Despite another top five selection in the NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders had a mediocre season once again. Head coach Dennis Allen entered his third season with the Raiders with an 8-24 overall record; and after four straight losses to begin 2014, including a 38-14 blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins in London’s Wembley Stadium, Allen was fired and replaced by Tony Sparano.
As always, the Raiders had a bad start. This season, the Raiders started out 0-10 before they were able to pull off a victory Week 12 against the Kansas City Chiefs. After their victory over the Chiefs the Raiders looked like they were starting to turn things around. Well, the very next week the Raiders traveled to St. Louis to play the Rams—a game which they lost 52-0.
The Raiders were able to win two more games before the end of the season. Week 14 saw a 24-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers, and Week 16 brought a 26-24 win over the Buffalo Bills. All three of the Raiders wins came at home, leaving them with a 0-8 road record at the end of the season.
The only thing the Raiders really have going for them is a couple of franchise pieces they picked up in the 2014 NFL Draft. Quarterback Derek Carr and linebacker Khalil Mack seem to be the type of players that the Raiders can build a winning team around. If the Raiders ever want to be good again, they will need to build up their team through the draft. Here are the Oakland Raiders biggest needs heading into the 2015 NFL Draft:
Wide Receiver: The Raiders really need some more talent around Carr if they want him to succeed, and with Amari Cooper in this draft they will certainly have the opportunity to bring in some high-profile talent. James Jones was decent last season, but Andre Holmes and the rest of the receiving core did nothing worth mention. Upgrading their offensive skill positions should be the Raiders top priority this offseason, and drafting Cooper with their early first round selection could be an instant upgrade for the team.
Defensive End: As I said, Khalil Mack is an absolute beast. The problem is the Raiders don’t have any talent around him either. Oakland runs a 4-3 defensive scheme, so it’s important for them to bring in some more pass rushers to help out. Here’s where the Raiders run into a problem: they have so many big holes to fill, but only one 4th overall selection. The Raiders will probably be better off taking Cooper this season; but if USC lineman Leonard Williams somehow drops past the Tennessee Titans, he would be a hard guy to pass up. More than likely the Raiders will have to wait until the second round to start addressing this issue.
Running Back: Putting talent for Carr to throw to on the roster is important, but giving him a reliable running back to pick up the 1st down on 3rd and 1 or 2 is just as crucial to the success of the team. Sure, the Raiders didn’t exactly have the best offensive line in the NFL this past season, but both Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden seemed to be worn out, especially Jones-Drew. The former Jacksonville Jaguars star may not be on the roster come August, so drafting someone to help out McFadden should be pretty high on the Raiders list. This isn’t the most important thing for the team this offseason, but look for the Raiders to select a solid back out of college in the middle of the draft.
The first round of the 2015 Davis Cup, at this time of writing, is almost over with just one tie unresolved. The result between Argentina and Brazil will hang in the balance until at least Monday as play had to be suspended in Buenos Aires. However the following results are finalized following play on Sunday:
France d. Germany 3-2
Great Britain d. USA 3-2
Australia d. Czech Republic 3-2
Kazahkstan d. Italy 3-2
Serbia d. Croatia 5-0
Belgium d. Switzerland 3-2
Canada d. Japan 3-2
Perhaps the biggest news through the first round of play involved the setting of a new record for match longevity. The tie between Argentina and Brazil featured a rubber between Leonardo Mayer and Joao Souza, one that lasted nearly seven hours. Mayer, having won the first two sets in tiebreakers, lost the third and fourth sets 5-7. Then the fifth set saw Mayer defeat Souza 15-13 after converting what was his 11th match point. The match is now the longest that has been played in Davis Cup history.
In general, the first round did not see that many surprises. However one result that may be surprising to some saw Great Britain defeat the USA. Scotland’s Andy Murray had a lot to do with the victory for the UK as he won two matches for his side. However it truly was a team victory for the Brits in Glasgow as James Ward had to upset John Isner in order to advance.
Murray commented on his side’s victory:
“It feels great,” Murray stated. “This is a real team effort and everyone has played their part.”
Next up for Great Britain is a quarterfinal contest against France, one that promises to be a lot tougher than the American tie.
France, who have a better shot than most of making the final of the 2015 Davis Cup, boast numerous players in the Top 100, none of which are likely to lose to a player like James Ward. Furthermore, the French side, who finished runnerup in the 2014 Davis Cup, have numerous high calibre players with doubles experience with one another. While Great Britain will host the French in July home court advantage will not likely intimidate the French side, one that features veterans Gilles Simon, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet, Julien Benneteau, and maybe even Jo-Wilfried Tsonga if he gets back to full health.
Another surprise result saw the Kazahkstanis defeat the Italians. With no one more proven than Mikhail Kukushkin, Kazahkstan handed the likes of Andreas Seppi and Fabio Fognini a loss. Kukushkin and his teammates will next travel to Australia in July in what will likely be a showdown against Bernard Tomic, Lleyton Hewitt, Sam Groth, and Thanasi Kokkinakis, players that just handed the Czech Republic a loss in Ostrava.
Other news from the first round saw the Swiss, the defending champions, handed a loss at the hands of the Belgians. David Goffin, Belgium’s top player, was among the nominations for the first round. However the World No. 20 did not contest a match until he was needed in the deciding rubber. The ace-in-the-hole strategy worked to perfection as Goffin closed out the decider in comfortable straight sets. With the Swiss losing, the possible one-two punch of Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer is taken out of the later rounds, the two players that lead Switzerland to last year’s championship.
