Letter To My Bracket

Dear Bracket,

You've hurt me for the last time. I'm playing Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" on my IPOD. I'm soooo over you.

You see, beloved Bracket, each March you have come to me with promises. You say that you'll make me rich, fill me with free pizza for a month or even buy me a new car. If I can only please you, it all can be mine.

But what you never mentioned was how impossible you are. I've done everything you ask: payed extra for ESPN U, alienated myself from friends and family and spent many brutal hours getting in shape (by studying North Dakota St.'s free throw percentage in close and late situations of course).

Look what you've turned me into! When Siena, the underdog from my home state, beat Ohio St., I should have been overjoyed, but as usual, you forced me into depression. I sat alone for hours mumbling, "he can't hit two three's, his percentage is too low, too low...too low."


You even made me secretive and backstabbing. The first step is admitting, so I'm coming clean: I was pushing for Missouri. It's true! I know Cornell is only hours away, but I had MU going deep...what do you want from me!

I even became delusional, believing for a minute that Fields' 70-footer could land and keep us together and happy, only to be disappointed agian. Because of you, Bracket, in my mind every whistle became the wrong call. FOUL! OUT OF BOUNDS! NO! FOUL!?!?! C'MON, REF!


Because of you, I got evicted, my car was impounded and am forced to write this letter on the back of a Domino's pizza box.

That was me then. But no more. I'm strong enough to walk away. I'll never fill you out again. I'll never spend nights awake worrying about you. I'm curing this twisted form of Stockholm Syndrome, today.

My theripist says I must learn from the past (I pay him $3,000 per-hour for that?). Remember Vermont beating Syracuse? Vermont, representing the beauty of an underdog, but there was Matt, sitting there screaming, with blood shot eyes and nubbed fingernails, for them to lose.

All that because I bandwagonned and took SU to make the sweet 16. I said after that game, "never again." But, the very next season, Texas A&M did it to me again. The tears of rage only smeared the Aggies name upon my crinkled sheet of misery.


You know, Bracket, infidelity has also been an issue. Remember 1999? Joe the Plumber (not the one you're thinking of), that's right, the guy who went to Weber St. that you had a crush on.


It didn't matter that North Carolina was a three and Weber St. was a 14 seed. It didn't matter that Joe watched as much college basketball as atheusts watch televangelists. You chose him over me. You knew I had NC going to the Final Four, but you didn't care. You have never cared about me...it feels so good to finally say it.


Imagine if I had watched these tournaments without you, Bracket. I could have celebrated the Gonzagas and George Masons of the tourney. I could revel in watching the teams who use 12 players, who all make smart passes, play defense and actually have a chance at graduating from college.

Next year, next year... I'm going to change. No more foolish pride.

So, please Fran McCaffery, please Steve Donahue, take our underdog New York mid-majors back and upset some giants. I will be on your side, cheering the loudest. Because no longer will you, my NCAA men's tournament bracket, ruin the greatest month in all of sports.

The reality of College Basketball

Listening to the John DiTullio Show this morning and the truth was aired. DiTullio was interviewing Cornell's men's basketball coach Steve Donahue, talking about the teams tight first half against Memphis. However, the topic turned away from the game, rather to recruiting.

Recruiting is vital to a teams program, everybody knows that. It's the very reason teams like UCLA, Duke, UNC, even Syracuse survive in NCAA basketball. Donahue laid it all out for teams like Cornell, like Davidson, like George Mason. They have no chance of winning the NCAA title. No chance, for most of these teams, getting as far as you can, how deep in the tourney you can go is the goal. It's realistic, it's not an overly optimistic goal, but it's recruiting.

You're a blue chip recruit at a Rochester school. You play power forward/center, 6'9'', you dominate the glass, have a decent shot, you block shots, have great court vision. To top it off you are a B+/A student. Three schools from the area are hard on you. Canisius, Cornell and Syracuse.

Being rather smart and perceptive to your situation as a NCAA basketball recruit, you automatically throw out the material from Canisius. That school is not going to take you anywhere. When the hell have they been in tourney? Heck Niagara was in a few years ago courtesy of a last day win.

Then it comes to Cornell. Granted your a B+/A student, you're not an A+ student, because Cornell is a great institution. It is the easiest Ivy to get into but even at 24% acceptance rate it's a little tricky. But then again, maybe you think you have a future in the Association. Ivy Leagues hardly make a dent in the tournament where a lot of kids get discovered or lost. Guy like Jameer Nelson benefited from taking a small school deep in the tournament and having a high profile team all year.

