Sometimes You're The Windshield......

Sometimes you're the bug.

That was a semi-popular country song...back in the 80's, I believe.

It also could be the theme song for the 2009 US Open Golf Championship, which is currently being played at Bethpage Black in New York.

There are always two waves of golfers in a tournament. One wave starts in the morning, the other starts in the afternoon, and then on the second day they switch positions.

In this year's US Open, Thursday's morning group is "the bug". They began play in the rain, played in the rain for three hours and sixteen minutes, and then went home for the day. On Friday, the were out early to finish their first rounds, and then they went home.

Thursday's late starters (if there had been no rain) are the windshield. They never teed off at all in Thursday's horrid conditions, and they didn't start until mid-morning on Friday, which allowed the course to get a little drier. These players played somewhere in the neighborhood of 27 holes in these calm conditions. For the first round, the late starters averaged two shots less than the early starters.

But that's just the beginning....

The real reason that the windshield/bug song popped into my head is the forecast for Saturday.

In the morning, when the late starters are finishing up their second rounds, it is supposed to be cloudy. When we get to the afternoon, and the early players from Thursday are playing their second rounds, more storms are coming. Those players will be in the rain...again.

Tiger Woods is in the early group, which means he will play most of his golf in the rain. However, don't feel too bad for him, because he was four over par for his last four holes in his first round, and that was under the same scoring conditions that many, many players were able to take advantage of and post good scores. If Tiger is going to make this US Open his 15th major victory, he will have to shoot a couple of really good scores.

Phil Mickelson should be basically done with his 2nd round before the rain hits, which should give him a chance to post a good score and set himself up with a chance to win. I am not usually a big fan of Mickelson's, but I don't think you can help but root for the guy to play well with the huge off-the-course issue he's currently having to deal with. Hopefully, Phil's wife Amy will win her fight against breast cancer so that I can go back to wishing Phil's ball into the woods!

Add mine to the millions of prayers being said for Amy Mickelson's quick recovery.

NBA Finals Benchwarmers

Before the NBA Finals began, Joe Ovies of 850 the Buzz wrote this post, which basically says that he wanted the Lakers to win, because if Orlando won the title, it would give Duke fans a sense of "justification" against those who said JJ Redick would never make it in the NBA.

Since Duke fans are, well, Duke fans, one of them was rather quick to ask "Where’s the Josh Powell with NBA Ring thread?"

Since Duke fans are, well, Duke fans, they fail to see why those two things aren't related. Sure, Josh Powell is a former NC State player, just like JJ Redick is a former Duke player.

As far as college basketball is concerned, that is really the only similarity.

Powell left early for professional basketball. If the rumors are true, he didn't think he would be able to properly show his skills under Herb Sendek at NCSU, especially while Julius Hodge was there. He bounced around different foreign leagues, and played some in the NBA Developmental League, before finally earning a spot on an NBA roster. Just the fact that Josh Powell is getting an NBA paycheck is a testament to his desire and work ethic.

On the other hand, JJ Redick was the golden boy. He played for Coach K, was player of the year, set the ACC scoring record, and was then selected 11th overall in the NBA Draft. He took so many shots at Duke that Stephen Curry would have been jealous. After "demanding" a trade last season, Redick quieted down somewhat, only to come into camp this season and find himself still buried on the bench. Rookie Courtney Lee took over the starting job, leaving Redick to handle mop-up chores and injury replacement.

So, Duke fan, things aren't the same. The only thing JJ has done so far is have a better NBA career than Adam Morrison, who was co-player of the year. Of course, I've never played one second in the NBA, and Morrison hasn't had a much better NBA career than me.

New York Knicks: Witness??

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer published an interesting article Thursday. He was covering Stephen Curry of Davidson at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago, and he seemed a little perplexed by Curry's statement that he hoped to be a New York Knick on draft day.

The statement is a little unusual, because most guys give the same "cookie cutter" quotes about how they are just blessed to be in this position, happy for the opportunity, blah blah blah. Curry says he wants to be drafted by the Knicks. One reason it's not so strange is that the Knicks' 8th pick is the first position where Curry seems to be an option, so he isn't really risking "hurting the feelilngs" of any other teams by making this proclamation.

