This weekend sees the 2nd round of the FA Cup take place and it turns out that we will be following Luton after their victory in the last round versus Rochdale. The first game at Kenilworth Road saw Luton goe 3-0 up in just half an hour as they looked to impress new manager Richard Monley. Rochdale’s higher league status soon told though as they managed to claw it back with two Joe Thompson goals in the last three minutes. Final score Luton 3 – Rochdale 3. Heartbreak for Luton, but they lived to fight another day in the replay.

The replay was actually shown on TV and I managed to catch some of it. Rochdale were controlling the game but not really creating any clear-cut chances. Luton were happy to go into the break at 0-0. I got a bit bored truth be told and didn’t bother watching the second half but I later saw that Kevin Gallen, who was the main subject of the 1st round preview, went and scored twice to give Luton an excellent 2-0 victory.

I'm happy as I knocked out Rochdale.

In the 2nd round Luton will face Rotherham away, another team flying high in League Two. Rotherham did the double over Luton last season and got to this stage by beating non-league Wealdston 3-2 away from home. Since their replay Luton have had beaten Grays Athletic 2-0, drawn with Cambridge 2-2 (throwing away a 2-0 lead) before having a game with Mansfield the other day postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. If nothing they should be well rested having not played since last weekend.

Adam Le Fondre.

Rotherham lie third in League Two and are unbeaten at home this season. They’ve let in just three goals at the Don Valley athletics stadium (their temporary home), while in striker Adam Le Fondre, they have a player Luton should fear, given he has already scored 13 times this season.

Fortress Rotherham.

This looks like an altogther tougher task for Luton even though Rotherham are roughly on the same ability level as Rochdale. It remains to be seen whether Richard Money can keep his unbeaten start to life as Luton manager, and I’m sure he will be playing for a draw to take Rotherham back to Kenilworth Road. Once again a lot will depend on Kevin Gallen up front, who has the ability to cause problems for League Two defence. Luton will also have some more options in the squad as they have recently signed ex Man Utd keeper Kevin Pilkington on loan (who has gone straight into the 1st team) and a striker named Mark Nwokeji.

I can’t see Luton winning again but good luck to them this weekend.

T.

Well, I’m happy to say that I correctly predicted every game for the first round of the CIF-SS Southwest Division playoffs.

With that said, it’s time to predict the second round, which has some intriguing matchups, including rematch from last year’s quarterfinals between La Habra and El Dorado.

Here are my thoughts on the upcoming games this Friday.

La Habra at El Dorado: Both teams come into this game having routed their first round opponents. The Highlanders cruised to a 56-10 win over Kennedy, while El Dorado beat down Santa Ana Valley 42-14. The game is being played at Valencia High, which would be a home game for the Golden Hawks, but that won’t help them against the dangerous passing attack of La Habra quarterback Cody Clements, who has developed quite a liking for sophomore receiver Brett Bartolone. La Habra’s defense is arguably the best in the bracket and should be able to shut down El Dorado’s passing game while limiting running back Brock Dunn’s yardage.

El Toro at Cypress: Cypress is the only higher-ranked team that gets a home game this week and that should have a great impact in beating El Toro. The Chargers snuck away with a 14-7 win over Villa Park in the first round to set up this matchup while Cypress, behind the efforts of running back Akeeli Muhammad, sent Troy packing with a 44-14 win. Look for Muhammad to have another big game and if somehow El Toro can slow him down, quarterback Zack Ortiz completes over 60 percent of his passes, so Cypress could easily turn to him.

Trabuco Hills at Pacifica: The Mariners may have surprised some people when they beat Fullerton on the road last week. Not me. After watching Fullerton for two straight weeks, they didn’t look as strong as everyone thought they were, especially in their 52-21 loss to La Habra. Pacifica is a big, physical team, but they’re slightly over-matched against Trabuco Hills. The Mustangs’ offense is one of the best in Orange County and they should be able to ride that into the semifinals.

Tustin at Huntington Beach: Tillers running back Anthony Wilkerson led all of Orange County last week with 329 rushing yards. I don’t know what’s in the water at Tustin High, but their kids are powerful and shouldn’t have much of a problem running through the Oilers. Don’t forget about A.J. Rafter and the Tustin defense, they can cause plenty of turnovers. Huntington Beach comes in after a 21-10 win over a less-than-stellar Anaheim squad, while Tustin recorded a 31-14 win over a similar Valencia team.

If all goes according to plan, the semifinals would then be La Habra vs. Cypress and Trabuco Hills vs. Tustin.

President Hamid Karzai could not have wished for an easier path to victory, now that Dr Abdullah Abdullah has decided to withdraw from the second round of the Afghan presidential election.

When Dr Abdullah said that his decision was made “in the best interests of the country” he truly meant what he was saying.

President Karzai’s spokesman Waheed Omar obviously wants the second round to take place, but a run-off  may be more problematic than people realise.

I was very surprised by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments that a runoff with only one candidate would not necessarily threaten the legitimacy of the process.

“There have been other examples in our country and around the world where in a runoff election one of the parties decides for a reason that they are not going to go on,” she said.

Well, the difference between the unnamed example she made reference to in the United States is that no American general election has been subject to allegations of widespread electoral fraud- depending on whether you consider the Bush v Gore recount worthy of the term “electoral fraud.”

