Pacers Win the First OT Game Against Cleveland Cavs 98-91

It wasn't pretty, but it was "smash mouth" all right. This new identity that Frank Vogel is bringing to the Pacers, and one that this team is showing.  The Pacers rebounded the ball well last night and relied on their defense to carry them.  No more throwing three pointers at will as they only made two last night and one of those came in the overtime session.  Danny Granger put up 22 points, but still needs to find his shot.  As does the whole team.  They are shooting under 40 percent, but winning games, which is a good sign. Just think what can happen if this team can put together a decent shooting night.  George Hill and David West came up big in this game, and we're seeing that those were great additions.  Hill had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals, not a bad night for him.  David West was able to make a big basket towards the end, and had his own figures of 14 points and 10 rebounds.  And what can you say about Roy Hibbert?  He's only put up three games of a double double.  Maybe Hibbert is finally putting it together.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but this could be a huge year for Hibbert, and this is the time to get his act going.  Overall, it's great to see this win, but things need to tighten up, if the Pacers really want to make some noise in the East.  And the way this team is going, that could be a good possibility.  

Butler ekes out a win against Green Bay- 53-49

It wasn't a pretty win, but a win is a win.  These young Dawgs learned how to win a tough close conference game, something that could go a long way in helping Butler win this conference.  It won't be easy as this season is unfolding.  Butler is still struggling to start out strong and has trailed at halftime in 11 games, but they have won 5 of those games.  Their shooting percentage has got to improve, and no better time than on Saturday against the league leader.  This game was an old Dawg leading the way in Ronald Nored.  He put up 13 points, but more importantly got his career high in rebounds at 7 and dished out 4 assists.  Andrew Smith came up big with a three towards the end to help Butler pad its lead.  Some of the freshman, Kameron Woods and Roosevelt Jones, added their own touch to this game.  Woods put up a three with 20 seconds left to put up Butler.  Jones grabbed up 12 rebounds.  These young guns are going to have to continue to improve and help Butler get to its winning ways.  Butler is sitting in the middle of the Horizon League, but can get a huge jump by beating UW-Milwaukee on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.  Going on, Brad Stevens knew he would have a tough season, but I believe he can get the most out of this team, and that should be good enough.   

Pacers Get by the Raptors 90-85

Justin Beiber looks very interested in the game

This wasn't a pretty win, and the Pacers had a chance to put away the Raptors in the fourth.  But they couldn't do that.  They left off a bit, and the Raptors snuck back into the game.  They never got the lead, so that's a good sign for the Pacers.  Also Danny Granger scored nine points in the fourth quarter at opportune times.  David West showed he was worth the investment with a huge jumper at the end when the Raptors had a chance to tie. This team gets the road win in Toronto where they hadn't won in some games up there.  Good to pick up a road win early in the season, and great way of closing out this game.  Paul George was a stud for the game hitting for 18 points, and hitting 4 three pointers in this game.  Darren Collison dished out 12 assists, which is great to see. I hope he can really find his footing this season, and become a great playmaker for the Pacers.  George Hill still looks to be finding his way with the team as he did pass up a couple of shots that he should have taken. I think as the season goes, he'll get comfortable and become a key contributor.  Roy Hibbert gets another double double, which is something I'm very excited to see. I think there's no reason Hibbert can't average a double double.  Still plenty of room of improvement for this team, but picking up wins and showing that there could be something special here is great.  

Basketball to watch tonight

Talk about a good night to be a fan of basketball here in Indiana. You can watch the Pacers take on the Toronto Raptors, Indiana Hoosiers open up Big Ten season, and Purdue starts their Big Ten Quest.

Indiana Pacers
The Pacers battle the Raptors in what I will call a winnable game.  This is one of those games that if the Pacers play like they did on Monday night, they should win.  That shooting percentage needs to come up. But the rebounding was fantastic and there were many second chance points available.  Hopefully Danny Granger can find his shot tonight and continue his looking out for other guys mentality.  David West played well in his debut for the Pacers, and should be able to do that tonight.  George Hill didn't have many stats, so I assume that will improve tonight as well.  Playing what Frank Vogel calls "smashmouth" basketball should lead to a good win in the land of Canada.  The Pacers haven't been a good road team at all, so this first win could help get that going in the right direction.  

Indiana Hoosiers
The Hoosiers have been the talk of the town, and with good reason.  They've handled the easy schedule they put together, and even took care of Kentucky, who was number one at the team.  They look like they are believing in each other, and guys are just hitting shots, which is huge.  Tom Crean knew he was working to get IU back to where they should be, and this season might show it all together. They will have a tough test tonight playing at Michigan State, but it's another chance to prove people wrong.  

Purdue Boilermakers
I haven't heard too much about this team, but they are sitting at 10-3, so they must be doing all right.  They start their Big Ten season in Iowa, and should be able to take care of that team.  This Purdue team should go as Robbie Hummel goes.  He's the leader of this team, and will probably need to step up each game.  Not sure what help is available since they've lost their main scorers from last year.  But I'm sure Purdue fans know what they are getting with Hummel and if he can stay on the floor, good things can happen.

MVP Race in the NFL

  

Will breaking a record help Brees win MVP?

Did Rodgers do enough to win MVP?

For weeks, it looked like Aaron Rodgers would run away with this award, and I even heard a guy on the radio say that Rodgers would win it unanimously.  But after the season Drew Brees is putting together, maybe it's not so clear cut. Everyone loves a good broken record, and Brees broke Dan Marino's passing yards record last night. And the Saints are the second best team in the NFL.  Would the Saints be a contender without Brees, and isn't that what most valuable player means?  Of course would the Packers be the same team without Rodgers?  This league is truly all about the quarterback as you can hear the Indianapolis Colts yelling.  I was willing to give the MVP right out to Rodgers, but now my mind is changing, and I wonder if Rodgers will win it as easily as we thought a few weeks back. Who is your vote for MVP?

