LSU vs. Rutgers Live Blog: NCAA Women’s Final Four

Tonight LSU plays Rutgers in the first game of the 2007 NCAA Women’s Final Four for the right to go to the National Championship game. The Tigers are looking to dominate the paint on the back of Sylvia Fowles. The Scarlet Knights hope to stop LSU with their stifling defense.

6:33 pm: Wow. I’m shocked that Stacey Dales even knows what chopped & screwed hip hop is. She just used it to describe this matchup. These ESPN gimmicks piss me off.

6:37 pm: If you know you to rearrange the word “LOHIDAY”, you can win $15,000. Wow, that’s a tough one. If that’s not a scam, I don’t know what is.

6:42 pm: This is LSU’s fourth consecutive trip to the final four. They are building a dynasty in Baton Rouge. It’s too bad that the team’s architect won’t be coaching them anymore. As serious as the allegations are against Pokey Chatman, I was really looking forward to seeing her coach the Tigers for the next 20 years.

7:02 pm: Tonight’s announcing crew: Mike Patrick, Doris Burke, Mark Jones, and Holly Rowe. The lack of Erin Andrews is thoroughly disappointing. Still, it beats Jim Nantz and Billy Packer.

7:06 pm: C. Vivian Stringer’s motto: Feed yourself first. Now that’s a coach I can get behind.

7:07 pm: 3-0, Rutgers. Tamee Ajavon (#22) hits a three to open the game and give Rutgers the early lead.

In a game where 60 points will give you the win, LSU cannot afford to miss their free throws.

7:09 pm: 6-0, Rutgers. On the next possession, Epiphanny Prince gets three the hard way.

7:10 pm: 6-2, Rutgers. Fowles gets the ball inside and gets the easy layup. LSU seems to be trying to dictate a faster pace, which is uncharacteristic of them. Maybe they want to throw the Scarlet Knights off guard.

7:12 pm: The Tigers have given Rutgers quite a few early opportunities. If they don’t convert them, it could haunt them later.

Just as I say that, Heather Zurich hits a three. 9-2, Rutgers.

7:13 pm: 12-2, Rutgers. Essence Carson hits another three for the Scarlet Knights. As we hit the first official timeout, Rutgers is baffling LSU so far. Their defense leads to bad shots or turnovers, which in turn leads to opportunities on offense. LSU’s guards aren’t coming up to defend the three.

7:17 pm: LSU finally contests a three attempt, and Rutgers misses badly. Erika White gets a nice reverse layup on the next possession. 12-4, Rutgers.

7:19 pm: The Scarlet Knights have not allowed a single easy shot since Fowles’ first basket. Even when White was on a Tigers fast break, Rutgers caught up and stopped her from getting the layup. Ajavon hits the three on the next possession. 15-4, Rutgers.

7:21 pm: 18-6, Rutgers. Ajavon is on fire, as she hits another three.

Official timeout, 11:16 left. LSU’s three baskets have all been inside attacks. The guards need drive the ball inside more if LSU wants good scoring opportunities.

7:24 pm: The need to attack the inside increases for LSU, as Rutgers center Kia Vaughn is on the bench with 2 fouls.

7:25 pm: 18-9, Rutgers. LSU finally gets an outside shot, from White.

7:26 pm: 20-9, Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are running a clinic on how to stop the fast break.

7:28 pm: 23-13, Rutgers. If LSU is going to come back, it looks like it’s going to be on the shoulders of Sylvia Fowles’ defense and Erika White’s offense. However, it means nothing if the Tigers can’t defend the three.

Official timeout.

7:34 pm: 25-15, Rutgers. 5′3″ Erika White is taking over for the Tigers. My mom would be proud.

7:36 pm: 27-16, Rutgers. LSU continues to struggle from the free throw line. Every point is magnified in a defensive game like this; the Tigers have to make those.

7:37 pm: What a block by Sylvia Fowles! Rutgers attempts a seemingly easy layup off a great pass, but Fowles comes out of nowhere to swipe the shot off the backboard.

7:39 pm: Official timeout.

7:42 pm: 29-16, Rutgers. LSU puts defensive pressure on Ajavon, but she creates space with a devastating crossover, and hits the fadeaway jumper. She has 11 in the first half.

