21 weeks

Did all of you see this study? Well, you're welcome.

U of L sure has been fun to watch of late. At the Pomeroy Ratings site, they're ranked 10th in the country, but what is interesting is that they are rated #1 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Basically, it's a measure of how many points you give up per opponent's possession. They have the best rating of any team over the past 5 years in that category. Last year Kansas was #1 in that category and the season ended pretty well for them. Of course, Kansas was #2 last year in offensive efficiency and this year's Louisville squad is 92nd. I'm just afraid at some point in the tournament they'll have one of those 18-67 shooting nights and no amount of defense is going to overcome that. We'll see.

SLU hasn't been as fun to watch. Interesting SLU fact. They are 3rd worst in the country in FT% allowed (76%). For whatever reason, it's easy to make free throws against the Billikens. Probably because you're well rested.

Did you see that the ratings for the inauguration were the highest since Reagan? Did you also see which market had the highest percentage of viewers tuned in at 51%? Raleigh! Seattle was lowest at 19%. Apathetic coffee-drinking Nirvana slackers. It was dubbed the "Snobama Effect" here.

APD turned 12 today. What a great kid! I hope the next 12 go slower than the first 12 did.

Risen from the Lashes

(written Thurs night, posted Friday, hooray for airport wireless)

So … I’m out swimming under the stars and thinking about life, the universe, and whether Dolberry should have really had that 5th piece of pizza tonight. Seems even harder to stay afloat than usual.

It sure is nice swimming outside in January. Especially when you know in 24 hours it’ll probably be too cold to swim INSIDE where Dolberry is headed.

But that isn’t what I was thinking about. OK, well I was, but I thought about other stuff as well. The hotel I’m staying at is the host hotel of the NFL media for the NFC Championship game here this weekend. There are lots of middle aged, fat guys wandering around the lobby. (I was the one in the swim trunks.)

Many of you may not know this, but coming out of high school Dolberry was debating between four very different college and career paths:

a) Go to U of L and become an engineer. (It was free. El Cueto liked this one)

b) Go to Purdue for meteorology via ROTC. (El Cueto liked this one even more as it would have been free and our hero Dolberry would have had to cut his hair.)

c) Go to SLU and become a Billiken and live happily ever after.

d) Or, go to Western Kentucky and become a sports journalist.


I lost interest in the idea of sports journalism when I did a campus visit and they said you had to be good at interviewing people. At that point in my life, Dolberry didn’t even like talking to people he knew, let alone ones he didn’t know. WKU seemed like a nice school, though. I think one of Dolberry’s sisters friends went there … Rachel or Cherylyn … can’t remember. Somebody went there.

Anyway, I thought DCV readers would enjoy looking into an alternate reality had Dolberry chosen “d”. Enjoy.


Risen from the Lashes
By Dolberry!
USA Today

Phoenix – Seven weeks ago, stumbling off the field in a daze after an inexplicable tie against the bumbling Cincinnati Bengals, a Super Bowl appearance wasn’t even a mirage for Donovan McNabb. But on Sunday, he’ll need just 60 more minutes in the desert sun before reaching that ultimate football oasis.

McNabb was roasted by Dolberry’s sportswriting peers for not knowing that NFL games could end in a tie and he was left to dehydrate in the heat along w/ all other players who would not be making a playoff appearance in 2008-09.

Or, so we thought.

Instead, the ageless QB from Mount Carmel High School, south of Chicago, has risen like a phoenix from the ashes. If grit alone could get you to the Super Bowl, then McNabb’s Eagles would be in, because he leads a team of gutty grinders who would rather eat a cheesesteak than a cheesecake. And over the last 23 years, the Eagles are 1-0 against teams they’ve already beaten on Thanksgiving on that same year.

Stats and grittiness aside, it won’t be easy. The homestanding Cardinals are feisty themselves and won’t fly away in the Battle of the Birds without a flap. Arizona middle linebacker Karlos Dansby will be watching McNabb’s every move like a hawk. Every breath he takes. Every move he makes. Every pass he play fakes … he’ll be watching him.

But when he steps on the field on Sunday afternoon, don’t blame Donovan McNabb for looking around for that oasis. And don’t you doubt that he might not just find it.

Dolberry's Law

The order of the world is established through a system of laws. Without the controlling influence of laws, it is easy to speculate that humanity would rapidly disintegrate into a chaotic mess. Laws can originate from many sources. The first ones were divine, they've been embedded in our psyches for generations. ("Love your God. Love your neighbor.") Some come through a legislative or deliberative process and their wisdom is borne out over decades. ("Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.") Some laws might be needed for a time, but circumstances eventually relegate it to obsolescence. According to dumblaws.com, in the State of Kentucky one may not dye a duckling blue and offer it for sale unless more than six are for sale at once.

Dolberry has always liked that category of "laws" that naturally spring from human observation and persist because of their truth. The most famous of these types of laws is the rather pessimistic Murphy's Law. Another famous one is Moore's Law. I've spent the last month ruminating over another law that I think could radically reshape the way sports fans watch and communicate about their passion. In typical Dolberry modesty, I propose it be called Dolberry's Law.

Dolberry's Law reads as follows: "As a sports fan, you may only claim credit for championships that were won during your lifetime and during a period in which you actively rooted for that team."

