il papa's pontifications

In the first of what will be a regularly used format, the Pope presents "il papa's pontifications", a venting, ranting, diatribe of a post, focused on unveiling the sins of the sports world to all.


"Jose Canseco - The Biggest Tool in all of Baseball"
"Dear People who got mad at Roy Williams for wearing a Kansas sticker . . ."
"Hi, my name is Carmelo Anthony, and I drive drunk instead of having a driver"


These are all topics that need pontification, or pontifying, if you prefer the gerund form of a noun never meant to be a verb. There will be no regular schedule per se, for the Pope's sermon's, except that on the month of Awesome, every day will be comprised of il papa's pontifications.


Today's Topic >> The NBA Playoffs

The NBA Playoffs begin this weekend, with the first of 4 rounds of potentially 7 game series. The NBA Finals dont begin until June 5th . . . 50 days from now. So when the playoffs start on Saturday the 19th, until the earliest day the Finals could end (after game 4, assuming a sweep) on June 11th, that would make the length of the playoffs 52 days. Yes, thats 14% of the year from start to finish. Yes, Dimaggio's hit streak was 56 games in 62 days.

Pontification 1 - The first round should be shortened to best of 5 or even best of 3 games. Lest we all get to miss a game of the Cleveland vs Washington series, or dear god not the Magic vs Raptors first round match up. If these series go 7 games, who will be watching besides the fans in the stands, ESPN, and the player's moms? Not il papa.

Pontification 2 - Lets reseed the playoffs. Because of the great imbalance of the Western Conference vs the Eastern Conference, lets reseed the playoffs, without regard to East or West, so that the top 16 teams in the league get in and appropriate matchups occur. There is a nice blog piece on the topic, albeit from last April, but nonetheless appropriate. Yes, division winners automatically get in, but past that, the top teams based on record would enter the field and everyone would be reseeded. Instead of having Phoenix vs San Antonio in the first round for 2008, you would have Phoenix vs Washington and San Antonio vs the Raptors. It would work just like the NCAA tournament in a way, meaning that you wouldn't play someone from your division in the first round, but past that you could play anyone in any round.

And lastly, we would not be a papal minded blog if we did not wish Happy Birthday to Pope Benedict, who happens to be traveling in the US currently.

The Final Four

We here at Vatican Smoke are not going to get into the decisions that were or were not made by the Memphis Tigers, or any plays that were or were not made, at the end of the championship game against Kansas Monday night. Instead we are going to celebrate the amazing experience of the Final Four that capped it off.

I was one of the lucky few that got to attend the Final Four in San Antonio, described by one lovely lady as, "A bowl game with four teams, on steroids" (Editors Note: The bowl game was on steroids, not the players). A bowl game is the only close comparison to the Final Four experience. The teams that win the semi-final games on Saturday are treated to a second game and a few more days, unlike any bowl game. The Tigers fans were out in force and made a solid showing, outnumbering the UCLA and likely the North Carolina fans for the weekend. San Antonio with the riverwalk might be the perfect venue for any large sports event!

Walking around the team hotels and Riverwalk area, you can feel the energy of each team, as well as see a huge number of notable fans. The sheer number of sports figures, media figures, and other stars is so large, that I kept running into notable people and decided to keep a list. Here is the list that I kept, of all the notable persons that the Pope came within 20 feet of at some point during the weekend (yes, 20 feet). This list includes sports figures, some media figures, and some Memphis-specific figures, with some notes/and or stories, videos, about them:











The Coaches:
Lute Olsen
Jeff Capel
Roy Williams
Gene Keady
John Calipari
Tom Crean
Milt Wagner
Shaun Miller
Digger Phelps

The Players:
Penny Hardaway
Hasheem Thabeet
Dajuan Wagner
Chris Douglas-Roberts

The Media:
Bonnie Bernstein
Digger Phelps
Boat Woloshin

Other Sports Figures:
Barry Alvarez

Other notables:
Harold Ford Jr
Its All Good Auto Sales Guy
Tom Crean's wife
Elvis

