Author Archives: bertbeiswanger

Sports Grab Bag: The Disrespected Spurs, Jim Irsay Punishment and Lance Stephenson

by Bert Beiswanger

A couple of days ago, I was ready to write about the most disrespected franchise in sports, The San Antonio Spurs, and the complete over-reaction by the media to Game 2 of the NBA Finals (which I was ultimately proven right by in Game 3). But a day or two has passed and other juicy topics have sense entered or resurfaced in my mind. It’s like going to the store to grab some beer and coming home 15 minutes later with, let’s say, the beer, a rotisserie chicken and a container of cookies…none of them related but all good and filling. Yeah, it’s just like that…

Anyway, all of the topics in my sports bag are still fresh, so here we go:

The San Antonio Spurs: Is there a more disrespected franchise in pro sports than the San Antonia Spurs?

Forget all the talk about LeBron James being the most criticized figure in sports. It comes with the territory as being the most popular figure in sports. What, Peyton Manning is never criticized? The notion that it translates to LeBron not being respected enough is absurd. What’s more absurd are the actions and reactions by the media so far during the NBA Finals. ESPN is on 24/seven Heat/LeBron watch. They are so smothering in their coverage that they are completely blind to the excellence of the San Antonio Spurs.

If you listened to media Monday morning after Game 2 – on TV and radio – you would’ve thought that after winning one game, the Heat had just wrapped up the series. Here’s a sampling of what I heard by “experts,” …”Do the Spurs have a chance? I just don’t think The Spurs have an answer for LeBron James. They have no answer.”… “When the Heat decide to turn it up and play like that, they can’t be stopped.”….”Let’s remember, we are only an air-conditioning malfunction away from this thing being 2-0 and us talking potential sweep right now.”

Allow me to reset the stage here: This was after Game 2, a game in which the Spurs led in the fourth quarter, missed four crucial free throws in the fourth quarter and lost by two points; TWO POINTS. AND the series was tied 1-1! AND we’re talking about a Spurs team that, just last year flat out gave away the championship to the Heat, up eight points with a minute to go in whats should have been the close-out Game 6. Had San Antoini finished the job in Games 6, the Spurs would now have five championship banners. AND the experienced Spurs have future Hall of Fame players and a Hall of Fame coach.

Yet, some in the media seemed mesmerized by the Game 3 performance of players like Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs after appearing to write them off after Game 2 and make excuses for the Heat in Game 1. What a joke by over-hyping, over-reacting experts, supposed worldwide leaders in sports, at that.

Jim Irsay Punishment

What should Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay’s punishment be? This has been a topic of conversation since the day Irsay’s arrest made headlines and has come to the forefront again as ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently reported that people around the NFL feel Irsay may get suspended six-eight games and fined $1 million. There’s one scenario I hadn’t thought and for good reason. It doesn’t make any sense. On local spots talk radio Tuesday, the idea was presented that the Colts should lose draft picks as part of Irsay’s punishment. Discussion about that idea continued Wednesday.

Losing draft picks is something that makes zero sense to me. Maybe others have floated it out there, too, I don’t know. But the punishment needs to fit the crime. What does taking draft picks away from the organization have to do with Jim Irsay’s personal issues and problems? This isn’t about the organization cheating to gain a competitive advantage on the field and management circumventing rules. This is a personal matter, not a personnel matter.

If Schefter’s report of the possible punishment by the league office is accurate, that seems MORE than fair. Jim Irsay’s biggest punishment is having to address his problems every day of his life. Does this issue make the organization look bad? I suppose it does to some degree. But mainly, it makes Jim Irsay look bad. Fine him, suspend him, but taking away draft picks?

I think the idea that the Colts should lose draft picks will sail about as far wide right as Mike Vanderjagt’s game-tying field goal attempt against the Steelers in the 2005-2006 NFL Playoffs.

Lance Stephenson and What the Pacers Should Do

What do the Pacers do with Lance Stephenson? That is probably the biggest question to be answered in the off-season. President Larry Bird has chimed in as has just about everyone. Usually, the opinions on the topic take some form of..”For the right price the Pacers should keep him” or “He’s bad for team chemistry, get rid of him.”

Let me tell you what I think the right price will be: Whatever the Pacers need to pay to match the open market bidding. We can talk all day about how the Pacers need to make trades to improve the team. I’m not saying they won’t. But the Pacers aren’t exactly sitting in a position of strength. Roy Hibbert’s contract is what it is – not good. You’re going to pay Hibbert $14 million per season but let Lance Stephenson, one of your two most talented players, walk? I doubt it.

In my opinion, the Pacers don’t have a choice but to re-sign Stephenson. Do you like the alternative? Do you even know what the alternative is? It’s not better than keeping Lance Stephenson, I can tell you that. The Pacers are in the position they’re in and they’re not in position to lose a player the caliber of Stephenson.

