March Madness | Local Hoops | Local Puck | Valspar Championship | Hook | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
For starters, I’d just like to be the first to let you know that it is Dave Portnoy’s 47th birthday on this fine No Football Friday. Everybody’s Favorite Dave founded Barstool Sports at 27 years old way back in ‘04 so this is also his company’s 2nd decade as a sports media publication. I just try to take things on a Week to Week basis, but credit where it’s due, that’s 1,040 weeks which is wild. That is all for the opening introduction, I have nothing cheeky up my sleeve, just want to wish him a Happy 47th Birthday, cheers!!
Day 1 Recap
East Region
- The first upset of the Tournament was #11 Duquesne Dukes over the BYU Cougars. A professor at Duquesne who teaches Sports Information and Media decided to cancel class for the day to let the students go celebrate. Realistically you’d have to think that anybody with any sports sense in his class was skipping it anyway. Still good on Professor Healy.
West Region
- The West Region had no real upsets. Dayton’s DaRon Holmes set the tone for their win early on with a nice dunk 1 minute into the game. Holmes had 18 points to go with 9 boards. Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans are now 20-5 in the Round of 64. Izzo now has 17 career wins when his team is the higher seed of a game, that is the most of all time. The Spartans will now face off against the Tar Heels on Saturday. Arizona took care of business against Long Beach State.
South Region
- Another Kentucky loss that puts Drizzy in the dumps. John Calipari’s Wildcats have now only won 1 NCAA Tournament game in 4 years after #14 Seed Oakland beat ‘em. Senior Guard, Jack Gohkle, dropped 32 points while hitting 10 3-pointers in the game. Entering the game, Gohkle had attempted 335 field goals on the year and 327 of them came from beyond the arc. Gohkle was 1 3-pointer away from tying Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer who knocked down 11 for the most in a March Madness Tournament game in 1990. I had Kentucky in my Final Four. Yikes.
- NC State’s DJ Burns is a joy to watch play grown-ass man basketball. I don’t usually break down clips like this, but for kids or adults who play in slowbreak, his post up here is a work of art. After receiving the initial pass and taking one dribble into the lane, he notices the passer’s defender creeping in, kicks it back out, feels the defender slouch off a bit, and immediately regains position on the block 1-on-1. Sure, his baby hook floater is a beaut as well, but the work he puts into positioning beforehand is what really got him the layup. Burns is a big fella at 275 lbs and he is a very fun player to watch because not only can he finish around the rim, but he’s a great passer as well. NC State will take on Oakland in the 2nd Round. It should be a fun one with very contrasting styles of play.
Midwest Region
- The #11 Seed Oregon Ducks upset South Carolina. Jermaine Couisnard, a former Gamecock, scored 40 points for the first time in his collegiate career in a revenge game. He now holds the Oregon record for most points scored in a March Madness game. Sadly the Saint Peter’s Peacocks of Jersey City will not be advancing to the Elite 8 like I had in my bracket. Tennessee wasn’t going to allow them to upset as they jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in their 83-49 rout. Texas, Creighton, and Gonzaga all took care of business as well. The last game of the night was Kansas vs Samford which didn’t finish until 1 AM ET, thanks to Kansas’ shaky play. The Jayhawks almost blew a 22-point lead, but they didn’t or it would have been the lead.
Since last week, the Knicks have dropped a spot to Orlando. The Magic have won 5 in a row. The Brooklyn Nets have been toasted in 11th place since the New Year.
Manhattan
While the Knicks may have lost last night in Denver, their west coast trip was a massive success thanks to the more brilliant play of Jalen Brunson. The Villanova alum dropped 45 points against Portland, scored 42 points against Sacramento, and chipped in 34 points against Steph Curry. The Knicks MVP currently has the 7th best odds at the NBA MVP this year. To his name, Brunson now has 11 career 40+ point games with the Knicks as he passed his teammate Julius Randle for 5th most of all-time. After getting snubbed from an NBA All-Star team start, I don’t know how he won’t be at least a 2nd-Team All-NBA PG. The Knicks have not had a 1st or 2nd Team All-NBA PG since Walt Frazier. Clyde, the Knicks legendary player and announcer, made 4 1st Team All-NBA teams (1970, 1972, 1974, 1975) and 2 2nd Team All-NBA teams (1971, 1973).
