For the Fans, By the Fans. Period.
The Cover 4 presents you The Sound Off by Long Island Sound…
Let us know what you think!
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
Oh yeah, tell your friends too!
Long Island Sound
Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
Will Tim Duncan get his 5th ring?
Who would have thought that the San Antonio Spurs would sweep the series against the Grizzlies and that the Pacers would be tied 3-3 with the Miami Heat. While San Antonio rests, heals, and awaits to find out who they will be playing for their 4th NBA Championship in the last decade, the Heat and Pacers will meet again Monday night. Here’s a quick glance at the advantages each team has over the others and who the Spurs would rather play for the NBA Championship.
The Big Men:
After the Spurs seemingly manhandled one of the best duos down low in the NBA, you would be hard pressed to give any team the big man advantage over the Spurs. Roy Hibbert has been getting a lot of love for his performance against Miami. And is getting even more attention for throwing around gay slurs and calling the media motherf—–s in his post game conference. However, if you were going to ask me whether I’d have a duo of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph or Roy Hibbert and David West, I’ll take Gasol and Randolph any day of the week. If San Antonio can deal with Z-bo and Gasol, they can handle Hibbert and West. Hibbert averaged 11.9 PPG and 8.3RPG during the season. Against Miami, he’s bumped that up to 22.8PPG and 10.8RPG. So how has Hibbert suddenly found himself and become an unstoppable threat down low? I’m going to say no.
Miami’s presence down low is abysmal. Chris Bosh has already been having a career low in rebounding, and against the Pacers is getting a whopping 3.7RPG. 3.7! That’s completely ridiculous for a 6’11 All-Star player. Look at Bosh’s RPG this season against teams with reputable centers or power forwards in the league. Against Brooklyn-3.3RPG, Indiana-3.3RPG, Utah-1.0RPG, Philadephia-3.3RPG. Chris Bosh doesn’t shut down opposing big men, he gets shut down and dominated. Possession control wins in the post season. Hibbert’s excellence right now is more a byproduct of Miami’s atrociousness at handling big men. Hell, if the Pacers leave Hibbert in game 1, James probably doesn’t get the game winning lay up at the buzzer and maybe there isn’t even a game 7. I don’t expect Hibbert to keep up this level of play against a team such as San Antonio. He’s a good center, but his regular season numbers speak volumes. As far as Miami goes, it’s not the big men that win games, its LeBron James.
Advantage: San Antonio Spurs
Whether it’s the Pacers or the Heat, San Antonio will have the advantage in the big man category. Obviously they would prefer to deal with Miami down low rather than the Pacers, but when you have the best power forward of all time playing alongside one of the leagues best coaches, you have the advantage. The Big Fundamental and a fundamentals coach made their statement against the Grizzlies. They can play down low against anyone in the league. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, its all about Timmy D, and he’s going to get his.
Small-Forward:
Kawhi Leonard is an ever-growing asset to the San Antonio franchise and seems to just be getting better and better. Paul George emerged this year as an All-Star and one of the best all around players in the league. But NOONE can argue that Miami does not have the advantage in the small forward position. LeBron James is the greatest basketball player on Earth. Both the Pacers and the Heat have the advantage against San Antonio in the Small Forward position, but the Spurs would rather face Paul George than LeBron James against them on the court.
Advantage: Miami Heat
You never want to play against LeBron James. Plain and Simple.
Shooting Guard:
It appears that the NBA gods decided to plague the shooting guards left in the playoffs. Dwayne Wade’s stats this post season are 13.6PPG, 4.6RPG, 5.1APG, Manu’s 11.5PPG, 4.5RPG, and 5.4APG, and Lance Stephenson 9.4PPG, 7.7RPG, and 3.2APG. Look at that again, Lance Stevenson is performing at nearly the same level of Manu Ginobili and Dwayne Wade. Throw that in with the injury worries of Ginobili and Wade, and Stevenson may be the one to fear. He has that NBA Live ‘He’s on Fire’ ability that gets the Indiana crowd going wild when playing t home. While he’s playing well right now, theres no way I’m going to put him above Wade and Ginobili. Both are perrenial All-Stars for a reason. Despite Wade’s abysmal performance these past few games and his knees that seem to aged 30 years, everyone remembers his Finals performance against Dallas that gave Miami their championship pre-LeBron. And Ginobili can go from having a horrible shooting performance, to nailing the game winning shot with no time left.
