Bubble Boys: Stock Watch

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Less than two weeks from today we’ll have a real bracket in our hands, but there is still plenty of work to be done between now and then.

That also means plenty of time to break down the movers and shakers on the “soft bubble.”  In case you’re scoring at home, that’s code for “a bunch of these teams kinda suck but we have to find 68 teams somehow.”

Instead of detailing the lengthy list of every team that’s in the mix, this week’s edition of Bubble Boys will look at those on the rise, on the decline, and those stuck in the middle.  I’ll list my locks and other teams under consideration at the end.

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Are the Purdue Boilermakers the most underrated college basketball program in America?

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Before I begin this post, I believe the following disclaimer is necessary for those of you who are not familiar with my staunch college basketball allegiances: I am a die-hard, born and raised, bleed Cream & Crimson Indiana fan. Thus, I hate Purdue basketball. I’ve hated Purdue basketball for as long as I can remember, and I will go to my grave hating Purdue basketball and wishing for them to lose every single game that they play.

Got it? There is no gray area. Just Cream and Crimson, which means no gold and black. None. Ever.

With that said, there is also a pretty definitive line between hate and respect – or at least there is as I define them within the context of sports. As I’ve gotten older, and I like to think a little wiser and more objective, my hate for Purdue basketball has never waned; however, my respect for their program has grown.

And so, while watching the Boilermakers dismantle Michigan State in the Breslin Center this weekend, the following thought occurred to me: is there any basketball program in America as underrated as Purdue?

Normally, I would simply dismiss any thought that was laudatory of Purdue, but considering the unusual circumstances of the last three seasons – IU being terrible and Purdue being, well, outstanding – I figure if I’m going ever to explore such a question, now is the time. So hold your nose and come along with me as I go north ’til I smell it and west ’til I step in to explain why college basketball fans, in general, underrate the *ugh* pretty damn successful basketball history tucked away in West Lafayette.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com



Links Rachel McAdams Would Love: The New New York Knicks Get An Early Statement Win, Purdue Crushes MSU, and the NCAA Tourney Bubble Takes Center Stage

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It’s morning. While you get out your favorite coffee mug, pour a glass of orange juice, and make sure you have enough milk for your bowl of cereal, get yourself back up to date with the happenings in, or at least somewhat near, the sporting universe.

The following are links that we’re certain Rachel McAdams would love.

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Chicago Blackhawks: The Need for a Defenseman Is Increasing

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Defensive struggles have long plagued the Chicago Blackhawks this season, but a four game winning streak and a contract extension for fan favorite and much deserving defenseman Brent Seabrook has ‘Hawk fans in a state of optimism.

Still, the urgency for GM Stan Bowman to acquire a defenseman is increasing.

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Top 10 Sports Movies of All-Time

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On Sunday night the 83rd annual Academy Awards will appear on ABC, hosted by Anne Hathaway and one of my favorite actors James Franco. Many great movies were released this year and are fighting to win Best Picture, including: Inception, Black Swan, The King’s Speech, The Social Network, and The Fighter.

As a huge sports fan, and a movie fan, I thought that we here at MSF should rank the top 10 sports movies ever in the spirit of the Oscars.

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Calling All Captains: Who Is The Sexiest Captain of All-Time?

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There is something special about being a captain. Whether you are the captain of a ship, the captain of a sports team, or heck, even just the captain of a bowl of crunchberries, you are the captain. You’re a leader. You’re the top dog. People respect you, follow you, look up to you.

Oh, and you’re usually the first one in line when it comes to getting the best looking women. (Sorry non-captains, that’s just how it goes.)

Inspired by our current affiliation with the Captain Morgan BracketMaster Challenge, we decided to put Erica, the official MSF Morganette, to work by having her determine who would be on her list of the sexiest captains of all-time.

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Cavs Defeat Knicks Even With Their New Star

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As bad as the Cavs have played this year, they are very good against the Knicks: 2-0 with both wins coming in Cleveland. Last night’s win actually gave the Cavs some positive publicity on ESPN.

Even with all of the terrible weather in Cleveland, the Q was packed on Friday night to witness the new look Knicks take on the Cavs. Some fans might have been disappointed though when they arrived and found out Baron Davis was not playing, as he will not be in town until today.

The last time the Cavs played the Knicks, Mo Williams was the star of the game as he hit a game tying shot to send it into overtime. The Cavs would pull away in OT and win. He was on his way to L.A last night, but the Cavs did just fine without him.

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Assessing the Cavs Under-the-Radar Deadline Deals

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The Cleveland Cavaliers have been very active during the trade deadline for many years. The main reason in years past was to try and find a complement to the self-titled “King”.

This year the reasons for trades were different. At 10-47, the Cavs are in the rebuilding process. Their first move, which is already well known, was trading Mo Williams and Jamario Moon to the Clippers for Baron Davis and their 1st round draft pick in this year’s draft. I think it is a great trade by Cavs GM Chris Grant and the rest of the Cavs front office.

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A quick MSF shout out for Febreze Sport…a godsend for our office (especially the hockey players)

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A few weeks back, the kind folks at Febreze Sport (or, to be more specific, the marketing company they employ) sent me a box full of Febreze Sport to try out. They requested that if I used the product and liked it, that I say a few words about it on MSF.

Well, I did use it, and I do like it – very much, so here I am to say a few words about Febreze Sport here on MSF.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com



Q&A: Nate Davis explains how Travis Barker may have ripped off KontraBand Muzik with “Let the Drummer Get Wicked” [Update: Response from Recording Engineer]

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[Editor's Note: We're going to stray off the sports path with this post, but I think with good reason.

