February 1

Well, what a surprise -- my column is late! My apologies to the thousands of you that have been waiting with tremendous anticipation by your computer for the new one, but if you know me you shouldn't be surprised......

First off, congrats to the Tampa Bay Bucs. I suppose I should just say that off the bat so I can fulfill what some may feel is an obligation to talk about a sport that is (or was) in season. It's kind of unfortunate that the game was a blow-out....in fact, I ended up watching a movie halfway through the third quarter because the game had become quite boring in my opinion. But, it's good to see the underdog win.

The other big item in the sporting news world is LeBron James. For those who don't know, James is a high school basketball phenom who everyone is picking to be the first pick in this spring's NBA draft. Recently, his Mom gave him a new vehicle for his birthday -- a Hummer. Jimmy Kimmel milked that obvious joke to death on his late-night talk show last night -- his writers must be MENSA members or something. So the Ohio Basketball Commission, or whatever it's called, found that his mom's gift was legit and did not violate any recruiting rules. Now, however, James has been found inelegible to play the remainder of the season because he accepted some clothing from a store as a gift. Let me weigh in on what has become a big national debate by saying.....WHO THE F**K CARES!

Man, he won't have a chance to score 30 points a game against Mickey Mouse High. What a travesty! Yeah, so he seems like he's a really good player, but he is playing mostly against people whose basketball careers will be done after high school, so how do you know how good he really is until he plays against real competition? I personally think the NBA blows....there's no concept of defense and it's much more of an individual thing than anything resembling a team sport. And it seems like James was basically just playing high school ball for publicity and so the scouts could watch him. (I don't know why, but I really was annoyed that the guy would always make sure to wear an NBA headband when he was playing in a nationally televised game.) Go ahead, LeBron, go to the NBA where some team can pay you big money for underacheiving instead of playing at least some college ball and making yourself a better player. And enjoy that hummer.

So Boston College just creamed UConn in Connecticut today by 24 points. They started this year off slow when Uka Agbai went down with a season-ending injury, but really seem to be putting it together now. They not only beat UConn, but almost beat Notre Dame last weekend, eventually losing in overtime. Do yourself a favor and check out Craig Smith, a freshman from Los Angeles who is 6'6 but plays like he's 7'0. He completely outplayed UConn's star center Emeka Okafor today and really seems like the complete package. BC looks like they could be poised to make a run for the tourney, but they only play 7 guys and their lack of depth may end up running them down. We'll see...

The Texas-Kansas game this past Monday night was one of the best college basketball games I have ever seen. Texas looked in control, but Kansas came back behind the inspiring play of Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison. Collison had 24 points and 23 rebounds, and everybody's favorite announcer Dick Vitale gave him a standing ovation when he fouled out near the end of the game. That guy plays with more heart and determination than just about anyone. Texas, however, will still probably be one of my Final Four teams. They are so deep, and point guard T.J. Ford is simply awesome.

Ta-ta for now......

January 24

So the Red Sox just went out and signed David Ortiz, formerly of the Minnesota Twins, to a 1 year, $1.25 million contract. I'm a little skeptical. He's a lefty, with pretty good power, but he's streaky and swings at some bad pitches. Does that sound like someone else we've seen playing for the Red Sox the past few years? Brian Daubach's numbers are pretty much identical, so if they were looking for another first baseman/DH, why not resign him? They probably could have him for around the same amount of money, since he doesn't seem to be getting many phone calls for his service. And unlike what I've seen from Ortiz, Daubach does seem to provide some real clutch hits here and there, along with being a better defensive first baseman. Plus, he's already an established fan favorite. (I'm left again wondering why I didn't buy that Daubach's My Daddy T-Shirt--maybe I'll have to look for it on E-Bay.) If they had brought Brian back, maybe this would have been the year my nickname for him (Dauba the Clobbah!) would have finally become a national phenomenon. Now what? You can't make up any good nicknames with the name Ortiz. "Davie--You're our favie?" Very lame. Oh well.... I still think if the Red Sox wants to improve their defense and their lineup, they should try Hillenbrand and Giambi switching off in the first base/DH positions, and have Bill Mueller at third. Maybe Theo will prove me wrong.....

Here's something I didn't think I'd ever say.....Kudos to Bud Selig! Yes, everybody's favorite commissioner of baseball has done a really good thing in deciding that the league that wins the All-Star game each year will get home-field advantage for the World Series. Hopefully, this will make the game much more meaningful and competitive. More players who are chosen as All-Stars actually may attend the event, and the managers may decide that trying to win the game is more important than trying to get every player in for half an inning. (Why does someone need to play three outs in the game to feel special? Isn't it supposed to be an honor just to BE an All-Star?) The fact that the game ended in a tie last year was an absolute joke, so hopefully that will never happen again.....

I've still been watching a lot of college basketball. I think it's really going to be great as we rev up towards March Madness because it really is wide open this year. If you haven't seen Pittsburgh play yet, check them out. I'm not sure if I have ever seen a better college team when it comes to passing the ball. Their back court of Brandin Knight and Julius Page is one of the best in the country. They have two very good post players in Ontario Lett and Toree Morris, and Chevon Troutman, a sophomore wing player, is improving with every game. They are such a balanced team, however, that it might be tough towards the end of a close game to know who they should turn to for the big shot.

Watch out for Kyle Korver, a senior forward for Creighton. The team has a top ten ranking for the first time in their history and he's a big reason why. (They did just get upset by Evansville last night, though, so that might not be the case for too much longer.) Korver struggled last night, but he's just about the best pure shooter you'll see at the college level.

