Monday, March 23, 2009
Ahhhh...
After a scare with the weather, Mrs. Hill and I found our way to our seats at Qwest Center Omaha to watch exactly what I predicted happen, although in even more cruel fashion than I thought: P'Allen loses Meeks with 10 seconds to go, and Jodie goes for a layup...PLUS 1!
Kentucky wins, despite--and I'll give it to them--one of the loudest crowds I have heard in a while, Creighton's best effort, and Kentucky playing like crap on offense. 65-63.
A couple of quick highlights:
--To the bald idiot sitting in front of me was a trip (think George Costanza at about age 57). I cheer after a Jodie Meeks three. Creighton scores the next possession, and he turns around and gets in my face and is yelling and clapping. I ask him if he's going to do that all night, and he responds "are you???"
Yes, dumbshit, I am going to cheer for my team. And probably will do so during the entire game, because I am at a live basketball game where one is to cheer for their respective team.
Then after the final buzzer went off, I clapped and yelled "great finish, Cats!" And he turns around and says "show a little class!" My God, it was hilarious.
I've watched this fool at several CU games before, so I dedicate Kentucky's win to you.
--I literally saw three people crying. Summed up best, a text response to this from my friend Grant: "I've heard that the tears of a trust fund elitist bring good luck. Try to capture some."
--This obviously didn't happen at the game, but I got about 7 texts right after the game, all saying something along the lines of "Suck it, Creighton!" Gotta love the passion, fellas.
All in all, a great time. It was hotter than hell in there, and we stood the ENTIRE second half. Again, I hate to give any credit, but it's due--the crowd was totally into it. Granted, they booed any time Kentucky tried to play defense (Creighton fan: if a Creighton player puts up a weak shot against a guy 7 inches taller than him, and that shot is blocked emphatically, that does not mean it was a foul), but they sure gave it the ol' college try.
But again, it didn't matter. Kentucky flat out-athleted them, as predicted. Kentucky's defense carried the Cats past a terrible offensive performance.
To wrap up, I will let zwierzycki from The Bluejay Cafe sum up with his awesome prediction:
The Bluejay Shock and Awe special comes out tonight. UK comes to "tiny" omaha and isn't ready for 17,000 screaming fans.
Jays 74 UK 63
Hey, zwierzycki: the "Shock and Awe" worked well for you guys...you only lost by 2. Oh, and Kentucky plays in an arena that has 24,000 in it, every single home game. Not impressed.
You gave it your best, and lost.
Suck it, Creighton.
P.S.: I am fully aware how pathetic it is that UK is in the NIT, and that I am this excited about a win in said tournament. Just let me enjoy the fact that it was in Omaha and against Creighton.
Labels: Kentucky Basketball, Suck it Creighton
The Breakdown No One Who Reads This Blog Cares About: Kentucky vs. Creighton
Well, tonight is the night. I get to witness 16,000 Creighton fans have their little Bluejay hearts broken IN PERSON! The University of Kentucky Basketball Wildcats are in town ready to do battle with the Creighton Bluejays.
It actually could be a interesting game. I know the opening line had Creighton actually favored by 3.
Let's start with a breakdown of the starters and bench...
PG: Josh Doltzer (3.1 PPG) vs. Michael Porter (4.0 PPG). Ugg. This matchup SUCKS. Porter, whether fairly or unfairly, has been on the receiving end of a whole lot of blame as to why Kentucky is playing in the NIT as opposed to the NCAA's. The problem is that the guy is not a point guard. He is the type of player that...well, that shouldn't be playing at UK, frankly. In fact, I would say he is the type of recruit that embodies why UK fans were fed up with Tubby Smith. He can hit an open three from time to time, and he absolutely plays his ass off. He was also recruited by Pete Carroll to play cornerback, and played at the same high school as UK favorite and Houston Rocket Chuck Hayes. In other words, this is about all I can say about the guy...not good.
As for Doltzer, you can say a lot of the same things. The difference being that he runs an offense alot better than Porter.
