Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

Here in status-symbol land....

If there has ever been a more apt description of Southern California, I've yet to hear it.

Despite my misgivings, and an attempt to turn American U into the first real Cinderella of the tournament (a role currently filled by Cleveland State), Villanova has advanced into the Sweet 16. Boy they looked good against UCLA yesterday. That's the best I've seen them play all year.

The possibility of a Xavier/Villanova regional final is still very much alive (let's go X today vs Wisconsin), which will initiate a 'border war' of sorts in my family. Here's hoping...


I've neglected the Cardinals for, oh, about two weeks. There is a good reason for this. On Friday 20 March I defended my Masters Thesis as the last hurdle before getting the degree conferred on me. Despite the fact that my Professor blew a sizable hole in our presentation - we did, in retrospect, a poor job explaining the data manipulation we performed to arrive at the conclusion we did - I think it will be good enough. So as you might imagine, prepping for that event, as well as a final presentation and exam in my other class (both of which went much better - aced the presentation, 98 out of 101 on the final), has been all-consuming lately.

But that's all out of the way now. Back to what's REALLY important.

There've been some interesting developments in camp this week.

Ludwick appears to have re-found his confidence, and his approach at the plate. The Grand Slam he hit yesterday is the latest good sign from him. With Ludwick's big bat back, AP has protection, and this club becomes much more dangerous.

Mather's 0-19 slump has not gone unnoticed, which is why David Freese started yesterday at third. A recent UCB topic asked us to predict the 25 man roster on Opening Day. All of us respondents had Mather penciled in at third. That looks to be in jeopardy. If Freese can hit, and Mather continues to struggle, don't be surprised to see Freese starting at third on 6 April. This makes Mozeliak look really intelligent for dumping Edmonds on the lowly Padres for Freese; we turn an aging, physically breaking down CF into a young 3B prospect who steps in for an injured Glaus the very next year. High marks for Mo on that one.

McClellan is getting lit up. This isn't good. He's one of the relative assurances in the bullpen when the Cardinals break camp. Based on his breakout season last year, most of us had him slotted for the high leverage stuff, and possibly the eighth inning as the set-up guy. But he's struggling. Current camp chatter has Motte as the closer and Franklin returning to his eighth inning set up role. McClellan should still make the team - there aren't a lot of good options to replace him from the right side (Boggs? I think not) - but his struggles are cause for a lot of concern. I wonder if his 'be ready to start in case Carpenter breaks down' spring hasn't adversely affected his preparation to pitch in relief.

Speaking of Carpenter, there's a great article about him in today's Post Dispatch. It's got to be tough to have to keep fighting back from injury, and to deal with the fact that your body is a fragile thing now and may betray you at any moment, on any pitch. But Carpenter's spring continues to exceed all expectations, and I for one remain hopeful he will return to his 2005 form this season. OK, not necessarily win the Cy Young, but win 15 games or more. Jason LaRue's comments in the above linked article only serve to solidify my impression that Carp's back, and is going to have a good year.

The article also clears up, at least for me, why Carp is in the #4 starter spot to begin the year - it gets him two starts against the Cubs early in the season. I am statistically challenged this early in the morning, but I believe Carp has had lots of success against the Cubs in his career - which would explain the matchup for such a critical series early in the year.

Enough for now. Enjoy your sunday. If you decide to play any Monkees today, think of me, who will be chasing a pair of 'monkeys' around the house all day.

Odds and Ends

Lots of different topics in here...

The morning show I sometimes listen to on the way to work (XX 1090 AM in San Diego) had a handicapper on this morning discussing the NCAA tournament. The dude (I think his name was Brandon Lang) picked Louisville to win it all (duh) but had them beating...

wait for it....

Yep. VILLANOVA in the final. Personally I think the dude's smoking crack. Although I would probably be unsufferably obnoxious if they did make it that far. For what it's worth, I picked Xavier to win that regional, beating Duke (who knocks out my Wildcats in the regional semifinal).

Lots of interesting stuff being discussed in the UCB topics. Today it was offseason moves by management. Yesterday was the 25 man roster. Monday we considered what number would be retired next by the Cardinals (I voted for 51). I plan to elaborate on some of these topics later on, but if you're not following the blogs as discussions are posted you're missing out. See Cardinal 70 for the complete schedule of blogs posting the discussions.

Chris Carpenter pitched today and went 6 scoreless. I am a crusty old Navy man, but I am giddy - yes, giddy - about how Carp has pitched so far this spring. Fourteen scoreless innings is nothing to sneeze at. As we get closer to Opening Day, and the lineups start to feature more Major League hitters (also the WBC fniishes), we'll know better if this is for real or just a mirage; but the early returns are VERY favorable. I have put my money where my mouth is and drafted Carp for my only 'All MLB' fantasy team. Believe it or not, he's the only Cardinal on my roster. So don't let me down, Carp.

