Pic of the Day--Creepy Jim Nantz

We follow this creepy picture of creepy Jim Nantz with a Yahoo! link to a great recap of this weekend's television coverage. It mirrors PYB's thoughts to a T, and saves us a good 45 minutes typing our own thoughts. Day One back in the work force after a four-day bender is never easy....what else did you expect???

Dust in the Wind

Nice fucking day by the Cornhusker contingent yesterday in Kansas.

--First, the NU basketball team has multiple players mention Madison Square Garden while talking about the NIT tournament. Apparently, they forgot that teams must score points, play defense, and be tough to win three games against very good competition on the road to get to MSG. So, are kids so soft these days that one big win and talk that they are on the outside of the NCAA bubble gets them overconfident. Sad, indeed.

Wichita State absolutely bottle blasted and ass-raped these pathetic Huskers, who gave about as much resistance to the Shockers as a single mom of three gives to a rich guy trying to get into her pants. Where is the drive, the fire, the anger? Hard fouls, nope. Attitude, nope. Competitive instinct to not take it up the ass on national television with a high-ranking ESPN announcing duo on hand.....nope. A 76-49 loss that wasn't that close....yep. Pussy JB Diaz didn't start and fat Andre Almeida didn't play...sore knee from carrying around his 380-pound carcass.

Hopefully, at least, all the bandwagon NU fans watched the game and heard what a real crowd sounds like. The 7300 at Koch Arena last night sounded more like 12,000. The 12,000 at the Devaney Center sounds more like 9000. Better crowd, better talent, better team. C U Next Tuesday, Skers.

Second, Mike Anderson led his team to a come-from-ahead loss in Manhattan. Up 5-0, Anderson must have chipped in some of his finest worst to lead NU to a 6-5 loss. So PYB continues to be vindicated, knowing all too well that the Huskers would post another pathetic campaign in 2011. Losing to team like Kansas State is just foreshadowing of another last-place Big 12 finish.

The Huskers are who we thought they were, and Tom Osborne continues to let Anderson off the hook!

On that note, enjoy March Madness. Hopefully you're skipping work or at least cutting out early. We will be...it's an annual tradition since we discovered sports bars, degenerate gambling and green pitchers of beer in 1995.

And forgive any extended hiatus this weekend, as hangovers will be prevalent and all extra time will be devoted to handicapping another watered-down, shitty field of 64!!! Top O' the Mornin' To Ya!

Emperor Stern

Great column on David Stern and his rigging of the NBA. Anyone else wondering why the Tim Donaghy book went away with barely a whimper?

Anyone want to bet on a Lakers v. Celtics rematch this June?

Also, a great read about Carmelo Anthony's shortcomings here. PYB had planned to elaborate, but due to recent time constraints, took the easy way out by posting the link only.

Need further proof? Just look at last night, as the Knicks racked up another bad loss at Indiana and 'Melo let the public know his dissatisfaction with Jared Jeffries (sp?).

The NIT.....Nebraska's Density....

March Madness has begun, and Nebraska is in its rightful place--The NIT. The Huskers have gone there more than any other team has gone before!

The game at Wichita State should be their last of this season. NU has cashed it in, not necessarily on purpose, but they have nothing left and their 1-4 finish proves it. So does their pathetic effort against Oklahoma State. Warm up your sports book accounts, hammer the Shockers, and make some dough....

There is some consolation in the fact that CU got fucked during the whole NCAA process. Basically, there was no way in hell NU was going to make the field. The assumed shortcoming of the Buff was their non-conference schedule being near the nations worst, but how can a schedule that includes at Georgia (tourney team), at Harvard (32 RPI or something), Oregon State, Colorado State, New Mexico and at Indiana be near the bottom of 345 teams? Sham.

Other early bracket thoughts, as we rush to work this fine Monday morning:

--Nova will get bounced early, after finishing the season 5-10 in its last 15.

--Kentucky could easily lose to its first-round foe, Princeton.

--North Carolina was the worst 2-seed ever, until Florida got a 2 seed later during the selection.

