5 Weekend Deals

My girlfriend is a big fan of Groupon.  She's also a big fan of Living Social, newspaper coupons, and a blog called What I Wore.  With that in mind, I've decided to clue you in on five steals of a deal for basketball games this weekend. 

FRIDAY GAMES ($10 for two, in and out for $18 with dinner included):

Heritage Christian at Park Tudor: 

Not quite the Crosstown Shootout rivalry that I posted about yesterday, but a solid rivalry regardless.  With my credibility facing a huge letdown after recommending to watch that game last night, this game will be a deal.  It's a chance to watch 2013 recruit Basil Smotherman lead his squad against IU commit, Yogi Ferrell.  Smotherman would be considered a Purdue/Xavier lean at this point, but it's still early.  Nick Hoover is a gritty senior for Heritage that will help give his squad a push at a big win.  Ferrell has a lot of young help at Park Tudor, led by freshmen Trevon Bluiett and Troy Spears.  Both Bluiett and Spears will have a lot of the Midwest Division 1 schools calling their house for the next couple of years.  JB Rapp began his career playing under Darnell Archey and is shooting the 3-ball at an Archey-esque clip of 55%.

The Madison County Tournament:

The 5th place game begins at 5:00pm and includes Elwood vs Frankton.  Don't be in a rush after work to get to that one.  Lapel and Alexandria tip off after that, which should be a good atmosphere.  The Madison County Tournament rarely fails to provide some great games and the championship game is no different:  Anderson vs Pendleton Heights.  It's a great opportunity to see Butler commit, Kellen Dunham, who's averaging 22.9 pts/gm this season.  Fellow senior, Kendall Waters, is lighting up scoreboards as well dropping in 16.8 a game.  Anderson is Anderson.  They're well coached and will be a tough out as the season gets going.  If you like the pre-class sectional feel, there's no better place to be than the Wigwam tonight.  If you're a hoopshead, you can watch three games cheaper than going to see "Little Fockers".

Carmel at Center Grove:

If this were football, it'd be a no brainer.  Center Grove is known as the "Carmel of the South".  While Carmel would be offended if you ever mentioned them as the "Center Grove of the North".  In fact, maybe that's how we should describe them.  Center Grove squeaked out a game versus Perry Meridian after winning the Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle over Christmas break.  They're well coached and feature two division 1 players in Andy Smeathers (Butler) and Johnny Marlin (IPFW).  For basketball, Carmel doesn't travel very well, but expect the Grovers to be out in full force.  Their student section will be in the running for the Operation Basketball Award at season's end.  New Carmel coach, Scott Heady, brings a balanced and improving team down south led by Josh Balbridge, Alec Peterson, and Ben Gardner.  This game will be decided late.

Cleveland State at Butler:

Monetarily this isn't as good a deal as the previous three.  Basketball and atmosphere-wise, it puts the others to shame.  Unfortunately, Butler doesn't quite sell-out, but it should be close tonight.  If this is your game tonight, make sure you get there early.  Cleveland State comes to town 15-1 and feeling like this is their year to win the Horizon League.  Butler comes in after a tough Saturday-Monday stretch which saw them beat Valparaiso at home before falling to Milwaukee on the road.  The Horizon League is on it's way to become the top mid major conference as teams try to raise to Butler's level.  They've set the bar high, but Cleveland State feels their close.  Bring some padding tonight because this one will be physical. 

SATURDAY:

What better way to kickoff a Colts Saturday night than to watch some high school hoops before-hand.  Most AD's have moved start times up, allowing the opportunity to do both.  In fact, you can probably make a trip to Marsh to pick-up some Rotel and Velveeta in the middle.  If this sounds like what you want to do, make a trip to Muncie pronto.  It's Hamilton Southeastern vs Muncie Central.  A recognizable name to basically every college in the nation, Gary Harris, may be worth the ticket alone.  A bonus feature for you is that Muncie Central is really solid.  They lost some early games, but bounced back with their first win over Pike in 14 years.  Adam Botts looks to be a winner like his brother Ben (IPFW) and Nick Osborne is coming into his own in the paint.  Muncie Central also features an unheralded sophomore, Travis Woods, that should show up on some radars this summer.  In an early start, take the Bearcats in the upset.

The Three Sides of the Crosstown Shootout

Outside of some Reds baseball and Skyline Chili, you probably haven't read much about Cincinnati in this blog.  Much like the Reds barnstorming tour each offseason, I'm extending an arm to our neighbor's to the East.  Instead of sending our Triple A blog writer to Champps, however, I'm going to promote one of the greatest rivalries in college basketball:  The Crosstown Shootout.  That's right, Xavier vs Cincinnati.

It's Catholic vs Public.  6,700 vs 41,357.  It's also a series that's caused a whole lot of confusion in my life.  As a basketball fan, I've been on every side of the rivalry:  Dis-interest, root for Cincinnati, root for Xavier, more dis-interest, a strong dislike for both, and now dis-interest with a Xavier lean.