But despite the fact that eight teams will remain when the first round is over, it is hard to see who will stop Serbia. The Serbs demolished a Marin Cilic-less Croat team 5-0, the only clean sweep of the opening round. So long as both Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki are accepting nominations there does not appear to be anyone that can stop them ahead of the final. Perhaps the 2015 Davis Cup final will shape up as France vs. Serbia although, it has to be acknowledged, there is still plenty that can happen as we still are early in the season.
The next round of Davis Cup play will not start until July 17th. The semifinals are scheduled to start on September 18th with the final set for late November.
Draw and predictions:
France vs Great Britain>France
Australia vs Kazahkstan>Australia
Serbia vs Argentina or Brazil>Serbia
Belgium vs Canada>Canada
Note: in the 5th rubber between Brazil and Argentina, Federico Delbonis leads Thomaz Be
The gossip mill is turning again along with sad proof that even in the new century racism is alive and well in the south along with many other places. Plus there’s some updates and new stuff to give a shit about.
Shekinah Jo Blasts T.I.
So apparently, T.I. does not play when it comes to his money (I mean, who does?) or his pride. And for whatever reason, he kicked Shekinah Jo Anderson off his hit show T.I and Tiny: Family Hustle, according to her. She says he’s been disrespectful to her and calls her the help (good one TIP). As the story has unfolded, it seems to have something to do with the fact that she was talking to, getting friendly with or canoodling with Floyd Mayweather, who we all know had a very public beef with T.I not too long ago. When asked about her loyalty to T.I, Shekinah stated point blank that her loyalty is to her gal pal Tiny who seems to now be put in the middle of whatever rift is going on with her best friend and baby daddy. Well T.I, not one to do all the listening, took to his Instagram posting a picture and comment that seems to be aimed at the hair dresser:
“…Go against me & meet da greatest adversary U’ve EVER KNOWN!!!!…”
Of course he has more to say but all of this is just so unfortunate. I hate to see black people beefing when they should be working together.
Bobbi Kristina’s Aunt Pissed
Leolah Brown wants to know “How could you give Nick a platform?” Brown is reportedly pissed at Dr. Phil for allowing Nick Gordon to come on the show and act like a helpless soul in need of an intervention. Gordon confessed during the taping that he is high on Xanax and booze most of the time. All of this is coming to light as it has been reported by several media outlets that Gordon is now under investigation for attempted murder. Yep, that’s right. Authorities have reason to believe that he tried to kill Bobbi Kristina. Apparently injuries were found on BK’s body when she was dragged from the bathtub which has lead cops and others to assume that the whole situation was not an accident. Leolah Brown is upset because she feels that Gordon is a coward.
“If Nick Gordon does not have the courage to speak with my brother Bobby Brown and/or law enforcement about what happened the day my niece’s body was found in a bathtub, he does not deserve to have a platform to speak to anyone of your caliber until this investigation is concluded.”
I feel you Leolah. It is reported that Dr. Phil is actually paying for the rehab. Interesting.
Erica Mena Bids Adieu
So the cat is out of the bag. Erica Mena also known as just Mena, quits Love and Hip Hop New York and didn’t show up for the reunion because… get this… of the drama. This is a good thing for her I think because let’s face it, the show has done for her what she wanted it to do. It got her and all her conceited, fighting, lesbian, selfish ways in the forefront of our minds. Now it’s time for her to settle down, since you know… she has a son and all, and be Bow Wow’s a.k.a Shad Moss’s wife.
“It’s time to be a wife. It’s time to be the woman my man needs,” she tells Vibe. “My man don’t need a girl that’s on TV, my man needs a girl by his side.”
Where this is coming from I don’t know because this chick showed absolutely no ounce of maturity on the show. I guess being with someone who is about something and not just wanting to screw PYT’s (yes Rich Dollaz I’m talking about you) has showed her she can be more than hoe… or excuse me… a woman who uses her body to get what she wants.
Oklahoma Fraternity Expelled and more
For the life of me, I do not get nor understand how people can still be racist in the age in which we live. I know this may not be considered gossip but it is something that needs to be talked about and addressed. We have all heard about the Oklahoma University Fraternity that consists of all or mostly white males whose racist chant went viral. Sigma Alpha Epsilon members were filmed singing their racially charged, offensive, slave master mentally song on a bus that has caused a warranted outcry amongst the university and America. Students can be seen saying things like “a nigger will never be allowed to join Sigma Alpha Epsilon” amongst other totally inappropriate things.
The president of the university acted quickly and unwaveringly severed ties with the fraternity, expelling them from the university as well as expelling the two students who played a “leadership role” in the incident.
While I do, without a doubt, commend the president for his swift action and sincere concern for the situation, how long has things like this been going on at Oklahoma University and how are they going to ensure that it doesn’t happen again? The world we live in is not perfect and to be perfectly honest, I sometimes forget the fact that these kinds of people still exist.
All of this just adds to the continued hotly debated conversation on whether or not racism still exists in America. For those who think otherwise, thanks to Sigma Alpha Epsilon, you have your proof that it does.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta are at it again and this episode picks up right where it left off last week with Cynthia brought up the whole Chocolate text messages.
Phaedra meets with Porsha and they talk about what happened and at the same time we see Peter and Cynthia talking about what happened too. The two members of Team Phaedra call out Cynthia about how she dropped the bomb at the table. Porsha takes the time to instigate the situation further by bringing up the fact that Kandi didn’t do anything to help but was in fact the last one to come out to check on Phaedra after it all went down. This one really really wants and needs to get star billing back on this show, and Ms. Porsha is making sure to keep some type of storyline with her in it. She may be saying she’s suddenly in the money from her hair product, but like so many of these Housewives, it feels more like it’s credit stretched as far as it’ll go along with lots of presents from all those African princes sailing into Atlanta.
