Director:  Okay, people, quiet on the set!  Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnd…..action.

tiger-woods_1441264c

Tiger Woods: The path to success…is not always easy.  The road to glory…not always paved.  To be a champion, you must always be at your best.   Every edge…matters.

And for me, that means Wheaties.  Whole grain…makes the difference.

wheaties

BZZZZZZZZZZZZT.  (Theme song from “Caddyshack” playing.)

Tiger:  Ah, shit fuck.  Guys, can we cut?

Director: That’s a cut, people!

Tiger:  (looks more closely at number)  Hey, I gotta take this.  Can we get a five?

Director: That’s five, people!

Tiger:   Hey, baby.  Thanks for calling me back.  Hang on one second, let me put you on conference. 

(Presses buttons.  Boop BOOP boop.)

Okay, I think we’re all here now.  No, yeah, it’s great to talk to all of you, too.  Look, I just wanted to check in with you all really briefly.  About all the text messages and voice mails and sexual encounters and such.  Now, far be it from me to impugn your various professions.  I haven’t done a whole lot of research on this, but I feel safe in assuming that the cocktail waitressing, VIP nightlife services, adult film, reality television star, exotic dance, and prostitution industries all adhere to very strict codes of ethics.  Confidentiality is paramount…just like when you go to the doctor.  Right?  RIGHT?!!?! 

Okay, great then.  So from here on out, I just want to be sure you guys are deleting all those messages and stuff.  Cool?  Cool.  I think we’ll all be more comfortable moving forward under the confines of the honor system.  I knew I could count on you for discretion, Sugar Tits.  Oh, is Sugar Tits not on the call?  Well, if one of you could relay this to Sugar Tits, that’d be great.  Okay, gotta go.  See you all in Fiji in three weeks.  Yeah, I’ll send the clothing assignments later.  Thanks guys!  Bye…buh-bye.  Okay.  Bye now.

Oh, hi!    I didn’t see you there.  My name is Tiger Woods.  You know, when I’m not winning terrnaments on the golf course or being hopelessly in love with my wonderful wife Ee-lin, I’m actually a really big sports fan.  Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time in my home theater — it’s similar to one of your “man caves” — just watching games and things.  Just relaxing.  It was my idea.  But one of the teams that caught my eye was the Maryland Terrapins.  I understand they have a game tomorrow against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels (4:30 p.m., check local listings).  So I just wanted to stop in and break it down for you.

At first glance, it might seem like an easy win.  After all, it’s Eastern Kentucky!  But the simple and sad truth for Terp fans is, there is no such thing as a gimme putt.  Just ask Morgan State.  And Miami.  And American.  And Middle Tennesse State.  And Duke.  Oh wait, different sport.  But whatever, you see where I’m going.  And to make matters worse, Eastern Kentucky could actually be a tough matchup for the Terps.

The Colonels are currently 7-2 overall and their only losses are to Pittsburgh and Ohio Valley Conference leader Murray State.   In their wins, they have an average margin of victory of 16 points.  Why so dominant?  One reason and one reason only:  they put the ball in the hole.  They’re second in the OVC in field goal percentage.  But are you ready to have your mind blown, Sugar Tits?  They rank ninth in the ENTIRE COUNTRY in three-point percentage at 44.8 perecnt, and SECOND in all of Division I with 11 made threes per game.   Their top player is senior 6′6″ forward Josh Taylor, who has made 26 of 59 threes this year. He will be what we call a “tough cover” for Vasquez, Landon Milbourne, or whomever else the Terps might throw his way. Guards Justin Stommes and Papa Oppong are also dangerous, currently shooting 44 and 51 freaking percent from three, respectively.

This is all somewhat troubling since Maryland has had problems guarding the perimeter, preferring the run-out-there-and-yell-HEY-DON’T-MISS approach to a more demonstrably effective tactic like man-to-man defense, or not overplaying on the help side. Perhaps this is why Maryland currently ranks 11th in the ACC in three-point defense.

The Colonels also employ a 1-3-1 press. There’s the old saw about pressing teams not liking to be pressed, but that can go either way. And you know how this blog feels about the full-court press. It can be had.

