Message Board Threads Of The Day

Any site associated with Virginia Tech is being flooded with traffic today.

Tech Sideline is the largest VT site, and is not affiliated with the Rivals or Scout networks. It has crashed at least once today, and has become a large gathering place for Hokies.

The VT Rivals and Scout sites are smaller, but are drawing a record amount of traffic today. The Hokie Rivals board has already had over 2000 posts of condolence from fans of other schools.

An incredible mix of order and expression occurs during such a time as this. Fans of lots of different schools will have their own individual thread, as if they all migrated from their home board at one time. As I write, the VT Rivals site is stacked with condolence threads, mostly saying "Prayers from (your school here)".

Hokie Haven (Rivals)

VT Insider (Scout)

The Lounge (off-sports topic board) at Techsideline.com

Condolences

The Virginia Tech logo has been marked with my amateur editing job using Paint.

I've been to the campus. It's a great place, tucked into the New River Valley, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Virginia is one of my favorite places, having spent time there for both work and play.

My prayers go out to those impacted by this tragedy.

A Big Deal

Today is the 60th anniversary of the day when Jackie Robinson first played in a major league game. He was the first African-American to play in the major leagues.

Major League Baseball is pulling out all the stops to honor him, declaring today Jackie Robinson Day. His number 42 has already been retired by every major league team. Today, over 200 players are wearing number 42, including several entire teams.

ESPN has been promoting this non-stop for a week. Normally, I believe ESPN blows everything way out of proportion. I get really sick of their hype machine. But, I really don't mind this. This sea of acclaim is coming about 35 years too late.

Jackie Robinson paved the way for African-Americans to play and excel, not just in baseball, but in the NFL and NBA as well. Baseball was a really big deal in 1947, and race relations were not good. Jackie Robinson broke a lot of stereotypes and took a lot of heat as a pioneer.

This is a big deal.

Message Board Thread Of The Day

Out at USC, hip-hop star Romeo (formerly Lil' Romeo) has committed to play basketball for the Trojans, beginning in 2008. His father, Master P, tried for years to make an NBA roster, to no avail. Romeo has a friend, DeMar DeRozan, who is a highly recruited shooting guard prospect. It is rumored that USC is letting Romeo play for the Trojans in order to entice his best friend, DeRozan, to play for the Trojans.

USC is a football school. However, North Carolina is a basketball school, so there is lots of traffic on their basketball board at Inside Carolina.com. Their fans have some interesting comments on this situation here:

Romeo to USC

Here's a great post from the thread:

Come on, man. You can't be serious. With this news on Lil Romeo, USC is quickly becoming a joke and a circus. (O.J.) Mayo lets his "friend" do his business deals with Floyd. I wonder how much Master P is going to be involved with Floyd? Maybe Floyd can get a record deal next? What's next for USC? Jay-Z as an assistant manager? Tattoo artist sitting on the bench during the games? Drinking Gatorade out of a pimp cup? Maybe Floyd will let them skip practice so they can do movies?.....

USC is attempting to become "Showtime". There was only one "Showtime": the Lakers.

Here is the USC take on the situation: WeAreSC.com

UUOTD-Steel City Edition

Last night, I was watching SportsCenter, and I immediately wanted to post this. However, there was already an ugly uniform yesterday, so it gave me something to post later.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have began wearing a red alternate jersey on Friday nights. Red can be a pirate color, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made it work well. However, the Pittsburgh Pirates' colors are black and gold, just as the other Pittsburgh teams are.

I couldn't find any decent pictures from last night's game, as the Pirates lost to the Giants, and Barry Bonds hit two home runs, so the coverage was all about Bonds and the Giants. They are wearing this red jersey with their black caps and white pants. Not only is the jersey ugly, but it doesn't match the rest of their uniform.

I can't begin to describe how ugly this is. I was ready to gouge two eyes out. This red made it look like they were trying to bleed the normal white home uniforms. They are ruining a good look.

This uniform is like this franchise for the last decade and a half: bad, really bad. Ugh!

Dominoes Falling Down, or The Coaching Carousel

We are on the back end of college basketball coach hiring season. Coaches get fired, jobs open up, and coaches move up the proverbial ladder.

In December, Minnesota fired Dan Monson as head coach. He has since landed on his feet at Long Beach State. This set off the following set of moves:

Tubby Smith left Kentucky for Minnesota
Billy Gillispie left Texas A&M for Kentucky
Mark Turgeon left Wichita State for Texas A&M
Gregg Marshall left Winthrop for Wichita State

Winthrop is now on the clock.

By the way, Marshall agreed to a contract with a $750,000 base salary at Wichita State. WICHITA STATE! They are spending some serious cash. Marshall has been holding out for a bigger job for a while, and I thought he was holding out for a job in the SEC or ACC.

The coaching carousel is always interesting.

Ugly Uniform Of The Day-Hockey Retro Edition

The Vancouver Canucks have a legacy of ugly uniforms. None are worse than their home jerseys, worn from 1978-1985.

These are the infamous "V" jerseys. There is a multi-colored "V" coming down from the neck, with no logo. The road version is not quite as bad, since it was a black jersey. The home version, however, was hideous. There was no white, only a mustard yellow that would fit well in the German Bundesliga.

Any uniform is an improvement over this one. This is one of the worst uniforms in the history of sports, and probably the worst one in the history of the NHL.

At least Wayne Gretzky was dominating the NHL at that time, and the Canucks didn't even smell a Stanley Cup with those uniforms.

Hockey and Bets

I totally forgot that the Dallas Stars were playing the Vancouver Canucks last night in Game 1 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Being in Houston, we got the Rockets' game on our version of Fox Sports Net, and I'm not sure if the game was on Versus (why did the NHL leave ESPN?).

The Stars have always been good for at least one multiple overtime game during the playoffs in a Western city. I've stayed up numerous times watching those things. There is nothing like playoff overtime hockey, especially when the game runs past midnight.

Last night took the cake. The Stars played in Vancouver, and the game started at 9 PM Central Time. When the Canucks won in the fourth overtime, it was 2:30 AM in Dallas. Wow.

Also on the subject of hockey: the Premier of British Columbia (similar to a governor in the States) has bet Texas governor Rick Perry 20.10 pounds of B.C. beef on the outcome of the series. Premier Gordon Campbell said: "I'm betting Gov. Perry 20.10 pounds of B.C. beef that we'll defeat the Stars and advance to the Western Conference semifinals, and also to remind him that B.C. is hosting the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games." I have not seen word from Governor Perry as of yet. I'm thinking his reaction is: "What's hockey? Do they play it at Texas A&M?" and, "Where's British Columbia?"

Perry was challenged to a similar bet a few years ago by the governor of New Jersey, when the San Antonio Spurs and New Jersey Nets played for the NBA title. He responded: "There is nothing in New Jersey that we'd want." Perry does, however, participate in friendly bets with the Oklahoma governor over the annual Oklahoma-Texas football game. This is in spite of his affiliation with UT's archrival, Texas A&M.

Give me more hockey.

Message Board Thread of the Day

Actually, it's an entire message board.

The TCU site at Rivals.com is lightly visited. The message boards there get very little traffic, as the best TCU internet coverage and discussion is at www.killerfrogs.com.

The TCU basketball program has been mediocre at best in the last few years. Thus, bad basketball team + little fan interest + lightly visited site = dead message board. Enter the Big Blue Nation.

Kentucky fans have taken over the TCU board at rivals.com. This is priceless:

Kentucky Horned Frogs

Strange things happen when you have basketball fans from a basketball school take over the hoops board of a football school.

I spent 14 years in Fort Worth. I like TCU. I have several friends that went there. But, this is funny.

In spite of all that, Go Frogs!

(special thanks to Truzenzuzex at A Sea Of Blue for the mention in the blog today..)

Update, 10:10 pm CDT: Thanks to the guys at The Cats' Pause, this blog experienced a record day of traffic. With two hours left in the day, this blog has had 1,550 visits. This is a record, breaking the record set by Arkansas fans in January when I posted the email sent by a friend of Hog football coach Houston Nutt to QB Mitch Mustain. The Big Blue Nation has been a lot of fun today. Thank you, Kentucky!