Mr Karzai will face a weakening of his legitimacy once the electoral process comes to an end. If Karzai wins a large majority of the vote, he will look illegitimate in the eyes of many of his opponents and those of the European governments and of the Obama administration.

A runoff will not suddenly wipe away the widespread fraud that undermined the results of the first round.

Supporters of Dr Abdullah may use direct and indirect forms of action, such as protests and ironically abstaining from voting to vent their anger at their candidate being forced to pull out.

The international community must stand together to call a halt to the runoff on November 7. Dr Abdullah Abdullah is more likely to train the Afghan army and bring better governance and credibility to Afghanistan than Hamid Karzai. So, every effort has to be made to convince Dr Abdullah to reconsider re-entering the second round.

There is not much time for any diplomats to sit round a table with Abdullah, but the Afghan people deserve better than their current President.

First of this randomness spurt is this show – Glee. I’ve heard of it since last year and I must admit that I’ve been waiting for the networks to show this. Luckily, ETC is showing this on free Philippine TV. I’ve always liked musicals and comedy but not all, and the pilot episodes of shows are always important, at least to me. If I get bored in the very first episode, most likely that I will stop watching it, give or take 2-3 episodes down the road.

Back to my point, I’ve become a “gLeek” since the first episode of this series and I think I will continue to be for the rest of the fall season. I’m loving this show too much

September 12, 2009
Araneta Coliseum

This picture reminds me of never giving up on something. This babble motivated the Ateneo audience to never lose hope because this was the game where in FEU was clamping down on the Eagles for the top spot in the end of the UAAP eliminations. “Ngayon pa ba tayo titigil? Magpapatalo ba tayo?” Those were his exact words and it never failed. The Ateneo’s Sixth Man cheered on for the Eagles and of course, we held on to the Number 1 spot entering the post-season games.

Anyway, there were 3 of us who watched the final elimination game last Saturday. I just had the “Inday Badiday” voice, but all was so good. Ateneo won nonetheless.

The fun happened after the game in DQ. No pictures to show because we didn’t know what to do by them. Tall figured persons just came parading down outside the shops and voila, all hell broke lose between us 3.

Anyway, it had been a SUPER FUN weekend. The Palawan trip, I’m still “composing” that entry but it will be up soon. It’s just hard to say something to described what transcribed in those three days. And it was FUN! Plus, I’m waiting for pictures too

IPA Lucie Awards appears to be back on track, see earlier post, with the Second Round email which was forwarded to me by a photographer this morning:

Hello XX

Congratulations. Your entry ‘XXX’ has advanced through the second round and is now in the third and final round of the jurying process.Your entry is now an official Honorable Mention of the 2009 International Photography Awards. In addition, your entry is now competing for a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place title. All winners will be announced on Tuesday, August 18th.
Congratulations again. Stay Tuned and thank you for participating in the 2009 International Photography Awards.

I will be following up early next week with a quick Q&A with one of the organisers of the awards.

Gajedo, grelame, gajas que visitam o meu pardieiro ou galinheiro ou pombal, ou chamem-lhe o caralho que vos apetecer… conforme é do conhecimento geral da blogosfera, ontem foi dia de tirar a barriguinha ou melhor dito, a pilinha, de misérias! Pilinha… hein… que gajo bem educadinho… podia ter dito outra coisa qualquer assim mais ordinareca, mas não…

Então não é que hoje fui desafiado para a second round! É pá… fiquei assim indeciso… a idade não perdoa, um gajo já não é o que era, o sol e a areia de tarde fizeram o papel de esfoliante e a água do mar tratou de dar à gaita um ar mirrado e insano.

A acrescentar a tudo isto há a questão religiosa, que eu tento sempre levar à letra… sexta-feiras há que jejuar ou pelo menos não comer carne!

Solução, solução? Tão espertas que estão gajas… ou talvez não, não é? Deixei a coisa para Sábado… asssim não fico com pesos na consciência… e olha… eheheh: 00:50…. Sábado… fui… dar outra…

Amanhã conto como foi… se bem que se não aparecer mais, ficam desde já a saber como foi o meu final…

Beijos grelame… Je vais faire de l’amour… ou em tuga… Fui Foder outra vez!

Wimbledon second round match analysis - Nicolas Almagro vs Karol Beck

By Amir Mehrad, the newest addition to the Tennis Centre writing team.

On paper, this looked to be fairly straight forward encounter for Nicolas Almagro.

Ranked 95 places higher than what turned out to be a formidable opponent in Karol Beck, he arrived on court first and looked ready to progress. That looked the case from early on, as he used his powerful forehand to devastating effect.

Rallies were scarce in the first set as both players struggled to come to terms with each others high percentage of first serves which were proving critical to each game. However, the world number 48 and clay court specialist Nicolas Almagro finally got the break he desired and took the first set with relative ease 6-4.
 
Beck, who dropped to a ranking of 927 in the world after a two year drug ban in 2005, seemed somewhat dejected as he failed to make any real impact in the second set especially on Almagro service games, and even though it was tight there only seemed to be one outcome as the Spaniard took the set 7-6 (7-2).

While the crowd assumed the match was a formality from here on, Beck most certainly did not and looked to turn the contest around by upping his level and introducing a more skilful approach to his game in the third set. He hit the ball flatter and with more slice which didn’t allow Almagro as much time to get his forehand into play which had been so effective in the first two sets. 