Speaking of Kandi, with all that she has been going on with Todd, they take a visit to a therapist (in fact the one Porsha and Kordell saw when they were married). They have only been married for six months and during the session, Todd brings up what has been really bothering him- the pre-nup. Let me just say that Todd is being so petty right here because he is speaking like they are not even married. The way Kandi changed the pre-nup has been bothering him for six months and he is letting that have an impact on their marriage right now. He was asked during the session if he is or was cheating and he totally avoided the question. I do not Kandi for changing that damn pre-nup and in fact, I take my hat off to her. She did exactly what she should have done- protected her shit.
Cynthia and Team Kenya as well as Demetria show up for Peter’s awards gala. Kandi and Todd also show up and the men excuse themselves while the ladies talk about what happened last night. Peter and Todd have a conversation about it and Todd reveals that he knew the text messages because Apollo came to his house and told both Kandi and himself.
On the other hand, the girls are confronting Kandi Burruss about how she didn’t say anything and asked if she knew about the affair. Kandi says no which you can so tell that the others, specifically Kenya, don’t believe her. During the dinner while Peter is speaking, Kenya has a look on her fact that says, “Don’t fuck with me” all the while, Kandi leans on Todd’s shoulder saying, “they done kicked me out the group” laughing. During the ceremony, Kandi receives the Salute to Excellence Award.
Next, there’s NeNe Leakes, who talks to Dr. Jeff about what is going with the girls. She expresses to him how she and Cynthia use to be very good friends, almost sisters, and are not anymore. She asks him if he is willing to come and speak to her and the girls. He agrees and tells her that he will treat her the same way in his critiques to which she says that’s fine.
Cynthia Bailey meets with Phaedra Parks at a restaurant and it is full of awkward silence in the beginning. Cynthia jumps right into it to address what happened the other night. Phaedra is looking for an apology and Cynthia is looking to have a conversation so that they can get it all out in the open. “It is no way, me begging for forgiveness.” Phaedra says something about Cynthia not fact checking and Cynthia checks her and says that she doesn’t fact check either, “This is not a group that fact checks.” At that, the lawyer gets up and walks away from the table because, “Girl, she bout to get fucked up.”
Kandi meets with Mama Joyce at one of her stores later. She asks her about Todd and Kandi says they are “cool.” She looks at her like, “Oh really?” Of course she is not going to tell her mother that they are in therapy because she would look at that “like a celebration.” Joyce then tells her daughter that she has changed and she is so critical. Kandi breaks down to her that she always finds fault in her and never fesses up to what she does wrong. After the moment passes, Joyce pulls out a key and remote to her house and gives it to her daughter (which was a big deal before) but says, “Todd does not get a key to my house.” I was so happy with the absence of Mama Joyce all these weeks as she truly is that psychic vampire we’ve all had in our lives at one point. I couldn’t believe that Kandi actually took a minute away from her after all the house buying and the woman still not being happy. Sadly, if Kandi and Todd don’t make it, she is easily the one that really poisoned the well for them.
Later on, the girls meet up with NeNe at a Mexican restaurant where they plan to meet she plans to tell them about Dr. Jeff. We find out that Kenya and Phaedra were not invited to the lunch because of what happened before. NeNe goes right into saying that they have not all acted like ladies and Cynthia interrupts her to point out that she is one of the main ones. On this note, Cynthia is wrong because NeNe had already said she was one of the main ones.
The girls take the time ask why don’t get along, etc. etc. calling out the other, bringing up things from Puerto Rico, blah, blah. I mean, I feel like NeNe, for what it’s worth, is really trying here and they are all so catty and petty, especially Cynthia in this particular scene, that they can’t make any progress. She tells them about seeing Dr. Jeff here to which Kandi says, “I don’t need think I need to be there.”
NeNe brings up the fact that she needs to work out some issues with Phaedra and Kandi is totally taken aback by it. Porsha chimes in and says that she was not as vocal during the night of the fight and NeNe says that bothered Phaedra. Kandi didn’t know about any of this and reluctantly agrees to the therapy.
In the end, the ladies exit on a calm note but it is clear from the previews for the next episode that this is just the quiet before the storm. We’ll see what happens next week when they have the session with Dr. Jeff. In the previews, it shows Nene Leakes is the one walking out on the group while her therapist has to chase her into an elevator. I really used to like Nene when this show started, but something happened once Ryan Murphy took an interest in her and put her on Glee and The New Normal. Murphy, known for taking an interest and losing it just as quickly has already moved on to other things, but Nene keeps acting like she’s so above the rest of the group, including Kandi, who could buy and sell Ms. Leakes in a minute. It’s obvious she thinks that she’ll have control of the situation since it’s her therapist, but it never works out that way.
These days, the hype is centered on the ‘cloud’. Everyone’s connected to the internet, storage is getting cheaper (online or offline), so is bandwidth and with the United States’ move to net neutrality, bandwidth-related performance limits should be a thing of the past (at least for the US). So instead of companies spending millions on their own information technology infrastructures which include hardware, software and support staff, why not spend just half or a quarter of those millions on equivalent cloud services? Many companies have already partially or completely outsourced their infrastructure due to these merits, however, clouds aren’t always white and fluffy. The cloud is prone to problems and rain problems down on their subscribers. Is there a backup for when they eventually get hacked or unreachable due to other problems? Is it really worth trusting the heavens with our work and data?
Apparently it worked for The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper at the start of Season 8 when his iPhone got stolen but his travel photos stayed safe in the cloud; much to the chagrin of everyone else who had to endure watching said photos plus boring commentary. But that situation applied to consumer data. How safe are we when it comes to work?
There are plenty of advantages for small companies to large corporations in partially or completely outsourcing their IT in to the cloud.
