One Point Shy

Since my last post, Columbus went 3-1 in the last four games of the regular season. But it wasn’t quite enough, as they ended up in a tie with Minnesota for eighth place in the west with 55 points. The Wild won the tie-breaker, which was based on total regulation and overtime wins, not counting shootout wins. The Blue Jackets’ turnaround from last place just a few weeks ago to a playoff contender was one of the big stories of the year in the NHL. Since I got my new TV on March 3rd, the Blue Jackets were 19-5-3, accumulating 41 points in 27 games.

Not much sports for me until football season starts in September. The Kentucky baseball team is nowhere near as good as they were last year. Bonnie and I will try to get to Cliff Hagen Stadium to see a game if it warms up before the season ends in mid-May.

Still In The Hunt

On the night of April 7th, one pundit said the Blue Jackets had a 3% chance of making the playoffs. This after a 3-1 loss at St. Louis, and a 3-0 home loss vs. Minnesota. But since then, Columbus has won 5 in a row. Some of those were overtime wins, but the point granted to the losing team didn’t have a big impact on the standings.

Columbus is all alone in 8th place in the west with 49 points. Four games remain, @LA, @SJ, @DAL and NSH. Detroit has 47 points, but 5 games remaining, @VAN, PHX, LA, NSH and @DAL. Detroit owns the tie breaker with Columbus. If both teams end up tied, Detroit would get the 8th and final playoff  spot. It would really help if Detroit lost some more games to give the Jackets some breathing room. If the Wings and Jackets falter, Dallas and Phoenix have an outside chance.

A Good Tournament

It’s been a good NCAA Tournament, although I have to admit, I’ve never really seen a “bad” one. Michigan vs. Louisville for the championship will bring together two teams playing extremely well at the right time.

Ohio State got a game winning shot at the buzzer from LaQuinton Ross to beat Arizona, but then lost the West regional final to Wichita State. The Shockers gave Louisville all they wanted in the first national semifinal last night.

The Kentucky women were once again no match for Connecticut in the East regional final, just like last year. But in the women’s game where there doesn’t seem to be as much parity as in men’s basketball, it is interesting that two #1 seeds have lost. Georgia beat Stanford and Louisville beat Baylor on the strength of sixteen 3-point baskets.

The Blue Jackets are hanging on to playoff hopes. With ten games remaining, Columbus is four points out of eighth place. But there are a number of other teams in striking distance as well. In fact, only Calgary and Colorado are probably eliminated.

After a long absence, I have finally gotten back on the air some this weekend. On 12-meter JT65, I’ve already worked two new countries, Switzerland and Sardinia today.

Jackets’ Streak Ends

The Blue Jackets took their show on the road last night, and lost in a venue that has been a nemesis for years, Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. I didn’t get to see much of the game, but the Preds scored 4 times in the first period, and Sergei Bobrovsky was replaced in goal by Steve Mason. Final score was 5-2. So the Columbus points streak ends at 12 games.

Aaron Craft hit a three-pointer just before the buzzer today and Ohio State beat Iowa State to advance to the Sweet 16. The Bucks will play Arizona in Los Angeles in the regional semifinals.

I didn’t get to see the UK women today, but after being behind at halftime, the Cats rallied and beat Navy by 20 in the first round of the Women’s NCAA tournament.

The Kentucky baseball team won this weekend’s series over Mississippi State. With last week’s series win at Florida, the Cats are off to a great start.

Big Ten Tournament Champions

When the NCAA tournament starts, I get busy, and there has been a lot of good basketball to watch. As usual I am behind in writing this blog.

Ohio State beat Wisconsin last Sunday to win the Big Ten tournament championship. The Buckeyes got the #2 seed in the NCAA West region, and opened with a 25-point win over Iona last night. The Bucks will face Iowa State tomorrow.

Kentucky was not invited to the big dance, and so settled for an NIT bid, where they were the overall #1 seed. With NCAA second and third round games going on here, the university administration said they could not host an NIT first-round game. So, the Cats traveled to Robert Morris where they lost. Coach Calipari had said he was glad to open on the road, so that he could see if the team was going to put forth any effort before selling tickets to UK fans for home games. He got his answer rather quickly.

The Blue Jackets keep rolling along. They are now 8-0-4 in the last twelve games, and are tied for eighth in the Western Conference. But the home stand is over. Of the remaining 17 regular season games, 12 are on the road. A playoff bid looms, though, if Bobrovsky can continue his impressive goal tending numbers, and if he gets goal support from the offense.

March Option Expiration

My position in ORCL was called away due to having written March 35 calls. Total profit was +11.00, but the shares were purchased some time back by exercising some 25-strike calls that were in the money at the time.

Both sides of the HPQ call-credit spread expired in the money. So the loss on the stock was a buck. With a 20 cent net credit when the spread was written, total loss on the position was 0.80. I still have a longer-term long position in the shares.

Both sides of the OXY put-credit spread expired out of the money. So the net credit of 40 cents received was kept.

Selection Sunday is Here

NCAA tournament pairings will be announced tonight at 6:00. Kentucky may or may not be among the 68 teams in the field. After closing out the regular season with a loss at Georgia and an impressive home win over Florida, the Cats fell completely flat in the SEC tournament, losing big to Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals. At 21-11, the Cats are clearly on the bubble. For the SEC regular season, UK finished in a 3-way tie for second with Ole Miss and Alabama.

