February 2010 Archives

This was to be the let down game for the Maryland Terrapins. And that was the consensus before the water pipe breaks. However, after a 3 hour delay when Virginia Tech officials finally decided the show must go on without running water, the Terps beat the Hokies 104-100 in double overtime. It solidified the Terps as the second seed in the ACC and put the Hokies in the fight to settle for third or lower.

The game was close most of the time and in the second half it was really close. Double digit lead changes and ties added to the tension, but the Terps rolled on and persevered. Despite trailing at times, they took the lead late in regulation only to allow the Hokies to catch up and send it to overtime. What seemed noticeable is that the crowd in Blacksburg seemed to be loud, but still not overwhelming. They had the opportunity to taunt Greivis Vasquez as he missed the basket on an early field goal, yet failed to continue to harass him with "Airball!". Certainly the whole ACC knows his quick temper and it would have gotten in his mind.

Instead, without the reminder, it allowed Vasquez to take control and score 41 points. Sean Mosley played an excellent game to provide 17 and Jordan Williams continued his excellent freshman season, but struggled early at the free throw line.

Winning this game puts the Terps at a virtual lock for the NCAA berth. With 2 games left before the ACC tournament, MD could rest easy, but Duke at home for senior night and at Virginia to end the season does not leave much breathing room. Also important is this win has to put the Terps back in the Top 25 in both polls, something the voters neglected to provide to them last week, leaving Duke the only ranked ACC team in decades. Next up is Duke on Wednesday, and fans should hope for respectable game and if cards fall the right way, a win at home to end the seniors careers at College Park.

Dear Mr. Commissioner:

So this let's get this out of the way. You screwed up. Yes, the lockout was successful in the goal of cost control, but the NHL has been royally damaged. You are no longer on ESPN now seen on Versus (for those of us not on DirecTV), NBC, and whatever local stations will carry your individual teams. Now that we've got that out of the way, you want to save your sport by not allowing NHL players in the 2014 Olympics?

We understand your position. Why stop your season for 2 weeks to be dumped on MSNBC? The reason why not is simple. You'll get crushed in the ratings because the Olympics are not about hockey alone. So here's how to fix it.

1. Negotiate: You know, that thing you didn't do well enough to keep the NHL on ESPN? You have an advantage and you may not know it. Everyone thinks you are serious about holding out the NHL players. Heck, that may even be true. But strike a deal with the IOC.
2. Demand: In return, your sport must be featured on the main broadcast partner of the Olympics then, likely still NBC. They must run NHL ads during the game.
3. Push: Get figure skating on at the different schedule from yours. That's the excuse NBC is using and you lose that argument. More people will watch those women skate figure 8's than your guys shooting the puck. Without direct competition, NBC may have to cave.

Sure we are talking about 4 years from now, but advance planning helps. Remember, you have the upper hand. At the moment I'm writing this, USA is up 6-0 over the Fins and ready to head to the Gold Medal game Sunday against probably Team Canada. Unbelievable that is going to occur, but no better time than now to prove your point that people will watch hockey.

Of course, I fully expect you to fail to see the logic in my reasoning. So in that regard, I bid you a good day. Please resign soon. I'll apply for your job at half your current salary. While NHL comes in after NFL, MLB, NCAA basketball, and possibly even the PGA, I think I could do a better job to market the sport and maximize profits for the owners. Because we know that's what the owners want.

Sincerely,

Big Money Tony

PS - follow me on twitter @BMTSports, so you can read how I will trash your name during the gold medal game and the Stanley Cup playoffs. Not because I'm cruel, but because it's just so easy to do.

With 1.5 seconds left in the game, the Terrapin's Junior reserve guard Cliff Tucker dropped a thunderous game winning three point shot to seal a 76-74 victory for MD. The Yellow Jackets appeared deflated and dejected after witnessing two game winning shots by the Terps in last three seconds of the game. Cliff Tucker's game wining shot, the second game winning basket by MD in the waning seconds of the game, was his coming out party for the rest of the college basketball nation.

After the Yellow Jackets Frazor put back a missed shot for Georgia Tech, Greivis Vasquez ran down the court and banked in a 3 Pt shot over half court for the win with 3 seconds to go in the game or so everyone thought. The officials had acknowledged a time out by MD before the shot by Vasquez was taken. .9 seconds were left on the game clock until the officials reviewed the play and placed 1.5 seconds on the clock for MD and placed the inbounds behind the half court line.

Credit Gary Williams with a great cocaching decision. During the time out a play was chosen to run for one of the team's most unlikely player's to anyone that doesn't follow the Terps. Tucker excels in a transition game, on the free throw line, and even knocking down jump shots consistantly even when coming off the bench cold.

What some around the nation may not know is that earlier in Tucker's time at MD when his playing time diminished and his spot in the rotation coming off the bench was not so secure he contimplated leaving MD. Coach Williams had the confidence and trusted Tucker to take the final shot while all eyes would be focusing on Vasquez for the final shot or to Hayes. An elated Tucker could be seen running across Comcast Center while Yellow Jackets were stunned and motionless in disbelief.

The game itself had no tempo or flow due to the uneven and inconsistent officiating for both teams. MD would push a lead up to five only to have a series of calls go against them drawing the game closer. This game provided a good test for MD as the NCAA Tournament approaches. MD was able to prove itself against both a physically dominating team as well as the officiating. It was no luck that MD hit two critical shots to end the game. MD earned the right to call themselves the better team. Ga Tech gave MD what it needed most. They gave the Terps a mental and physical challenge in a tight game. The excat type of games the Terps will encounter in March.

The Terps now 9-3 in the ACC look in far better shape than just one year ago. What's changed from a year ago is the presence of forward/center Jordan Williams (9 points 12 rebounds vs. Ga Tech) with his low post skills and workman like presence.

