So sure, it’s a split championship. Sure, it’s spoiled by Hummel’s injury, but the Boilermakers are Big Ten Champions for the first time in 14 years. They still stand a chance to get a 1 seed in the tournament, though it’s seeming likely they’ll end up a 2 seed. With already a few upsets in the minor conference championships, it would set up Purdue with a very easy first round game, not to mention water down the field as a whole, which will benefit Purdue in the long run. But for tonight, the Boilermakers are the (Co-) Champions of the Big Ten.

I’ll take it.

Two very big statement games today for both the US hockey team and the Purdue Boilermakers, as each tries to defeat the more successful rivals from the north. As my luck would have it, both games are basically concurrent. Fortunately, I was able to figure out how to run picture in picture so I’ll be able to watch both games at once. And with it, update AMSTS.

We’ll join in live at 2 PM AZ time, with the US down 1-0 after 1 period.

2:06 PM, the teams get back on the ice, meanwhile UConn and Louisville have 29 seconds to go and Gus Johnson’s head might have splatted on the arena’s roof. I wish they could get him to call hockey.

2:07 PM, it seems like all the USA does is play in the defensive zone. Canadians are chanting. I hate Canada. Meanwhile, Louisville did Purdue a favor and won their game, ensuring there’d be no OT, preempting my Boilers.

2:11 PM, Purdue’s playing 4 Gs and a C. We’ll see how this goes.

2:13 PM, CBS replayed Hummel coming out of the tunnel and getting a deafening applause. Purdue starts the game 0/4 from the field and calls a TO trying to inbound. Rough start for the Boilers but it’s only 4-2.

2:15 PM, Canada scores again. Fuck Canada. 2-0. I’m almost tempted to switch Purdue to full screen.

2:19 PM, USA really can’t do a damn thing and every time we have a shot they whistle the play dead suspiciously early.

2:21 PM, CBS is doing a montage on Tennessee and fails to mention that Purdue beat them in December. Good job, CBS. Boilers 7-4 and Luongo just made an amazing save, ugh.

2:22 PM, Kalin Lucas just fell to the floor. Apparently a shot to the nuts. Verne is making uneasy comments. Unintentional comedy at its finest.

2:25 PM, Michigan State has 6 team fouls at 14:10 in the first. This is a good sign for Purdue. 7-6 Boilers right now.

2:26 PM, and there’s foul number 7 with 13:57 remaining in the first half.

2:28 PM, USA gets on the board! Looked like it was Rafalski from the point and someone up front deflected. I don’t have the audio on the hockey game so I have no idea. Whatever, most Americans don’t know who Rafalski is anyway. And Lucas is back on the floor after tending to his boys.

2:30 PM, KG launches a 3 and bonks it, then Bade flies out of nowhere to get the rebound. Good to see him stepping up his game.

2:32 PM, Verne keeps calling E’Twaun Moore “E-tohn”… this is driving me nuts.

2:34 PM, US is really putting the pressure on Luongo, who is making some amazing saves, as is Miller. I wish this game were on 2 hours earlier so I could watch it at 100% attention.

2:39 PM, Michigan State 18, Purdue 14. Boilermaker Nation is on Orange Alert right now. Right now I think even with a win that we’re going to get #1 in the nation. End 2nd period, Canada 2, USA 1.

2:41 PM, I really hate that Buffalo Wild Wings where the so-called “Sports fans” ask for the game to go into OT, even though their team is about to win. It really raises my blood pressure. I also hate the ad for “The Ladders.” Can we just take these two ads off of TV in a unanimous decision?

2:45 PM, Purdue is shooting 29% from the field and only down 4. I can deal with this. JJ just took his second foul with 7 minutes to go. This is basically our second team offense from here until the end of the half… This could get ugly.

2:49 PM, the Purdue crowd doesn’t sound deafening, I’d like to see Purdue make a little run to get the crowd loud.

2:50 PM, ask and ye shall receive. Kramer steals the ball and makes the dunk. Kramer is now the all time steals leader. Keaton then nails a 3. Welcome back, 14,123.

