NOT SO COOL HAND LUTE

It was a runaway blowout and then the not so cool hand Lute, pulled the plug on the high flying act of his charges.


Leading by 15, with just four minutes remaining, it was going to be an upset of the nation's #1 team and the #1 seed, by Lute Olson's Arizona Wildcats.


Similar to the unbearable to watch, prevent defense in football, Arizona was ordered into the slow down, prevent offense. It appeared that Illinois had no answer for the surging Wildcats and their dominating inside game down the stretch. Arizona had outscored the Illini in the paint by a count of 34 -13, when Lute said, "Stop!"

The next day sportswriters wrote that the Wildcats choked down the stretch. Broadcasters broadcasted that the Wildcats choked down the stretch.

They should all be taken to task, because most of them witnessed the reins being pulled in by the head coach and not the act of a team that was choking.


Coaches lay in bed at night and dream of having their team come down the stretch of a game in complete command and in that much sought after -- zone.


This Arizona team was in such a position and in a zone like only West Virginia's early first half performance against Louisville could duplicate.

After stuffing yet another Illinois attempt at one end of the court, sitting on a 15-point lead and bringing the ball up court to continue their inside dominance and push their lead to a seemingly insurmountable 17 big points, off the bench leaps Olson with his hands raised in front of his chest, commanding and demanding his troops to STOP, slow it down and use the clock.


He may as well have pulled all those players off the court and inserted a completely fresh five. At that moment in time, Olson awoke himself from his own dream and the nightmare began. The players didn't choke, the not so cool handed Lute choked.


The coach went brain dead and all of a sudden decided to play not to lose, rather than playing to win, for those last four minutes, which must have seemed like four hours to the players, who looked dazed and confused for each and every one of those remaining 240 seconds.


Arizona fans around the country were screaming for Lute to let the kids play and get back to the attack offense that ran that Illini defense into the hardwood for the first 16 minutes of the second half.


It wasn't going to happen. Lute was steadfast in his, 'run the clock down', philosophy. Fortunately for Olson, there wasn't 10 more seconds on the clock. If there had been additional time, Arizona would have been defeated in regulation. As it was, it seemed that dear old coach had it planned out perfectly --- Hold the ball for every possible moment, force up a last second shot as the time clock expired and if all goes well, they shouldn't be able to outscore us by anymore than 15 points down the stretch. The coach was right on target. Illinois didn't outscore his team by more than 15, they outscored them by exactly 15 and on to OT we went.


Never was that old axiom, "Live by the sword, die by the sword', more self evident than in the final 13 seconds of that OT period.


Finding his team down by six, with only a couple of minutes remaining in the first OT period and maybe in their college season, Lute let his men loose and they cut that lead to ONE point with only :13 seconds separating Arizona from a trip to the Final Four. After a time-out that should never have been called, Olson sent his players back on the court and reverted to his idiotic, final four minute philosophy -- Run the clock down and get off a late shot.


Un-freaking-believable!! It didn't work for the final four minutes of regulation, what in the world made him believe it would work at this point of the game, with his entire season on the line?


With :0:08 of a second on that time bomb of a clock, the Arizona player was forced to throw up a desperation brick from beyond the arc and the fighting Illini found themselves packing for St Louis and a spot in the Final Four, despite the fact that it was more Lute Olson than their own fighting that had them realizing their dream.


On the other end of the court, Coach Olson was in a press conference making the following statement, "We had our chances." Ya think so, Lute? Amazing!!


Some comebacks are monumental and others are agonizing, in the time they consume. This Illinois comeback was neither. This comeback was simply Lute Olson awakening from that dream and presenting Illinois with a multimillion dollar gift. Arizona fans must be thinking, what if? What if their coach would have remained asleep for just those last four minutes of regulation.


On this March Saturday, in Chicago, the better team did not win the game, the team without the better coach lost the game.


Ps. Thank the basketball gods that Arizona covered the +5 point spread, otherwise we would really lay into Lute.

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS CHANGING HANDS ----

--- RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES


Today, in what was virtually an insignificant basketball game, between the University of Maryland and Texas Christian University (TCU), the nation witnessed millions of dollars change hands in mere seconds.


