Ryo is Ready to Help Japan

It's amazing what someone at the young age of 19 can do to help out when there is trouble. Ryo Ishikawa, a 19 year old golfer from Japan has announced that he will donate ALL of his 2011 winnings to the relief efforts in Japan. He has already earned 3.3 Million pounds on the Japanese tour alone, and the season is just starting.  He is a young player, he's been the one to watch for a few years, he has swagger and his own personal style. If you check out his bag, Ryo has a club cover that looks just like him, maybe he'll start selling those and give the earnings to charity also.

Congrats on being a generous and talented young man, Ryo.

Wildcat Victory- Redemption is Sweet

I can believe it but I also can't believe it. Redemption has never felt so sweet as it did last night when the Arizona Wildcats dominated over the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. All day the announcers (except Charles Barkley), were talking about how Duke will win, they'll guard Willams and take him out of the game, forcing Arizona to use their bench. Well, that plan failed. Derrick Williams scored 25 points in the first half including a 3-pointer to go into the halftime. So much for taking him out of the game. Arizona not only physically beat Duke, but we mentally beat them as well. Coach K's team was shaken, distracted and completely off their game. Did they think this was going to be a walk in the park?

Back in 2001 when Arizona lost to Duke in the Championship game, Tucson was heartbroken. The city rioted, fans were distraught and we all began to hate Duke.  Last night that was all swept under the rug. It would have been nice if this were the Championship game, but I'll take a spot in the Elite 8 and call the slate cleaned.

Congrats to all the Wildcats out there who are proud, excited and I'm sure hungover!


UConn- You're next!

Painful Ending in Triple OT

Last night the Suns played the Lakers, a flashback to the regional playoffs last year when these two teams went back and forth winning games, trying to secure a spot in the next round. In the end, the Lakers won the series and won the Championship. I always say it's better to lose to the best than to lose to another loser, but still- it hurts. Last night in a triple overtime game, the first one the Lakers have hosted since 1969, with a combined score of 267, the Lakers once again took home the victory. I hate the Lakers. I think they are the Real Madrid of the NBA, they overpay their players and have an arrogance about them that puts a stink on the court.  It speaks volumes about the organization that the press is often more interested in which celebrities are in the crowd instead of who is playing the game.

Let's talk about something more fun, like the Suns. It is awesome to see how Channing Frye continues to step-up for this team and make the shots that really count. Even coming off an injury he never fails to amaze. It was also great to see him nail 3pt shots over the head of fellow Arizona alum Luke Walton. Steve Nash, Vince Carter and Grant Hill all had great games, but it was the Arizona bench who held strong against the Lakers. Aaron Brooks (who you might remember was the star of the Oregon team 3 years ago), Hakim Warrick, Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat helped the team get to OT. The Suns are 2.5 games behind the playoffs and with only a few games left, I still have faith they'll pull it off. Now that Nash and Frye are back in full force, it's time to make the final run at victory.

Another Close One for the Cats

March Madness has been crazy, a lot of upsets, a lot of close games and a lot of buzzer beaters. Namely, both Arizona games so far this tournament. First up, a buzzer beater block from Williams in game one against Memphis. Next up, a buzzer beater shot from Williams against number four seed Texas. Anyone else seeing a pattern here. Williams steps-up when it counts. Despite missing multiple clutch free throws and unnecessary off basket fouls, he managed to save the day in the end with a win. Go Cats! Can't wait to beat Duke and get redemption for the loss they handed us in the Finals in 2001- which then caused Tucson to riot. Thursday cannot come soon enough.

Other major shockers, Pitt losing yesterday to Butler. There goes my bracket. With a final second foul to send Butler back to the line, Pitt got knocked out. Damn.

I Don't Like Duke but I Like Grant Hill

ESPN's 30 for 30 recently had an episode called The Fab Five about the Michigan players from 1991-93 including Jalen Rose, Chris Webber, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson and Juwan Howard.  In the documentary, they addressed players who were at Duke during the same time (enter Grant Hill), calling them "Uncle Tom's". I'll leave a minute for that to digest.......

Now, Grant Hill. He is obviously shocked by the comments and offended, as he should be. In response to these statements made, Grant Hill wrote a contributed article for The New York Times college sports blog, The Quad. It is well written, addresses all the issues at hand, doesn't attack anyone and overall gets an A in my book. The only thing I don't like about it.... the fact that he did actually go to Duke (Go Wildcats!). Otherwise, Grant represents himself, his family, his alumni and The Suns well with this piece.