2:52 PM, Mackey is rocking after MSU’s Nix gets Ted up for hanging out on the rim. Third period starts, this is going to be timed perfectly.

2:56 PM, Another Boilermaker steal and man Mackey is rocking!!!

2:58 PM, Bade airball. So much for bringing the A game I mentioned earlier.

3:00 PM, switch to hockey, see The Ladders commercial on the Purdue feed again. You’ve got to be kidding me.

3:02 PM, halftime. Purdue 28, MSU 26. 14 minutes to go in the hockey game, this is damn near perfect timing. Hopefully Canada can have a 3rd period collapse like they did against Slovakia.

3:05 PM, Miller makes a great save and takes it out of his glove to push it up the ice and nearly turns it over. JUST FREEZE IT, SON!

3:13 PM, USA really pushing hard, only 7 minutes to go. Not a lot to say about hockey on these things, I guess.

3:15 PM, 5 minutes to go and USA is pushing hard. Canada seems content with playing defense. Not sure how wise that is.

3:17 PM, 2nd half starting up, just under 5 to go in hockey. Purdue still shooting 30%, Michigan State at 38%. Big Ten Basketball, we’ve got next!

3:22 PM, Crosby just stole the puck and had a breakaway and couldn’t do a thing against Miller. 2 minutes to go in the hockey game. The Canadian flags are waving. Miller looks itching to be leaving the crease. And he’s out with 1:20 to go!

3:24 PM, 1 minute to go, US is pushing, but to no avail. WITH TWENTY FOUR SECONDS US SCORES!!! WHAT A GAME!! USA! USA! USA!

3:28 PM, end of regulation, 15 minutes to go in Purdue game. What a day…

3:30 PM, clocks go dark in Mackey for like the 15th time this year. Daktronics, whoever they are, need to be fired.

3:31 PM, Mackey reboots. Purdue has missed 9 of its last 10 attempts from the field. The first traveling call of the day is called, despite it being the 15 occurrence by MSU.

3:33 PM, Another traveling call. Finally the refs are paying attention.

3:34 PM, Kramer is limping off the floor with what looks like a hamstring. This is not what Purdue needs.

3:37 PM, my dad just called me to talk about how exciting of a hockey game it was, oblivious to the fact that Purdue is playing. My dad never watches hockey. I think this is a good sign for the NHL in the future, if it can capitalize off of these exciting Olympic games.

3:39 PM, Michigan State has 3 guys with 3 fouls. Hopefully Purdue can keep the pressure on them. What an ugly game so far.

3:41 PM, Moore has a 3 swing around the rim and roll out and MSU goes down the other end and sinks a 3. Up by 8 with 11 minutes to go. Time for a Boilermaker rally.

3:44 PM, Overtime begins, the arena in Vancouver is almost silence with nerves.

3:47 PM, I don’t know how well my heart can handle two games that have me on the edge of my seat…

3:49 PM, Purdue shooting 29%. I can’t believe this. Someone needs to step up, Purdue is only down 6 and shooting this horribly. As I ask for someone to step up JJ hits a fadeaway jumper.

3:50 PM, Purdue is being outrebounded nearly 2-1 and still only down 4. They don’t really deserve to win this, but it’s not about who “deserves” to win, it’s who wins. 12 minutes to go in OT and Canada scores. Fuck Canada.

3:53 PM, at least now I can fully focus on the Purdue game. I’d much rather have Purdue win than the US win an Olympic gold in a sport that most Americans don’t care about…

3:57 PM, E’Twaun has showed up, Purdue gains a bit of momentum but still down 6 with 4:16 to go… I have half the cushion of my couch stuck up my rear end I’m so tense.

4:00 PM, Kramer draws 2 charges in 15 seconds. This kid throws it all out there.

4:02 PM, E’Twaun hits his second shot in 3 minutes. Hope this continues, unlike the 27 minutes without a made FG that happened earlier in the game.

4:08 PM, 1 minute to go, Purdue down 6. Painter timeout.

4:09 PM, Moore’s 3 bounces in and out of the rim…. again. Time to start fouling. I think this ship is sailing.