The reason the game was basically insignificant is because it is part of the annual NIT tournament's march to Madison Square Garden, for their version of the Final Four. Meanwhile, later in the day, the so called real teams take the court to decide who gets to play in the Final Four of the tournament that counts --- The NCAA.

Setting the stage for the swapping of millions, was the fact that the first NCAA game wasn't scheduled to start until 4:40pm. This NIT teaser game was set to tip off at 12 noon, with no other wagering events taking place.

That being the case, bookmakers nationwide (legal & illegal) along with offshore shops all over, took in millions of dollars from the anxious bettors who just couldn't wait for 4:40pm.

THE SWITCH

With two minutes and change remaining, Maryland, the 11-point favorite, was clinging to a one point lead. The game had been this close form the start, so TCU backers were marking down their collective W's and counting their earned money in anticipation of the NCAA games later in the day. They were going to be playing with house money.

Then it all began to unravel. Within seconds the lead went to 78-70 and investors around the country were moving towards the edge of their chairs. Maryland backers were alive with renewed enthusiasm after cursing the Terps the entire game, because the double digit favorite had never been this close to covering the almighty pointspread. In the other TV rooms around the country, the TCU faithful were also edging to the front of their chairs, but their apprehension was being brought on by disgust. What in the name of the basketball gods was going on? With W's already penciled in, these investors were begging Maryland to just dribble out the clock and for their Horned Frogs to just play hands off and lose 78-70. It was not meant to be.

At first, it looked as though Maryland was on the TCU bettors side, as they fouled a TCU player and the score was 78-72 and now the collective WHEWWWWWW's, could be heard around the country.

The problem now, however, was that TCU once again had visions of an actual win, since it was now just a two possession game. A quick foul and Maryland took an 80-72 lead, as the clock ticked down --- Not nearly fast enough for the TCU backers and way too fast for the Maryland faithful who were still clinging to hopes of a money winning ending.

TCU brings up the ball and the TCU fans were praying that they didn't toss up the wasted 3- ball and the player obliged, as he drove the lane, but he missed the lay-up that would have cut the lead back to six.

A quick TCU foul and the lead was now 82-72, with just seconds remaining.
Remember, the 11 point spread had never been reached throughout the game and 10 was the largest lead of the game.

TCU rushes up court and goes in for a lay-up and Maryland does the unthinkable as they commit the foul. The TCU player hits one of the two and it is now an 82-73 game. Looks as though the worse case scenario for TCU backers is a pointspread tie. For Maryland backers, they could only hope for such a final, because they long ago figured they were money losers.

Another quick foul and Maryland goes to the line and makes ONE of the two and TCU is going to take home the money no matter what happens.

Maryland backers sat back in their chairs and grumbled, F*&*^*G C*&^$#*R.
It's going to be a 10 point, 83-73 win for Maryland, but a cash bonanza for all those who took TCU +11.

Mere seconds on the clock and TCU rushes up court and misses a lay-up. That's it. Game, set and match ------ Not so quick my friend. With eight seconds on the clock, TCU inexplicably fouls the Maryland player on the obligatory inbound pass. Eight seconds and Maryland goes to the free throw line where they increase their lead to 85-73.

As millions of dollars were changing hands, TCU made matters even worse for their money supporters, as they took the final inbound pass and, do you believe it, dribbled out the final eight seconds, instead of going for a three pointer or an uncontested, money winning lay up.

The moral of the story is twofold.

{1} Never, ever mark down a W until the game is actually over. One cannot change a W to an L. Writing down L's before the game is over is allowed, since L's can be changed to W's.

{2} Sometimes living in the ATS (Against The Spread) world sucks just as bad as living in the REAL world. Well, it does if you are part of the group of TCU backers trying to change your W to an L.

As we post these results, the West Virginia / Louisville game has just reached its conclusion. I hope everyone that wagered and lost with TCU, all had their money on West Virginia +8.5 over the Cardinal.