Foremost is cost efficiency. Companies no longer need to spend as much as they used to in IT infrastructure and support. For instance, they no longer need to have their own Exchange servers nor purchase Office licenses by subscribing to services like Microsoft’s Office 365. It cuts down on server costs, maintenance, support as well as upgrade costs. Companies can likewise further lessen costs by purchasing Chromebooks and placing their office operations in the hands of Google Apps. Enterprises would also lessen their dependence on managed enterprise applications that use separate servers and databases that cost thousands, if not millions of dollars to manage.
Second is perceived efficiency and fault tolerance. The cloud is backed by several big names in the IT industry. These names include HP, Oracle, SAP, Google, Microsoft and Amazon. These companies have enough resources to ensure their services will be running efficiently through systematic monitoring and backup. Companies will be counting on these corporations’ long histories and expertise in the field to keep their data safe.
Third is security. With everything or at least much of a company’s data in the cloud, security shouldn’t be as much of a problem as it used to. Large cloud providers will pitch in their respective vaunted security measures to their clients which should be high grade considering their type of industry. They need to ensure security when they’re enticing potential clientele. Physically, their data will be in more secure locations within the confines of cloud providers’ offices.
Future proofing. Obsolescence is a big problem for companies that invest in enterprise applications and hardware. The fast pace of hardware and software technologies make sure that millions of dollars in IT investment today would cost less than half in the next few years with support costs being inversely proportional to the initial investment. For example, very expensive enterprise apps that can run only on old hardware that’s hardly available or, old hardware that can’t afford to run the required enterprise apps. With the cloud, providers will always provide and upgrade their own hardware as well as upgrade their software for free or perhaps an additional fee. There are still many corporations that use their old COBOL infrastructures that have already depreciated to zero because they simply work and fit in with the company’s business practices but finding, training and paying the rare few willing to run these systems is no cheap feat.
The cloud can be trusted to handle several or all the infrastructure needs of a company. For storage, there’s Box, Onedrive, iCloud and Dropbox. For office apps, there’s Google Apps or Office 365. Email has been outsourced to the cloud for quite some time with every internet service provider offering its own email service. Microsoft recently offered Exchange cloud service through Office 365. Hardware infrastructure is handled by companies such as Amazon Web Services, IBM, Cisco and EMC. Enterprise apps or ERP systems are offered by Salesforce, OpenERP and SAP.
The previously mentioned benefits when engaging into cloud services are quite enticing, but there are still quite many skeptics. The cloud basically depends on one thing; the internet. If for some reason, the connection is lost or slows down, there goes a portion or the entire office workflow because as it is, the internet is not infallible. There are also concerns on the provider’s side that also plague companies such as power and maintenance issues. The internet may be okay but the provider could suddenly have power problems or they could suffer a breakdown of a server or two disrupting the business of one or more several clients. High-profile companies as those mentioned are often the targets of hackers and could possibly open up their clients’ data should security get breached. What also happens to company data if a low-level provider or heaven forbid someone like IBM decides to close shop, or its facilities destroyed in an earthquake, a war or terrorist attack?
It’s basically a big trust exercise when it comes to the cloud as much as some people have problems with air travel. People should always be assured of reliability, safety and there must always be a parachute. It’s the same thing as before when businesses started to entrust themselves to using computers. They must always be prepared to go back to pen and paper when the computer breaks down. So companies MUST have some sort of contingency plan if they’re willing to invest in the cloud. A set of offline computers that contain their most recent data and documents is a good start. If possible, companies can enter into an on-demand contract with an alternative cloud provider. History repeats itself here. People and companies are taught to have backup copies of their data stashed somewhere. Same with the cloud, only things just moved a little higher.
A recent crowdfunding effort by Betabrand is leading to the creation of clothing that makes the person wearing it invisible to cameras. No doubt that the celebrities who are constantly hounded by the paparazzi are the ones who will benefit the most from this clothing.
The popularity of the crowdfunding campaign for this type of clothing will dictate how much of it is created. The company’s plans involve manufacturing a certain number of, for example, sweatshirts based on how many sold during the initial campaign. In the event that the company were to sell 100 sweatshirts during the course of the campaign they would have anywhere from 300 to 400 manufactured to stock their online and offline clothing stores.
So far the outfit that has been created consists of a suit, hat, scarf and hoodie all made with reflective glass. When the paparazzi takes a picture of someone wearing that outfit the flash from the camera would cause the person wearing the outfit to appear as nothing more than a silhouette, similar to what a ghost would look like.
This is achieved by affixing the fabric of the clothing with glass nanospheres, which are lenses that reflect the glare of any camera’s flash. The clothing then has a shine to it that clothing has never had before.
Though this will be one clothing line that will be available to the general public it is not likely that anyone other than celebrities would be willing to fork over the cash to pay for one outfit, which would typically cost more than $500.
To prove to people that this clothing does help hide them from the cameras the fashion company manufacturing them has requested that those who have purchased their clothes take a picture of themselves in the outfit and upload it to the company’s website. In turn these customers are given a 20% discount that they can use on future clothing purchases from the company.
Betabrand is fulfilling the needs of a technology fueled world and while they created these clothes primarily for celebrities who want to avoid being photographed by the paparazzi there is always a chance that they are opening themselves up to an entirely new demographic of consumers that don’t even know what life would be like without the electronic gadgets they have come to rely on every day.
On the flip side the idea of creating clothes that have capabilities they never had before opens up more opportunities for up and coming fashion designers. Today’s younger generation has different expectations and perceived needs than we ever did in the past. So the production of this anti paparazzi clothing could inspire young designers to create the kind of clothing their generation wants to wear. Being able to be out in public and still avoid being photographed could even cut down on the number of incidents of women being photographed by those they don’t know, without so much as their consent or knowledge.
