JEagle87

Sigh. After spending countless mornings watching the first rounds of Euro Cup '08 I am saddened to see it come to an end. You see, when I wake up in the mornings, usually I leave SportsCenter on and just watch it repeat until I find something else to watch around noon or whenever. But when the Euro Cup is on, or for that matter, the World Cup as well, I can spend five hours with two soccer games on. The first two rounds had games on at 11 AM and 230 PM Eastern on ESPN, which knocks out a large majority of the mid-day lull in daytime TV. Now, I will be forced once again to watch pointless TV during the day, or find a life, and we know the latter isn't happening anytime soon.

A few highlights from my watching of Euro Cup 2008 -

1. Turkey's Cinderella Run - To put it as simply as I can, Turkey pulled the equivalent of a George Mason in '05 or a Davidson in '08. They weren't expected to go far and then started pulling amazing comebacks from everywhere. They were down 2-0 to Czech Republic with around 15 minutes left and came back to win 3-2 to qualify for the quarterfinal round. In that quarterfinal, they faced Croatia and went in to extra time, two 15 minute overtime periods, not sudden death however. Croatia scored in the 119th minute, with is basically with no time left. Turkey then scored the equalizer, or the tying goal, a minute later. Think Doug Flutie at BC. Hail Mary, Buzzer Beater. And Turkey. A very fun team to watch and I was pulling for them, but their run came to an end against Germany in the semis.

2. Andy Gray and Tommy Smyth and the Onion Bag

Basically, these two are the prominent announcers for ESPN's coverage. They're from Scotland and Ireland respectively and besides being both very good, I can't take either of them seriously because of their accents. I always have to surpress a grin or a chuckle when Smyth brings out his favorite quote for a goal, "punching the old Onion Bag." I could only compare this to Stu Scott saying "Booyeah!" or Dick Vitale and "Awesome, baby!" except it only happens when a goal is scored.

3. Watching Soccer

Did I mention that soccer was on for an average of about 5 hours a day for over a week? I love watching soccer, and tune in regularly to Major League Soccer (MLS) on ESPN on Thursdays. I've followed the New England Revolution ever since the NY/NJ Metrostars became  the Red Bulls and a happy to see them atop the MLS Eastern Conference standings. And everyone who just read that realized I need a life, badly. Again, not happening, moving on. Soccer is great because, like baseball in my opinion, you can have it on but not really watch and still not miss anything. Only instead of a thousand commercials in baseball, you get hilarious commentary from a Scotsman and crowd shots of people who are dressed in their national colors, waving flags and singing. Which brings me to my next point....

4. Passion

Is there a greater feeling than sporting your countries colors and cheering your team on to victory. I think not. Rooting for pro teams is all well and good, but your country is different. It's not about where the guy next to you is from or who he roots for. It's about coming together as a country and expressing your nationalism in anyway shape and form.

5. Spain

We have to mention the champions here and after an undefeated campaign, there wasn't another team on their level during this tournament. Italy gave a valiant effort and lost on penalty kicks after a scoreless draw. Germany had a solid game in the final as well, but came up short. I was disappointed in my team, Sweden (I'm half Scandinavian), who failed to make the knockout round or the quarterfinals. My friend's team, Portugal, also came up short, losing to Germany in the quarters. Overall, it was an exciting tournament, great atmosphere and of course, amazing commentary and coverage from ESPN.

I know that the Olympics are coming up, and they do feature Soccer ("Football") as a sport and that the USA is in the field, but for me it's not the same as the World Cup. The Olympics just won't cut it more me anymore, it really just is an over-glorified exhibition. Oh well. I'll just have to watch the US Men's National Team qualify for the World Cup. I watched them defeat Barbados 8-0 a few weeks ago. Give me credit, there wasn't much on anyway.

And without my daily dose of Euro Cup, there won't be much on now either. Now where's that darned TV Guide...

- Eagle

The Sacramento Kings select...Jason Thompson, Forward/Center, Rider University.

My Reaction - HOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIEEEEEE S************************!!!!!!!!!!

Text Message from my roommate Norm - JASON THOMPSON!!!