Called into the UCB radio hour last night. Good discussion. If I ever figure out how to post files here, I'll post the audio file. You should call in or at least log on to the chat room - every Wednesday night at 8pm Pacific. There is some discussion about moving the time to allow more participation, so stay tuned for an update.

Finally, there's the World Baseball Classic. As I type this (and although it won't appear until tomorrow morning on the site) the Japanese lead Cuba 3-0 after 5. In foggy Petco Park. Most of the baseball has been pretty good, with some great games. Both Netherlands/Dominican Republic contests were classics. The US' comeback last night against Puerto Rico. It's unfortunate that all of those games were on the MLB network, which virtually no one gets.

The players, most notably Chipper Jones, have raised some issues with the format. I couldn't agree more. Even this is packaged by MLB to make the most money. Let's take a look at some of the areas that cause head-scratching.

- Round Robin play. Only MLB could devise a system where there are 4 teams in a pool, and you may not play the other 3. Why don't they do Pool Play like other major international tournaments do it, like soccer's World Cup for instance? That way, instead of playing beating the Dominican, then losing to Puerto Rico, and having to play the Dominican again, you would play Panama in that third game (this would be what happened to the Netherlands).

You ask how the winner and runner-up of the pool would be determined? Try this. Winners get two points. Games that go to extra innings are a point for each team, with an additional point awarded to the winner. If you beat a team badly enough to activate the mercy rule, you get a bonus point. The two teams with the most points advance. In event of a tie, head to head result is the tie breaker.

This would also eliminate the useless 'seeding' game. It was ridiculous that Japan went 2-0 in pool play in the first round and end up the #2 seed, all because they lost the 'seeding' game to Korea 1-0. Same for the US and Venezuela.

- Rosters. The roster rules need to be more clearly defined. The Dutch manager had a legitimate point when he complained about Brian Roberts being added to the US roster 30 min before game time. MLB is meticulous about roster configuration during the playoffs, and they should show the same kind of rigor for this event.

- Venues. With all the pretty ballparks in this country, Miami's Joe-Robbie-Pro-Player-I-Don't-Know-What's-The-Name-Today-Park-Stadium was the best choice for the second round? Really? What, the Tropicana Dome busy with a Monster Truck Rally? I would have thought Atlanta, or Houston, or Phoenix would be a much better choice - and all 3 cities have a sizeable Hispanic population.

Love the choice of Dodger Stadium for the final, however. Can we park a Camaro at home plate and do a pull-away shot as part of the opening ceremonies?

- Coverage. I was in the car tonight picking up a box at FedEx, and thought I would listen to the game on ESPN Radio. So I turned it on. Turns out, the game was simulcast (which means, for those of you under 30, the same broadcast is being heard on radio and TV). Which means the guy calling the game on TV has to talk to the action so those of us listening on the radio can keep up with what's going on. The guys doing the game have no idea how to cover a game on the radio. These two bozos are chatting away on some ancedote about one of the players, and in the background you hear the crowd start to cheer. This is because Curtis Granderson just singled to right. Only after the cheering gets loud do your trusty play-by-play guys casually mention, Granderson singles to right, before continuing with their conversation.

No number of outs, no score, no count, no 'fastball for a strike', nothing. It's as if they think the audience tunes in to hear them talk about the bunions on their feet and not the game. This is why I used to mute Padres games on local TV (that and I can't stand Matt Vasgerian. Now that he's gone I might turn the volume up again).

I would have thought MLB was flush enough to spring for a second announcing team on the radio. Three years from now, call me and I'll do it for free; so long as MLB pays for my travel, accomodations, and meals.

Consider these helpful suggestions from a concerned citizen.

Big East Tourmanent - Final

Last night was spent studying for finals, so no blogging. I taped the Villanova/Louisville game, because I knew I wouldn't get to watch it live, since the game ran during the dinner/playtime/bath/bed hours here at Chez Mike's.

That meant I had to avoid all stations that might report on sports, which for a sports junkie such as myself, isn't so easy.

It also meant I couldn't watch Syracuse/West Virginia until I'd seen the Villanova game.

Wanting to do both, I ended up watching Villanova on fast forward. Which, by the way, I recommend. You get all the action, and in a fraction of the time. Besides, making the players run around like ants on crack is kind of funny.

So, the first half, Villanova was the better team. Even in fast forward. Made me a little uneasy the number of open looks from beyond the arc Louisville got, but Cunningham was dominating inside, defensively turnovers were being forced and capitalized on, and the Wildcats went into the locker room up 8. Pitino was frustrated. Looked good.

