SportsTube: “We have lost our minds in the booth right now”
I don’t know anything about the X-Games or the sports in the Olympics that are X-Games sports, but when the snowboard halfpipe came on yesterday, I couldn’t help but think of my all-time favorite piece of skateboarding announcing. There seem to be multiple levels to the guys’ announcing.
:00 It starts out with some normal announcing from Sal Masekela, Chris Miller, and Tony Hawk. It’s kind of stupid because it’s the X-Games, but just get through it with me. Level 1
:25 The guys start to perk up a little bit. Level 2
:35 Sal’s head explodes. Level 47
1:04 The run ends officially, but Bob keeps going. Level 48
1:10 The other guys’ heads explode. Level 5,023
1:14 “We have lost our minds in the booth right now…. That was one of the most furious displays of beautiful skateboarding…”
“Oh, the REwind REvert!”
Longtime Listener: All-Stars and etcetera
It’s back. I know you’ve all been waiting for it. Mitch Bruno returns to Maroon City for Longtime Listener to debrief NBA All-Star weekend and discuss the outlook for the second half.
Longtime Listener – February 17, 2010
Also, be sure to keep an eye out for Mitch’s regular column, which should be starting in the near future.
Download the original attachment For a men’s tennis squad teetering on the edge of the NCAA tournament picture, Sunday’s match against Wash U would have been an enormous boost. If only moral victories counted. Read more…
SportsTube: Best of the Super Bowl Commercials
There is something wrong with me. I tend to watch certain YouTube videos dozens and dozens of times. Like that Carmelo Anthony dunk that I posted yesterday. Watched it too many times for me to feel comfortable even guessing.
That’s the case with this Charles Barkley Taco Bell commercial, too. It’s not even good, but I keep watching it. Maybe it’s just how he says “a cheesy gordita, crunch to munch.”
What do you guys think? Is this Lil Wayne or Dr. Seuss?
I really thought there were only three other good Super Bowl commercials this year. Not a great crop, but I also enjoyed these ones:
“How bout lavender?”
“How bout not?”
The Triumphant Return of SportsTube
Well, we decided to bring back SportsTube to inject some life into this place, so I thought I’d go big for the first one. It was either that or go home, and even though I’m already at home, I thought I’d just go ahead with this.
These are my top three dunks of the NBA season so far. Hopefully, if you’re an NBA person like me, you’ve seen all of these. If you’re not an NBA person, you should be, and hopefully this will get you started. Enjoy.
3. Excuse Derrick Rose while he kisses the sky (and dunks on it with both hands)
I’d like for this to be number one, and honestly it’s the nastiest dunk I’ve seen from the Bulls since I was in elementary school. “Mama, there goes that man.”
2. Carmelo Anthony claims block on Paul Millsap
Oh, Mike Tirico, you’ve made me so happy. I liked Carmelo Anthony coming into the season, but this play made him my favorite non-Bull.
1. I don’t know even know what to say
I thought Dwyane Wade was joking, at first. My goodness. The “OH! A FACIAL!” seals the deal for me. And on the second time you watch this one, make sure to keep your eyes on Anderson Varejao.
Check back tomorrow for another installment of SportsTube.
Back on track
Really a nice weekend for women’s basketball. Check out Ryan Tryzbiak’s article over at ChicagoMaroon.com: “Offense shines in wins over Rochester, Emory”
That first half against Emory was one of the most absurd halves of basketball I’ve watched at Chicago. Honestly, it was an unbelievable performance. The transition game was rolling, and the Eagles really had no solution to the Maroons’ defense. A few thoughts:
Found in transition
The way this team is running would make Nofi Mojidi proud.
The box score has just nine turnovers for Emory, but the way Chicago capitalized there made it seem like way more. It wasn’t “seven seconds or less,” but this isn’t the same offense we saw last year. The guards are really pushing the pace, and even the posts are getting in on the transition game.
Here’s what Aaron Roussell had to say about that part of Chicago’s game recently: “We probably made a more concerted effort over winter break to get out in transition. The kids enjoy the faster style and they’re really excelling in it.”
