Hicks v Knicks

The rivalry was unofficially born in '93, climaxed in '95, and renewed at the turn of the century. Six playoff meetings in 8 years ending in 2000. If you look at today's Pacers roster, all of them were just kids when this happened, even David West. Larry Bird built this team, following Donnie Walsh's footsteps, then Walsh built this current Knickerbocker squad. That's why this match-up is a basketball lovers dream: each team's playing style reflecting their home market's identity. NYC run&gun/street ball versus Indiana's defense/rebounding.
Hoosiers vs Hoopers, or Hoovers, or Hooders... I'm still working on an improved title, but until then its "Hicks vs Knicks"

Guess Who's Bizzack

After a 6-month hiatus I am declaring myself back!  My excuse is I couldn't comfortably blog with the lack of hardware (ie. physical keyboard) and connectivity (ie. LAN), but now that I have those back you can expect more of my rambling nonsense...

Let's start with the NFL Draft -
Colts own the #1 pick and its no doubt they'll go with Andrew Luck. After that, its RGIII, then who knows. Well Jim Irsay is hosting a contest via Twitter that lets anyone guess the 32 picks (in order) to win a BMW. I entered my picks Tuesday and here's what I got:

1. Luck (Colts)

2. Griffin (Redskins)

3. Kalil (Vikings)

4. Richardson (Browns)

5. Claiborne (Bucs)

6. Blackmon (Rams)

7. Gilmore (Jaguars)

8. Tannehill (Dolphins)

9. Cox (Panthers)

10. Barron (Bills)

11. Keuchly (Chiefs)

12. Ingram (Seahawks)

13. DeCastro (Cardinals)

14. Floyd (Cowboys)

15. Kirkpatrick (Eagles)

16. Poe (Jets)

17. Upshaw (Benglas)

18. Reiff (Chargers)

19. Wright (Bears)

20. Coples (Titans)

21. Mercilus (Bengals)

22. Glenn (Browns)

23. Hightower (Ravens)

24. Martin (Steelers)

25. Brockers (Broncos)

26. Perry (Texans)

27. McClellin (Browns)

28. Smith (Packers)

29. Zeitler (Lions)

30. Fleener (49ers)

31. Hill (Patriots)

32. Konz (Giants)

We should see 2 Golden Domers (Harrison Smith and Michael Floyd) being drafted in the 1st round.

Tonight is also the final night of NBA regular season games. The artist formerly known as Ron Artest recently received a SEVEN-game suspension for a vicious elbow aimed at Thunder star James Harden. The weak suspension is further proof that David Stern is a fucking asshole that doesn't treat all franchises equally (big market = preferential treatment). Despite this disadvantage, the Indiana Pacers still managed to finish as a 3-seed in the East. The acquisition of David West and George Hill solidified a strong starting five, and adding Barbosa to the bench provides a deeper roster with many capable defenders and scorers. Coach Frank Vogel recently emptied the bench in the first half against the Pistons, and still won. Spurs and Bulls coaches may get more consideration for CoY, but Vogel should definitely be in the conversation. Also, I believe Larry Bird should win Executive of the Year for piecing together the 5th-best team in the league -despite not having a single star on the team.

The Hoosiers are the early favorites to win the 2013 NCAA Championship, Vegas odds have been set at 7:1. Louisville, Kentucky, Kansas, Syracuse, UNC, MSU, and OSU are also contenders. The Hoosiers will be 'oversigned' by 1 scholarship, but Crean seems okay with that for now. 

Finally, lets talk tech. I recently added the new Google Docs mobile app (called Google Drive) and browsed over the comments to see what others were saying. The chief complaints were users mad at the file size of the app (approx. 15MB); usually this isn't a concern because we just move the app to our SD card, but this is one of those pesky apps that has to be installed on the phone's memory, which is limited to a couple hundred Megabytes. It got me thinking, if we can store 64 GB on an SD card (something the size of a postage stamp folded over) why can't these mobile phones have that much storage space built-in? Maybe you're one of those people who can't download new apps until you delete old ones, I know I've been there. Why do the 2011-2012 phones have less storage space than 2001-era iPods & digicams? Ponder that

This Week in § Sports:

Homer Bailey wins MLB debut

Colts receive their rings

Hoosiers land another top-10 recruit

Tiger nearly clinches playoff

As for LeBron? Well, we hardly knew ye...It's Mah Turn!

no Colts, no problem

- AFC Championship game: Steelers @ Denver
- NFC Championship game: Steve Smith @ Seattle
- UNC vs FSU - the Seminoles had a shot at the buzzer to upset the Heels. I just wanted to see the crowd rush the court for the 8th time this week...
- KG vs. AI (39 points), a game that ended on Iguodala's off-balanced buzzer-beater, after a 19-point Philly deficit
- the Pistons (chasing the '96 Bulls for best record ever) almost got upset at the buzzer following a 43-point performance from T-Mac
- a 300+ point game in Phoenix that ended w/ a Ray Allen 30-footer at the buzzer
- and oh yea, Kobe dropped 81 on the hapless Raptors, 55 after half

All this following a Duke loss the day before, putting UConn at #1 when they visit Assembly Hall in 2 weeks.