The Slovakian also started to hit a number of clever drop shots throughout the games which caught the Spanish number 8 off-guard. This gave him a lift and through determination, skill and adaption and a little help from Almagro’s ongoing argument with the umpire, Beck managed to take the next two sets 6/3 6/4.
 
Moving into the fifth Beck was full of confidence as he had steam rolled through the third and fourth sets and an almost impossible comeback was now very much on. However Almagro started to improve causing the world number 148 to tense up which was seen early on in the contest and the momentum switched once again. Almagro’s class and superior fitness levels  shone through and after a gruelling five set match, Almagro finally took the victory to a standing ovation. A truly entertaining match.

I guess DeJuan’s old knee problems caught up to him. Teams that passed on him: 20. Utah- will likely lose either Carlos Boozer or Paul Millsap, 22. Portland- could use a physical power forward behind LaMarcus Aldridge, 23. Sacramento- could use a physical power forward behind Jason Thompson, 25. Oklahoma City- they need a true four since Jeff Green is essentially a big 3, 26. Chicago- I didn’t include them at 16 because they picked James Johnson, but then they picked another 4 in Taj Gibson, 27. Memphis- Darrell Arthur could use a physical counterpart to compete with for the 4 spot, 31. Sacramento- passed on him again taking another 4 in Jeff Pendergraph, 32. Washington- They have little frontcourt depth and toughness, 33. Portland again, they also took a 4 in Dante Cunningham.

Then came Detroit at 35. I was very excited because of our need for big men (even though he is a lot like Jason Maxiell). When the deputy commisioner said Da-wan I leapt up thinking Blair was ours, only to realize the pick was DaJuan Summers. Summers is a quality player at that point in the draft, but how many small forwards do we need? Blair went two spots later to the Spurs at 37. One spot after college teammate Sam Young.

Myself, The Venerable Mike Lowery & Vlad Jones tried to have a mock draft podcast last night. But…

1) For some reason, we lost the first 1/2 hour

2) It turned into a half-hour shouting match about Al Jefferson vs. Amare Stoudemire.

Fortunately, I was able to salvage some of it. We actually have some good highlights, including…

• We break the Shaq-to-Cleveland trade as it happens
• “They gave this —– NINE MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR?!?!?
• “Draft him and tell him to stand there. Right there!”

Check it out by clicking here.

Long-term mortgage rates on the rise by canadian funding corps Moishe Alexander

Soaring bond yields have set the stage for a second round of interest rate hikes on residential mortgages in about a week.

After nudging rates higher on longer-term mortgages last Wednesday, Toronto-Dominion Bank yesterday raised borrowing costs on its five-year, fixed-rate loan by 40 basis points to 5.85 per cent, effective today.

Last week, TD and the other banks increased rates on five-year, fixed-rate mortgages by 20 basis points to 5.45 per cent.

While no major competitor had followed TD’s move by late yesterday, experts suggested higher rates are likely inevitable because banks are facing higher borrowing costs on the bond market. Banks tap the bond market to finance mortgages because they lend out more money than they attract through deposits.

“We don’t have a fully matched book and I would guess that none of the Canadian banks have a fully matched book in terms of deposits matching loans,” said Joan Dal Bianco, vice-president of real estate secured lending at TD Canada Trust.

While mortgage rates rose slightly last week, that move was insufficient to offset the bank’s higher costs because bond yields have climbed higher since then.

“And unfortunately, we’re now having to cover that gap, or at least close it a little bit,” Dal Bianco said.

When asked if consumers should expect more mortgage rate increases, she replied: “I think we’re going to see, over the next year, lots of changes as the economy starts showing positive signs.”

The sharp spike in bond yields is a global phenomenon and the rise in Canadian yields has been milder compared with other countries, said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.

The main reason that yields are rising is because the bond market is beginning to price in the prospect of an economic recovery later this year or next year, he said.

“I guess that’s the good news part of the story. The bad news is that there is actually a cost for the economy in terms of raising the cost of money for some borrowers.”

To a lesser degree, longer-term yields are also rising because the bond market is worried about the future prospects for inflation as governments around the world issue massive amounts of debt to stimulate economic growth.

Porter, however, also noted that home sales have “perked up” a bit in the past couple of months, fuelling more consumer demand for mortgages. “That’s probably played a small role in this rise in mortgage rates as well,” he said.

While TD is experiencing increased demand for mortgages, Dal Bianco insisted that played no role in the rate change. “It is strictly the bond market,” she said.

Mark Chandler, a senior fixed income analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said long-term mortgage rates are still at near-historic lows.

“The hope that you can do better than that – or even maintain that for an extended period of time – that may be hoping for a little too much, really.

Choice application-check….favorite glass of wine-check…advil for the headache-check…the headache is not from the wine but from trying to make sense of this whole process!

You are choicing into a school only if you have chosen not to send your child to your neighborhood school or chose private school instead. The choice in process can be a bit overwhelming but hopefully, we can make it a little easier for you to understand. I think the most difficult part of the process is the waiting! I remember becoming quite stressed and trying to remain patient until I heard the news. Will they get their first choice? What about second choice? What happens if they get wait listed? In the end, hopefully it’ll all work out for the best.

Here’s how the process works:

1. You can pick up a school choice form at any DPS school (usually in early January) or you can download it on-line. After completion, it can be returned to any DPS. Be sure to make a copy of it (for your records) after the application is stamped and dated.

