The 6th Man

Former Husky to Start for 49ers Sunday

2005-11-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

In his time as a Washington Husky, Cody Pickett rewrote the program’s record books and even set a few Pac-10 records too. In the NFL, he has yet to even have much playing time since being drafter last year by the San Francisco 49ers.

This weekend he will get his shot.

When the season started, Pickett was playing special teams and was basically the fourth quarterback on the San Francisco roster. However, with injuries to both Alex Smith and Ken Dorsey, he will be starting for the first time in his career.

During last Sunday’s game, Dorsey went down to his injury and in came the former rodeo champ to chants of “Cody! Cody! Cody!”

Hopefully he’ll be hearing those same chants at the end of the game on Sunday too.

Huskies Pick 4th in Pac 10 by Media

2005-11-03T23:22:00.000-08:00

Pre Season Pac 10 Media Poll:
1. Arizona (23) 325
2. Stanford (9) 294
3. UCLA (2) 263
4. Washington 238
5. California 212
6. Oregon 183
7. Oregon State 132
8. USC 87
9. Washington State 86
10. Arizona State 50

I can't really argue with that poll, at least not as far as where the Huskies are placed right now. I certainly think that they have the ability to finish higher than fourth, but with so many inexperienced players on the roster right now it’s going to take some time to figure how good this team actually is. If the new guys gel and Brandon Roy and Bobby Jones can be as good as I really think they can be then 4^th should be the lowest this team should finish. However, if things don’t go quite as well I don’t think it would be out of the realm of possible for Cal or Oregon to pass them up.

Looking at the conference this season, I see five tournament teams. I think Arizona and Stanford are a lock at this point. My other three are UCLA, Washington, and Cal. With Leon Powe and transfer Omar Wilkes, I see them as a serious contender in the Pac 10.

Miami @ Virginia Tech

2005-11-01T20:26:00.000-08:00

In 1999, Michael Vick led undefeated Virginia Tech past Miami and into the second ever BCS national championship game. Back then, the Hurricanes were climbing their way back to the top of the college football world after crippling sanctions brought the proud program all the way down to 5-6 just two years earlier.

This time around, Miami (6-1) has joined Virginia Tech back up among the ranks of the college football elite, and they are looking to put an opening season loss to Florida State behind them and march onto their first conference title since they joined the ACC and a sixth national championship.

However, the Hokies (8-0) counter with another Vick at the helm of their offense to slow down the surging Hurricanes.

Marcus Vick is going to have to follow in his brother’s footsteps—a task he has been trying to do since he first stepped on campus in Blacksburg, Virginia—if Virginia Tech wants another shot at the national title.

While Vick and Devin Hester—Miami’s dynamo punt returner—are the most exciting players in this contest, the match up comes down to a pair of defenses that claim statistical supremacy over the rest of the country. Virginia Tech’s 9.1 points per game tops the nation while the Hurricane’s 221.6 yards per game does the same.

College Football

2005-09-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

With the first two weeks of the college football season out of the way, here are my observations thus far. First, I will give you my thoughts on seeing the first two Washington Husky games.

Games last four quarters in football
Well, the Huskies are again 0-2. After next week they should be 1-2 when they play Idaho, but I don't see another easy win on the schedule.

However, after the first two weeks there have some very interesting developments. What was the biggest weakness last season has become what looks to be the strength of the football team this year. Isaiah Stanback's play at quarterback and the all around play of the numberous recievers has been taken to a much higher level this year. In the pocket or scrambling out of it, Stanback looks calm and confident.

As for the recievers, Sonny Shackelford and Craig Chambers seem to be the real go-to-guys this season. Shackelford really emerged yesterday as a big play guy against California, lets see if he can keep it up.

The secondary on the other hand... We knew it was going to be shaky going on with two brand new starters, but I didn't think it would be this bad.

Two weeks in and championship hopes dashed
Ohio State lost, but they look good. I could see them in the championship game with one loss. They have a lot of team speed. Ted Ginn looked good, but dare I say that Santonio Holmes looked better?

This could be Texas' year with Vince Young at the helm. Oklahoma is not good, so if they can avoid an upset they could be undefeated going into the Big 12 championship game.

Charlie Weis may be the coach at Notre Dame right now, but he's coaching Tyrone Willingham's players.

Florida State will lose, but will Virginia Tech? Marcus Vick has looked as good as advertised.

The Urban Meyer era in Florida has started out well. The big test comes this week against Tennesee.

The four Big 10 championship contenders is down to the most unexpected one... Purdue. If they can get past Iowa, their schedule favors an undefeated season.

