USBWA votes

As a new member of the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), this year was my first opportunity to vote for the national awards for men's and women's college basketball.

Ballots for men's hoops were due on March 10 while the ballots for women's hoops are due on March 17.

There were difficult decisions to make; but, here are my votes for a few of the categories:

Men's College Basketball

Freshman of the Year: Michael Beasley, Kansas State.

Player of the Year: Michael Beasley, Kansas State.

Coach of the Year: Matt Painter, Purdue.


Women's College Basketball

Freshman of the Year: Maya Moore, Connecticut.

Player of the Year: Candace Parker, Tennessee.

Coach of the Year: Keitha Adams, Texas-El Paso.


UPDATED: 3/22/08 --
Here are the announced winners (thus far) of the awards:

Men's College Basketball

Freshman of the Year: Michael Beasley, Kansas State.

Coach of the Year: Keno Davis, Drake.

Player of the Year: not yet announced.

Rockets Love Fest

UPDATE, 3/18: Boston ends the streak with 94-74 win.
UPDATE, 3/16: Rockets make it 22 straight!
UPDATE, 3/14/08: 21 wins in a row!
UPDATE, 3/12/08: The streak is up to 20 straight wins!

The Houston Rockets continued their spectacular ride with their franchise record 18th straight win Saturday night. The New Orleans Hornets were losing team number 18. The national sports media has hopped on the bandwagon, too. Did you know "Rafer Alston is the most underrated point guard in the NBA?"

The Rockets have not just won 18 straight games. The last nine wins have been by double-digits which is one short of the league record.

It's amazing what winning can do.

A few months ago Tracy McGrady was worried about his injured left knee and whether he'd be able to finish the season. Plus, McGrady was complaining about the shooting background at Toyota Center. Fans were griping about McGrady's lack of toughness so much they wanted the Rockets to trade him. Quick. Fast. And in a hurry.

Eighteen straight wins later. McGrady is on a roll! He's scored 20 plus points -- in the first half -- for two straight games. T-Mac's 41 point, nine assist showing versus New Orleans was sensational! In fact, Rockets fans chanted "MVP! MVP! MVP!" during the ball game.

Now, since the Rockets have won six straight games without him, some fans want the Rockets to trade center Yao Ming instead of McGrady.

Rafer Alston has played very, very well during this Rockets roll. He's averaged 15.4 points and 7.2 assists per game during the streak. He's scored 20-plus points in three consecutive games for just the third time in his career.

And, Alston is letting his opponents know he and his team are playing well, too.

"I don't like them. They don't like me," Alston said. "They keep telling me to stop talking. I'm great at talking trash."

Paul, considered an MVP candidate, was pretty good at it, too.


"I wish I could be half as good as him one of these days in the NBA," Paul said, "since he thinks he's so great."

The Rockets are getting positive contributions from every player. Rookie forwards Carl Landry and Luis Scola have combined to produce Tim Duncan type numbers game in and game out. Dikembe Mutombo is a force on defense blocking and / or altering shots. Luther Head is scoring well off the bench. Chuck Hayes grabs rebounds; plays pestering defense; and cuts to the basket for easy lay-ups. Steve Novak is knocking down open 3s. Shane Battier is doing his job.

On and on.

Houston has hit 74-of-188 (.394) 3-pointers over their last seven games, reaching double-digits made from downtown in five of those contests.

Whichever player head coach Rick Adelman puts in the game gets the job done when called.

The Toyota Center crowd has been electric. The players are jumping up and down and chest bumping during times-out. Overall, the team is confident; energized; and excited to be on the court.

When will the Love Fest end? Who knows and honestly who cares?

What now, Hilton?

I'm not the Houston Comets public relations person; but, I would like to offer some advice to Mr. Hilton Koch, the owner of the WNBA's Houston Comets.

Actually, my thunder was stolen from a person (a Comets' season-ticket holder) earlier this morning on The HRR's message board.

Here's part of what she wrote:

IT'S TIME FOR AN OFFICIAL LETTER TO THE STH'S, from the owner and coach, explaining things to us! For what it's worth...

This statement is in response to Monday's news that forward Sheryl Swoopes, a Houston Comets and women's basketball icon, signed a free-agent contract to play basketball with the Seattle Storm.

Swoopes' decision to sign with Seattle is just the latest change for the Comets' organization. Earlier this year, the Comets announced they would play their home games in Reliant Arena instead of Toyota Center.

Surprisingly, many people (including the media) still do not know the Comets have a new home.

Why not?

Simply put, the Comets have done a poor job keeping their name in the public eye.

Houston's pro soccer franchise, the Houston Dynamo, generates and receives more media attention than the Comets.

Team Texas, the new professional spring football team, has billboards posted across town. Team Texas generated a buzz among the local media by putting together a great draft party a few weeks ago. Their season is about to begin.

Clearly, the Comets fall way behind the Astros, Rockets, and Texans and the major colleges / universities for coverage and attention from the media.

Hilton, women's basketball in Houston (college and professional) is a tree falling in the woods. If people do not know you actually exist, people will forget about you.

Ironically, with Swoopes' signing to leave the Comets and join Seattle yesterday, the Comets have received more publicity and recognition in the city of Houston in the last 24 hours than they received when they announced their move to Reliant Arena.

Hilton, do not pass up opportunities to make your voice heard and your team recognized. Your head coach, Karleen Thompson, needs to be seen and heard in Houston, too.

Comets' fans want to be informed and involved about their favorite team.

If forward Tina Thompson decides not return to the Comets this season, as the same season-ticket holder included in her message board post wrote, "KT (Karleen Thompson) and H (Hilton) can't be serious if they think a team will survive without Tina."

A pro team being out of sight and out of mind won't be a pro team for very long.