I leave you with this golden nugget:

It’s too bad the Pacers couldn’t achieve it’s goal of winning it’s first championship, if for no other reason than the fact that there would definitely been an interesting book chronicling the bizarre and incredible journey of the season. It could have been titled: From Catfishing to Bass Fishing: On Golden Swagger Pond.

Good day.

Follow on Twitter @BertBeis

Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson Get Full-Court Pressed by Mario Andretti

by Bert Beiswanger

Mark Jackson, Mario Andretti, Jeff Van Gundy and Tim Corrigan. (photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

Sunday was one of those perfect sports days in Indianapolis. The city was front and center on ABC for the better part of six hours – first for Indy 500 qualifying and then the much anticipated Game 1 Eastern Conference Finals match-up between the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat.

All the while, Mother Nature delivered the Chamber of Commerce-type of weather that made the day outside and the shots on TV about as perfect as you could ask for.

My day started by spending some time on the crystal clear morning morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with NBA on ESPN on ABC color analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, senior coordinating producer Tim Corrigan, and others. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Speedway president Doug Boles rolled out the red carpet for the gang. And, as usual, racing legend Mario Andretti and the Indy Racing Experience delivered the ride of a lifetime in the IndyCar two-seater.

My day ended, driving home from the Speedway with the windows rolled down listening to the magic of Mark Boyle and Bobby “Slick” Leonard paint the perfect Game 1 picture on the radio: “Over to George for three……BOOM BABY! He got ’em out of the left corner….”

Out of one of the commercial breaks, studio analyst Kevin Lee was talking to Boyle about the two-seater experience Jackson and Van Gundy had that morning. Lee asked Boyle if he would take the ride if it could be arranged. He said he would. “Slick” was then asked if he would do it. He replied, “Hell, I want to drive the thing!”

To top it off, I turned the channel to WGN Radio 720 AM to get a Game 1 update on the Chicago Blackhawks-Los Angeles Kings just in time to hear the call of Jonathan Toews’ game-clinching goal for the ‘Hawks and the sound of “Chelsea Dagger” and a chorus of fans booming in the background. Da-da da, da-da da, da-da-da-da-da-da da…

Yep, a prefect ending and drive home on a great day.

If column inches were a barrier, I would weave condensed comments from the morning experience into this piece. But column inches aren’t a barrier, so I’ll make good use of the thorough IMS Daily Trackside Report and share the full experience with you:

(Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway)

JEFF VAN GUNDY: “That was the greatest experience of my life. When you watch it on TV and you see it from afar, you have no idea of how fast it is. I just can’t believe they can be so close to each other and make split second decisions, I don’t know how they do it. I was scared at first. I have never been that fast in my life other than in an airplane. When you hit the bank and the turn, how it’s pulling on you, it’s incredible. There is nothing that you could ever do that would approximate that. That cannot be re-done.”

On his family history with the Indianapolis 500: “My grandfather was an usher here, a yellow shirt. This was a highlight for him every year. And my Mom would come to qualifying and the race. They lived a mile from here. So I called her this morning to say I was going to do this. I said. ‘Who is your favorite driver?’ She said, ‘Mario Andretti.’ It’s emotional, you know what I mean? I’ve never been here before, as many times as I’ve been in Indianapolis. Man, you talk about checking something off your list, this is special.”

On growing up listening to the ‘500’ on the radio: When I was in high school, I remember specifically, I was in upstate New York. The TV would be on but we would listen to it on the radio. She (his Mom) would have it on all day. I never understood it. I’m like, ‘You’re listening to the radio?’ And that’s what she did for a lot of her life.”

On how this experience with Mario Andretti translated to anything basketball-related: “You know what, I was just with Michael Jordan doing his thing. That would be number one. He won F1, Daytona and here. Are you kidding me? And then, to do it on the most historic track and to have the chance to actually be in the back seat and ride; one of the great thrills of my life.”

MARK JACKSON: “I just drove with Mario Andretti. It was absolutely unbelievable. It was a thrill of a lifetime. There is nothing like this. The unbelievable thing is I am upset at myself because, playing here and living here, never experiencing it during those times. It really is a blessing to do this today. I’m just speechless right now.”

TIM CORRIGAN: “I don’t even know what to compare it to. All I can tell you is when we started hitting those turns and I looked over and we were that close to the wall, it was spectacular. I completely respect everything any professional athlete does on any level, and it’s just mind blowing to think that 33 drivers are out there at the same time doing that. I came to the Speedway in 1986 when I was trying to get into the TV business to work as a runner for ABC. That’s the only time I’ve ever been here before today.”

MARIO ANDRETTI: “I think they loved it. They didn’t know what to expect. But, it is usually more of a thrill than they ever anticipated, in my opinion. At least that is how they are expressing it. That is a reaction we pretty much get from everyone. It’s satisfying from my standpoint because I know that I am bringing fans closer and closer. I love doing this. I think I enjoy it more than they do. I think this is a fantastic program for the IndyCar series and for motor racing because it is such a non-participant sport. This is the only way really to get fans to appreciate what is going on. To me, it’s one of the most important programs in motorsports right now.”