Advantage: Creighton
SG: Booker Woodfox (15.7 PPG) vs. Jodie Meeks (24.0 PPG). Booker is the nation's second-leading 3-point shooter this season. He really explodes into his jump shot, and it is a thing of beauty to watch when he is on. Booker is usually Creighton's advantage any game they go into.
That said, Booker usually doesn't line up against 2nd Team All-Americans. Jodie Meeks is an explosive player that is constantly active on offense (think Rip Hamilton). He is equally effective slashing to the hoop as he is hitting his outside jump shot. Not to mention he is a relentless defender and has a solid 3 inches on Woodfox. Oh, and he owns Kentucky's single-game scoring record. I think he scored under 20 points in only 3 games this season.
Advantage: Kentucky
Wing: P'Allen Stinnett (12.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG) vs. Razor Ramon Harris (5.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG). Normally, I love P. As Pete always says, "P is a wild horse that cannot be broken." And on paper, this matchup probably favors Creighton.
With that said, I'll pull the Corso and say "not so fast, my friends!" There are two reasons why I believe this could be--COULD--an advantage for UK. Razor is a very good defender who busts his ass every play on both sides of the court. P'Allen is, needless to say, the opposite of this. The other thing to consider is that P sometimes plays with his eyes bigger than his stomach...and this is the biggest matchup Creighton has had since at least the early 1980's. So it very well could be a situation where P tries to do too much and gets not only himself out of rhythm, but the whole team.
Advantage: Push, leaning towards Creighton.
Wing: Justin Carter (8.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG) vs. Perry Stevenson (7.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG). This is a tough one to call. UK's Stevenson has 5 inches on Carter. But, Carter will play quck and move around a lot, whereas Stevenson sometimes has a tendency to disappear from games. However, when he's involved, he plays good defense (and can block the hell out of some shots). Not to mention he can hit the 15-footer, plus usually has a ferocious dunk or two every game.
In other words, this is a post player vs. a wing player. If I'm Dana Altman, I'm doing everything I can to exploit this matchup. That said, same with Billy Gillispie.
Advantage: Kentucky, barely.
Center: Kenny Lawson (8.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG) vs. Patrick Patterson (18.1 PPG, 9.4 RPG). According to Creighton's media notes, Lawson is the MVC shot block leader, while Patterson was "HS teammate of OJ Mayo."
Here's what Creighton's media department left out for Patterson: 5 Star recruit, McDonald's All-American 1st Team All-SEC (2nd Team as a frosh), Co-SEC Freshman of the Year, All-American candidate, and currently on the NBA Lottery bubble according to many outlets. Oh, and he averaged 22.3 PPG after coming back from a early/mid-season ankle injury.
Kenny Lawson...well, Kenny has 10 pounds on Patterson, and gets winded 3 minutes into games. Patterson averages 34 minutes a game.
Advantage: Uh, I'm pretty sure that's Kentucky.
Bench: There's no question that Kentucky's bench is more athletic than Creighton's. UK has a freshman 6th Man named Darius Miller who is going to be a very good player, and has really come into his own over the past month. He can hit the outside shot, plus is very good at breaking down a zone defense with his pull-up 15-footer. He will spell Ramon Harris.
Creighton, on the other hand, has been using mass substitutions for a while now, with Altman replacing his starting 5 sometime around the 15 minute mark of the first half. That group is highlighted by Antoine Young. In fact, Young could be the key to this game. He is precisely the type of player that has killed UK this season, meaning a slashing point guard who can also hit an outside shot. If Dana is smart, he will play Young early and often.
That said, there's really no one else off Creighton's bench that overwhelms me.
Advantage: Creighton, if only because they play more people. Gillispie is known for a 7- or 8-man rotation.
