Koufos recalled by Jazz

Center Mehmet Okur has a strained hamstring, so the Utah Jazz added rookie Kosta Koufos to the roster for its playoff opener Sunday at Los Angeles. Koufos was recalled from the NBA Development League….
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Koufos sent to D-League

Kosta Koufos, who hasn’t played in a game for the Utah Jazz since Feb.17, was sent to the team’s NBA Development League affiliate in Orem, Utah, today….
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WTEN: Buckeyes Las Vegas-Bound For Match With Utah Monday

Ohio State closes out non-conference schedule vs. Utes in Las Vegas, Nev.
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Celtics lose, Cavs taking command

The Boston Celtics just lost to Milwaukee 86-77, opening up a 3-game lead for the Cavaliers in the battle for home-court advantage in the playoffs.  Boston needs to begin worrying about Orlando, who sits only 1 game back of the Celtics heading into their home game tonight with Utah.
Should the Cavs win, it would push [...]
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Florida, Oklahoma odds on favorites for 2009

The Wiz spotted BodogLife’s updated odds for the college football season. Long story short… it looks like the Gators and Sooners are the early picks, followed by USC, Texas, and Ohio State.

Here’s the complete rundown:

Alabama 22/1
Arizona 100/1
Arizona State 150/1
Arkansas 150/1
Auburn 150/1
Boise State 100/1
Boston College 100/1
California 60/1
Cincinnati 90/1
Clemson 60/1
Colorado 100/1
Florida 7/4
Florida State 30/1
Georgia 50/1
Georgia Tech 50/1
Illinois 80/1
Iowa 75/1
Kansas 75/1
Kansas State 175/1
Kentucky 125/1
Louisville 150/1
LSU 20/1
Maryland 200/1
Miami 35/1
Michigan 120/1
Michigan State 100/1
Missouri 90/1
Nebraska 55/1
North Carolina 45/1
North Carolina State 100/1
Notre Dame 30/1
Ohio State 17/2
Oklahoma 5/1
Oklahoma State 50/1
Oregon 20/1
Oregon State 100/1
Penn State 35/1
Pittsburgh 60/1
Rutgers 125/1
South Carolina 100/1
South Florida 80/1
Tennessee 100/1
Texas 8/1
Texas A&M 150/1
Texas Tech 60/1
UCLA 150/1
Utah 125/1
USC 5/1
Virginia 100/1
Virginia Tech 20/1
Wake Forest 80/1
Washington 200/1
West Virginia 75/1
Wisconsin 100/1
Field (Any Other Team) 20/1

And remember… entertainment purposes only… of course.

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Simply incredible

Just moments ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers finished off the Milwaukee Bucks 111-103. It was one of the best games I have seen in a long time (possibly since the OT win at Detroit in the playoffs two seasons ago).

The stats speak for themselves, and they speak of a player about to get an MVP Trophy. LeBron James had 55 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds.

But there was a span of about 4 game minutes that was awe-inspiring.

With 37 seconds left in the first half, James slipped at the top of the key and watched as Milwaukee scooped up the ball and slammed it home for a 56-45 lead. LeBron was pissed off and from that moment he took charge.

With 22 seconds left, he launched a 28-footer that swished through the net.  As the buzzer sounded, he tried another deep three, this time from 33 feet away.  He banked it in to add to his hours-long highlight reel.

But halftime didn’t cool off LBJ.

Opening the second half, Mo Williams stole a pass and laid it in right away, and LeBron went back to work.  Here’s the play-by-play listing of the next few minutes;

• 11:26 – LeBron James makes 15-foot jumper
• 10:47 – LeBron James makes 27-foot three point jumper
• 10:22 – LeBron James makes 26-foot three point jumper
• 9:51 – LeBron James makes 26-foot three point jumper
• 9:29 – LeBron James makes 26-foot three point jumper
• 9:10 – LeBron James makes 15-foot jumper

James would add another 8 points in the quarter, giving him 24 for the entire 3rd period.

But for a span of 3 minutes and 12 seconds, he was literally unstoppable.  He scored 22 points in just over 3 minutes. In that time frame, Cleveland outscored Milwaukee 24-5, turning an 11-point deficit into an 8-point lead.

How the hell do you even compete with that kind of awesomeness?

Milwaukee just couldn’t slow him down.  The Bucks made a game of it, but they self-destructed down the stretch (it helped that Charlie Villanueva lost his mind, flinging Varejao to the floor by his face and then trying to strangle Ilgauskas, earning himself an ejection).

But I was witness to 3:12 of the greatest performance one could hope to see.