Brooklyn
The Nets forward, Mikal Bridges, led the team in scoring with 24 points in their latest loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Bridges has now played in 500 consecutive NBA games. For context, Ben Simmons, who was drafted in ‘16, has only played in 332 games total, forget consecutive. Years ago an NBA player showing up for work every day wasn’t something to celebrate, it was expected. Nowadays with all the rest days, Bridges does deserve some recognition for it. How do you think he feels about his Aussie teammate? The Nets will cross the Brooklyn Bridge this weekend to take on the Knicks at the Garden.
Since last Friday, the Rangers have given up some ground in the standings as the Carolina Hurricanes have won 5 straight. The Islanders dropped a spot to the Caps and the Devils went 3-2.
Manhattan
Last night, the Rangers beat Boston thanks to Artemi Panarin’s hat trick. The 3rd goal came on an empty netter but I always say it still counts in the box score. Breadman now has 41 goals on the season. He is the first Ranger since Jaromir Jagr in ‘06 to have 40+ goals and 50+ assists. Jagr that season had an incredible 123 points to his name. Panarin is now 1 point from Wayne Gretzky’s 97 points in the ‘97 season, which would crack him in the Rangers’ top 10 of a single-season all-time. The Rangers still have 12 more games left to play so it’s not totally outside the realm of thinking that Panarin could continue to climb up the list.
Out East
After winning 6 in a row, the boys Out East have lost 6 in a row. It sounds like the guys gotta gather around the table, bring their shame, and have another all-night revival. Someone call the women, somebody steal the bibles, baptize Barzal in a bottle of Beam, and put some Johnny Cash on the vinyl. (Source: Ol Son’s Lyrics) The Islanders’ odds of now making the playoffs are starting to vanish as they now sit at 9.2% on MoneyPuck. In one of their 6 losses, they did lose another one in OT, their 15th on the season. The most all-time was 18 done by 4 squads, so they still have a chance at infamy.
New Jersey
Jack Hughes broke his 7-game goal drought by hammering 2 in the back of the net last night. His first goal was skillfully one-timed off a rebound. The 22-year-old now has 23 goals on the season, good for 2nd most on the Devils. Mind you, the Jersey Center has missed nearly a quarter of the season. Despite being a point below the Islanders, MoneyPuck has the Devils at a 14.3% chance at the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Devils will be making their way Out East this weekend in what will be a die-or-die regular Sunday matchup with only about two handfuls of games left in the regular season.
Valspar Championship
Palm Harbor, FL | Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club - Copperhead Course | $8,400,000 Purse | GOLF/NBC
The Valspar Championship was established as a PGA Event in 2000. It previously was known as the Tampa Bay Classic. Before it was PGA event, a golf club known as The Copperheads organized the event back in 1977 as a way to aid charities in the Tampa Bay area. The Copperheads are still involved in organizing the Valspar Championship and since 1977 have generated over $50 million for local charities.
Kevin Streelman
Kevin Streelman enjoyed a great start to his tournament by shooting 7 under par on 7 birds. Streelman, who has been on the PGA Tour since ‘08, won his first PGA Event down at the Valspar Championship back when it was called the Tampa Bay Championship in ‘13. It was his 153rd PGA event up until that point so this must be a special course for him. Streelman’s underdog golf story goes back even further as before making it onto the PGA Tour in ‘08, he spent 6+ years training. He burned through 3 different cars, crossed the country multiple times, and racked up over 300,000 miles in his pursuit of becoming a golf pro. Pretty cool! (Source: Kevin Streelman Golf)
JT Thomas
After missing the cut at the Players Championship last week, JT Thomas is back on the grind in the Tampa Bay area. His Thursday round was solid with 4 birds to 1 booger. JT Thomas’ approach shot on 8 was truly a beaut so I had to Note it with a GIF. JT Thomas is likely using this event as a way to fine-tune some kinks in the lead-up to The Masters.