Follow on Twitter @BertBeis

Catching Up with the Mayor of Hinchtown: James Hinchcliffe

by Bert Beiswanger

The Month of May is off to unique start this year with the first weekend of activities at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway being occupied by the inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis. But while the sight of Indy cars going around the road course instead of the oval is different for fans, the faces and personalities piloting the Verizon IndyCar Series race cars are the same.

I caught up with one of the fan favorites (and media favorites, for that matter), Andretti Autosport’s James Hinchcliffe, to get his take on the new race and branching out with his Hinchtown brew.

On starting the month with the Grand Prix: “It’s great. I think it’s the start of something exciting and new and hopefully something we do for a long time. It’s a great track they’ve built here – a huge credit to IMS for getting it done. The weather wasn’t very cooperative in the spring leading up to it, so it’s nice that it’s ready for us to race on. It’s a fun course for us to drive; super challenging for the engineers. I think it’s going to be a hell of a race.”

What is the most challenging part of this course? The variances – tight corners, long straightaways?: “Essentially, yeah, because it throws up a lot of options downforce-wise. We’re kind of calling it ‘trim wars’ right now, trying to figure out what the right level of downforce to run is. You’re trying to do a lot of testing in a pretty short period of time in the grand scheme of things, even with the test we had here last week. Normally we have a decade’s worth of data at any given track to try to lean back on and pull from. Right now, we’re trying to do it on a couple sessions only. It’s a lot of hard work, but I think we’ll get there.”

Away from the racetrack, you are into year three of having a beer named after you. Talk about the Hinchtown Hammer Down Golden Ale and your involvement with Flat 12 Bierwerks: “It’s pretty much every Canadian’s dream having a beer named after them. It’s been a lot of fun, the Flat 12 guys have been great to work with. What started as kind of a joke in 2012 has now grown into full-blown production here. It’s on the tap full-time at the brewery and it’s in cans and bottles now, so you can bring them into the speedway for the Month of May, which is something we’re excited about. Who doesn’t like drinking a nice cold beer on a hot day, and we have a couple of those in the Month of May”

Follow on Twitter @BertBeis

Blackhawks – Blues Triple OT Thriller Highlights a Start to the Best Playoffs In Sports

by Bert Beiswanger

St. Louis’ Alex Steen nets the game-winner early in the third overtime of Game 1.

The NHL Playoffs have started and there is nothing like it. The triple overtime Game 1 Thursday night between the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues captured everything the NHL Playoffs is all about – excitement, suspense, skill, toughness, admiration, hate, sudden death, survival, you name it.

For every cliche you can think of to describe an athlete or a sport, it’s all there on display in playoff hockey. The oohs and aahs and overall sights and sounds of the game are just different. It’s as real as it gets in sports.

NBA die hard fans will tell you this is the best time of year. And they’re right. But for fans who follow both sports closely, they know the real reason why that is: the excitement of NHL Playoffs.

The NHL Playoffs are only two days old and already it has probably packed more suspense and pure blood and guts excitement than the entire first round of the NBA Playoffs will. Overtime has been the norm so far and overtime playoff hockey is unmatched.

Aside from the Pacers playing a crucial Eastern Conference Finals game or NBA Finals game, there is no single NBA Playoffs game that could take me through the emotional toll the Blackhawks -Blues game did Thursday night. And it was only Game 1, Round 1. But the emotional journey felt like I had just witnessed a frustratingly glorious seven game series. I’m not sure how the players are going to physically survive this series. I’m not sure how I’m going to emotionally survive this series. I went to bed disappointed the Blackhawks lost. But I also went to bed knowing that no Game 1, Round 1 matchup could take me on a four-and-a-half hour journey like that. Damn, I respect this game.

NBC Sports Network cameras captured some real sights of the game Thursday night as Chicago coach Joel Quenneville expressed is displeasure to the officials.

NBC Sports Network cameras captured some real sights of the game Thursday night as Chicago coach Joel Quenneville expressed his displeasure to the officials.

How intense did this game get? Late in the second overtime, the officials missed a crucial delay of game call on St. Louis that would have put the ‘Hawks on a five-on-three power play. After consulting with each other for a while, the officials decided no penalty had been committed. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville went nuts, if you will. Displeased with the verdict, he let them know what he thought of it. It conjured up memories of the Reggie Miller-Spike Lee exchange in Game 5 of the 1994 Pacers-Knicks series.

Some might say he let his emotions get the best of him. I say it’s the emotion of playoff hockey, especially in series involving two extremely talented, bitter rivals. Plus, as the game approached midnight, it was nice added entertainment. It was way beyond family viewing hours, anyway.