It is finally upon us. It’s tourney time! Sunday, March 8, marked the end of the 2014-15 men’s college basketball regular season. With that, conferences around the country are now into their conference tournaments with each winner earning a coveted entry into the Big Dance – the NCAA tournament, which will begin with the First Four on March 17. Here’s a look at action from the final week of the season.
Season Ends With Classic Rivalry
The storied Duke-North Carolina rivalry culminated play in the ACC as the Blue Devils picked up win number 28 and solidified the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament with an 84-77 win over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Tyus Jones scored 17 of his team-high 24 points in the second half and Quinn Cook added 20. Duke finished the regular season 28-3, 15-3 in the ACC. By virtue of its victory over Virginia back on Jan. 31, the Blue Devils are ranked No. 2 in the nation just ahead of ACC regular season champion Virginia (28-2, 16-2).
Wooden Finalists Named
The 15 finalists for the Wooden Award, given to the nation’s best player, were announced. Heading the list is Wisconsin 7-foot senior center Frank Kaminsky. The Badgers best player averaged 18.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in leading Wisconsin to a Big Ten title and the No. 6 ranking in the latest AP poll. Along with Kaminsky is Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, who became the first freshman in ACC history to win conference player of the year honors. Okafor led the Blue Devils in scoring with 17.6 points per game and rebounding averaging 9.2 boards a game. He also shot 67 percent from the floor. Other notable finalists include Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon, Willie Cauley-Stein of top-ranked Kentucky, and Northern Iowa’s Seth Tuttle.
Northern Iowa Wins MVC Conference Tourney
Speaking of Tuttle, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, he helped lead the Panthers to an MVC conference tournament title. Tuttle and company didn’t have to deal with Wichita State. The Shockers fell to Illinois State in the semifinals. The Redbirds actually led 10th-ranked Northern Iowa by double digits but blew a lead and lost 69-60. Tuttle, a 6-8 senior, had 15 points, nine rebounds, and three assists in the win. The Panthers are 30-3 overall. The 12th-ranked Shockers (28-4) will easily receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
Syracuse In Trouble
Some of the biggest news in college basketball during the week was the plight of the Syracuse basketball program. It was determined that the Orange used ineligible players during several seasons during the 2000s. The program was forced to vacate 108 wins. Head coach Jim Boeheim, the long-time face of Syracuse basketball, is suspended for nine games. That suspension will be served next season when Boeheim will miss the first nine ACC games. Boeheim was just 34 wins short of joining Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski in the 1,000-win club, but now is credited with 858 wins placing him sixth on the all-time win list.
SMU Basketball Has Something To Cheer About
For the first time in 22 years, SMU has won a league title in basketball. The Mustangs, now 24-6 (15-3 in the AAC), clinched the American Athletic Conference title with its 67-62 win over Tulsa (21-9, 14-4) on Sunday. SMU coached by Larry Brown will also play in its first NCAA tourney since 1993, when it was the Southwestern Conference regular season champion. Brown guided the Mustangs to the NIT last season where they finished as the runner-up losing to Minnesota, 65-63, in the final.
Several Teams Have Punched Their Ticket To The Big Dance
Along with Northern Iowa which won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, there are a few early qualifiers for the NCAA tournament. North Florida won the Atlantic Sun Conference tourney, Coastal Carolina was the Big South tourney champion, and Belmont won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. For the first time since 1991, Northeastern earned a trip to the Big Dance after capturing the Colonial Athletic Conference tourney title. In the Southern Conference, Wofford held off pesky Furman, 67-64, to advance to the NCAA tourney.
Primed For Selection Sunday
All conference tournaments will conclude next Sunday, March 15, which is also Selection Sunday. The NCAA selection committee will gather and announce the field of 68 for this year’s NCAA tournament. This year’s Big Dance begins on March 17 and 18 with the First Four, which will be played at UD Arena on the campus of the University of Dayton in Ohio. Play picks up with the Second and Third Rounds which will be played over the long weekend of March 19 through March 22. Regional finals are set for March 28 and 29. The Final Four will get underway with the national semifinals on April 4 and then the national championship game on April 6 from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
For every superstar multi-million dollar player in the NBA there are tons of young players just trying to get out on the court. Working day in and day out, these players strive for their chance to go up against these All-Stars and make a name for themselves one day. Among these players is a great young point guard by the name of Pierre “Pappy” Jackson.
Pierre Jackson started out at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he had a fantastic high school career; and he actually led the entire state in assists during his senior year.
After high school, Jackson attended the College of Southern Idaho for a couple of years. During his 2011 season with the CSI Golden Eagles Jackson really came onto the scene. Averaging over 18 points and four assists per game, Jackson led his team to a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Championship in 2011 on his way to being named tournament MVP, first-team All-American, and NJCAA Player of the Year.
After his junior college career, Jackson attended the Baylor University to continue his collegiate career. During his junior year (2011-2012), Jackson led the Bears all the way to the Elite Eight on 13.8 points 5.9 assists per game. Although Baylor would lose to Kentucky in the Elite Eight, Jackson was still named second team All-Big 12 and was an honorable mention All-American.
Jackson’s college career came to an end in 2013 in the National Invitation Tournament. With a win over Iowa, Baylor won the tournament; and Jackson was named Most Outstanding Player for his role in leading Baylor to their NIT victory.
Jackson was an interesting case when the NBA Draft rolled around. At only 5’10 there were questions about whether or not he would make it as a pro. Jackson may be short by NBA standards, but there is no denying what he is able to do with a basketball in his hands; and so with the 42nd overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected the Baylor superstar.
A few weeks later the 76ers traded Pierre Jackson’s draft rights and All-Star Jrue Holiday to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for 6th overall draft pick Nerlens Noel. Jackson would play for the Pelicans in the NBA Summer League that offseason.