A Palace?

I am going to take a few minutes and write on something that matters to very few people outside a few square miles in Oklahoma.

My high school alma mater, Tecumseh High School in Tecumseh, Oklahoma, is in the process of building a new football stadium. A bond issue was passed last year, and they are building a 3,000 seat stadium immediately north of the high school. This stadium is sorely needed, as they are currently playing on a 70-year old field that now holds maybe 1500 people, and has very little parking, forcing fans to park in the surrounding neighborhood. The current field also only has a small dressing room, barely big enough for one team. The home team buses from the practice field at the school, where they dress for games. The teams cram into the small building at halftime for adjustments. I apologize for not having pictures, but it's really just three square blocks in a neighborhood with a football field on it.

The school has been on the cusp of moving to a higher classification for years, and now expects to move up in the next realignment. Therefore, the urgency has been demonstrated for a new facility, 30 years in the making/dreaming.

This isn't a really huge deal to most, but they are doing some things right with this stadium. First, some of the bleachers on the home side will have chairbacks. This is standard fare at a lot of high schools, but is something foreign to Tecumseh. Also, there will be Field Turf at the new stadium, as purchased by the school board last night. That is somewhat normal for a lot of schools in Texas (even some one-high school towns in classes 3A & 4A), but it is still unusual in Oklahoma. Schools there don't spend quite the bucks on football like they do in Texas. There are probably only a handful of schools in Oklahoma with artificial turf, and probably none of Tecumseh's size. Initially, I don't see the use, as they don't have a soccer team, nor do they have a second high school with which to share the stadium. But, it's a nice feature, well-deserved for a school which has had sub-par facilities for so long. And, the coach or maintenance workers will be glad to not have to mow grass in the summer.

My hat is off to them. They are building a facility they can be proud of. It is long-awaited and well-deserved.

Update: A video preview of the new facility is posted above.

Wacca, Wacca, Wacca....

...was the noise as Pac-man ate the dots on the classic video game played for hours by those of us that are children of the 80's.

Today, Pacman is a suspended NFL cornerback. Adam "Pacman" Jones of the Tennessee Titans was suspended for an entire season by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. Jones has been arrested 10 times in the last two years for various offenses.

The most well-known of these offenses occurred during NBA All-Star weekend in Las Vegas. Jones is alleged to have been involved in an altercation with an exotic dancer at a local strip club. According to the club's co-owner, Jones approached the stage with a garbage bag filled with approximately $81,000 in one-dollar bills. Jones proceeded to throw the money into the air over the exotic dancers for a dramatic effect, an act known as "making it rain" or performing a "rain dance". Becoming enraged when one of the dancers began taking the money without his permission, Jones grabbed her by her hair and slammed her head on the stage. A security guard intervened and scuffled with members of Jones' entourage of half a dozen people, during which time Jones allegedly bit the guard on the lower leg. Jones then allegedly threatened the guard's life. After the patrons of the club exited, the club owner says a person in Jones' entourage returned with a gun and fired into a crowd, hitting three people, including the security guard involved in the earlier skirmish. Although the guard was shot twice, one of the people hit, former professional wrestler Tommy Urbanski, was paralyzed from the waist down. Jones maintains that he did not know the shooter, although the club's owner insists that Jones did. On March 26, 2007 the Las Vegas Police recommended to the city's district attorney that Jones be charged with one count of felony coercion and also a misdemeanor count of battery and a misdemeanor count of threat to life. (thanks to Wikipedia for the details)

Also suspended today, for eight games, was Jones' college teammate and Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry. Henry has been arrested four times in the last two years for various offenses.

This is a good move. The league has instituted a tougher personal conduct policy, with encouragement from the players' union. The NFL needs to keep its off-field reputation clean in order to remain the most popular (and only growing) major spectator sport in America.

Props to Commissioner Goodell.

Message Board Thread of the Day

In Kentucky, Big Blue Nation is still abuzz with the hiring of the program's latest high priest, Billy Clyde Gillispie. However, that is not the only change in the Kentucky athletic department.

Catspause.com currently has a two page thread on the athletic director's reassignment of the longtime secretary in the basketball office.

Basketball Secretary Reassigned

This is probably good for her. She wouldn't want to try to keep up with a coach that calls up players at 3 A.M. just to chat, and that sends 8,000 text messages per month.

Only in Kentucky would it be a big deal for an athletic department secretary to be reassigned.

Message Board Thread of the Day

Something I spend way too much time doing is reading internet message boards. The Internet has produced a new type of armchair fan. The Web has provided a place where people can go, anonymously, and post their feelings (and schtick) among people of like mind (or of unlike mind). Anybody with a screen name and a password can say whatever they want to, whether it makes sense or not, and whether it makes them look smart or not. Some people look really wise on the Internet. Others look really foolish.

I am entertained by reading the message boards of different universities. I read them more than I should. I get a lot of information from them, as do legitimate journalists. A lot of what is said in these forums turns out to be true. Just like you can't believe everything you hear, you can't believe everything you read on the Internet. However, many of these Internet communities do a good job of keeping fellow posters accountable for truth.

From time to time, I am going to post a thread from an Internet message board that I find interesting. Sometimes, it will be informative. Other times, it will be entertaining. Coaches hate message boards, and the rumors that they can sometimes produce, as well as the pressure they can create. I like them. I enjoy reading them.

Billy Gillispie left Texas A&M for Kentucky last week. According to some, he was looking for a place to go as early as last year. Some are saying that he had agreed to take the Arkansas job, before he decided to wait on Kentucky. There are those that are saying that Frank Broyles was so sure Gillispie was going to Arkansas, that he had made plans in February to fire coach Stan Heath at the end of the season. Once Billy G turned down Arkansas, the Hogs were looking bad. According to others, Gillispie was playing Arkansas and Texas A&M off of each other, while pushing for the Kentucky job all along.

There are two threads from Texags.com that are enlightening. One discusses a blog entry from this morning by the Houston Chronicle's John P. Lopez. Lopez takes the side of Gillispie in this mess.

Texags on Lopez Blog

Another Texags thread is by a poster with the handle of "Ball Gravy". He throws Gillispie under the bus over the weekend with some of the first information on Gillispie's flirtation with Arkansas. Apparently, Ball Gravy has a source in the athletic department. The thread was locked for a time, then was reopened as the allegations appeared more true.

Ball Gravy on Gillispie and Arkansas

Where there's a soap opera, there you will find Arkansas in the middle of it. Actually, this one belongs more to the Aggies.

Ugly Uniform of the Day

I was watching SportsCenter last night, and they were showing highlights of the Mets-Braves game. There were some loud uniforms being worn, and I thought they were orange jerseys, like the Mets wear on occasion in spring training. I thought these were the most awful things. I looked closer, and the Mets were wearing gray. The game was in Atlanta, and the Braves were wearing red.

This red is louder than a fire truck. It does not fit the Braves. The Braves need to wear white at home, and gray on the road. Red is a minor, complementary color for them.

This franchise went through a phase in the 70's and 80's where they wore both powder and royal blue. They weren't very good then, except for one good year in '82. The Braves' dynasty of the 90's and 2000's coincided with their return to the Milwaukee Braves uniforms.

Apparently, these red jerseys are their Sunday uniform. The Sunday cap, with the "A" and the tomahawk isn't real great, either.

Braves: Go back to basics, quickly.

The Cleveland Indians of Milwaukee (at least for three days)

One of the drawbacks of the 162-game, 162-date schedule is that baseball season starts really, really early. The regular season began last week, on April 2. While that's not a problem in places like southern California, it can raise some issues in other parts of the country.

The Seattle Mariners and the Cleveland Indians attempted to play a four-game series this past weekend in Cleveland. Attempt is the operative word here. The city of Cleveland got hit by a massive snowstorm over the weekend. The teams played Friday night into the top of the 5th inning, but, with Cleveland leading 4-0, but with the bases loaded for Seattle, Mariners manager Mike Hargrove complained to the umpires about visibility in the falling snow. So, the game was wiped away, to be rescheduled for Saturday. They didn't play Saturday, as there were three inches of snow and ice on the field. So, they tried to play a doubleheader on Sunday. No luck. Finally, they had a scheduled doubleheader for today. Still snowed out.

