Not even 2 months in

and Huggins is back in form...

Kansas State suspends Martin, dismisses Taybron

Cullen Film Review: X-Men 3

Wow.

How do you keep the Xmen franchise rolling? According to new director Brett Ratner: Raise the stakes. MINOR SPOILER ALERT: Holy crap! I couldn't believe that ______ _______ would kill ________ _ and _______, but I salute Ratner for being daring. Colossus, Angel, and Shadowcat are introduced (or given larger roles) in this one, but they are still afterthoughts. Vinnie Jones is adequate as Juggernaut, but doesn't get to do as much as he could. Kelsey Grammar is perfect as the furry blue Beast, and the Pyro-Iceman showdown is pretty staisfying. Overall a great third installment that hopefully won't be the last with so many great villains (Apocalypse) and Xmen (Gambit) yet to be brought to the screen.

We should change the name of this blog to...

College B-ball weekly. Last I checked the season ended two months ago. We are in the midst of a surprsingly entertaining NBA Playoffs, NHL playoffs (okay, no one cares), Albert Pujos on pace to hit 80+ HRs, and of course the biggest sporting event in the world...World Cup. Not to mention college and NFL football just around the corner.

GJ

Expectations high for KU

Don't worry...UNC gets love in this article too. But besides Florida and a few decent out of conference games, KU's schedule is ridiculous once it gets into Big 12 play.

Keegan: Jayhawks can run the table
By Tom Keegan (Contact)
Posted Thursday, May 25, 2006

The last thing Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self needs is for somebody to start cranking up the pressure on his deep, talented team six months before the season tips off.
Still, it’s difficult not to ponder the possibility of KU winning the national championship with an undefeated record, a first by a college basketball team since Bob Knight’s 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers pulled off the rare feat.

Sure, it’s a long shot. That’s a given. It’s not an impossibility. Divide the season into four segments, examine each one, and you’ll see it’s not as preposterous as it first sounds.

Preseason: The notion gets less outlandish if KU can find a way to defeat defending national champion Florida on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas, the same day, by the way, the Jayhawks play hated rival Missouri in football.

It’s possible the KU-Florida game could feature No. 1 vs. No. 2, though North Carolina should have something to say about that. The Jayhawks and Gators both have all five starters back and welcome strong recruiting classes.

Winning at South Carolina won’t be easy. Neither was going 9-2 away from Allen Fieldhouse against Big 12 teams a year ago. Defeating Southern Cal at Allen Fieldhouse and DePaul in Chicago shouldn’t pose any problems. The Boston College game in Allen Fieldhouse won’t be an easy one.

Big 12 regular season: Quick, name the second-best team in the conference. Time’s up. See, there isn’t an obvious choice. Texas will rely on talented freshmen, but experience is lacking. Oklahoma had a terrific recruiting class that fell apart when Kelvin Sampson bolted for Indiana. Transfers and early exits for the NBA have depleted Iowa State. Kansas State will be better under Bob Huggins, but the Wildcats won’t be a serious threat until his second season in Manhattan.

The right answer is Texas A&M. Oklahoma State is talented, too, though it’s a lot to ask of such an inexperienced head coach to finish second. Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State all have to travel to Allen Fieldhouse, which helps KU’s chances of a 16-0 season.
Big 12 tourney: It’s in Oklahoma City, and Oklahoma State could be in a position where it needs to play its way into the tournament, so look for the Cowboys to be a tough out here.
NCAA tourney: North Carolina brings back enough talent to win it all even before considering the Tar Heels also will blend in the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. Florida played a little like a Bill Walton UCLA team on the way to its first national championship, and nobody should be surprised if the Gators repeat. Other possible champions: Wisconsin, Memphis, UCLA, Arizona.

First-round jitters, another tough tourney opponent for KU, should be rendered harmless next March. If the Jayhawks come in as a No. 1 seed, they’ll face a No. 16 seed, a Belmont or a Binghamton, a Boston University or a Birmingham Southern.