I just talked to my friend Josh, and he asked me why I'm writing about baseball in January and not the Super Bowl which happens to be two days away. A pretty good question, I suppose. The thing is, as much as I like watching football, I just don't feel that I know enough about it to have it be a subject of this column. (Besides, I didn't do too well with my prediction for last weekend, did I?) So, although I'll be intently watching the game on Sunday, I'll leave the commenting on it to the Jeremy Schaaps of the world. Alrighty, this has dragged on for long enough. Peace Out.

January 18

Hey folks. Just wanted to leave a quick note with my Super Bowl prediction. Before the postseason started, I thought Philadelphia would beat Tennessee in the big game. (Actually, I thought Philly would win if McNabb was back and Tennessee would if he wasn't, but that's kind of a moot point now, eh?) I'm not sure if I really believe this prediction, because I think Oakland is quite good, but I figure I should stick with it. That way, if it does happen, it will make it even harder for ESPN to refuse me a job, right?

Peace Out,
Kieran

January 17

Hello Again brucespero.com'ers. I never really know how to start this column......

Hey Red Sox fans....do you know what happens on February 13? Pitchers and catchers report to spring training! Yep, baseball season will be here before you know it, so it's time to share with y'all my feelings about my beloved Sox and their offseason acquisitions.

Let's start with the pitching. It will be good this year, especially the bullpen. Ramiro Mendoza is a huge pick-up. He can be a starter, a long reliever, or a closer. And the best part of it is, we got him away from the Yankees. With him and Wakefield, you have two of the most versatile pitchers in baseball. By adding Chad Fox and Mike Timlin to Alan Embree and Bobby Howry, they have a number of different guys who could close...and that's the idea. Bill James, a statistical guru who now works in the Sox front office, is encouraging the team to go with a closer-by-committee approach. The idea is pretty logical. James thinks that a team should be using it's best pitcher when ahead by a run or two in the seventh inning. If you're bringing in your bullpen ace when you're up by three runs in the ninth, it's kind of a waste. Most of the time, that feat can be accomplished by just about anyone on your staff. They could use a lefty on that staff, however, and Dennis Cook is still out there. Sure he's 40 years old, but he is a veteran with lots of postseason experience, and he might be worth a shot if you can get him fairly cheap..... And the starters, well, getting Bartolo Colon or Javier Vazquez would have been nice, but the rotation is still going to be among the best in the league. Red Sox GM Theo Epstein should have tried to obtain free agent Paul Byrd. Here's a guy who won 17 games last year for a very bad Kansas City Royals club, and signed a two year contract with the Braves for only $10 million. That's a steal! C'mon Theo....you're only 28, and if you can't do the job there's someone writing this who's only 2 years younger and is ready to step in......

The line up....well, I think that there's still some questions. First base could be a problem. It appeared that we were going to get Kevin Millar, formerly of Portland Seadogs fame, but that's not looking so good anymore. Now, assuming that they do not move Shea Hillenbrand in a trade, you're looking at a potential platooning situation at first between him and Jeremy Giambi. To say the least, you'd have to question the defensive prowess of either one of those guys playing there.....

Todd Walker is a good pickup for second base, although I will miss Rey Sanchez's skills with the glove. Bill Mueller at third base is also a good addition. He is a good fielder, and both he and Walker provide the lineup with two decent contact hitters who make pitchers work into the count. Daubach, I'm going to miss ya (I should have bought that Daubach's My Daddy T-Shirt at Fenway when I had the chance) but we need more patient hitters on this team.

I think that the key to this season might be the performance of three players: Jason Varitek, Trot Nixon, and Casey Fossum. If their numbers improve, the Sox can be a contender......Or at least, that's what I'm hoping.

Until Next Time,
Kieran

January 8

Hey there all you Bruce Spero.com fans......all right, there might not be too many in the know yet about this website, but there will be soon. Oh yes, there will be soon.....So Bruce has asked me to write this sports column thing. I'm not sure if I will really be good at it, or be very faithful about writing it, but anything is worth a shot, right? ESPN should be calling any minute.....

Let's talk about the Louisville Cardinals basketball team, shall we? (I can feel you are all on the edge of your seat.) I will be talking a lot about college basketball over the next couple of months because I love it more than just about anything. If you're looking for a sport to get behind, nothing matches the intensity and excitement of it. And this year should be a beauty. A lot of teams have a legitimate chance at contending for the title. And one of them, I think, is Louisville.

For those who don't know, the Cardinals are coached by none other than Rick Pitino, one of the greatest college basketball coaches, but probably one of the worst pro basketball coaches. (And I knew that was the case the moment the Celtics hired him.) The team improved to 9-1 tonight with a romp over Charlotte, and they have now won eight games in a row. They have a potential player of the year candidate in Reece Gaines, who is one of the best guards in the country but not many people know who he is. They have other solid perimeter players, including Bryant Northern, a former walk-on who displays great intensity on the court. Then you have a frontcourt led by Marvin Stone, a Kentucky transfer who was supposed to be an NBA lottery pick by now but never amounted to anything for the Wildcats. He is playing like a man possessed and is out to prove people that he's still got game. (Did I really just use that expression?) This team has a deep bench and won't quit even when the going gets tough. They played Kentucky and Ohio State back-to-back. Against both teams they were down big in the first half, but came back to win, stomping on Kentucky and beating Ohio State in overtime.

Since the NCAA postseason tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1980, two schools from outside the Big 6 conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, SEC) have won it all -- UNLV and Louisville. Could Louisville do it again? It's probably a stretch to pencil them as champions, but I don't believe anyone will want to be playing against them come March Madness time.