At this point, Jackson began to bounce around. Jackson signed with ASVEL Villeurbanne of the LNB Pro A (France’s professional basketball association); however, he left in September before ever playing a game for the franchise. Then, in November, Jackson was the 4th overall pick in the NBA Developmental League Draft by the Idaho Stampede.
Since joining the NBA D-League Jackson has really made a name for himself. Jackson was named to the NBA D-League All-Star Game only three months after joining the Stampede. Then, on February 4th, 2014, Jackson made history: in a game against the Texas Legends, Jackson scored 58 points—a NBA D-League record for points in a single game.
After a short stint in Turkey, Jackson’s rights were traded back to the 76ers in exchange for Russ Smith. Jackson played for the Sixers in the 2014 NBA Summer League, and he finally earned a spot on the roster. Unfortunately, Jackson ruptured his Achilles in a game against the Orlando Magic; and after doctors ruled him out for six to 12 months he was waived by the team.
Jackson’s professional basketball career hasn’t been easy, but he has worked too hard to quit now. Jackson has made a near-full recovery at this time, and he is ready for another shot at the big leagues.
The 2015 calendar has flipped over to March as spring training begins around Major League Baseball. While most of the Northern parts of the United States continue to battle the cold along with the wintry mix the Southern states of Arizona and Florida are heating up with baseball.
This gives us a chance to look at the most overrated teams in the American League much like we did with the National League. For some a few of these teams we still expect a solid season from them in 2015 but we feel they get to much attention or credit based on their past accomplishments.
We like to look a few different areas to build this list including how a team performed in the off-season with free agents as well as any trades they might have made. This also includes any prized free agents the team might have let get away to another team around baseball.
The second area we like to focus on is how a specific ball club is built and how a team is constructed based on their health. We have all seen in the past a good team that dealt with a ton of injuries leading to a club to fall in the standings. While no fan including myself likes to see an injury a few of these teams have been prone over the past few seasons.
The last area we look at is how these teams have done in the recent past compared to how much credit they might be receiving from the National media. Yes both the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have their fair share of titles but this is a league based about what you have done lately for me.
Here are the American League teams that make are overrated team in 2105.
New York Yankees: Now before anyone jumps to conclusions take a look at this team on paper. Yes they have the big names like C.C. Sabathia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Mark Teixeira. The major concern is whether or not manager Joe Girardi can count on many of those guys for a full season in 2015?
Along with the health of some of his key player the team also has health concerns in the starting rotation. Starting with the team’s two top arms Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka. Last season Sabathia appeared in only eight games going 3-4 but would miss the remainder of the season dealing with a knee injury.
Tanaka on the other hand got off to a hot start but dealt with an arm injury that many experts believe may show up again in 2015. The Yankees and Tanaka elected to skip Tommy John surgery allowing for their star to return at the end of the 2014 season. In all the Yankees only had one-starter pitch more than 30 games last season and that starter is no longer on the team.
Moving over to positional players the team has a few key questions marks including at shortstop and second base. This will be the first time since the mid 90’s the team will not have Derek Jeter taking the field opening up the hole at short stop. In the outfield the team has two stars in Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner but lacks a third star to man the last outfield position.
Overall the Yankees have a very good team but should they be considered the favorite in the American League East to start the season? No and this is why they land on our list of most overrated teams in baseball.
Detroit Tigers: The Tigers have dominated the American League Central over the past few seasons and this could be the main reason people have them atop this season. That being said you have to take a look at what this team lost this off-season as well as a key injury to Victor Martinez.
After another disappointing divisional round loss to the Baltimore Orioles the fans of Detroit want more. That being said the team failed to land a long-term deal with Max Scherzer along with a trade to send Rick Porecello to Boston for Yoenis Cespedes. Yes the move gives the Tigers another big bat in the lineup but where are they going to pick up the slack in the rotation.
Before anyone brings up the trade that landed the team David Price before the All-Star break. Yea I am taking that into consideration but Scherzer was still the top man in the rotation for them last season. The combination of Scherzer and Porcello combined to win 33 games last season in over 424 innings pitched.
Staying on the pitching front if we knew Justin Verlander would return to his Cy Young form of 2011 we wouldn’t be so worried. That being said over the past two seasons he has yielded earned run averages of 3.46 and 4.54 along with a 28-24 record.
The next blow to this team was the off-season surgery to Victor Martinez that the club hopes won’t delay his opening day start. Martinez was a key part of the team’s success last season hitting .335 with 32 home runs and 103 runs batted in. If Martinez is slow out of the gate or gets delayed this could be a devastating blow to the Tigers.
The last thing you have to take into consideration is how good the American League Central division could be in 2015. The Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox could all contend in the division making it more difficult for the Tigers to succeed.
In the end we could still see both of these clubs making the playoffs but another post season exit will all but seal our decision to land them on our most overrated list.
With second leg of Champions League round of 16 approaching, let us look back at what happened in the fixtures in February.
The West London club, Chelsea FC were entertained by Paris Saint Germain at Parc-des-Princes. The visitors drew first blood as Ivanovic scored before the half time break. Edinson Cavani cancelled out Chelsea’s lead in the 54th minute. The Parisians were the more impressive side as they recorded seven shots on target, while Mourinho’s men, on the contrary, had only one shot on target out of a total two. The aggregate score is 1 – 1, but Chelsea have an away goal advantage. If both the teams fail to score at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea will advance to the quarter finals on the away goal rule.
