Rick Vs. The Governor

I will begin by saying that The Walking Dead is one of the most addicting shows on television. It hooks its evil claws into you and doesn’t let go, being the highest rated show amongst the sought after eighteen to forty-nine age demographic. It’s fitting right in with its other AMC counterparts Breaking Bad and Mad Men as some of the best drama on the small screen. And like Game of Thrones, no character is ever safe. Of course you already know all of this if you watch the show.

Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes
tv.yahoo.com

This season has been slowly building up to this upcoming Sunday’s climatic showdown between Rick Grimes and his group of zombie apocalypse survivors and the Governor, the head of the Woodbury community. After asserting himself as their leader at the end of last season, we’ve seen Rick go to the brink of crazy and back again after his wife died while giving birth to what might not be his daughter, leaving his leadership to be questioned by some of the members of the group. On the opposite side is the Governor, a sociopath hell-bent on bringing down Rick and his crew. At first the Governor comes across as compassionate, bringing outsiders into his community to give them a life of normalcy in a world where there’s none left. But we all know something is not right, and we eventually come to learn the truth.

In an existence where the few surviving humans have to fend themselves from flesh eating zombies, you would think that both men could come to an understanding. So far most of the series has been man against the forces that threaten its existence. This season has seen the shift to man against fellow man. There should be one common goal in a zombie apocalypse: eliminating zombies.

In this world where the means of survival is the main objective, both men have different motives. They are both looking out for their respected people, but where Rick copes with the struggles that are thrown at him, the Governor almost welcomes them. While he’s concerned for the safety of Woodbury, the Governor wants to maintain his leadership and power, taking out any threat that might stand in his way. Rick only wants the group to live in peace, with his decisions always being in their best interest, even if it means banishing any innocent outcasts or newcomers that come across their path.

In their one and only face-to-face meeting, Rick’s compromise is simple: leave us alone and we’ll leave you alone. The Governor doesn’t see it that way. He of course wants Rick to turn over Michonne, the sword-wielding stranger that killed the Governor’s zombie daughter and left him with one eye. It is either that or war.

This leaves Rick with a moral dilemma, considering sacrificing Michonne for once again what would be best for the group. After much contemplation, he can’t do it and bring himself down to the Governor’s level. As Rick’s loyal ally Daryl put it to him earlier, “It just ain’t us.” In the end Rick confesses to the group the Governor’s offer, and that he was even considering it. We finally see Rick conquer his demons and assert himself again to the group as he lays it on the line for them. "I couldn't sacrifice one of us for the greater good because we are the greater good," he says. "I'm not your governor. We choose to go. We choose to stay. We stick together."

So will this lead to all-out assault from the Governor on Sunday’s season finale? It would appear so. Will characters die? More than likely. Will zombies be killed? That’s a definite. Whatever does happen, it should not disappoint. 

Breaking Down the Brackets

Oh, brackets. Every March you draw us into your tangled web with a sense of optimism and endless possibilities. Similar to the anticipation of spring after a long winter, you allow us to get our hopes up. And just like a late season snow storm, you let us down and frustrate us to no end when one of our Final Four picks goes down in the second round. It happens every year, and every year we keep coming back.

As we come upon one of the best sports weekends on the calendar, it’s evident that this college basketball season has been one of unparalleled parody, one where the reigning champs (Kentucky) didn’t even make it to the Big Dance. There has not been one dominant team as we enter the tournament, with five different teams occupying the number one spot in the rankings during the regular season. It has the makings for a wide open tournament, raising the level of excitement of an annual event where nothing is ever certain.

So as you begin to fill out your bracket, is there ever a sure thing or reliable strategy? If history can tell us anything, no there isn’t. I look at who’s playing well going into the tourney, and I’m more confident in teams with some quality wins during the season and that play in tougher conferences. Then again I tend to over think things. You have a better chance of seeing a reunion of the original lineup of Guns N’ Roses than filling out a perfect bracket, so at least have fun with it. And when in doubt, go with your gut. Your first instinct is usually the correct on.

So who will be cutting down the nets in Atlanta? I’m going with the popular pick of Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals over Indiana in the championship game. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s break down each region. And one last bit of advice: watch out for those twelve seeds.

Midwest

Player to Watch: Doug McDermott, Creighton

Most Intriguing First Round Matchup: Oklahoma State vs. Oregon

Most Anticipated Potential Matchup: Duke vs. Michigan State

Team with the Best Chance to Ruin Your Bracket: Memphis

If there’s one team that you have to scratch your head with their seeding, it’s Oregon.  The whole Pac-10 conference, including the champion Ducks, received no respect in this tournament. With that being said, I don’t see them moving on past the first round against Oklahoma State. One team to keep an eye on is Saint Louis, who plays solid defense and could give Louisville fits in the Sweet Sixteen. But Louisville’s defense is a little better. This is the Cardinals’ region to lose, who probably have the easiest path to the final four out of all the number one seeds. I’m always hesitant of betting against Michigan State and Tom Izzo, who has been to the Final Four six times. The Spartans will meet the Cardinals in the Elite Eight with a trip to Atlanta on the line, with Louisville coming out on top.

West

Player to Watch: Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga

Most Intriguing First Round Matchup: Wisconsin vs. Ole Miss

Most Anticipated Potential Matchup: Ohio State vs. New Mexico

Team with the Best Chance to Ruin Your Bracket: Pittsburgh

Don’t be fooled by Gonzaga. Their two losses during the season came at the hands Illinois and Butler, both ranked teams at the time. The only other ranked team they played was Oklahoma State on New Year’s Eve, where they won by a single point. The rest of the season they beat up on a mediocre West Coast conference. The farthest they’ve reached in the tournament was the regional final in 1999, and they’ve never been to the Final Four. I don’t see it happening this year either. The Zags post some good defensive numbers, but so does Pittsburgh, who the Bulldogs should see in the second round. That’s as far as I think they are going to go. As for the rest of the region, Wisconsin is playing about as good as anybody in the country. As long as the Badgers don’t lose to Ole Miss in the first round, I see a rematch of the Big 10 title game with red hot Ohio State in the Elite Eight, with the Buckeyes moving on to Atlanta.