Then the second half started. Louisville cut the lead to 2 in about 3 seconds. That's real time, not fast forward time. Then they took a 7 point lead. Villanova clawed, stayed in the game, and eventually tied the score at 50; to which the Cardinals responded by going on a 19-4 run to close out the game. 69-54 Cardinals.

Once that ended I tuned into the Syracuse game. Just in time to see it go to OT. Poor Syracuse. They must have been wasted in OT; it certainly showed as they walked the ball up the court possession after possession. I'm sure no one from this team who returns next season will complain about the conditioning work Boeheim puts them through. Syracuse found the will power to win that OT game, too, defying my fearless prediction from Friday that West Virginia would win.

Syracuse also reached their 14th Big East final, a league record. They've played in almost half of the championship games contested.

I didn't see most of the title game, or any of the first half, but it looked like a repeat of Friday. Syracuse took an 8 point lead into the half, Louisville ended up winning by 10. First Conference championship, er, Big East Tournament championship, for Louisville. Seeing as how they went through the Big East (including the tournament) 19-2, I believe they're a lock for a #1 seed. Memphis will be a #1 as well. The other two will probably be UNC (despite their loss today), and Michigan State. Pitt and UCONN should be no lower than #2's.

Some other items. I don't think Nova will get beyond the sweet 16. I've believed all year they're a soft top 10 team. Look at their record. Lost to Texas and Louisville on a neutral court. Lost to UCONN, West Virginia, and Marquette on the road; lost to Louisville and Georgetown at home. All their notable wins are at home (Marquette, Syracuse, Pittsburgh). Their best road win is at Syracuse. I don't think they're good enough to go deep into the tournament. And, they were exposed by a taller, more athletic team in that shutting down Scottie Reynolds really hamstrings this team.

The media also began (at least, the AP report) to say Villanova's exit Friday night 'continued a run of disappointing Big East Tournament performances.' I don't necessarily agree. They've won at least one game in the Tourney every year since 2004. This year they came in as the #4 seed and lost when they were supposed to, in the semis to the #1 seed. How exactly is that disappointing? 2005, the year they finished second in the league and didn't make the finals, that could be considered disappointing, but not this year.

I won't say this isn't frustrating for Jay Wright, however. Rollie Massimino went to 3 Tourney Finals; Steve Lappas went to two, including Villanova's lone win (1995). Wright hasn't made a final yet. I'm sure that weighs on him a little. They will be better next year; we'll see how they do then.

However, Villanova has made the NCAA tournament 4 years in a row, their longest streak since going 7 straight years under Massimino; won the regular season title in 2006, the fourth such Big East title (1982, 1983, and 1997 were the other years they did it); reached the Sweet Sixteen in 3 of the last 4 years, matching their previous best effort; and are now ranked in the top 25 consistently. All the last weekend angst, anxiety, and hope that characterized my undergraduate time there are gone for the current students. Villanova always goes to the NCAA tournament; it's just a question of what their seed will be and how deep they will go. So Jay Wright has been pretty successful. I doubt he loses much sleep over not winning the Conference Tournament.

I expect Nova will be a #4 seed. For their Sweet Sixteen chances to blossom, I hope they're a #3 playing in Philly. We'll know tomorrow night.

Cardinal blogging returns next week.

Update 3/15/09 1655: Villanova is indeed a #3 seed, playing in Philadelphia next weekend. GO CATS!

Big East Tournament Update #3

A "ho-hum"-er, an upset, a buzzer beater, and an epic.

Just your typical day in the Big East Tournament.

After eight mostly pedestrian games, the top fourth of the conference got into the action yesterday. And things were definitely more interesting.

Providence came into their game with Louisville needing a win (IMHO). Didn't happen. The Friars led 3-2, then committed a Big East Tournament Record 26 turnovers, and lost by 18. Which was the expected result. I'm sure this game will leave a bad taste in the mouth of the selection committee. Although I hope Providence finds themselves in the NCAA field come Sunday, I don't think they will.

West Virginia/Pittsburgh. It is very difficult to beat a team three times in a single season. The Mountaineers proved that against the Panthers. WVA pretty much handled Pitt in this one. The Panthers led early, and then led again with about 4 minutes left in the first half, but that was it. WVA led by double digits for most of the second half, winning 74-60. Even with Beilein gone to coach the University of Michigan, this squad remains a difficult tournament matchup. And "Huggy Bear" is a battle tested coach from his salad days at Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh will probably not be a #1 seed based on this result. The Big East is the best conference in the land this year, no question; however losing in the tournament quarters, after having the first two days off, to an unranked team you beat twice in the regular season will take them off the #1 line. I see them as a #2. This will also free up a slot for someone like Michigan St or (gulp) Duke to slide on the #1 line (assuming the other 3 #1 seeds are Louisville, Memphis, and UNC).