Pacers Power By Pistons 91-79

Roy Hibbert Takes it Strong to the Basket

On a night when Danny Granger couldn't find his shot, and the Pacers overall didn't shot well, they still pulled off the win against the Pistons. It's only one game, but there are good things to talk about here.  How about three big men getting double doubles?  Roy Hibbert finishes with 16 points and 14 rebounds, Tyler Hasnbrough gets his own 15 points and 13 rebounds, and newcomer David West gets 11 points and 12 rebounds.  Nice to see all the big men rebounding more so than the scoring.  But that scoring is a great touch since Granger shot 6-18 from the field, and still got 16 points.  The best play Granger made was a drive in the lane with a great pass to Hibbert for a slam.  That's what I want to see Granger do more.  If he has the open three, shot it, but also look to drive more and help others get their shots.  That's what this team can do overall is help each other create shots.  We saw this from David West as well when he started to drive and dish off to an open Hansbrough.  Crashing the boards is great too as there were many times it was all white shirts on the defensive and offensive glass.  Yes this is only one game, but fun to see what this team can do, and if they can shot even better, just imagine how things might be.  

NBA Notes- Christmas Day Games

With the season being hurriedly put together and teams playing lots of games in lots of nights, I probably won't be able to review all the NBA happenings all the time, but yesterday did provide a few things that I wanted to throw out there.

Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony both scored 37 points for their team and lead the way. I think these two guys always will be linked together as they were from the same draft class and both have that will to win.  Whoever gets the first championship, if either, will get the leg up on who is better?  Right now, Lebron is more of a complete player, so I would give him the edge. But then again, his teammate, Dwaye Wade, from that same draft class, got a ring first, so maybe Wade is the best out of all of them?

NY Knicks beat the Boston Celtics, and yes it's only one game, but coming out of last season, the Knicks got swept by the Celtics in the post season and the regular season.  That's eight meetings in a row that the Celtics had got the better end of the stick against the Knicks.  Will we see if this means anything in the long run, but for one game and finally after 8 losses, the Knicks up ended the Celtics.

The Mavs, champs from last year, look like they will have a tough hill to climb to make it back.  The Heat just handled them in the beginning and pulled away at the end.  They put up 30some points in quarters one through three. It took a massive effort for the Mavs to make it look competitive, but the Heat got this Finals rematch for one game.

The Bulls rallied to beat the Lakers and show that they weren't a fluke to win the most games last season.  Derek Rose started his campaign for another MVP showing, and he might be on the pace to be in the forefront of it again.  Loul Deng made a huge block at the end of Kobe Bryant to seal the win for his team.  Who would have thought you would ever say that sentence?

With lofty expectations this year, they are my Finals pick, the Thunder showed that they will be a team to be reckoned with.  They took care of the Magic, and Kevin Durant put up 30 points in the game.

The other LA team, the Clippers, spoiled Mark Jackson's debut as the Warriors coach winning by 20. I didn't think this would be a pretty game, and it wasn't.

YEAR IN REVIEW- BUTLER BULLDOGS

After coming off an appearance in the 2009-2010 NCAA Championship game, and within inches of winning against Duke, who would have thought that little old Butler would come into another championship title game, and have a legit shot at winning?  Too bad Butler picked that night to go cold at shooting, and never could get going.  But that was simply a superb two year run for the school that has only 4,000 students, practices way early in the morning, has two guys in the NBA in the past two years, and has their own Butler Way.


The Bulldogs were off to a shaky start in the beginning of the season, but then things got rolling.  And when Butler gets rolling, good things happen.  Heading into a game on Febuary 15th against Cleveland State, the Bulldogs were 14-9 overall, and had a three game losing streak.  What did Butler do?  Go out and win 73-61, and rattled off 7 wins in a row to head into the Horizon League Tourney.  Ending up 13-5 in the league, and capturing yet another Horizon League regular season title. But the Bulldogs weren't satisifed, they went and won the Horizon League Tournament, and secured an eighth seed for the NCAA Tourney.


The dreaded 8-9 game in the NCAA Tourney is one where I don't ever think it's an "upset" if the ninth seed would win since pretty much the teams are that close.  But if you win that game, you will end up going against the number one seed, and that's always a tough game. It didn't help that Butler was going against a big Old Dominion team that many were saying would take care of Butler.  But they pulled off the victory, and won 60-58 and heading into a match with Pittsburgh in the next round.  This game was a battle back and forth. It got crazy in the final minutes and even final seconds of fouls were being called and guys were going to the line.





Matt Howard gets to the line after getting fouled in the act of shooting and takes Butler on to the Sweet Sixteen. Butler took care of Wisconsin to keep moving along. Facing a tough Florida team with the right to get to the Final Four...again. This game goes into overtime, but the Butler Bulldogs do it again, and pull out a victory. Advancing to the Final Four two years in a row, you couldn't write this up in a movie. Butler faced another team that probably shouldn't have been there in the Final Four, Virginia Commonwealth University. Two mid major teams duking it out for the right to be in the final game of the season. Butler rises to the challenge, and took care of VCU to finish up what they couldn't do last year.


But things didn't work out with the right script for Butler, and they couldn't make any shots. They could only muster 18.8% shooting. That's not even going to win you a pick up game, let alone against a team like UCONN. UCONN had come in on a roll as well after racking up their own league tourney championship, and just turning it on at the right time. Even with this game, Butler was down 3 points at halftime, and probably could have been more. But the Bulldogs just struggled all night with their shots, and had to walk away as runner up for the second time.


With all of this though, what a run for Butler. People really started believing this team could do something special, and it's too bad they couldn't have pulled off that magic in the championship. Who knows when an opportunity will come again? But those guys will know what that feeling is, and that will say something about them.