——————

One amazing stat that will likely go unnoticed is that LeBron did his damage in the third quarter, notoriously the worst quarter for this team.  Take a look at this;

LeBron James scored 24 points in the third quarter alone tonight….that is equal to or more than the ENTIRE Cavs team has scored in 28 other games this season.

Opponent	Total Cle 3Q pts
Boston	13
Charlotte	18
New Orleans	24
Dallas	21
Chicago	26
Indiana	28
Chicago	20
Milwaukee	26
Denver	30
Utah	34
New Jersey	28
Detroit	19
Atlanta	30
NY Knicks	28
Oklahoma City	26
Golden State	36
Milwaukee	24
NY Knicks	24
Indiana	18
Charlotte	19
Toronto	31
Philadelphia	36
Philadelphia	17
Atlanta	28
Minnesota	19
Denver	20
Oklahoma City	30
Houston	26
Washington	19
Miami	14
Miami	33
Chicago	28
Washington	11
Charlotte	24
Boston	23
Memphis	29
Chicago	23
New Orleans	17
LA Lakers	16
Portland	21
Golden State	29
Utah	34
Sacramento	28
Orlando	16
LA Clippers	29
Detroit	22
Toronto	15
NY Knicks	25
LA Lakers	16
Indiana	25
Phoenix	23
Toronto	24

Now that IS impressive.

——————

I’ll be attending my first Cavaliers game of the season Sunday night against the Detroit Pistons.  The Pistons have faltered heavily this season.  They are 15 games out of first place, have lost five games in a row, and if Cleveland beats them Sunday night, Detroit will be .500 on the year.  Also, they are only 3 games ahead of Chicago for the 8th and final playoff spot…and the Bulls actually worked to improve their lot, trading for C Brad Miller on Thursday.

How bad would the state of Michigan be if the Pistons miss the playoffs in 2009?

Story By The Buckeye Battle Cry

Cavaliers have an opportunity to pull away in East

When the NBA trade deadline passed yesterday without a Cavalier move, I was relieved.

Yes, the news of a potential Shaquille O’Neal trade was exciting, but in the end, it’s a good thing the Cavaliers stayed with the same roster.  this team has chemistry and a flow to them unseen throughout the rest of the league.  When healthy, there is only one team in the East that can slow them down….themselves.

Entering action tonight, the Cavaliers have the best record in the NBA Eastern Conference (by percentage points over Boston), and their fortune could improve vastly overthe next few weeks.  Here’s why;

There are only three teams battling for the top in the East, Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando.  Over the next 2 weeks, a lot will be on the line in this season-long 3-team war.  Here’s the outlook I see for each of the contenders;

Orlando – 39-14 (.736)

The Magic were actually the NBAs best not long ago.  In mid-January, they came off a rough west-coast trip unscathed, having knocked off the Lakers and Denver as part of a 4-game swing.  Since then, they’ve been in trouble.  They have only won 6 of their 12 games since, and only one of those wins was against a team currently playoff-bound.

Starting point-guard and All-Star Jameer Nelson was injured during the last few weeks, and it has led directly to the current slump.  Nelson is now out for the season and the Magic may be ready to hit the panic button, and it showed when they scrambled at the last minute yesterday to trade for Houston’s Rafer Alston.  Alston’s a good player, but whether or not he will fit in remains to be seen.  meanwhile, Orlando’s schedule over the next few weeks has the potential to expose the Magic weaknesses.

They’ll probably beat 22-32 Charlotte tonight (leading by 14 at halftime), but then comes potential danger;

• 2/22 – Miami (28-25)
• 2/24 – at Chicago (24-30)
• 2/25 – at New York Knicks (22-31)
• 2/27 – Detroit (27-26)
• 2/28 – at Philadelphia (27-26)
• 3/3 – Phoenix (30-23)
• 3/6 – New Jersey (24-31)
• 3/8 – at Boston (44-12)
• 3/9 – at Detroit (27-26)
• 3/11 – Chicago (24-30)

Three back-to-backs in ten games is brutal, especially since five of those games are on the road and all six are against teams either locked into the playoffs or at the doorstep.

In my eyes, Orlando has to go 8-2 in this stretch.  7-3 may be acceptable, but they’re already 3.5 games back of the lead in the east.  If they only go 6-4, they may be too far back to catch up down the stretch.

Boston – 44-12 (.786)

The last time the Celtics went on a west-coast trip, their wheels fell off.  The hit the road on a 19-game win streak, and watched their fortunes sink as they dropped seven of their next nine games.

Last night, Boston began a 4-game trip west of the Rockies and it didn’t go well.  At all.  The Utah Jazz used a strong finish to beat the Celtics 90-85, and they also lost Kevin Garnett to a knee injury.  Garnett tried to come back in the second half during warmups, but team doctors kept him out.  He’s returned home for the rest of the road trip for further evaluation, including an MRI tomorrow.  In injury-speak, that spells trouble.