I thought this next game was the best finish. I hadn't seen anything yet. Villanova blew a 17 point lead to Marquette, and were down one, 75-74, with Marquette dribbling in the half court and 40 seconds left in the game. Marquette missed the shot with 10 seconds left.

Villanova is out of timeouts.

Up comes the ball.

Scottie Reynolds is blanketed.

Reggie Redding drives the lane.

Dwayne Anderson cuts to the basket, and the man guarding him steps up to guard the ball.

Bounce pass.

Lay-up.

BALL GAME!

Wow. After trying to give the game away, they pulled off a great finish to advance. As was pointed out on ESPN.com's game recap today, Villanova hasn't won two games in this tournament since 2004. Obviously they'd like to end that trend tonight against Louisville. This will be a rematch of the 61-60 game Louisville won in Philadelphia.

I'll make the bold prediction that the winner of Louisville/Villanova will win the tournament.

The reason for that I'll state at the bottom.

Then the Epic. I didn't start really watching this game until there were two minutes left in regulation. I thought the referees did an outstanding job adjudicating Devendorf's last second shot in regulation, and got the call right. Did you know Syracuse led 71-69 with 1:13 left in regulation, and DIDN'T LEAD AGAIN until 113-110 in the sixth overtime? Just an unbelieveably gritty performance.

I also couldn't believe the number of calls in overtime where the referees put their whistles in their pockets, the fact that Thabeet didn't foul out until the 4th OT, and a multitude of other things. Syracuse wanted it more. Pure and simple. When they hit that 3-pointer to take the 113-110 lead, you could visibly see UCONN deflate. And that was it.

Having played past midnight EDT, Syracuse catches a break in that their semi final tonight is the late game (starting at 6pm EDT). But you gotta think they've got no legs left after playing 70 minutes last night. Even with guys getting additional rest after fouling out. That more than levels the field with WVA, who've played one more game.

I think WVA wins this one, just based on the Syracuse fatigue factor. The Orange(men) will fight, don't worry about that, but I think in the second half, after adrenalin has run its course, their legs will feel like rocks, they'll be running through jello, and WVA will win the game.

Why do I think Louisville or Villanova will win this thing? Because Louisville is the best team in the Big East. If Villanova somehow finds a way to beat the Cardinals, and they will be motivated by that one-point loss earlier in the season, then they get a WVA team that's playing its 4th game in 4 days. Not to mention WVA embarassed Nova at Morgantown during the regular season.

So I'll crown the winner of Louisville/Villanova as the Big East champ. My heart's with the Wildcats, but my money's on Louisville.

Enjoy your weekend.

Big East Tournament Recap #2

UPDATE 3/12 1541: Villanova 76, Marquette 75. Last....second...shot....prevents epic collapse. I need a sedative.

Yesterday's results returned the tournament to form. After one mild upset and one major surprise, the higher seeded teams reasserted control over the Big East Bracket.

Providence survived a gritty effort by DePaul and eliminated the Blue Demons 83-74. I think DePaul has to consider this tourney run a success, considering they entered with nary a win in conference and left 1-1. Providence remains firmly ensconsed on the bubble going into tonight's contest against Louisville. Personally I think a win over Louisville would put them into the NCAA field, providing no more Cleveland State-type teams win their conference tournaments.

My opinion of the conference tournament nonsense deserves it's own column, but let's just say I'm not a fan.

Providence finished 2-5 against the teams above them in the standings, and got blown out at Louisville by 27 three weeks ago. A win on a neutral court would seal their NCAA bid.

West Virginia rode a huge first half and beat Notre Dame 74-62. The Fighting Irish didn't really fight in that first half, scoring only 18 points to trail by 18. Notre Dame and Georgetown were the two teams exposed as overrated this season - high pre-season rankings, then el floppo during conference play. I'm glad it was those two Catholic schools and not Providence and Villanova, whom I expected it to be. WVA gets the Pitt Panthers today. WVA has played Pitt twice this season, losing by 13 in Pittsburgh and by 11 at home. I don't see any reason why Pitt won't win tonight. As an aside, I'm glad the Mountaineers are in the opposite half of the bracket. Along with Georgetown, there the one team consistently giving Villanova fits these days (UCONN doesn't count, well, because they always give Villanova fits).

Syracuse was in a dogfight with Seton Hall until some second half unpleasantness occurred on the court - a couple of technical fouls on the Pirates, and then a double technical on Eugene Harvey (SH) and Eric Devendorf (SRY). That last one fired up the Orange(men), and especially Devendorf, who collectively went on a 17-3 run and blew the game open, winning 89-74. As a reward, Syracuse matches up with Connecticut today; UCONN won their only meeting earlier this year by 14. Syracuse is in, so this is for pride.