As the second overtime ended during the Hawks-Blues game, I flipped over to CNBC to see that Colorado scored with 14 seconds to go against Minnesota to send that game to overtime. There may be one thing more exciting than overtime hockey – the suspense of a goal in the waning seconds of regulation time that forces overtime.

The Pacers start their championship quest Saturday at 7 p.m. Do yourself a favor and pre-game it by watching the Blackhawks at Blues at 3 p.m. on NBC. I can’t promise there will be another crotch-grabbing moment, but it very well may be the best appointment viewing on the weekend sports calendar.

Follow on Twitter @BertBeis

Pacers-Heat for No. 1 Seed: The Chips Are On the Table

by Bert Beiswanger

The NBA Playoffs don’t officially start tonight but don’t be fooled, the basketball schedule makers are bluffing.

The outcome of tonight’s game between the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat may have as much to do with which team wins the Eastern Conference as any game in the playoffs.

When LeBron James says tonight’s game is like a Game 7 scenario, the chips are officially on the table. Who wouldn’t want Game 7 on their home floor? If “King” James understands the significance of this, we all should.

With the Pacers being very clear all year that the No. 1 seed in the East was their regular season goal, the chips are officially on the table.

But with each passing game the past couple of months, the Indiana Pacers seemed to slip further and further away from their stated goal. Frankly, they haven’t looked capable of winning a first round series (ok, maybe second round series) let alone securing the No. 1 seed.

How bad has it gotten recently? Some fans and media have seriously started to try to justify the No. 2 seed possibly being better by not having to play the winner of what could be a No. 4/No. 5 match-up involving the Bulls and Nets. Are you kidding me? Folks, if you are worried about the Pacers chances against the Bulls or Nets in a seven game series with the Pacers having home-court advantage, you’re not going to like the Pacers’ odds in a seven game series in which Miami has home-court advantage.

No, you don’t get to have a season-long goal only to bail on that goal with a couple of games left to play – before you even know if you have or haven’t achieved it, mind you. You can only bail on that goal when you know you can’t achieve it. The chips are still on the table.

How bad has it gotten? Resting the starters and winning a game against the worst team in the league is being regarded as a possible momentum swing.

The Pacers have lost 12 of their last 20 games and are trying to rediscover the chemistry and swagger that once made them the NBA gold standard the first half of the season. The Heat? They’ve proven they can turn it up a notch at any time. They still have the best player in the league, especially at playoffs time.

Tonight, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is on the line. I have stated before and will state again: The Pacers need the No. 1 seed to win the Eastern Conference. The chips are officially on the table.

Follow on Twitter @BertBeis

Indiana and Florida: A Contrast in Basketball Program Status

by Bert Beiswanger
This past week has churned up some contrasting thoughts on two college basketball programs I’ve followed closely for years, Florida and Indiana.

Florida is playing tonight for a chance to make its fourth straight Elite Eight appearance (and sixth in nine years), and Gators coach Billy Donovan is attempting to coach in his fourth Final Four. Indiana is struggling to defend its position as an elite program.

A couple of decades ago, you would have laughed at that contrast. It’s no joke.

Following a season in which Indiana missed out on post-season play, the off-season is off to a shaky start with numerous defections/transfers. I’ve heard some IU fans say that none of these players will be missed. In fact, I’ve heard a convenient excuse for every player that has left the program. Despite the reasons why, level-headed fans can’t be thrilled with the position the program is in.

When you start adding up the losses, including those of Luke Fischer earlier this year and Remy Abel, Matt Roth and Maurice Creek last year, it makes it pretty hard to build a consistently good program. It takes more than star players to build a program. It takes experienced role guys who buy in.

Things happen and kids leave for all kinds of reasons, I get that. But the fact of the matter is Indiana has eight or nine players right now for 2014-15 season (I’ve lost count) and not much experience.

To have a consistently solid program, you need your share of three and four year guys, be it an Abel, Etherington or whomever. Right now, IU doesn’t have enough of those program guys. Either guys are being politely told they have no future with IU, they aren’t compelled to stay or they have work ethic/character flaws. Whatever the reasons, there are too many of them all at once.

You can’t have the turnover IU has had and have consistent success. Sure, you can have one-and-done guys, two-and-done guys. But you mix that in with all of the other turnover and you have problems.

IU isn’t short-handed right now just because of a one-and-done like Noah Vonleh. It’s short-handed for a slew of reasons.

When Remy Abel left, I thought that was a problem. Why? Because some kids take time to develop and you need your share of experienced three- and four year players to develop. I thought Indiana would definitely need the experience this year. But the reaction by many was no big deal, he wasn’t that good, he can be replaced. Maybe so, but you don’t know what the kid could have done three and four years into the program. I simply use Abel as an example, not a means to dissect the basketball virtues of Remy Abel.

The contrasting part of all of this…

Casey Prather of Florida averaged two points per game his sophomore year. He averaged six his junior year. This year, he’s the leading scorer on the #1 ranked team in the country. It took him time to figure out what kind of player he really was.

