NBA Playoffs

The NBA playoffs provide some of the most interesting sports entertainment of the year. Not only do 16 teams participate a majority of the games are competitive for the whole time and the intensity of the game is turned up. Hard fouls, jawing, and stars taking over the game are routine in the playoffs. My favorite team, the Chicago Bulls are the 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. In the quarterfinals they took on the Indiana Pacers, the 8 seed and the only team with a sub-.500 record entering the postseason (37-45). Tickets at the United Center are both difficult to get and very expensive, but I really wanted to see the Bulls and league MVP Derrick Rose play.  When I heard that there were $25 tickets at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, I quickly purchased them before they sold out. On the morning of Saturday April 23^rd, I set out in the car with my dad and two of my friends, Jay and Ryan. Even though I wouldn’t be in the Bulls electric home arena, I would still be able to see them play. On the other hand, I thought it would be weird being among a few Bulls fans in an arena full of Pacer fans. I decided I would just keep to myself and cheer quietly for the Bulls.

Once I walked up to the Fieldhouse I was in for a huge surprise. Swarms of fans wearing Bulls red were milling outside, waiting to go in. Once I sat in my seats it was more of the same story. There were plenty of sections filled with red, including mine in the upper level. Pacer yellow was a difficult color to find! In essence, this was a neutral site game that more Bulls fans than Pacer fans showed up to. I realize that the Pacers are currently a somewhat pathetic professional basketball team, but that must be embarrassing for them to be invaded like that. Pacers star Danny Granger was none too happy with all of the Bulls fans: “It pissed me off.”  That said, it was awesome coming into enemy territory and cheering on the Bulls. When the Bulls came out to warm up there were loud cheers and chants of MVP for Derrick Rose. When the Pacers came out they were booed. The playoff atmosphere definitely lived up to its reputation. Throughout the game there were loud chants, and I saw a fight in the stands. All of the noise bothered Mike Dunleavy Jr. He was only 4/8 from the free throw line and he missed a critical free throw at the end that would have sealed the game. The funniest part was when they fired Pacers t-shirts into the crowd, and the Bulls fans would throw them back on the court, similar to what Cubs fans do with opposing home run balls. Had there not been a big Pacer logo in the middle of the court, you wouldn’t have known that the game was in Indianapolis.

Although the game was awesome to attend, the Bulls played very poorly for about 90% of it. Derrick Rose rolled his ankle in the 1^st quarter and had a terrible shooting night, going 6/22 from the field and only scoring 15 points; he did provide this crazy highlight reel dunk though. Joakim Noah and Kyle Korver had good games, and Carlos Boozer continued his playoff struggles, although you wouldn’t know it from his stat line. He had 15 points and 13 rebounds but missed many layups and played poor defense. If you’re getting paid $14 million, I expect better than that. For the Pacers, Roy Hibbert and Danny Granger led the way, combining for 40 points and 20 rebounds. The Bulls cut a 13-point deficit to 3 points with less than a minute remaining, but they could never get over the hump. In fact, the Pacers led the game the whole way. The Pacers ended up winning 89-84. Although I was disappointed with the result, I’m glad that I got to go. The Bulls ended up wrapping up the series in game 5 in Chicago, and they’re currently tied 1-1 with the Atlanta Hawks. It was cool to see a game in a different arena, and I was surprised at how good the seats were for that low of a price. I know that I’ll be back there again if the Pacers ever make the playoffs again.

Below you'll find some videos and photos that I took at the again. I apologize for the shaky camera.

March Madness and Illini Review

The championship game of the tournament was last night. UConn defeated Butler after a horrific shooting night for the Bulldogs. At halftime, the panel of commentators (including Charles Barkley) called it the worst half of a championship game that they had ever seen. I can’t really argue with them. Butler went into the half leading by a score of 22-19. Although both teams’ strong defensive play should certainly be credited for the low score, it was an off night for both teams. The final score was reasonable with UConn winning 53-41, but it was all a disappointing end to a great tournament. There was one stretch where Butler made one field goal in 13 minutes. For the game they shot a whopping 18% from the field.  Although the only thing that really matters is who finishes with more points, I can’t ignore how awful this game was to watch. At no point in the 2^nd half did Butler make any kind of a run. They looked helpless most of the time.  Shots were rolling off the rim as if someone had put a lid on the basket. I feel bad that Butler finished as runners up two consecutive seasons. I can’t imagine the agony and heartbreak that these guys feel. Yes it’s just a sport, but these guys dedicate countless hours to the game. Playing Division I basketball is basically a job. The players practice year round to improve, and falling one step short two years in a row must feel terrible, especially for the Seniors who will never have the opportunity to put on that uniform again.

