March Madness Is Here!

Well, it's that time of year again. The birds are chirping, my dad is whistling, and the temperature is starting to warm up. What time is it? It is the spring, at least almost. And what comes with spring? March Madness, or, in other words, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. The greatest sports event ever, in my opinion is this tournament, because it's one and your done, and it includes sixty-four teams that have a chance to win the national championship. Ok, maybe all but a couple, such as the sixteen seed Arkansas-Pine Bluff, not to take away from their season, but I find it very (times 10) unlikely that they will make it to the national championship, let alone win it. But the mere idea of a grand tournament, sudden death with chances for thrilling upsets along the way, make the NCCA Men's Basketball Tournament.

The tournament is great for the players, but it might be even better for the viewers. Whether it's watching various rounds on the edge of your seat, hoping that finally Northern Iowa will win a tournament game, or just for the mere excitement of watching two teams duke it out mono on mono, or should I say 5-on-5.

Another enjoyable thing that fans such as myself do before the tournament gets underway, is making a bracket and predicting the winners of every game. Just the brackets themselves are fun, but even more excitement, joy, nervousness, and other various emotions come when you have money on the line. I mean, everyone loves money and don't try to deny it. This year I'm doing a bracket with my brother and my dad for a grand total of 15 dollars, winner takes all. And this year that money is definitely mine. I feel really good about my picks this year and I feel I have the perfect amount of upsets and in the right spots. This year I'm going with a shocker for one of my national championship contenders, one of the four seeds out of the Big Ten Conference, the Wisconsin Badgers. They have a strong team this year, and you can't pick against a Metro-area alumni, Jason Bohannan, senior guard for the Wisconsin Badgers. The other team I picked to be in the championship is the Kansas J-Hawks. They are amazing this year, and it's hard for me to find a weakness when I watch them play. I'm picking Kansas to win it all this year, as I feel they are the best team in the tournament this year.

My team, the Iowa Hawkeyes, didn't make the tournament. This is old news for any Iowa fan. They had a terrible year, and aren't even going to be playing in the NIT, the consolation tournament. Even though it is more fun to watch the NCAA Tournament when the Hawks are playing, it will still be great fun to watch, and I'm looking forward to another great year of March Madness. GO KANSAS!!!!!!!!!!!

"Above, 2010 Final Four NCAA Tournament logo, http://www.cowboyspridenews.net"

Saints Win the Super Bowl

Sunday night was the biggest game of the NFL season. As you already know, either because you have been reading my blog or you follow football, the New Orleans Saints of the NFC took on the Indianapolis Colts of the AFC. A lot of experts picked this game to be a high scoring affair with most people takinig the Colts to win. I, for one, was with the experts on this because I thought the Colts were a better team. Both teams had great offenses as well as terrible defenses. But I was dead wrong, about the Saints losing at least.

The Saints won the Super Bowl 31-17 thanks to an interception returned for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that made it 31-17 and pretty much put the game away. This was a surprise to me because I thought the Colts were the much better team. But, I guess, the better team doesn't always win. Just ask the Minnesota Vikings. But I've already complained enough about that. The Super Bowl is a happy time, and I plan to put on my happy face and give my congratulations to the Saints.

They played a great game and looked like a Super Bowl champion. They won the turnover battle and looked very good on both sides of the ball. I thought the Colts could move the ball up and down the field on the Saints defense, but I was wrong. The Saints played great and deserved to win the game. But the play of the game was the pick-six by the Saints that put the game out of reach and secured the Saints their first Super Bowl title in their franchise's first Super Bowl appearance. All I have to say is bravo! Great job and a great season.

One thing I found very funny was when the NFL presented the Saints with the Lombardi Trophy. First they said the trophy was for the city, second it was for the fans, and THIRD it was for the team! Are you kidding me? The team deserves it the most. They played the game and they are the ones that one the Super Bowl, not the city. Sure the city deserved to have something great come to their city, BUT the trophy should first be for the team, secondly for the fans, and third for the city. But, other than that, it was great to see the trophy presentation and see Saints quarterback, Drew Brees with an eyeful of tears and his little kid after the final whistle was blown. A great way to end a great season! Hopefully it's even better next season.

