Diamond Dust: Power Players Edition, V. 2.0

Top Bats:

1. Lance Berkman-Ruth (2)-.381 (2)/16 HR (2)/46 RBI (1t)/.742 SLG (1)/.470 OBP (3)/18 2B (2)/10 SB (8t)
2. Josh Hamilton-Yastremski (NR)-.324 (4)/13 HR (2)/58 RBI (1)/.595 SLG (1)/.369 OBP (17t)/15 2B (8t)
3. Chipper Jones (1)-.418 (1)/12 HR (10t)/35 RBI (18t)/.674 SLG (2)/.495 OBP (1)
4. Chase Utley (NR)-.310 (15)/17 HR (1)/46 RBI (1t)/.638 SLG (4)/.394 OBP (17)/16 2B (8t)
5. Albert Pujols (NR)-.356 (3)/12 HR (10t)/34 RBI (20t)/.617 SLG (5)/.483 OBP (2)

-Guys to keep an eye on: Ryan Ludwick, Dan Uggla, Nate McClouth, Ryan Church, Brian McCann, Xavier Nady (4), Carlos Quentin, Magglio Ordonez

Top Arms:

1. Edinson Volquez (2)-7-2 (2t)/1.31 ERA (1)/76 K (1t)
2. Cliff Lee (1)-7-1 (3t)/1.50 ERA (1)/54 K (10t)/9 BB
3. Daiske Matsuzaka (NR)-8-0 (1t)/2.53 ERA (2)/55 K (9)
4. Tim Lincecum (NR)-7-1 (2t)/2.33 ERA (2t)/76 K (1t)
5. Mariano Rivera (5)-23 IP/1 ER/0.39 ERA/13-13 SVO/21 K

-Guys to watch: Adam Wainwright, Brandon Webb (3), Billy Wagner, Joe Saunders, Ryan Dempster, Francisco Rodriguez, Shaun Marcum

Diamond Dust: The Power Players Edition

The Not-So Crappy Cardinals continue to play a brand of baseball that no one thought possible. Exceptional pitching and a solid offense has catapulted them into the league's elite through 36 games. Ryan Ludwick is the hottest player in the league, hitting .522 with 3 HRs, 7 RBIs, .538 OBP, and 1.087 SLG in the month of May thus far. This team's biggest problem right now is the right arm of Jason Isringhausen, who, despite leading the NL with 11 saves, currently has an ERA of 6.60 and four blown saves, which is somewhat unnerving. There are still several other teams playing either way above their expected level and many who are playing well below. The Devil Rays continue to keep their heads above .500, Minnesota and the Chi Sox are 1-2 in a terrible AL Central, the Oakland A's are eight games over .500, Florida leads the NL East, and no one thought the Diamondbacks were this good. As for the disappointing, the Pussy Cats from Detroit are playing like a Triple-A team, as are the new-look Seattle Mariners, who seem be just as terrible as last year's version. Both of these teams should be much better. The Indians are two games under .500 and the Yankees are playing .500 baseball. The Mets should not be in fourth place at any point, thus their slow start is a disappointment. And the Padres are 11 games below .500, two games behind the Giants. And now for the debut of power players, senseless rankings of pitchers and hitters done by yours truly:

Top 5 Pitchers:

1. Cliff Lee--6-0/.81 ERA/44.2 IP/2 BB
2. Edinson Volquez--5-1/1.06 ERA/42.1 IP/52 K
3. Brandon Webb--8-0/2.41 ERA/56 IP
4. Ervin Santana--6-0/2.02 ERA
5. Mariano Rivera--14 IP/0.00 ERA/12 K/5 H/2 BB

Top 5 Hitters:

1. Chipper Jones-Hornsby--.419/10 HR/29 RBI/.471 OBP/.718 SLG
2. Lance Berkman--.368/11 HR/33 RBI/.449 OBP/.752 SLG
3. Chase Utley--.345/13 HR/28 RBI//.423 OBP/.727 SLG
4. Xavier Nady--.349/5 HR/34 RBI/.411 OBP/.558 SLG
5. Geovany Soto--.345/6 HR/24 RBI/.447 OBP/.645 SLG
   

Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant Are MVP-ish

To date, the first round of the NBA playoffs have been mildly uneventful. With the exception of the Sixers' shocking Game 1 win in Detroit, everything has gone according to the script. The only series where the higher seed is not leading (or tied if you are the Pistons) is the Utah-Houston series, but Tracey McGrady never wins in the playoffs so this should not be surprising. We can begin to formulate answers to the questions we considered here the other day. The Hornets do not appear to have stage fright in their maiden voyage into the playoffs, as they have dominated the veteran-laden Dallas Mavericks in the first two games. The Spurs are not too old, winning the best game of playoffs thus far in double OT in Game 1 and dominating in Game 2 against Phoenix. This current Phoenix team could go down as the best team to never win a title in the annals of NBA history. The Mighty C's are fantastic and have refused to play down to the Hawks level (a good young team, but not playoff caliber by any stretch of the imagination). The Lakers are as good as advertised and the Pistons seem to be about as good as one might expect, Game 1 not withstanding. While the series' have been anti-climatic thus far, there have been countless utterly ridiculous individual performances worth noting, here are the five best to date:

1. Kobe Bryant: 40.5 ppg/5.5 apg/5.2 rpg/50% FG--Had 49 last night and 32 in Game 1 after a very slow start. He is the best basketball player on the planet, no questions asked.
2. Chris Paul: 33.5 ppg/13.5 apg/3.5 spg/64% FG--Proved that his playoff debut was not a fluke (35 points, 10 assist, 4 steals) by playing even better in Game 2 (32 points, 17 assists, 3 steals). He is easily the best point guard in the league and should be the MVP (Kobe will win it).
3. Dwight Howard: 27 ppg/21 rpg/4 bpg/66% FG--A basketball insider close to LWAL asked last night if Howard could get to 100 points/100 rebounds in only 5 games? He could, but I do not know if this series will go that long. Like Paul, a stellar playoff debut for one the league's brightest burgeoning stars.
4. LeBron James: 31 ppg/7.9 rpg/7.2 apg/55% FG--Has been somewhat overlooked this season with the play of Bryant and Paul, but the NBA's scoring champ has been sensational thus far and has made what should have been a tough series seem easy through two games.
5. Tim Duncan: 29 ppg/16 rpg/ 3 bpg/55 % FG--The league's most unselfish player demonstrated his greatness in Game 1 with 40, 15, and 5 and hit a clutch three-pointer that sent the game into overtime.

My current projection: Celtics over Lakers

Deep in the Heart of Texas...

Last night the Celtics completed a season sweep of the current 3, 6, and 7 seeds on a whirlwind road trip through the state of Texas with a win over the Dallas Mavericks. Defeating the Spurs in a tight game on Monday night and putting an end the Rockets' amazing 22-game win streak in blowout fashion on Tuesday the Celtics have seemingly answered the question about how they might fare against the superior competition offered from the Western Conference. The Celtics are 23-4 against the West, including 10-3 against the teams currently in the playoffs in the West. At this point they are clearly the best team in the NBA, possessing size, sharpshooting, great defense, and a very underrated bench. Sam I Am has started playing better after a dreadful start to his tenure as a Celtic, he had 17 points and a clutch three pointer in the game's waning moments in the win over the Spurs this week. Last night, he only had four points but had six assists while playing most of the fourth quarter. It seems that Doc Rivers will utilize the experience of Cassell and Posey with the big three in the fourth quarter of a close game. And now for my favorite past time senseless rankings, the NBA edition:

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1. Celtics
2. Lakers

3. San Antonio

4. Detroit

5. Phoenix

It is worth mentioning the play of the Philadelphia 76ers, a team's who's best players are Andre Miller and Andre Igoudala. This team should be in the lottery not in a position to potentially (but unlikely) host a playoff series in round one. They currently sit in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race, one game behind Washington for fifth and 4.5 behind Cleveland for fourth. Andre Miller is playing like he belongs in the conversation about top 5 NBA point guards. This team is one star player away from being a strong team in a weak Eastern Conference. Mo Cheeks is the coach of the year at this point.