As for the predictions I made in my last post, they weren’t completely off, but truthfully I wasn’t very close. I said that Ohio State, Duke and Kansas didn’t have many weaknesses, but none of them even made it to the Final Four. Kansas didn’t even make it to the Elite Eight.  Last year, Butler stole the show as the Cinderella team, and they were poised to do the same this year, but then Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) entered the picture. The expansion of the tournament to 68 teams ended up being a huge deal. VCU was assigned to one of the “First Four” play-in games to play USC. They rattled off win after win, beating such highly ranked teams as Purdue (#3 seed) and Kansas (#1 seed). Unfortunately, they had to play Butler in a semifinal game, so only one of the “mid-majors” could play in the championship game.  I saw a funny article that said the players on the VCU team didn’t even think they were going to make it into the tournament, so they watched cartoons instead of the selection show. Teams like VCU and Butler are what make the tournament special, so I’m hoping that a team like them will win the championship game soon. As a whole, I’d give the tournament a B+, and I’m sad that the season is over. In a few months, I hope to see Derrick Rose and the Bulls with a championship trophy in their hands, so the dramatic NBA playoffs will keep me occupied.

As for the Illini, they completely dismantled UNLV in their first game, but they ran into a wall when they faced Kansas. Kansas had two much strength inside with the Morris twins, so they were able to pull away late. For the first 30 minutes though, the game was tight the whole way. In the 5 hours between my starting this post and continuing it, the Jereme Richmond situation went from bleak to completely hopeless. The facts are that he didn’t play in either of the two tournament games. He wasn’t suspended and all Bruce Weber said was that he violated team rules. That doesn’t really mean anything substantive, but there were rumors swirling that he could be transferring. That would put a serious dent on our future, so I hope that he can sort out his problems.  Earlier today Jereme announced that he was leaving Illinois and entering the NBA drafts. I don’t want to judge him too harshly and write about all the ways that he isn’t ready for the NBA, but suffice it to say that he has some attitude and personal problems. This Twitter post from today tells you a lot about him: Thanks to my haters and motivators. If I so happen to fail, I want my doubters to know that my failure is greater than your biggest success. I hope he gets his head and his life straightened out, but the Illini will have to move on without him.

March Madness

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, you’ve noticed the buzz surrounding the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. For the first time this season, 68 teams participated in the games, an expansion from the 64 last year. Even if you have no rooting interest in the tournament, you should watch for the upsets and Cinderella teams. Cinderellas are teams that come out of the blue and win games that no one expected them to. It’s too early to know who the Cinderellas are this year, but there were already a few upsets today. Morehead State, a small school in Kentucky and a #13 seed, edged #4 Louisville by a point. Louisville was considered to be a legitimate Elite Eight contender. Looking at the bracket, Morehead State now faces #12 seed Richmond, who upset #5 seed Vanderbilt. The real test would likely come against #1 seed Kansas, who were shocked by #9 seed Northern Iowa last year.

In last year’s tournament Butler, a #5 seed from the mid-major Horizon League, made it all the way to the championship game against Duke. Butler had so many compelling storylines throughout the tournament. The Final Four was held in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, just a few miles from their campus. As they started to advance further in the tournament, people compared their run to that of Hickory’s improbable run to the Indiana state championship in the legendary basketball movie Hoosiers. What pushed the excitement over the top was the fact that they were playing Duke, universally considered the most hated team in college basketball. Unfortunately, Butler’s half-court heave to win the game rolled off of the rim and Duke was crowned the champion. But there’s always next year, and that’s what makes the tournament so compelling. You never know which team is going to win a few games and make some noise.

As for the championship contenders, Ohio State, Duke and Kansas (all #1 seeds) don’t have a lot of weaknesses. The advantage of having such as high seed is you’re playing teams that are seeded in the middle of the pack. Theoretically, this should make the path to the Final Four easier, but if you’re not prepared these teams are easily capable of beating you. You have to come to play everyday or you’re going to get sent home. It’s not like the NBA playoffs where you get up to 7 games to determine who belongs in the next round. The stakes are so much higher here and that’s what makes it so exciting.

I’ve been hearing people talking about a BCS in college basketball. Although they’re just trying to get people riled up, I want to share my thoughts on this. Frankly, it sounds like an irrational disaster. First of all, you would have computers using superficial criteria to determine who the two best teams are. They would immediately matchup in the championship game, eliminating the opportunity for any upsets and Cinderellas in the tournament. The other deserving teams would be relegated to meaningless games, denied the opportunity to compete for a championship. The great thing about the current system is that your regular season results don’t mean anything. You can have 10 loses and make a deep run in the tournament. The BCS would take all of the excitement out of the tournament, eliminating the competition that keeps us on the edge of our seats. Be sure to watch Illinois’ game against UNLV on Friday. No one expects us to go very far, but there’s a reason why it’s called March Madness.

Where do You Want to Sit?

Any sports fan knows that the location of your seat is critical to your enjoyment of the game. Every major league baseball stadium has nosebleed seats, the joke being you’re so high up that you get nosebleeds. The players look like tiny ants on the enormous field, and it’s nearly impossible to follow the action. In football, I’m often forced to watch the Jumbotron when the ball is on the east end of the field, since my seats are in the Horseshoe on the west side. It’s no wonder that seats at the 50-yard line are considered to be the ideal spot to watch a game. When you’re sitting all the way up in C-section at the Assembly Hall, so much of the game is lost to you. You see people shooting and rebounding, but you miss so much. It truly is a completely different game when you’re close to the floor. You can hear what the players are saying, and you can see plays coming before they even happen. The art in the strategy of the game is much more apparent, and you realize how incredibly gifted these athletes are. They’re so fluid that they make the game look effortless.  Many people don’t realize what it takes to be a successful basketball team. You can’t just dribble the ball down the court and expect to win games. Teams have dozens of carefully timed set plays that require players to be in sync with one another. On offense, you set and receive screens and you’re in constant motion. On defense you have to lockdown on your opponents, constantly denying them the ball and impeding their progress towards the basket.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to sit in the sixth row of A-section for the game against Iowa. Normally, these tickets are unavailable, as they are only sold to the wealthy donors that support the University. However, there were tickets available there for several reasons: 1. Iowa, historically a football school, currently sits in 10^th place (2^nd to last in the Big Ten Conference) 2. Our basketball team has struggled mightily this year. After starting the season ranked out #16 in the nation, we’re currently unranked and just inside the bubble for the NCAA Tournament. It was surprising to me that tickets here cost only $6 more than tickets in C-section. Even though Iowa has a pitiful basketball team, I jumped at the opportunity to go to the game. I even recorded the game and saw a fuzzy shot of myself on TV!

Ticket prices for sporting events are very frustrating. If you want to attend a professional sporting event, especially the NFL, you could easily get into the $75-$100 range for just one ticket. The nice thing about sitting in the Horseshoe is that tickets cost around only $12 per game, even when we’re playing Ohio State. The University’s strategy (for basketball at least) is to make tickets pretty cheap for the students, and charge more money for everyone else. The advent of StubHub and other online ticket brokers helped make some seats more affordable, but regardless of that, tickets are generally very expensive for the general public. If we’re trying to create an intimidating atmosphere in the Assembly, we simply have to let students take over the A-section. I know that these donors give tens of thousands of dollars every year, but it’s frustrating watching other college basketball games on TV where they’re able to create an electric atmosphere by having students in lower level seats. Unfortunately, money trumps all in college athletics, so I can’t see them moving the students. I realize that tickets to games are already expensive, but just once I encourage you to splurge on some seats closer to the action. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

Below you’ll find photos and video from the game against Iowa. For comparison, I'll add an shot that I took from my seat at the Final Four last year. The photo isn't zoomed in. Sorry, the video quality isn't very good.

