With Every Valley, A Peak

April 11, 2018April 11, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

It’s EARLY.

Not just in the morning but in the MLB season.

Teams off to a ‘hot’ start will regress, and teams who can’t buy a win will do just that. It’s baseball. It’s 162 games. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. The instantaneous reaction generation can’t handle these moments.

On Monday, the Yankees could be the best team in MLB history.

And on Tuesday, they could be the biggest disappointment the world has ever seen.

Of course, a 14-1 loss, to a division rival, is never beneficial, but game 1 of 19 between the Red Sox and Yankees doesn’t determine the AL East.

Seriously though, letting the Red Sox drop a 9-spot in the 6th inning is not a recipe for success. Neither is starting Shane Robinson in centerfield, but that’s a different story….

Red Sox

Subjectively, I hate their guts. Objectively, they’re a really solid team. Those who wrote the Red Sox off, and crowned the Yankees AL East champs in March, were sorely mistaken. The Red Sox have been a well run organization since forever. Despite most Yankee fans’ distorted memories, the Red Sox have won the AL East the past 2 years (and 3 out of the last 5). This division will be hard fought all season (especially if David Price’s early season resurrection is real).

Yankees

Yes, I’m a Yankee fan. I want them to win every game. However, I don’t fit in with the typical Yankee fan. While I’ve been spoiled with their success throughout my life (I grew up in the 90s and early 2000s), I understand baseball. I understand reality.

They aren’t going to go 162-0. They may not play November baseball. And they aren’t the best lineup ever constructed. They will, however, level out. They’ll get healthy. They’ll win approximately 90 games. And they’ll make the playoffs.

Everyone calm down.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The folklore of ‘Sister Jean’ continues. After famously assisting Loyola-Chicago’s men’s basketball team to the Final Four, she’s moved on to baseball. Sister Jean was invited to throw out the 1st pitch at Tuesday’s, Chicago Cubs’ home-opener.

Not bad Sister Jean, not bad.

Unfortunately, the Cubs weren’t able to harness Sister Jean’s winning power, as they fell 8-5 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates have gotten off to a red hot start (8-2), while the Cubs have struggled (5-5). The Pirates have scored 66 runs through their 1st 10 games, the most since 1923. The Cubs, however, played their 1st 9 games on the road, and are without all-star, 1st baseman, Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo landed on the 10-day DL Tuesday with back tightness.

Expect the Pirates to cool off and the Cubs to grab hold of the division in the near future.

What are your thoughts on the MLB season so far?? Post your genius in the comment section below.

You can now find me on the Radio too. Download the TuneIn Radio App and search OWWR. I’ll be on live every Wednesday from 6:10 P.M. – 8:00 P.M EST. I also broadcast every show on Facebook Live via my DaveTalksSports.com Facebook Page: http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. You can also Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends!!

Snow + Sweet 16 = Springtime!!

March 22, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Now that’s what I call SPRING!!

The 2nd day of Spring brought the Tri-State Area a care package; A FOOT OF SNOW!!

You won’t find whining and complaining here. I LOVE SNOW!!

Go ahead, call me crazy. You won’t be the first. For those who live in New York (like myself), and have for 10+ years, what do you expect?? 60’s and sunny on March 1st?! That’s not how this works people. The Tri-State Area generally gets hit with a major snow storm every March. If you don’t like it, move to Florida….

Anyway, alongside this beautiful snow day; basketball. Before we get to the basketball on hand this evening, let’s take a look at the amazing feats the NBA provided Wednesday night.

Superman!!

Self-proclaimed Superman, Dwight Howard, had a historic Wednesday. He posted the 1st 30-30 night in nearly 8 years, and the 2nd in nearly 40 years. Not since Kevin Love in 2010 (and Moses Malone in 1982) has an NBA player hung 30 points and 30 rebounds on an opponent in a single game. The opponent?? The Brooklyn Nets. I know, I know, it’s the Nets. Listen, 30 rebounds is 30 rebounds. That’s some Wilt Chamberlain stuff right there.

The King

Self-proclaimed King, LeBron James, had a historic Wednesday of his own.

35 points, 17 assists, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and ZERO turnovers.