That brings us to Marquette. The Warriors choked the life out of St John's, holding the Redmen to 10 first half points. No that's not a typo. Leading by 28 at the break, Marquette cruised to a 74-45 pasting. Their game with Villanova is the most intriguing one today. Both teams have been ranked in the top 10 this season; both teams held serve at home. Villanova won the second round bye because Marquette lost 4 in a row to close out the regular season. Interestingly, of the top 4 seeds only Villanova was beaten by Marquette, and that was the first conference game for both teams.... on New Year's Day. Nice scheduling, there.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Villanova win, and I would be equally nonplussed if Marquette prevails. At this point, the teams are playing for seedings. One will be a #3, and the other a #4 when the NCAAs start. I think the game means more to Villanova, because they have an outside chance to be the #3 seed playing in Philadelphia next week; the home crowd helped them out 3 years ago during their second round game against Arizona. That 'Zona team was really good; I don't know if Nova wins that game on a neutral court.

A note about past Conference champions. For the first 10 years of the league only three teams won the tournament (Georgetown, Syracuse, and St John's). Georgetown still has the most tournament wins at seven, even though they won 6 of those from 1980-1989 (the Ewing/Mourning years). The full list:

Georgetown - 7
Connecticut - 6
Syracuse - 5
St John's - 3
Seton Hall - 2
Pittsburgh - 2 (and the defending champs)
BC - 2
Providence - 1
Villanova - 1

The Wildcats have been to several finals (5, including their lone win in 1995), but none since 1997. Getting to the final this season is a long shot - I think they're the weakest of the top 4 seeds, and would have thought that if they'd finished higher in conference - but you never know.

Big East Tournament Recap

Let me first say - categorically - I am rooting for the Nederlands. I made a comment in yesterday's UCB thread about how Americans love an underdog, well, you can't get much more underdog than a country with only two major leaguers on the roster (and those being Sidney Ponson and Randall Simon). Wow. Beat the mighty Dominican Republic team twice.

So yesterday kicked off the Big East tournament. This is the first year all 16 teams made the post-season tournament. Since the league expanded to 16 teams, the bottom 4 had been ineligible for the post-season event at Madison Square Garden. To accomodate those other 4 teams, the tourney format now includes a first round bye for the top 8 seeds, and a second round bye for the top 4 seeds.

Not that it helps Cincinnati at all. They faced less-than-mighty DePaul, who had finished the season with a league worst 0-18 record. Yes, that's not a typo - the Blue Deamons lost every single conference game. I'm quite sure this morning Cincinnati wishes the format hadn't changed, for DePaul won their first (and likely only) conference game against Cincinnati 67-57 in the tourney's opening round (and opening game). How much does that sting the Bearcat faithful? As a guy with an Xavier alum in the family, I can't help but laaaaaaauuuuuugh at the Bearcat misfortune. Lovely, lovely.

Another team not digging the new format is Georgetown. Remember two years ago they were a Final Four team? Ranked as high as #9 this year? Nothing like the conference season to separate the wheat from the chaff. The Hoyas would have squeaked into this tourney anyway as the #12 seed, but they probably would have gotten exactly as far as they will this year. St John's, making their first appearance at this event since 2003, dropped G'Town 64-59. Georgetown can kiss whatever slim hopes they had of making the NCAA's goodbye. I doubt they'll be invited to the NIT, but you never know - they are above .500 overall, although well under that mark in the conference.

Notre Dame kept their very slim NCAA hopes alive with an 11 point win over Rutgers. The Irish didn't have a good shooting night, but played suffocating defense to get the job done. They face West Virginia today in what very well might be a 'win and you're in' game for the NCAA. The Mountaineers beat Notre Dame at Morgantown, 67-58, in their 18 Feb conference matchup.

Most prognosticators put seven Big East teams in the NCAA tourney. That list does not include either Seton Hall or South Florida. In the final first round game, the Pirates beat S. Florida 68-54. As a reward, they get Syracuse today.

So your second round matchups are:

DePaul vs Providence, St. John's vs Marquette, Notre Dame vs. West Virginia, and Seton Hall vs Syracuse.

I would put these 6 teams as locks for the NCAA field: Louisville, UCONN, Pitt, Villanova, Marquette, Syracuse. I think if Providence beats DePaul, and they should be thanking the big Friar in the sky they don't have to play Cincinnati, they get in. I also think, as mentioned above, the Notre Dame/West Virginia winner will get in as well. I think 8 teams from the toughest conference in the country is about right. This league has had 4 or 5 teams in the top 10 rankings all season long.