As we move into the Final Four and Opening Day of baseball season, it is perhaps fitting that we now gently admonish the two groups that I think will be most affected by Dolberry's Law, i.e., New York Yankees fans and U of K basketball fans.

When we were in Sarasota watching the Reds spank the Yankees, I overheard the following snippet from a conversation between a group of grumpy (& prolifically profane) 20-something Yankees fans ... "talk to me when you've won 26 World Series instead of four." (Actually, the Reds have won five, but I wasn't going to interject.) According to Dolberry's Law these guys are actually only entitled to take credit for four WS wins (96, 98, 99, 00). As a 41-yr old Reds fan, I'm entitled to gloat about 3 WS wins (75, 76, 90). Four vs. three is not a huge advantage, certainly not one worth boasting about.

The biggest category of fans misleadingly padding their championship stats are Wildcat basketball fans who continuously trumpet their seven titles. Unless you were born before 1950, you are not eligible to take credit for the titles in 48, 49, 51, & 58. So UK fans of my age can legitimately take credit for only three. (U of L has two over the same period.) So the next time you run across a UK fan, watch out for them drooling chewing tobacco on your shoes and admonish them with Dolberry's Law if they try to take credit for championships won when a whole race of Americans weren't even allowed to participate in the sport.

And just so Dolberry is not accused of making the law for his own use, please realize that I'm losing credit for Saint Louis University's all-time leading 10 soccer titles between 1959 and 1973. Using the "actively rooted" section of Dolberry's Law, I would only be eligible for any titles that the glorious Billikens won that one Saturday night I rode a bus out to some crazily far away western St. Louis suburb to watch a 0-0 tie. (Actually, Dolberry was probably only eligible for maybe 10 minutes of the 90 minutes of gameplay.)

C-A-R-D-S!

The less-than-glorious Billikens

Lost 49-20 tonight to a team in the 200s in the RPI. According to ESPN it's the lowest score in the shot-clock era. Awesome!!!! Got to watch most of it over the internet. They earned that record. Not a lot of turnovers, but a splendid assessment of back rim clankers and airballs.

Really though, except for the 1st 8 minutes when they only got 1 point ... and those middle 18 minutes where they only got 1 point .... they did exceed a point a minute in the other 14 minutes.

Oh when the saints go marching in ... oh the heck w/ it.

Weekend Update

We had a great time in Winston-Salem last Friday. We wandered around the Wake Forest campus (small, but neat) a little bit ... telling APD it was his first official college visit. He was most impressed that Arnold Palmer went there. After that we got pizza at a Mellow Mushroom (cool pizza chain). Then we went to the show. Ruth, Relient K, & Switchfoot all rocked. Highlights were (obviously) "Meant to Live" from the Foot & (surprisingly) "Sleigh Ride" by RK. Then we went home.

Saturday & Sunday were less eventful. But fine.

The Canes are up 5-0 vs. the Caps right now. They're looking good for another long trip into the NHL playoffs ... some 6 months from now.

The glorious Billikens won their first exhibition game vs. UMSL. I have to go to a conference in St. Louis next week. (Hey, I just clicked on that link ... they have me listed as an "invited speaker" ... what a hoot.) Anyway, the glorious Billikens play the day before I get there & the day after I leave. Bummer.

The Browns have two marginally tough games next, then 6 really easy ones. They could go 10-6 w/o really trying, which would be pretty funny.

Am excited the Reds signed Dunn. Will be interesting to see if Sarasota voters pass the bond referendum tomorrow to share costs w/ the Reds in fixing up Ed Smith Stadium.

Hey, the sun did come up today!

A few observations on the game last night:

1) Was impressed w/ Rutgers in every way. I think the final margin was closer than the game really was. And I thought they played w/ real class (helping people up from the pile, no over-the-top gesturing, no personal fouls (except the roughing the punter)). Schiano seemed like a really decent guy as well. And they were able to get their fans off the field after they rushed it w/ one second left. After seeing the way some of the SEC fans & coaches behaved this week, I wonder if how much class a program has is proportional to how long you've been a major player on the CFB scene. I'll be cheering for Rutgers the rest of the way (unless there's still some way UL can get into a BCS game). I think they deserve to be in the argument for the NC game & if they beat WVU in Morgantown, would argue that they should get a chance.

2) Am interested in Petrino's breakdown after looking at film. His early statements seemed to place the blame on Brohm, but it seemed to me that there was NO time to throw. The playcalling seemed odd to me. No plays to the TE for the 2nd game. The only play that seemed to have any traction was the "power sweep" looking play to Kolby Smith, but it didn't work as a deep pitch, which we tried three times. Obviously, getting 2nd and 16 every possession screws up the playbook. I've never seem UL take so many careless penalties (motion, offsides).

3) Excuses: Every team in every sport can make excuses after every loss. It doesn't take away from the Rutgers win, but the WV (home) / RU (away) combo seven days later made for great TV, but it would have been tough for anyone to sweep that DH. And how heartbreaking was it to watch Bush leaving the field as Rutgers drove down for the winning score. Ahhh, what could've been had he not gotten hurt ....

Anyway, am off work, it's supposed to get to 78 degrees here in full sun today, and the glorious Billikens have beaten their two D2 preseason opponents by a combined 81 points, so life goes on.