Heisman Hype
1. Vince Young (270 pass yds/76 rush yds/2 td/2 int): Vince just might be the one to take the Longhorns to the title game.
2. Matt Leinert (Bye): Can last year's winner win two straight? I doubt it.
3. Reggie Bush (Bye): Most electifying player in college football may not even be the best running back in the Pac 10... Marshawn Lynch?
4. Omar Jacobs (428 yds/5 td/1 int): Jacobs is no longer an overlooked QB, he's a legitimate heisman candidate.
5. Chris Leak (219 yds/2 td/0 int): I've always like Leak, and in Meyer's system it will put him right into the conversation.

Darkhorse contender: Marcus Vick (172 yds/3 td/1 int) -- As go the Hokies, so will go Vick's heisman campaign.
Back in the Conversation: Adrian Peterson (54 car/283 yds/4 td) -- Will be hard for Peterson to win it if the Sooners don't right the ship.

Back in action!

2005-08-13T12:46:00.000-07:00

After a long absence I am coming back to posting on the blog on a regular basis.

With basketball season slowly approaching, I will be getting back into the college side of things, but I will also touch on other sports as well. At least until basketball season begins, I will shift some of the attention to college football as well.

Pac-10 Awards and the fall of the Unbeaten

2005-03-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

I would have posted this yesterday, but the Huskies game was just too damn depressing. Anyways, first I am going to list my Pac-10 Awards and Teams I like at the bottom.

Pac-10 Awards
Player of the Year: Ike Diogu
Arizona State is nothing without Ike on it this year. With him, they almost made the tournament.
Freshman of the Year: Jordan Farmar
As much as it pains me to do it, he has been the best rookie in the Pac this year.
Coach of the Year: Lorenzo Romar
He has turned Washington from conference doormat to conference powerhouse in a year and a half.

All Pac-10 Team:
Nate Robinson
Tre Simmons
Will Conroy
Ike Diogu
Salim Stoudamire
Dijon Thompson
Channing Frye
Chris Hernandez
Dan Grunfeld
David Lucas

Teams I Like:
Only one team this week!
Ohio State: I called it on Friday that they would beat Illinios (check out my power 16 below). They are a good team, but a self-imposed postseason ban is the only thing keeping them out the tournament this season. The put the explanation point on their season today.

Final Regular Season Power 16

2005-03-04T20:52:00.000-08:00

One last Power 16 before the postseason begins:

The No. 1 Seeds:
Illinois (29-0): They remain right here until they lose to Ohio State.
North Carolina (25-3): Let's go Duke!
Wake Forest (25-4): UNC, Duke, and Wake Forest are off the charts, but the rest of the ACC is well quite dreadful. The Big East is better from top to bottom.
Kentucky (23-3): Won yet ANOTHER SEC title.

The No. 2 Seeds:
Duke (22-4): Sheldon Williams is easily the defensive player of the year. Don't believe me? Look at the stats.
Washington (24-4): If they keep shooting like they did yesterday and Lorenzo Romar will be returning to St. Louis.
Boston College (23-3): The Eagles lose two straight games to good teams, they fall to a three seed in most places...
Kansas (22-4): ...Kansas does it three straight times and they are still rated higher. What?

The No. 3 Seeds:
Arizona (24-5): Wildcats-Huskies part three in Los Angeles is going to be a good one.
Louisville (25-4): No late season collapse this year? Still have a chance against DePaul.
Michigan State (21-5): Hoosier daddy?!
Gonzaga (23-4): Need to gain steam going into the NCAAs. In other words, don't lose in the WCC tourney again.

The No. 4 Seeds:
Connecticut (20-6): Mark my words: No repeat this year.
Syracuse (24-5): One thing you need to know about the Orange: Hakim Warrick.
Oklahoma (22-6): The Big 12 is tough this year, and the Sooners have been up to the challenge.
Pacific (24-2): The Tigers are the next Gonzaga.

Tomorrow: My picks for Pac-10 awards.

Nate is Back!

2005-02-27T00:06:00.000-08:00

This was a post that I was going to make yesterday, but I decided to make sure that I was not jumping the gun before the biggest game of the season.

All I have to say is Nate Robinson is once again Nate Robinson.

When this season began, Nate had taken his game to another level. He was spotting up for threes from way down town, he was making moves that no one else could do, and he was just frankly playing the game at an incredibly high emotional level.

However, when the NC State game came, something happened, and he hadn't been the same since. He started forcing shots, and he just wasn't the same player that he used to be. Going into that game he was averaging 22.5 points per game and was shooting 53% from beyond the arc.

Against the Wolfpack though, he hit a wall. While the Huskies won, Nate chipped in only seven points including 0-5 from three-point range. He has averaged just 12.8 points and hit less points in those 17 games (18) than he did in the previous 8 (22). He no longer looked as confident as before and got stiffled on defense fairly easily. With the exception of a game here and there he was not the same Nate.

