Joey, have you ever been in a…in a Turkish prison?

Read it, don‘t read it, I don’t care…just needed to get some things off my chest.

In no particular order of chronology or importance…

Not on the clock.  Actually, I am on an airplane.  Yay. An airplane rant.  I am just talking here with access to nothing…Let’s turn and burn.

1)       Listening to Jay Bilas talk basketball is kind of like listening Kirk Herbstreit talk college football.  You can tell they work hard at researching what they do, they both speak very well in front of the camera, and they both have the conviction that signifies how deep their passion really is.  These guys are the best at what they do.

2)      Does anyone else feel as though Seth Curry will still be playing for Duke five years from now?  The guy goes to a school, transfers, sits out a year, plays for a couple more.  I know it will still add up to 4 years of eligibility, but I feel like we have the basketball version of football player Houston’s Case Keenum from a few years back.  Interesting fact for your friends.  The Curry brothers are #4 on the all time list of brothers scoring.  By the end of the year, assuming he has a decent one, Seth and his already in the NBA bro will take over #1.

3)      Where the hell IS Case Keenum these days?

4)      Michigan State ended up taking down Kansas last night in hoops.  I was rooting for Kansas actually.  With Kansas, we know they are good.  With Michigan State, I was hoping they would start 0-2 so they did their yearly disappearing act with a hellacious schedule, and then reappear at about conference tournament time.

5)      I am flying to DC.  Considering I will have not only my first middle seat but also 1 stop flight on the way home (ugghhh), I am glad I have a seat open to my window seat for this leg.  Look for me to take a day off tomorrow due to appointments, logistics, two short flights, and being crammed in the middle.

6)      The Duke-Kentucky game was pretty much how I envisioned it going.  A young, inexperienced, but obviously talented team playing an experienced team lacking as much pure firepower.  Duke will be Duke and probably lose in the tournament to a more athletic team.  Kentucky will be Kentucky and get better and better until we just wonder if they will peak before the end of this season or at the beginning of next season.  Says here they don’t.

7)      Nerlens Noel.  He isn’t any Anthony Davis, as Davis had superior outside skills, so don’t look for some one year ride with him.  He is good, but not Davis-good.

8)      1992 Duke-UK in my opinion is the greatest college basketball game ever.  The fact that they have played 3 times since then is literally a scheduling travesty.  Why don’t you two sides talk a little and fix that?

9)      Even though it is the beginning of the season, and Kentucky IS overrated in the rankings, I was surprised to find out that before last night, Duke hadn’t beaten a top 3 team since 2005.  That would have stumped me.

10)   BCS watch.  I won’t go too crazy, and still think most likely the three unbeatens win this week.  That being said, here is the order of nervousness.  Notre Dame: none.  You should cruise against a featherweight Wake program.  Oregon: be on your toes.  You are at home, and they did just change QB’s, but Stanford over the last 5 years is ALWAYS dangerous with the level of talent on the squad.  Kansas State: be nervous.  You are at Baylor’s crib, you have a bullseye on your back, and their offense is potent even if their defense lacks.

11)   We are supposed to be an up and coming team at some point.  We are supposed to be dangerous, even without Mike Scott this year.  But Delaware?  UVA got schooled by Delaware?  Sad, sad, sad.  I remember going to school there and both football and basketball were not only ranked, but sometimes both top ten.  Of course, those were our glorious soccer and lacrosse years also, and amazingly they had a lot of people show up to watch them.

12)   Big Ben will sit this Sunday.  Sure, I am not happy he picked the first Ravens game to get injured before, but it is what it is, and with a week of practice with the first unit, we will be fine with Byron Leftwich making the throws…especially since it is at home.  The Steelers have the odd situation of having three QB’s on their roster who have ALL started games over a pretty long span for one team or another.  Leftwich-Jacksonville primarily.  Charlie Batch, their third string, was a starter for Detroit.  My boys will be fine.

