Analyzing the Huskies - Marquette & New Mexico Games

Some notes from the Huskies two NCAA Tournament wins

• The Huskies GO-TO players are playing at a very high level in both games

• Quincy Pondexter is averaging 18 points, 8 boards, 2 steals & 2 blocks
• Isaiah Thomas is averaging 17 points,7.5 assists & is 7 of 12 from beyond the arc
• Matthew Bryan-Amaning is averaging 13 points, 6 boards & 2.5 blocks
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• The Huskies bench play has been superb
• The Huskies bench is averaging 24 points so far this tourney, outscoring opposing benches 24-4 against Marquette and 24-11 against New Mexico.

• Elston Turner has been big from three
• Turner has come through in both games off the bench, going 6-10 from beyond the arc. Not only that, but it's clear that his confidence is high and his stroke is dialed-in like never before seen this season.  Turner brings a legitimate deep threat off the bench to compliment Thomas and Pondexter. 

• The Huskies are peaking at the right time
• It has been widely publicized that the Dawgs have been on a roll lately, winning nine straight games, including the Pac-10 tournament.  What is less looked at however is the fact the Huskies have won in essentially every type of game during that span.  There have been blowouts - UCLA by 29, New Mexico by 18 and Stanford by 15, but they have also kept their poise during nail-biters.  With wins against CAL by 4 and Marquette by 2, they have proven that they are on a mission to win no matter what.

One final note/thought that I have had throughout this tournament was captured perfectly in the below article by Ray Ratto, where Ratto draws light on the lack of coverage that the Huskies are getting in the media. Take a look:

Huskies carrying crown for Cinderella stories into Sweet 16

Major League Baseball Ponders Radical Realignment Plan

Today I read a very interesting article by Tom Verducci, one of my favorite Sports Illustrated columnists, on the radical proposal that the MLB is considering regarding realignment.  Essentially, as Verducci put it, the MLB is considering an idea, "in which teams would not be fixed to a division, but free to change divisions from year-to-year based on geography, payroll and their plans to contend or not." 

What this rule change would do is give teams like the Tampa Bay Rays a chance to switch divisions, leaving the AL East and the powerhouses of the Yankees and Red Sox, to a division like the much weaker AL Central where the Rays would have a realistic shot every year of winning the division. 
Take the 2009 season for example - at the conclusion of the regular season the Rays finished in third place behind the Red Sox (AL Wild-Card champions) and the division champion Yankees.  They finished the year 84-78, a whopping 19 games out of the pennant race.  If those same Rays would have been in the AL Central however, they would have been only 2 1/2 games behind the AL Central champion Twins.

This move I believe would be greatly beneficial to the MLB, for a number of reasons.

1. It would allow a more balanced playing field for teams like the Rays, who are in the top echelon of the American League, to compete year in and year out.
2. It would promote tighter pennant races for all three divisions.
3. It would allow lower payroll teams to vie for a chance to play in October.

All I can say is that I am presently surprised that the MLB is being more proactive at looking at the system of things, and trying to better the game. Even if this doesn't come to fruition, it's a move in the right direction to have the discussion.

Here is the link to the Tom Verducci piece:

Selig, committee considering radical realignment plan