Surprisingly, the German champions Bayern Munich couldn’t find a breakthrough goal against Shakhtar Donetsk. Also the Spanish midfielder, Xabi Alonso got sent off and won’t feature in the clash at the Allianz Arena. Another German giant, Borussia Dortmund didn’t do better themselves. Jurgen Klopp’s team lost to Juventus in Turin. Although this tie is far from over despite the aggregate score being 2 – 1. Barcelona traveled to England on the same night and the result was quite similar to the game in Italy, but in the match at the Etihad, the away team picked up a 2 – 1 victory. Luis Suarez ran the show on his return to England and scored both the goals for the Catalonian giants. For City, Sergio Aguero netted a goal. Manchester City have a tough task ahead of them when they face Luis Enrique’s men at Camp Nou.
Real Madrid registered a comfortable victory over Schalke in Germany. They take a two goals lead back to the Santiago Bernabeu. Schalke needs an exceptional performance for the entire ninety minutes to eliminate the European champions in this first knock round. The other Madrid side was however stunned by a Bundesliga outfit. Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid lost 1 – 0 to Bayer Leverkusen courtesy of the 57th minute strike of Calhanoglu. Atletico made it to the Champions League final in 2014 and it will be really shocking if they crash out in this round.
The most unexpected result of the first round of games was the game at the Emirates. The Gunners lost 1 – 3 at home to AS Monaco. The Ligue 1 side has three away goals and the things don’t look very promising for Arsene Wenger’s team. Although, if they turn it around, it would be remembered as an enormous comeback. Last but not the least, FC Basel and Porto played a 1 – 1 draw and the winner of this fixture will be decided in Portugal.
The Kansas City Chiefs came into the 2014 NFL after a fantastic 2013 that ended in an early playoff exit at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts. Chief’s fans had high hopes for Andy Reid’s second season as head coach, but unfortunately it didn’t end nearly as well as the previous year.
The Chiefs started out 0-2 after losing to the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos in Weeks 1 and 2. At one point the Chiefs were 7-3, but they finished 9-7 (down from 11-5 in 2013) and missed the playoffs.
Despite missing the playoffs, the Chiefs are fortunate enough to say that they beat both the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks this season, the two teams who made Super Bowl XLIX.
In Week 4 the Chiefs hosted the Patriots in Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs absolutely crushed the Patriots, sending them home with a 41-14 loss. The defeat was so bad that former Baltimore Ravens quarterback Trent Dilfer was quoted after the game saying “Let’s face it, [the New England Patriots are] not good anymore.” The Chiefs victory over the Seahawks came Week 11 in Kansas City as well. The Chiefs defeated the defending Super Bowl champs 24-20.
The Chiefs definitely have some improving to do, especially being in the extremely competitive AFC West with the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers. The Chiefs didn’t have a very good draft last season, selecting the best available players instead of addressing their team needs. The Chiefs need a lot of help if they want to succeed in 2015, but fortunately they should be able to find some talent in the draft to help them out. Here are the Kansas City Chiefs biggest needs heading into the 2015 NFL Draft:
Offensive Line: The Chiefs have a somewhat decent line, but the majority of their problems came at the two guard positions in 2014. Jeff Allen has a history of being injury prone, and Zach Fulton simply wasn’t that good. If Allen goes down again, the Chiefs will need someone there to start in his place. As for Fulton, the Chiefs were wrong to start a sixth-round rookie in the first place. The Chiefs need to add as much talent as they can at the guard position, but luckily for them guards are not the hottest commodity in the draft. The Chiefs won’t need to spend a first round selection to get a good guard, but they definitely need to address the need by the time the 2015 NFL season rolls around.
Unfortunately, guard isn’t the only spot on the Chiefs line that needs improving. Eric Fisher, the first pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, has certainly not been the best left tackle for the Chiefs. In a division that sees Von Miller and Demarcus Ware twice a year, the tackle positions are vital. Fisher could simply be moved to right tackle to replace Ryan Harris who will most likely leave in free agency. Look for the Chiefs to try again in finding a left tackle.
Wide Receiver: The Chiefs aren’t necessarily desperate for wide receivers, but they do need a go-to guy for Alex Smith. No Chiefs wide receiver caught a touchdown this season, which is pretty sad. The Chiefs should be able to find a reliable player in this year’s draft, and hopefully another good receiver will help Dwayne Bowe out a little bit. The chiefs don’t need to spend their first round pick on a receiver, but they would be smart to pick up a few talented players.
This week on The Walking Dead some of our favorite apocalypse survivors have a hard time adjusting to the new world of Alexandria, while a few start to give it a chance. The place is seeming more and more legitimate. The eminent threat may never show itself from the Alexandrians like we all would expect. The threat may just be Team Grimes themselves as they fail to adjust to a place with some actual promise. They’ve become the pack of wild animals let into a tame household, and there were plenty of hints dropped regarding this too.
Sasha is having as much trouble as anyone getting used to her new surroundings. Memories of people very close to her are fresh in her mind. It wasn’t long ago that Bob and Tyreese were tragically killed off. The sharp shooter checks out a weapon for some target practice outside the walls of Alexandria. Her intention is to draw out some walkers for some combat, but is disappointed when none show up.
Carol, Daryl, and Rick meet up at the old house where Rick had stashed a pistol. They discuss taking a few guns back with Carol providing a way in since she is now invisible in her role as June Cleaver. I’m not sure why Rick needs a stolen pistol. He is already carrying his big .357 as town constable. Carol kills a walker during their secret meeting and Rick notices a “W” cut into the forehead. I could Google some spoilers on this, but I’m going to remain spoiler free. But if you recall a few episodes back when they took Noah back to his hometown, the message on the wall was about wolves so we can see if the ‘W’ does mean wolves, and if it does, all you comic book readers of the series know what’s coming down the pike!
Michonne gives me what I wanted….she is now outfitted with her deputy uniform. It seems to have laces on the back so she is a bit more stylish than her superior, Rick. She tells Rick that Deanna seems smart and he wants to know if that applies to then or now. “This is now,” Michonne tells him, trying to make him believe in the place. Deanna was smart in the former world I am sure. I just don’t know if she has been more lucky than smart with her groups’ situation in Alexandria.