 

 

Illinois Football-A Bright Future

I’ve had season tickets to Illinois football games for the last 4 years. There were advertisements in the newspaper for cheap seats in the Horseshoe at Memorial Stadium, presumably because the administration wanted to boost ticket sales and help pay for the renovations to the stadium. Coming into the 2007 season, I knew little about the historical struggles of the football team, I was just excited to be able to watch us play against the tough Big Ten competition. Much to everyone’s surprise, the Illini finished with a 9-4 record and made it to the Rose Bow. Although they were dominated there by USC, the season was considered a smashing success, especially given that we had a whopping 4 total wins the last 2 seasons combined. My expectations for next season were through the roof. We struggled to compete at the tail end of the season and limped to a 5-7 finish, one short of the necessary number of wins to be bowl eligible. My expectations were tempered for the following season, but I expected us to get at least 6 wins. In typical fashion, we finished the season at 3-9. Everyone was calling for Coach Ron Zook’s head, but instead of firing him, we got new offensive and defensive coordinators.

That takes me to the past season. I can’t say that I expected very much out of this team. We had a redshirt freshman quarterback, and were relatively inexperienced. At the very least, I would get to watch Ohio State, the crown jewel of Big Ten football. A close game against the #2 Buckeyes started to convince me that we might be able to compete. A week later, we manhandled Penn State, in State College. I knew then that this team was for real. We kept the ball rolling with wins over Indiana and Purdue, but followed them up with mystifying losses to Michigan, Minnesota, and Fresno State. We finished the up and down regular season at 6-6, which earned us a bid to the Texas Bowl in Houston, where we would matchup against Baylor.

I was fortunate enough to attend the game, and I’ll share my observations with you. Whenever a Big Ten team goes to a bowl game, the opposing team almost always has a huge home-field advantage since the games are mostly held in warm weather cities. Baylor, located in Waco, Texas is only a 3-hour drive from Houston. They had about 35-40,000 fans there, while we had about 7-10,000. It was awesome seeing so much orange outside of Illinois. The fact that you can be 1,000 miles from home and have thousands of fans supporting you says a lot, it’s a big source of pride. There were severe thunderstorms on game day, so the roof was closed at Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans. There were concerns going into the game about our ability to control Baylor’s fast paced offense. We answered the call in a big way, running the ball down their throats to the tune of almost 300 yards. Mikel Leshoure had 3 touchdowns to fuel our offense. Baylor was never able to establish their offensive rhythm. They were under fire the whole game from our defensive lines, with turnovers and incompletions stalling many of their drives. The final score was 38-14, and I went down to the first row to celebrate with some of the players, including future 1st round NFL pick Corey Liuget. Going to a bowl game is a lot of fun, but a win is what makes it an incredible experience. Everyone expected Illinois to be sitting at home during bowl season, so it was wonderful to witness our first bowl win in over 10 years. Every fanbase has some nasty people, but Baylor fans were much friendlier than USC fans. At the airport the next morning, I recognized many players from the team headed home, and a couple of them were even on my flight! I talked with Spencer Harris for a little while, and congratulated him on the bowl win. I can't wait until next season, when we have 8 home games and a chance to start a streak of winning seasons. Below you’ll find photos from the game:

Aviation in Sports

You might think that aviation and sports have nothing to do with each other. How do you think Auburn got to the national championship game in Phoenix? They, along with many of their fans, took charter flights to the game. I’ve been interested in airplanes since I was a kid living in Baltimore. My annual Thanksgiving flight to Chicago was always a highlight. Passing through security and having my identification checked made me feel like I was going on some official, secretive trip. I remember standing by the windows of the airport, watching the planes taking off, landing and taxiing. The flight attendants always made a special effort to be very welcoming to young children. They would give you playing cards, extra packs of food, and little airplane models to keep you entertained.

When I moved to Champaign, I became friends with the people at Flightstar, the business that charters planes at the airport. Since I live near the airport, flights pass over my house at a very low altitude. While some people might find the noise to be a nuisance, I find it pleasant, and strangely soothing. Champaign is a small college town with around 125,000 people, so the airport doesn’t get much traffic. As a result, American Eagle (the only scheduled airline here) flies Embraer ERJ’s, a midsize regional jet. The biggest planes come here to transport the Illinois football team across the country, and the basketball teams will occasionally take a large plane. Typically a Boeing 737 or 757 is used by the football teams.