The strangest aspect of the statement is that Curry grew up in Charlotte (while his father, Dell, played for the Hornets), went to college at Davidson (which is basically in Charlotte), and seems to have zero interest in being a Bobcat. Now, don't get me wrong...the management of the Charlotte Bobcats have not done anything to convince me that they have a clue about building a basketball team. Other than the paychecks, there aren't a lot of factors to make anyone want to play for the Bobcats. Sean May doesn't even want to play for them enough to get up from the dinner table (or stay out of the clubs, depending on who you believe).

Anyway, I think there may be one not-so-subtle reason that Stephen Curry wants to be a New York Knick. I also think there may be one not-so-subtle reason that the New York Knicks want Stephen Curry. That reason:



This is a picture of LeBron James during Davdison's game against North Carolina State in Charlotte last season. James and Curry have become friends. Curry worked at James' basketball camp in Cleveland last summer.

LeBron is also going to be a free agent at the end of the 2009-10 NBA season, and the Knicks have been long-rumored as one of his top choices should he decide to leave Cleveland. A scoring point guard, like Curry, on the roster would make the Knicks a very attractive option for James. Add in the fact that they are already friends, and the Knicks become more attractive.

If the Knicks get Curry, and then get James, you will never convince me that it was just "coincidence". But, those two in Mike D'Antoni's offense would be fun to watch.

The Captain??

According to Joe Ovies of Sports Radio 850thebuzz, Rod Brind'Amour is not guaranteed a spot on the ice during the 2009-10 season.

Brind'Amour is under contract for two more seasons, and both seasons he will cost in the neighborhood of 3 million dollars.

The Hurricanes operate at their own salary cap, which is normally about 5 or 6 million lower than the NHL salary cap. Since that is the case, I don't think they can afford to pay a 4th-line center 3 million dollars a season.

It has nothing to do with the captain. I like him as a player, and I'd like to see him stay in Raleigh until he retires. But, unless the team is going to spend more money than it traditionally spends, I just don't think Brind'Amour is a wise investment.

Of course, since he's under contract, the Hurricanes would most likely have to trade him to get out from under his salary obligation.

Another interesting development will be the Erik Cole contract situation. Cole is an unrestricted free agent who made 4 million dollars last season. I'm not sure he is worth that kind of money to anyone anymore, but I'd really be shocked to see the Hurricanes offer him a big-money contract. He hasn't been the same player since the "Orpik incident" during the 2006 Stanley Cup season. He made his cameo appearance in the Cup Finals, and then signed a big free agent deal that offseason.

Jim Rutherford, the Canes' GM, has a lot of difficult decisions to make this offseason. Personally, I'd like to see the Canes add a scoring forward and a big-time defenseman. But, it isn't my money I'm spending.

Hurricanes vs. Penguins

Tonight is the start of the Eastern Conference Finals in the National Hockey League.

The Carolina Hurricanes are in Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins.

I was going to do a detailed breakdown of the series. Matchups, coaching, speed, size, scoring....the whole enchilada.

Then, I remembered something:

In an evenly-matched series, everything comes down to goaltending. I believe that Cam Ward is significantly better than Marc-Andre Fleury, and I think that is why the Hurricanes will win the series.

I'm not going to predict a specific number of games. I just think it will end with the Hurricanes going back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the 3rd time.

***Post-series edit: well, as Pack Blogger says in his comment, I couldn't have been any more wrong about this series. Marc-Andre Fleury was great, Cam Ward was average, but the real difference was that Fleury's team made things much easier on him, while Ward's teammates didn't do him any favors at all. Malkin is un-freaking-believable.

Good Grief People

The sky is not falling.

Derrick Favors, Demarcus Cousins, and John Wall (most likely) are not coming to North Carolina State. As each of these players commit elsewhere, more and more State fans act like their decisions are a referendum on head coach Sidney Lowe.

Next year's NC State basketball team is going to be the best that Sidney Lowe has put on the court. It's really that simple.

You can call it "blaming the players", or whatever else you want to call it, but I call it "addition by subtraction". If it's hate, then get Bomani Jones to press the "hate" button. "Hate hate hate hate hatehatehate."

The freshmen who are coming in next season do not have to be all-ACC guys to help the team improve. If they show up and play hard every time out, they are upgrades over the three departing players (I'll leave Trevor Ferguson out of the discussion).