13)   The A’s Bob Melvin was voted AL Manager of the Year yesterday.  I concur.  He took a team with one of the lowest payrolls (if not THE lowest (I am on a plane without WIFI-no checking)), and took them to the playoffs.  The Nats Davey Johnson got the National League nod.  I don’t MIND the pick, and he DID do a hell of a job.  That being said, with all of the injuries to not only Votto and the entire bullpen, I thought Dusty Baker from the Reds did a slightly BETTER job.  Win-win either way.

14)   The Vikings Adrian Peterson officially got cleared from July charges of an incident.  Nah.  I am sure the timing is legit and has nothing to do with the fact that he is literally raking over the last 5 or so games, averaging 120 plus per.  Just coincidental.  I know.  I am one of those non-believers when it comes to this crap.

15)   I hear the Falcons not only had WR Roddy White’s idiotic pedigree/ unbeaten comments, but that some Falcons also went into the Saints pre-game warm-ups to talk trash.  You could go with the waking the sleeping dog cliché.  I prefer a cliché that deals with a mid size dog who was the biggest dog on the block in a small town, and then they move towns, and then the dog goes to a big city dog park and there are lots of bigger dogs.  What?  There IS one?  Well, I can’t put my finger on it, and I suck at knowing and using clichés correctly.

16)   NASCAR racer Brad Kesolowski was fined 25k for tweeting in his car…during a delay.  I admit that the guy is pretty addicted to social media to be doing it during a race, but he has a bunch of followers making your sport more popular, and it is not like the car was moving.  I say let it go.

17)   Former Seahawk Jerramy Stevens was arrested for assaulting soccer player Hope Solo one day before their wedding.  So, they went to court on their wedding day, a mere two months after they started seeing each other.  Shame if this is true, most of us would never do anything violent to our significant other, but damn I bet you that Hope Solo’s idiotic thoughts and comments would probably make us non violent people the CLOSEST to doing  it.  She just seems like a bitaaahhhmmmmm…..sorry.  Never mind.

18)   Lindsey Vonn is in the hospital being tested for intestinal pain.  I had a good joke about this with Bode Miller and flow charts, but my editor vetoed it.  Get better, Lindsey.

19)   Will SOMEONE beat the Knicks so I can stop hearing about how they are unbeaten and then have to hear possible Carmelo Anthony interviews galore.  Stop the hype.  Lose dammit.  You are not at a title caliber team wise yet no matter how much your ego tells you that you are.

20)   I hear that a couple players said Rex Ryan actually cried in the locker room after the game this past weekend.  Combining with this entertaining rumor with all of these ANONYMOUS Jets players talking trash in the last few days about how Tim Tebow sucks, and we have a regular three ring circus going on over there.  You KNOW people don’t like Chad Johnson when HE can’t even get a sniff of a receiver position up in New York, where Sanchez has NO one to throw to.  I need a flow chart for THESE guys without a doubt.  Oh, and stop talking shit and being anonymous.

21)   Anyone else find it odd that the Marlins made that huge trade one year after building a new, fancy stadium?  That place already has the most fan no shows for games, let alone playing with only “stud prospects.”

22)   An Estonian footballer was arrested on suspicion of dealing cocaine.  For no reason whatsoever and on no platform with a clue, I am curious there aren’t more soccer players overseas busted for drugs.

23)   We are in the midst of early commitments for the class of 2013 in college basketball.  Kentucky is leading the field, as it is hard not to when you are cheating somehow.  Memphis, a projected #2 class, is being typical Memphis and literally barricading every town within 200 miles to make sure not ONE talented guy leaves the area.  When are they going to actually show us something more than talent and potential?  When does results join the party?  KU just got a commitment yesterday from Josh Ebiid, a four star guy.  This gives Bill Self yet another strong class to work with.  As I said yesterday about Self…reload, shmreeload.

24)   You know you have a girlfriend who is at your place a lot when a bottle of Kahlua is spotted in the kitchen.

