After two days, I decided to join forces with Oklahoma's best, Ben Walnick, so we can co-dominate the blogging world. My guess is most of my posts will go there, but I'll keep up Bucky Bronco just as a reference point. The link is here.
Thanks for reading, and check us out over at the Texas-Colorado Connection.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sportsman of the Month - retro to Jan/Feb
You know how Sports Illustrated does its "Sportsman of the Year" thing every December? They leave out so many good candidates, and, well, they can only choose one man or woman each year. So I came up with this idea to spread it out, and do a Sportsman of the Month that helps give more great athletes and sports personalities their props. I'll have my March choice at the end of the month; but in the interest of spreading it out, here's my January and February picks. -Aaron
January: Larry Fitzgerald
Celebrities behaving badly seem to dominate the headlines so much more than celebrities doing positive, enlightening things. That’s why when we are blessed with a feel-good story, ESPN is so good at ramming it down our throats so much that we can eventually get sick of many “good guys.” Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Tim Tebow, Stephen Curry, even lovable Jason McElwain… hate to say it, but I grew tired of hearing about each of them. (No offense to J-Mac and his cool story...I just think it got overblown, particularly due to those annoying "G" commercials.)
Well, I hope I never, ever, ever get sick of Larry Fitzgerald, Jr.
(Now his dad, that’s another story. Larry Senior showed up at the Big Ten Tournament wearing his kid’s jersey to cover … who, exactly, I don’t know. Seems that fame got to the old man’s head. But I digress from a wonderful story.)
In lifting the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl (think how ridiculous that sounds), Fitz put up one of the greatest back-to-back-to-back-to-back efforts in the history of postseasons. Many people labeled this the greatest postseason ever, but I use the words I do because it properly illustrates that he did it consistently in four straight games, instead of having one monster game and a couple of okay efforts.
One great game against the Falcons (six catches, 101 yards, and a touchdown) and one massive game at the Carolina (eight, 166 and a score) wasn’t enough to convince the two Keystone State teams. Even when everybody in the ballpark knew that Fitz was getting the ball, the Eagles (nine, 152 and three touchdowns) and Steelers (seven, 127 and two scores, including the go-ahead 64-yarder with 2:37 to go that nearly won it for ‘Zona) couldn’t stop him. Then just for good measure, Fitzgerald went down to Hawaii and was the MVP of the 2009 Pro Bowl with five, 81 and two scores (only the AFC All-Stars could keep Fitz under the century mark for yards).
How colossally insane is that? 33 catches, 627 yards, and nine touchdowns. In five games. And unless you were living under a rock in January, you already know that Fitzgerald ranks in the top five humblest, most soft-spoken athletes in America today.
Let’s just make sure Fitzgerald, 25, doesn’t go the obnoxious ways of Terrell Owens or Chad Johnson.
January honorable mentions: Tebow, Tony Dungy, Barack Obama, Michael Phelps’ bong
February: Rafael Nadal
On the night the calendar flipped to February and America slept soundly in preparation for another Super Bowl, a remarkable accomplishment was happening on the other side of the planet, and I’m proud to say I pulled the all-nighter to witness it live.
Rafael Nadal officially grabbed the reins of the men’s tennis circuit from the potential GOAT, Roger Federer, with a gutsy, gripping, high-octane, not-as-great-as-their-Wimbledon-final-but-pretty-darn-close five-set victory down at the Australian Open. Nadal now has six Grand Slams, to his name, at age 22. The Fed Express, who sits at 13 majors (one shy of Pete Sampras’ all-time mark), had the grand total of one Grand Slam on his 22nd birthday.
Most telling that Nadal is officially inside Federer’s head was seeing Federer weep at the post-match ceremony – any sort of outward emotion from Roger has been extremely uncharacteristic throughout the past five years. Perhaps he’s starting to realize that not only will every Grand Slam title he shoots for from here on out will be a daunting task, but he’s also gotta be thinking: even if I do surpass Sampras, how long will I actually hold the record?
The world took a long time to embrace Roger as an all-time great. Let’s not make the same mistake with Rafa.
