Now that I've been in college for a couple years, it's weird to see athletes my age who will soon be/are already making millions of dollars for playing sports that I once played competitively. It makes me wonder had I put a little more time and effort into basketball and baseball, maybe I could be in the same position. I then remember that I'm a 6'2 155 pound white guy who can't move laterally and didn't have parents who sucked the **** of my coaches in high school (I'm thankful for that last part). This is more commonly known as politics. Enough about my failures as a child...I've decided that it's time to recognize the athletes that currently play college basketball for my two favorite teams at the collegiate level: the Marquette Golden Eagles and the Wisconsin Badgers.
Before I get to that, let's talk about the Green Bay Packers' impressive 21-16 victory in Philly last weekend. Going into this game, I had the feeling that anything could happen. In other words, the feeling that I get going into every Packer game. This one was a little different, however, because the blueprint for slowing down (notice how I didn't say stopping) Mike Vick had been laid out by a few teams during the season...most notably, of all teams, the Minnesota Vikings. I knew that defensive coordinator Dom Capers would be able to duplicate this and put together yet another genius scheme combined with the defensive personnel that has begun to gel together very nicely. The Packers' D had a near-dominating performance and only allowed 16 points, which is more than they should have because of an Aaron Rodgers fumble deep in their own territory. Speaking of Rodgers...despite the lost fumble, he had such a good game that it had Phil Simms comparing him to John Elway and analysts all across the country drooling over how well he was playing in comparison to guys like Tom Brady and Drew Brees. We Packer fans have realized this all along, but now that Rodgers has a playoff victory under his belt, people's eyes have been opened. The main thing that got to me during the game was yet another touchdown drop by a Packer receiver. James Jones watched a beautiful toss by Rodgers go right between his hands, which would have put Green Bay up 21-3 in the first half. Unfortunately, Jones' drop left the game looking a little too close for comfort in the end, but a win is a win and the Packers will travel to Hot-lanta for a divisional playoff round match-up against the Dirty Birds. The key will be James Starks and whether or not he can come anywhere close to his effort against the Eagles. The Packers with a run game? Who knew?
Conference time has rolled around in college basketball, so now it's time to pay a little attention. I'll begin with an assessment of the Golden Eagles. By the way, that's the last time I will refer to them by that name...from now on, it's the Warriors. If you're offended by that, then you probably shouldn't be reading this blog. Marquette's season thus far (in fact, the past two seasons) has been very comparable to the year that the Packers have been having. MU has been involved in many close games this year, only to falter towards the end in many of them. As usual, the Warriors lack a true inside presence, although Joseph Fulce and Chris Otule have put up decent efforts at the 5. Either way, the Warriors find themselves with a 3-1 conference record, which is a pretty solid start. Granted, MU hasn't really beaten anyone up to this point other than their rivals from Notre Dame (who they completely dismantled), but they put up a very good fight against Pitt and appear poised to at the very least stay within striking distance in every game this season. This is in part to very efficient shooting and good ball movement, not to mention incredible athleticism. Look for Marquette to sneak into the tourney that rolls around every March which makes my blood pressure rise to unimaginable heights.
Next up: the Badgers of Madtown. Just this week, Wisconsin had a very disappointing loss on the road to the Michigan State Spartans...this appears to be a recurring theme. This loss could've easily been avoided had Rob Wilson not completely **** the bed down the stretch. No, I don't feel like going into further detail. If you saw the game and understand the style of basketball that the Badgers play, then you know what I'm talking about. Wisconsin should still be able to bounce back from a lackluster start to conference play (2-2) and contend for a 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA tournament. Jon Leuer has a skill set that has NBA scouts drooling and went up against guys like Kevin Durant and Lamar Odom last summer while practicing with the USA national basketball team. Wisconsin also has it's solidified point man in Jordan Taylor, and JT has been having a very solid junior year (crazy to think that this guy is my age). Things feel pretty similar to last season at this point for both Marquette and Wisconsin, but if you watched March Madness last year, you know that anything can happen...ah the beauty of college basketball.
I'd also like to give a quick shout out to freshman Kameron Cerroni. Kam attended my high school and is currently playing for the UW-GB Phoenix as a three point specialist. It's pretty cool to see someone who I once faced off against playing at a Division I university, so best of luck to Kam as he grows into his own at Green Bay.
I noticed that none of you have asked about which college sport I play. Still no idea? Floor hockey. That's right. I am a goalie/forward for the Flying V floor hockey team at Oshkosh where last night a first round bye was earned for next Thursday's playoffs. Yours truly had 2 goals and only 1 goal allowed in the second period. You'd be surprised to see how tiring floor hockey is...or maybe I'm just really, really out of shape. I'll keep the blog updated on how the postseason ends up going. I have high hopes.
Round 2 playoff predictions (minus the Packers):
Last week: 2-1
BEARS over Seahawks
PATS over Jets
RAVENS over Steelers
GO PACK GO!
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