I attended the event which featured readings of passages and discussions about writing and hockey hosted by Dr. Brian Kennedy. He is a professor of English at PCC, wrote a best-selling book himself called Growing Up Hockey, and is a fellow hockey writing covering the Los Angeles Kings for Inside Hockey.
Last night's special guest was Randall Maggs, who wrote the book Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems. It was great evening in which Maggs told a captivated audience about his process for writing the book. There were a lot of laughs, a few surprises, and helped bring more of a sense of just who Terry Sawchuk, one of the more enigmatic players in hockey history, was both as a hockey player and as a man. Sawchuk was a brilliant goaltender during a 21-year NHL career, including the inaugural 67-68 Kings' campaign. But his life was filled with self-doubt and reclusiveness, and his death remains shrouded no so much in mystery as it is intrigue. Here's Maggs reading from his book:
Photo used with permission from Gabriela Moya
I spoke with Maggs for about ten minutes prior to the event starting and then afterwards as well. He was very engaging and appreciated the opportunity, one writer to another (well, at least one successful writer in Maggs to one 'attempt-ful' writer in myself).
It's ironic for me that it happened the same night that Martin Brodeur, just three career shutouts away from tying Sawchuk's all-time mark, eclipsed Patrick Roy's career victories total. I highly recommend that everyone buy Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems.
Okay, on with the madness:
Here are my predictions for the tournament field this season. I will list each of the four regions, with my overview analysis in italics, and then my Final Four breakdown:
WEST REGION:
---First Round---
Connecticut vs. Chattanooga winner: Connecticut
BYU vs. Texas A&M winner: BYU
Purdue vs. Northern Iowa winner: Northern Iowa
Washington vs. Mississippi State winner: Washington
Marquette vs. Utah State winner: Utah State
Missouri vs. Cornell winner: Missouri
California vs. Maryland winner: Maryland
Memphis vs. CSUN winner: Memphis
---Second Round---
Connecticut vs. BYU winner: Connecticut
Northern Iowa vs. Washington winner: Washington
Utah State vs. Missouri winner: Missouri
Maryland vs. Memphis winner: Memphis
---Sweet Sixteen---
Connecticut vs. Washington winner: Connecticut
Missouri vs. Memphis winner: Memphis
---Elite Eight---
Connecticut vs. Memphis winner: Memphis
Best thing that could have happened to Memphis in my opinion was being passed over for a #1 seed like they were. I actually think they are better than last year's team that came within a made free throw in regulation coupled with a miracle game-tying three-pointer of winning the national championship. They shoot free throws better, and they are much better defensively. Plus, Derek Rose is a tremendous talent, but I felt like watching them last year that if he was slightly off, the Tigers struggled. They have numerous weapons to choose from this year. I think UConn will benefit from their draw, but Washington will give them all they can handle. Picking Northern Iowa and Utah State as major first round upsets.
MIDWEST REGION:
---First Round---
Louisville vs. Morehead St. winner: Louisville
Ohio State vs. Siena winner: Siena
Utah vs. Arizona winner: Utah
Wake Forest vs. Cleveland State winner: Cleveland State
West Virginia vs. Dayton winner: West Virginia
Kansas vs. North Dakota St. winner: Kansas
Boston College vs. USC winner: USC
Michigan State vs. Robert Morris winner: Michigan State
---Second Round---
Louisville vs. Siena winner: Louisville
Utah vs. Cleveland State winner: Utah
West Virginia vs. Kansas winner: West Virginia
USC vs. Michigan State winner: Michigan State
---Sweet Sixteen---
Louisville vs. Utah winner: Louisville
West Virginia vs. Michigan state winner: Michigan State
---Elite Eight---
Louisville vs. Michigan State winner: Michigan State
The best league in the country this year was the Big East; I can live with the ACC getting the same number of teams as the Big East – but the Big Ten getting 7 into the dance? That's a joke. Wisconsin has no business being here. The other teams will be exposed in this tournament except for one: Michigan State was clearly the best team in that league. They have a tournament tested coach in Tom Izzo, and I like their draw a lot. I feel that USC will knock off BC in the first round, and I love Siena over Ohio State in the 8-9 match-up. Kansas used up all their luck last year in the tournament – West Virginia will take care of them in round two. I think Louisville's team is very balanced, but something just doesn't feel right about them, which is why I am not taking Rick Pitino's team, which is odd because he is someone I think gets the most out of his team. They'll reach the Elite Eight, but the Spartans will punch their ticket to Detroit.