My current projection-Celtics over Lakers

Countdown to the Madness:The Selection Committee Gets It Right

The final weekend before the start of the world's greatest sporting event never disappoints. Georgia made an improbable run to win the SEC, doubling their number of SEC wins in a span of four days to steal a bid from the Daytons and Virginia Techs of the college basketball world. Pittsburgh surprised G'town in the Big East final on Saturday night. UCLA won an exciting PAC 10 final against a tall Stanford team (don't sleep on Brook Lopez at the next level). Wisconsin won the Big 10 in a game that no one had any interest in watching. And most importantly, UNC retook the record for most ACC tournament championships from the ultra annoying Duke Blue Devils, winning its 17th such title over the scrappy Tigers from Clemson. As for the tournament, the committee did a solid job in selecting which teams should and should not be in. The number one seeds were exactly what I have been advocating here for several weeks. There are four great teams (UNC, UCLA, Kansas, and Memphis) and there is everyone else (Texas should a 4a on this list). Normally there are those three or four teams who's being left out of the field leads to universal scorn and admonition of the process, but not this year. The only selection really quibbled over is Arizona in over Arizona State. Who cares you might ask? Not me. The seeding is always tricky, it is not clear why Tennessee is the #2 seed in the East with UNC, as the Tar Heels are the #1 overall seed and Tennessee had to be the highest rated #2. Even more puzzling, how is Butler a seven seed? They ended the year #10 and were consistently in the top 15 all year. Also, if the script plays out as it is supposed to, they would have to play Tennessee in the second round. This was an odd decision to say the least. The final pre-tournament Top 5 is:

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1. UNC

2. UCLA

3. Kansas

4. Memphis

5. Texas

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I have mixed reviews of the addition of Bob Knight to the ESPN crew. Few can provide as much insight into men's college basketball than Knight, but at times it is clear that his fellow analyst are attempting to goad him into saying something controversial. His idea to expand the field to 128 teams is ridiculous, which was only rivaled by his Pittsburgh to win-it-all pick. For expert analysis go here.

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My current projection-UNC over UCLA

Countdown to the Madness: The Tarheels are coming, the Tarheels are coming!!!

Nothing is more rewarding in all of regular season sports than a UNC victory over the super annoying Blue Devils from Durham. UNC beat Duke on Saturday, thus clinching its 26th ACC regular season crown (Duke is second with 18) and securing the #1 seed in this week's ACC tournament. With Lawson healthy, the Tarheels will be the prohibitive favorite heading into both the ACC and NCAA tournaments. The tournament commences one week from today in the pointless play-in (or opening round) game in Dayton. The winner of that game will be the sacrificial lamb for either UNC or UCLA. Conference tournaments are all the buzz this week, as Sienna is in, Drake is poised to potentially play spoiler, George Mason returns with a target on its back, and San Diego's win over Gonzaga has fans in Syracuse and Gainesville somewhat uneasy about their position on the bubble. These conference tournaments will play a big role in seeding those teams not in the Top 5 and getting bubble teams in and out of the tournament. The Big East provides the best example of this, as the loser of tomorrow's Syracuse-Villanova game is undoubtedly out, West Virginia is probably in but would benefit from beating Providence, and Pittsburgh could use another win. This tournament is wide open with any of the conference's top six teams possessing the capacity to win in MSG. This week's Top 5 is:

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1. UNC

2. UCLA

3. Kansas

4. Memphis

5. Tennessee

My current projection-UNC over UCLA

Au Revoir

Brett Favre is finally gone. I was one of the people that had been calling for him to go the past three years. Before turning it around last year, he had played two terrible seasons (38 TD/47 INT) and was seemingly serving as a drag on the franchise's future. He turned it around last year and led the Packers to a surprising finish. While I can appreciate his talent (his streak of consecutive games is nothing short of amazing), he has always annoyed me. I will never forget watching Super Bowl XXXII with utter indifference as two of the five most annoying players to ever play in the NFL faced off-Brett Favre and John Elway. I recently conducted a scientific survey in my head and came up with the five most annoying players in NFL history:

1. Tom Brady
2. Thurman Thomas
3. John Elway
4. Brett Favre
5. (tie) Damon Huard, Jay Fielder, Ray Lucas, Brian Griese, A.J. Feeley, Gus Frerotte, Daunte Culpepper, Joey Harrington, Cleo Lemon, Trent Green, John Beck, and anyone else that has started a game for the Dolphins since Dan Marino retired that I might have missed

Good ridance Brett, you hung out just long enough to break some records.