We are all about loyalty here at MSF - loyalty to our teams, obviously, but also loyalty to friends and family. Nate Davis, the lead singer of KontraBand Muzik, has been a friend and loyal supporter of MSF since the site was launched. Now that he is in need of a little help spreading the word about something that is important to him, KVB and I are happy to help. Plus, it sounds to me like he got screwed over. And if true, that's bullshit.

Update 2/25: Since posting this on February 23rd, we have continued to try to contact someone from Barker's camp. Today, I received an email from James Ingram, who was a recording engineer on the album. His response to KontraBand's claims is included in the post below.

Read on.]

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I got a call from my friend Nick the other night. He said he saw Travis Barker on Jimmy Kimmel Live doing a song. Honestly I thought so what, who is Travis Barker? Ah yes, the Blink 182 drummer. Well Nick said the song “Drummer Get Some” they preformed sounded like something he’d heard before. Specifically, it sounded like one of our friend’s songs: “Drummer Get Wicked” by KontraBand Muzik. We live in Indianapolis and they have a large following here.

Now, I am pretty cautious about stuff like this. I once did an illustration for a band’s logo and it looked almost exactly like an Umphrees McGee logo. Though a band member merely pointed out the similarity, it crushed part of me, from an artistic originality and integrity standpoint, to think that they may have thought I was ripping someone off, especially a band that had a similar sound. But I hadn’t even heard of Umphrees at the time.

That said, getting back to my conversation with Nick, he tipped me off to something that I think, in all honesty, is pretty disappointing and disheartening, especially since you now know my take on the importance of artistic originality and integrity.

To further explain what I am getting at – that Travis Barker quite likely ripped off KontraBand Muzik without crediting them in any way – here is a Q & A with Nate Davis of KontraBand Muzik. Needless to say, he’s not happy about it.

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Photo Story: Two and a Half Men – Starring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh

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Last night, the Miami Heat lost to the Chicago Bulls 93-89 in the United Center. The loss moved the Bulls to within one game of the Heat in the loss column and just two behind Boston. However, this game will go down in the annals of the 2010-11 NBA season not because of its impact on the standings, but rather because of the inexplicably awful performance by Heat forward and erstwhile “franchise player” Chris Bosh.

In addition to scoring just 7 points on 1-18 (yes, 1-18) shooting from the floor, with a few of those shots being point blank bunnies that Bosh doinked, the third member of the Heat’s “Big 3″ may have turned in the worst flop in the history of basketball; and that is not hyperbole. Scroll to the bottom of the this post where I have embedded the video. It is pathetic.

Needless to say, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were not going to stand for Bosh’s ineptitude and pansy-ass defense. They got on him immediately after the game was over, and MSF was there to capture the entire exchange. It’s all there in today’s new photo story Two and a Half Men.

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Email the author of this post: jerod@midwestsportsfans.com



Grading the NBA Deadline Trades

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After a flurry of major deals, the NBA trade deadline has finally come to a end.

Some teams made some surprising trades including Boston, who sent Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for center Nenad Krstic, power forward Jeff Green, and a first round pick from the Clippers.

Cleveland and the Clippers also made a deal Wednesday night that sent Mo Williams and Jamario Moon for Baron Davis and the Clips’ 2011 1st round pick.

The Bobcats sent Gerald Wallace for Blazers center Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham and two first round picks.

These are just a few of the big deals from the past 48 hours. Let’s grade some of the major deals in this very exciting trade deadline.

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Links Blake Lively Would Love: The NBA Trade Deadline Blows Up, Boston Deals Perkins, and Chicago Defeats the Heat

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It’s morning. While you get out your favorite coffee mug, pour a glass of orange juice, and make sure you have enough milk for your bowl of cereal, get yourself back up to date with the happenings in, or at least somewhat near, the sporting universe.

The following are links that we’re certain Blake Lively would love.

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2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings: 2nd Base

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Don’t be afraid to take the top 5 earlier in your draft or pay a little extra in an auction. The first tier is 1-5, 2nd tier is 6-11, 3rd tier is 12-18, and after that it’s all downhill.

Of the top 5, it’s tough to place them in a ranking order, because any of these guys can string together a few nice weeks at a time.

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NBA: No Parity? No Fairness? No Problem.

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If you live in Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix, or Utah, you might want to sit down, as what I’m about to say will seem heartless; unfortunately, it’s also true.

The past year has seen LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams, and Amare’ Stoudemire leave their teams to go to some place more ‘exciting.’ Either through a decision, a forced trade, or a complete hijacking of a franchise (yes, I’m talking to you Deron Williams), four of the NBA’s biggest stars have held their team hostage and screwed them over.

I have listened very intently this week to the reaction, and everyone is in one of three camps.

The first group loves what has happened because they think that New York is now a super power that will win multiple championships. This group is delusional. A team of you, me, Carmelo Anthony, Amare’ Stoudemire, and a washed up Chauncey Billups would not be a contender, and that’s basically what they have. They won’t be contenders until they get one more player.

The second group is the one that I’m in. We don’t really think the trades will have a huge impact this year, but we are excited to watch Carmelo play in MSG every night with Amare’. We see the NBA for what it is: entertainment…and at the very least, this is all very entertaining.

The third group is the funniest. I like to call this group the “It’s not fair that these rich jerks have so much power and they are destroying the NBA because they are making it impossible for small town teams to win and it’s killing parity which is what makes the NFL so successful and this is bad bad bad for the NBA” group.

I know. It’s a mouthful. Unfortunately, it seems like there are more people in this camp than the other two combined. That’s just wrong. Here’s why.

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Jon Washburn @The_Dr_Twitch