4:13 PM, Game over. Neither of those games went the way I was hoping. Ugh.

I’m going to apologize for not updating and say it’s because I knew Purdue would choke after I talked about how good their season was… but really I was too busy with other things and didn’t have my laptop AC adapter, and I love writing from the couch while my girlfriend makes me suffer through episodes of the reality show du jour.

That being said, I didn’t need to hex Purdue because Purdue did a fine job of killing itself without me.

The picture that stopped West Lafayette. Hummel lying on the floor, injured.

The picture in question. As soon as I saw it happen I had this horrible feeling in my gut that the Purdue season was over. My worst fears were confirmed the next day when the news came out that Robbie Hummel had in fact torn his ACL and was out for the season. Now I’m one that likes to remain optimistic until it’s way too late, ask me about my Orioles predictions from 2000-2007, but I’m afraid that this is it for the Boilermakers. Purdue fans will take solace in the fact that the Boilermakers still have a shot at the conference title and will be okay if they make a 2nd round exit in the NCAA tournament, but not me. This team was #3 in the country, we had an opportunity to play in a Final Four that was only 60 miles from the campus of Purdue. Fate was on our side.

Or so we thought. Fate had a different plan as Hummel fell to the ground in the middle of the first half in Minneapolis. Life stopped in Lafayette at that moment. Let me explain this to those Kentucky, Kansas, Syracuse, UNC fans out there. There won’t be “next year” for Purdue. There won’t be a big recruiting class full of McDonald’s All Americans that will be able to make a deep run again relatively soon. Purdue just doesn’t draw the talent that the bigger schools do. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, not one of the once-in-three-years variety. The Hummel injury will go down with the 2004 fumble vs Wisconsin as the two defining moments of “Purdon’t”. A team that might have been good enough but just couldn’t get it over the top. If Purdue continues to play like this in both football and basketball, the school will gain a legacy similar to that of the Chicago Cubs. Lovable losers, so close but so far, etc. As a Purdue fan, I can tell you that it’s absolutely devastating to get so close but never have any tangible results to show from so many good teams.

Purdue fans will be happy with a conference championship. If you told us that before the season, we would’ve been happy, but if we only make it to the second round of the tournament, I will be disappointed. When I saw how good this team was, I knew they were capable of more. I didn’t expect a National Championship, but I wouldn’t have ruled out an Elite Eight or even Final Four appearance. Unfortunately, I believe that the Hummel injury will end up being the breaking point of the Purdue Boilermakers 2009-10 basketball season.

We’ll get a really good idea when they face the Spartans on Sunday. And I promise more frequent updates from here on out.

Miguel Tejada, back in an Orioles uniform, this time at third base

First off, as always, apologies for the dearth of updates. Real life occupying too much time. That being said, plenty of news to report on today. The Orioles signed Miguel Tejada to a 1 year, 6 million dollar deal, apparently incentive laden. The best move of the offseason by the Orioles thus far, Tejada batted .315 last year at the age of 35, and is showing no signs of slowing down. He’ll be moved to third base, which according to Cal Ripken, takes about 100 games to adjust to after moving from shortstop. The good news is that Tejada is a hard worker so I don’t anticipate the defensive skills being as horrible as, say, Melvin Mora’s after he moved from SS to 3B. I suspect that the Orioles aren’t done yet with their offseason moves.

In other news, Purdue basketball has recovered from its rocky road two weeks ago. Beating the Illini in Urbana and today, the Wolverines in West Lafayette. Purdue is looking solid as of late, with improved bench production (compared to zero bench production in the three game losing streak). Wisconsin at Mackey Arena should prove to see if the team has fully recovered from its woes of early January.

Final quick update before I head to sleep, the Coyotes are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. Panic has ensued as this is highly reminiscent of last year’s slide, when the Coyotes were in a similar position and ended up not making the playoffs.

But you knew all of this stuff, or at least could look it up if you didn’t care. I’d love to sit down and do some real input sometime, perhaps tomorrow.

