.  Not yet.  Brady's receivers did not make plays.  People are already forgetting Peyton in his prime.

If you think that Eli is better than Peyton, Trent Dilfer has more Super Bowl trophies than Dan Marino. Rex Grossman has appeared in as many Super Bowls than Dan Marino.  That's the beauty of sports, ladies and gentlemen.  With every Super Bowl, a new sensation and a new hero is born.  That's the beauty of sports.

What this proves to me is that Eli Manning has lived up to every bit of the hype around him coming out of Ole Miss and more.  He is most likely a Hall of Fame Quarterback.  He is a hero in New York City.

As for Brady, his legacy should not be questioned.  If you question his legacy, shame on you (I'm looking at you Rob Parker).  Tom Brady won three Super Bowls and appeared in five.  He has spent the better part of his careers making players like Danny Woodhead and Julian Edelman better.  He was the only Quarterback since the 1970's to lead an undefeated regular season.  2 MVPs, 7 Pro Bowls and 2 Super Bowl MVPs.  He's 16-6 in the postseason.

Now Skip Bayless (yes, Skip Bayless) said something that made sense today.  His legacy took a "small hit."  That small hit is that Joe Montana will go down as a better Quarterback than Brady.  Brady is not Montana and will never be better than Montana.

Now Peyton Manning, he's a surgeon in the pocket.  He runs the Peyton Manning offense.  People are going to forget how he took the Pierre Garcons and the Austin Collies of the world and turned them into household names.  Peyton Manning has the greatest brain in NFL history.  Eli has not surpassed him.  Not yet.

Again, congrats to Eli Manning and the New York Giants.  Congrats to Tom Coughlin who might actually receive his props after this game.  Last night I saw a smile on his face.  He looks like a completely different person.  Congrats to Jason Pierre-Paul who put his extraordinary talent on display on a National Stage.  Congrats to Mario Manningham for creating a signature moment of his career.  Congrats to Mark Herzlich, who even though he was inactive, has a Super Bowl Ring.  What a way to say, "Fuck You" to cancer.  Congrats to Justin Tuck who played a great game that hardly anyone seemed to notice.  Congrats to Ahmad Bradshaw for having the most swag on a game winning touchdown in Super Bowl history.

But most of all, congrats to me for calling NBC doing a J.P.P. parody of the song O.P.P. by Naughty by Nature.  Yeah, you know me.

Deploy Plan C?

Sam Gagner celebrates a goal in tonight's 8-4 win
against the visiting Chicago Blackhawks.
Gagner's 8-point performance was the first in 23 years.

The Chicago Blackhawks have hit a snag in their season.

Despite the fact that they are tied for 5th in the Western Conference with St. Louis, Chicago is in the throes of a four game losing streak marked by poor defense and poor goalie play.  This poor goalie play came to a head in an 8-4 loss to Edmonton, in which Centre Sam Gagner posted a franchise-record 8 points.  Repeat:  THE EDMONTON OILERS!

Fun Facts:
-Hawks starting Goalie Corey Crawford, is not in the top 30 in Save Percentage and Goals Allowed Average among all Goalies on pace to play in 27 games.

-The Hawks rank 19th in the league in Average Goals Allowed and 28th in Penalty Kill Percentage with 2.8 and 77.9% respectively.

-Gagner's 8-point game boasted 4 Goals and 4 Assists.  Coming into tonight, he had registered 5 Goals and 17 Assists on the season.  His 8-point performance against Chicago was more than the 7 points he scored in all of January.

-Tonight, Gagner posted the NHL's first 8-point individual performance in 23 years.

-Roughly 17.8 percent of the Oilers goals this season have come in the 4 games they have played against the Blackhawks.  They are 3-1 on the season series, boasting 9 and 8 goal games.

-Edmonton has one of the best Power Plays in the league.  The Blackhawks have one of the worst Penalty Kills in the league.  Despite that fact, the Oilers were 1-7 on Power Plays and gave up a Shorthanded Goal.

-The Blackhawks are 11-3 under backup  Goalie Ray Emery, who did his part tonight, giving up up 3 goals.

After assessing those facts, I feel that Ray Emery does indeed, deserve a crack as an everyday Goalie.  The last time the Hawks switched goalies midway through the season, they won a Stanley Cup.  As for any potential third option, they will probably have to look outside of the organization.  Carter Hutton, Alexander Salak and Alec Richards have all split time at Rockford.  Hutton has put up better numbers and Richards has played in three more games.  That being said, there is not reason to call up a third goalie based off of merit.  Therefore, the Hawks need to go with whichever one of their guys is mentally ready to play the position or look make a deal for another Goalie.

All of that being said, it would be a damn shame if they could not fix their issues in net or on defense.  Their offense has been something to marvel at this season.  In particular, Marian Hossa.  He is finally showing everyone why he was given a 10-year deal.  At the rate he is going, he will finish with one of his finer offensive seasons.  When healthy, the trio of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp have been as productive as usual.  Toews and Sharp are in back the lineup this week, now the Hawks need the wins to start coming.

As for Edmonton, Gagner's 8-point game serves as a shining moment in a season that has become progressively disappointing.  After a hot start, the Oilers have settled in the Fourteenth Place in the Western Conference.

The Hawks are in Calgary to play the Flames tomorrow night so we will not have to wait very long to see if the Chicago's goalie goalies is are ready to play a mentally sound game.  If not, tonight could have marked the beginning of a long spring in Chicago.

Mizzou Lands DGB on Signing Day.

Dorial Green-Beckham will be playing football
for the Missouri Tigers this fall.

This is not an average year at the University of Missouri.

Adding to all of the hype around sports at Missouri, Dorial Green-Beckham has signed a Letter of Intent to play football in Columbia.  For those of you who have been living under a rock, or just do not follow recruiting, the Hillcrest (Springfield, MO) Wide Receiver is ranked 3rd in the 2012 ESPNU 150.  To put it another way, Mizzou is going to have the highest ranked true freshman in the SEC next fall.

DGB, as he's referred to, made two well-documented visits to the University of Missouri.  The first visit was over homecoming weekend, in which he attended the game against Iowa State.  Mizzou won the game and students started to chant M-I-Z...D-G-B.  A fan base hungry for national recognition wanted DGB badly.  The second visit was last weekend.  He attended the Mizzou/Texas Tech basketball game and the M-I-Z...D-G-B chants were back in full effect.  

For the duration between the basketball game to Signing Day, the media was all over any and all things DGB.  Saturday night, reports surfaced that DGB was displeased because he was carded at Harpo's in Columbia.  Monday, it was reported by a "source" that DGB would be choosing Mizzou over Arkansas.  This was denied by Green-Beckham's adoptive father, John Beckham.  This lead to DGB himself tweeting, "It's my time to make my own decision.  Dnt need anyone to tell me where to go cuz it's all on my #mytime."

In the end, however, he chose Mizzou.  He chose Pinkel's spread offense.  He chose Columbia.  He chose a rapidly growing fan base, with an even faster growing reputation.  He chose M-I-Z...D-G-B.

Not a bad deal for the Tigers, considering he was a lock to go to Arkansas last week.