Séamus Power
Séamus Power also had a solid opening round of golf on Thursday with 4 birds and 1 booger. The County Waterford golfer represented Ireland in the ‘16 Olympic Games. So far this year, Power has made the cut in his last 5 events. Currently ranked as the #103 Golfer in the world, Power has an outside chance at making The Masters if he can win or place well in the Valspar Championship, next week’s Houston Open, and the following weekend’s Texas Open.
Today’s tune is Hook by the Blues Traveler. This song came out in September of 1994 and was their follow-up to their first big hit with Run Around. The Blues Traveler had been a band since their high school days way back in 1986. I heard this song recently while I was out drinking some pints of Guinness and then last Thursday night one of my friends just so happened to send it over to me stating “90s Banger” so I added it to the list. This song was very popular in America, charting at #23 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Many 90s kids like myself will know the tune when they hear the hook, but the lyrics are ironically genius too.
John Popper is the band’s singer and he wrote this song. Popper also plays the harmonica to a tee for this tune. He starts off singing it doesn’t matter what comes out of his mouth as long as it sounds good and makes you feel like you can relate to it.
This is still the first opening verse and he admits that he hasn’t said anything of meaning. It doesn’t matter who you are, all of us listening don’t care too much because it sounds good.
Sidenote: Well, damn, I for one feel exposed. Why do we listen to this song if it’s about nothing again?
Ahh right, because the hook to the song Hook is so damn good. I hear no lies detected.
In Verse 2, Popper continues to give us the listener a bit of his perspective as an artist. He confesses that his job as a singer is to just keep us interested in what he is saying.
So, he has been confusing us the whole time, admitting that he singing about much. Now he’s throwing in a Peter Pan reference. The bad guy in Peter Pan is Captain Hook. I haven’t seen Peter Pan in years but Wendy is “her” in this song. In the 1953 Disney film, Peter Pan stays in Neverland with the Lost Boys so that he can continue to duke it out with Captain Hook. Peter Pan was the band’s favorite story because as Popper put it, "I think all musicians in rock bands have kind of a Peter Pan complex. We always loved that innocent wonder and that vibe." Wow, not going to lie, I forgot how deep Peter Pan is.
Sidenote: Phin’s Insider was the friend who shared the song with me and he also found the YouTube Rabbithole of the live version of the tune at Howard Stern’s Birthday Bash of 1996. He said that for some reason this song reminds him of his grandparents’ backyard. I like hearing stuff like that because it helps drive home the point that music can always take you back.
The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin was about a German Shepherd who was rescued by an American during WWI. The good boy was a star in black and white silent films of his day. Anne Boleyn was the English Queen to King Henry VIII. She is famous for being beheaded for treason. The references to MTV and his take on political correctness also make us intrigued but they don’t have much meaning behind them either.
Wow, so here is John Popper making some contradictions. He starts by saying he hides his emotions in his lyrics and then does a “well actually” mid-way through the verse. Admitting that his goal is to make catchy hooks for us to listen to with lyrics that have no meaning could be financial suicide. All of this just seems to add to the irony of the song because this is another verse where he’s not saying much meaning, but hey it sounds good so he’s doing his job and wants to do it until he dies.
Now Popper seems to express a bit of frustration about catchy 3-minute tunes that have little meaning. He’s bursting our bubbles (balloons), but also still wants to rock&roll in our cities (burn them to the ground). The only way he can do that is if he “messes around” and plays the game of making great hooks. While the lyrics to this song have very little meaning, he is driving home the point that he’ll cleverly work hard at even writing lyrics about nothing mean something. He’s kinda got a point in that some of the best songs we love might not have too much meaning as compared to others that get overlooked with much deeper meaning but…
Great 90s tune! This whole song went over my head as a kid. Very ironic, I always just thought it had a great hook!
YouTube Rabbithole
Blues Traveler “Hook” at Howard Stern’s 1996 Birthday Show