That’s insane. Playing without Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr., LeBron wanted to send a message to the #1 seed, Toronto Raptors. 132-129. MESSAGE SENT. MESSAGE DELIVERED. LeBron, candid as always, said this prior to the game, “I’ll be available, so we got a chance.” Oh, they have a chance alright. With a healthy LeBron James on the floor, expect the Cleveland Cavaliers to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals — again.

March Madness!!

The Sweet 16 commences this evening, with 4 games on the schedule:

#11 Loyola-Chicago vs. #7 Nevada (CBS @ 7:07 P.M.)

#7 Texas A&M vs. #3 Michigan (TBS @ 7:37 P.M.)

#9 Kansas State vs. #5 Kentucky (CBS @ 9:37 P.M.)

#9 Florida State vs. #4 Gonzaga (TBS @ 10:07 P.M.)

Loyola-Chicago has won both of their games by a combined 3 points. Nevada is fresh off of a 22-point comeback. Which Cinderella story will prevail??

Score Prediction: 69-68 Loyola-Chicago

Texas A&M manhandled UNC in the 2nd round. With one of the most potent frontlines in college basketball, can Texas A&M do the same to Michigan??

Score Prediction: 70-64 Michigan

Kansas State was given a super early Christmas present when UMBC knocked off Virginia. Their road will get a lot tougher tonight, as they run into a Kentucky team playing as well as anyone in the country.

Score Prediction: 67-60 Kentucky

Florida State took a page out of UMBC’s playbook, knocking out #1 seed, Xavier. Can they continue their strong play against a tournament ready, Gonzaga team??

Score Prediction: 80-72 Gonzaga

Who will advance to the Elite 8 tonight?? Post your predictions in the comment section below.

The Moment Impossible Becomes Possible!!

March 19, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Best. Tournament. EVER!!

This has been, without a doubt, the best NCAA Tournament in the history of college basketball. It’s had everything; buzzer-beaters, CINDERELLA STORIES, and unreal comebacks. Remember when I said Day 1 would be tough to top?? Let’s just say, if Day 1 was jumping off the high-dive at your local pool, Day 2 was jumping off an 80-foot waterfall without making a splash.

Cinderella

Apparently, the 136th time is the charm. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded from 32 to 64 teams in 1985, a 16-seed had never beaten a 1-seed. Friday night, the UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) Retrievers changed sports’ history, forever. Some of the 135 teams came close with 1-point and overtime losses, but no David’s had ever slain Goliath.

Virginia was the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They won the ACC regular season title and ACC Tournament, and held a record of 31-2 in a conference that sent 9 teams to the NCAA Tournament. UMBC, finished 2nd in the America East Conference.

This is the biggest upset in sports’ history.

Bigger than Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson. Bigger than the United States over Russia in the 1980 Olympics. Bigger than any other upset you can think of.

And UMBC didn’t just squeak out a victory. They dismantled Virginia, 74-54. Of the six Retrievers to score, four finished in double figures. But this historic win was made possible by senior guard, Jairus Lyles’, 28 point effort. At halftime, the game was tied at 21. UMBC must have had some of “Michael’s Special Stuff”, because they shot out of their locker room like a cannonball and didn’t look back. Allow me to put UMBC’s 53 2nd-half points in perspective. Virginia held 16 of their 34 opponents this season to 53 points or less; FOR AN ENTIRE GAME!! Virginia also didn’t allow 70 points in a game prior to Friday night’s embarrassment.

Now That’s A Weekend

Nevada’s epic comeback. Michigan’s last second buzzer-beater. Loyola-Chicago is in the Sweet 16. Florida State took down Xavier. Syracuse outlasted Michigan State. Texas A&M’s ‘Texas Size’ beat down of UNC.

Did I leave any storylines out??

With 10:49 left to play, Nevada trailed 65-43. Thanks to Cody Martin’s 25-points, Nevada completed one of the most epic comebacks in NCAA Tournament history, 75-73. Martin scored 11 points in the final 10:48 and played all 40 minutes. If you missed this game, I feel badly for you.

Michigan Vs. Houston was a close, competitive game throughout. Houston led by as many as 5 points, while Michigan’s biggest lead was 6. A trip to the Sweet 16 came down to a last second 3-pointer by Michigan’s Jordan Poole to capture a 64-63 victory over Houston.