You can read it here: http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/grant-hills-response-to-jalen-rose/

March Madness is Pure Madness

It's that time of year again, March Madness has begun!! It is always fun to be a college basketball fan in March, especially if you are an alumni of a school that is actually playing in the tournament. I was fortunate enough to go to University of Arizona, which means I know who I'm picking in the tournament this year. As I'm sure people across the country are doing also, I finished my brackets today. So many choices, so many upsets that are bound to happen- but who will it be? Whose hopes and dreams will be crushed as a top seed losing in round 1? I am torn because I hope it's Duke who loses in round 1, but then I won't be able to see my Wildcats get revenge for the 2001 loss to Duke in the finals. We'll just have to wait and see.

Good luck to everyone with your brackets!

Taking Home #5

I'm calling it now, Tiger will take home his 5th win at The Masters this year... on my birthday weekend. Really, it's all I'm asking for... is that too much?  His game has been improving the last few weeks, he's focused, and as long as he keeps his shoulders level and his head down he'll win. Let's remember he tied for 4th at the Masters last year, his first tournament back. Augusta National is a course he knows well, and plays well.

We'll have to wait and see but I think this will be happening again.....

Cadillac Championship

What a wet and wild start it was to the Cadillac Championship today in Florida.  It started out okay before a huge storm came in and delayed the tournament a few hours. Once play resumed it got very fun to watch. Some highlights so far include:

• Adam Scott using the long putter- looks ridiculous. I love him, this is not a secret, but he's too cute and young to be using that. He says he likes it better but we'll see how long it lasts in his bag.
• Rory McIlroy- dropped 50lb weight on his foot last night working out. It might have been his first time lifting... ever. Maybe it was karma for not keeping his mouth shut about Tiger all those times. Respect your elders Rory.
• Rickie Fowler is wearing pink and white again, love the Puma.
• Tiger is amazing, as always. Just starting off slow and needs to pick up his game a bit.
• Aren't you not allowed to bury your feet in the bunker? Someone should tell Lefty that.

More to report later as the tournament continues.... in the meantime, here is what the damage looked like today on the course after the morning storm.

Kelly Slater- KS10

It's amazing that Kelly Slater has won his 10th World Title, created an industry for a sport that some people don't even recognize, and is still going strong. Fans would like to see recognition for all of his accomplishments after being in the sport for so many years. Facebook fans have created a site dedicated to getting Kelly on the cover of these famed magazines titled, "Get Kelly Slater on the Cover of Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine." Of course, I joined this group immediately! I wonder if he isn't on the cover because someone on the Quicksilver PR team is not doing their job correctly, or if it's something personal from SI/ESPN Mag... I guess we'll never know. Maybe I'll apply for a job at Quicksilver with the single goal of getting Kelly on the cover, and then calling it a day.

In the meantime, I hope Kelly wins his 11th this year and really sticks it to them.

Get Well Soon Channing Frye

The Suns have had a rocky season. For a team who usually dominates, they have had a semi-lackluster season- and that's coming from their #1 fan. I love the Suns, and always will, so I will stand by them through thick and thin... i.e. the 2010-11 season. They had a less than .500 season until a few weeks ago and have gone on an amazing win streak with the help of my favorite UofA alum, Channing Frye. Channing has averaged 12.3 points and 6.6 rebounds this season and has been clutch hitting a number of last second 3 point game winners. And then it happened. He got hurt last night against Oklahoma City. NOOOO. We are staring the playoffs in the face and now our clutch guy is hurt. They are reporting he will be out for a few weeks with a dislocated shoulder.

I hope he has a speedy recovery and is back on the court in no time. Meanwhile, maybe he'll make the trip down to Tucson to cheer on our Alumni Wildcats during the Pac-10 tournament and March Madness.

No Football?

Time is running out for the NFL and NFLPA to come to an agreement and save the 2011-12 football season. Negotiations have been going on for months, and no progress has been made. I'm sure this happens a lot, players want more money, owners want more money and no one wants to share. If that were just the case this time, I'd care less than I do now because many leagues have gone on strike over greed. There was the NHL lockout in 2004-05, NBA was locked out until February for the 1998-99 season, and MLB was on strike in 1994-95 canceling close to 1,000 games. All of these have since returned with as many fans as they had before. People still love to watch sports, they love competition, and they'll watch football when it starts again..... eventually.

One major concern this time around though, is the longer season with less medical benefits for retired players. The league is asking that players have two extra games in regular season, but will not increase benefits for retired players who may get more injured during those games. So essentially they're saying, "go slam your head into a brick wall for another 2 games this year, but don't worry- you probably won't get a concussion." hhmmm.

Another concern: how am I suppose to win fantasy football three years in a row if there is no season??

Guess we'll just have to wait for the midnight ET deadline tonight to see how things play out.