Circ-cess

Think about 1998 for a second. Third Eye Blind and Savage Garden were still relevant. Deep Impact and Armageddon managed to separately gross over $350,000,000 while sharing virtually the exact same plot. Gary Coleman was still alive and assaulting women bus drivers outside California shopping malls. Simpler times indeed. 1998 also happens to be the last time the Bulls returned home from their yearly "Circus Trip" with a winning record. In the past, the Bulls didn't just play below their potential on this annual 2-week tour of the Western Conference, they were a legitimate circus act. Of course, Eddy Curry was always the stationary elephant during his tenure in Chicago while the Bulls' collection of incapable coaches jumped through hoops to keep their job in tact. But this year, 12 years removed from a "Circus success" and the glory days of Pippen and Jordan, the Bulls are back on a winning track when they return home to the UC Wednesday to face one of the Eastern Conference's best in the Orlando Magic.

Over the course of their trip, the Bulls beat the Rockets, squeaked by the Mavs, outlasted the Suns in 2 OT's, and finally overcame the Kings in the 4th quarter to close out their trip. Not to mention, the Bulls were a 3rd quarter collapse away from beating the Spurs on the 17th, a Steve Blake and Shannon Brown shooting barrage of defeating the defending champion Lakers, and a few critical John Lucas III free throws away from stealing a win in Denver without D. Rose. The Bulls also had a few unfamiliar heroes step up along the way. Taj Gibson, who hadn't hit a 12-footer since training camp responded against the Mavericks with 19 points and 18 boards. And, in the biggest surprise since Mark McGrath was hired as the host of Don't Forget the Lyrics, CJ Watson lit up Denver for a game-high 32 points on an array of circus shots (no pun intended) that fell in with the help of the backboard, which he of course used unintentionally.

We are also anxiously awaiting Boozer's return, albeit mostly so we no longer have to see him in his ghastly sideline attire complete with a variety of suede jackets and v-neck merino wool sweaters, it's still a plus. And with the Bulls facing the Eastern Conference's elite in the coming week, someone is going to eventually relieve Derrick from carrying the team every night in only his 3rd season.

With all that being said, the Bulls have found themselves jockeying for position for a top 4 spot in the East. God knows Spolestra's shelf life in Miami is about the same as an opened bag of Romaine lettuce in your household fridge, so the Bulls better get their wins now with the Heat and the upstart Indiana Pacers closing the gap behind them. Still, the circus trip turned out to be a success for all. Previously, the only circus talk that Omer Asik had heard of was the album entitled "Circus' released by Britney Spears a few years back. And for D. Rose, I think his stiff neck injury was all a hoax, he needed some time off after he and his agent downed 6 bags of circus peanuts while flying over the Rocky Mountains.

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man did it again and can only thank Derek Anderson for the immaculate Jeff George impression that he put on yesterday night on national television. The Cards are falling faster than a base jumper from contention in the worst division in football. Either way, a win is a win. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes Wake Forest giving 2 points to Iowa at home, much to the dismay of everyone's Iowan, Ashton Kutcher.

Pick of the Day: Iowa @ Wake Forest (-2)-WAKE FOREST

Record:(35-24-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Top of the North

Considering the way every one's dog, Michael Vick, had played the past weeks in prime time, we were convinced that the Bears would be yet another casualty in Vick's attempt to Vapo Rub the entire NFC out of contention. Vick came into Sunday coming off of two weeks of dismantling fellow NFC East opponents on national television, amassing more fantasy points in the process than any player in the league--further establishing his reputation as every 35 year old's "Fantasy Dream" instead of dating Jen Aniston or receiving free child support. But the Bears held Vick relatively in check during Sunday's contest in Soldier Field, and Jay Cutler flat out outplayed the NFL MVP front runner in his 4 touchdown, 1 unsportsmanlike conduct penalty performance in front of a national audience. So, are the Bears legitimately the best team in the NFC North? Or, are they going to show up next week looking as pathetic as a middle-aged dad draped in an Abercrombie sweater and stonewashed jeans? Only time will tell.

When the Packers lost "in the Georgia dome, at the fifty yard line, when the dirty bids kicked the 'tree" (Ludacirs, What's Your Fantasy), the Bears took a one game lead in the NFC North as 'Matty Ice' cracked open yet another 'Natty Ice' in celebration of his 19th home win in 20 tries, again adding to his growing legend. At this point, all the Bears can do is hope to win the division so they don't have to travel to Atlanta in their first playoff game. With an impressive resume that includes being undefeated in their division, as well as statement wins over the Dolphins and Eagles, it's still a feasible possibility for the Monsters of the Midway.

Nevertheless, the Patriots, Jets and Packers still lie ahead on the season schedule before we can crown the Bears champions of the NFC North. But at 8-3, it's the Bears division to lose and as little as I trust the combination of a man named "Lovie" and a chubby, smug captain who received the first unsportsmanlike conduct penalty I have ever seen by a quarterback, they exuded some confidence in the Bears faithful yesterday. May the windy city be at your back.

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man is officially 10 games over .500 at (34-24) and is mauling over offers from betting blogs across the country. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes 49ers on the road in Arizona. Although he advises you not to watch the actual game, he is confident the Niners will cover the 1.5 point spread.

Pick of the Day: 49ers (-1.5) @ Cardinals- 49ERS

Record:(34-24-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

The Lake Show

Tonight in NYC on the Late Show with David Letterman, everyone's all-time favorite comedian, Jerry Seinfeld will appear alongside Colin Firth, whoever the hell that is. On the other side of the contingent United States in Los Angeles, the Chicago Bulls stroll into the Staples Center to be a part of the acclaimed "Lake Show". Along with countless starlets and "the Joker" himself, two childhood friends of mine, Jack "the Body" Groot and Jordan "JYD" Brodbeck will be paying customers of the Los Angeles Lakers tonight in the City of Angels ,rooting of course for your Chicago Bulls.

Going into Tuesday's contest as 8 point road underdogs on the 4th stop of their annual "Circus Trip", it would be a dicey proclamation to guarantee a Bulls win in front of Zac Efron and his gf. They are in LA, but it's not like they are facing the equivalent of an NBA bye-week, the Los Angeles Clippers. Winning tonight won't be as easy as pushing an easy button at some Staples department store(Staples Center, get it?)--the whole team needs to come to play. That means no turnover induced 3-minute stretches that ignite the purple and gold, no ill-advised CJ Watson 17-footers that barely draw iron, and lastly, you have to make Kobe give up the rock and have guys like Sasha Vujacic and Shannon Brown hit deep jumpers to beat you.

The Zen Master has the Lakers off to a 12-2 start and come into the game against the Bulls riding a 4-game winning streak as confidently as Red Pollard rode Seabiscuit in the late 1930's. Along with this, Phil has somehow managed to keep Matt Barnes and Ron Artest's volatile personalities harmonious in the same locker room, all while maintaining one of the most recognizable mustaches of all time on his way to 11 NBA titles. The Lakers have rarely lost at home in the regular season in Jackson's tenure and they have all kinds of good karma in LA. They have managed to keep Vujacic's engagement to Sharapova, Adrew Bynum's affairs with Rihanna, Kobe's rape case, and Luke Walton's relationship with every mid-20's girl in the Los Angeles metro area all away from becoming a distraction over the years. Maybe Phil has hired a team psychiatrist and Ron Artest's 'thank you' profession at the culmination of the NBA Finals last year was warranted.

But for tonight, with JYD and "the Body" looking on from the upper bowl, there simply is no way the Bulls don't cover the 8 point cushion that Vegas has allotted them. Perhaps this is all false hope. But "hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." Special thanks to Andy Dufrane from Shawshank. Now let's go take it to the Lakers like it's the 1991 NBA Finals and Jack Kevorkian can still help us out with assisted suicide if the Bulls go down hard.