Finally we get to Syracuse. Jimmy B shows up, the man has hundreds of wins. He got John Wallace, remember him. You probably played against his high school. You know they won the 2003 NCAA title. You are surrounded by Cuse fans. You've gone to the Dome, maybe played there. Many guys have gone from Cuse to the Association; Wallace, Rony Seikaly, Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Coleman, Billy Owens. You have a proven program, alumni who have succeeded to the next level, a great coach with a legacy of winning.

We would love to believe that any team could win, we want that Hoosiers story. While it is always possible, we need to always consider that sometimes the better team on paper will always win the biggest game.


ROC SPORTS NET 2009

Thurman Thomas: Hall of Fame Passion

T'was January 27, 1991. Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas's eyes are big. He and the rest of the free world know if Scott Norwood makes a 47-yard field goal, Thomas is the MVP of the Super Bowl.

It wasn't to be, but Thomas lead the Bills to three more Super Bowl appearances, won a league MVP and was a six-time All-Pro selection. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.

Today, Thomas's eyes are big again. No, the 42-year old isn't looking to make a comeback (though he still looks like he could) but the mere mention of football transforms Thurman into third-down-and-one-mode. His fists clinch, he rocks in his chair impatiently and his eyes....well, any Bills fan could tell you about those eyes.

At first, I didn't understand Thomas's latest venture: a part-ownership role with Indoor Football League team the Rochester Raiders. Why indoor football? Isn't that like Hemingway investing in coloring books? Why would Thomas, who is from Houston, Texas, want to hang around Rochester? Is he looking to lose money on purpose? Look at the AFL!

Thurman answers all my inquiries with two words: "it's football."

Though the general idea of the interview was to talk indoor football, Thurman would rather talk Bills.

He has been vocal since moving back to Buffalo in 2007, even being quoted as saying he could barely stand to watch Buffalo play. But since his statement, the Bills made an unprecedented signing in Terrell Owens. Thurman, your thoughts? "I love it," he says. "They should go out and sign Tank Johnson and Pacman Jones too. Anything to get them going."

The way Thurman is talking, I think if I said "hike" he'd block me to the ground like a blitzing Bryan Cox. "Oh man, if Terrell had gotten in Kelly's face, Jim would have punched him right out!" Thurman says as if he was in the pre-game huddle.

If you have ever seen a pre-schooler squirm in church, you'd know how hard it is for Thurman to stay in his chair when the Bills are brought up. And with Thurman, they come up a lot. If you talked about politics, he'd talk Jack Kemp. If you talked about weather, he'd talk Miami Hurricanes (Kelly's alma mater). If you said NASA, he'd talk about James Lofton's break away speed.

Thomas attributes the Bills recent struggles to a lackluster locker room. "I walked in there (the locker room) and nobody was saying anything. When I was there, Darryl (Talley) would be up yelling getting everyone pumped."

About that indoor football Thurman.....OK, never mind, this is too much fun. Let's talk about Marshawn Lynch's off-field problems. "At first, I was like 'trade him,'" Thomas says. "But now I think they should give him another chance. He's still young."

Though his tone has transformed from excited to serious, his eyes stay big. "I was an only child," he says quietly. "My mom told me a long time ago, if you are going to hang out, hang out with the right people. I had friends who were always behind me."

Since he's been back in Western New York, Thomas has done some recruiting for his new team, bringing in players he has met at his training facility, "Thurman Thomas Sports Training." According to Thurman, around 80 percent of the Raiders talent is home-grown. "When you have that many players (from Western New York) it brings everybody together," he says.

Finally talking about the IFL, Thurman mentions the one thing that makes his fists clinch a little less tightly and his eyes a little less fierce: his son. "My son is so excited," he says. "He keeps asking me 'when does football start?' You know, he plays all sports and wears No. 34, too."

It is yet to be seen whether Thomas's investment will be valiant or tragic. But, it's obvious that there was more to Thurman's game than yards-per-carry, receptions or pancake blocks. It was his passion and intensity that carried the Bills in the 90's. If his new team, the Rochester Raiders, can adopt a fraction their new co-owner's qualities, they will be unstoppable.