Having such a deep roster that features so many versatile players — Julian Wright, Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur, Mario Chalmers, Sherron Collins — makes KU slump-proof and difficult to scout. Indiana ran the table in 1975-76 in part because no team was able to answer this question: What’s the best way to beat Indiana?

What’s the best way to beat KU in 2006-2007? Tough to say.

This would be a dumb move for the NFL

Gov. Bush considered for commish
NFL representative approached president's brother
Posted: Wednesday May 24, 2006 10:26AM; Updated: Wednesday May 24, 2006 12:25PM

Jeb Bush has said he will not run for president in 2008.
AP

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said he was privately approached about his interest in becoming the NFL's next commissioner.

Bush said Tuesday the issue was discussed at a recent meeting with Patrick Rooney Sr., according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Rooney's brother is Dan Rooney, owner of Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and co-chair of the search committee looking to replace the retiring Paul Tagliabue.

"I met with Mr. Rooney and I said, 'I'm doing my job until I'm finished and then I'm going to consider other things,"' Bush told the newspaper.

Bush has said he will not run for president in 2008. His final term as governor ends in January, although he doesn't believe NFL officials will hold the position open until then.

Tagliabue, who has been commissioner since 1989, announced in March his decision to retire. Although he originally set a July 31 deadline to be out of the job, he has indicated his willingness to stay on longer.

Mavs-Spurs

Not so fast there Timmy D. Wow. I don't if anyone else caught the end of that game, but it was amazing. Dirk came through big time to force OT; before that it looked like the Mavs were done for. The NBA still sucks. Viva Copa Mundial!

Recruiting

Who's that quietly sneaking up to land the 4th best recruiting class in the country? Could that be Bill Self and the Jayhawks. With 2 McDonald's All-Americans coming next season, Kansas will boast either 5 or 7 five-stars (Scout and Rivals, respectively) and 6 or 3 four-stars (same). Landing 3 straight classes in the Top 4 (and last year's was #1) should solidify Kansas at least a Top 3 preseason ranking.

It's funny how where a recruit commits to affects their ranking on Scout and Rivals. Duke now has multiple five-stars who were mostly 3s or 4s before the committed. Kansas' Morningstar was unrated before committing and immediately became a 3. Scout just moved him up to a four-star in their latest ranking. I'm sure some of the lesser known UNC 2006 recruits benefited from this as well, although I don't really know where they were ranked before the post-season rankings came out.

Why is Kansas St such a recruiting hotbed now? It wasn't like Huggins was raking up recruits at Cinci, which is a much better and larger city than Manhattan. But all f a sudden everyone and their mom wants to play for him. I guess selling Kansas as your rival helps a lot. I hope K-State gets their act together. The Big 12 (and Kansas) desperately needs another good team in the North (for football and basketball).

Tennessee Knows Pot

Definitely the most elaborate pot business I've ever heard of. Welcome to the PotCave.
Check out the slideshow on the right side of the article. Unbelievable.

FANtastic!

You guys always have given me shit for still watching the NBA, and generally ignoring college basketball. And I'm the first to admit that the league struggled without Michael and the Shaq-less Lakers. But I'll be damned if the NBA may have finally returned. The 2006 Playoffs (so far) have been classic. Classic.

And in case you missed the 1st round, here's were some of observations (I'll be brief):

HEAT-BULLS
I've said once before but I really believe it - my old favorite team is one big man away from being a serious championship contender. The Baby Bulls were fun to watch - a fiesty, hustling and very fundamental team. If only they hadn't traded Elton Brand for a pick they used on Tyson Chandler. What could have been.

Shaq looked rejuvenated in Game 6. He finished with 34 and 23. Only the 6th player to ever do it in the postseason; 11th time for Shaq. It was scary to watch a man his size move that quick and with finesse. If he plays like that, the Heat will be tough for anyone to beat.