As for Pick of the Day, after that rousing preview for tonight's game, the Pulse Man couldn't help but put his coins on the Bulls covering the 8 they are getting tonight. Staple it shut.

Pick of the Day: Bulls (+8) @ Lakers- BULLS

Record:(33-24-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

The Chicago Bowl

You would think that on this Friday, we would be discussing the Bears garnering their 700th win, moving them to 7-3, or Illinois basketball falling a few buckets short in the garden against Rick Barnes' Texas Longhorns. But, believe it or not, like it or not, Northwestern vs. Illinois is the buzz topic with the weekend fast approaching. Norhwestern, who is sitting at 7-3 coming off their biggest win of the season in knocking off Rick Stanzi and the Iowa Hawkeyes convincingly at Ryan Field are rewarded with a change in venue for their home field in their annual 'rivalry' game against Illinois. On the other hand, you have the Ron Zook led Fighting Illini squad who seem to be wilting further away from bowl eligibility by the week. In fact, when you look at the teams involved in Saturday afternoon's tussle in the city, you see two programs in very different positions in terms of falling and flying (thanks Jeff Bridges). Northwestern is building one of their best seasons in recent memory, sitting at 7-3 and a few 4th quarter crumbles away from being 8-2 or 9-1. Evanston is rallying around Pat Fitzgerald's purple Cats and Northwestern looks to be poised for a successful future. Adversely, you have an Illinois bunch that laid an egg last week against Minnesota at home, losing their 5th game of the season and the self-respect that comes with beating the bottom-feeders of the Big 10 consistently. Nevertheless, records are thrown down the garbage disposal with last night's leftovers when these two bitter college rivals meet (if you think I'm being serious, you need to watch more college football).

One thing this game would have featured is perhaps the 2 best Freshman quarterbacks in the Big 10 this season in Wildcat QB, Dan Persa, and Illinois signal-caller Nathan Scheelhaase. You never know, maybe the best Big 10 QB in this year's Freshman class is sitting behind veteran Terelle Pryor at Ohio State or Kirk Cousins in East Lansing. But as far as we know, Persa and Scheelhaase have been the cream of the Freshman crop, balancing memorizing complex playbooks while still finding time to attend Freshman mixers and "welcome to campus" stoplight dances. But disappointingly, Persa's season was cut short in the late moments last Saturday as he ruptured his Achilles tendon and will now be tagged as "Freshman clipboard guy" for the rest of the 2010 season. On the other side of the football, the Illini boast QB Nathan Scheelhaase, who sounds more like a member of Hitler's Gestapo than the Illini football team, has produced big numbers this season. Scheelhaase has racked up nearly 1,500 yards through the air this year (1,482),has thrown for 15 TD's, and has also used his feet as his carriage for 3 more scores. Although Persa is out, Scheelhaase will use Wrigley Field as his stage to showcase his talents Saturday in front of 30,000 fans who presumably haven't watched either team play a full game all season.

Wrigley Field should be used to hosting meaningless events to cash in for the Cubs and the Rickett's family. Wrigley has gone from hosting the good (the Winter Classic), to the bad (Rascal Flatts concert), to the downright ugly (U of I vs. NU) all in the span of a couple of years. It's an obvious marketing scheme. People love going to Wrigley Field, regardless of the event, the weather, or the Cubs mid-summer record. Why not hold multiple events in the city's most historic venue? I get it, I'm not that much of a mossback to say that I only want Cubs baseball to be played in the "Friendly Confines". But football? Not for me. Trying to force the Northwestern/Illinois rivalry on us so desperately is kind of pathetic. Both coaches complained about the endzone's proximity to the right field wall so that now both teams have to attack the West endzone on offense. Think about the problems this is going to cause? What happens on a pick-6? What happens if it's exceptionally windy? Both teams get the wind advantage? Dumb. Stupid. Crazy. Dangerous. Stinks (please watch this). It's like making Illinois and Northwestern's men's basketball teams (would be a much better game) play a half-court game of 2-on-2 to decide the state's supremacy in basketball.

Sure, the game and the rooftops are sold out (thanks to Groupon), Clark St. will be buzzing, and it's a great excuse for a slew of "young 20 somethings" to go downtown, drink 11 beers and pretend like they give a damn about the outcome of the game. Not to mention, the famous Wrigley Field marquee is painted "Wildcat Purple"--it looks like Wrigley is more poised for a Prince concert than a college football game. Ladies and gentleman...the Chicago Bowl. Eat your heart out College Gameday.

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man covered another spread last night, this time skating by with a half point to spare as Loyola won by 11. For this weekend, his Saturday is listed below as he makes the drive north to take in the sights of the beautiful city of Milwaukee.

Saturday 6 Pack

2-Team Parlay:
1. Wisconsin (-4) @ Michigan- WISCONSIN
2. Duke @ Georgia Tech, total points 61- UNDER
Total: (+273)

3-Team Parlay:
1. Kent St. @ Western Michigan- WESTERN MICHIGAN, moneyline
2. Florida Atlantic @ Texas (-21)- TEXAS
3. Idaho @ Utah St.- UTAH ST., moneyline
Total: (+450)


'Big Ticket' Pick of the Day
Illinois (-8) @ Northwestern- NORTHWESTERN (-105)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

One Bad 'Spur'-t

Initially, people write off the San Antonio Spurs as "boring" and say things like, "how are those ancient geezers still relevant after a full decade with virtually the same team in the Western Conference?" The answer is...well, I don't know, but to say the Spurs as a team are boring is a misrepresentation. Yes, I agree that Tim Duncan is boring. I scoured his extensive 7-page Wikipedia page to find something interesting only to find that his college teammates affectionately called him "Mr.Spock" because of his emotionless demeanor, and he's a video game nerd who plays Dungeons and Dragons until his PC overheats in his free time. If you want to crown Tim Duncan as "the most boring athlete since Greg Maddux", that's fine. Go ahead and crown him. But, the rest of the Spurs team that used a 37-12 3rd quarter run to spur (no pun intended) a 103-94 victory in the city of the Alamo last night are actually rather compelling.

Everything starts with Tony Parker--the 'Parisian Torpedo', the 'Fiery Franchophile' if you will (Scoops Callahan). If you follow Tony close enough, you would remember his mildly talented brother who starred at PG for Northwestern, and also recall his father, Tony Parker Sr., who used his collegiate eligibility at Loyola. How the best of the three has no connections with Chicago? I guess you have to be a resident sports fan of Chicago long enough to figure that one out. If you follow Tony too closely, you may also note the release of his hip-hop single, Top of the Game, under the cleverly ingenious rap name, TP. In fact, the video also starred Spurs teammates Brent Barry, Nazr Mohammed and Tim Duncan, thus labeling it as the worst music video of all time. But through all of that, the facet of his life that led to him being one of the most recognizable French athletes on the planet crumbled at his feet Wednesday when his wife, Eva Longoria, filed for divorce amidst rumors of his infidelity. Still, Parker was able to be productive with 21 pts. and 7 dimes after realizing that he will never sleep with the most attractive 35 year-old women in the world ever again. Considering all of that would make for a pretty interesting storyline wouldn't you say?

To boot, the Spurs have a bizarro (yet better) version of Brian Scalabrine under contract in the omniscient Matthew Bonner. Bonner's ability to do absolutely nothing until you forget about him is uncanny. Then, when the defense trickles in towards the paint, Bonner cans a 3 that makes your heart sink like the end of Mr. Holland's Opus. Dude has made his last 9 triples! 9 shots in a row from 23 feet, 9 inches away. All from a ginger...SNAP!