We'll talk a little more about Villanova in tomorrow's post. The Cardinals have a bunch of off-days this week, so a bit of a hiatus there.

Is it too late to ask MLB to swap the teams around, so the USA and Dutch squads play here next week? I really don't care to see Japan/Korea/Cuba and whoever (Mexico or Australia) again at Petco. 3 of those 4 teams played here in 2006 (the other being the Dominican, whose players are returning to their MLB spring training complexes as we speak. Ha Ha Ha).

Cats Peel Orange

Backed by Derrick Anderson's 22 points, Villanova held off the Syracuse Orange(men) 89-86 to win the season series, win at the Carrier Dome for the second year in a row, and win their third in a row from Syracuse for the first time since I was a student.

Cool.

So they are 10-4 in the conference, although the road they took there was a little different than I expected.

W vs Rutgers - check.

W at W. Virginia - uh, got THAT wrong. I should have known. This game was a must for the Mountaineers, who are fighting for an NCAA berth, hadn't beaten a meaningful opponent in the Big East all season, had Nova at their place, play good defense... just a horrible call on my part.

L at Syracuse - happily, got that wrong too.

So, they have the worst team in the league (DePaul), the rapidly disintegrating Hoyas, and Notre Dame left. 13-4 is still possible. 13-4 will probably not move them out of 5th in the conference, but who cares? They're a lock for the NCAAs at this point. The only suspense remaining is what their seed will be.

We pause in our preps for spring training...

...to turn to college basketball for a moment.

I've somewhat purposely ignored my Villanova Wildcats this season. Initially I thought they were overrated. Granted, they did make the sweet 16 last year, before getting trounced by Kansas (correction: eventual National Champion Kansas), and had the nucleus returning this season. But they didn't play anyone in the non-league schedule, and their only tough non-league game, was a loss against Texas.

Then I thought they were very overrated. I saw their Big East opener against Marquette by accident. It was on New Year's Day, and I was waiting for the Rose Bowl to start. Nova couldn't shoot from outside at all against the Warriors (er, Golden Eagles), and the Marquette players were bigger, faster, and better. Cats ended up losing by 9. They followed that by starting 2-3 in the league, and 0-4 against ranked teams.

But since a funny thing has happened. They beat a good Pittsburgh team by 10. They hung with UCONN at Storrs, losing by 6. They clobbered Syracuse this weekend. And they've managed to stay in the top 25 all season.

This week's finds them #13 in both polls. They are 7-3 in the league, and of their 6 remaining games, 5 are very winnable:

tonight vs Marquette - the ol' "Return the Favor" Game (20-3, 9-1 league)
2/13 at West Virginia (16-8, 5-6)
2/19 vs Rutgers (10-14, 1-10)
2/22 at Syracuse - the ol' "Get the Favor Returned" Game (18-6, 6-5)
2/25 at Depaul (8-16, 0-11)
2/28 vs Georgetown (13-9, 4-7)
3/2 at Notre Dame (12-10, 3-7)

Granted, Georgetown and ND have disappointed this season but are very good teams, and the Mountaineers are always tough at home; but other than the almost assured loss in the Carrier Dome, Villanova quite possibly could finish the league season by winning 5 of their last 6 and have a 12-4 record overall in the league. That will clinch the #5 seed in the Big East tourney at a minimum, and probably get them a #4 or #5 seed in the NCAAs (depending on their Big East tourney finish).

So this is the first Villanova story of the season. Go Cats!

Masters of the Main Line

Villanova 56, St. Joe's 39.

For those readers not familiar with the geography of Philadelphia PA, Villanova University sits at one end of Lancaster Avenue, and St. Joseph's Wayward Rest Stop for Red-Headed StepChildren sits at the other. So once again the smart, well educated, coherent disciples of St. Augustine prevail in this mini-border war.

I keed, I keed. Actually I don't consider this rivalry as intense as some other ones for the Wildcats (Georgetown, Syracuse, and Connecticut immediately jump to mind; throw in Pittsburgh when I was matriculating as well). St. Joe's has a good team once in a blue moon; Nova has one once a decade. We typically beat up on them Hawks. Other than their mascot's annoying habit of constantly flapping his wings, they don't bother me. Martelli is actually funny.

But, winning the City Series is nothing to sneeze at, and with this victory Villanova has won it for the second straight year.

16-7 is pretty good on a team loaded with Freshmen and Sophmores. I figure they have a good shot at winning at least 3 of their remaining games (Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Rutgers), and an outside shot at 3 more (G'Town, Syracuse, UConn). Beating Marquette in Wisconsin? Probably not. 20 wins and an 8-8 record in the Big East should be good enough to get them into the NCAA tourney for a third straight year.