Unreal. I've watched Jason play at Rider for the last 3 years, starting my academic career at Rider when Jason was a sophomore. But it wasn't until after his junior year that the NBA started looking at Thompson. The past two seasons in college, Thompson averaged aver 20 points and ten rebounds a game. You can say that yes, he played in the Metro Atlantic (MAAC) and never got a chance to play big time opposition, but you'd only be about half-right. What really attracted scouts to Thompson was his play at a LeBron James' Skills Camp last summer. A 6-11 forward was guarding Lebron 1-on-1, and holding his own. How can a big man play defense against one of the best players in the NBA? Who is this kid? Well, Jason Thompson signed with Rider as a junior at Lenape HS in NJ. He was signed as a 6-5 SF. He grew into a 6-11 beast during his college career. And the best part, he grew up as a shooting guard. Meaning, this 6-11 PF/C can handle the ball, hit mid-range jumpers, play post and perimeter  defense and run the floor. Athletically he is a freak and I am excited to now have an NBA team to follow.

So let's run through the checklist I made earlier -

Change CBS profile - Make Kings NBA Favorite (Celtics/Ray Allen dropped to preferred) - Check
Write Blog Entry about Draft Night - In prgoress
Buy Jersey/Hat from Store (NJ is nowhere near CA) Online - Later (waiting for potential trade, although it sounds like Sacramento loves Thompson)
Look-up dates of Kings games in Philly/NJ/NY - Later (again, potential trade)

Thanks to the Ray Allen trade last NBA Draft (Seattle/Boston), I've watched more NBA games last season than I have in the rest of my life. I've always been a stickler for the college game. The passion, the energy, the defense...but maybe, just maybe, the NBA will grow on me a little bit now.

Oh yeah, almost forgot...

GO KINGS IN 2008-2009!!!

- Eagle

I've watched more NBA games this year than in the rest of my life put together. Maybe that's a stretch, But after I heard that UConn grad Ray Allen was coming to play in Boston via a draft day trade, I got excited. I never really followed the NBA outside of UConn grads such as Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, Emeka Okafor, etc. I just enjoy the college game more than the NBA. So naturally, I wanted to see the UConn players have success in the NBA as well. Rip Hamilton won a title with the Pistons a few years back, but other than that, I've really only followed Ray Allen. I have an old, purple Allen jersey from his days with the Milwaukee Bucks that's probably in mint-condition because I never really wore it. That jersey was rather big for my 4-foot nothing frame ten years ago. Even through the rough days in Seattle, I really wanted to see Allen get one last chance at a playoff run. The Boston Celtics answered this call, acquiring Allen via a trade as well as Kevin Garnett in a separate trade. Last night, after watching the Celtics suffocating defense on the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen finally got his ring, and this UConn follower rejoiced. But alas, it is not meant to be.

I followed the NBA more closely than ever before. You see, this is the last year I can "legally" follow the University of Connecticut graduates in the NBA. My current school Rider University (Lawrenceville, NJ), will graduate its first NBA draftee in 6'-10" PF/C Jason Thompson. According to the myriad of sports law, after he is drafted, I can no longer follow Allen's Celtics or Hamilton's Pistons. I'm stuck with whoever drafts Thompson, and I'm not complaining. Following the NBA this year has been interesting to say the least. I still don't like watching most games, mainly because I like watching defense. So watching the Celtics and the Spurs along with a few others comes easy to me, but watching basically every other team is a challenge. But no matter what, after Thompson is drafted, I'm changing my CBS profile, buying a jersey and hat online and embracing my new team with open arms. I would love to see Thompson go to a contender, or stay local in Philly or New Jersey so I could road trip with friends to see him play.

I'm not going to get into a college vs. pros rant, that will be for another time. But for this sports fan, embracing the NBA will take time. Watching this years playoffs and Finals have been exciting, and hopefully next year, I'll be watching Jason Thompson and team to be announced on draft day in 2009 challenging for the title. But for now, this "bandwagon" Celtics fan has a week to celebrate. There won't be any buying of championship hats or t-shirts. Perhaps a phone call or two to family and friends to talk about Allen, Garnett and MVP Paul Pierce finally getting to the top.

But congratulations to Ray Allen and the Boston Celtics, the 2008 NBA Champions. You've started to convert this college fan into a potential NBA fan. And while that day may truly never come, it is a start.

- Eagle