Coaching: Dana Altman vs. Billy Gillispie. Hmm. Well, Dana Altman is the king of the MVC hill. He's a great coach. However, we've seen what he can do in a major conference (hello, Kansas State!). Billy Gillispie is widely considered a great coach, has 4 different "Coach of the Year" awards. However, we find him in a spot where he is probably not going to be the head coach of Kentucky next season. However, that has more to do with off-the-court issues. And to be quite honest, some of his coaching decisions this year have left me hurling profanities at the television screen.
Advantage: Meh. I don't know that it will matter that much in this game.
Overall: Athletically, Kentucky should be able to shut down Creighton. While doing a position-by-position comparison makes it appear to be a close matchup, Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson are such overwhelming advantages that it skews the entire deal.
That said, Kentucky has struggled with teams who can get hot from the outside. Creighton fits into this category, although their past two games would not give me much confidence if I'm a Creighton fan. If Kentucky takes care of the ball--which is by far the biggest problem they have had this season--they should win pretty easily.
Of course, there's the whole "the biggest name to ever play in the Qwest Center" deal, and the home crowd should be pretty solid. Creighton is going to be sky-high for this game and they're going to give them all they've got. Not to mention Kentucky has lost to some poor teams this season, for several different reasons.
Thankfully, every away game is like this for Kentucky. This environment should be absolutely nothing new for them. I think Meeks has a nice game, and Patterson just goes off.
Kentucky 78, Creighton 67.
GO BIG BLUE!!!!!!!!!!
Labels: Creighton, Kentucky Basketball, Suck it Creighton, University of Kentucky
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Creighton vs. KENTUCKY
Well gentlemen, my dream scenario has come true. My University of Kentucky Wildcats will be playing at the Qwest Center Omaha Monday night!
And not only that, they get to play Creighton.
Creighton fans, it is going to be one hell of a long night.
A proper preview of the game will be up sometime soon.
For now, I'm going to say this one--and only one--time: Creighton, GREAT WIN LAST NIGHT!!!!
If you guys hear any rumbling here in Omaha, it's the shockwaves that are following Patrick Patterson to the rack against Creighton. He just might dick around and have a career day against these fools.
And not only that, they get to play Creighton.
Creighton fans, it is going to be one hell of a long night.
A proper preview of the game will be up sometime soon.
For now, I'm going to say this one--and only one--time: Creighton, GREAT WIN LAST NIGHT!!!!
If you guys hear any rumbling here in Omaha, it's the shockwaves that are following Patrick Patterson to the rack against Creighton. He just might dick around and have a career day against these fools.
Labels: Creighton, Kentucky Basketball, Suck it Creighton, University of Kentucky
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Creighton Fan: "I'd Probably Rather Have Doc"
Whoa, Nellie!
That was an actual quote I got from a Creighton fan tonight. And not just any Creighton fan: a graduate, multi-season ticket holding Creighton fan.
The conversation came about after I told him that someone who he offered two tickets to last Saturday's Creighton game replied something along the lines of "I can't go, but tell him that Doc says 'hi.'"
After laughing about that for a minute, he said that at this point, he probably would rather have Doc Sadler as a coach, because he "gets more out of less, especially compared to Dana." Upon hearing this, I asked him what Doc would do with Creighton's current roster. His reply:
"Oh, man..."
So there you have it. A die-hard (and I do not use that term lightly with this person) Creighton fan admitting that he would take Doc Sadler over Dana Altman.
I sincerely hope that Bluejay Cafe gets a hold of this post, then whines about it and claims that we made this story up.
Doc's your daddy, Jays!
That was an actual quote I got from a Creighton fan tonight. And not just any Creighton fan: a graduate, multi-season ticket holding Creighton fan.
The conversation came about after I told him that someone who he offered two tickets to last Saturday's Creighton game replied something along the lines of "I can't go, but tell him that Doc says 'hi.'"
After laughing about that for a minute, he said that at this point, he probably would rather have Doc Sadler as a coach, because he "gets more out of less, especially compared to Dana." Upon hearing this, I asked him what Doc would do with Creighton's current roster. His reply:
"Oh, man..."
So there you have it. A die-hard (and I do not use that term lightly with this person) Creighton fan admitting that he would take Doc Sadler over Dana Altman.
I sincerely hope that Bluejay Cafe gets a hold of this post, then whines about it and claims that we made this story up.
Doc's your daddy, Jays!
Labels: Bluejay Cafe, Creighton, Dana Altman, Doc Sadler, Nebraska basketball, Suck it Creighton
Friday, October 17, 2008
The Feel Good Story
So I have two guys coming in this November for a strategic meeting. Being the great host I was able to score the banks suite tickets for the Creighton vs. Arkansas Pine Bluffs game (should be a barn burner.) When I informed these gentlemen of our Thursday night plans, one of them asked me if ‘Creighton, I think I have heard of them. . .are they a D2 school?’
After picking myself up from the floor I did confirm that yes Creighton is a D2 school.
Welcome back College Basketball, and Suck It Creighton
Labels: D2 Basketball, Suck it Creighton
Sunday, January 20, 2008
It's now a lot harder to make fun of Creighton...
...after this. This is really a fantastic idea. And I tend to agree that since the bar closes at 10 and won't serve shots, binge drinking on the premises will be fairly difficult, though thankfully not impossible.
What I would really like to discuss is how ridiculously biased this article is. The Weird Herald really went out of their way, I felt, to interject exactly how they feel about the idea (shockingly opposed, sarcasm) at several points throughout the story. Nothing this fucking blight on the journalism world does at this point surprises me, but this was absurd.
Look at the last quote.
Look at how much attention was given to UW-Madison compared to the little private school in Kansas that is probably a hell of a lot more comparable to Creighton and supposedly doesn't have very many problems.
Etc.
I'd like to open it up to discussion. Was this article pushing an agenda? This bar is a pretty awesome idea, right? Does the World Herald even need to exist with the exception of Tom Shatel and Robert Nelson? Should Mike Kelley be writing for the Lexington Clipper instead of making my brain melt bi-weekly? Suck it, Creighton?
What I would really like to discuss is how ridiculously biased this article is. The Weird Herald really went out of their way, I felt, to interject exactly how they feel about the idea (shockingly opposed, sarcasm) at several points throughout the story. Nothing this fucking blight on the journalism world does at this point surprises me, but this was absurd.
Look at the last quote.
Look at how much attention was given to UW-Madison compared to the little private school in Kansas that is probably a hell of a lot more comparable to Creighton and supposedly doesn't have very many problems.
Etc.
I'd like to open it up to discussion. Was this article pushing an agenda? This bar is a pretty awesome idea, right? Does the World Herald even need to exist with the exception of Tom Shatel and Robert Nelson? Should Mike Kelley be writing for the Lexington Clipper instead of making my brain melt bi-weekly? Suck it, Creighton?
Labels: Creighton, Mike Kelley=bad...Tom Shatel=good, Omaha World-Herald, Sad Panda, Suck it Creighton
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Congratulations to the Nebraska Cornhuskers...
From all of us at HeavySoul, Suck it Creighton!
Labels: Doc Sadler, Nebraska basketball, Suck it Creighton
Monday, December 10, 2007
The best albums that I bought in 2007.
It's that time, ladies and gents. I'm gonna break these puppies down into listening skill levels. The top albums require minimal effort to enjoy the most.