"Above: New Orleans Saints quarterback, Drew Brees, after the Super Bowl, http://toronto.ctv.ca"

How Do You Choose the Right College?

In the Spring of 2011 I will graduate high school and go on to college. The problem is, I don't know how to start looking at different ones. Do I want to go to a big or a small college? I don't know, I think I would like both. Do I want to be in the city or out of the city? I don't really know, because I like the hustle and bustle of the city, but I like that calmness that comes with being outside the city. I think this indecisiveness is a trait of mine. I don't have that strong of an opinion on issues and I feel this will have to change in the next year before I choose my college choice.

So far I have only visited one college, Luther, and liked it a lot. It is a small college, and has a nice atmosphere to it. My backup plan right now is Iowa, but I'm not sure if I want to go to a big school or not. This spring I'm going to visit more colleges like Luther with my dad and hopefully narrow down my college choice.

There is just so much to think about. All the colleges that are out there make you really have to look around to find the best one for you. I just wish there was some quiz you could take that would tell you the exact college that is right for you, and make this whole decision process easier. I know I want to do something with science so a college that offers a science major and has a good science program is a must. But I'm not sure that narrows down my choices any more. I know the college has to be bigger than my high school. I also want to be on the smarter side of the student body not one of the dumber ones in a smart college or one of the smartest in a dumb college. Not saying that there are some dumb colleges out there. Just not as selective as the higher-tier colleges. But, I guess, time will tell which school I will choose and I know I will make the right decision.

"Above: Luther College logo, http://scandinst.luther.edu"

Hawks Look Good But Lose, Again

If you are a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes Men's Basketball team like me, you know what the issue is this year for the team. They are very young, with only one senior and two juniors on the team, click here for the roster, and don't yet know how to finish games. They are very talented and will be great in a couple of years, but for now we are forced to sit back and watch them lose game after game. It is getting kind of hard to watch, even though they are starting to play better as a team. It seems like all the pieces are in place for this team, they just haven't put it all together yet.

By now, it is no surprise that the Hawkeyes will not make the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year. I'm not even sure they can finish the year with a winning record. Right now, all I'm hoping for is a possible NIT Tournament appearance for the Hawks, even though that is highly unlikely as well.

I do like how the team is set up. They have an abundance of shooters and are starting to get aggresive and bigger inside to contest for rebounds and inside shots. There is one thing the Hawkeyes are doing that I don't like. That is playing John Licklighter, coach Tom Licklighter's son. He looks like a 14-year-old and cannot run the point at the Big Ten level. I feel they should let freshman pointguard, Cully Payne, play most of the game, and then allow Bawwinkel and Gatens to help at the pointguard spot when he has to come out. I know he has to play a little more than was previously planned because of bonehead pointguard, Anthony Tucker, who got arrested two years in a row with the same offense. He is a talented player, but he needs to get his act together before he ruins his career. But, for now, all Hawkeye fans can hope is that he comes back soon because Licklighter is terrible with a capital T.

I am excited to see how this team will grow in the near future, and will try to suffer through this difficult season by thinking positively. Let's just hope the Hawks play a little better then they did previously the last few games of the season.

NFC Loses Again

It seems like every year, the outcome of the Pro Bowl ends the same way, in a NFC loss. I don't know if this is because the talent on the AFC side is better, but I don't think it is. There's just something about this game that causes the NFC to lose.

This year I think the trouble for both sides was defense. Neither side could stop the other as the offenses went up and down the field. You might be thinking who cares? It is just an exhibition, right? Well, in that respect you would be right, but the game does mean a little bit for both sides. The winning team gets to be home team in the next year's Super Bowl. Sure, the game is at a neutral site, but this can have an effect on the outcome of a game. For instance, you get to choose the side of the coin on the coin toss, and if the game goes into overtime this could be a big difference maker.