6 days until pitchers/catchers report. I'm going to start a new feature here once the team reports: A daily trivia question. Answers will be posted the following day. Credit will be given to the person submitting the first correct answer along with the actual answer. These questions will focus on Cardinal Trivia. I have enough items to carry me from the start of spring training through 30 September, so I hope you enjoy the feature.

IT'S SUPER BOWL WEEKEND! (whoo)

I blew off my normal Thursday column becuase I'be been sick. Two trips to the ER in the last 10 days. Steroids. Water weight gain. Unable to sleep with the pain. I don't recommend it.

But I have been able to monitor all the Super Bowl silliness, and, Rex Grossman/Kyle Orton posts aside, it's been pretty disappointing. Bill Simmons taunting us from Miami. Negro Bowl I. (The coverage of Dungy vs. Smith has been enough to make me vomit.) So I can't wait for the Super Bowl to be over - at least I won't have to listen to the hype any longer.

Once my teams get knocked out (or fail to qualify - thanks Rams for blowing those games against Seattle), my rooting interest passes to rooting AGAINST teams I hate. Does this make me a bad person? Probably. But I don't care. So watching the aforementioned Seahawks, Dallas, G-Men, Ravens, and Patriots head into the off-season has been mucho enjoyable-o. Leaving me with ambivelance concerning tomorrow's contest.

I haven't had anything emotionally invested in the Super Bowl since Pats/Eagles (and ended up with the short stick that day - although I did win a cool $125 in my football pool for picking the third quarter score. Nice). I (the master of opinion) don't have one when it comes to this game. My disgust for all things Chicago begins with the Cubs and ends with the Blackhawks. My dad thought Johnny U was the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, so there's a certain soft spot for the Baltimore Colts - but I don't like the Indy Colts. Ultimately I can root for an entertaining game. And I will.

And a couple of super bowl ads that make me laugh. AND that my numbers come up again in our pool.

So as I count down the days to spring training (11 days until pitchers and catchers report to the Cardinals Complex in Jupiter), today I'll be making copious amounts of Dad's special chili (Miss you Dad), watching Little Dirka try and keep his balance while sitting, and preparing for our modest party tomorrow.

All signs point to a satisfying weekend. Villanova just beat Louisville 57-53, augmenting their NCAA tourney resume. See you after the 'big game'.

A frustrating ending for the Cats

Notre Dame 66, Villanova 63.

This is the same team the Cats torched by 15 last week, shooting 57% from the floor. Not so much good shooting Saturday - apparently the weather in Indiana makes the rims less forgiving.

Because of softball practice (among other things) I mercifully didn't sit through this entire game. But I did turn it on with 1:03 remaining, and the Cats down 64-60. Here's the sequence:

- Falls gets a foul call when he jumps into Nardi. Nardi fouls out. Falls sinks 2 free throws, 66-60 Irish.

- Nova ball. Redding fouled on a 3-pointer. Makes first. Misses second. Misses third deliberately, Sumpter falls on it. Jump ball. Possession: Nova. 66-61.

- Sumpter misses 3-pointer. Cunningham fouled on rebound. Makes both. 66-63. (Pacing.)

- 20 seconds left. ND throws in bounds pass away. Nova timeout. (Pacing faster, rolling eyes.)

- Nova works for a shot. Redding open left of top of the key, misses. Ball goes THROUGH a ND defender out of bounds. Nova ball. 5.9 seconds left (I start ripping my hair out).

- In bound play is an abortion. Somehow Cunningham gets a floating lob hanger pass and pass to Sumpter for a wide open 3 (same spot Redding missed from). Clank. ND rebound. Foul. 1.3 seconds left (I turn off TV).

So they really could have won this game with a little clutch shooting. ND has won 17 in a row at home now. Tomorrow the Cats host Pittsburgh, the best team in the league so far this season.

Oh, and Weaver formally signed with Seattle. What a doofus.

No post tomorrow - it's an anniversary (or something) at the Rant household, so I'll have to give the missus my undivided attention [sigh]. She's very demanding that way. :)

Wildcat Rising

V for Villanova, V for victory; B for something something something....

It's amazing what two victories over top-20 teams will do for your reputation.

The mighty Cats vaulted to #27 in the USA Today poll, and #30 in the AP, with last week's wins over Villanova West (er, that school Weis works at) and the Texas Durants. They kept rolling tonight with a 82-73 victory over the Friars of Provi-dum College.

Oh, that snapped a 12-game home winning streak for the Rhode Islanders.

'Nova is now 4 games into the toughest 6 game stretch on their schedule. They're 3-1. Next is a rematch in Indiana (which will go unnoticed thanks to Peyton Manning) against the #22 Irish, then a home game against #9 Pittsburgh (the class of the Conference this year).

