Colorado tabs Air Force's Bzdelik as new basketball coach
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
04/05/2007 - Boulder, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Bzdelik, who posted a 50-16 record the past two seasons at Air Force, agreed on a five-year contract to become the University of Colorado's new men's basketball coach on Wednesday.
The contract includes an annual guaranteed salary of $750,000 and numerous incentives. Colorado will also pay Air Force the $270,000 buyout clause that is contained in Bzdelik's contract with the Falcons.
Bzdelik led Air Force to a 26-9 record this past season that culminated with a loss to Clemson in the NIT semifinals. In 2005-06, Bzdelik's Falcons went 24-7 and appeared in the NCAA Tournament for just the fourth time ever. In his two seasons at the Academy, Air Force was almost unbeatable at home, posting a 31-1 record.
"Jeff symbolizes all the essential leadership qualities that are important to successfully direct the Buff basketball program and represent the University of Colorado with class and distinction," said Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn. "His high level of professionalism, competitive spirit, work ethic and integrity makes him the perfect choice for our world class institution."
Bzdelik also has experience in the NBA, having coached the Denver Nuggets for 2 1/2 seasons. During the 2003-04 campaign, Bzdelik improved the Nuggets by 26 games from the prior season and led Denver to the playoffs for the first time in nine years.
"With the hiring of Jeff Bzdelik, the University of Colorado at Boulder has made a strong statement about our values as well as our athletic aspirations," said Colorado chancellor Bud Peterson. "Coach Bzdelik's experience, commitment to excellence, concern for his players as scholar-athletes, along with his intensity and attention to detail, are a perfect fit for the type of environment we are creating here at CU."
Bzdelik will replace Ricardo Patton, who left to become the head coach at Northern Illinois.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The playoff-bound Houston Rockets play the middle contest of a three-game homestand, as they welcome the Golden State Warriors tonight to the Toyota Center. Houston is No. 5 in the Western Conference playoff race, while Go
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Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins named David
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The 46-year-old Morehouse will represent the franchise primarily in the
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<< Hornets, SuperSonics clash at Ford Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets try to keep their
playoff hopes alive, as they welcome the Seattle SuperSonics tonight to the
Ford Center.
The Hornets are 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers for the eighth an
<< Vikings add S Doss
Eden Prairie, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Vikings signed free agent
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Doss played the first six games of the season for Indianapolis last year --
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<< Boston hits the road to Milwaukee
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics hit the road tonight as they pay a
visit to the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.
Boston has won three of its last four games, including Sunday's 98-96 win over
the LeBron James-less Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls wrap up a short two-game road trip tonight when they pay a visit to the Central Division-leading Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Chicago is 4 1/2 games off Detroit's lead in the div
Guadalajara rally to down United >>
Mexico City, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - D.C. United was knocked out of the
CONCACAF Champions' Cup on Tuesday as they dropped a 2-1 decision to
Guadalajara in the second leg of their semifinal with the Mexican side, who
elimina
Trail Blazers are playing like they are ready to go on vacation >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The youthful Portland Trail Blazers have showed signs
during the campaign that the future looks bright. However, they have struggled
lately and are not finishing the season like they had hoped.
Portland (29-44) is in
Golden State is still alive in playoff race >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors still have a chance to grab the
eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference. They are 1 1/2 games
behind the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers.
Golden State (35-39) has eight game
It's time for Philly to focus on next season >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - They flirted and teased with a playoff berth like the old
high school bombshell who wouldn't give anyone the time of day. And now the
Sixers are back where they started several months ago in the offseason.
Philadelphi
Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.
FOOTBALL TRASH TALK
NFL Football Trash TalkTrash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).
Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.
Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).
Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.
Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.
The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.
What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.
Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.
But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.
In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.