Advantage: No Team
If Dwayne Wade and Ginobili continue their sub par performances, they are nearly comparable to Lance Stephenson. I never thought he’d be in the conversation for advantage at shooting guard but he’s there. Not because he’s playing at an all star level, but because the other two have fallen. I’m not basing this on the potential or sheer talent of the players, but the way their performing this post season.
Point Guard:
Tony Parker is one of the most underrated point guards in the league. Without Tony Parker, there is no way that the Spurs are in the Finals. The Spurs offense begins and ends with him and he runs the pick-and-roll to near perfection. Parker’s averaging 23.0PPG, 3.9RPG, and 7.2APG, but his team role goes beyond the numbers. He facilitates the Spurs game plan and conducts the team perfectly. He’s carried his team to a championship and won Finals MVP and I won’t be surprised the least if he does it again.
Who would have thought that George Hill could potentially get to the NBA Finals the same year as a Pacer as he could have as a Spur. Popovich may be going against one of the players he mentored, and while he’s a good point guard and can run the offense, he’s no Tony Parker. He’s an efficient player and can do his job, but it won’t be at an All Star level.
We all remember Dwayne Wade yelling “Mario F—ing Chalmers” after his stellar performance against the Thunder last year. If it wasn’t for his potential to randomly go off for 20+ points, hit those game winning shots he’s been doing since he left Kansas, or for his ridiculous outfit in Miami’s Harlem Shake video, I wouldn’t even talk about him. Like Hill, Chalmers does his job and can randomly have scoring outbursts. Neither player though will take the game over and be the reason his team succeeds.
Advantage: San Antonio Spurs
Tony Parker is one of the best point guards in the league while the others aren’t even in the conversation. As far as a game manager goes, it doesn’t get much better than Tony Parker.
Coaching:
Advantage: San Antonio Spurs
I’m not even going to give this one an elaborate explanation. I commend Frank Vogel and Erik Spoelstra for leading their teams to the Eastern Conference Finals but I’m not going to say they are better than Popovich. Popovich is that coach that never seems to panic and always gets the best out of his players. He commands respect from his players and his authority is never questioned. He is one of the main reasons that the Spurs have been one of the most dominant teams throughout the past decade. He’s one of the greatest coaches the NBA has seen and his coaching acumen cannot be questioned. The fact that every player seems to develop and improve under his coaching is testimony to his coaching skill.
Who would the Spurs rather face?
The Indiana Pacers
I don’t think that it’s the question that the Spurs would rather play the Indiana Pacers. Their make up is not much different than that of the Grizzlies. They operate an inside-out game plan with athletic wing players. Paul George may be able to give them some trouble but Kawahi Leonard is a fantastic on ball defender and could potentially contain him. If I hadn’t seen the Spurs perform so well against the Grizzlies and be able to grind out and win those close games, I may underestimate their ability to contain Indiana’s big men. A series sweep against one of the best teams in the West though speaks volumes. Throw that in with Popovich’s time to analyze the Pacer’s game tape the past week along with the Spurs’ players getting rest, and you have a team that can handle anyone in the Finals.
While many would argue that the Spurs may do better playing against the Heat in the Finals, they have the ultimate X-factor. I don’t think that any team wants to match up against the best player in the world. There is just too much that can go wrong. Also, the funk that Bosh and Wade are in can’t continue forever. If those two can turn it on and LeBron plays to his usual level, the Heat rattle off the wins. One of the most important factors though is that these two teams didn’t play against eachother in the season. The Spurs infamously sat Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili right before their away game against Miami, and Miami sat Wade and James away against the Spurs. Both games were close despite the missing All-Stars. While the Spurs would probably rather match up against the Pacers, a Spurs-Heat Finals is the one I’m hoping for.
I want to see the ultimate team ball against the star studded cast of the Miami Heat. A team that announced themselves with a rock concert versus the quiet reserved players of the Spurs. One of the most dominant teams for the past decade going against the team that plans to rattle off “not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven” championships. The series could signal the closing of a dynasty or the beginning of a new one, and something all basketball fans should want to see.
__________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
Oh yeah, tell your friends too!