When talking about the Spurs, it's hard to leave out the league's craftiest, most confrontational Argentine in Manu Ginobili. I have mentioned this before, but if you were a civilian strolling the San Antonio Riverwalk casually on a weeknight and walked past the man that is Manu, you would think he was on a cigarette break from his shift as the local Olive Garden's head chef. Besides the fact that he's 6'6'', Manu is 33, has a pronounced bald spot, and the eccentric attitude to consistently cause problems with the wait staff. I can just envision him being pestered by a smug, slightly overweight waitress about her table's food order and him replying, "Just-give-me-one-hot-minute" all in 3 syllables and with sweat beads cultivating on his nose.

Those are the three players that San Antonio used to stretch a 10-point Bulls advantage at halftime into a 15-point Spurs lead heading into the 4th quarter. Despite Derrick Rose's best effort to pull the Bulls off the canvas in the last frame with 9 straight points, the Bulls were plagued by turnovers and Joakim Noah missed free-throws in the 2nd half that eventually led to their demise Wednesday night in the AT&T Center. We all had assumed it would be a tough game for the Bulls; facing their second straight Western conference opponent on the road in back-to-back nights. But it is hard to swallow when you score 12 points in the 3rd quarter, and Omer Asik and CJ Watson have proven themselves to be the least capable scorers since the ABA and NBA merged in the late 70's. And by the way, for all those Noah fans who want to climb into his ark and defend his presence on the Bulls against Carmello, he missed consecutive free throws and had a traveling turnover with the Bulls down 5 late in the 4th. So there, you have your cake. Go ahead and eat it now.

As for the Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man covered his hockey parlay as both Washington and Minnesota won at home to put some change in the pocket of his cargo sweatpants. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes Loyola Chicago to cover the 10.5 points they're giving his alma mater, Eastern Illinois, tonight in the Gentile Center downtown. He never saw a game live in his 4 years of college, and certainly won't watch this one, but is confident they will lose by double digits.

Pick of the Day: Eastern Illinois @ Loyola Chicago (-10.5)- LOYOLA (-105)

Record:(32-24-0)

Now I'm done. Rack Me

Frost

Loss for Words

During the first week of College Basketball's season in mid-November, we are forced to recall a few things: how peeving and repetitive Richard J. Vitale is (prompts an instant channel change from Dave Scott), how Doug Gottlieb somehow resurrected his life from a credit-card wielding burglar into a credible news source, and how distressingly awful DePaul basketball has become. When the Demons dropped a game to the Division II Lewis Flyers of Romeoville, Ill on November 7th, I was still optimistic. After all, when the 'Cuse lost to D2 foe LeMoyne last season, everyone wrote off the Orange as national title contenders. Then, Boeheim and the boys from upstate NY rattled off 12 straight to start the regular season. It's just an exhibition game right? In the first regular season game of the year against in-state rival Chicago State, DePaul ran up 114 points on Kanye's alma mater--"how could they be so heartless?" Needless to say I was inspired by the Demons season thus far. In theory, if DePaul somehow finagled its way into normality this season, I could sit in the upper bowl at Allsate and watch some decent Big East basketball and dispatch a plastic tray of lukewarm, stale nachos all for under the price of a rail drink at HUB51 (9$)! As it turns out though, the Demons are not who we thought they were, and the OPP (Oliver Purnell's Press) era is off to a rocky start--I'm not sure I'm down with it.

The first game of the year at Allstate Arena for DePaul's Men's basketball team was sandwiched between an Australian Pink Floyd Show and the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, so right from the jump, skepticism was at an all-time high. If Jeff Foxworthy would have hosted an abbreviated set of "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?" at halftime of the DePaul/Western Carolina contest, Ticketmaster would have received more traffic for a DePaul basketball game than the southbound Kennedy at 8:30 AM. But, it turned out to be a commonplace home game for the some 7,000 DePaul faithful that made the trek from Lincoln park to Rosemont only to sit through an agonizing home-opener loss to the Catamounts of Western Carolina. It is often times said that an eye-opening performance is hard to follow up on. Still, I'm not sure anyone expected the eyesore that DePaul put on the floor Tuesday evening. The Demons fell behind early and found themselves down 12 at recess and eventually 21 points heading into the games home-stretch after the 10 minute mark. Whenever you shoot 15.4% from deep (2-13) and give up 17 O-boards, you're not going to climb out of many holes. No matter whether the lead is forged by a sub-.500 member of the SoCon (W.Carolina), or one of the Big East's elite, it's not in the cards if you can't stop giving up lay-ups to a team who just got run by 23 points by Clemson.

On a lighter note, Western Carolina's leading scorer (Harouna Mutombo) shares his surname with one of the NBA's all-time great low post defenders and interview candidates of all time. Not to mention their second leading contributor (Mike Williams),apparently doubles his time catching errant passes from the quarterback carousel in Seattle with the Seahawks. If we somehow find out that their starting forward, Blake Gallagher, is related to Liam and Noel of the brit-rock band Oasis, we'll just have to chalk it up as a defeat in character.

As for Pick of the Day, all of the hair product in the world couldn't save Steve Lavin and St. Johns against St. Marys as they dropped Tuesday's game by 5, missing the spread by a point and a half. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes both the Capitals (-190) and the Wild (-160) getting W's tonight against Buffalo and Anaheim respectively at (+148).

Pick of the Day: PARLAY: Sabres @ Capitals- CAPS, moneyline (-190) and Ducks @ Wild-, WILD, moneyline (-160). Total: (+148)

Record:(31-24-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

McMahon's McMemory

Jim McMahon accomplished nearly everything his talent level alloted him to during his football career. His life and career began in Jersey City, New Jersey where he was somehow passed up for the lead role of Frankie Valli in the Broadway hit, Jersey Boys, urging him to chase down his football dream. Then, paradoxically, Jim took his talents to Provo, Utah to star first at punter, then later excelling at quarterback for the BYU Cougars, cementing his legacy as one of the best QB's in Cougar history (besides Steve Young, who may or may not be related to the actual Brigham Young, thus giving him an unfair advantage with the Mormons). In the NFL, he won two Super Bowls in the same building (the Superdome, coincidentally), with 2 rival teams (Packers '96 and Bears '85), against the same team (Patriots)--now that is just downright bizarre. He was also named to one Pro Bowl, showed up to his first NFL press conference with a beer in hand, starred in a rap video, pioneered the ridiculous 'QB's wearing gloves' movement, and was arrested for a DUI, all in one career. I think McMahon did everything under the sun in his near 15 years in the league except become a ploy in McDonalds' marketing campaign for the McRib (he was sidelined with bruised ribs in '84), which should have been a no brainer (no pun intended). What a career. Too bad Jim can't seem to remember any of it.

McMahon has recently made public that he has encountered severe memory loss stemming from the blows to the head he withstood during his 6 team, 14 year tour of the NFL as a starting quarterback. Now first and foremost, I am by no means belittling the NFLPA's passion-driven movement to gain increased benefits for players once they retire, and I'm definitely not downgrading the severity of head trauma that concussions can create later in life. But, I am in fact roasting McMahon's neoteric "cry for me" campaign like it's Comedy Central and I'm Lisa Lampanelli.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking comment that McMahon has made recently was his proclamation that he often times, "walks into a room and forgets why [he] walked in there." Really Jim? How many Labbat Blue's did you have before you walked into the room? Ever since the "punky Qb known as McMahon" left BYU, he has been trying to relive all of the microbrews, frat parties, and flapper girl moments he missed out on during his years in Provo. I'm not sure if Jim is completely aware, but much like a medical rap sheet of concussions, binge drinking may also have played its part in McMahon's recent forgetfullness 10 years removed from the NFL huddle. There is something to be said in this situation for the NFL lifestyle (see: Pacman Jones making it rain in the 'scrip club' as evidence), and with Jim's press-conference barley pops and DUI conviction on record, it's kind of hard to look away. It almost draws more attention to himself than those silly headbands did in his playing days. Perhaps they may have been wound a bit too tight.