2. First Round happens in January…this is when you choose your top two schools! Complete the application. By early March, you should get some answers….if you get into your first choice school-congrats! If you did not, there’s still your  second choice school. DPS tries very hard to accommodate this if the slots are available at the designated school.

3. Again, if you did not get into your second choice school, you will now take part in the Second Round. This usually takes place in March. Here you are able to choose an unlimited amount of schools so you’ll have more options. Again, forms for this round may be picked up at any DPS school.

4. If you get wait listed at one of your schools of choice, you may still want to participate in the second round just to be safe!

5. Remember, if you are choicing into a school, you are responsible for providing transportation for your child to and from school.

6. For more information contact the School of Choice Office at http://soco.dpsk12.org.

• Note: If your child is entering Kindergarten and you want him/her to attend a full-day Kindergarten program, you must complete a separate application for this. You can pick up this form at any DPS. This is a Tuition Based program. The annual tuition was $2,430 for 2008-2009.
• Note: Charter Schools and Magnet Schools have their own applications. Be sure to contact each individual school to inquire about applications and deadlines.
• Note: Advanced Kindergarten applications & Highly Gifted Magnet Programs 1^st-8^th grade applications, are due earlier than choice forms. Be sure to contact the individual schools in regards to this or the Gifted and Talented Education Department at 720-423-8272.

Today, the choicing in process is getting that much more competitive. Since so many public schools are making positive changes and improving their standards, more and more people are choosing their neighborhood schools. And as more schools grow in popularity, it makes it that much harder to choice in. The problem is, only so many slots are left open after the number of spots for neighborhood children are filled. An example of this is in the Stapleton community. They are no longer allowing  “choice in’s” at their schools and instead, allowing Stapleton residents only to enroll. In the future, it looks like some schools may have to do this and take neighborhood children only. I recently spoke to someone at DPS who said that School Choice has been in place for about nine years and it will continue because of its success. However, many of these schools that are becoming more popular are seeing their wait lists grow and choicing in, may not be an option for them in the future. How can you be guaranteed the school of your choice? Good question! I guess the answer is to move to that neighborhood like some people do, so your child is guaranteed a spot! You just have to ask yourself, is it worth it?

“Private Schools-EXPENSIVE….Moving to a new home to be closer to a school you love and a guaranteed spot for your child-VERY EXPENSIVE….Getting into your choice school-PRICELESS!!!”

Age Eligibility

• Your child must be 4 years old on or before Oct. 1st for ECE.
• Your child must be 5 years old on or before Oct. 1st for Kindergarten.
• Your child must be 6 years old on or before Oct. 1st for First Grade.

Here is a quick recap on Game 2:

• Another vintage Kobe performance with the Black Mamba pouring in 40 points enroute to a 111-98 victory for the Lakers.
• Might I add that Jack Nicholson’s sideline performance was nothing short of stellar as well.
• Ron Artest should not have been ejected. Like he said in the video above, he didn’t shove or throw any punches at Kobe. The refs made the call based on the grounds of his past offenses. If Artest wasn’t ejected, the game would’ve been a lot closer.
• I’m expecting a one-game suspension for Derek Fisher’s blatant shove on Luis Scola. On the other hand, I’m expecting Kobe’s elbow on Artest to be upgraded to a flagrant 1, with Kobe paying a small fine.
• As much as it pains me to say this, I must make it known that I’m starting to become a Rockets fan – just for the post-season.
• Overall, I’m expecting this series to be a good, physical match between two very good teams.
• Just eleven more wins and L.A. will reclaim the NBA title! Lakers in six!

UPDATE: Courtesy of RealGM:

Fisher has been suspended for striking Houston’s Luis Scola with his shoulder and head with 13.2 seconds remaining in the third period of the Lakers’ 111-98 win last night over the visiting Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals at STAPLES Center. Fisher received a Flagrant Foul Penalty Two and was ejected from the game at the time of the play.

Jackson also announced that the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant has been assessed a Flagrant Foul Penalty One for elbowing Houston’s Ron Artest in the chest area with 6:57 remaining in the fourth period of last night’s game.

Am I good, or am I good?

Unfortunately, I’ve been totally uninterested in the Playoffs since both Miami and Chicago have been eliminated a few days go.  I’m still rooting for the Lakers to go all the way, though!  However, I still can’t believe that the Lakers let Game 1 slip against the Rockets, especially in L.A.  They really need to get focused now that they’ve lost homecourt advantage.  I really don’t have much to say about this series – or any other series, for that matter.  After all is said and done, I’m still anticipating a Lakers vs. Cavaliers NBA Finals match-up.  So wake me up at the end of the month!  Anyway, here are some second round predictions:

• L.A. over Houston in six.
• Denver over Dallas in six.
• Cleveland over Atlanta in five.
• Orlando over Boston in six.

This should be a quick second round.  What are your predictions?

 
It sure looks like they have a decent chance after last night’s 100-92 upset win in Game 1 in Los Angeles. The Rockets are tough as nails defensively. They are so physical that they can bully around guys like Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, both of whom you may recall got pushed around quite a bit by the Boston Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals. Shane Battier and Ron Artest will make Kobe Bryant work incredibly hard for his points. Guys like Von Wafer and Kyle Lowry are incredibly fast and provide a key spark off the bench. Carl Landry and Chuck Hayes are two more guys, along with Luis Scola, Battier and Artest, who just love to do the little things and push people around. And then there’s Yao Ming, who I heard is pretty good. Too bad Tracy McGrady isn’t healthy (sarcasm) otherwise the rest of the team can stand around and watch him go 1-on-3.