Seeing the Tigers beat UCLA was definitely special. Here is a video clip from the Pope's seat in the stands when they announced the Tigers starting lineups:




The Pope had the good fortune of hanging out with Richard "Digger" Phelps over the course of the weekend. You might know him better as the Anti-Drug Lord of the George H Bush Administration, or possibly an emerging broadway actor, but I know him as "Digger". The quote of the weekend was definitely from Richard. When asked by the Pope about how it felt to be on the box cover of Wheaties a few years back (no pictures available!), he responded very even keeled, "Cheesits", noting the Pope's misremembering of the orange/red box cover that he was on. Good times.

A renaissance man of sorts, Digger's talents are well documented. Add "dancer" to the list please:



Check out the pictures of the Pope's weekend by clicking here

Game time!

Tigers Belong

While the Pope is typically more interested in the St Louis Cardinals, Memphis Grizzlies, and Notre Dame, the Pope is also a huge University of Memphis fan. Is the Pope now getting on the bandwagon? Please.

Being a lifelong Memphian, and a member of a family where 3/4 members attended the University, my spot on the bandwagon has been reserved since my childhood. True Memphis Tigers fans know names like Win Wilfong, Baskerville Holmes, Keith Lee (the greatest Tiger ever, pictured in black and white),John Mclaughlin, Billy Smith, Cheyenne Gibson, and Elliot Perry in the late 80s, Ben Spiva, Penny Hardaway (pictured), David Vaughn, Chris Garner, Michael "Quarters on top of the Backboard" Wilson, Rodney Newsome, and Justin Wimmer of the early and mid-90's, Tic "Tac Hoe" Price (pictured) and both his taste for 20 year old female students and his no name players that included Kelly Wise, and God knows who else, and now the current run to greatness with names like CDR, Dorsey, Rose, Anderson, and co. The Pope has been there and been a fan.

Now with the Tigers advancing to the school's 3rd ever Final Four, the Tigers' basketball tradition is being put in the national spotlight. Unfortunately, the Tigers are considered the "Clampett's" that have been invited to a party of royal American families like the Rockefeller's (North Carolina), the Carnegie's (Kansas), and Stanford's (UCLA), as one Newsweek writer put it this week. While the Tigers have no where near the tradition of their Final Four co-members Kansas (3rd winningest program of all time, notable players included Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith, 13 Final Fours, 2 NCAA Championships), North Carolina (2nd Winningest team of all time, 17 Final Fours, 4 NCAA Championships), or UCLA (5th Winningest team of all time, 18 Final Fours, 11 NCAA Titles!), the Tigers do have tradition of their own.

Here is a brief synopsis and history of the University of Memphis basketball program. I found it a fantastic read, even though its on Wikipedia. Who can forget the 24-0 run to start the game against hated rival Louisville in 1989 at their place? Or what about the overtime game against Arkansas in 1996, with the fabled "hand-check" by Chris Garner? Some great moments growing up for me, to be sure. There is a more detailed history of U of M basketball on the Memphis website, by clicking here and here.

The Tigers are entering their 3rd Final Four (1973, 1985, 2008), and their first under John Calipari. The Tigers have been a competitive program through the years, despite the fact that they have never been able to settle into a solid conference. The Tigers have moved from the Missouri Valley Conference (1966-1976), to the Metro Conference (1976-1992), then the Great Midwest Conference (1992-1995), and currently Conference USA (1995-present). Each of these conferences has been considered a second tier or lower level conference in basketball, creating a stigma that the Tigers and whatever gaudy record they might have mean nothing compared to major programs.

Despite the Tigers run through less than major conferences, the program and University has not sat around and waited, but has been trying to up their conference affiliation. The moves in 1976, 1992, and 1995 show that. If the Tigers would have been in the SEC or another major conference (which someday I believe they will), I believe the program would have a few more Final Fours and maybe even a national championship in the trophy case.