While the EKU guards are tall — and you know I love tall — they only have one player over 6′7″. If Maryland plays its game, EKU shouldn’t have an answer for Milbourne, Jordan Williams, the triumphantly returning Dino Gregory, and all the others. It should be a Terps win. But it should be interesting, too.

And you know what? I’m rooting for Maryland. I know a guy from Maryland who’s really been helping me out lately.

michael-phelps-tiger-woods-01

Okay, I’m ready to keep filming!

Director: Ready to go people!

BZZZZZZZT. (”Caddyshack” theme playing)

Tiger: Oh, crap. It’s a text from Ee-lin. Oh God! She’s heading this way!

elin-nordegren-wire

(He runs.)

Director: That’s lunch, people!

Prediction: EKU 69, Maryland 80

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Maryland’s 95-86 loss to #3 Villanova last night was more disappointing than I thought it would be. While the smart money was never on a Terps W, they were really hanging with Nova, and an A-game effort could have netted the upset. But it wasn’t to be. To the points:

  1. It’s a broken record for this team. They only play well when the pressure is off. Pressure back on, they cinch up again. Why does this team NEED to be the underdog? Where’s all this heart I keep hearing about? They will need to break a few serves in ACC play if they want to make the tourney.
  2. The pivotal stretch came with about 14 minutes left. Hayes cut the lead to three, and we had three straight possessions to try and get it down to one or tie it. But they slopped it up all three times and couldn’t do it. Airways were checked and cleared, but it was too late.
  3. Vasquez’s “slow start” has now morphed into blatant underperformance. He’s now shooting 32 percent on the season. Here he finished 3-9, including two misses in the aforementioned crucial stretch. He added 7 assts, but committed 7 turnovers and 5 fouls.
  4. I’m not in Vasquez’s brain, but from the comfy armchair in my basement, it seems he ups the degree of difficulty on every play for no discernible reason. He’ll barrell into the lane, draw double coverage, leap into the air, look one way, careen off balance, then float a no-look soap bubble over to an unsuspecting (and guarded) teammate. Dude: just send a bounce pass next time.
  5. Villanova finished with 16 made threes — one short of the school record. Maryland switched to zone and cooled them off in the second half (first half they hit 11 of 22), but the word is out: the three-point shot is available against the Terps.
  6. It came against a lineup heavy on guards and missing its top post player, but Jordan Williams’ 19-and-12 (including 9-13 FT) effort was his best as a Terp.
  7. Nova forward Antonio Pena did a good job shutting down Landon Milbourne.
  8. No one did a good job shutting down Sean Mosely. That guy is getting better every game and it’s fun to watch.
  9. Congratulations to Jin Soo Choi for coaxing in a wide-open layup — his first field goal of the season. Dino Who?
  10. Another year, another disappointing non-conference record. Here’s hoping they take care of business against Eastern Kentucky, Winston-Salem State, Florida Atlantic, William and Mary, and UNC Greensboro. It sucks that I even have to hope that.

(Photo Credit: Tracy A. ”Bob’s Daughter?” Woodward/the Washington Post Photo)

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The Terps pulled away from Indiana last night for an 80-68 victory.  To the points:

  1. Vasquez led all scorers with 23, which is great.  Still, 7 points came on garbage time FTs and he only shot 4-14.  But hey, feel free to proceed with the parade as planned.
  2. At halftime, Bill Raftery called Vasquez’s play ”solid,” and said he wasn’t “forcing the issue.”  Totally spot on.  In other news, it’s opposite day.
  3. Landon Milbourne (8-11 for 19 pts, 7 rebs, 3 stls, 2 blks) is our best player so far.
  4. Could we run more stuff for Eric Hayes?   He’s in rhythm right now, especially off the curl.
  5. IU guard Jeremiah Rivers (Doc’s son and a Georgetown transfer) is a nice player.
  6. In Dino Gregory’s absence, Jin Soo Choi had an opportunity.  He has not capitalized on that opportunity. 
  7. Perimeter defense greatly improved after they went to the zone.
  8. James Padgett had as many fouls as he had points and rebounds combined (3). 
  9. As with Cincy, we missed a lot of bunnies.  That’s gotta get corrected.  It was more understandable against the imposing Bearcats.
  10. Closer than the final score indicates, but still a decent road win, and a good team win.  

(Photo Credit: Darron Cummings/Associated Press, via the Washington Post)

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A little Maryland-Indiana mini-preview

For old time's sake

For old time's sake

In a rematch of Maryland’s championship game, the Terps play the Hoosiers tonight in Bloomington.  It starts at 7:30 on ESPN2.

What does Maryland have to do to win?  Get Vasquez to make shots, get the young bigs to stop bucking. I might suggest lithium and oats, respectively. And that’s about it. Oh, and you know that oval-shaped line they draw around the lane? Shots are worth more if you’re standing behind that. So it might be good to try and get a few of those and — more importantly — stop the other team from getting too many.

Hey, remember Maurice Creek? From Maryland, Terps wanted him but didn’t get him? He’s the top guy for Indiana now. He’s a big-time shooter…so yeah. They’ll need to guard him.

Those are a few specifics, but in general, Maryland needs to stop waiting until garbage time to play well. Hopefully a players-only meeting that went down after the Owie in Maui will help. (The meeting apparently was called by Landon Milbourne, who may be emerging as a leader on this team).

Maryland should handle the Hoosiers tonight. But should is a funny, funny, funnnnnnny word.

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YEAH TERPS! What a game! This reminded me of the Michigan State win from earlier this year. Diving after loose balls, everything going in the basket. Everything was clicking.

This was a pretty evenly contest game until a HUGE swing at around the 10:30 mark of the second half. With the Terps nursing a two-point lead, Vasquez finds a wide-open Eric Hayes in the corner for a three. Cal didn’t convert on its possession, Hayes tracked down a rebound, and Dino Gregory (who played a great game) sent a touch pass to Landon Milbourne for another three. In the span of about 25 seconds, the lead went from two to eight. In total, it was a 9-0 run over 1:54.

In the last 10 minutes, Cal just couldn’t get anything consistent going. Interesting that they didn’t foul in the closing minutes. They just knew it was Maryland’s day. The Terps were unquestionably the better team today.

Play of the game came at the seven minute mark after Bowie missed a free throw and a scrum ensued. Bowie picked it up and, using the eyes in the back of his head, found Vasquez alone under the basket for an And-1. That was when everyone — both teams, both coaches, everyone — seemed to realize that it was all coming up Maryland. Vasquez was clearly the MVP, with a 27-6-2. Jesus. He has grown a ton over the last month or so.

The whole Terps team is peaking. Right now. What can they do against Memphis? Memphis looks to be tough right now as well, although they struggled a little against Cal Northridge in the first round.

First half recap of Terps win is below and here, if you’re interested.

Memphis up next on Saturday. We’ll be out of town, though, and won’t be blogging right after. Sorry, Mom.

GO TERPS!

(photo credit: Reinhold Matay — Associated Press)

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mel-gibson-braveheart-photograph-c101019223Sons of Maryland!  I am William Wallace.  I come here today as ye sit on the eve o’ battle.  The largest battle o’ the year, laddies!  A battle for yer tournament lives!  If you be winnin this one, you may well find yerselves on the path to glory

The Demon Deacons from the Forest of Wake are comin.  And they are a formidable foe.  Aye, tis true.  Everyone knoos aboot Jeff Teague.  He’s a first-team all-ACC soldier on my soldiery ballot. 

So they have good guards.  But so have we.  I hoop Grrrreivis is equal to the mooment.  We wull see now woon’t we.  Aye, we wull.  

But in the meantime, the real problem for the Terps tonight is the bigguns.  Aye, the bigguns.  I ask ye.  What’ll they do aboot the Bigguns!?!?   They’ve a three-headed giant in 6′9″ James Johnson, and 6′9″ Al-Farouq Aminu, and the 7′0″ Chas McFarland.  Together they’re nae 20 feet high if they’re an inch!  The first two are in the top 10 in ACC in rrrreboondin!  Where does Maryland rank?   Dear sweet Jesus, where do they rank?   LAST?  Dead last in the conference in reboondin margin?!?!?  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, laddie.   The bigguns are gonna ride right over ye!!  How wull you stop em?