On the other hand, McMahon's playing style as a QB only compounds the problem. Da Bears fans cheered as he dove head-first like Pete Rose for first downs and abandoned the conventional quarterback etiquette of the 'feminine slide.' Football is a gruesome game filled with visions, decisions and collisions with 300 pound monsters in which only a thin sheet of polycarbonate protects them from your dome. As a former NFL QB and now a spokesman for a male enhancement product I have two words for you Jim McMahon...protect yourself.

As for Pick of the Day, another day, another cover for the Pulse Man as the T-Wolves covered behind two of the most underachieving # 2 picks of all-time in Darko Milicic and Michael "B-easy" Beasley. For Tuesday, the Pulse Man is going to shift his gears to the NCAA basketball frontier as he likes Steve Lavin and the St. Johns Red Storm to cover the 3.5 points they're getting at Saint Mary's (CA).

Pick of the Day: St. Johns (+3.5) @ Saint Mary's (CA)- ST.JOHNS (-105)

Record:(31-23-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Bowl of Chilly

Going into Sunday's decisive game at Soldier Field, you have to admit, you were nervous because you had no idea what Minnesota Vikings was going to show up that day. And, our new "punky QB" tends to be a little schizophrenic himself and the Bears well, aren't that good. But the Vikes play the "two-face" role better than Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight and left us guessing whether the aging, injured collection of Norse warriors (vikings, get it?) plagued by the constant futility surrounding their inept, moron of a head coach team would show up. Or, perhaps the uber talented, explosive purple people eaters motivated by their collective aversion for their moron of a head coach would show up and beat the Bears by 10 points behind a QB that mirrored Burt Reynolds' character in The Longest Yard. Turns out, the Vikings couldn't rally around the tactlessness that has come to define Brad Childress, who has now established himself to be only one small peg above the whale that is former Cowboys coach Wade Phillips.

In the end, the Bears are 6-3 and 3-0 in the division. And even if those three wins are due to loopholes in the NFL's rule book, Monday Night Miracles and Billy Heywood-like coaching maneuvers, we'll take em. Yesterday's game at Soldier Field marked the first time this season in which the Bears actually performed to the level of play that their record would indicate(with the exception of the Packers game on MNF, but I'm convinced that Monday night game was somehow touched by the hand of god because he was offended by Clay Matthews' haircut). On Sunday, Cutler was tame in the pocket, delicately performing his "fairy dance" backpedal to perfection, then whizzing the ball around the field to his undersized receiving core. (Unrelated: the Bears top 3 receiver's #'s are 13,23 and 19. Shouldn't that signal the notion that you need to trade/draft/sign a real receiver? Whatever) Devin Hester proved his worth once again as one of the most dangerous weapons in the National Football League, and for that we can only thank Brad Childress, who consistently elected to punt to Hester and let him permeate through his special teams defense like they were armless amputees.

Every time the Vikings slipped further away from getting a much needed W, the cause always trickled back to the bearded bonehead in the headset on the Vikings sideline. When Favre frantically scrambled around the pocket like his clothes were on fire, only to carelessly toss a pick into the Bears secondary, you knew Favre was making whimsical decisions in spite of Chilly, and thus Brad, not Brett, was the man to blame. When Fox panned their cameras over to the Vikings sideline to show Percy Harvin, B squared, and Sid Rice all leisurely relaxing with assorted injuries, Childress was the man to blame for cutting loose the best deep threat of the past 20 years two weeks prior. I'm sure Randy Moss' "take the ball deep, take the top off the defense" soundbite was echoing in the collective ears of Minnesota. After all, you can't expect for Favre to successfully sling lasers to guys whose last names are one consonant removal away from translating into the Spanish word for 'yellow' and the largest city in the Texas panhandle (Greg Camarillo). On a cold, windy, November Sunday in Chicago, the Bears wanted nothing more than a big bowl "Chilly" to keep them both warm, and atop the NFC's North division. Although brad Childress is still on the Vikings payroll, he may want to start applying to be Tony Kornheiser's replacement on PTI so the sports world never has to sit through a half-hour of Dan Lebatard, or Bob Ryan ever again.

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man has reached the 30 win plateau relatively quickly and can only thank his lack of a girlfriend for that result. For tonight, the Pulse Man actually likes the T-Wolves covering the 9.5 points they are getting in Charlotte. Kevin Love did have 30 and 30 last week, hopefully ESPN does a 30for 30 about it.

Pick of the Day: Minnesota (+9.5) @ Charlotte- T-WOLVES (-105)

Record:(30-23-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Sub-Hub

From Huntley to Berwyn and back though the heart of the city, the suburbs of Chicago produce more D1 college basketball talent on a yearly basis than many of its surrounding states combined, and this year is no different. These indigenous prep stars hailing from the Land of Lincoln all devour Malnati's slices and Portillo's cake shakes on trips home to visit their p's and empty their mother's household TIDE inventory like every other college kid hailing from the metropolitan area of the United States' 3rd largest city, but the difference is--these kids lace up the Nike's for D1 basketball programs throughout the country, giving us proud Flatlanders a chance to proudly proclaim, "I played against that dude in high school" whenever you're eyeing a Big Monday telecast looking over your notes for next week's microbiology test (took that claas twice, so this scenario happened quite often). Although it is nearly impossible to account for all the players on the various stages of the vast, college basketball landscape, this blog's service is to do justice to the athletes who skimmed the Daily Herald SportsExtra section each Friday, eagerly awaiting a name drop from PBM (Patricia Babcock-McGraw) or Joe Aguilar.

The Ivy League- Kevin Bulger, who formerly starred at Columbia and Glenbrook South, and once Ivy League Freshman POY Chris Wroblewski, who roamed the halls of Highland Park before "taking his talents to Ithaca" and helping the Big Red march to the sweet 16 a year ago. The Penn Quakers and the Palestra call 3 suburban products their own in Rob 'you should be glad I even referenced you with this haircut" Belcore (Loyola), Danny Monckton (Glenbrook South) and the next Croatian sensation in Marin Kukoc (Highland Park). Brown's Bears also boast Tyler Ponticelli from suburban power Glenbrook North on their front line. And lastly, Yale's campus was home to both Geroge H.W. and George W. Bush respectively, but is now the land in which Mundelein grad Raffi Mantilla cruises campus on a moped with a few cold ones in a plastic bag secured firmly to the handlebars.

The Big 10- Since Cully Payne isn't a real suburban since he transferred from Burlington Central (damn foreign imports) and now plays at at Iowa, I'm not going to give him the recognition he thinks he deserves. But, Illinois guard Brandon Paul (Warren), Michigan swingmen Matt Vogrich (Lake Forest) and Josh Bartelstein (Highland Park), along with Northwestern standout and former IHSA dunk contest champ John Shurna (Glenbard West) are all going to get some blog love. Sorry Cully, maybe if you're name didn't sound like the title of a movie featuring Damon Wayans, things would've been different. Northwestern guards Jeff Ryan (Glenbrook South) and Drew Crawford (Naperville Central) are going to look to get the Wildcats into the tourney for the first time since the Great Depression as we near what I like to call "the grand Recession". Look for Big 10 newcomers Ben Brust (Mundelein) and Duje Dukan (Deerfield) to get their feet wet in the fertile basketball soil of the Big 10, and watch for Jereme Richmond (Waukegan) and Lenzelle Smith (Zion-Benton) to cement themselves as two of the conference's flashiest fresh faces since the league expanded to an 'illiterate dozen' (11 teams) in 1990.

With Jon Scheyer gone and graduated from Duke, the ACC doesn't boast many representatives from the tri-county area in Chicagoland's Northwest region. But, the Big East holds right to Notre Dame's Luke Harangody stunt double, Jack Cooley (Glenbrook South). Out West, the Cal Bears have New Trier grad, Alex Rossi's name in their registry and the Oregon Ducks and their sick, new, forest floor have the rights to Oregon big man, Joevan Catron.

It's safe to say that Illinois was well-represented across the country last year on USA Today's All-American Squad that featured native Illinoisans Evan Turner (St. Joes), Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North), Sherron Collins (Crane), Jerome Randle (Hales) and Jacob Pullen (Proviso East). How Illinois, DePaul and Northwestern aren't sweet 16 mainstays every year, I can't figure out. But during the month of November, Illinois basketball fans have a lot to be thankful for besides the fast approaching holiday of Black Wednesday.

As for Pick of the Day, it's still BJ3 and the Bucks giving 5 to the Knicks in the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. If you don't own residency to the state of Wisconsin, thus a subscription to FSwisconsin (possibly the worst channel I've ever encountered) or have NBA full court, you're going to have to wait for SportsCenter to validate the Pulse Man's results.

Pick of the Day: Knicks @ Bucks (-4.5)- BUCKS (-105)

Record:(29-23-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Big 10 Basketball Preview

Big 10 basketball is the wool sweater that comforts the American Midwest during these dogged winter months. Whenever you are feeling demoralized driving home from work in the pitch black because of daylight savings, Dave Revsine has something to analyze on the Big Ten Network that keeps you away from instantly indulging in a gulp of Nyquil and heading upstairs to rest up for another riveting workday trapped in the ever-closing walls of an office cubicle. In a constantly changing college basketball landscape filled with "one-and-done" players and 17 team conferences, the Big 10 remains more pure than Deja Blue. Basketball hotbeds like Illinois and Indiana, Detroit and Ohio, all send their native sons to battle in Big 10 Arenas from 'The Barn' to the Breslin Center. This year, however, may even be more exciting than most. With 5 teams in the USA Today Coaches Poll top 25, and with Minnesota receiving votes like a sophomore homecoming court candidate, this could definitely be an excitement filled 2011 campaign. While the Big 10 is often praised for its parity every year, the only way I am going to mention Iowa, Penn St., Indiana and Michigan this year is by way of a parody (of course, no pun intended). But with both Illinois Big 10 teams relevant, and Michigan St., Ohio St., Purdue and Wisconsin all boasting formidable squads this winter, a preview is definitely in order this season. I'm just a little upset Steve "the straw that stirs the drink" Lavin won't be around this year to analyze it.

Illinois- As I outlined in the Illinois preview blog a while back, the Illini have a lot to look forward to in 2011. With the highest preseason ranking since their magical run to the national title game in 2005, the citizens of Champaign may have the possibility of poppin' some Champagne in their near future. Led by Seniors Demitri McCamey and Mike Tisdale, Illinois has better "starters" than your neighborhood Applebees. If Bruce Weber can coddle freshman phenom Jereme Richmond and infiltrate him into the already potent lineup of returners, Illinois can put up points with the conferences elite. But, when 'if' and 'Bruce Weber' are used consecutively in a sentence, the result isn't always good.

Northwestern-In the Chicago sports scene, only one team boasts an equally embarrassing streak to the Chicago Cubs World Series-less century, and that streak lies in the Wildcats inability a ever receive an invite to the "Big Dance." Northwestern's futility has stretched far and wide--they haven't finished above 4th place since Adolf Hitler and Mussolini were running the show in WWII. Nonetheless, Northwestern calls one of the league's most unorthodox yet effective scorers their own in John Shurna, and have a 4 year starter running the point in Michael "Juice" Thompson. However, with many people betting on this to be the year the purple and white play into deep March, I don't feel so sure. With their star forward Kevin Coble opting to stay off the team in favor of his pursuit for his diploma (I think you can see clearly here where NU's problem lies), the "Mild-cats" don't have enough firepower to win the conference games necessary in the Big 10 to secure an at-large bid. Also, I think fans in the state of Illinois have rescinded their trust in believing in a team leader referred to as "Juice". Is he really worth the squeeze?

Purdue- The Baby Boilers aren't so young anymore, as most of the freshman crop that put West Lafayette on the map (I have no idea where it is still) a few years back are now nearing the end of their college careers. With Chris Kramer gone living the highly regarded D-League lifestyle with the NBDL's Fort Wayne Mad Ants, consistently perusing the isles of Super K-Mart seeking blue-light specials like Octomom, Purdue is absent of their senior leader from a year ago. And with All-America shoe-in Robbie Hummel sidelined for the year with a torn-up knee, Purdue and the Paint Crew's expectations have simmered since the preseason. But with E'Twaun Moore and Jajuan Johnson now quarterbacking the squad under the coaching of Matt Painter, Purdue might just overachieve and Boiler up to the top of the Big 10 standings.

Wisconsin- In being the only team I've seen live thus far this season (they exhibitioned my former squad, the UW-LaCrosse Eagles on Saturday in Madison. Don't worry, the Eagles covered), I don't feel comfortable crowning the Badgers with the conferences elite. Maybe I just don't like the Badgers, but Mike Bruesewitz is on the cusp of becoming the most annoying player in the NCAA since Psycho T ruled the streets of Chapel Hill. They have seemingly the same personnel, the same uniforms, and the same record every year. The monotony associated with Bo Ryan and Wisconsin basketball wears me out like a YMCA elliptical machine. Now am I going to bet against the Badgers at home? No, I'd have a better shot at covering a "culture prop" that the premise of the movie 2012 is actually going to become reality. I just hope those liberals in Madtown don't start a forest fire "flicking their Bics" when they realize that the Badgers are again a first weekend casualty of the NCAA tourney in March, they should be used to it by now.

Michigan St.- Is Michigan St. overrated this year under Izzo? Izz-no. Ok, that may have been the corniest thing I've ever said on the internet, but it's the truth. Izzo consistently has Sparty competing for a Big 10 title on a yearly basis, and was rewarded this summer with a courtship from the Cleveland Cavaliers that reeked of desperation. In coming off a Final Four season, MSU returns conference POY front-runner Kalin Lucas, forward Draymond Green and Sr. guard Durrel Summers. Michigan St. is deep. Maybe even too deep. Still, if you want my pick for conference champ, I'd have to "go green" and stick with Sparty.

Ohio St.- If anyone has a better roster on paper than the boys from East Lansing, it's Thad Motta and his tOSU program that he has converted into a national power. In losing Evan Turner, the Bucks are stripped of the league's most versatile player, but the other 4 starters from last year's Big 10 conference tourney champs are still on the Columbus, OH campus, including Center Dallas "The African Cowboy" Lauderdale and Sr. guard, Jon Diebler. If the Buckeyes end up walking away with the Big 10 football crown this fall and somehow cut down the nets as Big 10 conference champs this winter, I'm going to lose my mind. But I guess Ohio needs it, the Cavs suck and Peyton Hillis is the Browns' best player (he looks like a guy you'd meet doing tricep extensions at the Y) , Major League couldn't have picked a more tortured sports city, if only Jake Taylor was a real person.

Prediction:
Michigan St.
Illinois
Ohio St./Purdue-tie
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Northwestern
Michigan
Penn St.
Indiana
Iowa

As for pick of the day, the Pulse Man was blanked in another Saturday 6 pack and is reeling in a quarter-life crisis. It's clear that the elementary aged kids he's spending 6 hours a day with (he's a teacher, don't get weird) are rubbing off on his betting strategies and eating habits. He once admitted that "he only eats once a day on the weekends." Desperately trying to find salvation in the NBA's Eastern Conference, the Pulse Man likes the Bucks giving 4.5 to the Knicks tomorrow night at the Bradley Center.