But how have teams responded in the second round after losing Game 1 at home? Out of the 68 second round series of the past 17 years, there have only been 12 times (prior to this season) that the road team won Game 1. Of those 12 instances, only twice has the home team ALSO lost Game 2, the 1999 Hawks who got swept by the Knicks and the 1994 Rockets who came back to beat the Suns in 7 games. Additionally, of those 12 instances, the home team that lost Game 1 ended up winning the series 7 out of 12 times, and in 6 of those 7 comeback series wins, the series went the full 7 games. 3 of these teams that lost Game 1 ended up winning the Championship (2006 Miami Heat, 1994 Houston Rockets, 1992 Chicago Bulls)

Here are the 12 examples:
2007: Spurs win Game 1 at Phoenix, Phoenix wins Game 2, but the Spurs win the series in 6
2006: Heat lose Game 1 at home vs. the Nets, Heat win the next 4 games
2004: Timberwolves lose Game 1 at home vs. Sacramento, win Game 2 and go on to win in 7
2003: Dallas loses Game 1 at home to the Kings, wins Game 2 and goes on to win in 7
2001: 76ers lose Game 1 at home to Toronto, win Game 2 and go on to win in 7
1999: Hawks lose Game 1 at home to the Knicks and end up getting swept
1997: Heat lose Game 1 at home to the Knicks, win Game 2, and go on to win in 7 after the entire Knicks team gets suspended for the last 2 games
1996: Spurs lose Game 1 at home to the Jazz, win Game 2, but lose the series in 6
1995: Knicks lose Game 1 at home to Indiana, win Game 2, but lose the series in 7
1994: Hawks lose Game 1 at home to Indiana, win Game 2, but lose the series in 6
1994: Rockets lose Game 1 at home to Phoenix, also lose Game 2, but come back to win the series in 7
1992: Bulls lose Game 1 at home to the Knicks, win Game 2 and go on to win the series in 7

Shortly after Round 1 of the 2009 NBA playoffs ended with the Atlanta Hawk’s game 7 thrashing of the Miami Heat (thereby ending the possibility of a dream matchup between Lebron James and Dwayne Wade), Round 2 began with game 1 between the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks.

So I better get my picks for the Conference Semi-Finals in before that game finishes!

Eastern Conference

Will the Hawks stand a chance against Lebron and the Cavs?

1 Cleveland Cavaliers (66-16) vs 4 Atlanta Hawks (47-35)

The Cavs finished the first round in style, blowing out a weary Detroit Pistons squad in 4 straight games.  The Hawks, on the other hand, came out on top after a grueling, seesawing 7-game series against the Miami Heat.  Seeing that the Cavs have home-court advantage and won the season series 3-1, it’ll be outrageous to bet against them in this series.  Plus I don’t see anyone on the Hawk’s squad (or in the NBA, for that matter) that can stop Lebron the way he’s playing right now.  The question really should be whether the Hawks can win a game or two against them.  My guess is that they can, but just one.  Cleveland in 5.

2 Boston Celtics (62-20) vs 3 Orlando Magic (59-23)

The Celtics just came off possibly the greatest first round series of all time by finally disposing of the resilient Chicago Bulls in 7 amazing games.  The Magic toppled the Philadelphia 76ers in an uneven, inconsistent 6-game series.

This will be a tough one to call.  Without Kevin Garnett, stopping Dwight Howard will be that much tougher than it already is, but on the other hand, the Celtics do have the championship experience.  Further, they have the big-time players in Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, plus Rajon Rondo demonstrated just how good he can be.  Rafer Alston will no doubt have his hands full.  In my opinion, this series will come down to whether Howard’s supporting cast can step up and hit the shots when called upon.

If I was calling this series at the beginning of the playoffs, I would have said the Magic in 6 against a KG-less Celtics.  But after seeing how the Magic played against the 76ers in the first round, my gut instinct is to go with the defending champs.  Boston in 7.

Western Conference

Artest will do his best to ruffle Kobe's feathers

1 Los Angeles Lakers (65-17) vs 5 Houston Rockets (53-29)

Yao Ming finally got out of the first round – but he’s going to find out just how hard it is to get past the second.  After overcoming the inexperienced Portland Trailblazers in 6, the Houston Rockets will face last year’s Western Conference Champions, the LA Lakers, who defeated the Utah Jazz in 5.

The season series wasn’t even close, with LA sweeping it 4-0.  However, with Andrew Bynum at less than 100%, Yao Ming will have opportunities to dominate.  For the Rockets to have a chance, Yao really needs to be more than just a 20-10 guy this series.  If he doesn’t assert himself and start having big games (and I mean 30+ points a night), it could be a short series.

On the other hand, no one can stop Kobe Bryant, but Ron Artest and Shane Battier are just about the best anyone could hope for.  They also need to make Kobe work hard on the defensive end.  If Artest can rough up Kobe a little bit then things could get interesting.   The real question is whether the Rockets can stop the likes of Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol or have the firepower to stay with the Lakers’ high octane offense.

