Weekend Basketball Recap

I have been a huge fan of All-Star Weekend for a long time. Some of my favorite moments were Dee Brown in 1991...

Craig Hodges dominating the 3-point shootout...

And Vince Carter in 2000...

Jebus, what happened? Now you get a 2:00 shot clock (unless you involve the guy from The Black Eyed Peas, and stuffed animals) and as many attempts misses as you want, until you finally make it on your 8th try, thereby eliminating any actual applause. This year was no different. Blake Griffin only had to tie his shoes to be handed the title Saturday night. I wonder if Vegas took bets on either:

1. Justin Bieber winning the fan vote for MVP of the "celebrity" game. 
2. Blake Griffin winning the fan vote for the dunk contest.

I have personally vowed to never watch another celebrity game as long as people like Rob Kardashian and Bieber are involved. I remember T.O. and Master P actually playing. Now.....sigh

The Rookie/Sophomore game was what I thought it was, and I let them off the hook...

There was less defense in this game than at Charlie Sheen's pharmacist, and only slightly less scoring. The Rookies won 148-140. Yada, yada John Wall had 22 assists. Demarcus Cousins didn't kill anyone*, and Greg Monroe was his solid self. He scored 14, had 8 boards, and 3 assists. The sophomores.....played too. There was a pretty solid dunk though.

Saturday was predictable. I didn't watch the Player/Old Timer/"girl"** competiton. I stopped watching when I heard the teams:

1. Atlanta
2. Chicago
3. Los Angeles
4. Texas

One of these things is not like the other,one of these things just doesn't belong. Stephen Curry won the least dribbles in 30 seconds contest over Russel Westbrook.

A quick break from NBA action. In the Baylor women's game, Felisha from Friday dunked. She didn't look 6'8'' in the movie, but it came out back in 1995. What? Brittney Griner is not the same person? Hmm....

Felisha from Friday

Brittney Griner from Baylor

Sorry, back to the NBA. So Serge Ibaka dunks from the free throw line (for real, not like Jordan or Brent Barry who were a step inside the line) and gets a 45. Blake Griffin jumps over the hood of a car*** and gets elected Mayor of Butte, MT? I get that this is a popularity contest, but if David Stern is going to keep it this way, force LeBron, Kobe, Durant, et al to participate. I mean seriously, how many people had heard of Jevale McGee or Serge Ibaka before last night? I bet 82% of America expected Balki Bartokomous from Perfect Strangers to come out....

I'm sorry, but

Is far superior to



Ok, NBA. You win this round.

*-That we know of.

**-"She" was on team Atlanta...
***-Well, a KIA anyway

Lions sign Erik Coleman

The Lions signed veteran safety Erik Coleman to a 1 year deal yesterday. Despite the impending labor situation, it's nice to see Detroit sign a potential starter. Coleman and Delmas would be a pretty good set of safeties. Now if only Patrick Peterson could land here. This could also lead to Spievey moving back to corner if need be.

Coleman was a fifth round draft pick out of Washington State in 2004. He spent 4 years with the Jets and the last two with Atlanta, so worst case, h
e brings a winning attitude. Best case, he turns into a Troy Ploamalu/Ed Reed hybrid and wins the NFL MVP award. I said best case, not most likely case.

Miguel Cabrera Arrested for DUI

The SEMS curse continues. ladies and gentlemen. Less than a week after making him the top overall draft choice, Miggy was arrested for DUI in Sarasota, FL. I don't get it, I really don't. He's making 153.3 million dollars over 8 years. You can't afford a cab? There are no Metro Cars down there? You didn't learn your lesson last time?

I understand alcoholism is a disease. I get that he will have setbacks once in a while. But to pull out a bottle of Scotch right in front of a police officer? Really?

Did he really pull out the "Do you know who I am?" line? Sigh. Let's hope this is finally a wake up call for Cabrera. He is far too talented to waste his talents. If Cabrera is going to be a distraction, the Tigers' season is over before it starts. Shit.

2012 Michigan Recruiting

My early look at 2012 Recruiting is up over at MSG. So go read it. Seriously, GO!!!!

The "Official" SEMS Fantasy Baseball Team

Since it's a scientific fact that everyone cares about my fantasy team, I have decided to regularly update a team for the website. I just concluded the draft, and am fairly happy. The league is a mixed league, 10 team, 6x5 (add OBP). We start C,1B,2B,3B,SS,IF,OF,OF,OF,UT,UT for offense. SP,SP,SP,RP,RP,P,P,P,P for pitching and we have 6 bench spots and 2 DL slots. I drew the #1 overall pick, and got called a homer when I passed on Pujols in favor of Cabrera. I really think Martinez will be the difference maker, along with Pujols' contract concerns. Here are my draft results...

SEMS
1.	(1)	Miguel Cabrera (Det - 1B)
2.	(20)	Ryan Zimmerman (Was - 3B)
3.	(21)	Félix Hernández (Sea - SP)
4.	(40)	Buster Posey (SF - C,1B)
5.	(41)	Jason Heyward (Atl - OF)
6.	(60)	Hunter Pence (Hou - OF)
7.	(61)	Alexei Ramírez (CWS - SS)
8.	(80)	Drew Stubbs (Cin - OF)
9.	(81)	Yovani Gallardo (Mil - SP)
10.	(100)	Dan Haren (LAA - SP)
11.	(101)	Max Scherzer (Det - SP)
12.	(120)	Howie Kendrick (LAA - 1B,2B)
13.	(121)	Aubrey Huff (SF - 1B,OF)
14.	(140)	Carlos Quentin (CWS - OF)
15.	(141)	Jonathan Sánchez (SF - SP)
16.	(160)	José Valverde (Det - RP)
17.	(161)	Miguel Montero (Ari - C)
18.	(180)	Leo Núñez (Fla - RP)
19.	(181)	Brandon Lyon (Hou - RP)
20.	(200)	Fernando Rodney (LAA - RP)
21.	(201)	Kevin Gregg (Bal - RP)
22.	(220)	Michael Cuddyer (Min - 1B,3B,OF)
23.	(221)	Jhoulys Chacin (Col - SP,RP)
24.	(240)	Tsuyoshi Nishioka (Min - 2B,SS)
25.	(241)	Wade Davis (TB - SP)
26.	(260)	Edwin Jackson (CWS - SP)

Overall, I'm fairly happy. I stuck to my fantasy baseball drafting rules, which are:

1. Don't pay for saves. I rarely draft a guy like Papelbon,Rivera,Bell, etc.. since saves are so easy to come by at the end of drafts, and closers tend to ebb and flow. 2 years ago, no one had heard of Marmol,Brian Wilson, or Heath Bell.
2. That said, stock up on as many late closers as possible. Saves are the one category that are only earned by 30ish players. I know there are a few "vulture saves" by a middle reliever here and there, but closers get 98% of saves, and each team only has one. This makes even lower level closers valuable, and trade bait for later on.
3. Backup as many positions as you can in the draft. With 2 Utility spots, an IF spot and 6 bench spots, I like to leave the draft with at least 2 players per position. That's why I draft guys like Nishioka and Cuddyer. Multiple position eligibility. There is nothing worse than having to drop that young starter you feel might break out soon, or the minor-leaguer who is murdering AAA and should be called up any day, just because your 2B will miss 3-4 weeks with a tweaked groin, and you have no backup.

Don't draft speed only guys early, if at all. Guys like Juan Pierre, Brett Gardner, Michael Bourn all contribute tons of steals. They also were available on the free agent wire last year. As the guys at Razzball say, SAGNOF. Steals/Saves Ain't Got No Face. It doesn't matter where they come from.

With all that said, a few areas concern me. I have some young guys that may regress a little from last year. Posey,Heyward, Chacin, and Scherzer could be great or horrible. I need to be able to flip a few of these closers into something. I don't want to end up wining the saves category by double digits, and fall short in other areas by a  small margin. I also worry about the innings max, which is 1900. I have already put in a waiver wire request for Jesus Montero, dropping Wade Davis. I thought he had been drafted already. If he's up by May, he could win AL ROY by a wide margin.

I will do at least monthly updates on waiver moves, and standings updates. I will probably make a separate post if/when I pull off any trades.

Hold on to Your Hats

So the Lions made a major announcement yesterday. None of my predictions were accurate. They announced that the preseason games would be shown on ABC in 2011. Yawn. They really needed to hold a press conference to announce something that 8 people care about? This just in, the Lions are changing the ketchup at all food stands from Hunts to Heinz. All official Lions t-shirts will be switching from Fruit of the Loom to Hanes Beefy Ts.

So once again, the Lions make a big fuss over practically nothing. April 28th can't get here soon enough.

Fuck You Mark Steyn

I don't have time to deal with all the "anonymous" comments, so here ya go...

Lions to resign Matt Millen?

Trade Matthew Stafford for Mike Williams? Switch to the vaunted 1-2-8 defense? Who knows with this franchise. The Lions will be making a "Major Announcement" this evening at 7. My vote is to switch from Honolulu Blue and Silver to Neon Pink and Khaki. More to come if details leak....

Super Bowl Thoughts

It started off bad when I looked up and thought Snooki was going to be singing the National Anthem.

Turns out, Snooks might have been a better choice. I was unaware Aguilera was still relevant. I've heard the it's the hardest song to sing, and add to that the pressure of 100,000 people staring at you, and many people would forget the words to a song we learned when we were 7. It was just a bad choice. She was following the lips from Glee, and was competing with the awful Bud Light commercials. They should have gone with someone who doesn't have to keep repeating the words "Keep your legs closed. Keep your legs closed. Keep your legs closed." the way Christina does. She probably rushed through the song before she did anti-FCC things to the mic she was holding. As Brian from MGoBlog said on Twitter..."And now, to honor America, the whoriest whore we could find."

Unfortunately, it would prove to be the best musical performance of the evening. I will start by saying that I am not a Black Eyed Peas fan. I have never liked one song the "sing" and I think if Fergie, Lady Gaga,and I all got up to pee, we'd be shoulder to shoulder at a line of urinals. But even I had no idea how bad it could get. We quickly found out. It started off bad. Like bad, bad. Then when the music for "Sweet Child O Mine" started, I said to myself, I says "self, this is about to get better" only to be let down again. Fergie either got shot or stubbed her toe on the way to accost Slash. To call what that was singing is a slap in the face to Milli Vanilli's illustrious career. I.....wha.....yeah. Then Usher came out, danced around to backing vocals, did the splits, and get the fuck outta there before he caught whatever suck was lingering in the air. I would have rather watched a new episode of "Grey's Anatomy" featuring the cast of "Teen Mom" than watch a condensed version of any song performed during half-time.

The game was meh. Considering Pittsburgh had a chance to take the lead with less than a minute left, the whole game was boring. Take away the dropped passes and dumb penalties, and Green Bay wins by 4 TDs. The only interesting thing were the injuries. People were dropping like kids at an all you can eat sushi bar. I turned my phone on in case Ted Thompson called and asked me to play corner. The final score was 31-25, and, as you can see here, I predicted 31-27. 

Lastly, I really hated the Black Eyed Peas half-time show. I wasn't sure if I made that clear earlier. On to the Detroit Super Bowl, A.K.A. The NFL Draft.

Knockout of the Year

I know 2011 is barely a month old, but there have already been two incredible knockouts so far. Let me know if I am leaving any out...

The nominees are Anderson Silva and Brent Johnson.

Anderson Silva-


Brent Johnson-

Knockout of the year?
	Anderson Silva
	Brent Johnson
	Other
pollcode.com free polls

SEMS Prop-Bets

Betting on the final score can be boring. We(me) here at SEMS are looking for some more interesting wagers. Wagers you may not find in a sports book in Vegas. Without further adieu....

Total number of Roethlisberger interceptions/rape accusations is set at 3. SEMS takes the over.

Total number of James Starks rushing yards + Brett Favre mentions is set at 1415. SEMS takes the over.

Total number of Clay Matthews sacks + Charles Woodson INTs + Troy Polamalu hair care commercials is set at 71. SEMS will take the under, but only because Roethlisberger will avoid Woodson.

Mentions of the Texas weather in regards to Green Bay/Pittsburgh is set at 12. SEMS will take the over.

Horrible halftime performances by the Black Eyed Peas is set at one. SEMS takes it at even money.

Number of anticlimactic GoDaddy.com ads where they insinuate nudity when you visit their website is set at 8. SEMS takes the over.

Lockout/Strike mentions+DeMaurice Smith cameos is set at 6. SEMS takes the under. Smith won't show his face.

So there you have it. Feel free to place your bets in the comment section. The commenter who wins biggest will get an autographed picture of the author. Or a shoutout on the blog, winner's choice.

Super Bowl Prediction Thread-(UPDATED)

There are roughly 27,322,969 sports journalists in America. This includes ESPN writers, bloggers, Facebook users, and the worst of the worst, newspaper guys. Every year, we all make our predictions on the outcome of the Super Bowl. Every year, 20,000,000 of us end up looking foolish. I would like to make my official entry into the brotherhood.

When Green Bay has the ball

This is the match up I am most looking forward to. Elite offense vs elite defense. Aaron Rodgers vs Troy Polamalu. Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and James Jones vs Ike Taylor, Bryant McFadden, and Ryan Clark. The GB o-line vs LaMarr Woodley,James Harrison, and Beard Keisel. The only weakness is the Green Bay running game. James Starks is leading the NFL in postseason rushing, but I doubt he can do much damage against Pittsburgh's front seven. The question for Pittsburgh will be "Can they stop all 3 WRs?", and that answer will be no. Advantage-Push


When Pittsburgh has the ball


Another intriguing matchup. Green Bay has looked impressive in the postseason. Clay Matthews, Tramon Williams, and Charles Woodson have been on fire, and guys like B.J. Raji and Desmond Bishop have really stepped up. I really like Rashard Mendenhall, and they have nice pieces in Mike Wallace, Heath Miller, and Hines Ward. Central Michigan's Antonio Brown has been somewhat of a revelation as well, making big play after big play. Overall, I think Green Bay's playmakers will have their hands full with Ben Roethlisberger, who somehow always seems to make a play. Ultimately, I see Big Ben trying to do to much, and tossing a couple picks. Advantage-Packers


Special Teams


I honestly just realized that Shaun Suisham was the Steelers' kicker. What happened to my personal favorite kicker, Jeff Reed?

Did he return to the WWE as Scotty Too Hottie?

Punters won't factor much in this game, since neither team have a Devin Hester. Green Bay's kicker Mason Crosby is pretty good, and I had him on my fantasy team for a few weeks, so...Advantage-Packers

Local Flavor

The Steelers have 6 players who played their college ball in the state of Michigan:

• Charlie Batch
• Antonio Brown
• Flozell Adams
• Larry Foote
• LaMarr Woodley
• Ryan Mundy

The Packers have 7:

• Greg Jennings
• T.J. Lang
• Nick McDonald
• Cullen Jenkins
• Frank Zombo
• Josh Gordy
• Charles Woodson

Advantage-Packers

Lost to the Lions Factor

In week 14 the Packers lost to Detroit 7-3. I realize Aaron Rodgers was hurt, but a Super Bowl Champion should be able to beat the Lions, who started Drew Stanton, with their back up QB. The Steelers beat the Lions in week 4 of the preseason. Advantage-Steelers

Conclusion

I like the Steelers, honest I do. I just don't like the way they match up with Green Bay. Pittsburgh has tons of playoff experience (which may be a surprise to hear if you don't have ESPN) and a great defense. Green Bay argues about team photos, have an almost-elite offense, and a very good defense. If this were a regular season game, I would call for a GB blowout, but I think Pitt keeps it close.

Prediction

Green Bay-31

Pittsburgh-27

EDIT- I was in the shower, and I realized that Ryan Mundy is playing for Pittsburgh. He played the majority of his career at Michigan, before spending his 5th year at West Virginia. The count is still 7-6, so it doesn't  change the outcome. And to answer your question, yes I often think of under achieving former Michigan defensive backs at random times. Just the other day, I was in the middle of class, and I caught myself wondering "I wonder what Willis Barringer is up to?".

Michigan Recruiting Recap

I posted my thoughts on the newest Wolverines over at Michigan Sports Guy, so go check it out!