The Celtics schedule might be the most troubling for them, espceially if Garnett is out longer than the rest of this current trip.  Here’s the upcoming round for them;

• 2/22 – at Phoenix (30-23)
• 2/23 – at Denver (37-17)
• 2/25 – at L.A. Clippers (13-42)
• 2/27- Indiana (22-34)
• 3/1 – Detroit (27-26)
• 3/4 – at New Jersey (24-31)
• 3/6 – Cleveland (42-11)
• 3/8 – Orlando (39-14)
• 3/11 – at Miami (28-25)

That is not an easy schedule.  Phoenix is without Amare Stoudemire, but with an almost-young-again O’Neal going up against a weak Boston bench…that Garnett injury will stand out there.

Their saving grace might be having Cleveland and Orlando both at home, but those two games might be do-or-die for Boston.  These nine games will tell a LOT about Boston, and their ability to overcome injury.  Best-case scenario for the Celtics is 7-2, worst-case is 3-6.  If the worst happens, Boston may be in trouble down the stretch.  They NEED home-court advantage and they know it, having lost their first six road games (and going 3-9 overall) in the playoffs last season.

Cleveland – 44-12 (.788)

Staying strong through injuries is exactly what the Cavaliers have done all season.  Losing Ilgauskas, Delonte West and Sasha Pavlovic for extended periods could have been devastating, but the Cavs have stayed on top.  West is ready to return and might be back as early as Sunday.

Back-to-back losses to the Lakers and Indiana just before the All-Star break doesn’t seem to have slowed down the Cavs either.  But two big road trips in the next few weeks will also test the mettle.

• 2/20 – at Milwaukee (27-30)
• 2/22 – Detroit (27-26)
• 2/24 – Memphis (15-39)
• 2/26 – at Houston (33-21)
• 2/27 – at San Antonio (36-17)
• 3/1 – at Atlanta (32-22)
• 3/2 – at Miami (28-25)
• 3/4 – Milwaukee (27-30)
• 3/6 – at Boston (44-12)
• 3/7 – Miami (28-25)
• 3/10 – at L.A. Clippers (13-42)

These ten games have plenty of potential slips in them, especially Miami, San Antonio and Boston.  But there also lies 6 games against teams we are clearly stringer than.  Win the games you should and surge in the tough games, and this could be the stretch that helps the Cavaliers pull away.  But they know the key lies in the one thing they can’t control….their own health.  Stay focused and stay healthy and by the time March 10th comes along, they could have a 2-or-3 game lead.

Story By The Buckeye Battle Cry

Final Grades: A look back at the preseason AP poll

It’s time to pay the piper. Here’s a look back at the 2008 pre-season AP poll contrasted against the final 2008-2009 AP poll.

2008 AP College Football Poll Comparison – Preseason vs Final Poll

TEAM	FINAL RANKING	PRESEASON
Florida	1	5
Utah	2	NR
USC	3	3
Texas	4	11
Oklahoma	6	4
Alabama	6	NR
TCU	NR	NR
Penn State	8	22
Ohio State	9	2
Oregon	10	21
Boise State	11	NR
Texas Tech	12	12
Georgia	13	1
Ole Miss	14	NR
Virginia Tech	15	17
Oklahoma State	16	NR
Cincinnati	17	NR
Oregon State	18	22
Missouri	19	6
Iowa	20	NR
Florida State	21	NR
Georgia Tech	22	NR
West Virginia	23	8
Michigan State	24	NR
BYU	25	16

The big standout poll flops are Georgia (P-1 F-13), Ohio State (P-2 F-10), Missouri (P-6 F-19) and West Virgina (P-8 F-23). And — of course — the teams that never even made it to the final poll, including LSU, Clemson, Auburn and Wisconsin.

The Cinderella stories of Utah, TCU, Boise State, and Alabama surprised pollsters and fans alike. (Outside of Alabama, of course, who always expects the Tide to be #1… and they’re not afraid to tell you about it, as well. Still, I suspect there were more than a couple of surprised Bama fans out there this season when the Crimson Tide rose to the top of the polls.)

The biggest surprise for me was how many of the teams were actually ranked consistently from pre-season to final poll. That shocked me, actually. I have long advocated not doing any polls at all until the fourth week of the season, but there’s enough balance between the good & bad of the pre-season poll to suggest that *some* of the pollsters might actually put some thought into this whole thing.

What stands out to you and where do you stand on pre-season polls — sacrosanct or sacrelidge?

