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Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Nuggs, Self and More

Apr 11, 2008, 12:25 PM UTC

Today’s Calls: Ian Poulter vs. Tiger Woods, Bill Self vs. T. Boone Pickens, Fausto Carmona vs. Andy Pettitte, Jake Long vs. Vernon Gholston, Urban Meyer vs. Joe Paterno, Boston College vs. Notre Dame and More!â†µâ†µThe Opening Pitch: On Fridays, it’s always fun to look back to the beginning of the week to see how much has changed. On Monday morning ...â†µ

â†µâ†µBill Self was still a Tournament choker.
â†µIan Poulter still got a “Who?”
â†µThe Orioles were still hot.
â†µZach Greinke was still a shaky talent.
â†µChris was still the “Long” at the top of the NFL draft.
â†µNotre Dame was still more “football school” than “hockey school.”
â†µCandace Parker was still a college star, not the face of the WNBA.
â†µO.J. Mayo still couldn’t get paid to play basketball.
â†µThe Olympic torch was still a symbol of the games, not protests.
â†µAnd, of course, The Sporting Blog had the old look!â†µ

â†µâ†µNuggets beat Warriors in “preplayoff” game: With three games to play, the Nuggets took a one-game lead on Golden State for the 8th spot in the West, beating the Warriors in Oakland, where the Warriors were virtually unstoppable this time last year.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Nuggets’ final three games are at Utah, then home against Houston and Memphis; GSW’s final three are home against the Clippers, at Phoenix and home against Seattle. Both the Nuggets and Warriors are playing inconsistently enough that it’s still a total toss-up.â†µ

â†µâ†µMeanwhile, the Mavs beat the Jazz last night in Dallas (on Dirk’s game-winning, buzzer-beating 3), finally clinching a spot in the playoffs. At the top, four teams (Lakers, Spurs, Rockets, Suns) are within 2.5 games of the West-leading Hornets.â†µ

â†µâ†µA week from now, all this playoff jockeying will all be forgotten; for now, though, it’s a lot of fun.â†µ

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â†µâ†µMasters: Ace! Nothing says “Masters Thursday” like a hole-in-one from a relatively unknown (in the United States) English player Ian Poulter, who took advantage of the highlight void created by Tiger’s perennial “lurking” start at Augusta to earn all the highlights with that ace on 16. Instant star. (More Masters coverage from Jon Show here.)â†µ

â†µâ†µBill Self staying at Kansas: Says “thanks, but no thanks” to T. Boone Pickens’ millions -- presumably, KU made it worth his while. (Perhaps not QUITE as worth it as the Oklahoma billionaire could have made it, but then again KU is the better program with better prospects.)â†µ

â†µâ†µIf Self is truly committed to Kansas, then it’s a great move for him and the school -- KU will be a perennial power in a way that Oklahoma State can’t be, no matter how much money runs the program.â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Instant History: The Orioles fall back to Earth, on the wrong end of a double-dip sweep in Arlington ... Kevin Correia! ... So I guess the Indians decided Fausto Carmona (4Y/$15M guaranteed) was more important to lock up than reigning AL Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia ... If the Mets can out-pace the Phillies to win the NL East this year, they might look back to Jose Reyes’ game-winning herky-jerky slide into home plate in the 12th inning as a pivotal moment ... Andy Pettitte really needed that first win ... Fantasy find unlikely to still be on your league’s free-agent wire this morning: Edwin Jackson ... Geovany Soto!â†µ

â†µâ†µNFL Draft: Are the Dolphins trying to sign Jake Long ... or Vernon Gholston? In a savvy ploy, they are negotiating with both, using the short-term leverage they have as the first team selecting to get one to take a deal that would presumably be less than he would make post-draft, but presumably more than he would make at the No. 2 spot. Or they could still go with Chris Long.â†µ

â†µâ†µIt’s smart strategy. BTW, if the Dolphins can come to terms with any of them, why shouldn’t the No. 2 team be able to immediately begin negotiating with its choice -- and so on, down the line? Whatever fans lose in draft-day drama, they gain from having their team’s first-rounders signed and not holding out.â†µ
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â†µâ†µSeattle/Oklahoma City NBA e-mail “scandal”: Can we please stop with the outrage? Anyone -- including fans in Seattle -- who didn’t know full well that Clay Bennett had every intention of moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City -- no matter what -- is living in fantasyland. “Misled David Stern?“ Please: David Stern doesn’t do “misled.”â†µ

â†µâ†µNASCAR: Kudos to the star drivers who called out the sport’s “leadership” for not pursuing aggressive drug testing (while they’re at it, why not alcohol, at least after races?)â†µ

â†µâ†µOne Thing You Should Know About Last Night’s NHL Playoffs: The defending champ Ducks lost in Game 1 to the Stars, behind Marty Turco’s shutout.â†µ

â†µâ†µFrozen Four Finale: Boston College vs. Notre Dame. B.C. is on to its 3rd straight final, blitzing North Dakota 6-1. The Eagles will play feisty Notre Dame, which knocked off top-seed Michigan in the other semi. (In hindsight, I guess Notre Dame is the real “real N.D.” of the Frozen Four after all.)â†µ

â†µâ†µNotre Dame as the national champ in hockey just doesn’t feel right, but given how terrible its football team is, I presume the Irish will take anything at this point.â†µ

â†µâ†µMarion Jones’ relay teammates should not have been stripped of their tainted medals (unless they knew Jones was juicing, which we’ll presume they didn’t). Isn’t it enough to take them from Jones?â†µ

â†µâ†µPrediction: 2008 will be Joe Paterno’s final season as head coach at Penn State. Just a (mostly irrational) feeling, reading the tea leaves of this.â†µ

â†µâ†µBest. Spring Game Gimmick. Ever.: At Florida’s Spring Game tomorrow, Urban Meyer will give a scholarship to any student who can out-race his three star receivers. (Unlikely to happen, but shouldn’t he give a scholly to a student who beats ANY of them?)â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Last Word: I try not to navel-gaze (too much), but the new Sporting Blog (released yesterday in “beta” version) looks kind of awesome, doesn’t it?â†µ

â†µâ†µHuge thanks to SB editor Chris Mottram and impresario Shawn Schrager -- and, of course, SN’s crackerjack design and tech team -- for the slick new look. Shoot me an e-mail if you have any feedback, and I’ll be sure to pass it along.â†µ

â†µâ†µOK, enough of that. What can I complain about ...?â†µ

â†µâ†µDan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.â†µ

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