11-seed, Loyola-Chicago, has now beaten Miami and Tennessee to reach the Sweet 16. If only someone had predicted that….

Saved By The Be..nch. Florida State’s bench outscored it’s starting lineup 46-29. Xavier would fail to score in the final 1:49 of the game. Florida State drilled a late 3-pointer and ended the game on a 7-0 run. That’s the long and the short of it. 75-70.

According to many,Syracuse shouldn’t have been in the NCAA Tournament. Now, they’re in the Sweet 16. Honestly, they didn’t deserve to make the tournament, but it proves that parody is real in college basketball. It also proves their pesky zone defense is really freakin’ annoying!! The sounds of brackets ripping filled the nationas the final buzzer sounded. 55-53.

Soooo, UNC forgot they had a game yesterday. UNC would jump out to a 20-13 lead, but it was all Texas A&M the rest of the way. A&M would outscore UNC 73 to 45 to capture an 86-65 victory. This isn’t the way Roy Williams’ squad wanted to go out, but someone should have reminded them what time their game started….

I don’t know how this tournament could get any better, but I also said that on Friday morning…..

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the best NCAA Tournament EVER!!

Teams will be back in action Thursday night for the start of the Sweet 16.

Is UMBC over Virginia the biggest upset in sports’ history?? Tell me if I’m crazy in the comment section below.

Day 1 = AWESOME!!

March 16, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

That..was..AWESOME!!

Thursday marked Day 1 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. It had everything you’d hope for; blowouts, buzzer-beaters, and major upsets. Where else can you get 12 hours of uninterrupted entertainment?! Wait, don’t answer that! If you hadn’t noticed, we’re a big fan of lists….

4.) 1st Overtime Game – The 1st game of the tournament, Oklahoma Vs. Rhode Island was a nail biter. After leading by as many as 7, Oklahoma found themselves down 6 with 4:12 left. That was about the same time Trae Young started to heat up. After scoring 10 early points, Young went scoreless for 22 minutes and 56 seconds. Finishing with 28 points was impressive, however, losing overshadows anything positive. Rhode Island will take on Duke in the 2nd round following an 83-78 F/OT victory.

3.) Career High – Rob Gray put on the performance of a lifetime. Gray, a senior guard for Houston University, scored a career high 39 points Thursday night. Gray willed his team to victory (67-65), carrying them into the 2nd round. The final 1:08 was epic. Devin Watson of San Diego State and Rob Gray traded 3 pointers not once, but twice. And with the game tied at 65, Gray drove the lane, making an acrobatic layup with 2 seconds left.

Check out the play here.

This was the 1st, official, ‘jump off the couch moment’ of the tournament. Or, the ‘I scared the crap out of my dog, Jordan, moment’.

2.) Arizona Stinks – That was pathetic. I don’t mean to disparage Buffalo’s accomplishment, but they have no business beating Arizona — by 21 (89-68)!! Maybe someone should have reminded Arizona what time their game was, because they still haven’t shown up. If you ever wondered what quitting looked like in physical form, just watch the last 10 minutes of this game….

1.) Can I Get A Buzzer-Beater?! – And last, but certainly not least, Loyola-Chicago Vs. Miami was the game of the day. A closely contested game throughout, saw drama reach its peak in the final second. Miami choking the game away didn’t hurt either. Their final 4 possessions consisted of 3 turnovers and 1 missed free throw.

Trailing by 1, with 9 seconds left, Loyola-Chicago’s Ben Richardson grabbed a defensive rebound. With no timeouts remaining, they were forced to push the ball up the floor. The ball wound up in Donte Ingram’s hands, who launched a 3-pointer from 25-feet. HE NAILED IT with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. 64-62. BOOM!!

What was your favorite part of Day 1?? Tell me all about it in the comment section below.

The Best Day Of The Year!!!!

March 15, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Whether you like it or not, today is going to be crazy. There will be buzzer-beaters, major upsets, and absolute blowouts. If only we had a crystal ball to predict the future, this would be a lot easier (and more lucrative). Whatever happens, don’t bet more than you can afford to lose, and have a good time.

