ESPN College Basketball Tip-Off Marathon

If you're not watching for at least two or three games, you're doing something wrong.

This is one of the few times that I am okay with being unemployed, the other notable instance was when Aerosmith played that free show on Comm Ave. last week.  The ESPN Tip-Off Marathon debuted in 2008 and has been going strong ever since, starting with one game at 11:59 p.m., and new games starting about every two hours for 24 hours straight.

It is currently 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, and I'm here on my futon, blogging and live tweeting the games with my laptop going, cell phone tuned into Twitter and Sports Illustrated's college basketball preview issue by my side.

Game 1 is in the books, as Gonzaga topped West Virginia 84-50.  Rough way to start, but don't worry, the marathon will take you across 16 conferences, 14 states and five time zones.

As you can see in the picture above, the 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. slot is an ideal time for a power nap.  Probably not going to be much action out of Hawaii-Houston Baptist or Stony Brook-Rider.  But I've been watching games since 7 p.m. Tuesday, and don't plan on stopping outside of my designated nap time.

Stay tuned for more Tip-Off Marathon blogs all day tomorrow, and get on board with me via Twitter @JonToddVanDamme. 

Bills Fan Suing Bills For Receiving Too Many Texts

Jerry Wojcik, a disgruntled Buffalo Bills fan, is suing the team.

Wojcik signed up on the team's website to receive three to five text messages a week with updates, scores and other team news.  Well, the Bills went a little overboard and sent him six message one week, and seven in another.  That'll make even the most sane person go crazy, right?

Probably not.  But Wojcik is now suing the Bills for $500 per superfluous text message, "up to $1500 per call for willful violations."

Can't make this stuff up, people.  Wojcik will not be unsubscribing from the program, but wants his money for having to look at his phone three more times than he ever should have.  I mean, as a Bills fan, I feel like suing the team for making me suffer through a whole game only to watch Ryan Fitzpatrick throw an interception in the end zone, but since I'm not insane, I don't think I'll be doing that.

Commercial Battle: GEICO vs. Jingo's

This may be the closest battle we've had here. It really is a toss-up, and depending on which day it is, I could lean one way or the other. But I'm gonna go with the video below, for Jingos' "Flirt" over GEICO's "Eddie Money Travel."

Why, you ask?  Because its not how you start, its how you finish.

Should the Lakers Fire Mike Brown? Well, They Just Did

The Lakers are off to a 1-4 start, their worst since the 1993-94 season.  In a city without a football team and where the defending World Champion Kings are sidelined by a lockout, basketball reigns supreme.  So with their worst start in almost two decades hanging over their heads going into a six-game homestand, will there be jobs on the line, namely the head coach's spot occupied by Mike Brown?

When the Lakers attempted to create a "super team" by signing Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, it was easy to pick them as the NBA Finals favorite.  But no one picked this kind of start.  The new system the players...

So right there is as far as I got writing this post, before the breaking news came out that head coach of the Lakers Mike Brown has been fired.  He only made it five regular season games into his second season with the team, writing a strange ending to the chapter following his stay in Cleveland where he won Coach of the Year in 2009.

Firing Brown was ultimately the wrong choice by the Lakers.  They have too many egos to control and too much to learn to start over with a new coach.  This essentially erases all they learned from him over the summer, but the one good thing that comes from this is that they weren't very good at applying what they learned, so hopefully a new coach can bring a quick fix.

From 3,000 miles away, even I could feel the pressure the media was putting on the purple and gold.  Kobe Bryant's "death stare," Steve Blake mouthing off to a fan and Howard's constant internal battle over whether he is defined as a center or a forward are all cases of how the team is already starting to wear themselves down. 

Howard has fired back at Shaquille O'Neal and then the NBA itself, declaring himself a true center and taking things very personally when someone says otherwise.  He first needs to work on lightening up, then he needs to work on adjusting to his new role.  His selfishness is hurting the team's defense as a whole -- a defense that has only held opponents to under 23 points per quarter four times through five games.

The Lakers defense has always been streaky, at best, as shown here in January and here two months later during last season.  This year will not be a rebuilding year for the Lakers, even with their head coach out of the picture.  In a way, the Lakers have hit the reset button on their season.  Lucky for them, they are only five games in, shrinking the blast radius of the news, but they have a long road ahead of them to get this train back on track. 

They have the talent to do so, but the removal of Brown will push this team to the brink early in the season, and I think it will take significantly more time to get this team on track.  While I don't agree with the firing, I do think this team will get back on track and most likely make the playoffs.  They're just too good.  But then again, take a look at the 2012 Boston Red Sox...

College Basketball is Back

 

The most exciting game on hardwood is back tonight, tipping off at 5 p.m., officially marking the countdown to March Madness.  Tom Izzo's no. 14 Michigan State will battle Kevin Ollie's new look UConn team.  Last season, UConn lost players to the NBA and to transfers after the NCAA has suspended them from both the Big East and NCAA Championships for academic violations. 

Michigan State is favored in the game tonight, coming from across the pond at Ramstein Airbase in Germany.  This game marks the first regular season college basketball game in history to be played overseas, but it won't be the first to be played in an out-of-the-ordinary location. 

Ohio State and Marquette will face off aboard the USS Yorktown in Charleston, S.C., Florida and Georgetown will be aboard the USS Bataan in Jacksonville, Fla., and Syracuse will take on San Diego State from the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, Calif.  The 'Cuse-SDSU game will tip-off Sunday because of the strong chance of wind and rain Friday evening.

Each team will be sporting custom uniforms for each game, consisting of their team colors as a camouflage design.  Normally, gimmicky uniforms fall flat on their face, but these uniforms aren't just about the look.  Last year, when Michigan State took on North Carolina in the first Carrier Classic, every player wore the same name on their backs -- "U.S.A."

Now, for the picks.  The losing streak has to end eventually right?  I'm gonna go for the upset -- with a side of bias -- and take UConn over State in the opening game.  Ohio State should take down Marquette in a solid game, with the best game coming from Jacksonville, where Florida will take down Georgetown.  On Sunday, Syracuse will handle San Diego State, no matter the weather.

Which Bruins Winger has the Better Commercial?

This commercial for NMTW Community Credit Union just starting popping up featuring Bruins winger Milan Lucic.  A bit drawn out, but I see what they're going for.  The real question is, does he have the best commercial by a Bruins winger?  Or does Brad Marchand still hold that title?



Nose Face Killah for the win.

Soupy and the Police

This story is not about the lockout.

Because of that thing going on that doesn't allow hockey players to play their sport against one another wearing official uniforms -- the name escapes me -- players are looking for things to do.  Something to keep themselves busy aside from trying to stay in shape with various hockey workouts at the closest arenas that they aren't locked out of.

In Boston, Gregory Campbell, center on the Bruins "Merlot" line, is getting his daily dose of adrenaline by joining one of his friends from the Boston Police department on ride-alongs.  Soupy gets in the mix with the BPD's gang unit, which he has some experience with.

When Campbell played for the Florida Panthers he would do ride-alongs with the Miami Police, rolling through Miami's Liberty City neighborhoods.  Whatever gives you that rush, I guess.  But I tell you what, sending Soupy out there with a bulletproof vests and his fists is probably one of the best crime deterrents.

Two points for creativity on this one.  Though there's still that risk of injury, Campbell's still in playing shape unlike his comrades who've signed up to play in Europe.  Tuukka Rask left a game with a groin injury and Patrice Bergeron injured his hand, keeping them out of action for a number of games.