Countdown to the Madness: Channeling Harold Arcineaux

Two weeks from today the NCAA tournament kicks off in Dayton, Ohio. Teams seem to be regaining focus with conference tournaments right around the corner and the incessant debates about seeding and snubs (for exceptional analysis of tournament seeding, look here) begining in earnest. UNC regained the top spot in the polls in spite of the the efforts of BC's Tyrese Rice. In my lifetime there are two college basketball moments that really stand out vividly in my mind, one good and one so very, very bad. The 1993 Championship game provided the apex of joy, the sharpshooting of Donal Williams and the infamous Chris Webber timeout brought an end to a long 11-year hiatus for championships in Chapel Hill and the beloved Coach Smith. The Tar Heels 1999 first round loss to the mighty Wildcats of Weber State (of Big Sky fame) was the single worst sporting event I have ever suffered through. Harold Arcineaux palyed the role of the assassin that crushed the hopes of the #3 seeded Tar Heels. Scoring 36 of his team's 76 points, Arcineaux provided the most impressive display of shooting I have ever seen, until Saturday. Tyrese Rice scored 23 points in the game's six minutes (hitting his first six three-point attempts) before ending the half with 34 points (8-10 from behind the arc) and his team up by 15. Fortunately, Rice is the only somewhat competent player on that roster and UNC was able to come from behind and win comfortably. But for 20 minutes, Tyrese Rice was Harold Arcineaux.

The return of Lawson makes the Tar Heels an even more formidable team heading into tournament season, but UNC needs to dispose of the ultra-irritating Blue Devils on Saturday to clinch the ACC's regular season title and top seed in the tournament. Kansas continues to win, UCLA is healthy and starting to hit a good stride of their own, and Memphis continues to beat subpar opponents. Texas suffered a bad loss to Texas Tech, which ends their chances at a #1 seed. Tennessee struggled with a bad Kentucky team after losing earlier in the week to Vandy, who subsequently lost to Arkansas. And Indiana decided to not show up for its game with Michigan State on Sunday. This was also a bad week for many of the top mid-major schools that most love to hate with Drake, Saint Mary's, and Kent State all losing. This week's Top 5 is:

1. UNC
2. Kansas
3. UCLA
4. Memphis
5. Tennessee

One would have a hard time convincing me that the top four teams listed above are not going to the Final Four, as there is a chasm between these teams and the rest of the field. Of these four, Memphis is most vulnerable because of an overall lack of tough competition leading into the tournament (paging St. Joe's) and its poor, poor, poor team free throw shooting.

My current projection: UNC over Kansas

The future...

On Wednesday night Chris Paul put on a show against a a two-time MVP and one of the West's superpowers. In fairness to Mr. Paul and his teammates, the resurgent Hornets have played like a superpower for much of this year despite recent struggles. The Hornets currently sit third in a supremely deep Western Conference and one game out of first in the league's toughest division. The reason for their success can be summed up in two words...Chris Paul. This leads to an interesting debate, who is the best point guard in the NBA right now? This is the only position where one can engage in a true debate, as there are approximately three good centers in the NBA and 2's, 3's, and 4's are difficult to distinguish between in today's game. In my opinion, there are six candidates in this debate. They are:

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#6--Chauncey Billups [17.5 ppg/2.8 rpg/7.2 apg/44.2% FG/40.2% 3-pt/91.2% FT/1.3 spg]

For some reason I always think shooting guard when I think of Billups, but he is as clutch as they come in the waning moments of a game. One of the best all-around shooting guards in the NBA. None of his numbers rank among the best in the league (except for FTs), but overall, he is solid.

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#5--Baron Davis [22 ppg/4.7 rpg/8 apg/42.4 FG/34.1 3-pt/74.1 FT/2.5 spg]

Like Billups, Davis is one of those guys you want to have the ball at the end of a game. He is a good shooter, but does not shoot a high percentage from behind the arc. But, he is a greater scorer and an exceptional defender.