--Duke gets another bunny bracket, and gets to play in its home state. Michigan or Tennessee would be the Devils' second-round opponent. How else would those schools get eight and nine seeds, if not only to pave the way for Coach K's overrated band of non-spread-covering stiffs?

--Missouri will lose first round.

--Bet against UConn in any game the Huskies play next week.

--San Diego State is a very good team that will probably lose early, before everyone knows how good they really are.

--Who will Kansas lose to next week? Boston, UNLV or Illinois? And why is everyone treating them like they're a next-level squad. They're the ChokeHawks. It's their destiny.

--Louisville and Morehead State are both in Kentucky, but they're flying to Denver to play? So much for the 'playing locally' theory provided by the NCAA after 9/11, unless of course, you're Duke.

--Notre Dame has a legitimate Final Four shot. That said, they'll lose second round.

--Upset alert for Kansas State vs. Utah State. The Aggies were 30-3 and got a 12 seed.

--Florida could barely score against Kentucky Sunday, looked AWFUL, and got rewarded with a two seed. Huh?

Have fun......the first play-in game tipped off 10 minutes ago....we think....

Sell Out

--Even for someone who doesn't care about the University of No Opportunity, this is an embarrassing sell out move. UN-Omaha is dropping football. Expensive sport, but still a weak move. Then dropping wrestling, a sport in which it just won its third consecutive national championship? If this doesn't prove (again) that college athletics is circling the shitter, then nothing will.

And all this for the chance to be D-I in a conference that plays its conference championship basketball game in mid-February? Well that, and for hockey. PYB calls it a sad day indeed when 10,000 scums who show up to buy beer determine the fate of a college athletic department. There are plenty of beer-slamming blue-collar scumbags in Omaha. Maybe it's the perfect fit.

--FYI, PYB is done eating crow after NU's series win last weekend against UCLA. Mike Anderson has led his team to two whimpering losses to start (and lose) this weekend's series against Fresno State, as his boys went scoreless and struck out just 14 times Saturday.

The Huskers' pitching has been brilliant, and Matt Freeman went another seven innings while relinquishing just one run. So, as always, the offense (or complete lack thereof) is the problem. Not even Darin Erstad can save this band of creampuff hitters.

Filtering out all the bullshit wins, NU is 2-4 so far against real teams. In those six games, they've scored 14 runs--less than 2.5 per game. If you add in the games against Sam Houston State, they are 2-6 and have scored 24 runs--three per game. Either way, terrible, embarrassing.....you pick the word.

To Tom Osborne, it means Anderson keeps coming back....again....and again....and again...for another last place conference finish. Never mind that attendance figure of 3700, either.

--Wake us up when it's September, please.....

--Congratulations to the Kansas Jayhawks on winning the Big 12 basketball tournament. In typical Jayhawk fashion, they got a lucky, zebra-aided win in their first game and then continued their reign in Kansas City as Big 12 bullies. It will be great to watch them lose early next week, as the non-Big 12 referees won't be there to protect them and the noose gets tighter with each missed three-pointer. We see and read this same shit every year.

--UConn wins five games in five days to win the Big East championship. Absolutely amazing, and it cost PYB money in each of the last three days. We figured that one day they'd have to fizzle out. Didn't happen, and ESPN got its wish as Kemba Walker starred the whole weekend---the execs at the Devil had to have multiple orgasms nearly the size of when the Red Sox, Lebron James or Tiger Woods are winning.

Just make sure to bet against the Huskies next week in the field of 60-whatever....does anyone remember Syracuse a couple years back?

Only four days until the Madness begins....

Tourney Time

Due to exhaustion, PYB refuses to delve deeper into Nebraska's latest conference basketball tournament flop. This year's installment of the Big 12 bracket in Kansas City is going just as expected through two days, as we take you through a quick-hit tour:

Wednesday
Oklahoma State vs. Nebraska--NU didn't guard the three, allowing one of the worst shooting teams in the country to get a big early lead, and made its 14th first-round exit in 20 years. Hope NIT preparations are going well. PYB pick: OSU money line +155. Cha-ching.