In 1993, the only Xavier I recognized was Xavier McDaniel.  That is until my buddy Betten and I went to watch the number 1 seed Indiana Hoosiers take on Xavier University in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament.  I couldn't fathom Calbert Cheaney and the Hoosiers losing to a school with such an awful blue color.  Little did I know that Brian Grant and Aaron Williams would end up being decent NBA players.  The Musketeers were on the radar as I went back to Mrs. Berry's class that next day.

Cincinnati entered the equation the year before with a man named Nick Van Exel.  I kept a distant eye on the Bearcats and the emergence of Danny Fortson in 1996 had me sold.  I rocked a Bearcat shooting shirt and shorts the first day of the tournament in 1997...the same year I discovered the Crosstown Shootout.  The 0% graduation rate Bearcats had stolen my 9th grade heart as they strolled into their rivalry game.  Xavier got 'em by a bucket and I couldn't stand them.

Same result the next season, and then I came to my senses about liking the Bearcats.  Although Cincinnati gear remains some of the sickest in the nation.

Fast forward to 2004 when I buddy Thurm and I travel to Cincinnati to watch the Shootout for the first time in person.  I hated Cincinnati at that point and loved Xavier.  Brandon Miller joined Thad Matta's staff there, so we had to support the Muskies (as we chanted endlessly that night).  The Let's Go X, and Let's go Muskie's chants had us hoarse by the time X beat the Cats 71-69.  Xavier wouldn't lose again until the Elite 8 versus Duke, so we felt pretty good about showing up for that one.

Bob Huggins had been let go as head coach during that season and actually showed up to the game to watch as a fan.  Now that's a rivalry!  I can't describe in words how physical and intense the rivalry was.  Okay, I guess I can:  It was REALLY intense (that wasn't so good, was it?)

After Brandon and Matta moved on to Ohio State, more disinterest crept in to the rivalry.  Last season, after Butler beat Xavier in the infamous "Stopped Clock" game, the negative feelings I had towards the Muskies were similar to how I feel about Purdue.  At that same time, Mick Cronin is about as unlikable a coach there is in the nation.  Hatred for two programs in a rivalry is hard to match.

My girlfriend's brother AND sister both attended Xavier, so all this confusion in the rivalry is really taking a hit.

I'm sure it's nothing in comparison to the confusion you're experiencing after reading this blog.

Just watch the game at 7:00pm tonight.     

Let Me Try This Again

Ever since I lost the WRTV label, my thoughts and talents have gone elsewhere. By elsewhere, I mean they've stayed in my head. And of course by talents, I mean a lack there of. If we were rating comebacks, this would rank well below Brett Favre, Dominik Hasek, and Ric Flair. In fact, I'd probably rank more favorably to Amanda Bynes

All you need to do is take a look at my blog entry prior to this and you'll see why I went through some much needed rest. All the positives in that prior entry went out the window quickly. Fortunately for me, I was able to witness the meltdown in person in which they lost to Wisconsin 83-20. It's commonly known as the day Bill Lynch lost his job, but I like to refer to it as the "Does Nick Toon really deserve the Tooooooooon chant", "I figured your stadium would louder" and "First Time to ever have goat cheese on a pizza" day. With that, no IU football talk until at least late August (if you don't count the inevitable fired up about the Kevin Wilson era late July/early August post).

As you can tell there's not a real theme with this comeback blog. So sticking with that theme, here are some topics I've been thinking about at work. For lack of a better term, we'll call them...well I guess they'll just have to lack a term in general.



Rich Rodriguez stuck with the system. The system didn't stick with Rich Rodriguez. Much like CEO's, coaches go into new jobs knowing what it takes to be successful and having a plan to get there. Unfortunately for RichRod, his plans didn't matchup with AD Dave Brandon's. I understand that you have to believe in a system. It's what made him great at West Virginia. But at what point, do you say, "You know what? I'm walking into some pretty good talent. Maybe I can adjust a little." At Michigan, you don't have 5 years to rebuild a program that didn't need rebuilt. If you walk into a program with 9-3 talent, you have to use it. You can't run off NFL talent like Ryan Mallett because they don't fit your system. If you walk into a situation like Kevin Wilson at IU, you may have the luxury. It's too bad because I think Rodriguez is a pretty good ballcoach. It took him until his 5th season at West Virginia to really get things rolling, and before that it was his 4th year at Glenville State. He probably would have gone 9-3 or 10-2 in 2011, but at Michigan they expected that in year 2, not year 4.


The Road 3 Diary:


Today's Road 3 diary is brought to you from Greensburg, Indiana. In what is already dated news, a family is sueing the Greensburg school system after their son was dismissed from the junior high basketball team for refusing to cut his hair. The Bous Theory was able to find some pictures that can be seen here, here, and here. The attorney of the parents says that they're teaching their son a life lesson. There is no doubt that they're teaching a life lesson. Doesn't it seem like the wrong lesson? If a coach tells me to cut my hair or I'm off the team, I'm cutting my hair. Trying out for basketball is a choice. Not cutting your hair is a choice. You should be able to live with the consequences.

I'm not even writing this from the perspective of the world was so great in my day. Hell, my day is the era of lawsuits. I just can't fathom this one. I would have made a trip to Bob's Barber Shop long before I made the trip home to tell my folks I got kicked off the team.

Women may love the long hair, but as a great coach once said, "You look a lot better carrying a basketball under your arm".