Get Your Ass Out There and Buy These:
Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
Kings of Leon, Because of the Times
Okkervil River, The Stage Names
Patton Oswalt, Werewolves and Lollipops
Feist, The Reminder
Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
The National, Boxer
Heartless Bastards, All This Time
The Thermals, The Body, The Blood, The Machine
The Good Life, Help Wanted Nights
For the Veteran Music Listeners:
Johnny Cash, American V: A Hundred Highways
Caribou, Andorra
Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
Dinosaur Jr., Beyond
Harlem Shakes, Burning Birthdays
Bright Eyes, Cassadaga
Band of Horses, Cease To Begin
The Avett Brothers, Emotionalism
The Twighlight Sad, Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters
Black Lips, Good Bad Not Evil
Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
White Stripes, Icky Thump
Bruce Springsteen, Magic
St. Vincent, Marry Me
Elliott Smith, New Moon
Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala
Robert Plant & Allison Krause, Raising Sand
David Dondero, Simple Love
Brandi Carlisle, The Story
Two Gallants, Two Gallants
Peter Bjorn and John, Writer's Block
Albums That Were Impossible to Live Up to the Hype Inside of My Head, But Were Still Good:
The Shins, Wincing the Night Away
Bloc Party, A Weekend in the City
Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
As my favorite Irishman, Bill O'Reilly would say, "Tell me where I'm wrong."
Get Your Ass Out There and Buy These:
Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
Kings of Leon, Because of the Times
Okkervil River, The Stage Names
Patton Oswalt, Werewolves and Lollipops
Feist, The Reminder
Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
The National, Boxer
Heartless Bastards, All This Time
The Thermals, The Body, The Blood, The Machine
The Good Life, Help Wanted Nights
For the Veteran Music Listeners:
Johnny Cash, American V: A Hundred Highways
Caribou, Andorra
Amy Winehouse, Back to Black
Dinosaur Jr., Beyond
Harlem Shakes, Burning Birthdays
Bright Eyes, Cassadaga
Band of Horses, Cease To Begin
The Avett Brothers, Emotionalism
The Twighlight Sad, Fourteen Autumns, Fifteen Winters
Black Lips, Good Bad Not Evil
Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
White Stripes, Icky Thump
Bruce Springsteen, Magic
St. Vincent, Marry Me
Elliott Smith, New Moon
Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala
Robert Plant & Allison Krause, Raising Sand
David Dondero, Simple Love
Brandi Carlisle, The Story
Two Gallants, Two Gallants
Peter Bjorn and John, Writer's Block
Albums That Were Impossible to Live Up to the Hype Inside of My Head, But Were Still Good:
The Shins, Wincing the Night Away
Bloc Party, A Weekend in the City
Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
As my favorite Irishman, Bill O'Reilly would say, "Tell me where I'm wrong."
Labels: Awesometown, Best of 2007, Good Music, Suck it Creighton
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wish list candidates
Four years ago, Cal's Jeff Tedford was a bit of a hot name. The Detroit Free Press' Michael Rosenberg thinks he's a very viable candidate for the opening in Ann Arbor. Why not here?
And for the love of technology, would someone teach me how to link this properly. I'm trying to add a little professionalism here.
EDIT: There you go, big cat.
And for the love of technology, would someone teach me how to link this properly. I'm trying to add a little professionalism here.
EDIT: There you go, big cat.
Labels: Bo Pelini, Coaching Search, Nebraska Football Coaching Search, Suck it Creighton
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Last 10 Keywords:
The last 10 search engine keywords that directed people to Heavy Soul:
"David Caruso Calendars" (Google)
"Coach Callahan dippin dots" (Google) - was that you, Deuce?
"The Homy Inn 1510 North Saddle Creek Road" (Google)
"Beatles Brothers" (Google)
"Joey Ganz" (Google)
"creighton sucks" (Google)
"Heavy Soul blog" (Yahoo)
"Andre Woolridge picture" (Google)
"Why nebraska can't play creighton home and home" (Google)
"Nebraska Volleyball asses" (Google)
I would say that sums up the blog pretty well. Creighton sucks, asses, and David Caruso.
"David Caruso Calendars" (Google)
"Coach Callahan dippin dots" (Google) - was that you, Deuce?
"The Homy Inn 1510 North Saddle Creek Road" (Google)
"Beatles Brothers" (Google)
"Joey Ganz" (Google)
"creighton sucks" (Google)
"Heavy Soul blog" (Yahoo)
"Andre Woolridge picture" (Google)
"Why nebraska can't play creighton home and home" (Google)
"Nebraska Volleyball asses" (Google)
I would say that sums up the blog pretty well. Creighton sucks, asses, and David Caruso.