Iowa State vs. Colorado--CU nearly pissed away their NCAA tourney chances, but in the end, ISU pissed away the game but still covered. PYB pick: ISU +6. Cha-ching.

Oklahoma vs. Baylor--OU romped the shitty Bears 84-67, as Baylor has been plagued by lack of focus and poor shot selection all season. OU is not as bad as advertised. Now BU gets to hope for a decent seed and a crowd of more than 2500 in the NIT. PYB pick: OU +7. Cha-ching.

Texas Tech vs. Missouri--The Tigers are HORRID away from Columbia. TT isn't that bad, or is at least athletic. PYB pick: TT +10. Cha-ching.

Thursday
Oklahoma State vs. Kansas--KU cemented its status as the biggest hoops underachiever in the last 30 years, nearly laying an egg in a 63-62 win over a very mediocre Cowboy team. The Jayhawks are a perennial lightweight, who will now probably win the B12 tournament before exiting stage left next week in the round of 32. PYB Pick: No play. Refuse to bet KU games.

Colorado vs. Kansas State--The Buffs beats the Mildcats for the third time this season, all while getting an outrageous +7.5 points. KSU's bugaboos from earlier this season arose once again, and CU clinched its spot in the dance next week. PYB pick: CU +7.5. Cha-ching.

OU vs. Texas--The Sooners showed that they can really be a bad team one day after a big win. UT screwed around long enough before running out to a 74-54 win. PYB didn't trust either team for shit. PYB Pick: No play.

Missouri vs. Texas A&M--Let's get this straight. A team that won one road game this year was favored by 3 over a team with a good coach and some discipline? This one was obvious, no points needed. See ya Tigers, have fun losing in the first round next week. PYB Pick: Texas A&M money line. Cha-ching.

Friday
Colorado vs. Kansas--The Buffs will be playing for the third straight day. KU will get the calls but will have an outrageously high line. And they can't cover big spreads with regularity because they aren't very good. How will CU react knowing they're in the field of 60-whatever-it-is-now? Lots of questions, we have no answer. PYB pick: No play. (We don't bet KU games, remember?)

Texas A&M vs. Texas--Not sure what to make of this game, but Texas is still ripe for a couple more tourney flops this spring. Put the line at 6.5 or more, and we're riding the Aggies. It's always fun to have money against the Horns and watch Rick Barnes get outfoxed yet again.

Have fun this weekend! The Big East tourney is a good betting proposition too, with easy winners abound yesterday. However, real-life work duties call and today's preview is OVER!

Boom Goes the Dynamite II

In celebration of the return of PYB's NBA Power Rankings, we offer you a video that reminds us all of Boom Goes the Dynamite, courtesy of Deadspin. That's really, really, hhmmm, quite outstanding.....

And now for the rankings....thanks to AZ Buckeye.

1. Spurs - They have had the best record in the league all year. I have not been sold on them but they keep winning.

2. Celtics - This is a team made for a playoff run. Even though they are little long in the tooth they will get a day or two between games in the playoffs. I would be surprised if they do not represent the East in the finals this year.

3. Mavericks - All the talk about D Rose for MVP, I scoff at. Dirk is my MVP. When he was out with injury this year Dallas struggled big time.

4. Lakers - Look who is playing sick ball right now. Kobe and his bunch have been on fire. Will be going for a 3 peat if they keep playing like this.

5. Bulls - This team finally has all their pieces together for the stretch run. They been outstanding as of late.

6. Thunder - Still playing solid ball but it seems the KD has been struggling a little with the jump shot. Is he wearing down?

7. Magic - Big comeback win over a reeling Heat team, but follow it up with a loss at home to the Bulls. Can't quite figure these cats out.

8. Nuggets - Love what this team has done since they traded Carmelo. They have the deepest bench in the league. They are going to be a tough out in the playoffs.

9. Blazers - Best pickup at the trade deadline was Gerald Wallace. He actually plays D. Look out Western Conference.

10. Heat - This team is in serious trouble. They are struggling at home, getting blown out on the road. Chris Bosh is who we thought he was...HE SUCKS!