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#4--Jason Kidd [11.1 ppg/8 rpg/10.5 apg/37.4 FG/35.7 3-pt/81.8 FT/1.6 spg]

Kidd is part of a dying breed in the NBA, a guy more concerned with pasing than scoring. He is one of the 10 best pure point guards to ever play the game. His shooting has been nothing short of terrible this season, but the move to Dallas is a perfect fit for a guy in the twilight of his career. He does not need to score in this offense, he needs to be the trigger that gets the offense moving. An underrated aspect of Kidd's game is rebounding. No one else on this list averages more than Billups' 4.7, thus Kidd's 8 rpg is certainly worth noting. Other than Steve Nash, no one is better in transition than Kidd.

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#3--Deron Williams [19.2 ppg/2.9 rpg/9.7 apg/51.6 FG/39.6 3-pt/79.9FT/1.1 spg]

One can't fault the Jazz for taking Williams in the 2005 draft ahead of Paul, he has easily been the second best player from that draft class. His stellar performace in the playoffs last year made people take note of his game. He is a great shooter and is able to draw two and three defenders through constantly attacking the basket.

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#2--Steve Nash [17.6 ppg/3.5 rpg/11.5 apg/51.3 FG/46.6 3-pt/89.8 FT/.7 spg]

It would be easy to put Nash at the top of this list. He is the passer I have seen since Magic (the gold standard at this position) tortured me throughout the latter part of the 1980s. He is the best passer and shooter at this position, although not the best defender.

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#1--Chris Paul [20.7 ppg/4.0 rpg/10.7 apg/48.2 FG/34.3 3-pt/87.8 FT/2.7 spg]

Chris Paul is the league MVP (as a Celtics fan, it pains me greatly to write this). While Tyson Chandler's apparent rebirth in New Orleans and the continued development of David West into a great PF have played a key role in the franchise's turn-around, Paul is the heart and soul of that team. While his 3-pt percentage is not the best, he shoots well from all other parts of the court. Like Williams, his ability to get into the paint and draw defenders opens up opportunites for his teammates. Also, Paul is a phenomenol defender (leading the league in steals). Could Paul expose the defense of Jason Kidd and Steve Nash in the playoffs? In the above mentioned game against Nash, Paul had 25 points, 6 rebounds, 15 assists, and 3 steals, while holding Nash to 8 points (1-8 from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line). The future is bright in New Orleans...

Countdown to the Madness: I apologize to Isiah Thomas

With only 22 days until the tournament, the mighty Volunteers of Tennessee are the #1 team in the country. I can honestly say that I would have never thought this team could be on top of the polls at any point of the season, nonetheless in the final weeks of a tough SEC schedule. This is a well-deserved honor following a great win over Memphis on Saturday. The fact that future All-American Chris Lofton turned in a terrible performance (7 points on 2-11 shooting) makes this win all that more impressive. It is hard to believe this team will win out with a surprisingly tough Vandy, a resurgent Kentucky, and a young Florida team coming up over the next 8 days. A loss to Vandy tonight seems to be in this team's future. This was a tough week to be in the Top 25, as many teams fell. Duke lost again, this time to the overperforming Miami Hurricanes. The Jayhawks lost a typical tough Big 12 game to OSU. Butler lost a great game to Drake in a battle for mid-major supremacy (Drake lost earlier in the week to Bradley). UCONN finally lost another game (Villanova). An overrated Purdue team lost to underrated Indiana (how this team responds to the Kelivin Sampson situation will be telling, a narrow win over Northwestern is not promising). This is typical for this time of year, as teams start to wear down a bit and look forward to conference tournaments and the Big Dance. Now for this week's Top 5:

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1. UNC

2. Memphis

3. Tennessee

4. Kansas

5. Texas

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UNC seems to be hitting its stride without Lawson. Central to this is QT's play at the point. I had recently said that watching him play made me sick, which it did, but he has improved immensley over the last three weeks. He has averaged 7.5 points and 6.5 assists over the last seven games (UNC is 6-1 in that stretch). While I can't forget his terrible play up to this point, I am willing to apologize to to his star father for questioning his son's abilities. Isiah, I am sorry. Memphis and Tennessee cannot shoot free throws, which will come into play late in the tournament. Kansas needs to establish a go-to guy and Texas has the best guards in the country. The number of teams to watch seems to shrink as the season progresses, but UCLA, when healthy, will be tough coming out of the west, Indiana (Gordon on the big stage like Carmelo Anthony in 2003?), Georgetown (can defense win the day?), and Butler (still the best mid-major team) could play a role late in the tournament.