Labels: David Caruso, Heavy Soul, Suck it Creighton
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Doc Sadler - Realist, Comedic Genius...or Both?
This was taken from Tom Shatel's column today, in reference to Dana Altman and Creighton wanting to play Nebraska twice a year:
"...Told about Altman's idea on Monday, Sadler said, 'I have no problem considering it, but we have to do what's best for both programs."
"...Sadler said on Monday, '[The Creighton game] is the 17th most important game, as far as I'm concerned.' Ouch. In other words, the 16 Big 12 games (including Colorado and Baylor) are more important to Sadler than CU. I understand his thinking. I'm not sure that Creigtonians will appreciate it..."
Well, tough shit, Creightonians. Because I'm pretty sure that Doc doesn't appreciate you trading your red shirts in for blue v-neck cardigans in the winter time.
I thought this line was hilarious, mainly because of this: what Sadler said is true. He's paid to win conference championships and make runs in the tourney (er, get to the tourney). So really, the Creighton game doesn't matter in a lot of ways. Preseason/early season games just don't matter in college basketball that much anymore. However, he could have said it in this way.
Instead, he took a nice little jab at Creighton. And I think that was absoultely intentional. Dana Altman, who is the basketball "god" in the media around here, is trying to push his weight around a bit here. Getting a chance to play a Big XII team twice a year does nothing but pad Creighton's tourney resume.
Playing Creighton twice a year--particularly at this juncture--does nothing great for Nebraska. They get to play a well-coached team twice a year, and could be looking at an additional loss or two for the first year or two of this. But does playing Creighton really get Nebraska ready for the Big XII? Does it really get them ready for the athletes and speed of their opponents they'll face the majority of the season? Does it help their tourney resume enough to play them twice?
Yes, I'm sure it does to an extent. But I don't think there is any way that it helps Nebraska as much as it does Creighton. So stick to your guns, Doc! Do what's best for Nebraska, not the Omaha World-Herald and Dana Altman.
"...Told about Altman's idea on Monday, Sadler said, 'I have no problem considering it, but we have to do what's best for both programs."
"...Sadler said on Monday, '[The Creighton game] is the 17th most important game, as far as I'm concerned.' Ouch. In other words, the 16 Big 12 games (including Colorado and Baylor) are more important to Sadler than CU. I understand his thinking. I'm not sure that Creigtonians will appreciate it..."
Well, tough shit, Creightonians. Because I'm pretty sure that Doc doesn't appreciate you trading your red shirts in for blue v-neck cardigans in the winter time.
I thought this line was hilarious, mainly because of this: what Sadler said is true. He's paid to win conference championships and make runs in the tourney (er, get to the tourney). So really, the Creighton game doesn't matter in a lot of ways. Preseason/early season games just don't matter in college basketball that much anymore. However, he could have said it in this way.
Instead, he took a nice little jab at Creighton. And I think that was absoultely intentional. Dana Altman, who is the basketball "god" in the media around here, is trying to push his weight around a bit here. Getting a chance to play a Big XII team twice a year does nothing but pad Creighton's tourney resume.
Playing Creighton twice a year--particularly at this juncture--does nothing great for Nebraska. They get to play a well-coached team twice a year, and could be looking at an additional loss or two for the first year or two of this. But does playing Creighton really get Nebraska ready for the Big XII? Does it really get them ready for the athletes and speed of their opponents they'll face the majority of the season? Does it help their tourney resume enough to play them twice?
Yes, I'm sure it does to an extent. But I don't think there is any way that it helps Nebraska as much as it does Creighton. So stick to your guns, Doc! Do what's best for Nebraska, not the Omaha World-Herald and Dana Altman.
Labels: Dana Altman, Doc Sadler, Nebraska basketball, Omaha World-Herald, Suck it Creighton, Tom Shatel
Term Papers
