March 7, 2006
Sports Notes
>> Oh those clever Redskins. First they use the NFL labor talks as an opportunity to buy out disgruntled linebacker LaVar Arrington and then while the area media whips itself into a frenzy over the move, the club quietly announces that, much like the Wizards, ticket prices will be going up, up, up next season. Surprising no one, the 'Skins attributed the increases to putting the team more in line with other teams in the area are charging. So apparently it's someone elses fault they have to raise prices. For those of you writing checks at home, the Gibbskins already had the fifth highest ticket price in the NFL last season. As for Arrington, he wants to land somewhere in the NFC East, preferably in Philadelphia or New York, so we likely haven't seen that last of the second overall pick in 2000.
>> George Mason, squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament after their loss to Hofstra over the weekend in the CAA conference tournament semifinals, suffered another blow yesterday when the team suspended star guard Tony Skinn for one game following an incident where Skinn punched an opposing player in the groin. "In the heat of a tense game, I lost my head and made a bad decision," Skinn said in a statement released by the school. "I'm not making excuses for my actions and I take full responsibility for what I did." Full responsibility may include causing the team to lose an at large bid to the Big Dance. Yesterday on ESPN News bracket guru Joe Linardi said the suspension could cause the selection committee to pass over George Mason in favor of another team. Tony Kornheiser thinks that team should be Maryland, but lets not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?
>> You may have noticed a lack of on field Nats coverage lately despite the team's return to the field in spring training. Well, that's because we are looking for someone to take over our day to day Nats coverage. If you think you have what it takes, drop me a line with some writing samples and tell me why you're the right person for the job.
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Kornheiser is on crack. Maryland has TWO wins against remotely good teams.
Here's who they've beaten: Arkansas (in Hawaii in November) and Boston College (at home in early December). Both games with Chris McCray.
Their other wins are against Fairleigh Dickinson, Chaminade (does that even count?), Nicholls State, Minnesota, Western Carolina, American, Delaware State, VMI, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech (twice), my Virginia Cavaliers (twice), and Miami.
Sure, they played a hard schedule, but they LOST all of their hard games! They don't have any "bad" losses - unless you count losing to the 8th-place A-10 team (Temple), or being trounced at home by UNC, or being trounced on the road against Clemson. Gary (and the Kornhole) should shut up and deal with it. If they go to the final of the ACC tourney, maybe they have a case. Otherwise, be prepared for the NIT.
if they get two wins in the acc tournament then they are definitely in.
and, by the way, kornheiser is god.
and, lord of the beads.
(W-L) against teams with RPI of 101-200:
GMU: 4-2
Maryland: 6-0
Could play a huge factor come Selection Sunday
If they win two that means they will have beaten Georgia Tech and Boston College. Given that they'd likely be obliterated in the next round by Carolina, the final wouldn't be realistic. Still, beating BC as an underdog on a neutral court in North Carolina shouldn't impress the committee much.
They might be in at that point, but first it needs to happen. Admittedly, they got a great draw (pity poor FSU, who's going to play against homestanding 12-seed Wake Forest). But I doubt it.
As for Kornheiser... I always knew there had to be a limit to how much self-reverence I could take in my sports column reading. I just assumed that Wilbon would get there first. I was wrong.
$35 for parking!!! Who in their right mind would pay $35 for parking and not walk from the nearby Metro station? Hell, if I lost both arms and both legs to a hay baler I'd still tounge myself to the stadium instead of paying $35 for a 3-hour parking space.
Thank you GhettoBurbs. I was having problems channeling the appropriate outrage over the parking increase, but that will do quite nicely.
Actually the Maryland win over Chaminade does NOT count with the NCAA tournament selection committee, it only considers games against Division I opponents.
Tony Kornheiser seems to believe that regardless of actual performance on the court, so-called major conference teams deserve all the benefit of the doubt while so-called mid-majors deserve only table scraps. And of course, "Mr. Tony" is seriously in the tank for Maryland Coach Gary Williams but then that's just self-evident.
Many will pay $35 for parking because it's hard to haul a keg, grill, beef, ribs, turducken, stereo, tent, etc. from the metro. It's about a mile walk to the stadium. If you put 5 people in a car, it doesn't cost that much more than the metro from DC. Not that I want to pay more, but they've got us by the balls.
watch your mouth everett!
I'm suprised tailgaters haven't started setting up shop at the Landover Mall parking lot. It's a fairly short walk and I've heard the proprieters charge a more rectally pleasing fee.
I won two (yes count them TWO) NCAA polls last year because I followed Tony on almost every pick in the bracket (the WP published it in the post before the tourney so don't tell me I am cheating). Sure Maryland has lost some games as of late but lets remember who the last two, NC and Fl St, and who did NC and FL st just both beat? Some team... can't remember who... OH YEAH, DUKE, ranked #1 in the rpi and #3 in the coaches and AP! Personally I can't stand the twerps, but when Korny talks you got's to respect. My prediction Twerps in as a 12 seed and they get destroyed by somebody like Tenn or Kansas, but they are in.
Or maybe it's just that Tony recognizes strength of schedule and that GMU has a stupidly weak schedule when it comes to college bball.
Sparky, Maryland's been losing 'em all year, not just "of late". Every time they've played a quality opponent, except those two (really early-season, playing WITH McCray) examples I cited, they've lost. When they played them at home, they lost close. When they played them away, they got destroyed.
I'm not arguing for any particular team, or against any particular conference. I'm just saying Maryland had ample opportunities to prove it on the court this year, playing in the ACC, and they didn't do it. They still might (in the conference tourney), but they haven't yet.
(By the way... Joe Lunardi over at ESPN has Maryland out, and his final results have been 64 for 65 the last few years...so you know, pick your pundit.)
re: Terps and tourney, this from cbsportsline's Gregy Doyel:
Gary Williams talks tough. Soon, we'll find out if he is tough.
Williams, Maryland's wonderful if occasionally condescending coach, suggested to the Washington Post on Sunday that teams from the Missouri Valley Conference -- whose hopes for a record five NCAA Tournament bids would come at the expense of larger leagues -- have been ducking schools like Maryland.
"They haven't been banging down anyone's door in the ACC to play," Williams told the Post. "The phone works both ways, last time I checked."
Yes, it does. And sources in the Valley tell me that by the end of this week, Williams will have received calls -- and offers to play a home-and-home series beginning next season -- from every team in the Missouri Valley.
Don't you love that?
Missouri State coach Barry Hinson was so excited by Williams' apparent offer that he had his scheduling director call the Maryland basketball offices first thing Monday morning to schedule a home-and-home series with the Terps beginning next season. And Missouri State is willing to play the first game on the road, even if that means bailing out on a money-making home game already on the schedule for next season.
By 3 p.m., when Maryland hadn't returned the call, Hinson called Maryland himself and left the same message. As of this morning, Williams hadn't returned Hinson's call. He also hasn't yet returned a message left this morning by CBS SportsLine.com to discuss the issue further.
In Williams' defense, he's preparing for this little thing called the ACC tournament. He has a lot on his mind. But if he's going to talk tough when the Washington Post calls, he better be prepared to back it up when Missouri State and Northern Iowa call.
Hilarious. I guarantee Williams won't return those calls.