There is no word on make-up dates for this series. This was Seattle's only scheduled trip to Cleveland this season.

To add insult to injury for the fans of CLE, the Indians have moved this week's Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to Milwaukee. It seems Milwaukee has a retractable roof over their park. This is also the only scheduled visit by the Angels to Cleveland this season. On top of that, the fans of CLE lose three opportunities to see their team this season.

Baseball has an absolutely absurd schedule. I understand that both the players' union (due to rest) and the owners (more playing dates=more money) desire to stay away from the scheduled doubleheader. This forces the regular season into early April. Also, the regular season currently ends at the very end of September, with three rounds of playoffs extending through the entire month of October. All of this leads to some crazy weather at both the beginning and end of the season. Baseball games should not be in a position to be snowed out.

There are two simple solutions, neither of which will happen in my lifetime: 1) Go back to the 154-game schedule, and sprinkle a few doubleheaders into the calendar. This will allow for opening day to be held no earlier than mid-April. 2) Play all games in the first two weeks of the season in covered ballparks or warm-weather cities. There is always the possibility of freak weather such as last weekend's snow flurries and freezing weather in Arlington, Texas. However, it is not fair to the players, or even the fans, in places like Cleveland or Chicago to play or watch in almost guaranteed frigid conditions.

To add another lack of sense to the situation, this is the only visit by both the Mariners and Angels to Cleveland this year. I have no problem with the unbalanced schedule, allowing teams to play more games against division rivals. However, the lords of baseball can at least schedule these games at both the beginning and end of the season. Scheduling division games early can at least offer more opportunities for make-up later in the season.

As it is, the Mariners could spend two or as many as four off-days making road trips into Cleveland to make up this series. Good luck working all that out.

And baseball wonders why it is no longer this country's leading sport.

Where Do We Go From Here?

This blog has been up since August of 2006. It's been a lot of fun blogging through the football and college basketball seasons.

We are now in, what is for me, the off-season when it comes to sports. Football season is over, and college basketball season is over.

I'm not going away, but I am refocusing. The NBA playoffs are coming up. Baseball season has began. I can't quite get into baseball yet, and I wouldn't care at all if I didn't have a fantasy team. Baseball is a talking sport, however, and I expect to talk about it some time. Football is just around the corner.

There is always something to blog about. I plan to keep up. I can't promise 5-6 posts per day, but I plan to keep up. This blog isn't going away.

Billy Clyde, Part 2

Last week, this blog wrote of a bidding war between Texas A&M and Arkansas for the services of one Billy Clyde Gillispie as basketball coach. The bidding war did not really materialize, as A&M offered him a raise, and he did not return the Hogs' calls to interview for their open head coaching job.

But, a funny thing happened as the Aggie Board of Regents was approving the new contract. Gillispie agreed to it, but decided not to sign it? Why? Because he knew he had a chance at the Kentucky job. Kentucky went after Billy Donovan first, was rebuffed, then turned to Gillispie. This morning, the Big Blue hired Gillispie as head coach.

This is a good fit. Gillispie is a tireless recruiter. He helped recruit great teams at Tulsa and Illinois, before becoming head coach at UTEP and Texas A&M. He performed quick turnarounds at two schools that were nothing but easy. He is an extreme workaholic. According to a story last month in the Dallas Morning News, he stays up all night watching film, and is known to call other coaches at 2 A.M. He usually does not make time to fix or go out for breakfast, choosing to grab peanut butter crackers and Dr Pepper on the way to the office. He has a 3,000 square foot house that rarely has food in the pantry or refrigerator. Recently, he went six months without grocery shopping. He is supremely committed to basketball, and makes fun of himself for his failed eight-year marriage. (His poor ex-wife. She was married to him when he was coaching in high school and junior college, not making any money, then he chose basketball over her. He happened to become a multi-millionaire as a result) His one outside interest appears to be horse racing. Kentucky is an obvious attraction.

The Big Blue Nation is equally obsessed with winning. They just ran off a coach because he was only making it to the second round of the NCAA tournament, and was finishing 4th in the SEC East.

I wonder, if in 1994, while he was an assistant coach at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, that he even dreamed he would be the coach at Kentucky. I doubt if it even crossed his mind when he took his first head coaching job at UTEP. UTEP to A&M to Kentucky in six years is quite a career progression.

He has what we call a shirt-tail connection to Kentucky. In 1987-88, he was the head basketball coach at Copperas Cove High School in Texas. His boss: athletic director/head football coach Hal Mumme, who went on to become head football coach at Kentucky before the program fell victim to scandal.

As for A&M, don't worry about the Aggies. They have gotten a taste of basketball success, and won't allow themselves to fall off the basketball map. And, Gillispie wouldn't have left there for just any job. Kentucky is not just any job. Most coaches would crawl to Lexington for that job, as Eddie Sutton said he would do in the 80's when he went there from Arkansas.

The Big Blue Nation is in good hands.

Should I Stay, or Should I Go?

That was asked of two well-known coaches today. One is staying, while the other is going.

Florida coach Billy Donovan, fresh off a repeat national championship, pulled his name out of consideration for the vacant Kentucky job today. He was believed to be the leading candidate. Kentucky is a good place to be for someone. Their tradition and facilities are second to none. However, coaching there is like coaching in a fishbowl, and every move is judged and analyzed by an entire state. It is similar to coaching football at a place like Oklahoma or Alabama. At Florida, Donovan is the basketball king. He has created his own tradition. And, he can hide in the shadow of football, when necessary. Donovan has mastered the art of coaching basketball at a football school in the South.


Going down the road, however, is the lovable Huggy Bear. Bob Huggins, fresh off his inagural season at Kansas State, accepted the job today at West Virginia, his alma mater. In one season, he restored relevance to the K-State program, barely missing the NCAA tournament. He also had a top recruiting class lined up for the upcoming season. All of that is in jeopardy at this time. Huggins was born in Morgantown, and played and coached at WVU. He is leaving K-State in a big lurch, but you can't blame the guy for going home. It'll be interesting to see if the Big East schedules a game between WVU and his former school, Cincinnati, in Cincinnati. He is still a hero there.

As The Hog Turns

The Arkansas athletic department continues to wallow in slop (pun intended).

A quick summary of recent events:

Athletic director Frank Broyles was forced to retire, but was allowed to stay until the end of the year.

Men's basketball coach Stan Heath was fired after taking his team to the last two NCAA tournaments. The Razorbacks were arguably the last team selected for the tournament, and were promptly pounded by USC.

In their search for a new coach, the Hogs zeroed in on Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie, who wouldn't return the Hogs' calls. The Razorbacks were forced to look in another direction.

Arkansas then hired Creighton coach Dana Altman to fill the position. On Monday afternoon, he was introduced at a press conference, but then had a change of heart. Apparently, he learned of academic issues and positive drug tests. So, Altman was on a plane that evening for Omaha, and returned to his position at Creighton. The Hogs, meanwhile find themselves looking again for a basketball coach.

On the football side, coach Houston Nutt, hated by many sections of the Razorback Nation, finds himself the target of this report. An Arkansas fan/booster, Thomas McAfee, made a Freedom of Information Act request for Nutt's email and cell phone records. The results are found here: The Nutt House.

Among the charges in the document are of Nutt's alleged affair with a Fayetteville TV news anchor, and his list of text messages to her. My question is (among others): why is he using the school-issued cell phone to text message his lady friend? He surely knows there are people out to get him, and that cell phone records are the type of thing that can be traced. Many of these messages happen to be during the weekend in which Nutt was with his wife, as they were burying her mother in Oklahoma.

Also included in the report is a copy of the infamous email from physical therapist Teresa Prewett to quarterback Mitch Mustain.

This is a circus that would make Barnum & Bailey proud. Razorback Nation is peeved, for good reason.

There is a great Arkansas message board (registration required) at www.hogville.net. Those guys pull no punches.

Ugly Uniform of the Day

UUOTD has been gone for several days, but not forgotten. It returns with a lemon-lime vengeance.

The Seattle SuperSonics have been wearing this yellow version of their updated look, modeled after their classic uniforms of the late 70's-early 80's. The white version looks fine, and the green version looks fine.

The yellow version leaves a lot to be desired. They look like five bottles of ReaLemon juice out on the court. The NBA is not a place for lemonade or lemon juice.

The Sonics are having arena issues, and are in danger of leaving Seattle. They have been purchased by a group from my hometown of Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City, the temporary home of the Hornets, is also the corporate headquarters of Sonic Drive-Ins. The possibility exists for the Sonics to move to Oklahoma. Surely the Oklahoma City Sonics wouldn't wear a uniform scheme designed to match Sonic. Let's see, what do I choose: lemon juice, or an extra-long chili cheese coney?

Greatness

This blog would not be complete without paying homage to the greatness of Eddie Robinson. The former Grambling coach died early today at the age of 88.

Coach Robinson began coaching at Grambling in 1941, retiring in 1997. He was the first college football coach to reach 400 wins, retiring with a record of 408-165-15. More than 200 of his players went on to play in the National Football League.

Robinson began during the days of segregation, when he would have to make ham sandwiches for his players because they could not eat in whites-only restaurants on road trips. He was originally a one-man band, coaching without any assistant coaches and doing his own field maintenance. He built a program that graduated 80% of its players and sent numerous alumni to the NFL.

Any attention given to his life and his passing is very well deserved.

The Megaprogram, Basketball, and the BCS

Did you know...

In the last 25 years, only six schools not currently in BCS conferences have qualified for the Final Four:

UNLV (1987, 1990-National Champions, 1991)
Utah (1998-national runner-up)
Memphis (1985)
Houston (1982, 1983, 1984)
UMass (1996)
George Mason (2006)

Of those schools, only George Mason has been to a Final Four in this decade.

Of those schools, UNLV, Memphis, and UMass were caught cheating and later put on probation.

When they made their appearances in the 1980's, Houston and the former Memphis State were in "power" conferences of that day, the Southwest and Metro conferences, respectively.

Memphis would probably be off this list and in the Big East (BCS) if they were 300 miles east and in the Eastern Time Zone, to join their traditional rivals Louisville and Cincinnati.

It's really hard for a school in a middle-to-lower tier conference to get to the Final Four, especially without being caught cheating. In many ways, it's easier for a middle-of-the road team from a big conference to get on a run in the Tournament and advance.

George Mason's run in last year's tournament was a huge, huge, huge accomplishment.

Money will buy lots of things. Things like coaches, practice facilities, recruiting budgets, and chartered planes for road trips. Big money is generated through big-time football.

Now, more than ever, football (especially the BCS) drives the bus.

This Guy Gets It

Dr. Bernie Machen, president of the University of Florida, is trying to lead a movement for a college football playoff. He has some hot sports opinions on lower-level programs in big conferences raking in the cash, while good programs in lesser conferences suffer. He also has some words for the Big Ten and Pac-10.

A College President With A Brain

Dr. Machen was formerly the president of the University of Utah, and has hired Urban Meyer as football coach at both Utah and Florida.

He gets it. Good luck to him as he tries to incite a revolution.

Gatorland

Or, more accurately, Gatorworld.

The Florida Gators, as expected by many, repeated as national champions tonight. Even more impressively, Florida has become the first school to win national championships in football and basketball in the same school year.

It's the Gators' world. We just live in it.

Now comes the fun part. Coach Billy Donovan will be making a ton more money. The question is, will it be coming from Gainesville, or from Lexington?

What Could Have Been

Four years ago, the top high school player in America was in the state of Ohio. There was a guy at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron that was filling up gyms wherever he went. He was identified at an early age as "the next Jordan". He had so many agents and shoe companies after him that college was not even an option.

But, just what if this guy had gone to college? He wouldn't have stayed at home to play for the Akron Zips. There's a good chance he would have gone down the road to play for The Ohio State University. Imagine LeBron James in college. Even more farfetched: what if he would have stayed for four years?

Wait a minute, though. LeBron wisely took the money and turned pro. And, TOSU wound up with a stud in Greg Oden, thanks to the NBA, and their new rule requiring players to be 20 years old before they are drafted. So, TOSU is playing for a national championship tonight.

Both parties are better off, after all.

One Shining Moment

Spring started on March 21st, but it doesn't really start in earnest until tonight, between 10:30 and 11:00 PM Central time. Spring begins after the end of the NCAA national championship, when CBS plays "One Shining Moment".

CBS has run a video montage to "One Shining Moment" for around the last 20 years or so. The song is kinda cheesy, but the tournament is incomplete without it. In its own way, it also serves as a signal that winter is over, and that spring is here.

CBS has tried to trick it up in various ways over the years, so in some years, it's better than others. In the past, the late Luther Vandross has sung the song. Teddy Pendergrass has sung it even more often.

Looking forward to what CBS puts out there tonight...

Football Schools, Basketball Schools, continued

On the brink of tonight's national championship game between Florida and TOSU, Pat Forde weighs in:

ESPN.com

The era of the megaprogram is upon us.

What if Kentucky and North Carolina met in the BCS National Championship Game? We have its equivalent tonight. It'll be a good game.

It's Their World

It's the Gators' and Buckeyes' world. We just live in it.

Florida and Ohio State renew acquaintances Monday night. Just three months ago, these two schools met in the Arizona desert for the BCS national championship in football. The Gators won going away. Now, the two schools play for the national championship in basketball on Monday night in Atlanta.

This is the first time a school has played for a national championship in both sports since the 1987-88 school year, when Oklahoma lost to Miami in the Orange Bowl, and lost the basketball national championship to Kansas three months later. I am still sick over both of those, especially the basketball championship game. That was OU's best team ever (3 first round draft picks), and they were the best team over the regular season. KU has probably had 10 better teams than that one, but that one won the national championship. Yuck. Ok, I chased a rabbit there.

It just so happens that not one, but two schools are playing for national championships in both sports. With a win, Florida would 1) repeat as national champions, and 2) would be the first school to win football and basketball national championships in the same year.

Monday night will be a hot night in Hotlanta.

Out of Pocket

I will be out of pocket for the next few days, as I will be out of town with my family. I will be blogging again sometime Sunday evening.

I stand by my pick of Florida vs. Ohio State, with the Gators winning the whole enchilada.

Thankful I'm not Ugueth Urbina, who is looking forward to 14 years in a Venezuelan prison...

Football Schools, Basketball Schools

The buzz in college basketball circles this week is that Florida coach Billy Donovan is the leading candidate to become the next coach at Kentucky, for as much as $4 million per year. That is a ton of money. With the money comes the pressure of being the head of Big Blue Nation, and a group of totally rabid fans.

It is very possible for a school to be successful on both the football field and the basketball court. Florida and Ohio State have a very good chance to play for a national championship in basketball, just as they did in football back in January. It is next to impossible for a fan base to be equally passionate about basketball and football. Traditions are built over decades, as is fan loyalty and passion. Florida, for instance, returned 750 tickets out of their allotment of 1500 to last week's Midwest Regional in St. Louis. We're talking about the flagship university in the nation's third largest state, with over 40,000 students and tons of alumni. But, while Gator fans are proud of their success in basketball, they are most passionate about football, where they won their second national championship in 11 years last season. If there were a bowl game in St. Louis, or even a college football playoff game there, I'm sure the Gators would sell more than 750 tickets. Ron Zook was fired as football coach for going 7-4.

The opposite exists in Kentucky. UK fills 23,000-seat Rupp Arena for the first practice of the season, at 12:01 AM of the first allowable practice day. They also fill the arena for the most pedestrian of non-conference games. Last Thursday, on the day of Tubby Smith's resignation, the message board at leading UK fan site www.catspause.com drew as many as 13,658 visitors at one time. This is more than the capacity of Florida's arena. Kentucky deserves credit, though, as they sold two-thirds of the seats for their football team's appearance in the Music City Bowl in Nashville.