Pick of the Day: Knicks @ Bucks (-4.5)- BUCKS (-105)

Record:(29-23-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Home is Where the Hard Is

The supposed "Madhouse on Madison" hasn't proved to be very maddening to the opponents of both the Bulls and Blackhawks so far this season. As both teams sit below the .500 mark in the building they call home at 1901 W. Madison St., Chicagoans who bear themselves in red and black for home contests in the UC are becoming increasingly confused as to why the home team ends up exiting stage left looking black and blue. After losing only 12 regular season home games in Chicago during last year's Stanley Cup winning season a year ago, the Hawks have already dropped 5 on their native ice during the season's opening stretch. And when the ice is lifted, the Bulls are under-performing in their regular residence as well, dropping 2 of their first 3. Something's got to give here. It's not like the Hawks and Bulls are dropping tough losses to high-end franchises either. The Blackhawks recently dropped a contest to the New Jersey Devils, who came into the game last in the NHL in points, and collective team self-esteem. And the Bulls, they just got 120 points dropped on them by a strikingly below-average New York Knicks team like they were a stationary windshield under a bird-bunched electrical line. For both squads, the problem starts and ends on the defensive end.

For the Blackhawks, it looks as if Duncan Keith is suffering under the fate of the EA Sports Video Game cover curse that has caused athletes like Shaun Alexander and Eddie George to figure out where the sidewalk ends in their process of falling off the face of the Earth completely. Keith is -4 for the year thus far after posting +21 and +33 clips the past two years as the anchor of the Blackhawks D. But the one with the A on his sweater isn't the only one to blame, even my boy Nik Hjalmarsson sits at -9 for the year. If I've learned anything in life, it's "don't tug on Superman's cape, don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old lone ranger, and you don't mess around with matching ridiculous offer sheets on Sweed Defenseman." And so far, Hjalms is proving that theory to be correct. Now it would be easy for the Hawks to chalk up Turco and his lack of continuity with the defenseman as the problem here and sulk in the locker room after each loss listening to the island-like rhythm of Jack Johnson's, "Where'd All the Good People Go?" Or, they can lace up the skates and buckle down on D against the Thrashers and Oilers this weekend.

As for the Bulls, when Tom Thibodeau came into the city preaching defensive intensity like he was Gene Keady with a decent haircut, I was ecstatic. I thought the Bulls would be winning games with scores in the mid-90's and I could ride the "bet the under" train all the way to a 401K. But in their home opener, the Bulls let the Detroit Pistons put up 39 points in the second quarter; thank god they only scored 9 in the 4th to secure a 10-point Bulls win. All that stats represent is that the Pistons are BAD and they are more serious about fostering some nonsensical story about Chuck Villanueva getting verbally abused on Twitter regarding his allopecia than they are about getting W's--these are some sad days in the Motor City. Then, the Knicks came to town at (1-2) and lit up the scoreboard for 70 first half points en route to a 120-112 victory at the UC. Isn't Joakim supposed to be one of the better defensive big men in the league? Didn't we sign Ronnie Brewer and Keith Bogans for defensive purposes? And you're going to tell me Lou Deng and D.Rose aren't athletic enough to keep their guys in check? That sales pitch could be on the clearance rack at a TJ MAXX outlet and I'm still not buying it.

So, through all this jargon one thing remains constant, the Bulls and the Hawks need to get back to the fundamentals of defending their own goal before they can achieve anything notable this season. The good thing is that it's early and Coach Q and Thibs aren't going to let their squads slack, but if these problems persist it's going to be nothing but early exits for both teams come April.

As for Pick of the Day, the Durantula came through for the Pulse Man last night as Thunder rolled (shout out Garth Brooks) to an overtime victory in the Rose Garden. The weekend is here again and the Pulse Man has put together another Saturday 6 pack for the good people of the world to sip on. The picks are listed below.

Saturday 6 Pack

2 Team Parlay
1. Illinois (+3) @ Michigan- ILLINOIS
2. Baylor @ Oklahoma St.-OK.ST, moneyline
Total: (+156)

3 Team Parlay
1. Arizona (+10) @ Stanford- ZONA
2. Missouri @ Texas Tech- MIZZOU, moneyline
3. Arkansas (+4.5) @ South Carolina- ARKANSAS
Total: (+482)

'Big Ticket" Pick of the Day
California (-14) @ Washington State- CAL

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

On with the Conflict

Remember the days when the Bulls invading the Knicks in a dimly lit MSG was a bigger deal in the Big Apple than the upcoming Dave Matthews Concert on Nov. 12 in the Garden? Whether or not you have a "Satttt-a-liiiite, in your eyes" or are simply just blocked by the bumper to bumper traffic on 8th Ave. in Manhattan getting to the game is irrelevant--its clear to see the rivalry has transpired. Granted, the franchises are different, the personnel is different, and most importantly, the feel is different. The days of Patrick Ewing patrolling the paint in double-thick wristbands, drenched in more quarts of sweat than a lonely divorcee waiting for the dial-up connection on his home desktop so the google image results of Blake Lively can boot up are over. The best there ever was (MJ-23) has been replaced with a budding talent (no pun intended, budding Rose, get it? amirite?) teamed with the pieces to bring the Bulls back to prominence in the Eastern Conference. On the other bench, the Knicks are slowly recovering from the chaotic imbroglio that Isaiah caused during his tenure at the helm for New York. Still, someone needs to show both teams a tape of game 3 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals (just watch the first minute) before tip-off.

But, many of you will say the NBA is in an entirely different era. Charles Oakley has been replaced with a guy who actually wears "Oakleys" while he plays (Amare), and Eddy Curry's $11 million salary is eating away (no pun intended)at the competitiveness of the rivalry. I agree with you. Spike Lee probably won't even be in attendance tonight as the Knicks and Bulls square off in the early regular season. On second thought, he's probably filming another humdrum, 3 hour HBO documentary like "If God's Willing and the Creek Don't Rise" that can cause even Adderall induced adolescents to nod off. Where does the bad blood go?

If anything or anyone can rejuvenate the rivalry and pump some passion back into Chicago vs. New York, it's Joakim Noah. The Bulls' pony-tailed power-forward leads the league in rebounds per game and isn't afraid to take a jab at an opposing city, or player. In fact, he's a competitor--he enjoys getting booed. But, there's a cop for every criminal, and this story needs someone for the yanks out East to side with. The roll John Starks played to perfection a decade ago is now vacant and is interviewing applicants to hold the position. Wilson Chandler has the state of mind to lash a hard foul. I mean come on, the guy has a shoe deal with PONY, he's not necessarily weighing his options. Even Timofey Mozgov's headshot fits the description of a foreign villain, and his commy routes lead back to the USSR. I suppose we can all hope to see a few shades of red tonight that aren't part of the Bulls' uniform.

As for Pick of the Day, the Suns were one point away from covering last night as they lost by a deuce to part-time Olive Garden chef Manu Ginobili and the ageless San Antonio Spurs. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes the Thunder getting 5 points in Portland taking on Brandon Roy and the Blazers.

Pick of the Day: Thunder (+5) @ Blazers, THUNDER (-105)

Record:(28-23-0)


Now I'm done. Rack Me

Frost

No Moss Lost

On a day when most people internally weighed the decision whether or not to vote Dan Seals or Bob Dold("Dold with a D, not an E" as his TV commercial so annoyingly states) for congress, I was supremely concerned in conveying my piece of mind about possibly acquiring Randy Moss to the management of the Chicago Bears. And my vote is an astounding yes. Apparently Brad Childress just realized that Randy Moss occasionally takes plays off, says ridiculous things in interviews and likes to be fed well at team functions. Where has he been the last decade? Randy has been sounding off in press-conferences, dodging blocks like the bird flu, and running half-speed routes since he was drafted in 1998. Actually, even before the NFL Moss made sure he was in the headlines. He got tossed out of both Notre Dame and Florida State as an 18 year old. How this slipped by "Chilly", I'll never know. I'll let him continue to figure out how he can keep his team under .500 with the most talent in the NFC. But when the opportunity presents itself for the Bears to sign the most explosive wideout of our generation, you start "Jumpin Jumpin" like you're Destiny's Child.