Gary Williams coaching hasn't changed as he always coaches to put his team in the best possible postion no matter the talent. Gary Williams noticed the battle on the boards was tilting to the Yellow Jackets and inserted a bigger and more successful line up that included both Gregory and Williams playing together in place of starter Milbourne. Terps fans may see more of this line up to secure more rebounds and limit the possessions of other teams while also inserting another shot blocker that could aid the transition game too.

Maryland must maintain their success with their final remaining games on the schedule. With games versus Clemson, Duke, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, the Terps still have some work left to better their seeding in March. The selection committe doesn't like to see teams limp into the tournament, so seeding is on the line. With games against teams in the top half the the ACC remaining, Maryland will be well prepared for March and could be peaking at the right time.

In the Washington DC Metropolitan area, we are lucky to have an abundance of sports teams to root for...if we choose to. While there is no doubt the Redskins are and probably always will be top dog around here, the Capitals have done something no other team has been able to...make us want to watch.

I have been part of a plan that owned season tickets to the Caps, but I have never been a big fan of the team. Not to the extent that I have to go to games or have to watch the games. That changed in recent weeks. Call me a fair-weather fan or a band-wagoner, but you can not deny that if you were not a fan, it's a good time to start being one.

It has now been reported by the Washington Post's Dan Steinberg via Twitter that the Caps set another new ratings record, regular season or playoff, on Comcast SportsNet. A rating of 5.8. This comes after setting the record last Friday in Snowmaggedon, Episode I, versus the Atlanta Hawks.

Sure, it was bad to end the win streak at 14 against the Montreal Canadiens last night. Some will argue the record ratings were set because of Snowmaggedon, Episode II, Canada's Revenge. But snowed in with cabin fever, in the age of DVR's, people will seek the best source of entertainment. That would be those Can't Quit Kids named the Washington Capitals.

Super Bowl XLIV may be over, but evaluating this year's commercials isn't. Over the past few years, the advertisments seemed somewhat wayning leaving behind the glory days when such memorable ads as the Budweiser frogs appeared.

There seemed to be a resurgance in cute, clever, and humorous ads this year. The DC Sports Page ranked its most and least favorite commercials:

Top 5 Super Bowl XLIV Commercials:

1. Snickers: How could anyone not like a commercial with Betty White and Fish...Tessio aka Abe Vigoda. Yes, Abe is still alive and kicking. Conan released him from a cage in the final Late Night show months ago. The only question here is whether Abe should have turned to the camera after being tackled and said, can I have a snickers too for old times sake?

2. Letterman, Oprah, and Leno at a Super Bowl party. Three people most wouldn't expect to be in a commercial together let alone an ad for Late Show With David Letterman.

3. A Sports Freak Pick - The cute and fun Simpsons commercial for Coke! Things always go better with Coke so why not add the already good Simpsons.

4. Hyundai's use of Brett Favre showed that Brett can even poke fun at himself as he waffles in the commercial set ten years in the future debating about his potential retirement.

5. A Big Money Tony Pick - Doritos - Hands off my mama...hands off my Doritos (quick and to the point!)

Honorable Mentions - Dodge Charger & Coke's sleepwalker,

Worst 5 Super Bowl XLIV Commercials:

1. E-Trade commercials with talking babies. It wasn't funny the first time.

2 & 3. The next two spots will not even be mentioned as they employed the tactic of bucking the trend and human nature in an attempt at failed humor by going with pantless men. Not only was the first advertisement not funny, but a similar ad ran right after it. If Sex sells these brands didn't get the memo.

4. All the movie ads. Did you almost get the feeling when you saw the Patriot that you've seen this before...like Braveheart? Will fans of Russel Crowe say the same when they see Robin Hood?

5. Dr. Pepper - another tired stale ad involving the music group KISS. So many other opportunities present themselves for using such a group and this is what was settled on to air at the Super Bowl.

Please vote in the Poll or tell us what your favorite or least favorite commerial was during the Super Bowl.

This Sunday was Superbowl Sunday. But more than that, the NHL decided to schedule their two top stars and their respective teams to play a hockey game. As a result, that led to a 5-4 win in overtime for the Capitals over the Pittsburgh Penguins. That extended the Caps win streak to 14 games. This was the Superbowl for many in the DC area.

There was some minor drama pre-game. During the Blizzard of 2010 (snowpocalypse, snomg, or snomaggedon), the Penguins had to find a way to get to Washington for a noon game after a 7 PM game in Montreal on Saturday night. They flew into Newark, NJ and hopped on a bus to DC, arriving just after 2 AM. That may have set the pace for a Capitals easy win, but it was not the case.

Pittsburgh went up 2-0 quick in the 1st period, with Sidney Crosby scoring both goals. The Caps responded with a goal in the 2nd, then gave up 2 more to the Pens before Fehr got another one for the home team. Trailing 4-2 at the end of the 2nd, you might think it looked dire for the Capitals. But this team has no quit in them. Alex Ovechkin put in 2 to tie the game at 4 and send it to overtime. It was also a Hat Trick for Ovechkin. Knuble scored the winning goal in overtime.

We could go over highlights of the game, but the important thing is not the details of how they won. It was the will behind it. Coach Bruce Boudreau had noted that the Penguins had it almost easier because they sat on a bus, while the Caps had to dig themselves out of the blizzard and find a way to get to Verizon Center. And as evidenced many a time in recent games, this team knows how to come back. Down 4-1 with minutes left in the 2nd period, there was no sign of a white flag. The team simply does not quit.

So now the question remains, can the Capitals hold momentum into the playoffs. We are asking too much to think they will go undefeated the rest of the season. But will one loss set them back? Given that the team does not quit, it appears that will not be the case. We can only hope the team rides this all the way to the Stanley Cup.