On Thursday, that all changed. He looked again like he had at the beginning of the year. There is a sense that anything is possible. He made shots that no one else makes. He was sinking threes again. He even dunked for just the second time all year.

It looked like he was back, but the question was whether he could keep it up for the biggest game of the year.

Today, he was there again. He made shots, got to the three point line, and bombed it from three-point range. He put the team on the back at the end and hit the crucial free throws. He would not be denied. You could tell that he did not want to lose to Arizona, and he did not let it happen.

If Nate keeps this up the rest of the year, then Final Four here they come. When he's on, the Huskies are nearly unbeatable.

Power 16

2005-02-24T17:20:00.000-08:00

Here is my first version of the Power 16:

The No. 1 Seeds:
Illinois (28-0): Michigan State in the Big 10 tourney will be final test before the NCAAs.
North Carolina (23-3): I hate UNC...
Boston College (22-2): Villanova just had more to play for with a tournament bid on the line.
Duke (20-4): No Sean Dockery may mean no final four for Duke.

The No. 2 Seeds:
Wake Forest(23-4): If they had beat Duke, they'd be the one seed.
Kentucky (21-3): The SEC may be better than the Pac 10, but not by much.
Arizona (23-4): Right now, Salim Stoudamire > J.J. Reddick.
Michigan State (20-4): Beating Wisconsin today put them here.

The No. 3 Seeds:
Washington (21-4): Nate the Great needs to start bringing more to the plate.
Oklahoma State (20-4): Setback against Nebraska won't matter if they beat Kansas.
Gonzaga (21-4): Almost lost to San Francisco at home...
Louisville (23-4): No late-season melt down YET this season.

The No. 4 Seeds:
Alabama (21-5): Crimson Tide a close second to Kentucky for best team in SEC.
Syracuse (23-5): Big East's poor foresight may costs Orange a second shot at Boston College.
Kansas (20-4): Beat Oklahoma State or goodbye to the Power 16.
Villanova (18-6): Kansas, Pittsburgh, and BC will tell you to watch out for 'Nova.

The first Patriot League post

2005-02-23T15:24:00.000-08:00

This past summer I bought a book at the bookstore called The Last Amateurs. Before I bought it, I have never heard of it, so I knew basically knew nothing about it. It ended up being one of the best books that I have ever read. It was a great look inside the 1999-2000 Patriot League season, and makes you realize that there is basketball outside of the major conferences.

The book boosted an interest in smaller conference teams that I have had for a while. So, I will post on occasion about the Patriot League, and here is the first post. I can't wait until Championship Week to get a glimpse of two of the teams.

All eight teams are in action for the Patriot League tonight. The most important game of the night will be Bucknell at Holy Cross. Only two more conference games remain for each team, so this is the home stretch.

Bucknell @ Holy Cross: This is a rematch of the Crusader's only conference loss of the season. Bucknell came into the season looking like the pre-season favorite, especially after their 69-66 victory at Pittsburgh who was ranked 7th at the time. In the first conference game for both team's Bucknell beat Holy Cross 59-43 at home. Since then, Holy Cross has kicked it into gear as they have won eleven straight going into tonight's matchup. Win today and the Crusaders clinch the Patriot League regular season title, lose and they will probably clinch Saturday against Army.

Here is a look at the Standings:

Patriot League
Team	Conf. W-L	Tot. W-L
Holy Cross	11-1	20-5
Bucknell	9-3	18-8
Lehigh	7-5	13-12
American	6-6	13-11
Colgate	6-6	11-13
Lafayette	4-8	8-17
Navy	4-8	8-17
Army	1-11	3-21

SEC/Pac-10 Challenge

2005-02-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

While perusing ESPN.com today, I saw an article talking about an extension for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It said that the event would expand from nine to eleven teams next year and would last until 2010. What is so great about the setup is that nine of the games will be played on ESPN or ESPN2.

That got me to thinking that the Pac-10 could use something similar to this. Maybe they could team up with the SEC or Big 12, seed the teams and play them on national TV. This would be great for a couple of reasons:

1) Right now the Pac-10 does not get much air time nationally with their current television package and increasing that would be great for the conference.

2) It would give all the teams an extra quality opponent every year that is about on par with the quality of that team.

3) It would create some excitement for the two conferences, as every team would be playing a vital out-of-conference team at the same time.

4) It would see how the Pac-10 ranks up when competing head-to-head against the top-10 teams in another conference.