Schools such as Kentucky, North Carolina, and Kansas will forever be basketball schools. They will have good football teams from time to time, but fans and alums eat, drink, and sleep hoops. Mack Brown went 10-1 with the Tar Heels in 1997, but missed out on the BCS, and took the Texas job, where he won a national championship in 2005.

Schools such as Oklahoma, Texas, and Alabama, among others, will forever be football schools. They will have varying degrees of basketball success. Texas has been to the Sweet 16 four times in the last six years. Texas and Oklahoma have been to Final Fours in this decade. But, for many fans of these schools, basketball serves as a diversion during the off-season of football. Basketball even competes for attention with football recruiting and spring practice.

Money will buy a lot of things, including coaches and the latest and greatest facilities. The big money generated by football helps bigger programs become more competitive in other sports. However, money can't buy passion.

More on this later, as Kentucky and Florida launch their bidding war for Billy Donovan.

Billy Clyde

We have an old-fashioned Southwest Conference bidding war between Texas A&M and Arkansas. Program-builder and miracle worker Billy Gillispie is being courted by Arkansas to take over the Hogs' basketball program.

Why would Billy Clyde think about moving to the hills of Arkansas? $$$$. As in $2 million per year. The Texas A&M board of regents are prepared to give him an extension and a sizable raise in order to keep him.

The guy is a recruiting machine, having brought studs into places such as Baylor, Tulsa, and Illinois as an assistant, and in bringing players to UTEP and Texas A&M as a head coach. He's also proven himself as an X's and O's coach. He has taken A&M from 0-16 in the Big XII to the Sweet 16 in three years.

As an OU fan, I hope he stays. It would be bad for the Big XII if he left.

Playoff, or BCS?

Imagine if college basketball had a bowl system, and, if it morphed into the BCS.

We could have the following:

Fiesta Bowl: Kansas vs. Memphis
Sugar Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Pittsburgh
Rose Bowl: Ohio State vs. UCLA
Orange Bowl: Georgetown vs. Texas A&M

National Championship Game: Florida vs. North Carolina

That's just a really good way to determine a national champion. (sarcasm)

Wait a minute: Where's Ohio State? Sorry, the selection committee seeded North Carolina as the #2 team in the country, even though Ohio State was #1 in every major poll at the end of the season. Doesn't that sound like the BCS?

Let's enjoy the Tournament, and hope, wish, and pray that more sensible heads will prevail in the world of college football.

Ugly Uniform of the Day-Monday

This picture was sent to me a couple of days ago as a nomination.

This is Al Horford of the Florida Gators during last year's national championship game. The Florida Gator road uniform isn't that bad. Those shoes, though, do not go with it. The shoes are putrid. They look like they would match the Tennessee Volunteers' uniforms. I call that deer hunter orange.

Eye gouge rating: One

UUOTD

I hate to add insult to injury, but I'm going to do so here.

Winona State had a 56-game winning streak end in a bizarre ending to their game with Barton (NC) in the Division II national championship game. Winona had a seven-point lead with 45 seconds to go, before Barton went on an improbable 10-1 run to win the game. I speculated in an earlier post that the away version of the Winona uniform must be really ugly.

I found a picture of it, and it exceeded my expectations for ugliness. They wore a black jersey, with the horizontal trim and striping. The school colors are purple and white. These are bad unis. Eye gouge rating: Two

And Then There Were Four

There are a lot of basketball geniuses out there. Those are the ones who predicted Florida, UCLA, Ohio State, and Georgetown to be in the Final Four. I don't know how many there are, but they're out there.

The Gators are back in the Final Four for the second year in a row, and are favored to win the whole thing. But, the question is: does Billy Donovan remain as coach? He's rumored to be in line for the Kentucky job. He's one of the few coaches out there that can handle the job, and that are qualified. On the other side of today's game, Oregon was in their second Elite Eight in five years. They had three mediocre seasons in between, and the Ducks are in the process of changing athletic directors. Oregon is building a new arena, and rumor is that mega-donor Phil Knight of Nike would like to change coaches. The Ducks would like to bring alum Mark Few back from Gonzaga to coach their team. Current coach Ernie Kent isn't feeling the love, and is most likely looking elsewhere. This run didn't hurt his apparent search for another job. Maybe he'll wind up at Michigan.

I hated Georgetown in the 80's. I've chilled over the years, and even picked the Hoyas to make this year's Final Four. The Hoyas and North Carolina went to overtime, and the Hoyas pulled away to make their first Final Four since 1985, when Patrick Ewing was the star, and John Thompson was the coach. Now, Patrick Ewing, Jr. plays for the Hoyas, and John Thompson III is the coach. The Hoyas now face the buzzsaw that is Ohio State on Saturday in Atlanta.

I have three picks left from my original brackets: Florida, Georgetown, and Ohio State. I had Kansas as the other team in the Final Four, but they lost to UCLA. My original prediction of a Florida-Ohio State final still stands.

Until further notice, it's still the Gators' and Buckeyes' world. The rest of us just live in it.

Never Give Up

This is the ending to Saturday's Division II men's championship game. Winona State (Minnesota) had a seven-point lead over Barton College (NC) with 45 seconds left in the game. Barton came back to win at the buzzer with a steal and a lay-up.

A simply wild ending. It's never over until the buzzer sounds.

By the way, Winona State's uniforms were ugly. They had this trim reminiscent of the 70's Cavaliers, and the horizontal stripes down the side. I'd hate to see the away version of this uniform.

Two Down, Two To Go

Half of the Final Four field is set.

The Buckeyes of The Ohio State University actually had a game where they didn't have to depend on a freak ending. TOSU went two-for-two against the state of Tennessee in this tournament, sending Memphis home by a score of 92-76.

Out West, UCLA qualified for their second consecutive Final Four, defeating the Kansas Jayhawks, 68-55. John Wooden is proud.

On an unrelated note, I was watching a brief part of a women's game earlier today, and wondered: Why are Bowling Green's colors orange and brown? Shouldn't they have green as a color? They're not Bowling Orange.

The Red Foxes

The NCAA women's tournament has thus far provided a bit more intrigue than the men's tournament. There have actually been upsets in the women's tournament.

There is a team in the women's tournament with the nickname Red Foxes. They're not communist models, nor are they a late, great comedian. It's Marist, the #13 seed in the Dayton regional. They defeated #4 seed Ohio State, and #5 seed Middle Tennessee State.

Their run should end on Sunday, as they play the Lady Vols of Tennessee. Nonetheless, it's good to see a women's team called Red Foxes do well.

Script Ohio, Hoops Style

At the end of this year, Ohio State and Wisconsin were both ranked #1 in the nation, depending on the poll. They played in Columbus with the Big Ten championship on the line.

This game was so big, the band did "Script Ohio" for the first time ever at a basketball game. This is the pep band, and not the marching band, so it's not quite as intricate. However, it is really cool.

The band marches out onto the field (or in this case, the court), and spells out "Ohio". At the end of the march, an honored band member runs out and puts the dot on the "I". This is one of the most honored traditions in college football. On occasion, an honored guest will dot the I. Among those that have dotted the I are Woody Hayes and Jack Nicklaus.

I doubt if the NCAA will allow the pep band to do Script Ohio today before their game with Memphis. Maybe they can do it in the parking lot of the Alamodome. Hey, maybe they can do it in front of the Alamo. Yeah, like the guardians of Texas freedom would let a bunch of Yankee carpetbaggers do Script Ohio at the Alamo. Oops, getting my wars mixed up. Anyway, Script Ohio is one of the coolest things.

Unpredictable, Yet Predictable

There have been some entertaining games in this year's NCAA tournament. The outcomes, though, have been predictable.

I don't know how many times I've seen a lower-seeded team get a big, or not-so-big lead, only to be overtaken by the higher-seeded team. It happened last night with Southern Illinois and Kansas, Texas A&M and Memphis, and in a big way with Tennessee and Ohio State. It happened again tonight with Butler and Florida, Vanderbilt and Georgetown, and USC and North Carolina. These teams are making the selection committee look really good.