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Skipping town…..again

This Friday, I’ll be hopping on a plane and taking off for another mini-vacation.  But this time, I’ll be blogging throughout the trip and I suppose I could take it as a business trip, if I decide to go that way with my taxes.

I’m headed to Vegas, baby, Vegas.  I think the last time I was there, I didn’t get to experience as much as I would have liked…this time will be more fulfilling.

While I’m there, I have big plans to watch the Cavaliers-Pistons game on the big screen at Ceasar’s Palace on Sunday night.  And for the first time in my life, I’ll be placing a bet on a pro sports game (a legitimate one, not like the typical bets you make with a co-worker).  It’s not something I’ve done in the past, but in the pre-Vegas hype I have been experiencing, I’ve been a busy boy online. 

While I would be happy to take money from my readers and place bets in Vegas for them, let’s be serious about the nightmarish logistics of that.  Instead, if you’re up for some sports betting, let me recommend BetUS.com.  Go check out my new friends and show them some love.  Besides, these guys are professionals, and I’m just a guy who writes stuff.  Trust them with your bucks and trust me with The Bucks (clever, huh?).

Interesting side note….last time I was in Vegas, I convinced Chalene (that Utah girl) to put 100 bucks on the Jaguars over the Steelers.  Pittsburgh was getting 2.5 points and were pretty well battered on the injury list.  Jacksonville burst out to a 16-point lead and the bet looked safe.  The Steelers cut the lead to 2, and Jacksonville ran out the clock inside the 5-yard-line.  Dammit.

This time, I hope to have better luck.  I don’t know what the spread will be on the Cavs-Pistons game, but I’m taking Cleveland (of course).  It looks like Ilgauskas will be back by then and that’s a big game for us.

Oh, and speaking of the damn Steelers, superbowl betting is another task I’ve never taken up….until now.  I’ll take the Cardinals because I hate Pittsburgh and want them to meet a fiery demise.  Steelers are favored by 7 points, but the last 7 times a team was favored by a TD or more in the Super Bowl, only three of them have covered the spread.  Yeah, I’m looking for every reason I can to have those guys lose.  Hate em hate em hate em.

Anyway, I’ll keep the updates coming in Vegas.  Have fun wherever you are for Suber Bowl Sunday, and I’ll send you pictures!

Story By The Buckeye Battle Cry

Skipping town…..again – also, some site news!

This Friday, I’ll be hopping on a plane and taking off for another mini-vacation.  But this time, I’ll be blogging throughout the trip and I suppose I could take it as a business trip, if I decide to go that way with my taxes.

I’m headed to Vegas, baby, Vegas.  I think the last time I was there, I didn’t get to experience as much as I would have liked…this time will be more fulfilling.

While I’m there, I have big plans to watch the Cavaliers-Pistons game on the big screen at Ceasar’s Palace on Sunday night.  And for the first time in my life, I’ll be placing a bet on a pro sports game (a legitimate one, not like the typical bets you make with a co-worker).  Which leads me to my news about the blog.

Starting today, BetUS.com is officially an advertiser/sponsor of The Buckeye Battle Cry.  While I would be happy to take money from my readers and place bets in Vegas for them, let’s be serious about the nightmarish logistics of that.  Go check out my new friends and show them some love for being believers in The BBC.  Besides, these guys are professionals, and I’m just a guy who writes stuff.  Trust them with your bucks and trust me with The Bucks (clever, huh?).

Interesting side note….last time I was in Vegas, I convinced Chalene (that Utah girl) to put 100 bucks on the Jaguars over the Steelers.  Pittsburgh was getting 2.5 points and were pretty well battered on the injury list.  Jacksonville burst out to a 16-point lead and the bet looked safe.  The Steelers cut the lead to 2, and Jacksonville ran out the clock inside the 5-yard-line.  Dammit.

This time, I hope to have better luck.  I don’t know what the spread will be on the Cavs-Pistons game, but I’m taking Cleveland (of course).  It looks like Ilgauskas will be back by then and that’s a big game for us.

Oh, and speaking of the damn Steelers, you can throw a few bucks on that game too.  I’d take the Cardinals because I hate Pittsburgh and want them to meet a fiery demise.  Steelers are favored by 7 points, but the last 7 times a team was favored by a TD or more in the Super Bowl, only three of them have covered the spread.  Yeah, I’m looking for every reason I can to have those guys lose.  Hate em hate em hate em.

Anyway, I’ll keep the updates coming in Vegas.  In the meantime, thanks for helping this website grow enough to get an actual advertiser.  My site actually makes a profit now, and its a special thanks to you for sticking with me and driving up my hit counter.

Story By The Buckeye Battle Cry

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