Robbie Hummel celebrates the win over WVU

Purdue absolutely dominated West Virginia today, in a solid 15 point victory over the Mountaineers. At one point, Purdue was up 26, and the game was never in doubt in the 2nd half. Robbie Hummel went 7-8 for 18 points, and Purdue ended up not having to worry about shooting woes, shooting 60% in the second half (which would’ve been much higher if one were to exclude the last 5 minutes of time-killing). Best part is, I didn’t even mention the rock solid defense.

The Boilers are for real. Don’t mind the 20:1 odds to win the National Championship (Which I was all over when I was in Vegas), or the lack of first place votes, I think the Boilers have all the pieces to make a long run in the tournament this year. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to guess they may make an appearance in the Final Four. Did I mention the Final Four is in Indianapolis this year? A mere 60 miles down I-65 from West Lafayette? That’s a pretty nice reward, playing the two hardest games of the tournament at home. Of course, it didn’t work for Michigan State last year, but who knows where the Boilers will end up this year. The bottom line is, life is good right now in Boilermaker country.

The best part is that this is a team without one of their better players, Lewis (LewJack) Jackson, who was injured with a broken foot and is unlikely to return this year, opting instead to redshirt. The question arises, however, that if the Boilers are in the position to making a run at the National Championship, do you pull the redshirt off of LewJack for the chance at the title?

It’d be a great problem to have, that’s for sure.

Newest Orioles pitcher Kevin Millwood

In the first of what will likely be a bevvy of offseason moves for the Orioles, Baltimore traded Chris Ray and a player to be named later to the Rangers for pitcher Kevin Millwood and some cash. Millwood went 13-10 in 2009 with a 3.67 ERA in a strong hitter-friendly park. He should be a great fit in Baltimore where he’ll likely serve in a Schilling-esque role, mentoring the young pitchers, eating up innings (and hopefully win some ballgames while he’s at it). The O’s lose an inconsistent reliever (though Ray did show flashes of brilliance, consistency was not his middle name) and gain a little money for free agency [which mlb.com seems to imply will be used to pursue Harden, though sources at Orioles Hangout indicate otherwise.]

Is it too early to deify Andy MacPhail? One can only hope for the Orioles’ sake he doesn’t become the new commissioner of baseball.

So the Dolphins beat the Panthers tonight to get their record up to 5-5 with 6 games remaining. Next week it’s the Bills, then the Pats. If the Dolphins win those two, they will win the division and make the playoffs for a second straight year (tell me that in week 3 of last year and I’d think you’re absolutely insane). To be fair, I wouldn’t mind if the Dolphins could win a little prettier. Tonight it was only assured after the last flailing pass of Jake OfTheMan fell to the ground as time expired. The Dolphins had a chance to put it away 45 seconds earlier when Tony Sparano decided to go for it on 4th and 3 at the 27 instead of kick a field goal.

Now I’ve read Gregg Easterbrook plenty, and I agree with his “You should go for it a lot more than conventional offenses do and practically never punt” strategy (to a point) but I think in the Dolphins’ situation tonight, they best play was to kick the 45 yard field goal, make it a 10 point game, and end the game that way. Sure, a Carolina block could tie it up, but up 7, you’re not going to lose the game, simply send it into overtime. A missed field goal gives Carolina 7 yards, but given the need to drive 75 yards, saving 7 yards isn’t that huge of a help (under 10% of the remaining field, I always was good at math). However, it worked out for the best even though the Dolphins didn’t get the first down.

That doesn’t mean that I avoided my weekly heart attack. Carolina drove down the field and was about 27 yards out with 6 seconds to go before OfTheMan threw a heave into the end zone that had no chance of being caught by a Panther as soon as it was released. The Dolphins will do their best to try and snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory, and a few times this year (Indy, New Orleans), they’ve succeeded.