All four #1 seeds are still alive (Florida, North Carolina, Ohio State, Kansas). Three #2 seeds are still in this tournament (Georgetown, Memphis, UCLA). Only Oregon has less than a #2 seed, and they are a #3 in the Midwest region. How would you like to be Wisconsin, sitting at home as the only #2 seed knocked out of this thing thus far?

The Pac-10 still has two teams left: UCLA and Oregon. The SEC, Big XII, Big Ten, ACC, Big East, and Conference USA are still in the mix, as well.

All those people that picked favorites in their brackets are still safe. I picked Florida, Kansas, Georgetown, and Ohio State. I'm still safe, at the moment. We could very well have four #1 seeds at the Final Four in Atlanta next week. Billy Packer has to be loving it.

Randomness

A few random thoughts:

The Texans are getting rid of David Carr. That's no surprise. But, for Matt Schaub? Let's wait and see how that turns out. I wouldn't get my hopes up. But, Tony Romo has become a Pro Bowl quarterback, so anything can happen. And, don't be surprised if Carr becomes a good quarterback somewhere else.

Tubby Smith is going ice fishing. He's leaving the pressure cooker of Kentucky for the Great White North of Minnesota, to coach the Golden Gophers. Smart move by the Tubster. Sure, he won't be getting $2.1 million per year from Kentucky. But, he'll be well paid by the Gophers, with a fraction of the expectations. He's won a national championship. The problem in the Bluegrass is that it was nine years ago. Tubby is a darn good coach. He'll have the Gophers in the thick of the Big Ten sooner rather than later. The guy took Tulsa and Georgia to the Sweet 16. He can coach. However, they expect a lot more at Kentucky.

There were a lot of good games last night in the Sweet 16. The results were predictable, though, and we have 1 vs. 2 seeds in both regionals. Kansas knocked off Southern Illinois, and UCLA beat Pittsburgh out West. San Antonio saw two one-point games, as Memphis nudged Texas A&M, and Ohio State overcame a 20-point deficit to beat Tennessee.

UUOTD-Wednesday

A good way to ruin a good look is with a random stripe.

The University of Memphis, formerly known as Memphis State, has a classic-looking color scheme of royal blue and white. It doesn't really go with the nickname Tigers, but it's a good color scheme nonetheless.

This year, they are wearing a stripe running diagonally across the shoulder, then down one side of their uniform, before making another slight diagonal streak across the back of the shorts. It looks really random and out of place. It's a bad way to ruin a good uniform.


Any talk of the Memphis uniform would be incomplete without mention of the black uniform they have worn away from home on occasion this season. Once again, blue schools should not be wearing black. Vanderbilt and UCF have black as a color. Not Memphis.

Oh, yeah, I have Texas A&M in the Sweet 16 tomorrow night. I can't go back on my pick. Memphis looks really strong, though.

One eye gouge.

However, though, the ribs in Memphis are good. So is Graceland. Everybody ought to go to Graceland at least once.

The New Ballpark, Almost The Same As The Old Ballpark

Yesterday brought the official news: the Ballpark is the Ballpark once again. The Rangers severed sponsorship ties with Ameriquest Mortgage Company, taking the Ameriquest name off the Temple. It will now be called something not quite as ghey: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

It is welcome news to have the Ameriquest name off of the Temple. However, what is wrong with calling it by its original, classic name: The Ballpark in Arlington? People associate that name with the Rangers. More importantly, people associate that with better days of the franchise, when they won three division championships in four years. That's something sneered at in places like New York and St. Louis, but those are the halcyon days of yore for the traditionally mediocre Rangers.

I've liked the Rangers since I was a little boy, listening to games on the 50,000 watt blowtorch, WBAP (they need to be back on that station, by the way) on a transistor radio. I've put up with a lot of bad and mediocre baseball from them. At least Cubs fans get teased with thoughts of a championship. Rangers fans do not. Our team traditionally sucks, especially under the Tom Hicks ownership. Or, if it doesn't suck, it's at least mediocre.

I digress. This is a good move. Hopefully, there will be improvement on the field, as well.

Even More Random Tournament Thoughts

The Big XII went 1-1 today. Kansas beat Kentucky, and Texas lost to USC. I'm sure USC would rather have a win in last year's Rose Bowl, but they'll take this.

Memphis may be better than we give them credit for. They play in a dreadful conference, but it's hard to win 23 in a row, no matter who you play. Next up for the Fighting Elvises: Texas A&M.

Conference breakdown of the Sweet 16:

SEC: 3 (Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt)
Pac-10: 3 (UCLA, USC, Oregon)
Big XII: 2 (Kansas, Texas A&M)
Big East: 2 (Georgetown, Pittsburgh)
The following have one team: ACC (North Carolina), Big Ten (Ohio State), Missouri Valley (Southern Illinois), Horizon League (Butler), Conference USA (Memphis), Mountain West (UNLV)

The state of Tennessee has three teams remaining in this tournament: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and Memphis.

The city of Los Angeles has two teams left: UCLA and USC.

More Random Tournament Thoughts

The Runnin' Rebels are back. UNLV bounced Wisconsin from the tournament today in Chicago with a 74-68 win.

Rebels coach Lon Kruger advanced to the Sweet 16 with his third different school (Kansas State and Florida are the others, he didn't get Illinois this far). What is interesting, though, is that he is rumored to be considered for both the Michigan and Minnesota jobs. Either job would put him back in the Big Ten. It would be tough to leave Las Vegas, unless he's just dying to get back to snow country. It would also present the opportunity to become the first coach to take five different schools to the NCAA tournament. I don't even know if he knows that, or if he cares about that, but it's out there.

Winthrop was knocked out of the tournament by the Oregon Ducks, 75-61. Winthrop coach Gregg Marshall will now have a lot of $$$ thrown at him by schools in higher-profile conferences. He accepted the College of Charleston job last year, only to turn it down to remain at Winthrop.

The Salukis of Southern Illinois advanced to the round of 16, defeating the Hokies of Virginia Tech, 63-48. SIU now awaits the winner of the Kansas-Kentucky game.

The Purdue Boilermakers put up a valiant effort, but came up short against top-seeded Florida, losing 74-67. The Gators face Butler in the round of 16.

More later...

This Man Is Still Dancing

That's Bruce Pearl, coach of the Tennessee Volunteers. He is pictured at a game earlier this year, when he painted himself orange to support the Lady Vols in their game against top-ranked Duke.

The male Vols defeated Virginia today, 77-74. It is not true that Bristol, Virginia is being annexed to Tennessee as a result of today's game.

This is the second trip in three years to the Sweet 16 for Pearl. He coached Wisconsin-Milwaukee to the round of 16 in 2005.

Random Tournament Thoughts

Friday afternoon, I was watching the Nevada-Creighton game on March Madness On Demand (good stuff!) with the sound turned down. They went into the crowd, and found Alabama assistant coach Tom Asbury. I had the sound turned down, so I have no idea why they were talking about him. I don't know if he had a connection with either team (he and Creighton coach Dana Altman are former K-State head coaches), or if they were pimping him for another head coaching job. I don't think they were talking about his booger eating on the sidelines. Thanks to Youtube, he's the laughing stock of college basketball.

Winthrop is the last hope for a Cinderella-type run through this Big Dance. They were really underseeded at #11. They probably should have been an #8 or #9.

More later...

2nd Round Thoughts

There were some competitive games today in the NCAA tournament, as three games thus far have gone into overtime.

Texas A&M survived a hostile environment, and defeated Louisville, 72-69. The Ags return to Texas, and will play the winner of Nevada-Memphis next week in San Antonio.

Butler moved on to their second Sweet 16 in the last five years, knocking off Maryland, 62-59.

Vanderbilt moved on to the Sweet 16, taking two overtimes to handle Washington State, 78-74.

Georgetown made a second half comeback, and defeated Boston College, 62-55. Didn't that used to be a conference game? Count me among those that still think BC belongs in the Big East instead of the ACC.

Cinderella fell tonight in Buffalo, as VCU lost in overtime to Pittsburgh, 84-79.

Michigan State played North Carolina tough for three-fourths of the game. The Tar Heels pulled away at the end to win, 81-69.

As I type, UCLA is trying to hold off Indiana.

There has been a lot of excitement today, even if the outcomes have been predictable.

So Close

This tournament was very nearly turned upside down. Xavier had a nine point lead with three minutes to go over #1-ranked Ohio State. The Musketeers had a three-point lead with 3 seconds to go, but missed a free throw, and Ron Lewis hit an NBA-range three-pointer to send the game to overtime. Ohio State then took the game over in overtime and escaped with the win.

When CBS came back from commercial with Xavier up 9 with three minutes to go, I had a feeling Ohio State was going to come back. My gut isn't always right, but it was on this occasion.

This may have been the one chance to knock off the Buckeyes. Look out for TOSU.

Tournament Thoughts, Saturday, Pre-Game

Kentucky last night won a first round game in the Tournament for the 16th year in a row. Most schools would kill for that kind of success. Not UK. A good portion of the Big Blue Nation wants to run Tubby Smith out on a rail. Tubby might be smart to get a lawyer, negotiate a buyout, and take the money and run. He's a darn good coach. However, he's not signing a ton of hamburger All-Americans, and the relative lack of talent has reduced the Cats to a middle-of-the-pack SEC team. UK fans expect more. They expect Final Fours and national championships.

I am 23-9 after the first round of bracket picks. Normally, that's a decent record. This year, with the rash of favorites winning, that is not a good record. Sure, I got VCU and Winthrop right. But, I blew it on teams such as Albany, George Washington, Oral Roberts, and Old Dominion. The Wife, on the other hand, is 29-3. She only missed Duke-VCU, Notre Dame-Winthrop, and Arizona-Purdue. Brackets are a very inexact science.

Time to clean house and to keep up with TOSU vs. Xavier.

Ho, Hum, or Final 1st Round Thoughts

Four more favorites won tonight in the late games in the NCAA tournament. This has been the biggest dud of a first round in memory.

Southern Illinois held their seed, and defeated Holy Cross. I picked the Crusaders, but that was not to be. The Salukis move on to take on Virginia Tech.

Tubby Smith has a job for at least two more days, as the Kentucky Wildcats knocked off the Villanova Wildcats. UK takes on KU in the next round. That would be top-seeded Kansas.

Jackson State was competitive with Florida for a half. The Gators stepped it up in the second half, and scored 112 on JSU. This is the Gators' tournament to lose.

In Spokane, USC is putting the finishing touches on a win over Arkansas. It's interesting that the last two teams in the field, Stanford and Arkansas, did not represent well at all.

Only two teams with lower than a #9 seed advanced to the second round: VCU and Winthrop.

The 6 BCS conferences combined for 25 of the last 32 teams:

ACC: North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Boston College
Big Ten: Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue
Pac-10: UCLA, USC, Arizona, Oregon, Washington State
SEC: Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky (all from the same division)
Big East: Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Louisville
Big XII: Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M

The other seven teams are: Winthrop (Big South), VCU (CAA), Xavier (Atlantic 10), UNLV (Mountain West), Nevada (WAC), Southern Illinois (MVC), and Butler (Horizon).

The state of Nevada qualified 100% of its Division I teams for this tournament. That's 2 teams: Nevada and UNLV. Both are still alive.

Some More Friday Tournament Thoughts

Where did Purdue come from? I thought they were way over-seeded as a #9. They messed around and beat Arizona. This is not a vintage Arizona team, but I expected them to win one game in this tournament. Florida awaits the Boilermakers, unless Jackson State pulls off the mother of all upsets tonight.

The Fighting Illini of Illinois led for most of the evening. They fell victim, however, to a 12-0 run at the end of the game by the Hokies of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Virginia Tech gets the winner of Southern Illinois-Holy Cross.

Kansas tonight became the second team in this tournament to hit the century mark, defeating Niagara, 107-67. Niagara did get a win in this tournament, though, as they won the play-in game over Florida A&M. KU gets the winner of Kentucky-Villanova.

And, the Fighting Reggie Theuses of New Mexico State gave Texas all they wanted for most of the night. Texas had too much talent, though, and pulled away late, winning 79-67. Texas plays the winner of USC-Arkansas. By the way, Arkansas has the last chance for a 12 seed to beat a 5 seed in this tournament. Only twice in the last 22 years has at least one 12 seed not defeated a 5 seed.

More later..

Ugly Uniform of the Day

UUOTD has been rather sporadic lately. I saw something that caught my eye today, however.

Xavier of New Orleans is playing in the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City. I saw this picture, and this is not a good look. They have a bullseye on their chest. The number is inside a circle. The wide trim doesn't look real good, either.

What takes the cake, though, is on the shorts. The shorts say "Rush" on the belt area. I thought "What? This isn't a fraternity or sorority". What's up with Rush? Isn't it a 70's rock band from Canada? I didn't think an HBCU would have the name of a conservative talk radio host on their shorts. I did some research, and their nickname is the Gold Rush. Anyway, "Rush" doesn't belong on the belt.

I'm still not sure how a team from New Orleans got to be the Gold Rush. San Francisco? Yes. New Orleans? I'm not sure.

More Friday Tournament Thoughts

The second batch of Friday games definitely had the most intrigue.

Winthrop finally got their first-ever NCAA tournament win, over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. The Eagles pulled away at the end, and won 74-64. They get the winner of Oregon-Miami (Ohio).

It was back to the 80's in Columbus, as Tennessee ran Long Beach State out of the gym, 121-86. Somewhere, Billy Tubbs and Jerry Tarkanian were smiling. Run, gun, and run some more...

For 30 minutes, there was a colossal upset in the making. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi led Wisconsin for most of the game. The Badgers came back, though, and eventually won by 13.

The tournament's first overtime game was in New Orleans, as the Wolf Pack of Nevada knocked off Creighton, 77-71. Nevada moves on to play Memphis on Sunday.

More later...

Friday Tournament Thoughts

So long, Great Danes. Albany was more like the Mutts against UVa, as the Cavs blew them out. I sure blew that pick.

The Mean Green of North Texas put up a valiant effort against Memphis, but came up short. Nonetheless, it was the best season in 20 years in Denton.

What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas. UNLV put away Georgia Tech. The Ramblin' Wreck were a fashionable pick to do something in this tournament with a low seed. The Runnin' Rebels are back. Lon Kruger has won a tournament game with his fourth different school. Imagine if K-State had ponied up to hold on to him years ago, as that is his alma mater...

More thoughts later...

Still More Tournament Thoughts

I went to bed before the last game was over, but Pittsburgh had Wright State beaten, so nothing was in doubt. Pitt now gets VCU in the 2nd round. VCU is getting lots of love, as they beat the hated Duke Blue Devils.

Kelvin Sampson won a first round game at Indiana, as they knocked off Gonzaga. I wish he'd have done that more at OU. The Hoosiers, though, run into the juggernaut that is UCLA. Good luck with all that.

For a short time last night, Eastern Kentucky gave North Carolina fits. They went on a 39-12 run to cut the UNC lead to 4. The Tar Heels pulled away, though, to win by 21.

When does X beat Y? Last night, as Xavier beat the Y, or BYU. Now, the X-Men have a date with The Ohio State University.

Overall, it was a dud first day of the tournament. Only three lower seeds won, and two of those were #9 over #8 seeds. I picked too many blown upsets, as I went 11 of 16 for the day. The Wife got smart, and picked all favorites. She has been known for picking teams according to color, or for using the geography method, picking teams by state. This year, she picked predominantly to seed, except for the 8-9 games. Therefore, she went 15-1 yesterday, only missing Duke.

Here's hoping the Albany Great Danes make some noise today...

More Tournament Thoughts

There was finally an upset tonight! Actually, I'm not sure how much of an upset it was. Virginia Commonwealth, the 11th seed in the West regional, knocked off the 6th seeded Duke Blue Devils, 79-77. Eric Maynor hit the game winner with two seconds left to give VCU the win. VCU now awaits the winner of Pittsburgh-Wright State. I actually got this upset right, unlike my picks of ORU, Old Dominion, George Washington and Texas Tech. My brackets need Xavier, Gonzaga, North Carolina, and Pittsburgh to come through in the late games.

Ohio State took it easy on Central Connecticut State, only beating them by 21.

Michigan State got the first win for a team in a dark jersey, knocking off Marquette, 61-48. MSU was a #9 seed, so this is no surprise.

UCLA had their way with Cream o' Weber, with an easy 70-42 win.

In the late afternoon game, Vanderbilt showed up. George Washington didn't. Vandy won by a score of 77-44. GW left their game in Atlantic City last week.

More later...

More Quick Tournament Thoughts

The white jerseys are having their way in the first afternoon sessions of the Big Dance. Every higher seeded team has won.

ORU hung with Wazzu for a half, but went cold in the first part of the second half and never recovered.

The Butler did it. Butler avoided the upset, and even pulled away from Old Dominion at the end.

Penn made it interesting for A&M, even leading in the second half. The Ags pulled away, though, for a double-digit win.

Georgetown blew out Belmont, as expected.

Vandy has a big lead on George Washington, but it's early.

Maybe there will be some upsets tonight...

Quick Tournament Thoughts

Quick thoughts as the first block of games are finished...

March Madness on Demand is great. I can put my headphones on at work, listen to the play-by-play, or watch the video if I get a spare minute. The game on our local CBS station is blacked out, but I really don't care about Texas Tech vs. Boston College or Texas A&M vs. Penn today.

Oh, Oh, Oh, O'Reilly! Team O'Reilly, a/k/a Texas Tech, came up short against Boston College. That's one pick I missed. The Big XII really was KU, A&M, UT, and a bunch of spares this year.

Davidson gave the Land of Mary a game for about 35 minutes. Problem is, there are 40 minutes in a game.

What was Stanford doing in this tournament? Louisville had mercy on them and only won by 20. The game was a lot worse than that.

Gotta get back to work... Go Oral Roberts!

Final Four Predictions

I haven't forgotten, but I do have predictions for the Final Four.

Florida over Kansas
Ohio State over Georgetown

The final will be a rematch of the BCS National Championship Game. It's the Gators' and Buckeyes' world. The rest of us just live in it.

Florida repeats as national champion.

More comments later...

Playing Their Way In

Tonight was the "opening round" game of the NCAA tournament, more commonly known as the play-in game. Some call it the pigtail game. This is the matchup between what the selection committee sees as the 64th and 65th rated teams in the tournament. Niagara earned the right to travel to Chicago to play #1 seed Kansas on Friday.

This incarnation of the opening round game began in 2001, after the newly formed Mountain West Conference received its automatic bid. The tournament committee did not want to remove one of the 34 at-large bids to accomodate the MWC. So, they created the opening round, and placed the game in Dayton, Ohio, where it has remained. The two lowest-rated qualifiers, or two chosen low-rated qualifiers, play for a chance to play a #1 seed later in the week.

For the last five years in a row, one of the participants has come from either the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference or the Southwestern Athletic Conference, the two Division I conferences made up of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges & Universities). The committee has made an effort to not match up the two leagues in the Tuesday night play-in game. I think it would be a public relations disaster if two HBCUs played in the only opening round game. This year, Jackson State of the SWAC and Florida A&M of the MEAC were the lowest-ranked teams in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). The NCAA chose to let JSU skip the play-in game. However, we are finding that the opening round game penalizes low-budget programs, as it is a cheap imitation of the real 1st round of the NCAA tournament.

The cries are coming even louder, from coaches of major programs, to expand the field. 64 teams is a really good number, but we've passed that now. 96 is too many, as a complete extra round would be a logistical nightmare. Which leaves us the reasonable numbers of 68 and 72.

A 68-team field would result in four opening-round games, giving some legitimacy to this round, while opening three more spots in the field. In a 68-team tournament, Drexel, Syracuse, and Kansas State most likely make the field. In addition, each #1 seed would play a winner from the opening round. There could be two doubleheaders, in two medium-sized to small arenas, preferably close to a major airport yet able to draw a crowd. This year's games would include: Weber State vs. Florida A&M, Belmont vs. Niagara, North Texas vs. Jackson State, and Central Connecticut vs. Eastern Kentucky. This is the best and most reasonable option for expanding the field.

A 72-team field would require doubleheaders in two more locations in the opening round, or two locations with all-day sessions, similar to the first round of the tournament. It would also add seven more at-large spots to the field. For example, Drexel, Syracuse, Kansas State, Air Force, Bradley, Florida State, and Missouri State would most likely make the tournament under this arrangement. A good number of automatic qualifiers from the smaller conferences would be playing on Tuesday under this arrangement, as there would be eight opening round games, for the right to play #1 and #2 seeds later in the week.

The opening round as it is currently constituted is a joke. I think three more opening round games would be ok, especially as it would add three more at-large bids. Anything more than that further dilutes the quality of the tournament.

Bracket Breakdown: South

The South regional really is South this year. As in, South Texas. One of these teams will go through the Alamodome in San Antonio on the way to the Final Four.

That juggernaut of college athletics, The Ohio State University, finds itself as the #1 seed in this regional. They have a first round game with Central Connecticut State, the Nutmeg State's only representative in this tournament (UConn is missing this year). tOSU has little trouble in this one.

The Buckeyes find themselves in a tight ticket market in 22,000 seat Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. One reason is that nearby Xavier of Cincinnati is the 9th seed, playing #8 BYU. BYU won the regular season championship in the Mountain West. Beware of the X Men. Jesuits over Mormons in this one.

The Big Orange of Tennessee are also in this regional, traveling to Columbus to play Long Beach State. CSULB coach Larry Reynolds is coaching for a job, as his contract expires after the tournament. He could possibly get a better job after this tournament. The Beach will give Tennessee all they want. But, just as last year, the Vols hang on for a first-round win.

The Virginia Cavaliers moved into a new arena this season, and finished near the top of the ACC, blowing a chance to win the regular season on the final day. UVa finds itself as a #4 seed opposite the Great Danes of the University at Albany, State University of New York. Albany almost upset UConn in last year's tournament. I look for them to finish the job, and pull the upset here.

Another reason for the tight ticket market is the return of Rick Pitino to Lexington, as his Louisville Cardinals make the 80-mile trip down I-64 to play the Stanford Cardinal. Stanford went 10-8 in a tough Pac-10. I think they're one and done here, though, as U of L should handle the Trees. Oops, I meant Cardinal.

The other game in Lexington gives us the Fightin' Texas Aggies and the Penn Quakers. Aggies vs. Ivy League, hmmm? Give me the Aggies.

Down in New Orleans, the Wolf Pack of Nevada get a tough matchup with the Creighton Bluejays. This will be a good one. Give me Nick Fazekas and Nevada.

Awaiting them will be Memphis. The Tigers rolled undefeated through Conference USA, barely breaking a sweat. Their matchup with North Texas will be no different. It's good for the Mean Green to be here, but this won't be pretty. Give me Elvis, and give me Memphis.

In the next round, Ohio State and coach Thad Matta get a matchup with his former school, Xavier. The X-Men will be hungry, and will play tOSU tough. But, there's only one Greg Oden, and he wears scarlet and gray. Ohio State wins this one.

TOSU gets to play Tennessee, winners over a valiant UAlbany squad.

The Texas Aggies run into a buzzsaw in Lexington, as Louisville has a virtual homecourt advantage. However, the Ags won at the Phog over Kansas, and they'll win over U of L in the Bluegrass.

The Ags become beneficiaries of an upset, as Memphis finally falls. They've won too many games in a row, and a 22 game winning streak comes to an end at the hands of Nick Fazekas and Nevada.

So, down by the Riverwalk, tOSU handles the Big Orange of Tennessee. The Aggies, who barely knew what a basketball was only three years ago, pack the Alamodome, and dispatch Nevada.

This sets up a battle between tOSU and the Fightin' Texas Aggies. This will be a low-scoring close game, but the Buckeyes come through in the Year of Greg Oden. Bucks to Atlanta..