I’ll tell ya how.  I see a whole army of my fellow fans, here, in support of their players.  You have come as free men, Terps.  And free men you are.  You controol yer oon destiny, men!   And yer pleein in yer oon backyard.  Will yer countrymen come to support ye?   Will they be full of throat and loud of tongue and besotted with whiskey?  I hoop soo. 

Now, for the bigguns.   I once made spears twice as long as a man.  They stopped a charge of heavy horse.  May Landon Milbourne and Big Dave Neal now build those spears in their minds.   Here’s hoopin the mind spears will stand up to the charge of the Demon Deacon bigs, a charge so fierce it shakes THE VERY GROOND!!!   So that’s what I got for ye on that, is  mind spears.

So aye, yes, tonight wu’ll see what stuff they’re meed of.  It’s all one game, laddies.  Fight, and you may die.  Run, and you’ll live.  At least for a while.  But when yer dyin’ in yer beds, many years from now, would ye be willin to trade all the days from this day to that, for one chance — JUST ONE CHANCE — to come back to the Coomcast Center?   So that ye could tell yer enemies, that they may take our lives.  BUT THEY’LL NEVER BURST……OUR BUBBLE!

ABBAAAAAAAA MAAAA MUUU GAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s old Scotish for GOOOOOOOOO TEEEERRRRRRRRPSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

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ski-snob

So college basketball’s evil empire wins again. Bravo. The team of twerps and 80s movie villains prevails.  Singler is the biggest twerp of them all. There’s just something about him that makes me want to put my fist through the TV. It’s like he lives in some kind of magic bubble. I could picture him walking down the sidewalk one day, eating an ice cream cone, but up ahead a crane has lost control of its wrecking ball, and the ball is headed straight for him, but at the last second a construction worker jumps in the way to save him but dies in the process, and then Singler, who didn’t see the wrecking ball because he was too busy enjoying his delicious ice cream, steps over the worker’s body, tosses 50 cents on the corpse, and walks away thinking about what a nice guy he is, and why couldn’t people be more like him.  I really despise Kyle Singler. F you, you Boo Radley lookin stickbag!

How’s that for some hardcore roundball analysis.  But really, what else is there to say? The Terps lost a hard-fought game. Milbourne continues to be our most consistently good player. The missed free throws were troubling. I hate Gerald Henderson. Best screen ever. I hate Kyle Singler. Vasquez fouled out before the game actually started. Hayes was surprisingly good. I hate Mike Kzhrewyeskzzskis. There’s your summary.

But you know what? A win last night would have been like found money. Now we have NC State, Wake, and UVA. This is the real season-within-a-season. If — IF — we can man up and win those three, I think we may be in. If — IF — we win two of those and IF we win a game in the ACC tourney, I think we may be in. The Terps’ RPI is 58. I’m no RPIologist, but I would describe that as fair to middlin. Looks like another late season run of Maryland being featured in every single national bubble discussion. They should change their name to the Bubbles. The Maryland Bubbles. Go Bubs.

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gary

Gary Williams: Bartender. Double Chivas on the rocks please.

A voice behind him: Make it two.

ACC Media Day Basketball

Seth Greenberg: Whaddya know, Gary? Looks like we got the same taste in Scotch.

Gary: I’ve been a Chivas man since I was 15. I used to mix mine with Maalox, but lately I’ve been taking it straight.

Seth: Sometimes I like to grind up some No Doz tablets in there. It’s great for long recruiting trips.

(Awkward pause)

Gary: Say, our drinks are here.

(They raise glasses)

Gary: No hard feelings about the game today, huh?

Seth: What can I say?  Your team wanted it more today. It was a must-win game for you and you got it.  Great job, coach.

Gary: Here’s to Gus Gilchrist developing a fungal infection on his scrotum.