With just seconds remaining in OT and leading by eight points, 93-85, as favorites of -8.5, the Louisville player had a break away to end the game, in what was appearing to be a spread beating slam. Off the rim. No basket. W VA covers.

Millions of dollars swing the other way.

Is it any wonder the number of Americans dying from heart attacks is not twice as high as they purport it to be?

THE SUPER BOWL -- IN RETROSPECT

Well, it has been nearly two months, so there has been plenty of time to hear all the excuses attributed to the losers and the accolades bestowed upon the winners and, in some cases, vice versa.

Let's begin by acknowledging the fact that the rejoicing in New England was tempered by the fact that their beloved Pats failed to cover the seven point spread. In the City of Brotherly Love, the Eagle fans were not as devastated as other losing fans have been, because their team, despite the loss on the field, brought home the money, as they lost by less than that magical number 7.

I could go on and on and break down the entire game, but let's not make this an interpretation of the good book.

Every New England fan, along with the team itself, booming with confidence with the opening kick off, had to be feeling a tremendous sense of relief going into the locker room at the half, with the scored tied at 7-7.

On the other side of the field, the Eagles, along with their fans around the country, had to be feeling a tremendous sense of frustration, that Philly didn't put up 17, 14 or at least 10 points on the board.

With that being said, lets look at the four plays that spelled D-O-O-M for the Eagles.

{1} McNabb, first and goal, from the eight, with four minutes remaining in the very first quarter -- Sacked for 16 BIG yards.

{2} McNabb, second and goal, from the 24, after the lame attempt to avoid the big sack, throws an INT at the three.

{3} McNabb, first and 10, at the NE 36, down 24-14, with 8:35 remaining in the game, throws and INT at the NE 24.

{4} McNabb, first and 10, at his own three yard line, with :46 seconds remaining and no times outs remaining, drops back into his own endzone, rolls to his left a few yards and throws OVER THE MIDDLE to Westbrook at the FOUR yard line for a ONE yard gain. A full :24 seconds run off the clock, before the next, by that time, useless play.

Kids playing Pop Warner ball know that you NEVER throw short over the middle in that situation -- NEVER !!

To me, those four plays summed up the Eagles loss, because as bad as their defense played, they were in a tie ball game at the start of the fourth quarter, at 14-14, and with 1:48 remaining, they were down three points and attempting an onside kick.

The biggest controversy with the game day announcers, the sports writers all over the country and the throngs of quizzical Philly fans, was why no hurry-up offense, when the Eagles took possession with 5:40 remaining and down 24-14.

In my opinion, Andy Reid would have used each and every one of those 340 seconds to make it a three point game. Why do I say this? Let's look at what happened after Philly finally put up the first seven points of the game.

In five of their next six possessions, the Pats accumulated 278 yards of offense and put 24 points on the board. One of the five drives resulted in an unassisted fumble at the Philly 13 yard line and another resulted in a field goal, as New England drove to the Eagle two yard line and used up clock and, in the true sense of the word, settled for a safe field goal.

What Andy saw was that the Pat offense chewed up his defense for nearly 300 yards of offense, took nearly 20 minutes off the clock and, in actuality, should have put 35 points on the board. That would have made it a 35-14 game, with those 340 seconds remaining.

The Philly coach saw his defense get beat down at every turn, from the drive after the Eagles first scored until the end of the game. Philly had lost control of the New England offense and Reid knew he was fortunate to have only given up 24 points and have himself in a position, at that point in the game, to only lose by three.

Bottom line: As dominating as they have been for the past four years, the Pats have won three Super Bowls by three points each and were an onside kick away from probably being tied at 24, in their latest triumph.

On the other side of the ball, Philly lost a Super Bowl by three points and could have just as easily lost by 14, 17 or 21, despite the fact that they should have had and could have had 10, 14 or 17 on the board in the first half.

What it all meant to us is that the parity, long sought after by the NFL hierarchy, is pretty much dead in the water. After all, New England has played in and won three of the last four AFC Championship games and Super Bowls, while Philly will be looking for a spot in their fifth straight NFC Championship game this year.