If they were to take an example of maybe an SEC/Pac-10 challenge, and play it out, the top five games could be seeded something like this:

Game 1: Kentucky vs. Arizona
Game 2: Alabama vs. Washington
Game 3: Mississippi State vs. Stanford
Game 4: Florida vs. UCLA
Game 5: LSU vs. Arizona State

In this example, the two locks for the tournament for both conferences (Washington and Arizona from the Pac-10 and Kentucky and Alabama from the SEC) would play each other on national TV, boosting exposure and their tournament resumes by possibly adding a quality win. In the other three games listed above, the three bubble teams from each conferences would have duked it out earlier in the season, with a victory helping their tournament chances.

Just an idea.

Bracketology

2005-02-21T17:38:00.000-08:00

This is my rundown for which teams I think should fill the at-large spots in the tournament. First, there are 31 automatic bids, so that leaves 34 at-large bids to fill out the bracket.

American East: Vermont
Not likely to get two bids in if Vermont wins the conference tournament; however, if Boston University defeats the Catamounts in the final, then Vermont has done enough to get an at-large spot.

Atlantic 10: George Washington and St. Joseph's
Both have done enough to get in if neither wins the A-10 tourney.

ACC: UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland, Virginia Tech, and Georgia Tech
I like Virginia Tech a lot right now. They have impressed me by beating Georgia Tech, Duke, and Miami twice. It would be very impressive if the Hokies could make the tournament in just their first season in the ACC. They have two very winable games against Clemson and NC State before a big matchup against Maryland to end the season.

Big 12: Oklahoma State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, and Iowa State
Iowa State looks to be the candidate to be this year's Washington Huskies. They started 0-5 in conference and have since won seven straight including beating Kansas on Saturday. Looking at their schedule they could finish with 11 straight to go 11-5 in conference.

Big East: Boston College, Connecticut, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Villanova
That's right! I am picking the Big East to have more at-large bids than the ACC. This year's version of the Big East is just deeper than the ACC, and it's going to get even more so adding Louisville and Cincinnati next season. Plus, the have Boston College, the Eagles are soaring at number three!

Big Ten: Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin
Ohio State would be currently sitting on a pretty strong bubble right now if it weren't for the fact that they are banned from post-season play. Instead the Buckeye's will be staying home with a possible shot at 20 wins.

Conference USA: Louisville, Charlotte, Cincinnati, DePaul, and Memphis
Memphis has a shot at making the tournament if they can continue going strong. Their waxing of Louisville last week helped them a lot. They still have to play Cincinnati, Charlotte, and Louisville. Going 3-1 in their final four games could get them in.

Missouri Valley: Southern Illinois and Wichita State
I don't see another bid coming from the Valley unless neither Wichita State or Southern Illinois wins the conference tournament.

Pac-10: Arizona, Washington, Stanford, and UCLA
This has nothing to do with the tournament, but isn't it just awesome to look at the Pac-10 standings and realize that at this point, Oregon isn't even going to make the conference tournament. I hate the Ducks.

SEC: Kentucky, Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Mississippi State
Yet another major conference having a down year. Mississippi State is going to need to finish strong to solidify it's case for entry into the tournament without winning the SEC tourney.

WCC: Gonzaga and St. Mary's
Yet another year that the WCC has shown that it is among the best of the mid-major conferences in Division I. They are consistently getting two bids into the tournament.

WAC: Nevada and UTEP
Though they didn't help their case by losing to Pacific in the bracket buster on Saturday, I still think that UTEP has the best shot for one of the final at-large bids. They are already at 20 wins and have created a sizable lead for second in the conference.

Huskies back on the winning track

2005-02-19T21:26:00.000-08:00

I was a little bit worried about the Washington State game before it happened, but now that it has come and gone I have no idea why. The Cougars are simply, just bad. None of the WSU players can score, it's really quite pathetic. The game wasn't close anywhere after the first ten minutes.

Next up are Arizona and Arizona State at home. These are going to be big ones, especially the matchup against the Wildcats next weekend. The Pac-10 title will be on the line in this one, a victory and the conference crown has a good chance of coming to Seattle, a loss and they are all but out of it.

Game of the Week:
Syracuse 60, Boston College 65
I don't know if anyone has noticed yet, but Boston College is pretty good. Jared Dudley is also really, really good and he is only a sophomore. BC dominated most the game, giving the Orangemen a lead for only about 2 1/2 minutes in the entire contest.

That victory, coupled with the Villanova win today all but wraps the conference title for the Eagles.

Teams I like this Week:
Iowa State: This year's version of last year's Huskies
Villanova: Allen Ray might be another Ray Allen
USC: I will be rooting for them because any win they get will help put Oregon in the Pac-10 cellar, and that would be awesome.
Pacific: You have to like a west coast mid-major like Pacific getting some love. They beat Providence in the first round of the NCAAs last year, who knows what will happen this March.