It’s Championship Time!!

April 2, 2018April 2, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Then, there were two.

Nearly three weeks ago, 68 teams had their sights set on the ultimate prize; a national championship. Today, only two teams are left standing: Villanova and Michigan.

Monday night, Villanova will look to capture their 2nd national championship in three years. They currently stand as 7-point favorites. That’s a lot of points for a national championship game. And Michigan is playing as well as Villanova right now. No, they can’t light it up from 3-point range like Villanova, but they can still overwhelm opponents on both ends of the floor.

It would be hard for Villanova to repeat their shooting performance from their Final Four victory over Kansas (18-40 on 3-pointers)!! But expect them to come close. This will be a competitive game that comes down to the final two minutes.

Tune into TBS tonight @ the ungodly hour of 9:20 P.M. EST to catch all the action. As much as I want to watch this game, sadly, I will be sound asleep by 10:30 P.M.

Score Prediction: Villanova 74, Michigan 69

Imperferction

On the women’s side of things, UConn did not win the national championship. That doesn’t sound right. Undefeated heading into Friday’s final four matchup with Notre Dame, Uconn would fall, to the eventual champion, 91-89 F/OT.

Notre Dame’s championship victory Sunday night involved yet another buzzer beater by Arike Ogunbowale. Notre Dame’s junior guard hit the shot that took down UConn in overtime. And then she hit the shot that hoisted the trophy. While it wasn’t Kris Jenkins from 2016, it was pretty close.

Snow Baseball

It’s April. Oh, you thought you were done with snow for the year?? HA! So silly you are. While the MLB season is trying to get into full swing, New York (and other less important cities) may have an obstacle to hurdle today. With 4-6 inches of snow expected to accumulate in the Tri-State area, the Yankees’ home-opener is in slight jeopardy. Currently set for 1:05 P.M., my guess is it’ll be postponed allowing time for this snow to melt (it will). If not, the Yankees will have a double-header in their future.

Speaking of Yankees’ fans (I’m a die hard one as well), please RELAX!! The Yankees aren’t going to give up grand slams every day. Their bullpen will be a strength, not a weakness. And they’ll win 90+ games, not miss the playoffs. People are SO reactionary it makes me angry. Stop hanging on every moment of every game. IT’S A 162-GAME SEASON!!!!

Enjoy what should be the final snow of the year!! And enjoy your snow baseball!!

Who will win the Men’s National Championship?? Post your prediction in the comment section below.

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IT’S BRACKET TIME!!!!

March 12, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

It’s here. It’s finally here!!

No, not Christmas, March Madness!!

It’s like Christmas, minus the awkward, social obligation to buy people you barely know (or like) gifts.

Anyway, this is, ‘I collectively watched 12 minutes of college basketball this season, but I’m suddenly an expert’ week. Others fill out brackets based on their favorite mascots or jersey colors. Either way, filling my bracket(s) with check marks and x’s fills my soul with happiness. Before we get to my predictions, let’s analyze the field of “68”.

#1 Seeds

Virginia, Villanova, Kansas, and Xavier. They got these right this year. While watching the #1 overall seed, Virginia, play basketball is like watching paint dry, their defensive style is effective. They finished the year 31-2, their only losses coming to West Virginia and Virginia Tech. Villanova, the #2 overall seed, overshadowed by Virginia, will look to sneak their way through the weakest bracket in the tournament (East).

To see the entire bracket, click here.

Bubble Teams

No matter how many teams are in the tournament, 64, 68, there will always be an odd man out. This year, it’s Notre Dame. According to the NCAA Tournament Committee, Notre Dame was team 69, so Davidson upsetting Rhode Island Sunday afternoon was the final nail in the Notre Dame coffin.

The last team in, Syracuse. In year’s past, I would have thrown my arms in the air, stomped my feet like a child, and screamed about tournament snubs. Honestly, I don’t have the time or energy for that anymore. Every team straddling the “bubble” has an argument one way or the other. Syracuse, Louisville, UCLA, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, St. Marys, and Oklahoma State all fall into the same category; mediocre basketball teams.

The crazy part is, one of the last teams in, usually makes a deep run in the tournament, “justifying” their entrance. Even though Oklahoma has only won two games since February 1st, Trae Young’s Oklahoma Sooners can beat anyone on any given day. Arizona State has also shown the ability to beat anyone, with wins against not one, but two #1 seeds; Kansas and Xavier.

