Monday Morning Sports Rant: March 28, 2011

Maxim chats with sports blogger Drew Magary of Deadspin and Kissing Suzy Kolber about this weekend’s athletic hits and misses.

Maxim chats with sports blogger Drew Magary of Deadspin and Kissing Suzy Kolber about this weekend’s athletic hits and misses.

maxim: So I think Jay Bilas got that box of diarrhea you were talking about last week.

bigdaddydrew: I know


I wonder if the folks at George Mason are suffering from Grown Child Syndrome now.


Just not as cute as they used to be.


VCU is like the new baby you just want to cuddle with all night long.


The way they shot the ball yesterday was fucking nuts.


Especially in the first half.


I’d hire them to burn a village, they’re so heartless.


I thought it was incredible that they beat everyone in their region so thoroughly.


It’s one thing to get there as an 11 seed.


But they CRUSHED teams along the way.

maxim: Yeah. What I found so amazing is that they really outplayed everyone on almost every level. It’s not just “Oh, they’re all heart.” No. They just go harder than everyone else, for longer. And oh by the way, they’re good.


Just when you think they should be exhausted, they shift into like fifth gear.


Shaka must’ve conditioned the shit out of them all year.

bigdaddydrew: He must get really tired of everyone running up to him and singing “I Feel For You” to his face.


“I feel for youuuuuu, I think I looooove ya!”


I was reading in SI that the three-point shot has essentially made it so that smaller teams can beat the piss out of bigger teams simply by going on a hot streak, and what’s incredible about VCU is that their hot streak just doesn’t seem to end.


Teams like that usually hit a cold night, just on the law of averages.

maxim: Well, that’s what I was about to ask–do you think they can sustain it?


What they did Saturday was ridiculous.

bigdaddydrew: If they already have, why not?


I love Brad Stevens by the way.


I think he might legitimately be the future of coaching


Just an utterly normal human being who coaches basketball like a normal human being should.


None of this I MOLD KIDS bullshit.

maxim: And he never loses his mind during a game.




bigdaddydrew: I think that’s the future, honestly. No more Gary Williams sweating 500 kL of fluid during a game


I think it shows people you can get through to players if you just present things to them rationally.


He’s like the anti-Frank Martin.

maxim: Hahaha. He almost reminds me of a high school coach in a way. Because he seems so level-headed about the importance of all of this.

bigdaddydrew: There’s a certain ego to most coaches that you expect.


That whole “I get my rocks off on being a leader” thing


And that just doesn’t seem to exist with him.


It’s refreshing to know that not every coach has to be the Coach K Overlord type fuckface.

maxim: Speaking of overlord fuckfaces, I was in Newark yesterday and Friday. I love that Jerseyites (my people, it should be noted) still boo Calipari for his Nets stint. And more specifically, for taking Kerry Kittles over Kobe Bryant.


It’s like a hundred years later. Dude got booed.

bigdaddydrew: Kind of endearing, isn’t it?


I bet Knicks fans would still boo Pitino.


Boo you, boo everybody!


By the way, that UK-UConn game is like a race to see who can get on probation first.


It’s like double Auburn.


They could easily invalidate both the football and b-ball titles five months from now, and then you just have this entirely vacant 2011 year.


The year college sports didn’t happen.


And then we can all disband the NCAA and live like normal people.

maxim: Maybe they can just rename it the National Collegiate Semi-Pro Athletic Association and be done with it. Problem solved! Is there one fan, besides some crotchety middle-aged dude in the South somewhere, who gives a shit if these kids get some form of compensation for what they do?

bigdaddydrew: Nope.


The only reason to care is if a school you hate cheats and you can make fun of them for cheating.


That’s all it’s useful for.

maxim: Who are your picks for this weekend and for national champions?

bigdaddydrew: I’ll take UConn, because I had them as champs in my pool.


Over Butler.


Poor Butler.


BTW, only two brackets in the ESPN pool had the final four right.


Out of like 150 million


Nuttiest final four since that year Wisconsin and UNC made it as 8 seeds.


That was unpleasant.


This is much more fun.