7:42 pm: 31-16, Rutgers. The Tigers can’t control the defensive rebound, and Carson makes them pay.

7:44 pm: 37-16, Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are shooting lights out, and they’re bullying LSU on defense. As Just Call Me Juice would put it, Rutgers is playing like a team of density…err, destiny.

7:48 pm: As the first half ends, Rutgers leads, 37-19 at halftime. The Scarlet Knights are shooting very well from outside (8-11 from the bonusphere), but more importantly they’ve rendered Sylvia Fowles a non-factor, even though Kia Vaughn has spent most of the game on the bench. If LSU wants to come back, they must put pressure on Rutgers’ guards, do a better job of passing the ball and penetrating the defense. Even if they don’t shoot the ball well, they stand a chance of coming back if they can dominate the boards and not commit turnovers.

8:06 pm: 37-21, Rutgers. The second half starts, and Sylvia Fowles finally gets a good look and scores.

Erika White tries to score on the fast break, but 3 Rutgers players close in on her as she tries to make a layup. It’s nearly impossible to run a fast break on the Scarlet Knights.

8:09 pm: 37-21, Rutgers. RaShonta LeBlanc hits a three for the Tigers, only their second of the game.

8:13 pm: 39-24, Rutgers. Kia Vaughn gets the offensive rebound against three LSU players, scores the putback and draws the foul.

Official timeout.

8:17 pm: Vaughn picks up her third foul. LSU needs to drive the lane.

Quianna Chaney hits a three for the Tigers. 39-27, Rutgers.

8:20 pm: Vaughn gets another offensive rebound.

Essence Carson looks like she’s hurt pretty bad.

8:22 pm: I can already tell that LSU is unlikely to come back from this one. Rutgers continues to dominate the boards, and that keeps you ahead even when the shots aren’t falling.

8:25 pm: 41-28, Rutgers. With 10:42 left in the game, Rutgers’ shooting has gone cold, but LSU hasn’t been able to take advantage of their good defense; they’ve been taking very bad shots in the second half.

8:28 pm: 43-28, Rutgers. Vaughn hits a tough shot inside, stretching the lead back to 15.

More than midway through the first half, neither team has scored in double digits.

8:32 pm: 45-28, Rutgers. 7:24 left.

If you look at the scoreboard, this may be one of the ugliest games I’ve seen in a while. But Rutgers has played great basketball in this game, preventing LSU from being effective at all.

8:36 pm: 50-28, Rutgers. More great passing by Rutgers, Brittany Ray hits an open three, and rutgers has taken their lead above 20 with less than seven minutes left.

8:37 pm: 50-31, Rutgers. LSU finally breaks their scoring drought, but it seems far too little, far too late at this point.

8:39 pm: 52-33, Rutgers, 4:56 left. The Scarlet Knights will know Tuesday if they have the best team in the nation. There is no doubt, however, that their players have the best names:

• Kia Vaughn
• Epiphanny Price
• Essence Carson
• Dee Dee Jernigan
• Matee Ajavon
• Rashidat Junaid
• Myia McCurdy

How can anyone compete with that? I challenge you to find a team with a better collection of player names.

8:47 pm: 56-35, Rutgers, 1:58 left. I didn’t think it was possible to render Sylvia Fowles useless, but Rutgers has done exactly that. Candace Parker, Erlana Larkins, and/or Camille Little will have a very hard time with this team.

8:52 pm: The game ends. Rutgers wins, 59-35 in an absolutely dominating performance. I cannot believe that such a good team could be bullied so badly with so much at stake.Rutgers will go to the National Championship game against the winner of Tennessee vs. North Carolina, which promises to be a much faster game. I’ll be liveblogging it at Tar Heel Mania.

Previewing the Women’s Final Four

Between Billy Packer, the unceremonious exit of the Tar Heels, the potential for boring games , and the fact that I may lose a bracket challenge to a penny, I’m not paying too much attention to the Men’s Final Four this year. Thankfully, in the Women’s Final Four, none of those factors come into play. There’s no Billy Packer (or Dick Vitale for the matter), my Tar Heels are still alive, all of the game have the potential for excitement, and I don’t have a women’s tournament bracket. I might mention the fact that I will get stare at women for two nights, but I would need professional help if my intimate fantasies involved Rashanda McCants and Sylvia Fowles.

