General

Shanoff’s WUC: Pierce, A&M, Izzo, Vuvuzelas!

Jun 14, 2010, 12:30 PM UTC

Today’s Calls: Paul Pierce vs. Kobe Bryant, SEC vs. Pac-16, Texas A&M vs. Texas, FedEx vs. Memphis, Tom Izzo vs. LeBron, Robert Green vs. Tim â†µHoward, Stephen Strasburg vs. Ted Lilly, Vuvuzelas vs. Haters and More.

â†µâ†µThe Opening Pitch: Ban the vuvuzela? Bah! Or should I say: Bzzz!â†µ

â†µâ†µUPDATE: FIFA will not ban the vuvzela.
â†µ

â†µâ†µFirst of all, the sound isn’t that bad -- not when you consider that it is created by tens of thousands of joyful sports fans. Next, let’s think about all of the things that regularly happen at sports events that are far more annoying than the vuvuzela: The wave, overcaffeinated arena announcers and -- most of all -- the guy behind the backstop on his cell phone waving because his buddy tells him he is on TV.â†µ

â†µâ†µBesides, maybe it was the vuvuzelas that distracted Robert Green on his instantly infamous bobble that gave the US its 1-1 “win” on Saturday over England in its World Cup opener.â†µ

â†µâ†µIn the end, vuvuzelas are mere background noise, and you’re crazy for focusing on the horns when you could be focusing on the weekend’s wildest story lines:â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Paul Pierce putting Boston on the brink!â†µ
â†µ• Texas A&M ready to leave for the SEC!â†µ
â†µ• LeBron approving of Tom Izzo for coach!â†µ
â†µ• Stras-Mania? How ‘bout love for Lilly!â†µ
â†µ• So. Much. World. Cup.â†µ

â†µâ†µYou’re going to let some harmless buzzing bother you? Think of the passionate fan behind each horn, then re-focus your energy on the seismic shifts happening elsewhere in sports on a phenomenal Monday morning.â†µ

â†µ

â†µCeltics Win "Pivotal" Game 5: Through the first four games of the series, the story had been about which role player was stepping up -- Derek Fisher, Big Baby, Nate Robinson. Game 5 was for the stars: Paul Pierce scoring a series-high 27 (offsetting Kobe going for 38), putting the C's a win away from another NBA title. They have to win one of two games in L.A. to pull it off, and they already showed in Game 2 of the Finals that they can do it. I think the Lakers dig in and win Game 6 tomorrow, creating a toss-up thriller Game 7 Thursday night.â†µ

â†µâ†µBig 12 Hoe-Down, Cont’d: It’s A&M’s world. As of last night, the hot rumor was that Big 12 commish Dan Beebe might actually hold this thing together, with a combination of Texas’ passionlessness for joining the Pac-10 and some lofty promises of TV money Beebe claims he can deliver.â†µ

â†µâ†µBy this morning, the hot rumor was Texas A&M was ready to bolt for the SEC, giving the conference a new footprint in Texas and the Aggies a dramatic point of distinction in their inferiority-complex-fueled sibling rivalry with Texas.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe upshot: Even if Texas is inclined to stay in the Big 12, Colorado is out. Nebraska is out. Texas A&M looks like they’re out. Oklahoma and OK State look like they are ready to jump to the Pac-10. UT, the juggernaut, may have no choice but to move. (I still don’t see why the Big 12 doesn’t sign Utah, BYU, TCU, Boise and Memphis to backstop the losses. Why Memphis? Hm ...)â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd then there is Memphis, which should suddenly be on Beebe’s speed-dial: FedEx founder Fred Smith is pledging $10M a year to the BCS league that picks up Memphis, which should have all of them calling Memphis to join. Beebe seems to think the Big 12 is set with 10 teams; he would be more set with Memphis’ millions (and, say, adding TCU to round out the league at 12).â†µ

â†µâ†µ(I cannot begin to explain my admiration for Fred Smith recognizing that this entire thing is about money -- and reacting accordingly to get his team some love. Even if the Big 12 isn’t interested, I cannot imagine that the Big East won’t be all over that offer. Why not? Same with the MWC, if they can pick over the Big 12 remainders bin for BCS status.)â†µ