South

Player to Watch: Trey Burke, Michigan

Most Intriguing First Round Matchup: UCLA vs. Minnesota

Most Anticipated Potential Matchup: Georgetown vs. Florida

Team with the Best Chance to Ruin Your Bracket: North Carolina

This is the most loaded region, with Kansas, Michigan, Florida, Georgetown, and tournament stunners from two years ago, VCU. Don’t sleep on North Carolina either, who can put points on the board and are 8-2 in their last ten games. They very well could bump out the top seeded Jayhawks in the second round. Michigan, Florida and Georgetown all have the makings for a run at the Final Four, and I wouldn’t be surprised if any of them do. But the Hoyas are one of the best defensive teams in the country, and play in a brutal Big East conference. They finished 13-2 down the stretch, with wins over Notre Dame, Louisville, Marquette and Syracuse (twice). They should meet Florida in the Sweet Sixteen, and I think the winner of that game wins the region. I’m picking Georgetown to edge out the Gators to meet Michigan in the Elite Eight, with the Hoyas being victorious.

East

Player to Watch: Cody Zeller, Indiana

Most Intriguing First Round Matchup: UNLV vs. California

Most Anticipated Potential Matchup: Miami vs. Butler

Team with the Best Chance to Ruin Your Bracket: Illinois

Do the Butler Bulldogs have what it takes to make a run at their third National Championship game in four years? They would have to go through the likes of Marquette, Miami and Indiana to do so. Not an easy task. Similar to Louisville, I see this region as Indiana’s to lose, who spent half the regular season as the number one ranked team in the country.  They were the best team in a tough Big Ten conference. They will be tested against one of the biggest surprises of the year, the ACC Champion Miami Hurricanes. You would think I was referring to their football team. The Canes’ Jim Larranaga should be a lock for coach of the year, and I think they will make a good run in the tournament. Their Cinderella story will end in the Elite Eight against Indiana.

Thank You Coach

There might not be many people outside of the college hockey world who know who Jack Parker is. Hell there might not be many people outside of the Boston University community who know who Jack Parker is. I say this because college hockey does not have a faithful following outside of New England unless you live in an area where the winters are brutally cold, such Michigan, Minnesota, and North Dakota. It certainly doesn’t have the national recognition of its NCAA counterparts football and basketball. If you do a search on ESPN’s Website, you will find pages for poker, lacrosse, and the X Games, but none for NCAA hockey.

But this isn’t an examination of college hockey. This is about Jack Parker, the coach of the Boston University Terriers hockey team. This past Monday, Coach Parker announced his retirement after forty years on the bench, the same day as his sixty-eighth birthday.

boston.com

When I first heard the news, I wasn’t necessarily surprised, but couldn’t help think part of this was due to the front page news stories that blemished the team this past year. I’m referring to two of Parker’s players being arrested on separate occasions for sexual assault, causing the university to implement a task force to investigate the culture of the hockey team. The results were a little disturbing, finding that the team developed a “culture of sexual entitlement.” As a result, Parker agreed to step down as executive director of athletics to change the reporting lines in the hockey program. In his press conference on Monday, Parker admitted he considered retiring last year, but felt it was necessary to “see the team through the task force.”

In spite of the flawed image these findings placed on the team and the program, they should do nothing to tarnish Parker’s legacy. His accomplishments speak for themselves: as of Monday he has 894 wins (currently third all time), a .643 winning percentage, twenty-four NCAA tournament appearances with three national championships, and twenty-one Beanpot titles. He is not only one of the greatest coaches in the history of college hockey, but should be mentioned in the same breath with other college coaching icons such as Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith and Bear Bryant. It was not only a job for Parker, but he considered BU a family. “I have two daughters and about 226 sons,” he said at Monday’s press conference.

Why do I care? I earned my bachelor’s degree from BU and worked on the campus for eight years after college. I’ve been to many hockey games over the years, beginning when I was a student. I was at the 2007 Beanpot finals to watch BU beat Boston College in overtime to win their twenty-eighth Beanpot championship. I was in a bar filled with cheering alumni when BU came back from a 3-1 deficit with less than a minute left in the game to force overtime and eventually win the 2009 national title. You can say that the university and its hockey program has been a big part of my life.

I actually had a brief opportunity to meet Coach Parker in a non-hockey related issue when I worked on campus, assisting him once as a customer in my office. Not only was he genuine and down-to-earth, he made an effort to shake my hand on his way out the door, like it was an honor to meet me instead of the other way around. It was something that stuck with me as a testament to the type of person and coach that he is.

Why did Parker choose now to retire? He didn’t announce it at the beginning of the season to avoid placing the spotlight on himself and a farewell tour at every opposing arena. For his players’ sake, he didn’t want to surprise them after the season that he wouldn’t be coaching them anymore. As he said on Monday, “I did want the team to know that we are going to go through this together. This will be our last experience as me being a hockey coach here.”

Although he made the announcement earlier this week, Parker’s job is still not over. The Terriers finished third in Hockey East this season and are currently ranked eighteenth in the nation. They will be hosting Merrimack this weekend in a best-of-three series in the first round of the Hockey East tournament. With an 18-15-2 record, it might be difficult for BU to be selected to the Frozen Four tournament unless they make a deep run at the Hockey East title. One thing is certain; whenever Jack Parker coaches his last game, his legacy will not be forgotten.