Tye Masters
Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
The Cover 4.com would like to highlight a segment done by our great friends on http://www.cabletv.com/blog
Lebron James is the most underpaid athlete! Yes, we said it. Don’t believe us? Well our friends at http://www.cabletv.com/blog are going to show us how.
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
Oh yeah, tell your friends too!
James Kaikis
Chief Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
4-27-13 Recap:
LOSS: 1 Unit – San Francisco at San Diego (-105)
Loss: 1 Unit – LA Angels at Seattle (Over 6.5)
Season YTD: 30-27 +1.07 Units
Back to the same old losing games by a thread. San Fran blows a 5 run early lead to a team who has scored more than 5 runs in a game only 4 times all year. 2 times have been when we bet against them. Great timing. Is Seattle, we miss by 1 run. Had the Angels been able to tie it up 3-3 we would have been able to cover even if it went to extras. Big card tomorrow, not time to do any write ups though.
___
1 Unit – Toronto at NY Yankees
1 Unit – Cincinnati at Washington (Under 7.5)
1 Unit – Baltimore at Oakland
1 Unit – LA Angels at Seattle
1 Unit – Atlanta at Detroit (Under 8)
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
Oh yeah, tell your friends too!
Jeremy Murray
Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
TheCover4.com is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.
All information regarding gambling is intended to be purely educational from an academic perspective, and not to actually encourage gambling. We are in no way condoning gambling and are not affiliated with any and all casinos/sports books mentioned.
4-20-13 Recap:
WIN: 1 Unit – Atlanta at Pittsburgh (+130)
WIN: 1 Unit – Arizona at Colorado (-111)
Season YTD: 25-17 +6.56 Units
MLB Futures Watch:
.5 Units: Pittsburgh Pirates Under 77 (-110) 9-8
1 Unit: Houston Astros Under 59.5 (-110) 5-12
1 Unit: Atlanta Braves Over 87.5 (-110) 13-4
1 Unit: Seattle Mariners Over 77 (-125) 7-12
1.5 Units: Cleveland Indians Over 77 (-110) 6-10
___
Solid 2-0 sweep yesterday as we were right on with our analysis. Maholm gives up the three runs we’d hoped and McDonald pitched great giving up only 1 run on a walk. Both bullpens were flawless as expected and we cash in on the 3-1 victory. In Colorado, De La Rosa pitched lights out in their 4-3 victory against Arizona. The bullpen made us sweat it a little more than we’d liked late, but they still got the job done. Let’s see if we can ride the momentum and close the week on a high note.
___
1 Unit – LA Dodgers at Baltimore (-122)
Baltimore goes for the sweep today in their series finale against the Dodgers. A late pitching change sends Stephen Fife to the mound for his Major League debut. Arrieta is no Cy Young candidate, but the O’s offense should have a field day with a pitcher making his major league debut on the road. At -122, this price seems like a steal.
___
1 Unit – Oakland at Tampa Bay (Over 8) (+100)
Outside of yesterday, Tampa Bay’s offense seems to be clicking this past week. They face up against youngster Tom Milone and Oakland today. Milone’s struggled in his 2 starts past against the Rays, holding a 1-1 record and 8.18 ERA. Not only that, but his career ERA is over a point and a half higher on the road than at home.
Roberto Hernandez (Fausto Carmona) is a league veteran but he hasn’t made a career of throwing shutouts. He’s an innings eater and you can usually bank on him giving up a few runs per start. In 13 career games against Oakland, he’s 4-7 with a 5.14 ERA. Oakland’s offense has been putting up runs in bunches, and with a total of 8, I don’t see it a problem for each of these teams to score 4 runs a piece and hit the over for us.
___
1 Unit – St Louis at Philadelphia (Under 8.5) (-112)
The Phillies and Cardinals conclude their first series of the season under the lights on Sunday Night Baseball. It’s no mystery the Fightin’ Phils haven’t been running well of late. They’re struggling to put runs on the board and their record is suffering as a result. They go up against Jake Westbrook tonight who bring a 1-1 record into tonights contest. That’s odd considering he still hasn’t given up an earned run so far in 15 2/3 innings this 2013 campaign. Unless the Phillies can break out of their slump and put a few crooked numbers on the board, expect another solid outing from Jake in this one.