In my quest to find an adequate viewing facility for the Dolphins game tonight, I spent about half of my afternoon trying to find a sports bar near my work that had High Definition TV, and a sports-like atmosphere that I could heckle my two co-worker Panther fans. I didn’t realize it was going to take me 15 phone calls. If you’re running a sports bar, why would you not have the most top of the line product out there? Why not just make a sports bar with a bunch of radios that let you listen to the game? You know why? Because nobody wants to enjoy football on a medium of technology when there’s a much better medium that’s easily available. I’m not asking for much, I have HD service in my house (and NFL network, could’ve just made it easy), and it’s not like there’s any shortage of TVs in many sports bars, but almost a dozen flat out said “no” when I asked “This may sound silly but do you guys have HDTVs?” another three failed to answer. Finally we were given a sports bar on a recommendation, but upon arrival, there was no game audio. *sigh*

In other news, the Coyotes took a game from the Wild last night and lost in OT to St. Louis tonight. A 3 point road trip, which I would call a success. The team really needs to succeed on the ice if it is going to remain in Phoenix for more than 3 years. I, unfortunately, don’t think that Glendale is a long term solution for the Coyotes franchise.

Apologies for the lag in between posts, I’ll do my best to get one out on Saturday as well.

Johnny Damon after tweaking his leg and pulling himself out of Game Six of the 2009 World Series.

I’m sorry, Yankees fans. I love to watch you suffer. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Boston. Maybe it’s because I’m an Orioles fan. Maybe it’s a combination of the two. Maybe it’s the 1996 ALCS. Hint: It’s the last one. It’s presently 4-1 in the Top of the 5th and the Yankees are 12 outs from winning title number 27. It’s the ultimate case of schadenfreude… I love watching New Yorkers suffer. I take solace in the fact that there is a 9 year old kid somewhere in New York asking his father what it was like for the Yankees to win the World Series, ignoring the fact that I’ve never seen (any of) my team(s) win a championship, and I’m nearly 25. I’d love to rationally explain why I hate this team so much but I just can’t put it into words. It’s the Yankees. It makes sense to me.

7-1 now. Congrats to the Yankees on #27. That’s all I have to say about that.

So my coworker Kipp would not let me get by without posting this, but it’s only fair. Purdue got absolutely blanked by Wisconsin today, 37-0. It was horrendous. On Halloween, nonetheless, I suppose it was simply a preparation for the amount of gore that I’d see later in the day. There was nothing positive to take away from it. Purdue football at its ugliest. Even I turned it off, and I watched all 60 minutes of the Dolphins losing to the Jaguars 62-7 in the playoffs a few years ago. I made my parents sit through a 18-2 Blue Jays over the Red Sox win a few years ago because of the chance of comeback. And even I couldn’t take any more Purdue football today.

In less depressing news, the Phoenix Coyotes are starting the season on an absolute tear. 18 points through 12 games, putting them anywhere from 2nd to 6th in the conference depending on the night. The main reason for this has to be the spectacular play of Ilya Bryzgalov, who has 3 shutouts already this year. We’ll see if it continues.

Dolphins vs Jets tomorrow, big game for the Fins.

You haven’t experienced frustration until your team has blown a 27-3 lead to one of the best teams in the league. Thinking all was well, I went grocery shopping at halftime to return home to find that the lead has been shut to 7. Meanwhile, Fox refuses to switch over to the game, instead showing the last 5 minutes of a Dallas rout of Atlanta. Meanwhile, New Orleans takes over the lead 37-34, and Fox joins the game. The Dolphins make a big stop on 3rd and goal from the 2, and it’s 40-34 New Orleans with 3:23 left. Far too little time for the Miami Dolphins offense, especially starting from their own 20.

Before this drive, Henne was 9/22, 138, 0/1. A 6 yard pass to Ricky Williams and once again no sense of urgency. Ginn makes another horrible drop (see: Colts game) and it’s third and four. Henne converts to Camarillo and the Dolphins have the ball at their 44 with 2:30 to go. Another pass to Camarillo who is promptly flagged for an illegal forward pass for trying to throw the ball out of bounds. This makes it second and 8 and an incomplete pass to Ricky. A false start and incomplete pass makes it fourth and 13 and it all comes down to Chad Henne, who throws a pick six.

I’m so sick of way this team screws with me, that’s for sure.