CAVS-WIZ
A great series to "witness". Why isn't someone testing LeBron for steroids? When he drives to the basket, it's like a runaway train going downhill - simply unstoppable. And whatever he said to Gilbert Arenas before GA missed the would-be gamewinning free throws, it was a throwback moment. Couldn't you see Barkley or Jordan or Bird doing the same thing back in the day? Shoutout to Antawn Jamison - nice job cutting off the baseline! I bet Dean Smith and Phil Ford rolled over in their graves when they saw him let Bron Bron drive baseline for the buzzerbeater. BTW, the Wizards are the worst defensive team I've ever seen in the playoffs.

SPURS-KINGS
Bonzi fuckig Wells. If you could name an MVP for every round, Bonzi would have been 1st round MVP. I've never seen one player singlehandedly dominate the Spurs like that. He earned himself a lot of money this offseason. I'm Isiah Thomas and the Knicks will find a way to overpay for him. Bonzi should stay off the doughnuts though - the rolls of fat on the back of his neck were pretty disturbing.
The Spurs may be vulnerable. They didn't look good after Game 1. The next series vs Dallas should be awesome now that Duncan is healthy again.

SUNS-LAKERS
A GREAT series. Phoenix almost blew the series when they handed Game 5 to LA and Kobe hit the buzzerbeater. I thought the Lakers were moving on and Phil Jackson had pulled off his greatest coaching job (when you convince a gunner like Kobe to defer to teammates like Smush Parker, Devon George and Luke Walton, you've deserve an award). But the Suns wouldn't go away. Tim Thomas saved the day in Game 6.
I thought Game 7 would be a great game. Well it could have been. But 1) Phoenix was running on all cylinders. They ran the fast break to perfection. 2) the Lakers defense was atrocious; it looked like the Suns were running layup drills. 3) Kobe completely disappeared; he scored just 1 point in the 2nd half and only took 3 shots. THREE!

Charles Barkley had an interesting theory as to why. He thought Kobe sold out his team so no one would blame him for the loss, instead theyd blame his teammates for not contributing. What a dickhead. And people thought he was an MVP? Puh-lease. Would any NBA legend take 3 shots when his team was letting a game get away in a Game 7? You think Jordan or Isiah or hell Dominque Wilkins would have only taken 3 shots? Never. Enjoy the offseason, asshole.

Early 2nd round predictions:
Pistons over Cavs in 5
Heat over Nets in 6
Clippers over Suns in 6
Spurs over Mavs in 7


JD

Flash: George Lucas to Rob Fans Again!

Original 'Star Wars' Movies Coming to DVD -- At Last

Responding to legions of fans, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have agreed to release the original versions of the first three Star Wars movies, unmodified by digital enhancements, on Sept. 12. Each of the films, Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983) will be released separately and will be accompanied by a second disc offering the digitally reedited version produced in 2004. They will be withdrawn from circulation on Dec. 31. A promo for the new releases states: "See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV; see the pioneering, if dated, motion-control model work on the attack on the Death Star; groove to Lapti Nek or the Ewok Celebration song like you did when you were a kid; and, yes, see Hans Solo shoot first."

Quote of the Day

"I have no respect for him. I think he's a pompous, arrogant individual."
Phoenix Suns guard, Raja Bell, about Kobe Bryant

ACC / Big Televen Challenge

http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/050206aab.html

Of course, considering it is six months or so away, the pairings for the annual beatdown of the Big 10 (11) have been announced. The highlight for me is the as-expected visit of Greg Oden and the #2 class against Mr. Hansbrough and the #1 class (shout-out to Dickson). Whether you agree with my order or not (shout-out to Jav), this game will determine which class is better at least early and could possibly be #1 vs. #2.

Unfortunately, Wake Forest is the team chosen to miss the challenge this year since expansion has robbed us not only of the round robin format but also the chance to see if the last place team losing its three best players can bounce back and surprise the nation, or at least the Triad.

Now if they could just get that SEC / Big 12 challenge that everyone is clamoring for...