Personally, I have had enough of both teams, especially when one of the QB's throws ONE yard over the MIDDLE with :46 seconds remaining in a game, knowing that he cannot call a time out. Hell, I remember seeing Elway, Namath, Stabler, Young, Montana and Marino all drive their teams those 90+ yards for game winning TD's, not to mention the numerous times they put them in field goal range for the tie or the win. Not once in my memory do I recall any of them at any time throwing ONE yard over the middle. Not once!

I'm ready for new blood

A DOPE? A FRAUD? PROBABLY BOTH

Two hours into the Congressional hearing on steroid use and the first to step into the DOPE/FRAUD category has come forward.


(Bear in mind that these individuals have high priced attorneys and/or advisors)


To answer any question, let alone nearly every question, with the same idiotic phrase is completely absurd and totally idiotic.


McGwire: "I'm not here to discuss the past." "I'm not here to discuss the past." "I'm not here to discuss the past."


Yo, Mark. Buy yourself a freaking clue. The past is exactly what a congressional hearing is all about. The past is critical when determining ways and means to correct the future. To think otherwise is just plain ignorance.


Imagine the 911 congressional hearings having to listen to such a stupid comment.


Talking about the past is exactly what has to be done if one wishes to investigate and make corrections for the future.


The committee should have dismissed McGwire and asked him to just leave the building.


McGwire says that speaking of the past and denying or confirming steroid use will not change the future or the past. Well, sorry about that, but it would change the past. McGwire's admission would force baseball to remove his name from the record book. That is changing the past and that change should be made.


To top it all off and confirm his place among the dopes of the world, McGwire says he would be a great spokesman for the game in their effort to ban steroids.
What planet is this man from?


The second fraud/dope is the beloved Curt Schilling. When asked his feeling about installing a drug law that would ban first time steroid users for two years, Curt said he believes the current policy is very adequate, because it is doing its job, in that it is and will continue to REDUCE the number of players that will be using steroids.


Another DOPE that needs a clue. The objective is not to REDUCE the use of steroids, the goal is to ELIMINATE steroid use completely and instantly.


By the way, when asked if he has every been aware of ANY player EVER using steroids. Curt said, "Not to my knowledge."


I wonder if he keeps a ceramic version of the three little apes covering their eyes, ears and mouth.


From listening to the so called testimony of these individual baseball players, current and past, it appears that there was only ONE steroid user these past 10 or 15 years. That one person seems to have been Jose Canseco. Funny -- It seems as though he is the only one that has been telling the truth.


McGwire, Bonds and others have stolen the game of baseball from us. They have raped, pillaged and plundered the record book and I, as a fan, want the books restored.


Baseball was completely aware of steroid use, but the home run derby, put on by McGwire and Sosa, gave rise to the complete rebirth of the game of baseball.
Baseball needed the steroid users and they turned their heads, because it meant M-O-N-E-Y and that, regrettably, will always be the bottom line.


AS far as I am concerned, Ruth, Maris and Aaron hold the records and will still hold the records after the current fraud, Barry Bonds, puts up his 2005 numbers.


My only wish is that every pitcher Bonds faces walks him intentionally in each and every at-bat, regardless of the inning or situation.


McGwire's bio reads as follows: McGwire, Mark (1963-...), was one of the greatest home-run hitters in baseball history. He set a major league home-run record when he hit 70 home runs during the 1998 baseball season. McGwire broke the record of 61 home runs that Roger Maris of the New York Yankees had set in 1961. His record was broken in 2001 by Barry Bonds, who hit 73 home runs.

============================================

What a joke -- Cheating is wrong, but cheating and allowing your name to take the place of the legends of the game just seems dirty and disgusting aside from being wrong.


By the way, let's not buy into the caring nature of Congress in this matter. If these supposed staunch supporters of our troubled youth really did care about your child, they would have banned the beer commercials that show up on your TV between plays, during college football and basketball games. Another joke and another group of frauds. The difference in teenage deaths attributed to steroids is minuscule when compared to alcohol related deaths. They are both drugs and they are both illegal ---Underage drinking is against the law, in case you forgot.


Once again, it's back to the bottom line --- M-O-N-E-Y.