On the Sidelines 28- NBA Preview Edition

On the Sidelines 28

Starting off with some local news, featuring the Colts, Butler Bulldogs, and Indiana Pacers.  Then jumping into NFL Standings and my expert picks for the week.  Finally, going into NBA previews and stating my case for who will win in the divisions, conferences, and championship.

LOCAL NEWS

Indianapolis Colts Secure #1 Pick With a Week 17 Loss

Pacers Schedule

Butler Beats Stanford


NFL NEWS

Standings

ESPN Picks

NBA NEWS

Preseason Rankings

Player Movement for each team

Colts Win the Game, but possibly lose the sweepstakes.

A great win by the Colts last night.  It just showed there's still some determination left in this team.  Maybe Dan Orlovsky should have been playing all along.  But the bigger story is did the Colts lose out on this number one pick?  For me, I've been of the mindset that even if the Colts get this number one pick and draft Andrew Luck, is he going to be willing to sit a couple of years or whatever it might be?  If he's this NFL type quarterback right now, wouldn't he want to come out and play?  Then again, he did return for a senior year, so maybe he's a better guy than I want to think.  If the Colts tell him that Manning is going to play out for as long as he can, and Luck is ok with that, then by all means, get that guy.  That would show something even more to me.  It would be like the situation in Green Bay, where you just have the next top quarterback waiting in the wings.  But that's for the future, and let's worry about the now.  Can Manning play even?  That's the first question that should come up.  And I guess even more pertinent, do the Colts win against Jacksonville and finish up this season 3-13?  Now that's looking like a possibility.  

Butler Beats Stanford 71-66

Great way to finish up the non conference schedule and a trek out west.  Stanford was favored in this game by 11 points, but that didn't matter.  Jackson Aldridge, the awesome aussie, finished with a career high of fifteen points and seemed to bring the energy that Butler needed.  Ronald Nored had a great game finishing up with eighteen points and hitting huge free throws down the stretch.  He's never been a good free throw shooter, but has progressed each year.  This game featured another starting lineup, which concerns me a bit.  Butler needs to find that right formula that works  Or else truly go game to game, but I don't know how that would go with guys on the team.  How would you feel one game starting and the next game not starting?  Maybe these guys all realize the whole is bigger than the parts, and they each need to just do what is asked each game.  That's probably the common thread in each game this season. Someone different has stepped up and tried to will the Bulldogs to win.  It would be great to find that consistent play, but maybe this will be one of those different seasons, and everyone will play hard each night.  Butler's biggest concern is getting good shots and hitting those shots. I don't think they will score a lot of points, but with tough defense that might be all right.  Time to bring on the regular season and see if this team can recapture that mojo of the past two years.  And yes there was an Andrew Luck sighting at the game.  

Butler Goes Down Out West

Another tough loss for the Butler Bulldogs. Even with different guys inserted into the starting lineup, this team couldn't get it going offensively.  They shot 30 percent for the game, hard to tell what is going to turn that around other than working on the shot selection, and hoping that shots start going down.  Defensively, the team played well, but allowing over 70 points isn't going to help the offensive side.  I think that the Dawgs would need teams to score right around 60 if they want to stay in the game, and they can't get their shots going.  Ethan Fromm had a great game scoring 16 points in a losing cause.  Khyle Marshall had 10 points, but no other Bulldog was in double figures.  That needs to change as well.  Everyone needs to pick up their scoring, especially Chrishawn Hopkins, who has seemingly dropped off.  He only got 2 points last night in 14 minutes of action.  Not sure what's going on with him, but he needs to get back in the game. He's a guy who can get his own shot and help others get theirs.  Butler had a chance to get in this game after getting as close as 6, but they couldn't get any closer, and Gonzaga pulled away.  One final non-conference game is left, and then it's all systems go for the conference season.  Can Butler get that magic back they've had for the past two years, and all the years they've won this league?

NFL Reaction Week 15

*WINNING TEAM
Jacksonville  14      Atlanta  41
Atlanta took care of business in this Thursday night affair, and continues the push toward a playoff spot. They won't win the division, but can still make the playoffs. Matt Ryan looked good in throwing for over 200 yards and three touchdowns.


Dallas  31      Tampa Bay  15
The Cowboys got a good win on Saturday night, and make their push towards the division title.  Tampa Bay continues their slide down as they lose their eighth game in a row.  The Cowboys play the Eagles next, and have that rematch with the Giants looming at the end of the season.  That game should decide the division winner.


Cincinnati  20    St Louis  13
AJ Green continues his impressive rookie season surpassing 1,000 yards receiving in the Bengals win over the Rams. Andy Dalton joins Cam Newton in the 3,000 yards passing club as well, quite a
feat for the rookie class.


Green Bay 14      Kansas City  19
The Packers get the first loss of their season in my surprise of the week. I thought the Packers would go 
unscathed in the regular season, but it goes to show you have to come to play each week in the NFL.




Washington  23       NY Giants  10
Just as it looked like the Giants were primed to take the NFC East
division after a good win over the Cowboys, they go out and lose the next week to this Redskins team. I'm 
starting to think that no one wants to win that division. Giants can still put it off with a couple of wins, but will 
it matter?


Carolina  28 Houston 13
The Panthers put it to the Texans, and Cam Newton continues his push towards Rookie of the Year. The 
Texans had been on a 7 game winning streak, and look to take out this loss on the Colts on Thursday night.


Miami  30       Buffalo  23
The Dolphins pick up the win here, and the Bills have completely fallen off the radar. Reggie Bush ran all over the Bills for over 200 yards, and the Dolphins help their interim coach, Todd Bowles, win his debut game.


Seattle  38      Chicago  14
The Seahawks have been slowly creeping into the playoff hunt and kept their hopes alive with a good win 
against the Bears. It doesn't get any easier for the Bears and their playoff hopes as they face the Packers 
after their first loss of the season. The Seahawks get the tough 49ers in their next game to continue their 
playoff push.


Tennessee  13      Indianapolis  27
The Colts pick up their first win of the season, and Donald Brown gives the highlight of an 80 yard touchdown run that almost got snuffed out in the backfield.


New Orleans  42      Minnesota  20
The Saints still look to me to be a force in the NFC. They are putting up ridiculous offensive numbers and 
Drew Brees might get some votes for MVP.


Detroit  28      Oakland  27
Matthew Stafford leads a game winning drive and the Lions defense gets a field goal block at the end to win 
this game. Still a shot for the playoffs with this Lions team, but they need to keep winning.


New England  41      Denver  23
The Patriots did what they needed to do to win this one, and win the division. Another division title for the 
Patriots and the Tebow hype dies down for a week. Denver needs to get back to winning the
next game if they want to keep playing in the postseason.


Cleveland  17      Arizona  20
The Cardinals are making a late season run to the playoffs and get another overtime win. Still an outside 
chance the Cardinals sneak into the playoffs if some teams lose in front of them.




NY Jets  19      Philadelphia  45
Maybe the Eagles aren't out of it yet, but they need to keep winning and hope the other teams in front lose.  
The Jets took a bad blow after winning a few games in a row, and making their own push to the playoffs. TheEagles actually have a shot at the division title, when it looked like they were done a few weeks ago.


Baltimore  14      San Diego  34
The Chargers get back to their winning games in December with a good win over the Ravens. To me, the 
Ravens were the top team in the AFC, but they will need to get back to their winning ways to prove that.


Pittsburgh  3      San Francisco  20
After some delays in the beginning of the game and in the second quarter, this game finally gets going. The 49ers look to make some noise in the NFC with a dominating win over the Steelers. Jim Harbaugh gets a huge vote from me as Coach of the Year, and this team has really turned it around from years past.

Colts get their first W

It took 13 losses, but the Colts finally pull out a win. And could have some momentum going into the final two games, and possibly could lose out on the number one pick, which would be crazy. Not the prettiest game by any means, but with the way this season has gone, would you have expected the Colts to pull off a pretty win? What was pretty was that Donald Brown run even if it was a broken up play.





That block by Dan Orlovsky was nice to set up the turn around for Brown, and he had a solid game getting 161 yards on 16 carries. That's a whole lot of running. It's only been 5,000 some days since the Colts got a win without Peyton Manning, talk about a crazy stat. Dan Orlovsky gets his first career win as well. No one wants a big zero in the win column, and this was a great team effort to pull off the win.

Now comes a short week as the next game is Thursday night against the Texans. The Texans are coming off a bad loss to the Panthers, and are playing the short week as well. Could the Colts make it two in a row?

Butler Tips the Scale in their Favor

A much needed win at that.  It wasn't the prettiest game, but with the Butler way, games don't tend to be pretty. The defense finally came around to make stops when they needed to and the offense got the plays they needed down the stretch. Butler got its first lead of the GAME with about 16 seconds left.  Then had to get a tip in with one second left by Andrew Smith to pull out the victory.  Smith lead the scoring with 12 points, along with Kameron Woods who put up 12 points and Chase Stigall with 11.  Good to see a few guys in double figures, but Butler needs more offensive production if they want to win in the league.  Luckily the shooting percentages were a bit higher than usual as they shot 45% from the field and got 7 three points on 16 attempts averaging out to around 44%.  Much much better than previous games when the percentages were in the 30s.  But this game was about the clampdown on defense at the end as Purdue didn't hit a field goal the last minutes of the game, and held Purdue to 19 points in the second half.  That's the Butler defense we all know and love, and that's the defense that needs to show up here on out.  Tough games coming up against Gonzaga and finishing up at Stanford before league play gets back in action.  

On the Sidelines 27- Local Love

On the Sidelines 27

This episode features some local news about the Indiana Pacers, Butler Bulldogs, and Indianapolis Colts. Then I will jump into NFL standings and my NFL picks.  Finish up with some other sideline new stories.  

LOCAL SPORTS

Pacers and Bulls Recap

Indy Star Article about Crossroads Classic

Colts and Titans Preview

NFL NEWS

NFL Standings

ESPN NFL Picks


MLB NEWS

Barry Bonds Sentenced

NBA NEWS

Dwight Howard Still Has Trade Request

Heels and Faces of the NBA

The NBA is full of dynamic personalities, but I thought what about attaching the idea that an NBA player could be a good guy or bad guy like the world of wrestling.  We've already had Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman step in the ring during WCW days.



Why can't some of the bigger NBA personalities create personas on the court to separate themselves as something?  The NBA is all about the players anyways, so this could create an even better product.


The way I'll break it down is to cite active "heel" players or guys who I think fit that mold of just being nasty on the court.  And I'll give you a legendary "heel" guy.  Then we'll do the faces of the NBA.  This is just something I was hearing on a podcast once, and thought it would be fun to write about.

Heels of the NBA

Kobe Bryant-  He's just an assassin on the court and really plays with that chip on his shoulder.

Lebron James-  Was a face guy before the Decision.  But getting booed in every arena is going to make you a bad guy, so I say, Embrace It Lebron!  Give us this killer instinct that I know is bottled up there.  Too bad he truly wants to be liked.

Dwayne Wade-  Via Lebron James.  I won't put Chris Bosh in with Wade and James to make them the New World Order, but Wade definitely had a chip on his shoulder last year.  He could be catty with the media too thus giving him heel status.

Ron Artest-  He got into it with a fan, does that get any more heelish?