Will Yeguete doesn’t score much for Florida, but he’s a four year glue guy. The Gators couldn’t win consistently without him.

Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Patric Young…they are all guys who could’ve left sooner than they did (Young being a senior this year). But they didn’t because they loved playing for Donovan and Florida.

The best point guard in the country, Scottie Wilbekin, did a 180 in maturity and leadership. He was told by Donovan before this season to follow a strict set of guidelines and move in with his parents (Gainesville residents) or he’d have to transfer. Wilbekin did the former and now he’s one of the best leaders Donovan has ever had.

Donovan also had one-and-done Bradley Beal help carry Florida to the Elite Eight in 2012. Beal left for the pros and Florida went right back to the Elite Eight in 2013. The beat goes on at Florida.

Having followed both programs closely over the years, I couldn’t help but compare the two. They’ve both faced similar circumstances – players who can leave early, players with maturity issues, players who are under-achieving. The difference, though, is the end result. Forgive me if I don’t embrace excuses from Hoosiers fans. They are just that, excuses.

Indiana can live at the top of college basketball again, but there’s a lot of work to do to get there.

Follow on Twitter @BertBeis

Pacers Are a Mess After Another Humiliating Loss

by Bert Beiswanger

After the Pacers’ latest humiliating performance Saturday in Houston, a 112-86 loss to the Rockets, I was left thinking this team is a mess right now. If that performance surprised you, you aren’t paying attention. I didn’t need to watch this game, though I tried to as hard as it was. I told someone before the game that the Pacers would get rolled and they did.

Before I go on, let me make one thing clear: In my opinion, everything this season is about getting the #1 seed. It’s always been about that and the Pacers players have said as much. So, if I hear one more person nonchalantly say that nothing matters until the Eastern Conference Playoffs, I’m going to puke. If the Pacers don’t get the #1 seed, I give them a 30 percent chance of beating the Miami Heat in the conference finals. If they get the #1 seed, I give them a 50 percent chance. Don’t pass this current stretch of the Pacers playing their way into the #2 seed off as something meaningless, because it’s not.

But, right now, they couldn’t beat the Chicago Bulls in a series. And that’s the real problem.

People have come up with a lot reasons why the Pacers aren’t playing well – defense, Roy Hibbert, point guard play, Paul George playing like Phyllis George, no offensive flow, Evan Turner. Frankly, at this point, there are too many to count. And I agree with most of them.

The one excuse I don’t agree with right now is the notion that Evan Turner single-handedly has changed the team’s chemistry. The performance decline with this team started the night it blew a 17 point third quarter lead to Orlando, the second worst team in the league. The decline was solidified the next night when the Pacers could barely muster 70 points at home against Dallas. In two nights, the Pacers went from being up three and a half games on Miami to one and a half. Evan Turner wasn’t on the team, yet.

For those who think Turner is to blame and shoots too much, maybe he wouldn’t have to if the Pacers max-contract players, George and Hibbert, could score consistently and be more assertive. You see, this is a star league. Your high price, star players have to play like high price, star players. If they don’t, you’re in trouble. Wednesday night in Charlotte, Paul George went 0-9 with two points. TWO points. Hibbert chipped in with four points. FOUR points. That’s, what, six points for 28 million dollars against the Charlotte Bobcats? And some want to blame Evan Turner?

Against the Rockets, the Pacers starters/leaders – George, Hibbert, Lance Stephenson, George Hill and David West combined for 45 points. That’s right, 45 points. The fact of the matter is the Pacers’ best players aren’t getting it done right now. And Turner only played 15 minutes, so how much blame do you want to throw his way? This is all on the Paul Georges and Roy Hibberts of the world.

If you want to argue Turner doesn’t solve the Pacers’ problem of lack of perimeter shooting necessary to extend defenses, I’ll listen to that. They still lack consistent perimeter shooting, and it makes you wonder why Rasual Butler (who did play 21 minutes Friday night) and Chris Copeland haven’t gotten a fair shot to help answer that problem; everyone else has. But chemistry issues? If Evan Turner has messed with the chemistry of this team in a negative way, then this team is mentally weaker than I thought.

This recent decline started before the arrival of Turner, and it is the responsibility of the leaders on this team to continue to lead on the floor and work Turner into the mix. A player like George going 0-9 shooting is beyond comprehension for me. I can’t think of another star player in the league who has done something like that. Heck, I’d be happier with 2-15. At least it would point to a little more assertiveness. More assertiveness and production from the core group is what is needed more than anything.

For now, gold swagger has turned into bronze swagger and it better change back soon. Otherwise, the #1 seed will turn into the #2 seed and the real problems begin.

Follow on Twitter @BertBeis

Billy Donovan: The Most Underrated Coach in College Basketball.

By Bert Beiswanger

The most underrated coach in college hoops: Billy Donovan

That headline sounds kind of odd, doesn’t it? How can Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan be the most underrated coach in college basketball? How can Florida be the most underrated program (not just this year, but overall program) in college basketball?