In the end, I think Houston will give LA a tougher test than most Lakers fans are willing to imagine, but they won’t be able to beat them.  Los Angeles in 6.

2 Denver Nuggets (54-28) vs 6 Dallas Mavericks (50-32)

Denver was so much more impressive than I thought they would be against the New Orleans Hornets, whom they eliminated in 5 games.  Dallas also did well to knock off perennial contender San Antonio in 6 games, though the Spurs were clearly operating at less than full capacity.

Another difficult series to pick.  Jason Kidd is lucky that they are facing the Nuggets instead of the Hornets, because he would have been burnt even worse by Chris Paul than he did by Tony Parker.  Chauncey Billups is great, but as he’s not the speedy type, it’s a good matchup for Kidd.  Dirk will no doubt have a big series, but I see the X-factor for the Mavs being newly crowned 6th Man of the Year Jason Terry.  He’s the type of player that can catch fire and turn a game around in a hurry.  For the Nuggets, JR Smith and Nene are their keys to victory.  Smith is also a guy that can light it up real quick, and Nene can make a difference in the middle with his defensive presence.

The two teams appear to be pretty evenly matched on paper.  However, I think home-court advantage will play a factor here, so I will say Denver in 7.

PS: How my Round 1 predictions stacked up

I am an admittedly bad predictor when it comes to sports, but I don’t think I did too bad in the first round (full analysis here).  The only series I got wrong was Atlanta vs Miami, where I declared that the Heat would prevail in 6 games (I was probably blinded by my desire to see Lebron vs D-Wade).

In terms of guessing the number of games per series, I correctly guessed that the Rockets would beat the Trailblazers and the Magic would beat the 76ers, both in 6 games, but that was it.  I gave too much credit to Detroit, New Orleans and San Antonio, but not enough to Chicago and Utah.

My first round picks were embarrassingly bad. Let’s put those behind us. Deal?

Boston-Carolina
Boston should win this series with ease. They’re deep, talented, rested and ready to go against a Carolina team that came on strong and came from behind (Down 2 games? Scoring 2 goals in 80 seconds? Wow.) to beat the Devils in 7 games. The last time I wrote a pick this short taking a one-seed it worked out very poorly but… oh well.

Washington-Pittsburgh
If this were the Eastern Conference finals, this would be a dream marketing scenario for the NHL. But it’s still a pretty darn good one. Washington rallied down from a 3-1 deficit to dispose of the Rangers, while Pittsburgh showed off a surprisingly physical game against my Flyers. I think this should be a great series and… I’m actually picking the Penguins. While this kills me, the biggest differences to me are Jordan Staal’s development (he looked great against the Flyers) and the superior Marc-Andre Fleury.

Detroit-Anaheim
Well… I had neither team advancing. Poor Sharks. This was by far their most embarrassing playoff exit yet. Anyway, I think the Red Wings win this series for two reasons. First, Anaheim’s physical style has worked since their Cup run in 2007. But this Red Wings team is too good on the power play for their success to continue if their penalty rate stays near where it is now. Second, the Ducks essentially have one line that can score. Now, it’s a damn good line. But the Red Wings have three lines that can score, as well as defensemen that can also put up points. Jonas Hiller will have to be unbelievable for the Ducks to win this series. He’s good, but not quite unbelievable.

Vancouver-Chicago
I’m calling this as the best series in the second round. Just to reiterate, Luongo is an absolute beast (He’s rumored to have once walked into a Burger King to order a Big Mac, but the cashier was so afraid of disappointing him they ran to the nearest McDonalds and bought him one). Chicago’s talented but inexperienced squad will put up a good fight, and the Bulin Wall has been hot lately, but I think this team is a year away.

So I didn’t update at all during the first round of the playoffs except for after Game 1 of Detroit’s series with Columbus. Why? Because, along with finals in my last semester of college, it became clear after the Game  1 shellacking that the Blue Jackets were completely out of the Red Wings’ league.

But now come the Anaheim Ducks, and they are most certainly not out of the Red Wings’ league. Fresh off a six-game upset of the No. 1 overall seed, the San Jose Sharks, the Ducks look to keep the magic  going in a second-round series against Detroit that starts Friday night. The series pits the two previous Stanley Cup Champions against each other, and might be the best series of the second round (though the NHL will brag about Washington-Pittsburgh all the time because of Crosby-Ovechkin).

Strangely, every team left in the Western Conference is really good, (Chicago and Vancouver being the other matchup), and it seems like any opponent for Detroit would have been a hard one. But Anaheim may prove to be the toughest. The Ducks have a deep set of blue-liners and a very tough first line. Ryan Getzlaf is the player remaining in the West who scares me more than any other, and the 6′4” center means business. Almost everyone on the team has experience going deep in the playoffs after their 2007 run, and the Ducks beat down the Red Wings in 2007 on the way to the title. But toughest of all is the Ducks’ goalie, rookie Jonas Hiller.

Hiller has everything going for him right now that I thought Columbus goalie Steve Mason might have in the last round. He’s young and he’s on a crazy hot streak.  He allowed a very respectable 10 goals in six games against the Sharks in the first round, an average of 1.66 per game. Include in that streak was an amazing two  shutouts against the Presidents’ Trophy winners, who were seventh in the regular season with 3.06 goals per game.