With aggressive players like Meghan Herrick on the floor, it’s no wonder Chicago’s gone to a running game, and the benefits show in the numbers. Consider: In the first 12 games, Chicago went 8–4 and averaged about 60 points per contest. That’s skewed by the Wash game, but they also broke 70 only three times over that span. In the last eight games, they’ve gone 7–1 and averaged about 72 points per game.
You have to of course take into account the effects of a quicker pace on the defensive end. Opponents’ scoring has risen about seven points per game, from 53 to 60. Still, I’ll take that five-point improvement in margin of victory any day of the week.
The Fairly Normal-Sized Aristotle
Molly Hackney has been unstoppable over the last eight games. Jordan and I were talking about how she’s one of the best players in program history at newspaper production, and as I went to say “…in program history,” Jordan cut me off with “…in Division III.” I don’t see any way to argue against that.
Friday night was ridiculous; I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a statline that started with “11 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers” and ended with “in 16 minutes of play.” My goodness. Have you ever heard of anyone getting that close to a triple-double in that short a time?
Roussell put it like this: “Molly Hackney on Friday was as good a well-rounded performance as I’ve seen here…. She easily could have had 20, but she was unselfish with the ball, she made the extra pass…. When she plays like she did this weekend, we’re a scary team.”
Since scoring two in the Wash U debacle, Molly has gone for 12 points and 7 rebounds a game. For those of you scoring (or record-keeping?) at home, her career total is now at 1,050 points, 39 away from seventh all-time.
Kicked while they’re up
Dana Kaplan suffered a pretty bad looking shoulder injury on Friday as she and a couple of Emory players tangled for a loose ball at halfcourt in the first half. It looked pretty bad right away, just the way she got up and had to get off the court immediately.
Roussell said he’s hopeful that she’ll be back this weekend, but it could be much more serious. Pending some x-rays, Kaplan’s separation/dislocation could mean the end of the her season.
That’ll be tough for even a team as deep as Chicago to lose her toughness on the floor if the injury does turn out to be serious.
The Jenna Lillemoe Show
I would be remiss to leave the first-year out of a discussion of this weekend.
Boy, can this kid play. We haven’t seen a ton of her this year, whether due to her bout with mono at the start of the season or just due to Chicago’s long bench. Either way, this weekend looked like a sign of things to come.
She knocked down 7 of her 11 shots this weekend, scoring 22 points to go with a combined 8 rebounds. The 14 points Friday night were by far her career high, and the 6 rebounds also set a career mark.
Said Roussell: “She’s going to be a really good player here…. She’s been doing it in practice all year. She stands out all the time. It just hadn’t happened on the court.”
Play-by-play of the day
Probably the coolest part of that 53–23 first half:
In a perfect world, everything would fit into the newspaper. In a perfect world, the newspaper would be able to print more than eight pages. Until the world becomes perfect, Maroon City is going to try to make its sports coverage a little more perfect by filling you in on what should have gone in but didn’t. Today, it’s Track & Field. Read more…
Around the UAA for January 26, 2010
Headlines from around the UAA in basketball, track, and swimming. Read more…
Longtime Listener: an NBA podcast
Mitch Bruno and I have been working on a podcast over the last few months. Well, that’s misleading: We’ve made four episodes over the past two months. But, we’ve decided to start doing it regularly, and here is our first official episode. Let us know what you all think we can do to make this thing good.
Longtime Listener: Episode 4 (January 23, 2010)
Also, we’re going to get back to making this thing a real blog, so be sure to check back often for the latest news on whatever Jordan and I feel like posting. Or U of C sports news. You know, whichever.
Fun under the (plastic) sun: a women’s basketball recap
Every night should be Beach Night.
The ladies had quite a bit to ponder this week, as they set season lows in points, field-goal shooting, assists, and rebounds against Wash U.
But a good crowd at the Ratner Center and some inflatable palm trees made the difference Friday night, as the women topped NYU 71–61. Well, some all-around quality basketball might have played a role, but just in case, let’s make those palm trees permanent.
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