Daryl is out and about when he finds Aaron following him. That’s Daryl’s take on it even though Alexandria’s recruiter says he’s just out hunting rabbits. These two have an interesting day together as they hang out in the woods for the day. Aaron says he was out shooting rabbits, but you know he wanted to get some one on one time with Daryl outside of the city walls as they are both outsiders.
Deanna gives instructions to Michonne and Rick so they know exactly how she envisions their role in the town. This lady is way ahead of herself as she talks about the future of Alexandria with “commerce, industry, a real government, etc.” she must think eBay and a local ‘Whole Foods’ are just a few months away. Rick is shocked that no one is manning the clock tower. He assumed it was manned at all times for safety. Deanna agrees to put someone up there full time and Sasha wants to work there as much as possible.
Carol is doing a wonderful job in her role as group mom. The Alexandrians believe she is just a simple lady that is fitting in well with them. She is exchanging recipes instead of gunfire in this episode. Daryl and Aaron try to catch a horse that is known to the town’s folk as “Buttons”. Pretty weak name for a horse, but even a horse with a pathetic name would be useful to Alexandria. Their little roundup is interrupted by a couple of walkers and the horse gets away.
As Daryl and Aaron track Buttons the horse, Daryl is being encouraged to open up a bit to the town’s residents. Once they get to know him things will be easier for everyone. Dixon ain’t tryin to hear that though. Once again, the people of Alexandria seem genuinely good for the most part.
The party at Deanna’s house starts off well enough. Rick gets to meet Deanna’s husband, the Howard Roarke of Alexandria. He is impressed with Rick and how he has taken care of his group all this time. Rick tells the husband that the wall he built was no small accomplishment as they toast each other. Rick’s eye is caught by the lovely stylist as she enters the party. Jessie, whom I referred to as Samantha last week due to an IMDB mix up on their part or mine (theirs!), is played by Alexandra Breckenridge.
Daryl and Aaron’s rodeo hits a speed bump when Buttons is taken down by a handful of walkers who have a feast on the majestic creature. This is a real shame, not only for the loss of a helpful animal to the town, but for the pure fact of losing a creature that has such a long relationship with mankind. Dogs are man’s best friend, but a horse may be more than that for the people most familiar with them. By the way, Aaron is no slouch out in the field when it comes to slaying roamers. Dude is a good shot and not afraid to get dirty.
The party is still going well when Noah wants to leave as he just feels uncomfortable. Glenn gets him to stay and tells the former hospital worker that they are all in this together. Glenn is a great wingman it turns out. Daryl hangs around outside the party like George McFly trying to make a decision on entering the prom. Dixon looks like he may have even showered. He thinks better of entering the party and heads home. He gets stopped by Aaron, who invites him in for dinner with he and Eric. Daryl accepts and seems to enjoy himself.
Carol does her job as she uses her June Cleaver cloak of invisibility to sneak away from the dinner to steal some guns back. This is the beginning of the destruction of trust between the two groups. Rick and his inner circle are the ones to blame! If things go sideways, this can be pointed to as the moment that turned the situation ugly. Rick is busy chatting with Jessie and gets an “A” stamped on his hand from her boy Sam.
It turns out that Daryl is employable after all. Aaron shows him the parts to a bike in his garage and wants to know if he would be interested in being a recruiter for the town. “You know the difference between a good person and a bad one,” Aaron tells Daryl. That is a good skill to have in this community, while Rick’s assumption that everyone is dangerous works better on the road.
It was clear to me that Carol was gonna get caught sneaking into the supply house to get those guns, and I was right. Jessie’s little boy Sam had followed her then confronted Carol as she snatched the weapons. She makes nice and offers a big batch of cookies for his silence. He makes the mistake of admitting he will have no choice but tell his mom. At that point Carol shows her true survivor colors when she threatens the little guy with being tied to a tree far from the safety of Alexandria. She paints a scary picture of him being eaten by walkers as he screams for help. Carol is still the same person who whacked two sickly people at the prison to protect her tribe. That hasn’t changed. She is the angel of death dressed in khakis. You’ve got to check out the video again as it’s so worth watching this scene more than once.
The party saw some drama when Jessie handed Rick’s baby back to him. Rick took the opportunity to steal a kiss on the cheek. I’m guessing the alcohol played a part in this poor decision. Sasha added to the drama as she exploded after hearing a bunch of mundane party talk and people with their party snacks. She, like the rest of her crew, is suffering from PTSD and an outburst like that should be expected. So if you’re keeping count, it’s Team Grimes that aggressed against the Alexandrians. Rick took steps toward adultery, Carol broke the gun control laws while breaking and entering, and Sasha went Kardashian at a social event.
An interesting thing happened when Carol met back up with Rick and Daryl to distribute the stolen weapons. Daryl passed on his. He seems to have turned the corner on trusting some of the town’s people and besides that, it appears pretty easy to just take over the supply house if the need arises. Michonne also hung her sword above the mantel at her home signifying her willingness to move past the daily battles she has endured before finding this safehaven.
At the end of the episode, Rick hears a walker on the other side of the wall and rushes to the sound. The aerial shot we got was pretty cool. It showed the constable and the walker with a simple wall dividing them. It demonstrated their safety from the very effective structure. The shot from above also showed two opposite worlds as well and what is needed in both. To survive on one side of the wall requires ruthlessness. The other side only requires being human once again. But then on the other side of the coin, it also could look like Rick is on another downward spiral and feeling as deadly as what’s on the other side. Throughout this episode, he was really focused on the danger of humans, so we know he’s headed for another tailspin, but who’ll be saving him this time from himself?