This next point is always discussed in the playoffs, and I never know which way to go — rest. Detroit hasn’t played a game in almost 10 days. Will the team be stale after such a long layoff, or will the will-rested Wings come out strong against a Ducks team fresh off a tough six-game series? I have no idea, and can’t begin to predict that factor. The Red Wings will win this series, but it will be a long one, and certainly a series that takes longer than 10 minutes to finish off.

“They swept us a year after we won the Stanley Cup (in 2003),” Kris Draper told Detroit Free Press columnist Drew Sharp. “That’s something you don’t forget, and then they beat us in a hard-fought series in which they beat us here in Game 5 in overtime in a game that could’ve given us a 3-2 series lead. But they beat us in six. And we made a furious comeback in that sixth game, but we couldn’t get it done.”

Bonus: The Detroit Free Press had a fun story today about the Red Wings players being greeted by fans or having fans mail them things to be signed. There were some great quotes from the players about their interaction with the fans, but this story of a lone fan in Ottawa is great:

“Ottawa has this big Russian guy who always waits for us outside the hotel,” Dan Cleary said. “Amazing how autograph seekers always seem to know when you’re getting in, no matter what time it is. Well, this guy — he’s like 6-foot-5 — and in the wintertime, you know, in Ottawa it’s pretty cold, like, minus-30 Celsius — and he’s always out there in his big Russian hat.

That just brings up a great image. Gotta love fans.

Now, for the things that most and least impressed me in each conference.

Eastern Conference:

Most impressive – It’s easy to say I was impressed by the Boston Bruins sweeping Montreal right out of the playoffs, but that was pretty much expected. No one was predicting a Montreal upset in that series except the most delusional of Habs fans. No, instead, the Carolina Hurricanes impressed me the most. They had an insane victory in Game 4 of the series thanks to a Jussi Jokinen goal with 0.2 seconds left in regulation. Then, they also had that crazy come-from-behind win in Game 7 thanks to two goals in the final 1:20 against only the all-time wins leader in NHL history.

Least impressive — This one goes to the New York Rangers, and specifically goalie Henrik Lundqvist. How do you not win a series when you’re up 3-1? The Washington Capitals were down and out on the ice and in their heads, but Lundqvist and the Rangers let the Caps get right back into the series. Washington took games 5-7 in the series to move on to a second-round date with Pittsburgh, setting up the NHL’s ideal Crosby-Ovechkin match. But Lundqvist was exposed in Game 6 with a weakness on the short side above his glove, and the Caps took advantage. New York has to close that series out, and instead Washington moves on.

Western Conference:

Most impressive — You almost forget how dominant Vancouver was in it’s first-round series agianst St. Louis because it ended so quickly. And while I tip my cap to the Canucks for that throttling, I’m going to go with the Chicago Blackhawks for how quickly they closed out their series against Calgary in games 5 and 6. After the series was tied at two games each, the Hawks came out of nowhere to claim the final two games by a combined score of 9 to 1. And those games weren’t even that close. Goalie Nikolai Khabibulin was awesome in those two games, and him getting hot should scare Vancouver. And the Blackhawks also got great help from youngster Dustin Byfuglien, who I fear third-most in the playoffs. Watch out — Byfuglien is going to be great for years to come.

Least impressive — This one should be fairly obvious — What happened, Sharks? The best team in the regular season in hockey is once again booted from the playoffs in the first round. Hopefully, we haven’t seen the last of Jeremy Roenick and Rob Blake, but this Sharks team can only be classified as the biggest disappointment in hockey. They were outplayed by Anaheim, and Detroit will know not to treat this No. 8 seed like a typical No. 8 seed in the second round.

Before I begin my trek back to Dallas (bah!) today, it seems prudent to mention that things are shaping up for our round two satellite blogs. Rather than introduce/re-introduce everyone who’s coming on, we’ll mention them when they write their first post.

Amazingly, things are already started at three of the four series blogs:

Cornelius Hardenbergh of Hockey Blog Adventure is back for more Boston Bruins fun, which is greatness because his Boston-Montreal contributions were exactly what we envisioned for this idea in the first place.

Here’s his post; here’s the Boston-Carolina blog link.

Joe echoes a common CLS sentiment (“Fuck you Versus!”) in his initial second round post for the Red Wings – Ducks series. He’s another return contributor who did a great job last round considering the fact that it was a challenge to catch games in the Columbus-Detroit series.

Here’s his post; here’s the Detroit-Anaheim blog link.

Sha Sha of Vancity Canuck and The Hockey Bay is back as well, giving a taste of the Canucks-Hawks TV schedule as well as posting the Youtube video of a fight that was entertaining, memorable AND completely relevant to the series.

Here’s the post; here’s the Vancouver-Chicago blog link.

While we haven’t posted anything yet for Washington-Pittsburgh, we expect there to be PLENTY to write about for Gary Bettman’s ultimate wet dream.

Stay tuned, and update your bookmarks/RSS readers everyone. The second round looks like it will be a doozy.

Unwavering Coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament continues….

Round Two (ding ding)

1. So Memphis finally decided to show up. Thank you. We were some mean, green (blue), 3-shooting machines.

2. What the hell is wrong with Greivis Vasquez? All that nonsense about Memphis not being able to hold their own in the ACC conference….we forgive you for being an egoist and…what? oh yeah LOSING. loser.