Michael Jordan-  Legendary Heel Status.  Look at Michael and the way he played on the court.  He got calls going his way.  He worked guys against him.  He might have went out with a smile from time to time, but he truly turned it on when he was playing.

Faces of the NBA

Blake Griffin-  He did a dunk over a car, brings a fresh face to the game, looks like he's always having fun out there, and just seems like a great guy.

Dwight Howard-  Always seems to have a big smile while he's out there playing.  He's a guy who should be more aggressive and play with something to prove because he's good, but I don't if he's elite yet.  He's probably a mid carder on the verge of main event status.

Tim Duncan-  Here's a weird comparison, but to me, it makes sense that Tim Duncan is to the NBA as the Undertaker is to WWE.  Both guys go out there and give it there all each night.  Duncan is a great player, but never seems to get all the credit he deserves.  Right now I am making him my Legendary Face of the NBA.

Optimism Runs High for this Pacers Team

You know things are going well when Bob Kravitz writes a great article like this one, Pacers Finally Some Expectations, which states that there's no reason to believe the Pacers can't compete for a seed in the top half of the Eastern Conference. This team should buy into that belief.  I think a tough thing to do might be finding minutes for everyone.  I was just thinking about AJ Price and where does he fit into this team, and unforunately, he'll be sitting as the third point guard or shooting guard available. This might not be a terrible thing as he can grow in his role.  George Hill should push Darren Collison for the starting point guard position.  Collison should have a better year than last year.  Not sure if the expectations were too high for him last year, or if he just never fit into the program.  But now with Coach Vogel putting together his own system, guys should know their roles.  I also think that Vogel won't be so focused on the three point shooting like Jim O'Brien was.  This will make Danny Granger more of the get to the basket type guy that I know he should be.  Once again, there's the idea the Roy Hibbert needs to turn that corner.  No stopping to sit on a couch and get his head right.  He needs that confidence of knowing how good he can be, and start dominating down low for the Pacers.  This team should be a fun one to watch once everything starts clicking.

Five Questions for the Indiana Pacers

I love this feature on ESPN, where five bloggers get asked five questions about a team, so I borrowed it and answered the questions that were asked about the Indiana Pacers.  This will be an important season for the Pacers.  One that could get the fans back on their side.  No more talk about what the roster can be, these are the guys we have, and let's see what they bring to the fight.

1.  For which Pacers player is the 2011-12 season most important?

This is year of Roy Hibbert.  He needs to step up his game and get that confidence that I know he has.  He's always been the player who if he doesn't get those first couple of shots to go down, he will start passing up shots.  He needs to be a big guy on the block who the Pacers can pass it down to, and know they'll get a point down there.  Also he needs to be more aggressive on the boards. There were some games he'd get a couple of rebounds.  A guy with his size only getting a couple of rebounds?? Not acceptable.  Mr. Hibbert, time to step up the game.

2.  Who is the most intriguing player on the Pacers' roster?

David West.  We know he had knee surgery last year, and he's saying his knees are fine, but only stepping on to the court and playing will show that.  He's a guy who averages 18 points and 9 rebounds a game, if we can get that out of him, this team will be much better.  He could help out some of the scoring with Granger down low.  But we will have to see what we are getting out of West. It's a 2 year deal, so I feel he's worth the investment of that deal.

3.  What do the Pacers need most?

Confidence. I think for guys like Hibbert, Paul George, Darren Collison, they need to know how good they are and how good they can be. Believe in what Coach Vogel is preaching to them, and go out there and get those wins.  Even Danny Granger gets down on himself during the game, and he really checks out of that game.  He needs to step up his leadership level and set the bar for the rest of the guys.  Keep trying to get his points and help out his team mates.  But I think this team just needs that extra shot of confidence to be a great team.

4.  Will a shortened season help or hurt the Pacers?

This is a such a tough question because you can go both ways.  I think it will hurt just a tad because Frank Vogel will have a shorter time implementing the system he wants to put together.  But luckily, we have the same core group of players here and they did make a lot of progress last season, so that should help.

5.  What are the expectations for this season?

This team needs to make the playoffs or else this season is a failure.  The biggest thing for me and for fans is that this team needs to get off to a fast start.  Get some wins right off the bat and make the game exciting again. Get the fans support by winning the games that you look on paper to win.  There's a lot of talent here, and it just needs to click.  Possibly fighting in the upper half of the Eastern Conference would be icing on the cake.  

Can Butler Get the Magic Back?

Hard to remember the last time Butler has had a three game losing streak, but that's where this team is at now.  There's definitely a theme flowing through the past two losses, which is getting behind early, and having to fight to get back in the game.  With this team that seems to go in scoring droughts, they can't afford to get down early.  There are three things that need to happen for the Bulldogs to get back on the right track.

Start out strong and keep the foot on the pedal.  Be consistent the whole game.  Get the offense moving in the right direction.  Clamp down on defense and hold teams under 60 or 70 points.  I would think 60 would be the preferred goal for what a team should be held under.  With this Butler team, scoring doesn't seem to be happening. 


How about getting some shots to fall?  The three point percentages in the past two games have been horrendous.  They have made a total of 5 three pointers, but that's after shooting over 40. With that type of shooting, you're not going to win many games. It doesn't help that the field goal percentage is towards the bottom in all of division one.  If this team gets their shooting touch back, and gets everyone scoring, that would be another improvement.


The leadership is missing as well.  Ronald Nored is the lone senior on this team, so it's time for the young guys to step up themselves and all work together. I'd like to see Andrew Smith step up his role for this team.  He's a big guy down low that can score and play great defense.  Also Chrishawn Hopkins needs to step up and get his game going.  He can score when he needs to, but also can work to get other guys involved.  The coaches can only lead so much, it has to come on the court.