This weekend, just like last weekend, will see the discussion of two major stigmas about the Tigers. First, the aforementioned "Conference USA sucks - how good can the Tigers be?" discussion. This is pretty much a true statement in and of itself. But when its used to define or measure how good Memphis is, this thought process becomes ignorance. Good teams are good because of what they do, not who they play. Playing weaker competition has many benefits many forget - like building confidence, and honing your game under more favorable conditions. Any comentator worth his salt will give another reason for not liking Memphis besides conference affiliation.

The second stigma is more interesting, and one that the Pope thinks might be up for a socialogist to discuss. There is a stigma that Memphis plays "streetball" and has players that are "talented" but not necessarily smart. Why? To some, their style of play might not be as graceful or traditional as the other final four teams. To others race might be a factor. Memphis has all African-American players. Memphis is a largely African American populated city. Memphis is rather unknown, as a city, University, and as a basketball team. What do people do when they aren't very familiar with something? They generalize and use stereotypes. So when a person watching Memphis for the first time sees the all African American team with "Memphis" on their jerseys, some people more quickly think of "streetball" or "playground basketball".

Streetball? Please. This team is efficient (9 turnovers or less in every tournament game), plays swarming lock down defense on the perimeter, passes very well, and has been working the shot clock of late, taking many shots with under 10 seconds to go after a good halfcourt posession. Dont be fooled - these guys are talented, smart, and have a very distinct method to the madness that ensues on the court.

The Pope is rooting for the Tigers. Why? Because watching the Tigers do what we knew they could is so sweet. Because proving the doubters wrong never gets old. Because becoming the first team that Dickie V has picked against incorrectly 5 rounds in a row would be awesome. Because this city needs attention drawn to its fantastic basketball tradition, beyond the negative attention that the Memphis Grizzlies have provided recently. Because watching this team win over basketball royalty would go a long long long way towards breaking the stereotype that only major conference teams can win titles. Because winning unites and brings an often divided city together. Should be a great weekend of basketball. GO TIGERS!! Enjoy the team tribute video

PS. Oh, by the way, the Tigers have the 2nd best fight song of all colleges, period!

Fightin' Basketball Irish

Yes, its been awhile since Ive posted. Im going to be better about it going forward.

The Irish basketball team has not often been a topic on this blog. However, they managed a fantastic regular season, by any set of standards. After being picked to finish 9th in the Big East, the Irish finished tied for 2nd, earning a bye in the Big East Tournament. Lumbering sopohomore Luke Harangody earned Big East Player of the Year honors, after leading the Big East in points per game and rebounds, becoming the first Irish player since Troy Murphy to accomplish the feat. Mike Brey won his second consecutive Big East Coach of the Year, becoming only the second coach to win back to back COY honors. Definitely successful for any program, much less a football school like Notre Dame.

However, last night the Irish performed as I sadly expected they would, falling in line with each of the last 8 years under Mike Brey. The Irish lost in the 1st round of the Big East tournament, now having lost in the first round 5 of his 8 years at the helm of the Irish. I cannot deny the success in the regular season that Mike Brey has had. But I just do not like our style of play, his style of coaching, or the team's style of losing in the postseason when faced with a relatively decent team.

Maybe I was spoiled by the fire and passion of a young Matt Doherty at Notre Dame my freshman year. I expected our coach and players to have the intensity and grittiness to win close games, or at least die trying. Ive never gotten that feel about our program with Mike Brey at the helm, never. To sum up how I feel - I just feel nothing. I should feel a love and sense of pride in ND basketball, but I really dont. With a diffent coach, I know I would.

Notre Dame will never be a basketball school. Certainly we should contend in the Big East every year, but I realize we are not where the North Carolina's, UCLA's, and Duke's are in college basketball. But how about some more toughness throughout the program, starting with its leader?