Seth: Good Lord…I toast to the exact same thing! Every time.

(They clink glasses, drain their drinks, order another round)

Gary: Small world.

Seth: Indeed.  Great game today, though, seriously. Our man-to-man defense is usually pretty tough, but you shredded it.

Gary: For a second there I thought you had us with that half-court 1-3-1.

Seth: Well, I’ll tell ya, that Milbourne kid is something else. People don’t really talk about him, but he has quietly become the best player you’ve got. He always seems to make the right play.

Gary: I appreciate his steadiness. He’s always focused, always ready to play. Sometimes, my guys seem a little tightly wound.

Seth: (takes big swig) You don’t say.

Gary: No, it’s true. I don’t know what the problem is either. I talk about it in practice all the time. You have to focus, I tell them. Play for 40 minutes! A lot of the times I SCREAM it at them. YOU’VE GOTTA BE INTENSE THE WHOLE GAME, I say! INTENSITY!!!! YOU GOTTA BE INTENSE!

Seth: I actually don’t talk the entire offseason so I have extra screaming power come practice time.

Gary: I make Braxton Dupree cry periodically. We have to stop the whole goddamn practice so Big Dave Neal can rub his back until he calms down. HEY, ANOTHER DRINK OVER HERE!

Seth: Sometimes I try to read the mentality of my guys and tailor my approach to each individual player, but whatever, that’s just me.

Gary: Wuss.

Seth: DID YOU JUST CALL ME A WUSS?

Gary: I SURELY DID, WHAT, YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT?

Seth: YOU DRUNK, I’M CUTTIN YOU OFF!

Gary: WHAT! WHAT! YOU CAN’T CUT ME OFF, THAT’S RIDICULOUS ARE YOU EVEN WATCHING WHAT’S GOING ON THIS IS ONLY MY NINTH DRINK OPEN YOUR EYES JERK-OFF! JESUS!

a_williams_195

Seth: PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU’RE DOING WHY DON’T YOU. USE YOUR HEAD MORON, YOU’RE SLOSHING EVERYWHERE THIS TIE IS FROM SEARS GODDAMMIT, IT’S HOKIE ORANGE YOU GONNA REPLACE IT? ANSWER ME!  I OUGHTTA CHOKE YOU OUT RIGHT NOW!

greenberg

Gary: All right, all right, fine.  I’ll replace the tie.

Seth: Great, hey, thank you so much, man.

Gary: No problem, hey, so what were we talking about, oh right, the game.  We played well, but we got lucky, too; Malcolm Delaney was off today.

Seth: Yeah, he was jacked up for his homecoming and he just came out too tight. I bet it was interesting to see a player from the other team get rattled.

Gary: You kid, but it truly was. And hey, we closed out the game today.  It was a good thing to see.

Seth: For you.

Gary: Well, I needed it. The wolves are at my door, Seth. You know, you try to do things the right way, and you get shit for not recruiting blue chip players from the big cities. But then when you recruit blue chip players from the big cities, you get shit because their “character” isn’t meeting some artificial standard. Everyone wants me to find a kid with Kobe Bryant’s game and Mother Teresa’s disposition. Where are those kids, Seth?

Seth: You got me, Gary.

Gary: Well, you got me, too.

Seth: I’m just like you. I don’t get many blue chips either — I coach ‘em up the old-fashioned way.  But I have yet to get quite as much out of one of my teams as you’ve gotten from yours. You’re a damn good coach, Gary.

Gary: Can we get you on TV?  Where’s Dave Feldman when you need him.

Seth: Bottom line, Gary, you win four of your last six, and you’re probably in the tourney. It’ll be tough, but it could happen. Can you believe it?

Gary: Don’t even say that, Seth.  TAKE IT BACK THIS SECOND!

Seth: I love you, man.

Gary: No way, man. I love YOU.

Seth: Right back atcha buddy.

Gary: Awesome. Now let’s destroy all the camera phones in here and go get some chicken wings.

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Lawal made the Terps look small.

Lawal made the Terps look small.