Not quite the panic mode for this team since there are still three non conference games left to work out the kinks and get all primed for a conference run.  But that first conference game is a must win as the Bulldogs have already lost one conference game two Saturdays ago. It's tough to get back in the race if you're a few games down.  But this team could get going and carry that momentum all the way to the NCAA tourney, just like the UCONN team did last year.  First things first, get a win on Saturday against Purdue.  

NFL Reaction Week 14

Houston Texans 20      Cincinnati Bengals 19
Can the Bengals stop the winning streak of the Texans?
Well the Bengals thought they had the Texans down, but Houston pulls out the win at the end, and gets their first ever playoff birth and division title win.  Congrats to them.  Let's see how they do in the playoffs
MY PICK:   Houston Texans


Detroit Lions  34    Minnesota Vikings  28  
Will the Lions get a win and stay in the playoff hunt?
The Lions get the win they needed, and try to get back in this playoff hunt.  The defense came up huge at the end when Minnesota had a shot to score at the one yard line.  The Lions force a fumble and end the game.  A win is a win, and this win could be big for Detroit.  
MY PICK:  Detroit Lions


New Orleans Saints  22     Tennessee Titans  17
Do the Titans get a much needed win to stay in the AFC playoff hunt?
The Saints get a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter to pull away from the Titans and clinched up a playoff berth.  It's going to be tough for the Titans to get back in the AFC playoff hunt after this loss.
MY PICK:  New Orleans Saints


Philadelphia Eagles  26      Miami Dolphins  10
Which team picks up their fifth win of the season? 
The Eagles get the win, but does it matter for anything?  They put up 24 points in the second quarter to put away the Dolphins and Michael Vick made his return to the team throwing for over 200 yards in the win.
MY PICK:  Miami Dolphins


NY Jets  37      Kansas City Chiefs  10
Can the Jets pick up their third win in a row?
Mark Sanchez throws for four touchdowns in this rout of the Chiefs.  The Jets get another win to keep their playoff hopes alive.  
MY PICK:  NY Jets


New England Patriots  34     Washington Redskins  27
Do the Patriots put away the Redskins quickly and easily?
Rob Gronkowski set the record for touchdowns by a tight end in this game.  But the main story here was Tom Brady getting in a hissy fit with his offensive coordinator.  They had to be separated after a nice screaming match.  
MY PICK:  New England Patriots


Atlanta Falcons  31      Carolina Panthers  23
Can Cam Newton out play Matt Ryan in a battle of up and coming quarterbacks?
Matt Ryan put up four touchdowns to help the Falcons put away the Panthers, and get the better of this fine quarterback duel.  
MY PICK:  Atlanta Falcons


Jacksonville Jaguars  41      Tampa Bay Buccaneers  14
Can Tampa Bay stop their six game losing streak?
The Bucs continue to lose, and the Jags offense came alive in this game putting up 41 points.  Blaine Gabbert threw for two touchdowns, and Maurice Jones-Drew ran in two touchdowns.  
MY PICK:  Jacksonville Jaguars


Baltimore Ravens  24      Indianapolis Colts  10
Will Ray Rice run all over the Colts defense?
Hey at least Baltimore put up the word Colts on the scoreboard.  Maybe they are finally forgetting that whole let's pick up the team and move away.  And Ray Rice ran for over 100 yards and a touchdown.  
MY PICK:  Baltimore Ravens


Denver Broncos  13      Chicago Bears  10
What will Tim Tebow do this week?
Another week another Tebow comeback to win.  Do you think this is like a real life angels in the outfield?  Tebow has the power of Jesus helping him!  Do you think Jesus wants the Broncos to go all the way???
MY PICK:  Denver Broncos


Arizona Cardinals  21      San Francisco 49ers  19
Do the 49ers take it easy this week having clinched up the division title?
Wow shows how much I paid attention to this game, I didn't know the Cardinals won.  Kudos to them and they get their sixth win of the season.  
MY PICK:  San Francisco 49ers 


Green Bay Packers  46      Oakland Raiders  16
Will the Packers go to 13-0 and be 3 wins away from a perfect regular season?
Wow the Packers just keep rolling.  and putting up points like it's nothing.  Might as well throw it out there, they will go undefeated.*                                  *If they play their guys all the way
MY PICK:  Green Bay Packers


San Diego Chargers  36      Buffalo Bills  10
Which team needs the win more in this game?
The Charger get the duke here and try to get back into the playoff hunt. Still a bit of work to do, but they might be able to do it.  What a sad fall for the Bills.  That win against the Patriots seems like nothing now.  
MY PICK:  Buffalo Bills


NY Giants  37      Dallas Cowboys  34
Which team gets the win here and a leg up in the division race?
The Giants get the late field goal block and get a leg up in the NFC East race.  A good win for them, and this loss will hurt the Cowboys.  
MY PICK:  NY Giants


Seattle Seahawks  30      St. Louis Rams  13
Will anyone be watching this Monday Night Football game?
Thank you to Marshawn Lynch for getting the yards needed to beat my team in Yahoo Fantasy Football Playoffs.  That's all I can say about this game.  I get knocked out of the playoffs!
MY PICK:  Seattle Seahawks

What to Watch For- Saturday, December 10, 2011- UPDATED

Heisman Trophy Gets Presented Tonight    ESPN Heisman Watch
Who is going to grab this historic piece of hardware?  Andrew Luck looked like the shoo-in at the beginning, but has dropped off since.  He will still be the number one pick in the draft, right?  Will Robert Griffin the Third get the Heisman?  Trent Richardson has stepped up his game for Alabama, and could run to the trophy.  Who gets your vote?
UPDATE:  Robert Griffin wins the Heisman.  