I had my doubts about the lads making it to The Dance for a third straight year. However, with an RPI of 21, their defense tightening, and Scottie Reynolds playing like the McDonald's All-American he was last year, anything is possible. If they can shut down Texas without their best player (Curtis Sumpter sat out the game with a 'deep bone bruise'), who knows what they can do the rest of the way?

No Villanova team has made the Sweet 16 three years in a row. It's waaaaaaayy to early to be counting those chickens, but why not? That by itself would be a major achievement for this group.

Go Cats.

Scenes from the Rant Household

Yep, two days late. Lots of activity at the Rant household...which I won't bore you about here.

Currently Villanova is leading the Texas Durants 26-23. This is the only national broadcast for the boys (unless they make the Tourney), and they look, well, O.K. They've missed a number of wide-open shots or the lead would be much more than three. Oh, and Durant? He's for real. 11 points in the first half - and he looks like he's playing at a different speed than the rest of the boys on the court. Ol' Bill Simmons is right about that.

Of course, the hot topic this weekend will be the NFL Conference Championships. I read Simmons' latest article, and my comment is simply this:

Want some cheese with that whine?

Look, my anti-Patriot stance has nothing to do with how the Pats are doing it with mirrors. Or that Belichick has somehow morphed into Knute Rockne. Or that Brady is already the best clutch QB since Montana and may become the greatest QB since Unitas. Mrs. Rant actively roots for them (now that the Chargers have completed their yearly gag). For me, it boils down to three things.

ONE: Super Bowl XXXVI. I'm sure you're shocked to find out I root for the Rams (although my allegiance dates back to the 1979 group: Vince Ferragamo, Wendell Tyler, Jack Youngblood, Fred Dryer, and Nolan Cromwell).

TWO: The saturation of coverage. Since 2001 we have been inundated with stories on how great Belichick's system is, and how cool Brady is. Tedy Bruschi. Mike Vrabel. Blah blah blah. Enough already. I hated the Dodgers as a kid because I got tired of hearing how good they were. I can see they're good - I don't need to be bombarded with that fact. Same for the NY Mets of the 1980s (the fact that they were the Cardinals' biggest rival from 1985-1989 didn't help them), the Lakers of the 1980s, and the Yankees of the 1990s.

It's so bad I can't enjoy teams for how good they are. I hope they lose just so the talking heads will shut up.

THREE (and last straw): Patriots get knocked out last year by Denver. Can they lose gracefully? Yes. Their fans? 'We didn't get beat - we gave the game away.' How arrogant. How wrong.

Indy can't beat those fucktards by enough to make me happy. Maybe THAT'll shut their fans (and their most famous blog apologist) up. Unfortunately, I doubt it; but for 3 hours tomorrow, It would make for a most gratifying day.

NFC: I'm torn between the feel-good story and my natural pre-disposition to despise all things Chicago. So I think I'll just....enjoy the game.

Under 12 timeout...Nova 48, Texas 38. Enjoy the rest of the game.

[UPDATE: Nova 76, Texas 69. Two Top-25 upsets by the 'Cats this week. Niiiiccceeee.]

Nova beats Georgetown - AGAIN.

Banner day in the Rant household - the Wildcats of Villanova secured their first Big East Win of the season, smiting lowly Georgetown 56-52. I soooo love sticking it to this bunch of pretentious bastards (the whole school is full of them; I have nothing per se against the basketball team). So to recap, Georgetown teams coached by a Thompson and featuring a Ewing are no match for the Rulers of the Main Line.

And all this with our best player fouling out after scoring only 5 points.

Nova moves to 12-4 on the year, although only 1-2 in the Big East. Very, very early in the season; there's no need to panic.

Oh yeah, there was some college football game on yesterday, too. You might have heard about it.

One more item - Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr were voted into the Hall of Fame today. Well deserved for Gwynn. I had the pleasure of being a season ticket holder and watching him during the 1997 season - statistically his finest offensive year. The man hit .500 with runners in scoring position that season - superhuman. It seemed like every time the Padres needed a key hit, he would double up the alley in right center.

Ripken? He's pretty good, too. I think his consecutive games streak was over-hyped, but he's a member of the 3000 hit club and a 2-time MVP, as well as a 19-time All Star. Nice selection.

McGwire got only 23.5% of the vote. I've already shared my thoughts on that subject. I'm a little too pissed off to vent on this vote result yet - maybe in a couple of weeks after I give it some careful thought.

What's really bullshit, though, is Wally Joyner got no votes. You got to be kidding me! Bobby Bonilla got 2 and WallyWorld none? There is no God.

Anyway, I'm still digging out from moving this weekend, so there may be a dearth of posts for about a week or so. But don't despair, dear reader - I'll be back.