On January 10th, the first half of the Maryland vs. Georgia Tech game was some of the ugliest basketball I’ve ever seen.  I had just about blocked that out of my memory.  Then came the game in Atlanta Sunday night, and I felt like I had gone through regression therapy.  Memories of bad basketball came rushing back.  As was the case with the game in January, the Terps were lucky to outlast the Yellow Jackets last night in another “battle to see who screws-up the least”.

The Terps shot 36% from the field.  That is just plain old bad.  Landon Milbourne and Dave Neal were a combined 3/15 from the floor and were clearly outmatched under the basket by Gani Lawal and Zachary Peacock.  At times they just looked small, especially on a play in the second half when Lawal came soaring through the lane for a thunderous one-handed put-back off a Tech miss.  What the Terps lacked in size they did make-up for in hustle by crashing the boards and forcing mistakes out of the Yellow Jackets.

On the bright side, Maryland’s front court did what they could to contain Georgia Tech’s bigs.  Lawal and Peacock combined for 11 turnovers.  GreivisVasquez and Eric Hayes bothseemed to have the rhythm from outside, and Vasquez was able to take over offensively late in the second half in a way that he has not done in over a month.  The two guards combined for 34 of Maryland’s 57 points.  I didn’t remember hearing about this during the game, but Adrian Bowie was limited to 1min playing time due to a 102deg fever.  He’ll have five days rest before the Virginia Tech game on Saturday and should be fine.  It was great to see Hayes step-up in Bowie’s absence.  Those are about all the positives I have for this game.

After the final buzzer sounded, the Terps jumped around and celebrated as if they had just done something meaningful.  I guess a win against the worst team in the ACC is meaningful.  To celebrate a win like this is to reveal how low the team has it’s sights set.  The truth is they could have just as easily lost this game as they won it.  Yes, the team has been under a lot of pressure lately, but the most pressure filled part of the season is yet to come.  It would be good for this team to go home, forget this game entirely, and get ready for Virginia Tech.  I’m already working on forgetting it.

(Photo courtesy of The Washington Times)

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duke out-everythings maryland

out-played

out-hustled

out-coached

out-classed

That is how the men’s basketball team looked against Duke this afternoon.  The soon-to-be #1 Blue Devils embarrassed Maryland today at Cameron Indoor Stadium.  This loss was so bad, so one-sided, that I’m having trouble finding other words to describe it.  According to the Washington Post, “It was Maryland’s worst defeat since a 39-point loss to Wake Forest in 1963.”

There are some things about this game that could have been different and may have made the outcome closer.  Maryland could not keep Duke off the offensive boards, and they were getting killed with second and third chances all day long.  The Terps also seemingly forgot how to split a trap, and possession after possession stalled near mid-court, resulting in 17 turnovers.  When we did get a shot off it was generally off-balanced or hurried, resulting in a 28% shooting night.  Those were the factors under Maryland’s control.  It’s the factors that were not under their control that were much, much more scary to me.

This was the biggest game of the season, and the team was clearly not mentally prepared for some fairly basic defensive looks from Duke.  One cannot attribute the disparity in mental alertness to home court advantage or fatigue.  Duke seemed to be playing a different game of “organized basketball”, as opposed to Maryland who seemed to be reacting and retreating.  Gary Williams could not control getting out-coached by Mike Krzyzewski.  It may not be that he was simply out-coached today, but he has been for a few years.

Another factor that was beyond Maryland’s control was the disparity of talent on the floor.  There is nobody on the Terps that is qualified to carry Gerald Henderson’s jock strap.  7′1″ Brian Zoubek made the Terps look like a bunch of toddlers with a grown man holding a ball over their heads while he was in the paint.  Maryland has no answer for these guys at all, and that situation won’t change for the rematch in College Park.

Everyone on Maryland played scared except Milbourne and Vasquez.  Once again, Vasquez has to eat his words after a 2-10 shooting night.  Gary Williams didn’t even use the blow out to give extended minutes to the bench. Kim played 5min, while Goins and Pearman played 3min each.

There are no positives to take away from this game.  NIT here we come.

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