On to the previews:

LSU vs. Rutgers. Normally I would be at all surprised to see the Tigers in the Final Four. They are one of the most talented teams in the nation, Senior Sylvia Fowles is perhaps the best pure post player remaining in the tournament, and they beat Tennessee to win the SEC Tournament in March. But LSU has had to deal with the resignation of their coach Pokey Chatman, who left due to allegations of her “les-ing out”, as Cartman would say, with one of her former players. Bob Starkey, the interim coach, has done a great job of keeping the Tigers focused, and they crushed UConn to win their regional and get to Cleveland.

Rutgers is the surprise of the Tournament. They managed to beat the heavily favored Duke Blue Devils, 53-52 in the Sweet 16 (although it didn’t hurt that Lindsey Harding absolutely choked at the end) on their way to the Final four, prompting Tar Heels like me to dance in the streets. The Scarlet Knights pride themselves on defense, having allowed no more than 57 points in postseason play (7-0, Big East and NCAA Tournaments). Still, they will need a great defensive effort out of center Kia Vaughn and good perimeter shooting if they want to beat the talent of the Tigers.

Pick: My heart says Rutgers, but my head says LSU. I’ll take the Scarlet Knights in overtime.

North Carolina vs. Tennessee. A lot more attention will be paid to this game. It features perhaps the nation’s two current most prominent women’s programs, coaches (Sylvia Hatchell and Pat Summitt), and players (Ivory Latta and Candace Parker). Ivory may be the emotional leader of the Tar Heels, but make no mistake. UNC is here because of their frontcourt. The Tar heels perform at their best when Camille Little gets offensive touches, Latoya Pringle plays good defense, and Erlana Larkins is able to get UNC’s offensive rebounds, where she is most effective at scoring. Pringle will most likely be assigned to defend Candace Parker, who is by far the best athlete in women’s basketball right now. If the Heels are able to shut down Parker (and that’s a big if), it will be up to underclassman point guard Alexis Hornbuckle to bail the Vols out. Tennessee’s road to the final four was decidedly unimpressive, with wins over a 16 seed, an 8 seed, 13 seeded Marist, and 7 seeded Ole Miss. They haven’t had to play under pressure yet in the tournament.

Pick: The Tar Heels beat Tennessee by 13 in December at Carmichael Auditorium, but this crowd will be decidedly less favorable for UNC. I will still pick North Carolina in a very close game.

Championship: North Carolina over Rutgers.

I’ll be liveblogging game one of tonight’s action here, and game 2 on Tar Heel Mania. Even though we won’t get to see Maryland or Duke like last year, this will be a very exciting end to the Women’s Tournament.

If I Ran…The Toronto Blue Jays

Baseball Season officially starts tonight, and I had volunteered early in March to preview a team for the MLB 2007 season. The Red Sox were already taken, but the Toronto Blue Jays are a team that will compete for the AL East crown. So here it is, If I Ran…The Toronto Blue Jays.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Mike White: If I Ran…The Toronto Blue Jays

Normally on Digital Headbutt and Tar Heel Mania, I cover college sports. But my interest is also piqued by anything related to the Red Sox. The Toronto Blue Jays are a rising power to the North, and while you may not have noticed, Boston’s collapse at the end of the season was so fantastic that the bluebirds finished 2nd in the AL East, the first time since 1998 that the Yankees and Red Sox failed to finish 1-2. The Jays have already made some good moves by locking up Vernon Wells and Cy Young caliber pitcher Roy Halladay to long term deals and signing Frank Thomas in free agency. But I think more can be done for the Blue Jays to become successful enough to not only bring the fans in, but break the east coast cabal.

Off the field:

Fill the seats. I am sick tired of seeing so many empty seats every time I watch highlights of the Yankees and Red Sox taking trips to the SkyDome (sorry, Rogers Centre). The Blue Jays need to sell their product better and get more butts in the seats. Winning always helps, but do more. I heard that the Blue Jays have good concession prices, but take it a step further. Take advantage of Canada’s free healthcare, hold a weekly Clog Your Arteries day by selling delicious concessions like Donut burgers and Icelandic Porramatur at half price, for example. The organization is also making renovations to the Rogers Centre, which should also help attendance. However, there’s still a fun element missing. What could be something the Blue Jays could do besides the baseball team to make more fans attend?