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My current projection-UNC over Kansas

Countdown to the Madness: 29 Days and Counting

With only 29 days remaining until the best four days on the sports calendar, some of the top teams are starting crack, which is common this time of year. Duke fell to an inferior Wake Forest squad, Kansas lost a tough game to an underrated Texas team, Stanford lost to ASU in OT, and Georgetown got dominated by Syracuse. Even Memphis struggled with the mighty Blazers of UAB on Saturday, winning in the game's final seconds. This has been a resurgent year for two conferences that have been down--the PAC 10 and Big 12. The PAC 10 is easily the toughest conference and will probably get seven teams in (which ever team finishes at .500 or better between Cal, Oregon, and Washington will make seven). The Big 12 is remarkably competetive and the resurgence at Baylor after probation is nothing short of amazing. To me, the conference that I have overlooked the most is the Big East. There is not a single team in this conference that anyone would think could advance past the Sweet 16 at this point in the season, but is deep in potential tournament teams. Currently, this behemoth conference has 10 potential NCAA teams (Villanova is a longshot, but is within two games of .500 in conference play). It is difficult to take this conference too seriously because of its size, it really is two conferences, but it is easily the second best conference after the PAC 10.

The Top 5 teams as of right now:

1. Memphis

2. UNC

3. Kansas

4. Tennessee

5. UCLA

Others teams worth watching include Texas, Butler, Duke, and Stanford. Two great games on Saturday: Drake at Butler and the potential game of the year, Tennessee at Memphis.

My projection: UNC over Kansas

And the Oscar Goes To....

In honor of the Oscars next weekend, here are my top 10 movies of 2007. It is worth noting that I have not seen all of the films I would like, so this list could change (have not seen Persepolis, Charlie Wilson's War, Cassandra's Dream, and 4 Months, Three Weeks, and 2 Days). As far as the Oscars go, No Country For Old Men will probably win Best Picture and Director. This is somewhat disappointing, for while it would be great to see the Cohen brothers win for both of these categories (they won for screenplay in 1996 for the utterly brilliant Fargo), PTA should win here. Lewis and Bardem are well-deserved locks in the acting categories. As is normally the case, I have seen very few of the films nominated in the actress categories, but Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan will probably win and Ellen Page will not win despite being a crowd favorite (Laura Linney's performance in The Savages is worth noting here). To me, the most important category is screenplay. Chances are, this will be the one category Juno wins and Diablo Cody will start writing every movie that comes out over the next 5 years. Adapted screenplay is a tough call with three strong nominees. While their film left something to be desired in the final act, the Cohen brothers provided a fantastic screenplay and, as is always the case, PTA exemplies brilliance in the art of screenwriting. Ron Hardwood's screenplay for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is worthy competition with these heavyweights. The Academy will probably disappoint like in 2002 (Gosford Park over The Royal Tennenbaums, Memento, and Amelie!!) and 2003 (The Pianist over Adaptation) and choose Atonement. And now for the list...
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1. There Will Be Blood
2. The Darjeeling Limited
3. The Counterfeuters

4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

5. Control

6. No Country For Old Men

7. Juno
8. Paris, Je T'aime
9. Into the Wild

10. Margot at the Wedding

March Madness Countdown: 53 In a Row for the Boys in Blue

Last night UNC extended its all-time record in Chapel Hill against Clemson to an unbelievable 53-o. This seems improbable based on the highly competitive nature of basketball historically played in the ACC. One would assume that at some point over the past 53 years that Clemson would have won once, but that is not the case. To the Tigers credit they have come close twice this season to beating the Tar Heels, relinquishing a 15-point lead last night before falling in double OT and losing in OT at Littlejohn Coliseum in January on a Wayne Ellington three-pointer at the buzzer. Despite a tough lose to the uber-annoying Blue Devils earlier in the week, it is important to remember that UNC is currently playing without its top two point guards, which means QT is getting extended playing time. Quentin Thomas is easily the worst point guard to ever start a game at UNC in my lifetime. One gets a sick feeling in the bottom of their stomach watching him consistently turn the ball over and take bad shots. This team is a Final Four team with Lawson and Sweet 16 team without. The country's best player has been nothing short of amazing over the last three games with 39 & 13 against Clemson, 28 & 18 against Duke, and 22 & 21 against FSU. At times it seems that Tyler Hansbrough is the only person in blue playing at full-speed.