The Phils send to the mound Kyle Kendrick, who holds a 1-1 record to date with a 3.38 ERA. In his career against the Cardinals, he’s 5-1 over 6 starts with a 2.68 ERA. He’s got to know he has to be sharp in this one to have a chance at a W considering the Phillies offense has been stagnant at best this year, scoring an average of just 3.5 runs per contest. I’m expecting a pitchers duel in this one, and as long as the bullpens don’t implode late, we should be able to take the under to the bank.
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
Oh yeah, tell your friends too!
Jeremy Murray
Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
TheCover4.com is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.
All information regarding gambling is intended to be purely educational from an academic perspective, and not to actually encourage gambling. We are in no way condoning gambling and are not affiliated with any and all casinos/sports books mentioned.
4-13-13 Recap:
1 Unit – NY Mets at Minnesota (-125)
1 Unit – Toronto at Kansas City (-130)
2 Units – LA Dodgers at Arizona Under 9 (-120)
Season YTD: 18-14 +1.76 Units
MLB Futures Watch:
.5 Units: Pittsburgh Pirates Under 77 (-110) 5-6
1 Unit: Houston Astros Under 59.5 (-110) 4-7
1 Unit: Atlanta Braves Over 87.5 (-110) 10-1
1 Unit: Seattle Mariners Over 77 (-125) 5-8
1.5 Units: Cleveland Indians Over 77 (-110) 5-5
___
Last night was a microcosm of our season in a nutshell. Once again we suffer from a reversion to the mean (I told you it will catch up to you). Ian Kennedy gets lit up by the Dodgers, but it could have been avoided. The game was going well into the 5th when a few runs were scored. That’s fine. I’m more concerned about the 6th inning when Kennedy gets 2 quick outs and then gives up a hit (the third of the game) to Ryu the pitcher. Needless to say, 3 runs were scored in that inning. A pitcher getting 3 hits in a game probably happens in less than 1% of games played. It was all downhill from their changing the context of the game completely. Frustrating, but all we can do is move on and keep grinding.
___
1 Unit – Cincinnati (-1.5) at Pittsburgh
Wandy Rodriguez is out for this one and Pitt is forced to make a late call up from AAA in Phil Irwin (I’ve never heard of him either). This is an ideal spot for Cincy to get out of the offensive rut they’re in. No way I expect them to get swept in this one. And with Latos on the mound who’s got a 2.84 ERA with 13 K’s in two no decisions this year (also 4-0 in 6 starts with a 2.11 ERA in his career against Pitt)
1 Unit – Colorado at San Diego (Over 8)
The way Colorado’s offense is pounding the baseball doesn’t bode well for the under in this one. Richard has struggled against the like of Tulo, Rosario, and Helton in the past. That and Jorge De la Rosa hasn’t been able to solve the Padres in their recent history together either. PetCo has moved their fences in this year and it seems to have been making a difference so far compared to the pitchers park sanctuary it was last year.
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
Oh yeah, tell your friends too!
Jeremy Murray
Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
TheCover4.com is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.
All information regarding gambling is intended to be purely educational from an academic perspective, and not to actually encourage gambling. We are in no way condoning gambling and are not affiliated with any and all casinos/sports books mentioned.
4-12-13 Recap:
LOSS: 1 Unit – Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (-101)
LOSS: 1 Unit – Atlanta at Washington (-129)
WIN: 1 Unit – Chi White Sox at Cleveland (-135)
WIN: 1 Unit – NY Mets at Minnesota (-102)
WIN: 1 Unit – LA Dodgers at Arizona Under 8 (-110)
LOSS: 1 Unit – Houston at LA Angels (-1.5) (+115)
Season YTD: 17-12 +3.86 Units
MLB Futures Watch:
.5 Units: Pittsburgh Pirates Under 77 (-110) 4-6
1 Unit: Houston Astros Under 59.5 (-110) 4-6
1 Unit: Atlanta Braves Over 87.5 (-110) 9-1
1 Unit: Seattle Mariners Over 77 (-125) 5-7
1.5 Units: Cleveland Indians Over 77 (-110) 4-5
Mets and the Dodgers/Diamondbacks Under we’re never in question. We finally win a close moneyline game with Cleveland. Would’ve been nice to win just 1 of the remaining three games but Cincinnati’s comeback efforts go for nothing after battling back the whole game only to give up the lead immediately after tying the game. It’s in those situations you hope your bullpen can come in and get a quick 1-2-3- inning to get you back in the dugout. And of all bullpens, the Nationals keep us from a winning day blowing a late game against Atlanta. Oh yeah, and I don’t even know what to say about the Angels. Yesterday was a perfect scenario for them to make a stand for an early comeback for the season. Definitely didn’t pan out that way.