Ohio State beat Illinois 68-55 last Sunday to close out the regular season. Then they watched on TV as Michigan blew a working margin late (and missed a bunch of free throws) and lost to Indiana. So, the Hoosiers were undisputed Big Ten champions. The Bucks and Michigan State finished tied for second. In the Big Ten tournament, OSU beat Nebraska in the quarters then knocked off the Spartans 61-58 yesterday in the semifinals. It will be the Buckeyes and the Badgers this afternoon for the tourney championship. I think Ohio State might be in line for a #2 seed in the big dance if they win today.

The UK women beat Vandy and Georgia in the SEC tournament to reach the final game. But Texas A&M prevailed 75-67, after being swept by the Cats in the regular season. Kentucky has a good chance at a #2 seen given the strength of the SEC. The women’s NCAA pairings will be announced tomorrow night.

The OSU women beat Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament (after being swept by the Gophers in the regular season) but then were no match for #1 seeded Penn State, losing 76-66.

The Blue Jackets have suddenly come to life. Mainly due to incredible goaltending by Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus has earned at least one standing point in the last 10 games, going 6-0-4. Being in the midst of a home stand has helped. Bob has a save percentage north of .950, but the Jackets need more offense to sustain this surge.

We had temperatures in the low to mid-70s yesterday with a good bit of sun. This morning it is 33 degrees with rain and a chance of snow. Such is life in the Bluegrass.

Still Alive

Before Tuesday night, I would have bet serious money that Ohio State could not give Indiana a good game in Bloomington on Senior Night. But the Bucks pulled off the upset 67-58, after a win at Northwestern last week 63-53.

So OSU is right back in the Big Ten title picture. Sunday, they close out the regular season at home against Illinois. The Buckeyes will hope to avenge a rout in Champaign in early January. In the meantime Sunday, the Hoosiers visit Ann Arbor. If Michigan and Ohio State win, several teams will share the title. GO BLUE!

Last night, Kentucky was officially eliminated from SEC title considerations as Florida beat Vanderbilt 66-40. Even if UK wins at Georgia tonight, and beats Florida Saturday, the Cats will still finish a game behind Florida. Last Saturday, Kentucky lost in Fayetteville 73-60 to an Arkansas team that seems unable to win on the road, but has an impressive home record.

Speaking of second place, that is where the UK women finished the regular season. The Cats recovered from the LSU loss by routing Ole Miss 90-65. Then the Cats beat Tennessee on Senior Day in Lexington. As the saying goes, you can’t lose at home, and the loss to Georgia ultimately denied Kentucky a share of the title.

The Ohio State women righted the ship. The Bucks won the last three games of the regular season, and six of the last eight, but finished 7-9 in the league. Tonight OSU plays Minnesota in the Big Ten tournament, a team that swept the Buckeyes in the regular season. Still, the better play of late may allow Ohio State to make some noise in the conference tournament.

The Blue Jackets started the long home stand with an overtime loss to Dallas. Then they traveled to Chicago and once again lost by one goal. But then Columbus won two-in-a-row for the first time this year, with 2-1 and 4-3 wins over Colorado and Edmonton.

My old TV finally gave up the ghost, so I purchased a 40″ Samsung last Sunday. I am all set for March Madness.

Road Trip Comes to an End

The Blue Jackets’ six game road trip has ended, with only two standing points to show for the effort, a 3-2 win over Detroit last Thursday. It was a bizarre game, with the Wings getting their two goals in the first 3 minutes. It was all Columbus after that. Sunday’s 1-0 loss in Chicago was a great goaltender duel. The Hawks have still not lost a game in regulation, and are the hottest team in hockey so far.

After the shellacking in Knoxville, the Kentucky men returned home and won close games over Vanderbilt and Missouri. Ohio State also had two games at home, a rout of Minnesota and a nice win over 4th-ranked Michigan State. With Indiana having gone to East Lansing and won last week, the Hoosiers have a two-game lead in the Big Ten with four games to go.

The Kentucky women picked up a nice 70-66 win at Texas A&M to sweep the series over the Aggies. However, Sunday the Cats lost at LSU 77-72 despite 20 points from A’dia Mathies. So a conference championship is now a stretch. UK must win out (at Ole Miss and at home vs. Tennessee) and hope A&M wins in Knoxville Thursday night. In my mind, the home loss to Georgia is what killed Kentucky this year.

A Couple of Routs

The Kentucky men were hoping to be able to continue to be competitive without Nerlens Noel. But the Cats traveled to Knoxville Saturday and lost 88-58 to a mediocre Tennessee team. Kentucky fans can only take comfort in the knowledge that the crop of freshmen coming in next year should be excellent.

On Sunday, Ohio State had a disasterous visit to the Kohl Center in Madison. The Badgers won 71-49, avenging an earlier loss to the Buckeyes in Columbus.

Both teams are out of the running for conference championships. Florida has a two-game lead over Alabama in the SEC, and Indiana and Michigan State have two-game leads over Michigan and Wisconsin.

The Blue Jackets have had a rough start to their 6-game road trip, with a 2-1 loss in Los Angeles and a 5-3 loss in Phoenix.