I'll start off today by touching on something that has made me extremely giddy over the past week or so, and that is the start of the college basketball season. This has coincided with the early season domination of the Syracuse men's basketball team. Coming into this season, I was expecting somewhat of a rebuilding campaign for the Orange. Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris, and Eric Devendorf saw big minutes last season and were key components of a very good Sweet Sixteen team (although Devendorf was highly overrated in the opinions of many). So the big question was how Syracuse would fill in the holes left by these key departures. A big answer so far this season has been Wesley Johnson.
Johnson is averaging 16 points and 8 rebounds so far this season, and has provided a much needed scoring punch given the departure of Flynn. Standing at 6'7'', his length has also been a welcome addition on the defensive side of the ball, making the trademark 2-3 zone defense virtually impenetrable.
A big reason for Johnson's early season success is because of his role last season. Due to transfer rules, Johnson was not allowed to participate in any games for the Orange. However, he could participate in practice. This practice experience and familiarity with Jim Boeheim's offensive and defensive schemes is certainly paying dividends so far this season.
Before I get off the topic of 'Cuse basketball, I gotta give some love to Andy Rautins. Sure, Syracuse's success has been due to a great team effort, but Rautins and Johnson have been the key cogs in the Orange attack. Against North Carolina last week, Rautins tallied 11 points, seven rebounds, seven steals, and seven assists, which is an absolutely SICK stat line - especially for a kid once regarded as nothing more than a pure catch-and-shoot threat.
- With his ridiculous performances over the past couple of weeks, the name Brett Favre and MVP are now being thrown around in the same sentence. And I can't really argue against those
in favor of a 40-year old MVP.
Favre has been GREAT so far this season, and his numbers last week were absolutely staggering - 22 of 25 passes completed with four touchdowns. He's only thrown three interceptions all season, which is staggering by Brett Favre standards
(hey Jay Cutler, remember way back...less than one whole game into the season..when you had less than three INT's?)
For everyone out there saying that Favre should be crowned, let me just remind you of three things:
1. Favre sputtered down the stretch with the Jets last season, and although that may have been because of injury, he is still 40-years old, and not many 40-year old bodies can last a 17 week season.
2. Peyton Manning.
3. Drew Brees.
- Continuing with some MVP talk, I wanna touch on the greatness that is Albert Pujols. He very well may end up being the best baseball player of all-time, and I don't think that I'm going out on a limb by saying that.
Pujols just won his second straight National League MVP award, and now has three total. In eight of his nine years in the league, he has finished in the top five in MVP voting. His stats over the past eight seasons are staggering, and I'm not gonna try to list them all - check out this site if you really want to be blown away by all of Pujols's accomplishments to date.
Bottom line: When his career is over (barring injury), Albert Pujols will be looked at as one of the top three baseball players of all-time.
- Finally, I wanna give some props to the Albany lacrosse program. Last week, the Great Danes tallied two GIANT recruiting victories by getting a National Letter of Intent (NLI) from Lafayette attackman Miles Thompson, and a verbal commitment from his younger brother,
Lyle. Lyle is regarded by InsideLacrosse as the best 11th grade lacrosse player in the country, while Miles is labeled as the #5 senior. Here's why this is a huge deal for the collegiate lacrosse landscape:
1. Powerhouse programs such as Syracuse, Johns Hopkins, Virgina, Maryland, and Princeton have dominated college lacrosse over the past decade. With Albany making a major recruiting splash, this threatens the typical balance of power, and offers hope that a non-tradition power may be closer to taking home a title on Memorial Day weekend.
2. Miles and Lyle Thompson are both members of the Onondaga Nation just outside of Syracuse. Historically, the best Native American lacrosse players have attended college at Syracuse University (see Marshall Abrams, Brett Bucktooth, Sid Smith, and Cody Jameison). Thus, what the Thompson brothers are doing is somewhat unheard of. They want to make a name for themselves, and are looking to help put Albany lacrosse on the map. With Mike Banks anchoring the defense and sophomore Joe Resetarits looking to add to his success as a freshman, the Albany lacrosse program is certainly headed in the right direction.
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