The overall athleticism of the team will be improved. The team will have a couple of guys who are capable of scoring on their own. The team will have a shooter who can handle the ball. The team will have another big guy who, by all accounts, is willing to bang inside and work for the ball.

Javi Gonzalez improved greatly during the course of the past season. There is no reason to think he won't continue to improve. Lorenzo Brown is a scorer, and everyone associated with the program believes he is ready to contribute right away. A scoring shooting guard who can attack the basket and provide ballhandling help will be Javi's best friend.

Gonzalez, Brown, CJ Williams, Dennis Horner, and Tracy Smith are the guys I'd project as the starters for next season. Of course, it's only March 25th, so that is subject to change. Then, off the bench, you'd have Julius Mays, Scott Wood, Richard Howell and Johnny Thomas, depending on the health of his knee. Farnold Degand will be fighting Mays for playing time, but I give the nod to Mays because I think he will excel playing with Wood, his high school teammate. Also, I think that Josh Davis, the newest commitment for '09, will challenge for playing time. He's tall, athletic, and can provide the "energy minutes" that Simon Harris gave the team this past season, but he is probably a better player than Harris.

There is a lot of chatter that the coaching staff is trying hard to add another big man to this year's recruiting class. If so, that would address the one glaring weakness of this team, which is a lack of size.

Many people are questioning the coaching ability of Sidney Lowe. I prefer to examine the "talent" and "leadership" of this year's senior class (which includes Brandon Costner, IMO). I don't believe the provided any real leadership, and I really question their skill level. Costner turned himself into a spot-up shooter, but he shot horribly. McCauley was always referred to as a "throwback", which is code for "can't jump and slow"...he was brought here by the former coach to play the high-post "Evtimov" position, but that isn't a position that exists in Sidney Lowe's NC State offense. McCauley, as a post player, I would not consider better than "OK". Courtney Fells was an enigma. Sometimes, he looked like he was the best player on the floor, other times he looked like he'd never seen a basketball before in his life...often in the same game...sometimes on the same possession.

Simply put, I don't think the freshmen have to be amazing to be better than those three. I can't imagine a time next year where I'm thinking "Wow, if only Brandon Costner was here, that wouldn't have happened."

Next season, look for the 'Pack to finish at .500 or above, and challenge for an NCAA Tournament berth. And, when it happens, remember that you read it here.

Duke-UNC II: Worth The Hype??

On Sunday, Duke and North Carolina will face off at the Dean E. Smith Center.

As fans of teams that aren't UNC or Duke complain, the sports world will be overcome by the hype and drama that now surrounds this rivalry. Personally, I don't mind it...both teams are generally ranked highly, and the game generally has an impact on the top of the ACC standings. It deserves to be a notable game.

Just how much hype it deserves may be debated, however.

I fully expect UNC to beat Duke on Sunday. I don't think the game will really be in doubt unless Duke has a phenomenal shooting day. I think Tyler Hansbrough could score 40 points, if he decides that's what he wants to do. I just can't see him losing on Senior Day at the Dean Dome.

My question would be how long the hype lasts. Does a game get hyped just because both teams are ranked in the top 10, even if the outcome is a foregone conclusion? If UNC wins, then the Carolina seniors will be 6-2 against Duke. That's only one game worse than their 7-1 record against the NC State Wolfpack, and the State games aren't hyped nearly as much.

As an outsider to this matchup, I can say that I see troubling signs for the Blue Devils. Much like a certain former NC State leader, Coach K has gone to a system that is non-traditional offensively. Their teams rely on their system, and defensive pressure, to win games. The problem with these non-traditional "system" approaches is that there is a ceiling on their success.

As the talent level of the opponent rises, it becomes harder and harder for the system to be effective. The high-pressure (and yes, sometimes illegal) defensive tactics don't work as well against the fast, talented UNC guards. For NCSU back in the day, the backdoor cuts didn't work so well against the faster, more athletic players, and the offense would grind to a halt.

Now, it's obvious that Duke has had much, MUCH more success with their system than "that guy" ever did at NC State. That is simply because Coach K recruits a much, MUCH higher caliber of athlete, which makes the ceiling for his system higher. But, that ceiling is still there.

Another example of that ceiling will be shown Sunday afternoon at 4.