Butler looks to rebound
Butler hit a tough Xavier team on Wednesday, but couldn't get the job done.  Now sitting at 4-5, people are ready to write off the season, but I am not there yet.  I think they will win today against Ball State, and then we can talk about the next few games.  The Conference is still win-able, so let's talk in a couple of months, and see where this team is at.
UPDATE:  Butler loses its third game in a row.  Goes down at the hands of Ball State 58-55.  Tough tough loss, but at least a week till the next game.....against Purdue.

IU and Kentuck play their annual game
Can IU hang and compete with the top team in the nation?  This IU team has been on a roll at 8-0 even defeating my beloved Bulldogs, but they will get a test today. I think IU will stay in the game for the first half, but I see Kentucky pulling away in the second half.  Still a good fight would be a "moral victory" for IU.  
UPDATE:  IU wins with a three at the buzzer to win.  Crazy.

Chris Paul to the Lakers
This deal doesn't look totally dead yet, as the teams involved are still working to get something together.  Will the NBA nix that deal as well though?  If Chris Paul is going to leave at the end of the year, might as well let him go now, and let the Hornets get something out of it.

Ohio State and Kansas battle it out
Two top twenty basketball programs will get together and put on a good fight.  Who comes out on top?  Experts say this is a fantastic Ohio State team that really will make a run deep into the NCAA Tourney.  Maybe Kansas, sitting at #13 right now, can make a stamp in their season today with a win over the number two team in the country.
UPDATE:  Ohio State goes down, so looks like a new number one and number two will be out there this next week.

Two Big Deals: Well One that Happened and One that Didn't

That title might be a bit deceiving since there was only one deal that actually went through in the sports world yesterday, but I still wanted to talk about both of these big deals in baseball and basketball.  Unless you don't pay attention to sports, then you didn't see that Albert Pujols got a huge sum of money to go play for the Los Angeles Angels of Anahiem.  Then we had a big trade that didn't go through in basketball where it would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, like I said didn't go through.

I am not trying to make these two similiar in any way, but just giving out thoughts on both deals in one place. Let's talk about Mr. Pujols and what will be pool of money.  He's set to make in the range of 250 MILLION- 260 MILLION DOLLARS over ten years to play for the Angels.  I can't even fathom that amount of money.  But you're probably saying Stephen, Alex Rodriguez got that sum of money years ago. And I'll say back, yes A-Rod got that money coming off a monster year and when he was still in his younger days.  Pujols is getting this money when he will turn the ripe age of 32 and I question if he has ten more good years in him.  Maybe the Angels overspent on him, but it looks like they are in it to win it now.  I think it will help him that he's going to play in the AL and he could work as a designated hitter in his later years, but I think this is a bit pricey for him.  And I guess I'm of the mindset, why can't a guy finish his career with a team that's loved him so much and really wanted him to be there. I guess if they truly wanted him, they would have already signed him. So I'm blaming the Cardinals for letting him get away like they did, and this shows there's no loyalty in sports.  

Let's talk about this other deal that didn't happen. Chris Paul was all set to be a Laker, and boom other owners start complaining about this deal, and David Stern says no this deal.  Kind of amazing that he would do something like that.  And I can only imagine what kind of mind set Paul will be in now after almost getting his wish of being traded.  That's what bugs me the most, this idea that an athlete demands to be traded.  That for me is the bigger issue.  If I work for a company, and I don't want to be there, I can't just stand up and say hey send me to another place, I have to leave and do it myself or just grind it out and wait for a better opportunity.  All of these guys demanding trades, it's getting very old.  I am sure there will be some way Paul gets out of New Orleans, and then we'll all question whether the NBA should have just let this deal get done and out of the way.  I also hope that Paul is the type of player that will just go out there and do his job the right way.  Who knows how much more he'll demand to go somewhere else or what will happen next? I'm truly waiting on what the Indiana Pacers are going to do since that's my team, and that's the only team I care to worry about.

#8 Xavier beats Butler 73-61

Not quite the night I envisioned for my Butler Bulldogs.  This was a rough game that Butler tried to get back into, but ultimately came up short.  It's hard to be in the game when your shoot is horrible. Butler shot 19-62 from the field, and only made two three pointers in twenty one attempts.  That's just asking for a loss.  The bigger issue is the consistency of this team.  One minute they're within a couple of points, and the next minute their opponent is on a run of 10 or more points.  That's usually not the calling card of a Butler team.  These guys need to step up their defense, and make stops when they need to.  Also, leadership is hard to find on this team right now.  I believe there's only one senior on this young squad of players. Ronald Nored needs to be vocal on and off the court, and show he's a leader for the team.  Young guys like, Chrishawn Hopkins and Andrew Smith, really need to step up their games. They are two guys who I believe should be scorers and play makers.  It's going to be a tough road if the Bulldogs can't get going in the right direction.  Especially with games like Purdue, Gonzaga, and Stanford all coming up before the conference season really kicks off.  Butler already has one loss in the conference due to a Saturday loss to Valpo.  I think if the Bulldogs get things squared away, you'll see something good come out of it. It's too early to totally count out this team.  Give it a few months for guys to develop and let's hope they're making another run in the conference tourney and the big dance for the NCAA tourney.  GO DAWGS!

Ready for some Pacers Basketball?