Under Appreciated and Under Seeded

While I’m not going to throw my hands in the air, I do have an issue with some of the seeding in this tournament. Arizona and Auburn deserve better than #4 seeds. Arizona won the Pac-12 regular season title, the Pac-12 conference championship, and they have presumably the #1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft on their roster (DeAndre Ayton). They should have been swapped with Texas Tech (a #3 seed), losers of 5 of their last 7 games.

Auburn should also feel slighted. They finished with a better record then Tennessee, AND they beat Tennessee, IN TENNESSEE!! How are they a #4 seed, while Tennessee is inexplicably a #3 seed??

As for my predictions, they’re coming….

on Thursday.

Check back with DaveTalksSports.com on Thursday morning to find my upsets, locks, and most importantly, my National Champion.

What do you think of the bracket?? Who were the biggest snubs?? Who was under seeded or over seeded?? Answer my questions in the comment section below!!

Now THAT’S What I Call A Weekend!!

February 19, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

There are weekends. And then there are WEEKENDS!!

All-Star festivities. NCAA basketball. MLB free agent news. NASCAR (yes, I said NASCAR). And the Olympics.

WHAT WERE YOU WATCHING??

NBA All-Star Weekend

You probably only watched because it snowed. They don’t care why you watch, ratings are ratings.

The 3-point shooting contest was the most exciting part of the weekend. I know, I know, just hear me out. The skills competition was boring. And the dunk contest used to be exciting, but since the superstars don’t compete, and there are no original dunks left, what’s the point?!

Devin Booker and Klay Thompson, however, put on a show from the 3-point line. Booker set a record for most points in a round, edging Thompson 28-25 in the finals.

As for the game, wait, there was a game?! Yup. And it was preceded by the worst National Anthem in the history of National Anthems. If your ears didn’t have the displeasure of hearing it, please CLICK HERE.

If you made it through the entire video without saying, “What the **** is this?!”, I have questions for you.

Team LeBron, despite injuries to nearly his whole roster, pulled off a 148-145 victory. Dunk, nice pass, 3-pointer, dunk, and oh yeah, another dunk. You didn’t miss much. LeBron took home his 3rd All-Star Game MVP Award with 29 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 1 steal.

NCAA Men’s Basketball

Bob Huggins isn’t happy. His West Virginia Mountaineers fell to the Kansas Jayhawks 77-69. No one likes losing, but upon closer review of the box score, you’ll see why Huggins is so upset. Kansas was awarded 35 free throws, to West Virginia’s 2. I’m not saying this game was fixed, but this game was fixed.

MLB Free Agency

MLB free agents are finally finding homes. Some will be able to afford nicer homes than others. Eric Hosmer could buy every one of his teammates a mansion if generosity took hold of his body. Late Saturday night, Hosmer signed an 8-year, $144 million deal with the San Diego Padres. It sounds worse than it is. Hosmer is a consistent run producer with a .284 career batting average. There are worse 1st baseman to lock down for the next 8 years. You’re next J.D. Martinez….

NASCAR

I vowed I’d never write about NASCAR. Never say never.

(You’re welcome Mike).

So, apparently this was Danica Patrick’s last Daytona 500. The 35-year old will be retiring this year and wanted to go out with a bang. Oh, she went out with a bang alright. On the 102nd lap of a scheduled 200 laps, Patrick was involved in a 517-car crash, ending her day, and career, early. I guess she couldn’t get her pre-race, Aaron Rodgers’ kiss out of her mind.

As for the race, Austin Dillon captured his 1st Daytona 500 victory. Dillon became the 2nd Daytona 500 winner to win after only leading for 1 total lap. What the what?! What kind of “sport” is this?!

Oh, right….

Olympics

Have you ever been sucked into the black hole of television. That’s curling at the Olympics. It’s like planning to lay down for 2 minutes and waking up 8 hours later (that was me — last night).

And then they switch over to the Biathlon. Because ya never know when you’ll need to shoot a rifle while cross-country skiing.

Apparently Martin Fourcade likes photo finishes. After missing out on Gold by 3 centimeters in the 2014 Olympics, Fourcade won by the same margin on Sunday in the Biathlon. Now that’s riveting television.

Tell me what you watched this weekend in the comment section below.

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