â†µâ†µWorld Cup: “U.S. Wins 1-1” is right. Funny how all the complaints about the tie games stopped as soon as the Yanks pulled one off. Ties are all about expectations. For the purposes of the U.S., it was as good as a win. For England? Less so. Way way way less so.â†µ

â†µâ†µ(To understand just how critical those 3 points from a win are, just look at Ghana, which has virtually assured itself a place in the knockout round by winning its opener with Serbia. But in a tough opener like the U.S. had, the single point from a tie is welcome.)â†µ

â†µâ†µRobert Green vs. Tim Howard: As epic as Green’s gaffe was, give him credit for facing the media and taking complete responsibility. It won’t help his cause, but I respect him more for it. Meanwhile, Howard is the best goalie in the world -- period. The U.S. back line is simply not good. (The Injury of the Week in sports is Tim Howard’s ribs, which are still TBD for Friday.)â†µ

â†µâ†µWorld Cup Talking Points:â†µ

â†µâ†µ• That opening goal by South Africa was amazing, if only to consider what the reaction had to have been throughout the country.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Diego Maradona is the most telegenic coach in sports. Can we please get the “Maradona Cam?”â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Yeah, Germany looks really good. (But, remember, the Socceroos are not.)â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Still not watching Univision? The best part about ESPN’s coverage, which has been excellent, is the use of European announcers, including at the studio desk.â†µ

â†µâ†µStrasburg Watch: The good? 8 Ks and a W in 6 IP. The bad? Gave up a HR and had 5 BBs. The ugly? It’s possible those walks came from a pitcher’s mound poorly maintained by the Indians field crew. Still: Nothing to diminish his status as the most must-see player in baseball. (Stras-Fact: His 22 Ks are the most by a pitcher in his first two MLB starts in more than a half-century.)â†µMLB Talking Points:â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Thriller: Lilly loses no-no in 9th.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• MLB’s best ump? Jim Joyce (obviously!)â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Walk-Off Watch: Chris Young HRâ†µ

â†µâ†µ• Greinke Watch: Hey, a win!â†µ

â†µâ†µ• First Time: Angels sweep at Dodger Sta.â†µ

â†µâ†µ• Only 4 Gs today: Wainwright the headliner.â†µ

â†µâ†µIzzo Watch: Maybe Tom Izzo knows something the rest of us don’t -- or didn’t until today, courtesy of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer: LeBron would be supportive of the Cavs hiring Izzo. Now, that doesn’t mean that he would re-up with the Cavs, but it sure would help the prospects of that.â†µ

â†µâ†µOtherwise, I don’t think Tom Izzo gets it. The longer he takes to “still gather” his options, the more he erodes his status as the best college hoops coach in the country, even if he decides he wants to come back. He may be under no pressure (yet) to sign with the Cavs, but he sure is leaving the loyal folks of Sparty hanging.â†µ

â†µâ†µMore coaching carousel: Larry Drew takes over the Hawks. He is an interesting choice -- he was Mike Woodson’s top assistant, so you wonder just how fresh of a view he can bring. But he will be a first-time head-coach, which I entirely approve of. The Hawks are a tough job: The challenge is to break into the elite tier of the NBA; anything else is a failure. Not much room for error ... or learning on the job.â†µ

â†µâ†µCollege World Series: My favorite part about the way that TCU shocked Texas to advance to Omaha is the way that you can use that to suggest that TCU football would have beaten Texas, too, if given the chance.â†µ

â†µâ†µMini-Scandals: So apparently the way to get Vince Young riled up at a strip club is to flash him the reverse-“Hook ‘Em” hand-sign.â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Last Word: “Just man up and play. What the hell is the big deal? I don’t see it as a big deal. If I have to say something to them, then we don’t deserve to be champions. We’re down 3-2, go home, win one game, go into the next one. Simple as that.” -- Kobe Bryant, on the Lakers being on the brink of elimination.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. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/danshanoff. â†µ

â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

See More: