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Monday, Nov. 30, 2009

Steve Cameron: Monday dish: Smurf Turf and hoop dreams

How about a little bit of this and that while we wait for all the Tiger Woods "driving" jokes to come pouring in, eh?

ITEM: Is there anything in the entire world of sports harder on the eye than Boise State's disgusting blue "Smurf Turf"?

Seriously, I could barely watch the Boise-Nevada game. You can go blind trying to pick out players wearing blue shirts and blue pants running around on a wet blue carpet.

Speaking of that awful turf -- and yes, ducks have killed themselves trying to land on this "fake lake" -- I have another issue with the rug.

Doesn't Boise State have an advantage matching its uniforms head-to-toe with the turf underneath?

On some of the TV shots providing a view from behind the quarterback, Boise's defenders all looked semi-invisible against that all-blue backdrop.

Legal or not, the NCAA should force Boise to dump that horrible thing on the basis of sheer ugliness.

Next week maybe we'll discuss Cal's banana-yellow uniforms.

ITEM: Sorry, but there's bad news for you Sharks fans.

The Fins are cruising along around the top of the Western Conference again, but I fear we're going to get kicked in the guts again come playoff time.

Why?

Well, the addition of sniper Dany Heatley has given another target to passer supreme Joe Thornton.

And lately, coach Todd McLellan has been playing those two on a line with Patrick Marleau, the Sharks' best all-around player.

They're scoring like crazy -- leading the NHL in goals -- but that's not necessarily a good thing. At least not by itself.

Let's take Thornton first: Of his first 36 points, 15 have come on the power play. The big man is an absolute killer with a man advantage, finding open teammates like Marleau and Heatley for easy goals.

Heatley certainly has enjoyed it, too, reeling off 18 goals in 27 games -- but again, nine of those goals and five assists have come on the power play.

If you're familiar with hockey's plus-minus statistic, Thornton and Heatley each are only plus-3 during even-strength play.

For supposed superstars, those aren't good numbers -- and they're masked by all that power-play production.

What happens when the playoffs start in April is that ALL games tighten up -- teams play tougher, tighter defense and they take fewer penalties.

Thus the huge advantage the Sharks get from Thornton, Heatley, Marleau and defenseman Danny Boyle on the power play is seriously negated -- but that SAME group's deficiencies getting the puck out the Sharks' zone without catastrophe is magnified.

The Sharks are sloppy in their own end now, but score so many goals that they get away with it.

That won't happen in April, so either they clean up the turnovers or they'll be facing an early summer again.

ITEM: Talent and athletic ability don't guarantee automatic wins.

Just ask Fresno State basketball coach Steve Cleveland, whose young team is certainly the most physically gifted he's had in the Save Mart Center.

But the key word in that sentence is "young."

Center Greg Smith, a bona fide force and the type of powerful middle man around whom you can build a program, is just a freshman.

Guard Mychal Ladd and exciting forward Paul George are sophomores, still learning their way around.

Only transfer forward Sylvester Seay has what you'd call true collegiate experience, and we're still only talking one year.

The Bulldogs are off to a 2-3 start after losing 74-67 at Santa Clara on Saturday, but Cleveland has a team that figures to get MUCH better as the season progresses.

And by the way, this is the first time in five years that the Dogs are off NCAA probation, meaning the staff finally is free to recruit and build a program.

If you like hoops, these guys are worth a look. In a year or two, it'll be tough to find a seat.

Steve Cameron is a freelance columnist for the Sun-Star. He can be reached at stevecameron1000@gmail.com.