Seems like we just can’t get back on track to our winning ways early in the season. This is how baseball goes, you just hope you can tread water till you can get a couple solid days under your belt and then do it all over again. Back to the grind over the weekend.
___
1 Unit – NY Mets at Minnesota (-125)
Matt Harvey seems to be the real deal. He’s had to great starts to begin the season (2-0 w/ a 0.64 ERA in 14 IP with 19 Ks) and shouldn’t have to much trouble with the struggling Twins. His opponent in Scott Diamond hasn’t thrown in a game yet this year due to starting the season on the DL recovering from elbow surgery. He pitched well last year but has average stats for the most part throughout his young career. With the depth the Mets have in their lineup, -125 is a solid number to deal with.
___
1 Unit – Toronto at Kansas City (-130)
James Shields makes his debut in Kansas City as a Royal facing off against the veteran knuckelballer RA Dickey. Coming from the AL East contender Rays, Shields has plenty of experience with the Toronto lineup. The Jays definitely had a few personnel changes this offseason, but with his 11-5 career mark holding an ERA of 3.24, I think he can come out on top of this one.
___
2 Units – LA Dodgers at Arizona Under 9 (-120)
We’re rolling out our first step out game of the year today, and it’s a doozy. This game should probably be close to 7 or 7.5 at the absolute most. 9 seems like a gift. Hyun-Jin Ryu has proven his worth so far this year. He’s 1-1 so far with a 2.13 ERA. I don’t think his first road game should get to him, and I see him rising to the occasion.
Ian Kennedy has faired well against the Dodgers in the past and has great batter/pitcher numbers against roughly the entire team. Here’s their starting lineup from yesterday, and his numbers against them.
Hairston, J, LF-3B – 0-5
Ellis, M, 2B – 0-6
Kemp, CF – 4-16
Gonzalez, Ad, 1B – 2-16
Uribe, 3B – 0-8
b-Crawford, C, PH-LF – 2-9
Tolleson, P – 0-0
Howell, P – 0-0
Ethier, RF – 5-20
Ellis, A, C – 2-9
Sellers, SS – 1-3
a-Punto, PH-SS – 0-3
Total: 16-95 (.168 AVG)
That’s no small sample size either. He’s 5-2 in his career with a 3.24 ERA. He’s also faired slightly better at home in his career which helps us here.
Both bullpens are fresh and ready to go in this one too. Each has only pitched 7 2/3 innings in their last 3 games.
Nothing really points against us in this game except that maybe Ryu is making his first start on the road. But let’s be real, he not exactly from here, so every game could be considered a road game to him. Expect a 3-1 or 4-2 kind of contest in this one.
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
Oh yeah, tell your friends too!
Jeremy Murray
Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
TheCover4.com is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.
All information regarding gambling is intended to be purely educational from an academic perspective, and not to actually encourage gambling. We are in no way condoning gambling and are not affiliated with any and all casinos/sports books mentioned.
4-10-13 Recap:
WIN: 1 Unit – Colorado at San Francisco (-135)
LOSS: 1 Unit – Pittsburgh at Arizona Under 9 (+105)
WIN: 1 Unit – Tampa Bay at Texas Under 9 (+100)
Season YTD: 14-8 +5.31 Units
MLB Futures Watch:
.5 Units: Pittsburgh Pirates Under 77 (-110) 3-6
1 Unit: Houston Astros Under 59.5 (-110) 3-6
1 Unit: Atlanta Braves Over 87.5 (-110) 8-1
1 Unit: Seattle Mariners Over 77 (-125) 4-6
1.5 Units: Cleveland Indians Over 77 (-110) 3-5
A solid 2-1 day to get us back moving in the right direction. Both our wins cover easily. Had the Bucko’s pitching staff known they had a game today, we may have swept the day. Oh well, still a very solid start to the season. Travel day Thursday before the weekend series’ begin. Only on 1 total for the day.
