BEN YOUNG
Staff Writer
It’s been a quiet week for me. The NBA season is now underway, and I am really excited about that, but I do not have anything profound or even silly to say about that topic, yet. I will though, so hold your horses.
The biggest thing that happened to me this week was the start of another season in my apartment’s Madden 2005 franchise. Last season ended in disaster as I lost by about 90-some odd points to my roommate in the Super Bowl. I know, I know. It was atrocious and easily one of the worst defeats in modern sports. I got rolled. But at least I beat my other roommate in the NFC championship on a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter. And he’s still angry about it. So angry, in fact, he slammed me by 40 last night in the fourth week of the regular season. So now I’m a comfortable 3-1 and looking solid in first place in the NFC East.
And because I’m in the business of predictions, I’ll go ahead and predict this season for all of you faithful readers. Collin, Jason and I will all make the playoffs again. I’ll handle Collin and then Jason will put up over 100 points on me and I will lose by around, let’s see, 74 points. OK, that’s the prediction. Now, on to the important stuff.
This week I had a little conversation with my friend and Graphic Sports editor, Garrett Wait. He and I sat down for a little chat about sports and life, and this is what went down. My comments are in bold.
What has surprised you this fall so far in sports?
In Pepperdine sports or in all sports?
I don’t know. Let’s go all sports first, and then Pepperdine sports.
I’d say in all sports it’d have to be Roger Clemens choking in the playoffs – oh wait, that happens every year. The guy hasn’t pitched well in a meaningful playoff game since 1986.
Maybe it’s because he was 50 pounds lighter then.
I think he stuffs his uniform with the cash the Yankees gave him when he ran away to “retirement.”
That’s fair. For me the biggest surprise has been that the Cowboys have won some games with Bledsoe at the helm. I can’t lie – I was very skeptical of his ability to actually play like a winning quarterback.
Well, I don’t know why you’d be skeptical. He is pretty mobile for a statue.
Speaking of statues, what’s the word on the Pepperdine front court? They’re looking stout these days.
I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised with how well our young hosses back there play. I’ve even seen Derrick Grubb stepping out to the three-point line and pour them in like a December rain. And you know nobody is gonna get past Russell and his 15-foot wing span.
But isn’t that the problem we had last year with this team? They couldn’t get inside to save their lives … I mean, if I had a dollar for every time I saw one of our “big” guys stepping back and throwing up bricks from three-point land, I’d be a rich man. Maybe as rich, in fact, as the man himself, Paul W.
Speaking about the coaching, on the topic of D-Grubb and his three-point prowess, what if they played Derrick at small forward and had Russell (Hicks) and Jarrad (Henry) patrolling the paint? What team could score on us?
I don’t know. UConn maybe? Four or five teams in our conference. Or maybe any team with some real quickness? I think speed is more important than size, especially in this conference. I mean, look at Kingsley. That dude is fast and I think he could be a legit x-factor in a lot of games this season.
But look at Gonzaga recently. They win because they dominate inside and have shooters who can knock down the open jump shots when the defense collapses on the big man. Following that, what we need are some shooters. That Lithuanian kid looked pretty lethal at Midnight Madness.
Didn’t he lose to a girl?
Good point.
I mean, I’m not saying anything bad about girls … but …
No, I know what you mean.
Well, anyways, um, what else has surprised you about Pepperdine sports this fall?
Women’s golf. So talented. So hot right now. Well, how ‘bout you? What’s been surprising to you?
Well, I’m kind of mad about how the ‘Stros played in the World Series. I thought it would be closer in the end. And on the Pepperdine front, I figured water polo would be ranked higher than they are. We’ll see how the season ties up for them. I’m super surprised Alex Acker made the opening day roster for the Pistons. I figured he’d end up, you know, injured right before the season started.
Well, it’s a little early, but let’s make some predictions for the upcoming basketball season.
OK, you first.
Well, the “experts” are predicting an eighth-place finish for the men this year.
And you say?
I’m gonna disagree. I think we’re obviously better than San Diego, Portland, LMU and maybe San Francisco. We should finish fourth.
But isn’t that we say every year? We look great on paper. In fact, we look phenomenal on paper. Then we’re usually totally underwhelming on the court. So I’m gonna take the middle between you and the experts and say a solid sixth-place finish. I just pray that we show up this year to play LMU. That’s it.
Good talk. You made some valid points and we even agreed on a couple of things. But at the end of the day, I’m still friends with most of the people I write about and they all hate you.
Touché.
11-03-2005
