Bleacher Report - Articles by Joshua Normand

Gonzaga-North Carolina: Their Achilles Heel(s)

Joshua Normand — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:44:17 -0400

In order for Gonzaga to beat North Carolina, they have to do a few things.

1) Play extremely good defense and slow the tempo. If they try to run with the Heels, that will play into their hands and Carolina can score with anyone in the country. North Carolina does not like to play a half-court game, despite their advantage with Hansbrough in the frontcourt. They have a lot of slashing guards who like to shoot threes.

2) Get Lawson in foul trouble and use Goodson on him, a lot. Give Demetri Goodson at least 20 minutes on Friday night. While I like Pargo, Goodson's speed could test Lawson's injury more than anyone on Radford or LSU did.

3) Heytvelt has to dominate or neutralize Hansbrough. If Tyler gets 20, Josh has to get 20, maybe even 25. Josh won this matchup in New York in November of 2006 at the Garden. This is a big stage for both of them. Let's see who wins.

4) Ira Brown has to give Few a good five to eight minutes of defense and rebounds. He isn't a scorer, but incase Heytvelt gets into foul trouble, we need some help down low and Brown can be a nuisance for the Heels.

5) Finally, relax and just play. Gonzaga hasn't been the underdog much since December, when they gave UConn a great 38-39 minutes before falling in overtime. Gonzaga was expected to dominate the WCC and the WCC tournament and even the first two games in Portland. Now they are the underdog and no one outside of the Pacific Northwest gives them a chance to win.

Gonzaga's Four Keys for March Success

Joshua Normand — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:46:35 -0500

In order for Gonzaga to win at least two to three games this March, a few things have to happen.

1) Jeremy Pargo has to play like a senior point guard. While Pargo has been good, against Memphis and Connecticut, he hasn't been great. Gonzaga will need his senior leadership in tight situations in the first two rounds.

2) Josh Heytvelt has to continue to play well. It seems like he woke up after the Memphis debacle. Let's see more 20-10 type of performances.

3) Austin Daye has to get tougher. He has the most talent on the team, but can get distracted with a silly foul or two.

4) Finally, Mark Few must stay on this team. If his team plays with an edge, that is good. If they lose their edge, they can be upset.

This Gonzaga team reminds me a little bit of the '90s Arizona teams that Lute Olson had—they could go to the Final Four or get knocked out early. See 1993 Santa Clara over Arizona with future NBA great Steve Nash.

Steroids Not All A-Rod's Fault

Joshua Normand — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:53:28 -0500

In light of the A-Roid controversy and the predictable clucking of tongues and holier than thou nonsense practiced by the idealistic sportswriters, here are my thoughts.

1) There was no testing in baseball for steroids from 1994-2003, to say that he should have known better and been "above suspicion" is wishful thinking. Blame MLB and the MLBPA led by Fehr and Orza.

2) Steroid testing can lead to people getting unfairly punished. Some stuff that is illegal would show up in supposedly harmless substances. Take standard job drug testing. They tell you to avoid poppy seed bagels for a day before you take a drug test for a job, because poppy seeds would show up as Heroin. I am sure that some supplements from GNC would show up as a steroid.

3) MLB wanted the explosion of home runs after the 1994 strike in order to lure fans back into the game. Now the game is tainted and people want "purity" and the pitchers duels and the speedy guys stealing bases. How many people want to watch that kind of baseball? Only NL diehards and grumpy old-timers like Joe Morgan and Phil Mushnick.

Gonzaga's Loss to UConn and Other College Hoops Thoughts

Joshua Normand — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:17:27 -0500

As a Gonzaga fan, I was disappointed with the overtime loss to UConn. However, the Zags just need to focus a little more, especially against the better teams.

Their performance against Portland State was not up to par. Fortunately, they will have time to rebound. My theory on Gonzaga is the team does better when they aren't in the limelight.

Perhaps that's why they won the Old Spice Classic. Everyone picked Michigan State, Georgetown, or Tennessee.

I saw part of the UConn loss to Georgetown tonight. That Big East is some league. It may get nine teams into the Dance this year.

Can Minnesota play somebody good, please? I know the Gophers are 12-0, but they look like the type of team that will lose six of eight in the Big Ten and go to the NIT.

Portland State is underrated and will knock out a bigger-named team in the first round.

Bettman a Dictator: Dallas Stars Should Sue Him

Joshua Normand — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:29:57 -0500

In my humble opinion, Gary Bettman should be sued TOMORROW Morning in the U.S. District Court by Thomas Hicks and the Dallas Stars organization for tortuous interference.

Without warning, he suspended a player for making comments. This player, Sean Avery, did not commit a crime or felony, and by suspending him, Mr. Bettman prevents the Dallas Stars from having all of its assets at its disposal necessary to win a game.

These Commissioners in ALL Four North American Sports, Baseball, Football, Basketball and Hockey are becoming like demi-gods and it's time that sports fans stop giving them a blank check to do whatever they like.

No longer will I support ownership in a labor dispute after this incident.

If anyone knows anything about sports law and what options a team has if someone suspends a player for no good reason, please let me know.

Thank you.

Gonzaga Basketball Preview: Six Games to Watch

Joshua Normand — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:55:55 -0500

Here are the games that I am looking forward to.

1) Nov. 28 against Michigan State and maybe a final with Georgetown or Tennessee in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Florida. Since Michigan State lost, hopefully the game against Maryland will be a good one. The more that Gonzaga faces Big East or elite competition, the better.

2) Dec. 20 at Seattle against UConn. I think that UConn is a paper tiger—a lot of hype and no heart or glue guys to get them through close games. We will see.

3) Dec. 10 in Pullman against Washington State. A little Eastern WA rivalry never hurt anyone.

4) Jan. 7 at Tennessee in Knoxville. They could face Tennessee for the second time if they win and Tennessee wins in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando.

5) Jan. 31 and Feb. 28 against San Diego. I think San Diego is for real. St. Mary's is good, but a little short of SD's level.

6) Feb. 7 against Memphis.

GU and SD (San Diego) will be NCAA contenders. St. Mary's will end up in the NIT or CBI.

Top Thanksgiving Games of Today and All Time

Joshua Normand — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 05:42:17 -0500

Tomorrow the NFL has three games scheduled for the country. First at 12:30 ET, it's the Tennessee Titans at the Detroit Lions. I expect that the Titans will struggle to score, but eke out a 16-13 win over the hapless Lions.

Next at 4:20 ET, it's the Seattle Seahawks at the Dallas Cowboys. Considering that Seattle has no offensive playmakers, I think that the Cowboys will win comfortably, something like 31-10.

Finally, at 8:15, the Arizona Cardinals visit the Philadelphia Eagles. In light of the benching of McNabb on Sunday in Baltimore and the tie fiasco in Cincinnati, I think that Arizona will win, something like 24-20, and wrap up the NFC West (which is more like the NFC Worst).

Now for the Top Thanksgiving games that I remember:

1. 1993, Miami over Dallas—This was the game when it snowed in Dallas and Leon Lett tried to recover a fumble but lost it and the Dolphins recovered and kicked a field goal to win the game.

2. 1980, Chicago over Detroit—It was tied at 20 or so and then the Bears returned the opening kickoff in overtime to win the game.

3. 1994, Dallas over Green Bay—Jason Garrett came in for an injured Aikman and threw for a couple of touchdowns to win the game.