With 37 days until the world's greatest sporting event commences, here are the Top 5 teams in the country:

1. Memphis
2. Kansas
3. UNC
4. UCLA
5. Duke

This is an interesting year, but it seems to be top heavy with the above teams, but there is a lot of good guard play across the country, which is the key to a good run in March. Other teams worth watching include Georgetown (great defense but will the real Dr. Hibbert please stand up), Texas (superior guard play that rivals all teams in the top 5), Butler (someone has to be that mid-major team), and Tennessee (arguably the funnest team to watch next to Memphis, who they play on February 23).

My current projection-UNC over UCLA

Confessions of a Movie Snob

I began watching movies as art around 2002 when I realized that the movies that were playing in the big multiplex were all pretty much the same: love conquers all, horror movies, smash 'em up "thrillers," more horror movies, and crappy teen comedies. It was refreshing to realize that the Almodvars, Inarritus, Andersons (Paul T. and Wes), and Gondrys existed and that the Schumakers of the world were not the visionaries you once thought them to be. Of course those that embrace independent films and go to small, cramped theaters that are falling apart to see movies with subtitles ("You mean I have to read while I watch the movie?") run the risk of being a labeled a movie snob. Well, call me snob. I began keeping annual lists of best films in 2003, so in honor of this life-altering awakening, here are my favorite films from the past five years...

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1. City of God (2003)-directed by Fernando Meirelles
2. Bad Education (2004)-directed by Pedro Almodvar
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)-directed by Michel Gondry
4. Old Boy (2003)-directed by Chan-wook Park
5. Goodbye Lenin (2003)-directed by Wolfgang Becker
6. Babel (2006)-directed by Alejandro Inarritu
7. Pan's Labryinth (2006)-directed by Guillermo del Toro
8. There Will Be Blood (2007)-directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
9. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)-directed by Wes Anderson
10. Tsotsi (2005)-directed by Gavin Hood

2007's Coolest Songs

1. "Fake Empire"-The National
2. "The Well and the Lighthouse"-Arcade Fire
3. "All My Friends"-LCD Soundsystem
4. "Mistaken for Strangers"-The National
5. "Turn On Me"-The Shins
6. "Jigsaw Falling Into Place"-Radiohead
7. "Keep the Car Running"-Arcade Fire
8. "Start a War"-The National
9. "Rhythm & Soul"-Spoon
10. "If the Brakeman Turns My Way"-Bright Eyes
11. "Intervention"-Arcade Fire
12. "Sky Blue Sky"-Wilco
13. "Pace Is the Trick"-Interpol
14. "Is There a Ghost"-Band of Horses
15. "North American Scum"-LCD Soundsystem
16. "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi"-Radiohead
17. "Four Winds"-Bright Eyes
18. "Spitting Venom"-Modest Mouse
19. "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb"-Spoon
20. "Sleeping Lesson"-The Shins
21. "My Third House"-Kings of Leon
22. "Either Way"-Wilco
23. "Missed the Boat"-Modest Mouse
24. "Take Your Medicine"-Cloud Cult
25. "You're a Wolf"-Sea Wolf

For another take, look here.

Top 10 Albums of 2007

While I cannot be quite as ambitious as others, I can at least offer the ten best albums of 2007:

1. Boxer-The National

2. In Rainbows-Radiohead

3. Neon Bible-Arcade Fire

4. Sound of Silver-LCD Soundsystem

5. Leaves in the River-Sea Wolf

6. Wincing the Night Away-The Shins

7. Sky Blue Sky-Wilco

8. Cease to Begin-Band of Horses

9. Ga Ga Ga Ga-Spoon

10. Fort Nightly-White Rabbits