Craig Samsky's blog

Blackhawks highlighted sports year

Submitted by Craig Samsky on Fri, 12/31/2010 - 8:03pm

Looking back at 2010, the year was full of great sports moments. The USA soccer miracle win against Algeria; the Texas Rangers’ first playoff series win against the Tampa Bay Rays, followed by beating the Yankees, their run only halted by the great pitching staff of the San Francisco Giants (also a great story, as the team;s first Series win in the Bay Area) and the heroics of Cody Ross; Butler’s Cinderella run to the national championship which almost resulted into a half-court game winner; or even Michael Vick’s potential MVP season.

shadow

Celebrate UConn, but celebrate all records

Submitted by Craig Samsky on Wed, 12/22/2010 - 3:16am

Tuesday, the Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team reached a milestone that no other team may again match

Eighty-nine consecutive wins.

An amazing accomplishment. Something for which everyone should applaud coach Geno Auriemma and the players who were part of this great journey.

This record has brought a tremendous amount of publicity to the UConn program, but also to the sport of women’s basketball as a whole. A growing number of people are now starting to tune into this team, and watch a new record continuing to be set each game.

shadow

Big Ten vs. Big East: Which is better?

Submitted by Craig Samsky on Thu, 12/16/2010 - 3:20am

Before the season began, many believed the Big Ten was the best men’s basketball conference.

However, with a month in the books, the Big Ten may may not be the best.

With the surprising start to the season for teams like Connecticut, Louisville, and Cincinnati, the Big East may be second to none as the best conference.

Therefore we’re going to compare 11 of the top teams from Big East to the 11 total teams in the Big Ten.

 

 

shadow

Contenders . . . or Pretenders?

Submitted by Craig Samsky on Sun, 11/28/2010 - 3:07pm

Set aside the off-the-court drama with Jim Calhoun, because Kemba Walker has stolen the limelight. In the first five games the Connecticut Huskies have played, Walker has averaged 30.3 points per game.

During the EA Maui Invitational Walker scored a total of 90 points.

Because of Walker’s sensational scoring ability, the Huskies won the EA Maui Invitational, beating a very good Wichita State team (which is expected to win The Missouri Valley Conference), the  No. 2-ranked Michigan State Spartans, and then the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats.

shadow

Mea culpa: Crean recruiting with eye on both immediate and far future

Submitted by Craig Samsky on Mon, 11/15/2010 - 6:49pm

A few weeks ago I wrote an article downplaying Tom Crean’s recent work to secure verbal commitments from high school freshmen and future 2014 Indiana University Basketball Players Tre Lyles and James Blackmon.

I spoke heartily regarding the fact that Crean should be focusing more on the 2011 class and signing Cody Zeller, rather than wasting time to only receive a verbal commitment from a class three years away, who still could potentially choose to go elsewhere.

shadow

Hamilton survives adversity

Submitted by Craig Samsky on Wed, 11/10/2010 - 3:21pm

Baseball season is officially over, but the lifetime battle between one human and life-changing remedies will continue forever.

Josh Hamilton was on top of the world in 1999 when he was the first pick in the Major League Baseball Amateur draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

His early career was consumed by drugs and alcohol, which forced him to miss five years of his baseball life. At the time, many believed he would never return to the game, and Hamilton’s career was at an all-time low.

shadow

Is ESPN burying the Calhoun story?

Submitted by Craig Samsky on Tue, 11/09/2010 - 6:01pm

When was the last time ESPN was on TV and Brett Favre did not show up in the headlines?

In today’s sports world, Favre’s soap opera resume is dominating the media attention.

But with college basketball approaching, people seem to be overlooking one of the bigger stories to come around in the last couple years.

shadow

Rays' future not so bright

Submitted by Craig Samsky on Fri, 10/15/2010 - 2:35am

rays loseIt was easy for most people to be confident that the Tampa Bay Rays were going to make a run for the World Series.

Since the 2008 season, the Rays have caught the eye of the baseball world. But this was the last year they had a legitimate shot at a championship.

shadow

A little too young?

Submitted by Craig Samsky on Mon, 10/11/2010 - 12:32pm

With IU's men's basketball team about to begin preparation for a new season, there is already great news surrounding the program. Recently, Indiana signed the #1 and #7 recruits for 2014.

As of now, Tre Lyles and James Blackmon plan to be playing in Assembly Hall in four years. They are both high school freshmen.

Does anyone else find something wrong here? It's easy to appreciate the hard work Tom Crean is doing - but is he doing the right kind of work?

Crean is not the only coach who has used similar recruiting tactics.

shadow