I'm not saying Randy Moss' post-game press conference wasn't the definition of ridiculous, and I'm not saying that watching him dog routes like he was dressed as a three-toed sloth (notoriously the world's laziest animal) for Halloween simply isn't true. But, as a coach you have to know that you have to throw Randy the ball to keep him interested in the game. There's no doubt Randy has ADD, except the difference between him and a teenager is that his athleticism lets him get away with his predicament on the NFL gridiron, not a remedial class where the teacher is begging for his attention. And, so he supposedly lost his cookies on a caterer (no pun intended) and told the poor Tinucci's Restaurant owner that he wouldn't "feed this s*#$ to his dog". Who cares? Who is anyone to criticize Randy Moss' pallet? The guy's a world-class athlete and if he wants to berate food service managers during his free time, let him be. Everyone always criticizes him for what he does on the field, what makes this Gus Tinucci, culinary artist extraordinaire free from a little constructive criticism? Randy's dog probably eats damn good food.

If the Bears think that putting a waiver claim in on Randy Moss is a big chance, they're absolutely right. He's been thrown off two casts like he's Angelina on the Jersey Shore and he comes with more baggage than a flight from Barbados. But what Randy Moss also brings is the ability to stretch the field, provide great sound bites, and convert random 3rd and 27's simply by pointing him in a single direction. Randy Moss doesn't want to go to the Rams, or to the Seahawks, or back under the senile leadership of Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders. He want's to sip Alize and Hennessy with Devin Hester and turn Jay Cutler into the quarterback he has the potential to become. Pony up and make the offer. Don't forget, straight cash homie.


If you failed to watch any of the links, this video should suffice. Compliments to JYD

As for Pick of the Day, the Heat put up 129 points on the poor T-Wolves as they have once again established themselves as the worst team, scratch that, worst franchise in the NBA and suffered yet another 30 point defeat. For tomorrow night, the Pulse Man likes the Suns (+1) and one of his favorites, Goran Dragic to take care of business at home against the Spurs.

Pick of the Day: Spurs @ Suns (+1)- SUNS (-105)

Record:(28-22-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Io-what?

Let me just make this clear right off the bat, Iowa basketball has less hope to be successful this season than Israel and Palestine do in resolving their decade long dispute before sundown. In fact, the only good thing that has happened in Iowa City in terms of the roundball recently is the ruling that has placed Sophomore Brennan Cougill academically ineligible for the upcoming season. Maybe that will give him some time to shed some weight so the Iowa basketball faithful don't think that John Daly invaded their teams PF position again. But things just went from poorly executed to downright strange in the "Fields of Opportunity" this fall as the Hawkeyes have now found themselves amid illegal recruiting allegations coming off a 10-22 season a year ago.

When Iowa basketball decided upon the questionable hiring of former Siena frontman Fran McCaffery, we knew they wouldn't be getting big time recruits, which was also interestingly enough the problem with the last coach, Todd Lickliter, who could only spell Schaumburg grad Cully Payne with a few minutes of shameful play from his own son, Johnny "How many" Lickliter's does it take til you get to the center. But things are getting stranger and stranger as Iowa drifts further away from Big 10 relevance for the next presidential term. Apparently, Iowa booster Ashton Kutcher and his wife, "Striptease" star Demi Moore have been involved in unlicensed meetings with Iowa basketball recruits. At first, this prompted me to laugh that Ashton and Freshman recruit Cody Cox (Yes, this a real Iowa recruit) could be screening "What happens in Vegas" together in Ashton's Iowa City loft. A better question is, what big-time college basketball recruit has any ambition to meet the guy who created Punk'd? Did they promise these kids a starting spot if they could sit the Butterfly Effect in its entirety?

I find it hard to believe that Kirk Ferentz and Iowa football can put together a reputable program in the Big 10, as well as nationally and Iowa basketball is subjected to illegal meetings with the star of the Nikon camera commercials. If you want to illegally recruit to try and land a big name, that's fine, at least you're trying. Buy a prospective Iowa recruit a car, or purchase his parents a Tudor Mansion in Corallville, but don't throw your program under the bus because some kid ratted you out on Twitter.

I thought Iowa missed out with their coaching vacancy when they hired an unrecognizable face when a lot of marquee names were still left on the board. Coaches like Bruce Pearl (who once coached at Iowa), Scott Drew (took Baylor to the Elite 8), Chris Collins (midwestern ties) and Keno Davis (son of former Iowa Head Coach Tom Davis) were all still available when the Hawks splurged on Fran McCaffery and solidified their medocrity for a decade to come. I hope Ferentz can somehow finagle a share of the Big 10 title, because it's going to be a long winter in Iowa this year, and many years to come.

As for Pick of the Day, the pick was posted last night as The Pulse Man plans on the Heat's triumverate (-16) to obliterate the lowly T-Wolves in South Beach tonight. Keep an eye out for Mike Beasley to drop 40 on his former suitor though, I still love that guy.

Pick of the Day: Timberwolves @ Heat (-16)- HEAT (-105)

Record:(27-22-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Passed Away

Notre Dame football is a ship that literally cannot be sinking any faster. I thought the Titanic went down fast, this thing's going down like a wooden door navigating the Pacific. A famous proverb reads "No wind blows in the direction of a ship without a destination", and this quote likely out of one of those "successories" posters couldn't describe the situation in South Bend any more accurately. Take for instance, a quick look at the events that have unfolded during the last week on the campus with the golden dome. First, tragedy struck both the Notre Dame campus and the northwest suburbs alike as the news of Long Grove, IL native Declan Sullivan's death spread through media outlets across the country (including his eerie messages on Twitter). Next, the Irish lost their QB Dayne Crist for the year with a torn-up knee and are forced to throw Freshman Tommy Rees into the fire, who has now become my 3rd favorite Lake Forest High School alum behind actor Vince Vaughn and musician Andrew Bird, formerly of the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Then to boot, Notre Dame lost 28-27 at home to Tulsa playing with heavy hearts and seemingly even heavier legs in the most distressing of fashions. I wouldn't even be surprised if the Pope himself turned his back on Fighting Irish football this Fall, as Tony Kornheiser put it "today, is the lowest day for Notre Dame football in as long as I can remember."

It really is hard for me to sit and type this about Notre Dame. I thought Brian Kelly would have some answers and definitely looked a lot better in a navy polo shirt and head set than Charlie Weis' fat ass. But, with a lawsuit the size of the state of Indiana looming on the horizon, Kelly made one of the most STUPID and completely baffling play calls I have ever seen in major college football to close out their final drive on Saturday in South Bend. The scene was this: 2nd and 8 on the Tulsa 24 and a ray of hope keeping the Irish alive as they squeak by the mighty Golden Hurricane of Tulsa on a late field goal on National TV. All Brian Kelly had to tell the Irish offense to do was sit on the football like it were shares of Google stock circa 1998. Instead, strangely enough, Kelly elected to let his Freshman QB take a meaningless shot at the end zone which resulted in an interception from an under thrown ball and surely another disappointing season for ND. At least if you don't have a play, throw the football out of bounds, aren't you going to Notre Dame? You probably have a 32 ACT! Get a god damn clue! In my life I have never seen such ineptitude in late game play calling than I saw on Saturday afternoon. The way that scenario played out made me 100% embarrassed to consider myself a Notre Dame fan.

I used to look forward to seeing Notre Dame run out on the field on NBC, watching their gold helmets glisten in the fall sun and hearing the echoes of Knute Rockne, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz all helping to "win one for the Gipper". Now, all we hear is of terror resulting from losses to the Naval Academies and private Universities based in rural Oklahoma. I literally cannot say enough how disappointed I am in Notre Dame. "Notre Dame our Mother, pray for us"....we desperately need it.