My son texted me a couple of weeks ago to let me know the commentator for the Arkansas-Kentucky game started talking about Donovan. He informed me the announcer said Donovan was one of the top three or four coaches in the country and didn’t understand why he wasn’t talked about more in conversations about the best coaches in college basketball. My son didn’t text me this because he thought it was some revelation to us. He texted me because he’s heard his old man say the same thing for the last three years.

How can the coach of the #2 ranked team in the country and a team that cracks the top 10, 15, 20 yearly be underrated? Let me put this into perspective:

When Florida beat Kansas earlier this year, the Gators were ranked #19…19. Anyone who follows college hoops for a living should have known that Florida was better than #19…either that or this was to be one of the most loaded crop of top 25 teams in hoops history.

It’s a constant wait-and-see approach – or a not paying attention approach – that many fans and media have with Florida every year, and it baffles me. Last year when the Gators rose quietly to #2 in the polls, I asked my son (and I was dead serious), “Does ANYONE realize Florida is number two? I’ve heard more about every team in the top 10 than I’ve heard about Florida!” Yet, for some reason, the lack of attention and respect folks have for the program and Donovan compared to other top programs is a re-occurring theme.

Here’s another let me put this into perspective moment… This is what the entertaining Mark Titus of Grantland.com had to say about the Gators last week:

“For most of this season, I’ve felt like a doomsday picketer standing on a street corner, yelling into a megaphone that Florida is a national title contender.² Don’t you people get it? Why is nobody listening to me?! The Day of Judgment is coming! Repent now or feel the wrath of Florida in March! Finally, at long last, the secret is out. Florida is as good as any team in college basketball.”

I completely understand how Titus feels. I’ve felt the same about the Gators program often over the years. But back to this year as an example, it’s not like they’re lurking quietly in a swamp. They’re on TV all the time. And they’re not out of sight during the non-conference portion of the schedule playing a bunch of cupcakes. They played at UConn, at Wisconsin, Memphis, Kansas, Florida State and Richmond. Donovan always schedules well. How the good Florida teams seem to sneak up on people is beyond me.

How can the coach of a team that’s gone to three straight Elite Eights, 3 National Championship games, won two National Titles, won eight SEC regular season or tournament championships and had 14 straight 20-win seasons be underrated and not mentioned consistently among the elite coaches?

How can a coach who consistently recruits with the best, makes players better at the college level and turns players into pros at a very proficient rate be underrated?

Yet, whenever people talk about the best coaches in the country, Donovan’s name rarely comes up. And no program that’s had the success Florida has had is talked about less.

People say Florida basketball doesn’t get the credit it deserves because it’s a football school. Frankly, it doesn’t matter what the reason is. The bottom line is Donovan has put together a resume that ranks right up there with the best “basketball schools” and coaches in the country – and better than many. Florida should be considered a basketball school because, well, it is – at the highest level at that.

Look again at the tournament success: Sixteen straight postseason appearances (including thirteen NCAA tournament appearances), six Elite Eight appearances, three National Title Game appearances, two National Titles. If not for a couple of big collapses late in Elite Eight games against Butler in 2011 and Louisville in 2012, Donovan would have five Final Fours on his resume. That’s not too shabby.

And for those who measure the success of a program by the number of players from that school who make it to the NBA, the Gators consistently rank among the top 10 schools that have players in the NBA. Gators currently littering the Association include Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Udonis Haslim, Corey Brewer, Chandler Parsons, Bradley Beal, Mike Miller, Erik Murphy, Matt Bonner, Marreese Speights and David Lee.

And in this one-and-done era that so many loathe, Donovan is doing it with teams that often have a perfect blend of veterans and youth. Four seniors start for this year’s team. Most of Donovan’s players stay all four years or long enough to make a lasting impact on the program. Joakim Noah and Al Horford stayed through their junior years. They could have very easily jumped ship, along with Corey Brewer, after their first National Title, but they didn’t. Donovan repaid them for staying by making them better players. That’s a common theme when it comes to Donovan: players and teams getting better. Whether players stay because of Donovan, love for the university or whatever, that’s called a basketball program, folks.

Oh, the one one-and-done Donovan has had, Beal, carried the Gators to an Elite Eight appearance and what should have been another trip to the Final Four.

And it’s not just players Donovan makes better. He makes coaches better, too. Former Donovan assistants who are currently head coaches include Shaka Smart at VCA, Richard Pitino at Minnesota and Anthony Grant at Alabama.

Near the end of the broadcast of last Tuesday’s win against Missouri, a victory that assured the Gators of their 14th straight 20-win season, Dick Vitale chimed in on Donovan’s success. “I don’t know if I’ll be alive when it happens,” Vitale said, “but Billy Donovan will be in the Hall of Fame some day, no doubt about it.” I agree, Dickie V.