___
1 Unit – Oakland at LA Angels Under 8.5 (-115)
These two teams have been able to score on each other so far in the first 2 games of this series. I think that stops Thursday as two very underrated pitchers take the bump. AJ Griffin and Jason Vargas are very quality #4 starters. And they’ve had success against their opponents in the past. Griffin has only pitched against the Angels once but he lasted 8 innings giving up no earned. Vargas has faced off against Oakland 13 times, going 5-5 with a 3.13 ERA in the process (giving up 1, 3, 1, 2, and 2 ER in his last 5). I’m pretty confident that if we can get this one to the bullpens at 5 total runs or less, we should be able to take it to the bank.
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
Oh yeah, tell your friends too!
Jeremy Murray
Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
TheCover4.com is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site of any kind. We are simply here to provide information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.
All information regarding gambling is intended to be purely educational from an academic perspective, and not to actually encourage gambling. We are in no way condoning gambling and are not affiliated with any and all casinos/sports books mentioned.
March Madness. A tournament unlike any other in sports. The brackets. The bubble teams. The beauty of college basketball in its pursuit for a champion. A time when a group of men can reference Cinderella and not feel uncomfortable about doing so. The NCAA tournament gives every team an opportunity to get hot and make a run at a title. In a year where parity made its name a cliché, the term “madness” never seemed so appropriate in anticipation for the 68-team NCAA tournament.
This era of college basketball constantly sees its stars heading for the NBA draft early ─ typically after their freshman year. All the best talent is looking for the paycheck, leaving the next tier of players leading all the elite schools in college basketball. This year, there seems to be a combination of mediocre teams and mediocre players. Hence, there have been many teams who experts deem capable of making a run at the NCAA championship. It’s been madness the entire season and it’s not just the usual madness of the huge upsets.
Heading into the sweet 16, there are certainly some Cinderellas marching on, but in fact, 11 of the 16 teams left are four seeds or better. Florida Gulf Coast is this year’s team that no one has ever heard of. Most people think this school name is more appropriate for the Weather Channel than for college basketball. But this is not where the madness lies. It is the fact that only one team (Louisville) has looked the part of a juggernaut, and they have not truly been tested yet, playing a 16 and an eight seed. Every other team has looked vulnerable and beatable at times in their matchups. The lack of elite teams allows for more possible outcomes for the remaining games. It is truly a tournament where there is no favorite.
The basketball purist would say that the lack of superstar talent leads to better team play, truly allowing the best team, not group of individuals, to win. However, to most outsiders not following this basketball season, the games seem uninteresting and low scoring. There have been some final scores in this tournament that the Oregon football team at which it would scoff. It all results from the same source, the lack of talent. This next NBA draft might be the worst I can remember. It’s sad when Brittney Griner, the Baylor women’s basketball player, is arguably college basketball’s best player. She could probably compete for some of these top teams, and I am not being sarcastic.
The main point we all must realize is that there aren’t more good teams this year, just less great teams. The lower seeds might get an upset here and there but most have already been weeded out of the tournament. The parity can be described best with the play of the good of the good, not the best of the best. Gonzaga is a prime example. When has it ever been a debate where the number one team in the nation should deserve a number one seed when there are four of them to be had? Only this year. Miami (FL) has been labeled the fifth number one seed, even though they are a number two seed. And with no surprise, Gonzaga is the only number one seed eliminated. It is because it is not a great team. There are none.
Most viewers think that the “madness” portion of the tournament has ended. The field has been shaved down from 68 to 16, with the rampant amount of games coming to an end. But now with the good of the good remaining, the madness I believe is just beginning. You can throw away all the numbers in front of the teams now, because the remaining teams are all similar. As a matter of fact, the coaches are more famous than the players these days, another point illustrating the state of college basketball
Florida Gulf Coast will probably lose its next game and Louisville will probably advance to the elite eight. This is the only thing I can assert confidently about the rest of the tournament. Not even the bookies in Las Vegas can predict the rest of the games. The parity is about to take shape and most people who filled out brackets don’t even know it yet. This is all because this is a generation of college basketball where no superstar ever stays for four years. Heck, if a great player makes it to his junior year it’s a miracle.