ESPN, Not Hiring

Wow! Not even out of college yet and, believe it or not, I've been offered my first job. Who knew, in this economy. Who would take a chance? If you're wondering, it's ESPN. Yep, the biggest sports casting network in the world, and they want me.

It's huge, I know. But, I'm having some reservations. You see, they gave me this 6,263 page handbook and there are a few troubling passages. Such as:

Page 358: "If a great game or individual performance takes place the previous night, on all morning shows, the player or game must be referred to as the 'greatest of all-time.' Always assume your audience is ignorant and knows as much about sports history as Madonna knows about chastity."

Hmm..now that I think about it, page 358 seems to take place a lot, especially on First Take. Just the other day, analyist Skip Bayless called the Netherlands win over the Dominican Republic the, "greatest upset in sports history."

So, I ask my interviewer, "Doesn't an upset have to have some kind of relevance as well as the underdog taking down the favorite?"

That game was an exhibition. By that standard, Virginia Tech no-hitting the USA team in softball last year would be the biggest ever. The USA women hadn't lost an exhibition in 12 years."
"NO!" The interviewer screams at me. "People don't remember that or care. We're trying to be outrageous and flashy, not accurate. It's about ratings here. If you don't get that straight, it won't work out between us."

Well, there is no working for this guy. But, I'm still in the mood to argue. "OK, how about you guys letting analyists ask if the Syracuse vs. UConn six overtime game was the best college game ever played?" I yell back.

"Isn't that kind of silly since it was only the second round of the Big East tourny and both teams were already guaranteed tournament bids? Aren't you insulting your audience to assume they don't remember Christian Laettner's shot in the '92 regional final to beat Kentucky? Or Houston losing to the ultimate Cinderella NC State on that famous last-second dunk?"

His face is beat red. "GET OUT! You will NEVER work here. GET OUT!!!!" He screams over and over.

As two former Chicago Bears, now security guards, carry me away, I can't help but yell back over my shoulder. "How about Appalachian State for an upset? How about Villanova over Georgetown in the '85 NCAA basketball final for greatest college game?"

So, looks I'll never be allowed to work as an analyist for ESPN. I want to be a sports journalist, not a shock jock. Time magazine writers don't pen articles for National Enquirer.

What sports journalism needs is a John Stewart. Stewart, of Comedy Central's The Daily Show has been on a crusade to call out news networks (most particularly CNBC) for bad reporting on the economy and on recent fraud scandals.

There isn't anyone big enough to challenge ESPN, but wouldn't it be nice to hear Bayless ripped for his "greatest of all-time," rants. If this were the case, ESPN analysts would have to think twice making ridiculous arbitrary statements.

While they are at it, the crusader could hold them to the fire for giving as much attention to small market teams like the Minnesota Twins as Jessica Alba would give John Goodman.

The fans deserve better from the authority on sports, unfortunately, as you could tell by my interview, ESPN just isn't interested.

A Diversion of Some Sorts

This morning I was listening to the radio and I heard a new commercial for the Rochester Red Wings. The spot began with a very patriotic sound of music and a voice over talking about how in the 1930's and 1940's baseball was America's game. Now with our current economic crisis, the spot urged people to go to baseball games as a diversion. Two different times, but it is still the same message - go to a baseball game.

It got me to thinking. A baseball game is what we need. I'm not saying turning on the TV and watching the YES Network is the answer but actually going out to a baseball game. You leave your home where some of us feel the stress, paying bills, talking to loved ones about the pressure of a down economy and go out to the ballpark. Get some air into your lungs. Get lost in the joy of watching baseball this leisurely game where time is not a vital factor.

Look at the 1930's and 1940's, America was hurting. The roaring 20's brought baseball to the forefront of American living. But just as soon as it was going well, we run into The Great Depression and World War II. Let's not forget that FDR demanded that games be played to boost morale and the people still went out. People bought tickets even though they may have lost their job or had a loved one over seas. Hell the troops enjoyed it via Armed Forces Radio.

The games may not be a matter of life or death but the three-four hours outside of the home, the office, outside of a stressful world is worth spending six dollars on a Red Wings ticket. I love going out to a game, which is usually twenty times a year and it's the best medicine for a tough time looking for work or thinking about my financial situation. It's baseball, it's game is relaxing and fun at the same time. So folks, let's help out our local economy and let's support an American made product of minor league baseball.


ROC SPORTS NET 2009

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ROC SPORTS NET 2009