But back to the game. I, personally, couldn't care less about this game. It is not that fun to watch. In fact, I find it hard to watch the whole game without getting bored. This is very suprising because I can usually watch any football game, arena football included. But what really ticked me off was the lack of carries that Adrian Peterson got in the game. I know it was an all-star game, but he is the best running back in the NFL. Guess how many carries he got. 10? 5? No he got a measly TWO carries. TWO carries. That is ridiculous. You should let him participate a little more than that. This is terrible for the Vikings fans such as myself that wanted to see one of our favorite players run some people over. He had a great year and made it to his second straight Pro Bowl. He deserved to participate more in the offense, and who knows, maybe he could have been the difference for the NFC in this game.

But other than that I didn't really care for this game. It was fun to see the best players in the NFL duke it out, but it just wasn't as interesting as a regular game, although it sure made me extremely excited for next year when I can see my Vikings play again, hopefully with one quarterback with the number four.

"Above: Minnesota Vikings running back, Adrian Peterson, http://dailypilot.com"

Pro Bowl Now Officially a Joke

This weekend is the Pro Bowl, and the hype around the game couldn't have ever been lower than it is this year. This year is the first year the Pro Bowl has been held before the Super Bowl. It's usually a week or two after the Super Bowl. Also, this year is the first year in a long time that the Pro Bowl has been held on the Continental United States. It's usually in Hawaii but is in Miami this year. These are both attempts by the NFL to make the Pro Bowl relevant in the eyes of football fans. But, in my opinion, these changes are having the opposite effect and are making the Pro Bowl officially a joke.

First of all, I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that moving the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl is the stupidest thing the NFL has ever done. Sure, they wanted to make it earlier so people would still be in the football mood before the Super Bowl, which would make them richer and would, IN THEORY, make the game more popular. But they couldn't be further from the truth. For starters, the Saints and Colts Pro Bowl players can't play in the game because they are in the Super Bowl. This sucks, because when a team makes it to the Super Bowl it usually means they have great, Pro Bowl players on their team.

Secondly, not having the Pro Bowl in Hawaii is stupid as well. Players look forward to going to Hawaii at the end of the season, not Miami. Sure Miami is a great city, but the Pro Bowl and Hawaii were made for each other. It's fun to watch a Pro Bowl game in Hawaii. Seeing the coaches wearing necklacees and the players with a calm cool attitude in the middle of a Hawaii day. This is one thing I sure will miss when I watch this year's Pro Bowl.

You know the Pro Bowl has fallen when players are declining invites to play in the game. Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger are just a couple who declined invites but there were others. Brett Favre likely won't be playing in the game. It used to be that it was an honor to play in the game, but now players are treating it like it is a joke. And, as far as I'm concerned, it is. Sure I'm still going to watch it, but I couldn't be more disappointed in the NFL than I am now.

"Above: Pro Bowl logo, http://mysportsjournalism.com/"

Colts Beat Jets, Advance to Super Bowl

Well, besides the Vikings Saints game on Sunday there was one other game, the AFC Championship Game. It matched the Indianapolis Colts against the New York Jets. The Jets were the only wild card team left in the playoffs and were playing very well. That is until they lost 30-17 to the Colts on Sunday.

The Jets started off well building a 17-6 lead in the first half. Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene, a couple of rookie Jets, were playing brilliantly. But then the Colts showed why they are one of the best offenses in the NFL and how they went 14-2. They scored 24 unanswered points and looked unstoppable on offense. Even with Jets cornerback, Derelle Revis, shutting down Indy's top receiver, Reggie Wayne, Peyton Manning hooked up with other receivers and weapons he has on offense and showed just how great he really is. Pierre Garcon, Colt's receiver, showed just how dangerous he could be with a huge game. Other than the obvious motivation of a Super Bowl berth, Garcon was also playing with new life after he found out earlier in the week that his family in Haiti was safe after the devastating earthquake.

Even though the Jets lost, they look very promising for the future. They have the main pieces set in place and I feel will be a good team for a while. The Colts will go on to face the Saints in the Super Bowl and it should be a very good game. Peyton Manning vs. Drew Brees will be a very interesting matchup and will be a high scoring affair I think. One thing is for sure, this game will be great and I'm looking forward to watching it.

"Above: Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning, http://americansportsblog.wordpress.com"