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/

A World Series to remember, and Tebow performance to forget

Over the weekend, a new team was crowned World Series Champions. People will continue the debate of whether or not the St. Louis Cardinals were the best team in baseball, but to be honest there should be no debate at all. The Cardinals earned the right to be called the best team in baseball, their record during the regular season may say otherwise, but when it came down to it, they were the best and hottest team at the right time. Not only did the Cardinals fend off a loaded Texas Rangers team, but don't forget that they also took down the Philadelphia Phillies(everyone's favorite to win it all) in the first round of the playoffs and the Milwaukee Brewers in the second round. The Cardinals took advantage of their opportunity. A team that during mid August was 13 games out of the wild card race, fought back into the playoffs, over came two favorites in the National league, and took down the best team of the American league to finish out one of the most improbable runs in Major League baseball history. From their win streak to make the playoffs, to their come from behind, 11th inning game 6 thriller, no other team deserved to be crowned World Series champs than the St. Louis Cardinals.
And now an abrupt transition to one of the most talked about topics in sports, Tim Tebow. Those of you who had the unfortunate privilege of watching one of the worst performances in the NFL this year would agree with me when I say Tebow has more to work on than just mechanical issues. The Denver Broncos lost to the Detroit Lions 45 to 10. I have said this since day one, Tebow is a great story. Proved all the naysayers wrong in college as he won a heisman trophy and 2 national titles and became one of the best college football players of all time. Despite all of his accomplishments, the guy has way to much to work on to be an NFL quarterback, and I finally got my proof this past sunday. Granted his coaches didn't give him many chances to have success on sunday by not calling plays to help his style, but under throwing his wide outs by 5 yards, the slow release and lack of accuracy was enough for me to say, this guy isn't the solution. Not to mention he had a quarterback rating of 27 at the end of the 3rd quarter. I will end my rant with this, I know a lot of you out there love Tim Tebow, and what isn't there to love about the guy, but you have be truthful to yourselves, you are all in love with this idea of him. The idea that this guy can bring a franchise back because he knows how to win. I'm sorry folks, this is the NFL, no longer is he playing college ball. Tebow is not the answer.

Notre Dame vs. USC

the rivalry continues, as So Cal travels to South Bend this weekend to take on the Fighting Irish. This is a game highlighted every year by both of these programs, but this year the game seems to be more special than years past. This saturday when the teams face off, it will be in the first night game at Notre Dame Stadium since 1990. This means a few things: first of all the stadium will be more electrifying than usual, secondly the tailgating will still begin at the same time, therefore the celebrating will reach a new level, and lastly it adds a new chapter to one of the oldest and greatest college football rivalries of all time. This isn't your typical blood bash rivalry, though these teams obviously don't like one another, this game has a sense of honor to it. Sure fans are going to exchange words as both have the right to do so, but on the field, those players and coaches don't get caught up in all that BS. Both of these teams have suffered heart break and moments of glory in the rivalry. The "Reggie Bush Push" in 2005 was not only one of the best games between these two teams, but one of the best games ever played in college football. History is in the making every time these schools face each other. Can Notre Dame finally prove all the critics wrong and show that they belong with the elite of college football? Will USC be able avenge their loss from last year against Notre Dame? Can Lane Kiffin's defensive mind stop Brian Kelly's spread offense? Also, will Notre Dame bring out the "Green Jerseys"? (i sure hope so)

These are all questions surrounding the biggest game of the weekend. Now to the part where I show off the Notre Dame fan inside of me. This year has been a roller coaster ride. High expectations, lots of talent, turnovers, big wins, terrible losses. This season has had it all, but I will say this...Notre Dame hasn't been beat by another team yet...they have only beat themselves. USF played well, but it was the Irish turnovers that killed them. The Michigan game is the same story, only in that game, they gave up a 3 score lead to lose in the final minute. I know I know, many of you probably think I'm biased and wrong with that statement, but look at what Notre Dame has accomplished in their 4 wins. We are finally starting to see this team click and find their groove. This is a scary team going ahead, and if they win saturday against USC, they will have all the confidence in the world going forward. Prediction is ND 31 USC 17. USC has yet to face a defense as good as Notre Dame's and their defense hasn't seen a no huddle spread offense like the Irish have. Michael Flloyd, Cierre Wood, and Tommy Reese will be able to put up enough points against an inexperienced defense. Again it's just a prediction...but hey, who am I kidding. Going to South Bend for the game!!! Go Irish!!!

-Sink

DJ's Dugout, the Prime Time Spot

Now for my final sports bar, I chose DJ's Dugout. This sports bar has the total package but what I enjoyed most was the college football environment and atmosphere. For all you Nebraska Huskers fans out there, this is the place for you to watch your team. Each saturday, the place fills with red and white, and whether its an afternoon game or night game, the fans remain there to show their team spirit. They pass out raffle tickets while the game is going on and hand out free Nebraska gear during commercial breaks. This was the first thing that caught my eye in the bar. Being a Notre Dame fan, my friends and I went up into the upper loft part of the restaurant to watch the Irish game. Since DJ's is so big and has so many tvs, college football fans have the opportunity to watch a variety of different games. Now to the important part, the food. Like the Moon, the food at DJ's is like most bar food...greasy, fried, and perfect with a cold beer while watching your team play. As you guys know from my other two posts, I love wings and DJ's wings hit the spot for me. With the option to pick from 13 different flavors, one has the opportunity to try a few different sauces. I went with the Jamaican Jerk, and Buffalo Style hot, and both had just the right kick and flavor to satisfy my taste buds. Their wings are a little pricy compared to other places, but to me it was worth it. Did I mention, that you also have to choice to get either regular or boneless wings? For me its all about the classic wing, but for others who don't like trying to eat around the chicken bone, boneless wings are the perfect solution. The menu has a lot of variety to it, but for the most part, its like most classic sports bars. You got your burgers, chicken sandwiches, appetizers, and drink specials. One recommendation I suggest is to go with a group of your friends, probably sometime during the weekend when you have time to sit down and watch a game on the big screen, and instead of making all separate orders, choose a 3 or 4 appetizers to share as a group. I would go with the nachos, chicken strips, quesadillas, and of course the hot wings. A great combination that should make everyone happy in your group. DJ's Dugout is located in Downtown Omaha at 10th and Capitol. A few specials to keep in mind are mondays where it's burger-mania, buy one burger get one free. Also 40 cent wing Wednesdays and specials on Rib Tip meals and 5 dollar bloody marys on saturdays.

-Sink