The “Rowdy Reptiles” weren’t so rowdy before “Billy The Kid” road into Gainesville. Frankly, they didn’t exist at all. The student section is merely a by-product of the Donovan era, a brick in the wall of success that he has built at Florida. Donovan has coached the Gators for 17 years now. He IS Florida basketball.

So, if you want to say Mike Krzyzewski is the best college basketball coach in the country, you’ll get no argument from me. But after that, no group of coaches – Izzo, Pitino, Boeheim, Calipari, Self, Williams – in a debate about the very best coaches in college hoops should be mentioned without including the name Billy Donovan. He is in that top tier.

If this article seemed to teeter-totter between me singing the praises of Billy Donovan one minute, then Florida basketball in general the next, it’s because they’re one and the same. Billy Donovan IS Florida basketball and Florida basketball IS Billy Donovan. And Donovan IS one of the very best coaches in the country. It’s not even up for debate.

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Mixed Bag of Sports: Thawing Out From the Week

by Bert Beiswanger

I’ve got various sports topics from this week in-hand. It’s time to address them before they melt in my clutch (a nod to the creative geniuses Rankin and Bass and their popular character, Heat Mizer -and a wish that warmer days were ahead).

It’s Miller George Time!

Yes, I somehow stayed up for the entire Pacers-Kings game last night. And at no point did I really think the Pacers were going to mount a comeback and beat the Kings, who were playing without Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings built a huge lead and the Pacers looked road weary. But with 18 seconds remaining and the Pacers down four, this Reggie Miller-esque moment happened:

PG Sends Pacers to OT

Draft Manipulation

I have to chime in on the whole Leigh Steinberg influence the 1998 draft story that unfolded earlier this week. Kent Sterling addressed this very well in this piece : Leigh Steinberg Claims 1998 Draft Was Manipulated, But Bill Polian’s Choice Was Manning All Along

This had all the feeling of a snowball rolling down a hill type of story. What started as nothing more than Steinberg revealing in his new book, “The Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game,” that HE manipulated the draft by suggesting Ryan Leaf skip out on a meeting with Colts coach Jim Mora at the NFL Combine to help assure the Colts would draft Peyton Manning, turned into some conspiracymanipulation theory that people spent time wondering who knew what and who was in on it. A story on espn.com called Steinberg’s idea one “that would change the course of NFL history.”

So, let me get this straight: Bill Polian and the Indianapolis Colts were “duped” into drafting Peyton Manning? Are you freaking kidding me? If you believe that then I’ve got beachfront property in Antarctica to rent you for a winter getaway.

I listened to Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio during a snowy hour commute Tuesday morning and the show was all about this draft manipulation stuff. And I will say, while Mike and Mike couldn’t seem to get their hands around the real context of this (that the Colts took Manning simply because he was better than Leaf), they did a good job of rolling out guests such as Steinberg, Polian and former player personnel brass from the San Diego Chargers during that time.

So what’s the deal here? Here are the connected dots:

Leaf didn’t want to play for the Colts. He wanted to play for the Chargers
Steinberg told Leaf to skip out on a meeting with Mora and that would shy the Colts away from Leaf, assuring he would go to San Diego. For Steinberg to suggest that he had so much power that he influenced Bill Polian’s and the Colts’ decision is a pretty big stretch. Frankly, it sounds stupid, especially when you consider the player at the center of this draft: Peyton Manning.
This is where I don’t understand the notion that former Chargers GM Bobby Beathard was “in on it.” Steinberg told Beathard what was going on. Why? Because he didn’t want Leaf to look bad in the eyes of Beathard and the Chargers brass, too. So what? How is that involving Beathard in some plot to manipulate the draft? Beatherd had the second pick! He had no influence on the draft regardless. The only thing Beathard could do was take the player the Colts didn’t.
Did Leaf skipping a meeting help reveal the fact he had issues? Sure, it did. But that wasn’t the only thing. The fact is, Leaf did have issues and not a very deep resume (one big season). Do you honestly believe the only reason Polian didn’t take Leaf was because of the meeting deal? Come on… the fact is as time goes on, the cream rises to the top. When it was put up or shut time, Manning had no holes. He was the safer pick. Both teams would have taken Manning and former Chargers personnel folks confirmed that.

Now if Beathard had paid/planted a trusted Polian informant with false negative information on Leaf to get the Colts to pass on him because the Chargers really wanted Leaf (and Leaf was actually deserving of being drafter ahead of Manning)… then you have some juicy conspiracy story. But this whole thing seems pretty stupid to me. The Chargers had the #2 pick, no control, and would have taken Manning too. But it didn’t stop ESPN from covering it as some conspiracy and media and fans from taking the bait on this.

Gee, Peyton Manning ended up testing out ahead of Ryan Leaf? Shocker! Hey, I was pulled into the Leaf hype, too, back in the day but Manning was the safe bet, just as Luck was. What’s next, people are going to tell me RG III and his peeps manipulated the Colts into taking Andrew Luck?