Wait–I’ve got it!

Hold a Terrance & Phillip Race. The Milwaukee Brewers fill Miller park better in spite of an inferior on-field product. Do you know why? OK, besides brats and booze. The 6th inning Sausage Race! Having a similar gimmick for the Blue Jays would attract more fans, but to succeed you need to take the concept and make it distinctly Canadian. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Canada? That’s right, Terrance and Phillip! Have five staff members dress up as Terrance, Phillip, Scott, Celine Dion, and Ugly Bob, and race around the field. Even design the costumes so that their heads flap when they run, and release the smell of farts all over the stadium while they’re running.

If you are unfamiliar with these characters, go see Not Without My Anus, The funniest 22 minutes in television history. I would put Sadaam Hussein in this race, but who wants to see that guy win anything?

Blue Jays:”So, what are you going to do with your winnings?”

Sadaam: “Hey, relax, guy, take a rest. I’m not going to use the money to buy nuclear weapons.”

BJ: “I didn’t say anything about weapons.”

SH: “You didn’t? Hey, guy, just relax!”

To separate themselves from the Sausage race, have the track a little more difficult. Instead of the usual warning track, have them run through the bull pen and dodge BJ Ryan’s warmup fastball (a 1 second penalty if he hits you). Have them slide into 3rd base before heading to the finish line. The top two finishers will qualify for the final to determine the winner, a joust on golfcarts. It would be total carnage, but hey, it’s Canada. Different rules up there.

On the field:

Get your own damn Japanese star pitcher! Boston has Daisuke Matsuzaka (who I call “Mothra” to the Yankees’ Godzilla, slugger Hideki Matsui) and New York has signed Kei Igawa. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so for Toronto to compete they must sign a Japanese pitcher for their starting rotation. Is it too early to sign Go Mastumoto or Seigo Yada, the star pitchers for Kawaguchi City in the 2006 Little League World Series? It is? You’re lying. If soccer players like Cristiano Ronaldo could be signed at 13 and Bastian Schweinsteiger at 11, then Toronto should be able to sign Little Leaguers.

A little off-topic, I think that “Bastian Schweinsteiger” is one of the best names in the history of planet Earth. And yes, I’m sure that’s the right spelling.

Develop Russ Adams at shortstop. I’m not just saying that because he’s a Tar Heel, although that helps. The two players in front of him in the depth chart are Royce Clayton and John McDonald. While he is a solid veteran and would make a good bench contributor, Clayton is 37 years old. He hasn’t been a good shortstop since 2001 with the White Sox. John McDonald had only 23 RBI in 90 starts in 2006, whereas Russ Adams, age 23, had 28 RBI in 36 starts. He’s also a left handed bat, which Toronto desperately needs. Considering that the Jays have Adams as the heir apparent at shortstop, they should allow him to start this year, and put Clayton in if he struggles mightily.

Fear the Southpaw. I am biased towards lefties both as a southpaw and knowing that variety in your lineup is very valuable. The Blue Jays are pretty much devoid of left handers, both in their starting lineup and in their starting rotation (they only have one of each, Lyle Overbay and Gustavo Chacin). Putting Russ Adams in the starting lineup helps, but they will likely need a trade. I suggest trading minor leaguers and/or bench players to the Detroit Tigers for a secondary lefty starter (Mike Maroth or Nate Robertson) and switch hitting infielder Neifi Perez, which the Jays will put at second base. Admittedly this trade will be harder with Kenny Rogers out until July, but Andrew Miller could fill the void if Maroth or Robertson were to leave. This will give Toronto up to four lefty hitters (Greg Zaun is also a switch hitter), and two lefty starting pitchers.

Fire John Gibbons. I don’t care who you put in his place, that guy is a f—ing lunatic. Gibbons would ruin any chance the Blue Jays have of winning by doing something stupid.

And Finally…

Equip all of the players with the Nutty Buddy. Trust me on this one. You don’t want to be in the middle of the pennant race when Vernon Wells goes on the DL with “scrotal bruising”. That’s a terrible way to lose.

If the Toronto Blue Jays do all of these things, they will definitely have a better product for all of their fans, increase their attendance, and should compete for the AL East crown.