The Point Spread Column

By: Bob Johnson   Date: February 18, 2006

The Super Bowl is over and a some people may not have thought it was all that exciting, but why didn't anyone leave early? Think what might have happened if Seattle's last pass near the end zone had not been batted down. Seattle could have scored a TD and the pointspread of the game would have been determined by a Two-Point conversion. Seattle was getting 4 points on the pointspread. The score would have been 21-16. If Seattle missed the Two-Point conversion, Pittsburgh would cover the spread winning by 5. If Seattle made it, then the game would have fallen on 3 and Seattle would hope for an onside kick and a field goal to tie. In any event, they would have covered the spread. Players and Sports Books alike would all be effected by the outcome. It would have gone down as one of the most exciting Super Bowls of all time based on the pointspread. Those who say it wasn't exciting, didn't wager on it.

Last week, the so called "cream" of the Atlantic Ten conference, George Washington played at St. Joseph's. GW blew a 9 point lead late in the game and won by 2, failing to cover the 3 1/2 to 4 point spread. They missed 14 free throws in that game! George Washington may have won 21 games with 5 double digit scorers, but when they get into the tournament, teams will be sure to foul them. In their last game laying 14 to UMass, they won by 3. In that game, they missed 15 free throws! Their big man, Pops Mensah Bonsu is the main culprit. He has become a "Hack-a-Shaq" target for opponents.

In the NBA, the Spurs played at Indy on Sunday and although the Pacers are missing Jermaine O'Neal in the post, Spurs MVP Tim Duncan was a woeful 4 of 15 for only 10 points in that pointspread loss. The Houston Rockets were laying 9 vs. the horrible Knicks and Houston's star Tracy McGrady shot 3 of 20 for 7 points! The Rockets blew an 11 point lead with .18 seconds left letting the Knicks score the final 4 points on a technical foul and a foul on a made basket. The performance by the Rockets vs. Phoenix in their last game tops the list. This was a disgrace. I know that marijuana is a big thing with NBA players and it is the league's dirty little secret, but the Rockets must have been on sedatives vs. the Suns. This needs to be investigated. The Rocket management should refund the money that fans in Phoenix paid to see an NBA game because they didn't see one.

In the George Washington/St. Joseph's game, both teams attempted a total of 41 "so-called" 3 point shots. They were a combined 5 of 36 on the day. I have long thought along with such coaches as Rick Pitino, that the cheap 3 point shot in college basketball is ruining the game. These games are becoming glorified games of HORSE played out along the 3 point line. Everybody thinks they can shoot that shot, because it is no more than a normal shot on any playground in America. So, all the teams just pass the ball around the line and the defenders come out on it and it becomes something other than basketball. The line needs to be moved back. A lot of people keep talking about it, but nothing gets done. I expect to see the line moved next season. It is way past time for the NCAA to make the move.

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