February honorable mentions: Santonio Holmes, Big East men’s basketball coaches, Nate Robinson, A-Rod’s cousin
January: Larry Fitzgerald
Celebrities behaving badly seem to dominate the headlines so much more than celebrities doing positive, enlightening things. That’s why when we are blessed with a feel-good story, ESPN is so good at ramming it down our throats so much that we can eventually get sick of many “good guys.” Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, Tim Tebow, Stephen Curry, even lovable Jason McElwain… hate to say it, but I grew tired of hearing about each of them. (No offense to J-Mac and his cool story...I just think it got overblown, particularly due to those annoying "G" commercials.)
Well, I hope I never, ever, ever get sick of Larry Fitzgerald, Jr.
(Now his dad, that’s another story. Larry Senior showed up at the Big Ten Tournament wearing his kid’s jersey to cover … who, exactly, I don’t know. Seems that fame got to the old man’s head. But I digress from a wonderful story.)
In lifting the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl (think how ridiculous that sounds), Fitz put up one of the greatest back-to-back-to-back-to-back efforts in the history of postseasons. Many people labeled this the greatest postseason ever, but I use the words I do because it properly illustrates that he did it consistently in four straight games, instead of having one monster game and a couple of okay efforts.
One great game against the Falcons (six catches, 101 yards, and a touchdown) and one massive game at the Carolina (eight, 166 and a score) wasn’t enough to convince the two Keystone State teams. Even when everybody in the ballpark knew that Fitz was getting the ball, the Eagles (nine, 152 and three touchdowns) and Steelers (seven, 127 and two scores, including the go-ahead 64-yarder with 2:37 to go that nearly won it for ‘Zona) couldn’t stop him. Then just for good measure, Fitzgerald went down to Hawaii and was the MVP of the 2009 Pro Bowl with five, 81 and two scores (only the AFC All-Stars could keep Fitz under the century mark for yards).
How colossally insane is that? 33 catches, 627 yards, and nine touchdowns. In five games. And unless you were living under a rock in January, you already know that Fitzgerald ranks in the top five humblest, most soft-spoken athletes in America today.
Let’s just make sure Fitzgerald, 25, doesn’t go the obnoxious ways of Terrell Owens or Chad Johnson.
January honorable mentions: Tebow, Tony Dungy, Barack Obama, Michael Phelps’ bong
February: Rafael Nadal
On the night the calendar flipped to February and America slept soundly in preparation for another Super Bowl, a remarkable accomplishment was happening on the other side of the planet, and I’m proud to say I pulled the all-nighter to witness it live.
Rafael Nadal officially grabbed the reins of the men’s tennis circuit from the potential GOAT, Roger Federer, with a gutsy, gripping, high-octane, not-as-great-as-their-Wimbledon-final-but-pretty-darn-close five-set victory down at the Australian Open. Nadal now has six Grand Slams, to his name, at age 22. The Fed Express, who sits at 13 majors (one shy of Pete Sampras’ all-time mark), had the grand total of one Grand Slam on his 22nd birthday.
Most telling that Nadal is officially inside Federer’s head was seeing Federer weep at the post-match ceremony – any sort of outward emotion from Roger has been extremely uncharacteristic throughout the past five years. Perhaps he’s starting to realize that not only will every Grand Slam title he shoots for from here on out will be a daunting task, but he’s also gotta be thinking: even if I do surpass Sampras, how long will I actually hold the record?
The world took a long time to embrace Roger as an all-time great. Let’s not make the same mistake with Rafa.
February honorable mentions: Santonio Holmes, Big East men’s basketball coaches, Nate Robinson, A-Rod’s cousin
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Final thoughts on the UW basketball season
Thanks to my superiors at the Capital Times, I got to handle the Badgerbeat.com game blogs all season long for the Wisconsin men's basketball games. Even though their record was pretty despicable in games I blogged - at my count, the Badgers won just six of those 16 games, including the entire six-game losing streak - it was an unbelievable experience to cover the team in a completely different way; giving play-by-play updates and constant in-game commentary that was mostly knee-jerk based on what was going on in that moment. One of the coolest parts was seeing the comments from readers grow week by week, and they were not only very respectable but also had great insight on the team that I learned from. Throw in my responsibilities of conducting the post-game interviews with Cap Times columnist Mike Lucas - an old-school student of the game and an absolute stathead, always cool in my book - as well as my first IM basketball action (419ers, represent) and I felt like I learned so much about the game of basketball this winter.
Here's my basic take on the team this season: they missed Brian Butch and Mike Flowers more than people realize. I think it could be one hell of a debate in a newspaper or on "Sidelines" with Lucas and Tom Oates and Jeff Potrykus and those guys: which athlete caught more unnecessary flak during his playing days and was never appreciated for his truly astronomical value until after he graduated, John Stocco (UW quarterback, 2003-2006) or Butch (UW basketball center, 2003-2007)? Without Butch aka The Polar Bear, the team was way too small, and lacked a clutch-time scorer as well as an emotional spark-plug. And without his mentor Flowers, Trevon Hughes was a lone gun out there; a role player masquerading as "the" guy for the entire season. No offense to Pop, but he's not consistent enough to be the first, second and third option on the offensive end.
The scoring droughts absolutely killed this team's season, and the fact that the Badgers led late in 10 of their 13 losses speaks both to their offensive inefficiency and their obvious dropoff from the 2007-08 club that ranked tops in national defense. I think fans should be happy with the nice upset victory against Florida State that not only validated UW's place in the NCAA tournament, but also got the Badgers to 20 wins and made this a B-minus season and not something in C-ville.
Quick look-ahead to next year: look for that three-guard lineup to be a regular thing. Jordan Taylor will likely become the starting point guard, with Hughes and Jason Bohannon as the shooters. Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil will be the forwards, with Tim Jarmusz, Rob Wilson, and any mix of freshmen Ryan Evans and Jared Berggren and incomer Diamond Taylor rounding out the rotation.
Ben Voelkel of SportsBubbler.com thinks that the team I just outlined will be a top-15 squad in 2009-10. I say nay; still not enough offensive firepower, and the Big Ten is only gonna get better top to bottom. Love to hear what you guys think on this.
Here's my basic take on the team this season: they missed Brian Butch and Mike Flowers more than people realize. I think it could be one hell of a debate in a newspaper or on "Sidelines" with Lucas and Tom Oates and Jeff Potrykus and those guys: which athlete caught more unnecessary flak during his playing days and was never appreciated for his truly astronomical value until after he graduated, John Stocco (UW quarterback, 2003-2006) or Butch (UW basketball center, 2003-2007)? Without Butch aka The Polar Bear, the team was way too small, and lacked a clutch-time scorer as well as an emotional spark-plug. And without his mentor Flowers, Trevon Hughes was a lone gun out there; a role player masquerading as "the" guy for the entire season. No offense to Pop, but he's not consistent enough to be the first, second and third option on the offensive end.
The scoring droughts absolutely killed this team's season, and the fact that the Badgers led late in 10 of their 13 losses speaks both to their offensive inefficiency and their obvious dropoff from the 2007-08 club that ranked tops in national defense. I think fans should be happy with the nice upset victory against Florida State that not only validated UW's place in the NCAA tournament, but also got the Badgers to 20 wins and made this a B-minus season and not something in C-ville.
Quick look-ahead to next year: look for that three-guard lineup to be a regular thing. Jordan Taylor will likely become the starting point guard, with Hughes and Jason Bohannon as the shooters. Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil will be the forwards, with Tim Jarmusz, Rob Wilson, and any mix of freshmen Ryan Evans and Jared Berggren and incomer Diamond Taylor rounding out the rotation.
Ben Voelkel of SportsBubbler.com thinks that the team I just outlined will be a top-15 squad in 2009-10. I say nay; still not enough offensive firepower, and the Big Ten is only gonna get better top to bottom. Love to hear what you guys think on this.
No such thing as "good" losses? Pah!
With just 12 games to go in the NBA season, and my beloved Nuggets in a tighter-than-David-Wells'-belt-buckle race for positioning in the Western Conference playoffs, I think it's safe to say that we've reached the point of the season where there really is no such thing as a "good" loss, that the only thing that matters is the W or L.
Well, I think the Nuggs got something close to a "good" loss last night at Phoenix, dropping a 118-115 decision to the Suns (which, somehow, won cash for those who took the under...weird). Consider the following:
-Denver had been 1-6 in its last seven road games. They haven't exactly been lighting it up away from the Pepsi Center.
-The Suns led by 14 at one point, but really led by double digits the entire second half. Denver showed character in eventually erasing the deficit and actually leading by 11 in the third quarter.
-Does it suck that Denver, in turn, gave up an 11-point lead? Yes, but the way Phoenix can score, it's not inexcusable.
-Phoenix, based on what their homer announcers said about 241 times during the second half, needed that game. Can't argue with losing on the road to a desperate team.
-Denver can still get the next two tough roadies, and honestly, need those more. New Orleans and Dallas are close to the Nuggets in the standings, so those would be two-way wins (get a win, hand a loss to a top competitor) as opposed to beating Phoenix, which only helps in one way.
-K-Mart played both halves for a change, despite rolling his ankle in the first half. The guy's healthy again, finally.
-Let's face it, even if Phoenix has struggled this year, Denver's never played well in the desert. Ever.
-Oh, and Portland lost. To Philly. In overtime. At home.
So the Nuggets play their hearts out and lose a close one to a really good team in their building, while the Blazers dropped a very winnable game at home? I'll take it. Still like the Nuggets to finish up as division winners by a game or two, but not much more than that.
Well, I think the Nuggs got something close to a "good" loss last night at Phoenix, dropping a 118-115 decision to the Suns (which, somehow, won cash for those who took the under...weird). Consider the following:
-Denver had been 1-6 in its last seven road games. They haven't exactly been lighting it up away from the Pepsi Center.
-The Suns led by 14 at one point, but really led by double digits the entire second half. Denver showed character in eventually erasing the deficit and actually leading by 11 in the third quarter.
-Does it suck that Denver, in turn, gave up an 11-point lead? Yes, but the way Phoenix can score, it's not inexcusable.
-Phoenix, based on what their homer announcers said about 241 times during the second half, needed that game. Can't argue with losing on the road to a desperate team.
-Denver can still get the next two tough roadies, and honestly, need those more. New Orleans and Dallas are close to the Nuggets in the standings, so those would be two-way wins (get a win, hand a loss to a top competitor) as opposed to beating Phoenix, which only helps in one way.
-K-Mart played both halves for a change, despite rolling his ankle in the first half. The guy's healthy again, finally.
-Let's face it, even if Phoenix has struggled this year, Denver's never played well in the desert. Ever.
-Oh, and Portland lost. To Philly. In overtime. At home.
So the Nuggets play their hearts out and lose a close one to a really good team in their building, while the Blazers dropped a very winnable game at home? I'll take it. Still like the Nuggets to finish up as division winners by a game or two, but not much more than that.
TNEA of the Month
This blog will be mostly reserved for just sports talk, but in the good name of many bloggers and ESPN writers before me (ahem, Matthew Berry), there's gotta be a little risque factor to Bucky Bronco as well. So I'm gonna start up a monthly feature, in which we pay our respects to some woman in the sports atmosphere that might have the goods and the gusto to one day take over Erin Andrews' current post as all-time sports goddess. Nothing against EA - we still love ya up in Wisco - but fads change more quickly than an orderly man's socks, so we must be prepared for Erin's understudy! I call it "The Next Erin Andrews of the Month", or "TNEA of the Month" for short. Well, for kind of short. TNEAOTM just looked weird.
March's nomination (how sad, it's just for a week) is a bit of an obvious one, since many people in both Colorado and Wisconsin know about her: Charissa Thompson, formerly of Fox Sports Rocky Mountain (the Rockies' sideline girl during the World Series season of 2007) and currently of the Big Ten Network and FSN's Best Damn Sports Show Period. She's an obvious choice in that, uh, she's clearly being groomed as one of the top up-and-comers to perhaps one day succeed EA as the loveliest sideline girl of them all. But nonetheless, she dons the first crown for this monthly honor. Check back on April 1st for April's nominee, and I promise you will not be disappointed.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Start of Something New
This blog has been a long time coming...should have started it last fall, last summer, or even a couple years ago. But, better late than never, right? I'll contribute daily or weekly thoughts on the sporting world, mostly focusing on Denver sports (Broncos, Nuggets, Avalanche, Rockies) and the University of Wisconsin Badgers (hence the name, Bucky Bronco) as well as other hot-button national topics. Enjoy the blog!
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