The cool thing about the airport here is that I can get right on the tarmac without a hassle. At a big airport like Chicago O’Hare, tight security would make that nearly impossible. As an avid sports fan, I recognize many of the players and coaches, so it is neat to watch them play on TV or in person and then be able to stand next to them at the airport. For example, when the North Carolina Tarheels basketball team came into town, I stood next to the plane and watched them deboard. I saw Harrison Barnes, the first freshman ever on the preseason All-American list. On another occasion, Terrelle Pryor, notorious quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, walked right by me.

At the airport I film the planes landing, taxiing and taking off, and I usually go into the planes and talk to the pilots. My favorite trip to the airport was definitely Christmas Day 2010. The Illinois football team was flying to Houston to take on Baylor in the Texas Bowl. During bowl season, teams generally fly widebody planes so that they can bring all of the players, support staff, and families with them. A World Airways MD-11 was in town, and it was my first time seeing a widebody plane here. Everyone at Flightstar is very friendly, and all of the employees there have an interesting story to tell. For example, when Bill Clinton’s Air Force One 707 literally got stuck in the mud here, my friend helped remove it, and he even got to see the President. Aviation is a perfect complement to my love of sports, and Champaign is a perfect town to pursue these interests.

You can watch my videos from the airport here.

Why I love College Sports

When I moved to Champaign, IL 5 ½ years ago, I was worried about making the adjustment to live in a small town in the Midwest. I had lived in Baltimore, MD for over 10 years and was used to urban life. Although it was initially difficult to adjust to the relatively small size of the community, I quickly found something that captivated me, college athletics.

My Dad took me to a football game against Rutgers at Memorial Stadium on September 3^rd, 2005: http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=252460356. I had never been to a football game before, although I had watched many Ravens games on TV. I was amazed at the sheer size of the stadium, and the energy of the fans at the game. My Dad wanted to leave in the 3rd quarter because of the heat, and I reluctantly agreed. From this point forward, I was hooked on college sports. In Baltimore, I had attended many baseball games of the perennial cellar dwelling Orioles, and although they had a beautiful stadium, it got old seeing the Yankees and Red Sox fans descend into Baltimore and watch their teams pummel the poor Orioles.

Since then, I’ve attended many more football games, basketball games at Assembly Hall, the 2008 Rose Bowl, the 2010 Texas Bowl, and the 2010 Final Four in Indianapolis. I’ve come to realize how big the differences are between college sports and professional sports, and I now have a strong preference for college sports over professional sports.

This isn’t to say that I don’t like watching the NFL or the NBA, rather I prefer attending college sports. First, and perhaps importantly are the fans. Love them or hate them, the fans are what make the event. The passion of college fans is far and above that of fans of professional sports. They’re louder, and they’re what make games so much fun to attend. A big part of why they’re so passionate is their youth, but their sense of identity with the school is also important. There’s the idea that my school is competing out there, and there’s no way that they are going fail. It’s the mentality that everyone has a stake in the game. If you go to an NBA game, the fans feel detached from the game. It’s a hobby for them, not a passion. The players there are celebrities, while the fans are just average Joes. In Champaign, it feels much more like I’m on equal footing with the athletes. On several occasions, I’ve talked with the basketball and football players, and they’ve always been very friendly to me. The NBA and NFL feel much like a business. Generally, I don’t think athletes there are playing for the names on the front of their uniforms; they’re playing for the money and the fame. College athletes play because they love the game and they all feel personally invested in it.

Another reason I love college sports is the brush with fame that you get. There’s always one guy that you know is a special talent when you see him play, and sure enough, a few years down the road, you see him in a heated playoff game on TV, or you his name plastered on the web and in the newspapers. It’s neat to be able to say, “I say him play when he was younger, before he made it onto the big stage.”

In upcoming posts, I’ll share photos and videos that I have of games that I’ve attended, and many interesting stories from them.