Upset City

(12) South Dakota State over (5) Ohio State

(11) Loyola-Chicago over (6) Miami

(11) St. Bonaventure over (6) Florida

(11) Loyola-Chicago over (3) Tennessee (2nd round)

(8) Missouri over (1) Xavier (2nd round)

None of the top 4 seeds, in any region, will lose in the 1st round. You’ll see at least one 12 seed beat a 5 seed. It happens every year. This year, it’ll be South Dakota State taking down Ohio State.

Loyola-Chicago is under-seeded. Vegas agrees, as Miami is just a 1.5 point favorite in today’s game. Seemingly every year a double-digit seed makes it to the sweet 16. This year, it’s Loyola-Chicago.

Since the inception of the “first four” (in 2012), at least one team has advanced from the “round of 68” to the 2nd round. St. Bonaventure will carry the momentum from a win over UCLA to a win over Florida.

Our last major upset of the tournament actually falls into our next category….

First #1 Seed To Fall

Xavier. Xavier is the weakest #1 seed. They’ll run into a Missouri team in the 2nd round, who recently regained the services of one of the top prospects in the country; Michael Porter Jr. Expect Porter Jr. to hit his full stride come the 2nd round.

Final Four

South – ARIZONA

West – GONZAGA

East – VILLANOVA

Midwest – DUKE

**The winner of the Sweet 16 matchup between Michigan State and Duke will advance to the Final Four.

Champion

Villanova. Jay Wright is a phenomenal basketball coach. He consistently produces top-line NCAA teams every year. This season, his squad has returned to life as a #1 seed. Balanced scoring is the name of their game. Villanova has six, double-digit scorers on their roster, making their bench almost as dangerous as their starting five.

Villanova will be cutting down the nets for the 2nd time in three years.

Who’s going to win the Championship?? Post your prediction in the comment section below.

It’s Time To Start Punching Tickets!!

March 5, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ Leave a comment

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s March.

And that means more than ‘Spring is coming’. It means the Madness is upon us. This past Sunday (aka yesterday), four teams officially stamped their names in the bracket of 68:

Radford

Lipscomb

Loyola-Chicago

Michigan

One of these things is not like the other. Michigan, representing the Big Ten, is the first major conference to send their conference champion to the big dance. Now, they wait….

Radford

Unless you were overly concerned with the outcome of the Big South Conference Championship, you’ve probably never heard of Radford University. Radford is a small school located in Radford, Virginia. This will be their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2009, when they promptly got their butts kicked by UNC (101-58).

To advance to the dance, Radford took down Liberty University. Man, was this game ugly!! But then the television tells you this game ended in “thrilling” fashion. Yes, Carlik Jones hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. The result of play, exciting. The execution of the play, awful.

Watch the play here. Because nothing screams preparation like dribbling around, 30-feet from the basket, and hoisting an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer. Did I mention the game was tied, with 13 seconds to play, and they were coming out of a timeout?!

Lipscomb

The Lipscomb Bisons scored 108 points on Sunday. Insanity!! After scoring 60 points in the first half, and leading by as many as 32 points over FGCU, Lipscomb nearly choked this game away. With 7:05 to play, Lipscomb led by just 5 points. FGCU was able to storm back thanks to a 24-point half by senior guard, Brandon Goodwin. However, it was too little too late, as Lipscomb held on 108-96. Lipscomb will represent the Atlantic Sun Conference in their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

Loyola-Chicago

The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1964. They earned their tournament birth by beating up the Illinois State Redbirds Sunday, 65-49. This game was never close, so I don’t have to much to say here….

Michigan

After losing by a combined five points to Purdue (over two losses) during the regular season, Michigan was seeking revenge Sunday evening. Thanks to big-time performances from Moritz Wagner and Jon Teske, Michigan defeated Purdue 75-66. Wagner dropped 17, and Teske dropped 14. For those (degenerates) who bet the over of 141.5, all I have to say is; OUCH!!

And now, Michigan and company will have to wait an extra week for the REAL tournament. Hooray scheduling!!

By the way, Purdue will NOT go far in the NCAA Tournament. They rely on one player, Isaac Haas. Granted that player is 7’2″ and virtually unstoppable, but it’s a hard tournament to win playing one-on-five.

**Murray State also clinched a birth to the NCAA Tournament, defeating Belmont 68-51 on Saturday.

Did you watch any of these games?? If so, please post your thoughts, comments, questions, and concerns in the comment section below.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: