Which Was a Tougher Loss For Me? Redskins or Tar Heels?

Last weekend was kind of rough on me. On Saturday, my 10th-ranked Tar Heels went into Lexington and lost to Kentucky by two points. On Sunday, my amoebic Redskins lost to the unbeaten Saints in overtime by three. Which one was tougher?

Well, the Tar Heel game got out of hand early. Kentucky used a 26-2 run to take command of the game and Carolina spent the rest of the game fighting back. They had a chance to take the lead late in the game and couldn't convert. Also, the game was in Lexington (our first true road game) against a team ranked No. 4. Plus, we are a team that's so young and inexperienced that this year has none of the pressure of the previous two seasons -- so losses aren't as grating.

Actually, I was quite bit pleased when the game was over. No, there is no such thing as moral victories, but I like the fact that we were punched in the face that hard and still had the fight to come back and make it a game. There was a lot of growing in that game.

However, I moved from Charlotte to the Kentucky side of Cincinnati over a decade ago and anytime their Wildcats get the best of my Tar Heels, I hear about it. That sucks.

The Redskins game was way worse. The Skins led pretty much the entire ballgame. We had a 10-point lead in the 4th quarter against N'Awlins -- a team that just slammed the Patriots last Monday night. We had a 7-point lead late and were lining up for a chip shot field goal attempt. And then it all came falling apart.

First that field goal was missed. Then the Saints ran down the field and used LaRon Landry's over-aggressive style to tie the game up quickly. Then with us with plenty of time to get down the field for a FG attempt, Jason Campbell gets picked off. Luckily, the field goal attempt that the Saints got was further than their kicker could get it. On to overtime.

The Skins won the coin flip and then fumbled the ball away to the Saints (the last of three turnovers). We looked beaten as the Saints rumbled their way down the field and hit their chip shot field goal attempt.

That loss sticks with me much worse that the Tar Heels loss ... and not because it was the most recent. It isn't that I love the Redskins more than the Tar Heels (I love those kids equally). It is just that it would have been nice in a 3-9 season that Washington could have something to hold onto. If we finished that game, that means we toppled a team that many felt would finish the season undefeated. It gives us something. My Carolina side can still flash the "defending champion" tag for the rest of the year and point to a growing team adding an outstanding class for next year's squad.

The Redskins are just stuck in the mud and no one knows what the future holds. So it would be nice to have something to hold to now.

Sportz Assassin's College Football Bowl Matchups

Okay, if my Sportz Assassin Playoff doesn't move you, then maybe you'll like my other idea. Why does the BCS use their rankings to seed just the BCS title game? Why don't they use it all the way down the line for all the bowls?

The funny thing is that three of the five BCS games are actually the same as they'd be using the rankings.

Because of that, here would be my bowl matchups according to the final BCS rankings:

BCS Championship: No. 1 Alabama vs No. 2 Texas
Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Cincinnati vs No. 4 TCU
Sugar Bowl: No. 5 Florida vs No. 6 Boise State
Rose Bowl: No. 7 Oregon vs No. 8 Ohio State
Orange Bowl: No. 9 Georgia Tech vs No. 10 Iowa
Cotton Bowl: No. 11 Virginia Tech vs No. 12 LSU
Capital One Bowl: No. 13 Penn State vs No. 14 BYU
Gator Bowl: No. 15 Miami vs No. 16 West Virginia
Outback Bowl: No. 17 Pittsburgh vs No. 18 Oregon State
Alamo Bowl: No. 19 Oklahoma State vs No. 20 Arizona
Holiday Bowl: No. 21 Stanford vs No. 22 Nebraska
Insight Bowl: No. 23 Utah vs No. 24 USC

Extend the rankings out so we can seed the other bowls.

Sportz Assassin's College Football Playoff Bracket

Here we go. We're at the end of the regular season and all that's left is the playoffs! Yes, in my weird little mind, I still hold out hope that someday we will actually have a playoff system in college football.

My mind concocted this playoff format: 12 teams with the top four teams receiving first round byes. Playoff teams will include the six champions of the BCS conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, Pac-10 and SEC), the top ranked non-BCS conference champion and then the five top ranked at large teams. We will use the BCS standings to seed the teams as well as selecting the at large teams.


No. 1-Alabama (SEC Champ)
No. 2-Texas (Big XII Champ)
No. 3-Cincinnati (Big East Champ)
No. 4-TCU (top non-BCS Champ)
No. 5-Florida
No. 6-Boise State
No. 7-Oregon (Pac-10 Champ)
No. 8-Ohio State (Big Ten Champ)
No. 9-Georgia Tech (ACC Champ)
No. 10-Iowa
No. 11-Virginia Tech
No. 12-LSU

FIRST ROUND (December 19th)
12p-Georgia Tech at Ohio State
3:30p-Iowa at Oregon
3:30p-Virginia Tech at Boise State
8p-LSU at Florida

SECOND ROUND (December 26th)
12p-Boise State/Va Tech at Cincinnati
3:30p-Florida/LSU at TCU
3:30p-Oregon/Iowa at Texas
8p-Ohio State/Ga Tech at Alabama

ENJOY!

Greatest 'Organizations' of the Last Decade

Below is my list of the top organizations of the last decade. By "organizations", I mean the best pro sports teams (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL), college teams (hoops and football) and the individual sports (NASCAR, golf, tennis). These are the people who dominated the decade and won a title or two.

Why rank from 1 to 17? Because I want to, that's why!

17-NEW JERSEY DEVILS. The Devils won two Stanley Cups and went to another Finals. They've been a model of consistency with five Atlantic Division titles and at least 99 points in all but one season.

16-NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (basketball). The Heels hoops team won two National Championships and went to four Final Fours. The Matt Doherty era knocks them down the list a bit, but Roy Williams has turned the program back into the premier organization in college hoops. Their 2009 title was one of the most dominant ever while their 2000 Final Four run was the most improbable.

15-FLORIDA GATORS (football). Like the Tar Heels, the Gators have taken a tough patch and turned it into the model program at the end of the decade. Florida won two of the last three BCS Championships and had five seasons with at least 10 wins. The Ron Zook era kept the program afloat but the mediocrity pulls them down a bit.

14-PITTSBURGH STEELERS. The Steel Curtain reinforced their will during the second half of the decade. The Steelers won two Super Bowls and had just one losing season. They became the first franchise with six Super Bowl titles and first franchise to win four playoff games away from home in the same postseason.

13-USC TROJANS (football). USC won two championships, one split, and seven Pac-10 titles. From 2002 to 2008, the Trojans went 82-9. The had three Heisman Trophy winners (Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush) and stocked the NFL with many players. Yes, they fell off a bit this year and the beginning of the decade was horrendous, but no other college team was this dominant.

12-DETROIT RED WINGS. It feels like the Wings should have won more than the two Stanley Cups they did win during the decade, but that just shows their dominance. Detroit won their division in eight of the nine seasons played during the decade (the 2004-2005 season was cancelled due to a lockout). The won four Presidents Trophies for the best regular season mark and recorded at least 108 points in every season. Their postseason failures push them down on the list.

11-SAN ANTONIO SPURS. The Spurs won three titles in a five year stretch, won at least 53 games in each season and won at least one playoff series in all but one year. Of the seven years they didn't win the title they were eliminated by the NBA's top team of the decade, the LA Lakers.

10-BOSTON RED SOX. The Red Sox ended their 86-year drought and finally won a World Series. They liked it so much, they waited just three seasons before doing it again. They went to the playoffs six times and became the first MLB team to come back from an 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.

9-JIMMIE JOHNSON. Johnson, as you may have heard, has won four consecutive NASCAR championships. In his nine years in the Sprint Cup series, Johnson has four titles, two second place finishes and two fifth place finishes. He won 47 races and had 180 top ten finishes.

8-NEW YORK YANKEES. The Bronx Bombers bookended the decade with World Series titles. They won eight of the 10 AL East titles during the decade (the same division that houses Boston), went to four Fall Classics and missed the playoffs just once. They won at least 100 games in four seasons. The Yanks worst record was 87-74 ... their championship season of 2000.

7-ROGER FEDERER. Federer won 15 Grand Slam titles during the decade, including five consecutive Wimbledon titles and five consecutive US Open titles. Three times he won three of the four Slam events and this year's French Open victory recorded the career Slam.

6-LOS ANGELES LAKERS. The Lakers won four NBA Championship this decade, including the lone consecutive streak of the 00's (their threepeat from 2000-2002) and went to another two Finals. Despite breaking up the franchise after their disappointing 2004 Finals appearance, the Lakers got back to the top of the mountain at the end of the decade. They are also the only franchise to have two different MVPs during the 2000s.

5-MICHAEL PHELPS. Phelps has a record 14 Olympic gold medals won and 16 total medals in just two Summer games. He currently owns six world records (he set records 37 times) and may be the biggest freak of nature in the human race.

4-NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS. Ten years ago, you would have never saw this coming. Three Super Bowl championships in four years. A fourth Super Bowl appearance and the only 16-0 regular season in history. The Pats were 109-36 during the past decade ... and that includes a 5-11 mark to begin it all.

3-LANCE ARMSTRONG. He won the first six Tours de France during the decade. The fact that he took three years off and then finished third in the 2009 Tour was nearly as amazing. The top item on Armstrong's resume is his foundation that supports people who are affected by cancer.

2-UCONN HUSKIES (women's basketball). What a decade. Five NCAA championships and two undefeated seasons. Check this out: the Huskies were 339-28 during the decade. Wow! They went to the Elite Eight nine times and the Final Four seven times.

1-TIGER WOODS. Okay, the very last part of this decade hasn't gone smoothly for Mr. Woods, but no one dominated their sport like Tiger. He won 12 majors during the decade, won Player of the Year award in eight years and was the top winner nine times (including when he missed half the season). Oh, he also won 56 events and became a gazillionaire.

I Disagree With Notre Dame's Bowl Refusal

I get that Notre Dame is reeling right now. I get that going to the GMAC Bowl or something like that seems a bit degrading to a program with such high expectations at Notre Dame. I get that they just fired Charlie Weis and are searching for the new direction of the program.

I also get that the school just screwed over their kids.

The University of Notre Dame decided against accepting any bowl invitations. The Irish most likely would have received a lower tier bowl bid once all the 7-win teams were placed. So the kids that committed to the program aren't being treated the same.

So what if you don't have a coach? So what if your team is down right now? It is about the kids. The kids that gave everything for your school and your program. Some of these guys won't have an opportunity to play one final game in the gold helmets. The school just jipped their student-athletes.

I understand that boosters and fans think this is all beneath them. It's like a perennial NCAA Tournament team getting a NIT bid. It's hard to get excited about that. But any time you can give your kids the opportunity to play another game, you take it. I don't care if it is the Orange Bowl or the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl. Let these guys have that one final moment together.

They've got the rest of their lives to be proud. And to remember their final collegiate game with one of the most prestiguous institutions in our nation.

Who Wins an ACC Alumni Game?

The Raleigh News & Observer had a nice post about former ACC players who are currently in the NBA. The ACC has more players in the NBA than any other conference ... with Duke having more players in The League than any other school.

So who would win in an ACC alumni game? Instead of having a huge bench for the teams that are blessed, I'll put no more than four guys on the bench. Only four ACC teams can field a full roster (Duke, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Wake Forest) so the fifth team will be made up of all the other players in the league.

No. 1: WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS
G-Chris Paul
G-Jeff Teague
F-Josh Howard
F-James Johnson
C-Tim Duncan
BENCH-Darius Songala

The Deacons have a bonafide Hall of Famer in Duncan and one of the current best players in the League in Paul. That will help offset the youth and inexperience of Teague and Johnson.

No. 2: DUKE BLUE DEVILS
G-Chris Duhon
G-Corey Maggette
F-Shane Battier
F-Carlos Boozer
C-Elton Brand
BENCH-Grant Hill, Mike Dunleavy, Luol Deng, J.J. Redick

Duke's front line is impressive, even though there aren't any true centers on it. This is a very good defensive team and has the ACC's longest tenured NBA player, Grant Hill, to lean on.

No. 3: NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS
G-Raymond Felton
G-Vince Carter
F-Marvin Williams
F-Antawn Jamison
C-Rasheed Wallace
BENCH-Brandan Haywood, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough

The Heels have an interesting makeup. They have guys that go back to the Dean Smith era and fresh faces that just stepped into the league. Sheed, Vince and Jamison have reached a higher altitude of individual success than anyone on Duke, but only Wallace has a title to show for it.

No. 4: GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS
G-Will Bynum
G-Jarrett Jack
F-Thad Young
F-Matt Harpring
C-Chris Bosh
BENCH-Javaris Crittenden, Anthony Morrow

Kind of a smaller unit with Bosh taking over the center spot. They are a bit light up front (that will change soon) and Harpring's career may be over. Everyone but Bosh is a role player ... if that.

No. 5: OTHER ACC SCHOOLS
G-Steve Blake (Maryland)
G-Roger Mason (Virginia)
F-Al Thornton (FSU)
F-Chris Wilcox (Maryland)
C-Sean Williams (Boston College)
BENCH-Joe Smith (Maryland), J.J. Hickson (NC State), Craig Smith (Boston College), Josh Powell (NC State)

I was actually shocked to see the relative weakness of the rest of the league. Joe Smith is easily the longest tenured player with most of the others being role guys. Neither Clemson nor Virginia Tech have a player on a current NBA roster (Miami has two, but they were from the Canes pre-ACC days). As an added extra, only the Bucks, Grizzlies and Thunder don't have an ACC player on their roster.

The one good thing is that the ACC is ready to throw more guys into the NBA. Ed Davis, John Henson and Derrick Favors are already high on GM's wish lists. Kyle Singler, Al-Farouq Aminu, Sylven Landesberg and Greivis Vasquez could/should find a place on somebody's roster. And future ACC players Harrison Barnes, Kyle Irving and Reggie Bullock should also be in the NBA someday.

Worst NBA Draft Picks of the Last Decade

In honor of the 14-pick draft lottery, I've assembled the 14 lottery picks made over the past decade that are deemed as busts in some shape or matter. I'm sure there will be a few more busts added to this list in a few years once the last couple of classes get their careers moving along, but this is the best list I could come up with at the moment.

14-Ricky Rubio (No. 5 pick, Minnesota Timberwolves, 2009): Yeah, he has yet to play one second in the NBA, but the Spanish sensation has already made the Wolves look like fools. And that's something for this franchise. The Wolves drafted four point guards on that night with the one they coveted, Rubio, decided to stay in Spain (they may have traded away the best one of the bunch when they sent Ty Lawson to Denver). Who knows? Rubio could come into the league in a couple of years and set the league on fire. Right now, his only value is trade bait.

13-Stromile Swift (No. 2 pick, Vancouver Grizzlies, 2000): For a No. 2 pick in the first draft this decade, you need to have more than 97 starts in your career. Swift has only shown a few moments of promise and has been relegated to a journeyman who can't get on the court in the last few years.

12-Yaroslav Korolev (No. 12 pick, LA Clippers, 2005): Korolev played in a grand total of 34 games, averaging 1.1 pts and 0.5 rbs.

11-Rafael Araujo (No. 8 pick, Toronto Raptors, 2003): Just 139 games in three seasons, averaging 2.8 pts and 2.8 rbs. He's the worst player in a string of bad draft decisions by the Raptors.

10-Fran Vasquez (No. 11 pick, Orlando Magic, 2005): Let's see if this sounds familiar. Draft pick made by an team that entered the league in 1989 decides to stay in the Spanish leagues instead of going to his NBA team. Rubio fans, meet Vasquez who has yet to suit up for the Magic.

9-Rodney White (No. 9 pick, Detroit Pistons, 2001): Just 21 career starts and an average of 7.1 ppg. He's been out of the league since 2005.

8-Brandon Wright (No. 8 pick, Charlotte Bobcats, 2007): Charlotte drafted Wright, but immediately dealt him to Golden State for Jason Richardson. Yeah, G-State got hosed on that one. He is trending upward, but was he worth it?

7-Marcus Fizer (No. 4 pick, Chicago Bulls, 2000): Just six years in the league, 35 starts and a respectable 9.6 ppg average. However, he was drafted on a Bulls team that had ample opportunity to get points and he just couldn't do it.

6-Darius Miles (No. 3 pick, LA Clippers, 2000): The next great high school prospect flamed out pretty quickly. Miles is best known for the knucklehead celebration and screwing over the Blazers with his injuries just as he was starting to figure it out. Then, despite the Blazers getting cap relief due to Miles' career ending injury ... Miles comes back and triggers a huge cap hit on the team.

5-Jay Williams (No. 2 pick, Chicago Bulls, 2002): I've gotten into this debate plenty of times. Is Williams a bust because he suffered a career-ending injury? I think yes since the injury wasn't on the floor. He decided to do the dumb thing and wrap his motorcycle around a tree and nearly losing his life. I'm glad he's okay, but the Bulls just got one year out of the 2nd pick in the 2002 draft. Yeah, bust.

4-Adam Morrison (No. 3 pick, Charlotte Bobcats, 2006): Just another Michael Jordan draft pick that lives in Bust City. Morrison was taken ahead of Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Tyrus Thomas and Randy Foye. He was dumped off to the Lakers last year and sits on the end of the bench.

3-Nikoloz Tskitishvili (No. 5, Denver Nuggets, 2002): Just 16 starts and a 2.9 ppg average?? He played more than half a season just once in his four year career.

2-Kwame Brown (No. 1 pick, Washington Wizards, 2001): Kwame is the worst top pick this decade and is in the discussion for worst top pick ever. He also facilitated the current rule which keeps high schoolers out of the NBA draft. Yeah, despite all the good that LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady and Kevin Garnett did ... Kwame wrecked all of that.

1-Darko Milicic (No. 2 pick, Detroit Pistons, 2003): Darko beats Kwame due to two reasons. One, Kwame is a better player than Darko and, two, the next three people picked after Darko were Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Oh, and only LeBron James was selected before him. On those five guys, four are perennial All-Stars and three are on track to be Hall of Fame players. Darko not only is the odd man out, but it's not even close.