SOUTH REGION:
---First Round---
North Carolina vs. Radford winner: North Carolina
LSU vs. Butler winner: Butler
Illinois vs. Western Kentucky winner: Western Kentucky
Gonzaga vs. Akron winner: Gonzaga
Arizona State vs. Temple winner: Temple
Syracuse vs. Stephen F. Austin winner: Syracuse
Clemson vs. Michigan winner: Michigan
Oklahoma vs. Morgan State winner: Oklahoma
---Second Round---
North Carolina vs. Butler winner: Butler
Western Kentucky vs. Gonzaga winner: Gonzaga
Temple vs. Syracuse winner: Syracuse
Michigan vs. Oklahoma winner: Oklahoma
---Sweet Sixteen---
Butler vs. Gonzaga winner: Gonzaga
Syracuse vs. Oklahoma winner: Oklahoma
---Elite Eight---
Gonzaga vs. Syracuse winner: Gonzaga
Welcome to the upset bracket, as injuries tell the story in this region. The Ty Lawson injury sounds like it'll keep him out of UNC's first game, and possibly the second. I would feel that the Tar Heels could go all the way with a healthy Lawson, but that Butler would be a struggle for them even with Lawson at 100%. Without him, like it seems like will be the case, I think Butler pulls the upset. I also felt most of the year that Blake Griffin would carry the Sooners to a Final Four on his back. But he hasn't been the same player since his injury late in the year, and even though I think they get to the Sweet 16, I think Syracuse, with their 2-3 zone and physicality, will frustrate Griffin. You'll notice several first round upsets like WKU over Illinois (sorry Dad), and Temple over Arizona State. But in the end, something tells me that this is finally the year Gonzaga gets over the hump and reaches the Final Four. They have balanced scoring, are fundamentally sound, and consider that their RPI was 26. What that says to me is that if they played in a power conference, they'd be a #2 seed.
EAST REGION:
---First Round---
Pittsburgh vs. East Tennessee St. winner: Pittsburgh
Oklahoma State vs. Tennessee winner: Tennessee
Florida State vs. Wisconsin winner: Florida State
Xavier vs. Portland State winner: Xavier
UCLA vs. VCU winner: VCU
Villanova vs. American winner: Villanova
Texas vs. Minnesota winner: Minnesota
Duke vs. Binghamton winner: Duke
---Second Round---
Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee winner: Pittsburgh
Florida State vs. Xavier winner: Florida State
VCU vs. Villanova winner: Villanova
Minnesota vs. Duke winner: Duke
---Sweet Sixteen---
Pittsburgh vs. Florida State winner: Pittsburgh
Villanova vs. Duke winner: Villanova
---Elite Eight---
Pittsburgh vs. Villanova winner: Pittsburgh
Mike Rhoads, this one's for you. First, your sneaky Steelers steal another Super Bowl title, and now your pesky Panthers will pry away a Final Four berth. I have thought all season long that Pittsburgh was the most complete team in the country. They shoot the ball well, they rebound the ball extremely affectively, they don't beat themselves with bad turnovers or fouls, they are the most imposing team physically, and they play defense all over the court. I went back and forth on Florida State-Xavier in second round before settling on the 'Noles. I love VCU, and would have picked them for Sweet 16 in other brackets. I also think Villanova will be too physical for Duke to handle; I even thought about rolling the dice with Tubby's Gophers stunning the Dukies in Round Two but came to my senses.
FINAL FOUR:
--National Semifinals---
Memphis vs. Michigan State winner: Memphis
Pittsburgh vs. Gonzaga winner: Pittsburgh
---Championship Game---
Memphis vs. Pittsburgh winner: Memphis
Last year, all four #1 seeds for the regions qualified for the Final Four, the first time that ever happened since the seeding process began. It won't happen again this year. I have one #1 seed in Pittsburgh, a pair of #2 seeds in Memphis and Michigan State, and a #4 seed in Gonzaga. In the end, a Memphis-Pittsburgh final has the chance to be a 40-minute nail-biter, but I just have a feeling that this is finally John Calipari's year to cut down the nets.
No comments:
Post a Comment