All the top basketball talent moves on to the NBA, leaving college basketball ─ especially this year, ─ with a lot of good teams with mediocre talent compared to years past. The usual contenders Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, Syracuse and Ohio State are still dancing. No surprise there. But other teams like Miami (FL), Michigan, Florida and Indiana have just as good of chance of winning it all this year. The names of the schools speak louder than the play of the players. This year, the March Madness is there, just in a new and unique way. It is all opinion if it is good or bad for the sport. I know one thing for a fact that I can be sure of, this year more than ever, you cannot be sure of anything regarding the top teams in college basketball. Let the madness truly begin.
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
Oh yeah, tell your friends too!
Paul Culley
Guest Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
Performance enhancing drugs have grabbed the headlines again in sports over the last month, questioning the integrity of several sports ranging from football to cycling. With discussions revolving around human growth hormone (HGH), deer antler spray and other anabolic steroids, the focus has been on cleaning up professional sports with the hopes of an even playing field. At the end of the day, that’s not the real priority at all.
Think back to 2005 when Congress put Major League Baseball on trial and invited some of the greatest sluggers in the history of the game along with commissioner Bug Selig and MLBPA head Donald Fehr to testify regarding their knowledge of steroids in the game. Many will remember Rafael Palmeiro’s denial, Sammy Sosa’s translator and Mark McGwire’s reluctance to talk about the past. Many may have forgotten who the final participants were in that hearing — the parents of former USC baseball player Rob Garibaldi and the father of Taylor Hooten.
Garibaldi’s parents sat before Congress, in tears, testifying that there was no doubt that steroids led to their son’s death. Garibaldi ‘s 2002 suicide was attributed to depression which was brought on by the substances he used. Hooten, a 17-year-old baseball player, also committed suicide after using steroids.
Congress’ focus during those hearings was not directed specifically at Major League Baseball, it was a clear message to the entire world of sports: Your actions as professional athletes, good or bad, influence and inspire young people to walk in your shoes. They don’t want there to be any more stories like Rob Garibaldi’s or Taylor Hooten’s.
Under the care of the best doctors in the world, it would make sense for professional athletes to take HGH to help them heal faster and get back on the field. The reality is that if kids see the best in the world doing it, they will want to do it too. Here’s the problem: No pediatrician or family doctor would prescribe those drugs for a kid or teenager, so they wouldn’t be taking them under a physician’s care, opening the door for abuse and overdose.
One thing to keep in mind: when Jose Canseco and company were using steroids, it wasn’t even illegal for MLB players. Baseball turned a blind eye while McGwire and Sosa tore up the record books because its television ratings were booming and the popularity of the sport was off the charts. Players have come out since and said that everyone within the game knew players were taking steroids, the MLB simply ignored it. Had many of those players known the side-effects of what they were taking, they may have made another decision. Ken Caminiti admitted to using steroids during his 1996 NL MVP season. Caminiti died in 2004 after battling substance abuse the rest of his life.
The tragedy today is not that these players are taking substances to get ahead in their careers. Anyone could understand Ray Lewis using something to help him recover from his torn triceps during his final season with hopes of contributing to the Ravens’ Super Bowl run. The NFL doesn’t even test for deer antler spray, so whether he used it is just a matter of personal integrity. That’s not the issue here. This is all about the young athletes sitting at home that hear deer antler spray or some other substance may help them get ahead, without knowing the consequences.
The goal for professional sports by outlawing all of these substances is to clean up their sports and set an example for the younger generation. If it disappears from the pros, it will disappear from all other levels. The reason young people take those substances is because they believe it will help them reach their goals, since they see their favorite players doing the same thing. If there’s no benefit (or perceived benefit) of doing something, people won’t do it. Sports need to continue to alert young people of the negatives and consequences for taking these substances, with the loudest voices being the stars of each sport.
At the end of the day, all the discussion about PEDs and HGH comes back to the health and safety of the next generation. No amount of professional success is worth the life of someone’s child. So professional athletes, before you take that injection or use that substance, stop for a minute and think not about yourself, but about who is watching you and looking up to you.
____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for reading The Cover 4! Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.
For the Fans. By the Fans. Period.
David Oleson
Sports Activist for The Cover 4
http://www.facebook.com/thecover4
http://www.twitter.com/thecover4
The Cover 4 