3. I love the fact that Memphis’ fans started shouting ACC in the second half. I also love that Mike Mueller probably started that chant

4. Alright, this might seem silly to you, but on my bracket, I had the major, earth-shattering upset being Texas A&M beating UConn. This is before I knew that UConn was favored to go all the way. After we filled out our brackets, Jonathan looked at mine and said, “You realize you have Texas AY AND EM beating the team that’s favored to win the whole tournament, right?” Well excuse me for trying to be tricky with my bracket. I had a plan! And when Texas A&M beat UConn I was going to rub it in his face and be the only person in the world besides their mamas who put them  beating UConn and it was going to be glorious….and then UConn had to go and kill them. Thanks. A lot.

More to come!

Objective:  To take a big picture, “regional-theme” approach to present an analysis of the First Round of the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament.  Rather than breaking down any specific first round games or looking at seeding/conference records and trends from the Round of 64, this “regional-theme” approach will focus on what each region has to offer going forward.  Each region has something different to offer  for varying types of fans, a different storyline to follow, a different type of challenge to those teams involved.  With that said, let us begin:

Midwest Region:  The Region of Mid-Majors and Small Conferences

- With the No. 4, 5, 6, and 7 seeds losing in the First Round in the Midwest Region, 3 of the 8 teams remaining are from either a Mid-Major Conference or a “Small” Conference.

• No. 9 Siena (Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference): First Round – Defeated No. 8 Ohio State (Big 10); Second Round – Will face No. 1 Louisville (Big East)

• No. 13 Cleveland State (Horizon Conference): First Round – Defeated No. 4 Wake Forest (ACC); Second Round – Will face No. 12 Arizona (Pac-10)

• No. 11 Dayton (Atlantic-10 Conference): First Round – Defeated No. 6 West Virginia (Big East); Second Round – Will face No. 3 Kansas (Big 12)

- Which Non-Power Conference Team has the best chance to pull off a victory in the Second Round in the Midwest Region?  Pick: No. 13 Cleveland State over No. 12 Arizona

• Cleveland State is a hot team going back to the regular season and Horizon Conference Tournament.  They are confident coming off a strong showing in their upset of No. 4 Wake Forest in the First Round.  This team plays an intense style at both ends of the floor – adding confidence to this already in-your-face style makes this an even more dangerous team.

• Arizona was one of the last teams given an at-large bid into the field of 65.  The Wildcats lost 5 of their last 6 going in the regular season and Pac-10 Tournament before defeating No. 5 Utah in the First Round.

• Arizona, prior to the NCAAs, posted a 5-10 record away from home; they will face Cleveland State in Miami in the Second Round.

• Entering the NCAAs, Cleveland State had an RPI Rating of 52.  After their First Round victory over Wake Forest (RPI: 16), it is only reasonable to push Cleveland State’s RPI Rating into the 40-50 range.  The importance of this?  Arizona posted an overall record of 4-9, and a road/neutral site record of 1-6 against opponents with an RPI Rating between 26 and 50.

• Entering the tournament,  Conference RPI Ratings have Cleveland State’s Horizon Conference at a 12, and Arizona’s Pac-10 at 5…we all know about 12s over 5s!

West Region: Memphis (Conference USA) & Power Conferences – Tigers, It’s Time To Prove You Belong

- Excluding Memphis, all the teams that remain in the West Region are from the Power Conferences:

• Big East – Connecticut, Marquette

• Big 12 – Texas A&M, Missouri

• Big 10 – Purdue

• Pac-10 – Washington

• ACC – Maryland

- Of the Power Conference teams listed above, we can consider 4 of the 7 to be elite teams with the hardware to show for it:

• Connecticut – No.1 team in the country for numerous weeks during the regular season; 15-3 record in the Big East; 12-0 record against non-conference opponents

• Purdue – Big 10 Tournament Champions

• Washington – Pac-10 Regular Season Champions

• Missouri – Big 12 Tournament Champions

-  This is Memphis’ chance to show they deserved a No.1 seed, that they deserve to be mentioned alongside the elite teams in the country despite their weak schedule, and, that their 26 game winning streak is meaningful.

East Region: Big Name Programs & Big Name Stars

- With just one “upset” (it happened to be  Power Conference affiliated No.12 Wisconsin over No. 5 Florida State) occurring in the First Round, the East Region remains loaded with big name programs stocked with big name players.  From the Second Round on, we can expect to see marquis team matched up in the brackets, and marquis names matched up on the floor.

-  The NBA scouts will be out in Boston: There’s a slew of NBA-bound players in the East Region, and what better way to look at such prospects than by observing their matchups against one another.  The East is where the men will be separated from the boys, where dollars will be made.

South Region: Where a Mid-Major Will Taste The Sweetness

- The Second Round game between No.12 Western Kentucky (Sun Belt Conference) and No. 4 Gonzaga (West Coast Conference) ensures that a Mid-Major team will advance to the Sweet 16.  The winner of the Western Kentucky-Gonzaga game will meet the winner of No. 1 North Carolina (ACC) vs. No. 8 LSU (SEC).

-  It’s no surprise that this region is where we are guaranteed to see a Mid-Major in the Sweet 16.  Western Kentucky and Gonzaga are two of the more consistent, top-tier Mid-Major teams.  The Hilltopers of Western Kentucky are just a year removed from a Sweet 16 appearance.  Gonzaga, over the last decade, has emerged as the premier Mid-Major insofar as to earn a No. 4 seed in this year’s tournament