Richard Sherman Moment

It is possible to be a jerk at a moment in time but be great person overall. Why is this so hard to understand? After Sherman had his moment of rampage immediately after the win against the 49ers, the “Richard Sherman’s a Really Good Guy” campaign began, led by Richard Sherman. I’ve read nothing but great things about Sherman and how he conducts himself on and off the field. But he went nuts in a moment of classlessness. It happened. How does the fact that he’s an overall good guy change what he did after the game? I never grasped that. We’ve all had those “that’s not really who I am” moments. They happen. Some will forgive and forget. Some won’t. And Sherman’s moment was, while a little nuts and classless, harmless overall. The best thing he can do is to shut up and move on.

Racing Season Begins!

A new era of sports car racing – and the racing season in general – kicks off this weekend as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, a product of the merged Grand-AM and the American Le Mans Series, takes to the track for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. While watching 24 hours of racing isn’t necessarily edge of your seat stuff, this is always a very welcomed race for me. I enjoy seeing drivers from various series – NASCAR, INDYCAR, SportsCar – come together to compete. But more than that, it always comes at a time when winter is starting to wear thin, especially this year. I don’t get tired of seeing palm trees and race cars on TV, and 24 hours of it is fine by me.

Ball State Freshman Zavier Turner

Ball State Basketball Has Potential

Ball State notched it’s first Mid-American Conference win Thursday night, downing the mighty Buffalo Bulls. “WE’RE BACK!” I’m kidding, folks. At 4-15 talking potential may seem ridiculous. But I think the program has real potential in the long-run. Despite the record, I’m confident in the new coaching regime of James Whitford, Brett Nelson and company. The basketball program has been in a haze the last seven to eight years, thanks to the JoAnn Gora era and a string of bad hires. But BSU has good athletic leadership in place now and a head coach who spent years alongside Sean Miller at Xavier and Arizona. Whitford has the best arena in the MAC to use as a recruiting tool, promising freshmen like Pike’s Zavier Turner and South Bend Concord’s Franko House to build around and a deep pool of Indiana talent to recruit from. It’s going to take BSU three years before they can truly compete with MAC’s best, but I believe it will happen.

Sarunas Had Potential, too

Speaking of Potential, I leave You With This

My son got a letter in the mail identifying him as a student with the potential to succeed in certain courses of study. I chimed in with a little truth/sarcasm: “The key word in that letter being ‘potential.’” To which my son replied, “Yeah, Sarunas Jasikevicius had potential, too.”

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Message to IU Fans: STOP STORMING THE COURT

by Bert Beiswanger

This may be a little belated, so forgive me. But I’m going to address it anyway.

I was at the Pacers game Tuesday night with a friend and we were following the Indiana-Wisconsin game on ESPN Gamecast. When it appeared IU was going to win, I said to my friend, “They better not storm the court.” I don’t know what made me think that but I did. And I was apparently right to think it.

Look, I know a lot of IU fans who thought it was embarrassing for a program with such prestige to have fans storming the court at all, let alone after a game in January. But to the fans who were involved with the storming the floor act after the thrilling IU win, I’ve got a message for you: ENOUGH.

Maybe part of freshman orientation at IU should include a Hoosier constitutional fact that, under no circumstance, are you to storm the floor – unless, MAYBE, it’s to beat Purdue in the last game of the year when both are fighting for the Big Ten title…MAYBE.

This is Indiana. Wins like Tuesday night should be expected. And…it’s Wisconsin. Yes, I know they’re very good, ranked #3 in the latest poll and Bo Ryan is about as good as they come coaching-wise. But seriously, the hallowed Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall houses a heck of a lot of history built on bigger wins than that.

Storming the court has become a tired, non-creative act in college basketball – not to mention dangerous. But it’s downright pathetic for IU fans. What was that, ”WE’RE BACK” version 2.0? I can understand it a couple of years ago after all the hardship the program went through. But not now, not after you’ve already declared you’re back.

This is Indiana. IU is supposed to win games like that. And listening to many IU fans last year, you would have thought the program was back on the same level as Kentucky, Carolina, Kansas, etc. – which it’s not. Don’t misconstrue this as piling on Indiana. I grew up a die-hard fan myself. But storming the court? Come on fans, you’re better than that.

It’s time for IU fans to stop storming the court after a home court win in January. And it’s time to stop cutting nets down after getting run off your home floor (see last home game of 2012-2013 versus Ohio State) – ok, that may seem like a cheap shot, whatever. But it just seemed odd at the time. Either you’re mighty Indiana or you’re just another program. Choose one or the other.

But, hey, I get it a little bit. When Ball State basketball rises from the ashes of the mediocrity of the last ten years to knock off a MAC power like Kent, Akron or Ohio U., stay the hell out of my way. My storm will be so fierce the National Weather Service will have to name it!

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