25)   Mark McGwire is the new Dodgers hitting coach.  Now he has another team of young kids to tell his PED littered stories to.  Damn.  I think back to that time when he was doing his thing later in his career and we were mostly all fooled.  I just thought he was a really big guy.  So did most other people.  Duhhh.

26)   The Big East is losing Pittsburgh and Syracuse next year.  One of the replacements is San Diego State.  Sure, the opposing kids will LOVE them being in their conference for a nice little Mission Bay and Pacific Beach visit…but Big EAST?  Odd.  Conferences can have teams that go north south to country limits, but going across the country is a little ridiculous.

27)   Tennessee QB Tyler Bray said to the media “I get paid to win games.”  NCAA.  Sure, it might have been a harmless verbiage mistake, but go investigate anyway.  Once again, send an extra guy to swing by Kentucky.  By the way, Tyler, since you are NOT winning, are you still getting paid…and don’t litter your response with scholarship=payment talk.

28)   Amazingly, after over two years at my apartment, it still doesn’t bug me having to walk outside to talk on my phone each time.  Those long phone conversations curled up on the couch watching basketball just don’t exist in my world.  Therefore, not many people call me.  At least I am not LYING about it.

29)   I don’t care if it was 30 degrees this morning in Denver AND DC.  I travel in cargo shorts.  Period.  I can’t stand to wear anything else walking through airports.

30)   Duke’s Rasheed Sulaimon is a legitimate player.  Watch out for this freshman this year.  He is in the perfect scenario.  He is good enough to start, but they have enough experience that he can just learn, blend in, and eventually be a stud.  He can pick and choose his moments to show his stuff.  Maybe he can bring back pounding the floor again.  I hate Duke, but I thought that was the coolest thing back in the day when Hurley and others did it.  Did they copyright it?  Is there a reason they stopped?  Confused.  I just said Duke did something cool once, and now they DON’T do it.

31)   The NHL sides spoke on the phone briefly yesterday about how they don’t have anything formal set up presently.  Then, it got tense, and they hung up.  Solid work you all are doing there, guys.

32)   I was around a group of people the other day where it took us literally 6 people and hitting Google to remember the name of the t-shirts where it had one educated word on it, but was kind of a tough guy shirt.  It was Affliction.  What a team we had assembled to figure THAT one out.

33)   I went to a house party over the weekend where the guys who live there are actually professional DJ’s.  It makes for an awesome party, and very little thought into the next music selection.  Pretty tight party, Rob.

34)   I hear the Dodgers are dangling Ethier and Hunter.  Just when I thought they had decided to be buyers and make a play, they look to sell off two key players.  That entire National League West is downright confusing…except the Giants of course.

35)   You won’t hear much about the two Indiana bball players who are sitting out 9 games…unless they lose one.

36)   Jerry Colangelo signed on for another four years heading up US basketball.  He might as well.  He is 62-1 during his tenure.  That being said, he better already be talking to Coach K about riding it out for one more round.  I am pretty sure it is a little you, Jerry, and a lot him.

37)   I hear that Kobe and Steve Nash have given the “thumbs up” for new coach D’Antoni.  Do they really have a CHOICE?  Thanks, guys, for telling us you will listen to your new boss.

38)   That is it.  I am about at the end of my list and we are making our approach into DC.  Hope you enjoyed.  Will I blog tomorrow?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.  Peace.

39)   Actually, it isn’t a clown question.  I have a lot going on tomorrow for work and logistics in travel.  I might just talk to you all Friday.  Peace again.

#jaybilas #sethcurry #collegebasketball #nerlensnoel #dukebasketball #bcsunbeatens #uvadelaware #bigben #benroethlisberger #melvinjohnson #adrianpeterson #falconstrashtalking #kesolowski #jerramystevens #hopesolo #knicks #rexryan #joshembiid #kahlua #markmcguire #sandiegostatebigeast #tylerbray #rasheedsulaimon #basketballrecruiting #dodgersethier #airplane