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man likes the Heat at (-16) tomorrow at home against the joke of a franchise that the T-Wolves have put together in Minny. With the Vikings hitting the skids fast after Randy Moss is now looking for his "straight cash homie" paychecks from a different source and the T-Wolves drafting guards every single year like they're playing games of H-O-R-S-E during the 82 game regular season, the sports world in Minneapolis cannot get much worse. Wait, do the Wild suck too? Yup, they sure do. Not like anybody cared.

Pick of the Day: T-Wolves @ Heat (-16)-HEAT

Record:(27-21-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost

Buzz-Word

For some reason, when I think of Marquette Basketball, I think of a 5'9'', nappy-headed electrical engineering major who didn't even strap up his Nikes once for a single varsity basketball game. Maybe it's because that one person has a profound love for a college basketball team that is so deep, he doesn't care that they have the same color scheme (light blue/yellow) as a newborn infant's bedroom. It really doesn't bother him that nobody outside the city limits of Milwaukee knows one player on Marquette's team by name--he knows all of their social security numbers and D.O.B's. It didn't feel right to do an Illinois season preview and not give Ryan Agnew and his beloved Marquette Golden Eagles a voice promoting another season of mediocrity in the Bradley Center. As a Marquette alum, "Rags" has been seen watching every single MU game for the better part of his 24 year existence on the Earth, and was also often spotted carrying Jerel McNeal's books to class when the two both called Marquette's campus their home in 2007. And hey, let's be honest, they lost to DePaul last year, so I felt kind of bad for him. Anyway, here it is. All of you Golden Eagle football/basketball fans go nuts (crickets).

This is my second “guest post” for Austin Scott. I figured I owed it to all the people who voted for me in the poll for who you most wanted to write a guest post – yes, I voted for myself…multiple times.

The Marquette basketball team is coming off a roller coaster ride of a season in 2009-2010. A team which won 11 of their final 13 games in Big East play – which included two buzzer beaters by Jimmy Butler and an upset over 45 year old Scottie Reynolds and the Villanova Wildcats to advance to the semi finals of the Big East Tourney.

MU loses 3 seniors from a year ago in Maurice Acker (not to be confused with the late He Ping Ping- shortest man in the world), David Cubillan and Lazar Hayward. Lazar was hands down the heart and soul of the team last year, and easily one of my favorite players in Marquette basketball history. He was the last pick in the 1st round (Wizards, traded to T-Wolves) of the 2010 draft and scored his first NBA points just a few nights ago, an occasion for which him and John Flynn went out to slam a couple of Camo-Ice 40 ouncers and hit on some underage Minneapolis coeds.

MU is slated to finish 11th by the “experts” from ESPN, and is picked to finish 6th in the BE coaches poll. With that being said, Marquette Basketball is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Big East..."they gets no respect". I think part of that is because Marquette will be expecting some of their newcomers to contribute right away and although that isn’t necessarily ideal for a Big East team, Marquette has a lot of new faces in the locker room and there is a lot to be excited about (not much really goes on in Milwaukee).

Freshman guard Vander Blue is the highest recruit MU has landed in the past 30 years…and made for quite the stir when he rescinded his verbal commitment to UW-Madison to play for a coach who doesn’t look like their mascot. Blue is very athletic and works very hard on the defensive end of the floor. His offense still needs work, but he assures us on Twitter that he is working on every day to get better. If nothing else, his last name should result in the Bradley Center music coordinator to blast the Eiffel 65 hit "I'm Blue (Da-ba-dee-da-ba-die)" at least 60 times this season, which is a plus.

Another exciting guard with stupid athletic ability is Reggie Smith. As the bums outside the Wells Fargo building in downtown Milwaukee would say, "Diss dude got boom/bounce/ups/hops/rise/etc./etc." He is a great change of pace guard, and will provide a spark as probably the 2nd or third man off the bench for Buzz Williams.

However, Jae Crowder is my pick-to-click as far as team impact goes. I think he will start every game for MU this season. The 6’6” 2010 JUCO player of the year can shoot from the outside and has the ability to finish in the painted area. Also, he will have the opportunity to score quite a bit as teams will be focusing on Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler like one of those optical illusion mind-trick pictures.

Davantae Gardner rounds out their newcomers as the team's freshman center – er project. He tipped the scales at about 310 his junior year in high school, but has been working hard and now is more comparable to an overweight Kevin Callaghan, circa 2007, living large on a steady diet of Chicago style hot dogs and Old Style. His body transformation makes you wonder if he spent the summer at Camp Hope with Tony Perkis and Gerald Garnder shedding lb.'s and strapping beef sticks to his back. Either way, I'm hoping all of the perkisizing has paid off. Look for him to get some meaningful minutes early in the season, but will most likely see his playing time and diet fade as the season wears on. He has great hands and soft touch for a big guy, and hopefully can make a splash as a sophomore, or transfer to a school where he can get some NFL looks on the O-line.

Jamail Jones is another 6’-6” “interchangeable” guard in Buzz Williams' (who ironically cannot grow out a "buzz-cut") offense. I love his athleticism and he’s not afraid to battle down low with a bigger player.

Marquette returns 3 guards who can flat out play. Junior Cadougan is fully recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon last season and has looked great in preseason workouts (not like I have access to those or anything, but I do have the internet, and an excess of free time). He is a terrific point guard who knows how to run the offense and really uses his body to abuse smaller defenders, and female MU undergrads. Dwight Byucks is a scorer with likely the worst name in the Big East. However, he has a tendency to turn the ball over, and Buzz values possessions like Chris Fehrenbach values a Chicken Queso. DJO (Darius Johnson-Odom) has the most “star power” on the team and provides MU with college basketball's next hyphenated superstar since Chris Douglas Roberts' departure from Memphis. This left handed guard is perhaps the most athletic player on the team and can absolutely light it up from beyond the arc. He will need to be more assertive on the offensive side of the ball this season, and there will be plenty of available shots for him.

Marquette also returns 4 players in the front court. Jimmy Butler was a “good glue guy" (shout to to Mat Demars) while we had the 3 amigos (Mcneal, James, Wes Matt) but has since evolved into a go-to guy for Buzz Lightyear. Butler is a crafty player and is the senior leader of the Golden Eagles this year. Chris Otule (Oh-tool-ay), trust me, he's not Irish, will be the wild card this year. He has been slowed the past two seasons by injury but it seems he is finally healthy. Marquette will need him to play big minutes this year and help out on the offensive and defensive boards. Joe Fulce in another returning player and is easily my least favorite player on the team. He does have the ability to provide a spark off the bench and since he’s a senior, I think Buzz will go to him more often this year. Erik Williams is the dark horse. He seems to have improved every time he hits the floor. Defensively he just was not there last year and that cut into his playing time – or lack thereof. Any minutes he can give this year will do wonders for the team down the road. With all this being said, if you need to find me during the winter months, I will be happily rocking the best shorts in college basketball today as I post up on my couch to watch MU, or you can find me at www.twitter.com/RyanAgnew3

Projections
Starting Lineup
PG – Junior Cadougan So.
SG – Darius Johnson Odom Jr.
SF – Jimmy Butler Sr.
PF – Jae Crowder Jr.
C – Chris Otule So.

Regular Season: 21-10
Big East: 11-7

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man likes Cliff Lee and the Rangers to hold off playoff elimination tonight in Texas at (-174).I know those are not the best odds, but this game is virtually a lock. Dominant pitcher/at home/facing elimination combo is deadly. Trust the Pulse Man.

Pick of the Day: Giants @ Rangers- RANGERS (-174)

Record:(27-21-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Ryan Agnew