I couldn't figure out what the referee saw when he awarded Portsmouth their penalty, but upon seeing that super-slow-motion replay, there was an obvious shirt-tug by Vidic. Giggs and Valencia were fantastic on the outsides (commentators officially called it a 4-3-3), but Rooney did his job (finishing chances) and got his hat-trick.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
John Wall is lightning!
Even though Rider didn't provide the greatest of competition, Kentucky showed the ability to guard against the perimeter attack - something they couldn't do against their two previous opponents. And they continued with an offensive blitzkrieg led by John Wall, who might actually be the best player in the nation...as a freshman. He just attacks the basket with incredible speed and control.
Friday, November 13, 2009
TCA @ Praisers Review
I'm only speculating that the "T" in TCA stands for some town in Kentucky with a name that starts with "T," but I've been wrong before. So, maybe it's Turfway...maybe it's something more colorful like Turtleburg. TCA's volleyball squad only avoided a two-game sweep by stealing game 2 against the Praisers' second team.
When the two schools squared off in basketball, it was a much more even contest. The lead changed multiple time since it was a game of runs, spurts, and cold-spells. Praisers guard Eric Martin was the leading scorer for the Praisers. He and senior guard Chris Watson-Huff (who started in place of Anthony Frederick, who did not start due to a late coaching decision) spear-headed a ferocious full-court trap that forced a multitude of TCA turnovers. In fact, the majority of the Praisers' field goals came from fast-break points off turnovers. But, when the trap failed, the forwards could not slow the dribble of the TCA front-men. It seemed as if when TCA had the ball, one of two things was inevitable: there would be a steal and a Praisers' bucket or TCA would get an uncontested lay-up from a big guy at the other end.
Inevitably, TCA jumped out to an eight-point lead late in the third quarter. Of course, Coach K's boys scrambled back into the contest by forcing turnovers and getting easy buckets. And senior center Caleb Wheeler asserted his influence at long last by grabbing every rebound and contesting every TCA shot. Late in the fourth, the Praisers led by four points; but they could not hold off the TCA charge. TCA continued to get past the pressure (miraculously, at times) and finish at the rim.
The game headed to overtime, tied 57-57. Almost as if on some sort of Groundhog Day repeat-cycle, the same scenario played out in overtime: the Praisers took a seemingly decisive lead thanks to a run - only to relenquish the lead and lose the game ultimately, by five points.
Here are my Keys for Improvement:
1. Some adjustments need to made to the live by the press, die by the press mentality. Chris and Eric can still force turnovers inside their own half. But there were only a handful of TCA half-court sets that resulted in points. I'd guess that over 75% of their buckets came in transition. Someone has to get back on defense!
2. This only applies to teams with lots of size (like TCA), but the Praisers need to work on going inside-out with the passing. The perimeter movement is good as ever, but a new aspect needs to surface. With new big guys (Wheeler and junior-high sensation Brian McDowell), this would be extremely useful. The perimeter would open wide for shooters to find their touch (or confidence) which would in turn open up the post for ...
3. Caleb Wheeler to establish himself as a post-threat. His footwork is still only primarily effective and needs to improve fast. He needs to learn to use the pivot foot on either side of a power-dribble to find a high-percentage shot every time he gets the ball isolated one-on-one in the post. He finds himself in decent post position - but he has been fading to shoot instead of leaning and finishing strong.
When the two schools squared off in basketball, it was a much more even contest. The lead changed multiple time since it was a game of runs, spurts, and cold-spells. Praisers guard Eric Martin was the leading scorer for the Praisers. He and senior guard Chris Watson-Huff (who started in place of Anthony Frederick, who did not start due to a late coaching decision) spear-headed a ferocious full-court trap that forced a multitude of TCA turnovers. In fact, the majority of the Praisers' field goals came from fast-break points off turnovers. But, when the trap failed, the forwards could not slow the dribble of the TCA front-men. It seemed as if when TCA had the ball, one of two things was inevitable: there would be a steal and a Praisers' bucket or TCA would get an uncontested lay-up from a big guy at the other end.
Inevitably, TCA jumped out to an eight-point lead late in the third quarter. Of course, Coach K's boys scrambled back into the contest by forcing turnovers and getting easy buckets. And senior center Caleb Wheeler asserted his influence at long last by grabbing every rebound and contesting every TCA shot. Late in the fourth, the Praisers led by four points; but they could not hold off the TCA charge. TCA continued to get past the pressure (miraculously, at times) and finish at the rim.
The game headed to overtime, tied 57-57. Almost as if on some sort of Groundhog Day repeat-cycle, the same scenario played out in overtime: the Praisers took a seemingly decisive lead thanks to a run - only to relenquish the lead and lose the game ultimately, by five points.
Here are my Keys for Improvement:
1. Some adjustments need to made to the live by the press, die by the press mentality. Chris and Eric can still force turnovers inside their own half. But there were only a handful of TCA half-court sets that resulted in points. I'd guess that over 75% of their buckets came in transition. Someone has to get back on defense!
2. This only applies to teams with lots of size (like TCA), but the Praisers need to work on going inside-out with the passing. The perimeter movement is good as ever, but a new aspect needs to surface. With new big guys (Wheeler and junior-high sensation Brian McDowell), this would be extremely useful. The perimeter would open wide for shooters to find their touch (or confidence) which would in turn open up the post for ...
3. Caleb Wheeler to establish himself as a post-threat. His footwork is still only primarily effective and needs to improve fast. He needs to learn to use the pivot foot on either side of a power-dribble to find a high-percentage shot every time he gets the ball isolated one-on-one in the post. He finds himself in decent post position - but he has been fading to shoot instead of leaning and finishing strong.
Friday, November 6, 2009
1998-1999: The Treble Year for Manchester United
This shows the best of the 1998-1999 campaign for Manchester United. It features goals from the likes of Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunner Solskjaer, Roy Keane, Teddy Sheringham...even one from Jaap Staam (did I put too many a's in there?). And the video is somehow only 5:00. Wonderful to watch.
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