Pacers Schedule

There's a link you can go visit to see all the Pacers game this season. It should be an entertaining one that's only 66 games, so most of the games will have meaning. I think for this team, the Pacers, they need to start out strong.  Get some fans to support the team in a good first part of the season.  There's not a lot of time to pull those three and four game losing streaks.  With the core group of talent here, I am expecting a good season out of the Pacers.  They might not be in the top half of the conference, but I feel like anything less than making the playoffs would be a failure.  Hopefully, making a splash through free agency or a trade, will get this team another scorer or big man.  Those are the needs that I think need to be fulfilled.  I also think that Roy Hibbert needs to get all of his confidence going right away, and not have that mental breakdown he did last year.  With Frank Vogel at the helm, that should help out.  He seems like the players type coach who brings a lot of passion and energy to the team.  Danny Granger needs to step up and be a leader off and on the court. I hope he's more of a drive to the basket guy this year than sit back and take a three all game.  We need to see how George Hill fits in here as well.  Does he become a starter or sixth man?  That probably depends on Darren Collison. I loved the pickup of Collison last year, but he never played up to the expectations.  This year he needs to do that.  Paul George looked good in the playoffs, and I expect another year of maturity out of him.  That's just a few pieces of the puzzle. I know we are a small market team, and probably shouldn't be able to compete with the big teams, but why not?  If a team like Memphis could get their act together and knock off the Spurs last year and make a run to the Conference Finals with Zach Randolph as their main star, then surely the Pacers could get something special going this year.  

NFL Reaction Week 13

Seattle Seahawks  31    Philadelphia Eagles  14
The Eagles go down, and looks like their season is done.  Seahawks get the win, but still a long way off from the playoffs.  




Tennessee Titans  23    Buffalo Bills  17
The Titans get the win in this game, and try to make a push for the playoffs.  The Bills have completely derailed.  Hard to believe they beat the Patriots early on and were looking like a team that could do something.




Kansas City Chiefs 10    Chicago Bears  3
Looks like the Bears need a quarterback, but I hope hope hope hope hope they don't give Brett Favre a shot. He just needs to stay away.  Doesn't look like the Chiefs got much going this day either, and they lost Kyle Orton on the first play that he played.  What a start there.






Miami Dolphins  34    Oakland Raiders  10
Surprise of the day for me. I thought the Raiders would easily take care of the Dolphins, but they couldn't.  Richard Seymour didn't help anything by getting ejected.  Honestly, getting ejected from a football game?  Kudos to the Dolphins for being as competitive as they  have been.  They have four wins that could have been about five or six if things went their way.




Denver Broncos  38    Minnesota Vikings  35
Tim Tebow keeps winning.  How crazy is that?  Can't ask much more of him from this team.  The Denver defense is helping out as well.  And it looks like the Vikings might be better than originally thought.




New England Patriots  31    Indianapolis Colts  24
The Colts almost made this a game in the end.  But they drop to 0-12, and one step closer to that number one pick.  The Patriots did what they needed to do, and have a comfortable lead in the AFC East.




Pittsburgh Steelers  35    Cincinnati Bengals  7
This was a game I thought the Bengals should have won, but they couldn't get it together.  The Steelers just rushed out and stomped on them.  Looks like the Steelers aren't ready to give up the division to the Ravens.




Carolina Panthers  38    Tampa Bay Buccaneers  19
The Panthers are making some strides, while the Bucs go backwards.  Tampa Bay won 10 games last season, but they won't reach that mark this year.  The Panthers continue to roll with Cam Newton, and is there any doubt he's rookie of the year?




NY Jets  34    Washington Redskins  19
The Jets win a game that they absolutely had to.  The Redskins lose, and are falling away from a possible shot at the division title.




Houston Texans  17    Atlanta Falcons  10
Texans keep rolling along with whoever is the quarterback this week.  The Falcons made some backward steps in their quest for a division title.  




Baltimore Ravens  24    Cleveland Browns  10
The Ravens win this game and continue to show they are the top of the AFC.  






Green Bay Packers  38    NY Giants  35
The Packers get a tough win, and look to be perfect this season. Just have to keep rolling along,and hopefully finish this year with a Super Bowl win.  Since they were my Super Bowl pick to win it all.




Dallas Cowboys  13    Arizona Cardinals  19
Oh look the Cowboys falter in the fourth quarter, and can't seem to pull away for the division title.  




St. Louis Rams  0    San Francisco 49ers  26
Is there anything to say about this game?  The 49ers rolled and won the division.  Talk about clinching up the division early.  




Detroit Lions  17    New Orleans Saints  31
The Saints get another good win, and look to be a beast in the NFC.  Can they challenge the Packers come playoff time?  The Lions, like the Bills, just continue to falter, and what a bad way for their season to go.




San Diego Chargers  38    Jacksonville Jaguars  14 
The Chargers get a win, but still need to do more to get back in the playoff hunt.  Who would have thought that after a 4-1 start, they would be 5-7.  Luckily, their division sucks, and they might still be able to win it.

National Championship is announced. Will you be watching?

I find myself just feeling very indifferent about college football.  Maybe it's the fact that I went to Butler, where football isn't exactly high on the scale there.  Obviously, the basketball team has taken all the attention away.  It doesn't help the football team that they play in the lowest division available as well.  Therefore, I don't have many ties to any football program.


I do follow the top 25 teams, and just keep an eye on things happening in college football.  And of course, most of the discussion after last night was on the rematch between LSU and Alabama.  For those of you who missed the first matchup, LSU won 9-6.  That's right, these two teams have already played, and now they are playing again for the National Title.  Does that make any sense?  Oklahoma State just misses out after a fantastic season, and one that ends in completely taking cover of their big rival, Oklahoma, but they won't get to prove that they should be a National Champion.

You know what could solve that issue, a playoff. I think for me a playoff would get me excited for college football.  People are arguing you can't add that many games to those players.  Well, how about the players in basketball, and all the games they play.  All the other college sports do a playoff as well.  And let's be honest, how many division 1 football players will go on to the NFL, so what difference would it make in the long run if you added a few games.  How about taking off the first two games that are usually against cupcake teams, and start the conference games right away.  There you go, you've taken out games, and put a playoff game in it's place. I read somewhere on Sunday that after Saturday's games that none of the games had any effect on the BCS.  Now we're supposed to believe that every game counts in college football, except after this weekend, it doesn't.