Big Ten emerging as Basketball powerhouse?

In years past, we have seen the dominating basketball conference be the ACC, led by Duke and North Carolina. Recently it has been the Big East, and their physical play and depth in the conference with teams like Georgetown, Louisville, UCONN, and Syracuse. Now we find ourselves in a situation this year. Though the depth is still relevant in the Big East, the talent has seemed to dwindle a little. The ACC seems to only be a two team conference with a big gap after North Carolina and Duke. Is this the year the Big Ten is able win the Big Ten/ACC challenge? The answer to the question is yes, and not only will they win, but they will win the challenge easily.
Lets begin by looking at the powerhouse teams in the Big Ten, which include Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan, who are all in the top 25 currently. Lets also not forget about Purdue, Northwestern, Illinois, Michigan State, and Indiana, who seems to have finally turned their program around. The second tier of teams I listed are solid programs with a lot of young talent and good coaching. They all have the opportunity to make the NCAA Tourney in March. Michigan St. will eventually find their way back into the top 25. Same goes with Purdue, Illinois and Indiana who will find themselves battling day in and day out with any team in the country. Now we move to the big dogs of the conference. Sure Michigan suffered a tough, unexpected loss to Virginia earlier this week, but they are are also a team who beat a top ten ranked Memphis team at the beginning of the season, and took Duke down to the wire in a tough loss. Michigan is a team that will continue to grow, and with one of the best players in the country in Tim Hardaway Jr, Michigan is built to make a run late in the season. Wisconsin, is
another team that seems to get better and better each year. Led by Jordan Taylor, who ranks with the top point guards in the NCAA, has suffered just one loss which was to North Carolina. The game was thriller as UNC pulled out the 3 point win late in the final minute of the game. Wisconsin can run with the best of them including Big Ten rival Ohio State. Ohio St. in my opinion should have been ranked the #1 team in the nation to begin the year. They arguably have the best player in the nation with big man Jared Sullinger, along with a great supporting cast led by William Buford and Aaron Craft. Ohio State has begun the year undefeated with wins over two top ten teams. They beat the Florida Gators who were ranked #8 and beat Duke by 22 points who was ranked #4 at the time.
With the depth and talent that has emerged in the Big Ten, is there a new power conference in town? The ACC is headlined by two schools, so they are out of the question. The Big East seems to have kept a little depth, but this year they seem to go about 6 deep before there is a drop off in the rest of the conference. One could argue that the Big Ten could end up with 8 to 9 tournament teams this year (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Purdue, Michigan, Michigan St, and maybe Minnesota, or Penn St.)

Not saying this is the case, but the Big Ten is for real this year, so hold your horses before naming the Big East the best basketball conference in the nation.

NBA is back?, #1 team goes down, more BCS drama

In a week where we gave thanks, we must also give thanks for the world of sports. The NFL games on Thanksgiving Day was just the beginning of week filled with sporting news.

We found out on Saturday that the NBA has finally reached a tentative agreement between the players and owners.
If the contract goes through, the NBA will begin a 66 game season beginning on Christmas day. The NBA has been in a lockout for 149 days, but their return is coming at the right time. Fans finally get what they want, and the NBA players and owners finally came to their senses and quit the bickering and selfishness. Now NBA fans get a Christmas present they weren't sure they were going to receive this year. Basketball is back, and on the brink of there being no NBA season at all, teams will begin practicing, and fans will start purchasing tickets. Despite the hype surrounding this great news, lets not forget about College basketball.

The season has just begun, and we have already seen the #1 North Carolina Tar Heels go down to unranked UNLV. On a weekend filled with season tournaments around the country, we saw Duke win in Maui, Syracuse clean house in New York City, and the unranked UNLV rebels beat #1 overall North Carolina?? UNC came into the season ranked #1, and their first few games showed that they were with a doubt the best team in the nation. Then came the Las Vegas invitational. UNC was picked to roll through their games and eventually win the the title, but UNLV had other plans for the Tar Heels. The Rebels kept UNC's stars in check, while they themselves shot 13 of 32 from the three point line, and dominated the glass on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor. UNLV exposed UNC's perimeter defense, and has officially laid out the formula on how to beat the Tar Heels. The new rankings AP rankings show UNC dropping to #5, then followed by 4 Syracuse, 3 Duke, 2 Ohio State, and 1 Kentucky.

And lastly, we were all able to see the BCS system and their problems. Lord knows if #3 Arkansas actually had beaten #LSU on friday that the BCS would be in a whole other world of hurt. Lucky for us, we won't have to go through that grueling process, however we still have the issue of who is going to play in the BCS National Title game. As of right now, LSU and Alabama are the likely candidates for the game, the problem we face is that both of these teams play in the SEC west and only one can go the SEC title game to face Georgia. LSU will play Georgia for the SEC title, and though LSU seems like they will win the game, what if Georgia upsets the Tigers, then we have an issue. Alabama would most like move up to #1, even though they lost to LSU in the regular season and didn't play in the SEC title game, but off of BCS rankings they would automatically go to the Championship. We say it every year, college football needs a playoff bracket for exactly these reasons. Two many questions and flaws come with the BCS, and I think its evident that there needs to be a change.

In other news, Tim Tebow is 5-1 as the Broncos starter this year. Maybe I was wrong.

Personal Essay on Steve Jobs

When reading the personal essay done by Steve Job's sister, Mona Simpson, and her interactions with her brother, one can't help but come to know who Steve Jobs really was. Her use of detail and experiences with her brother take you inside their lives. To me, Jobs seemed to be her hero. From the day she met him, he instantly became the person in her life for her to lean on and trust. That's what every big brother should be for his younger siblings. From his success and failures when working for Apple, to the way he treated his family with such love and care. You slowly sink into her story and lose yourself in her loving relationship with him. To Simpson, her brother wasn't just the man who created the World Wide Web, or a multi millionaire. He was a protective brother, who was infatuated with love, almost like a "hopeless romantic." Dedicated and never settling for less than perfect, Jobs wanted to work hard in every aspect life. Simpson shows us through real quotes and descriptions. When writing a personal essay, especially on someone other than yourself, one must have in depth information about that person, in order for it to be a good essay. Mona Simpson accomplished while also paying tribute to a great man, and her brother.



http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2011/10/steve-jobs-apple-logo-re-imagined-to-pay-tribute/