Getcha Popcorn Ready!

With camps getting started all over the NFL, it’s time to turn more and more of our attention to Lord Football. And I will not be wasting any space on whether or not the league’s biggest diva will or won’t play (we all know he’s coming back, but not until he plants enough doubt with his personal mouthpiece, Chris Mortensen of ESPN, so that in case he fails, he has some built in excuses). What other stories are of interest? Dez Bryant refusing to carry Roy Williams’ pads and then backing off because he “didn’t know it was a tradition” with the Cowboys? More boring than the drama surrounding The Bachelorette, Ali. And as Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News perfectly pointed out – if that’s the ‘Boys big problem, they are going to have a great season. Instead, we learned today that Terrell Owens had signed on to play with the Bengals this season. Well, Cincy – Getcha Popcorn Ready!!

I may be as crazy as the Timberwolves GM, but I actually think this could work very, very well for the Bengals. If Owens can keep his ego in check, he has a chance to put up really good numbers on a team that has the potential to be a factor in the playoffs. Here are the reasons it will not implode:

1 – Carson Palmer
No quarterback in the league has dealt with more “entertainers” at the wide receiver position than Palmer. His main target has been the always-entertaining Chad Ochocinco, and previously he was teamed up with the always-outspoken T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Palmer is as well-prepared as any quarterback in the league to block out egos and just try to make plays. While his numbers were very pedestrian as he came back from missing most of 2008 with an arm injury, he remains a cerebral quarterback and if his arm strength returns, he could be the comeback player of the year.

2 – The Fit
Owens is not nearly as fast as he once was, and he does not have the most reliable hands in the league, but he has the potential to find quite a few openings with Ochocinco stretching the field and rookie TE Jermaine Gresham attracting the attention of linebackers or safeties. It has the potential to fit the same way Katy Perry fits in a bikini – snug and very flattering.

3 – Owens’ Maturity
Has T.O. really matured? It’s hard to say, but despite his previous track record of being an enormous headache, he was very tame last season. Despite playing for a horrendous Bills team with quarterbacks that were more useless than Carrie Underwood in a Chelsea bar, Owens did not ruffle feathers. He posted his weakest season totals since he was a rookie, yet he was almost a model citizen. Has he realized that winning is more important than his diva act? Perhaps. Or was it just but on the back burner until he had the proper spotlight to promote himself? I want to believe that he will be entertaining, yet will play hard and not be a locker room cancer.

4 – The Competition
The AFC North should be extremely compelling this season, with Baltimore, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh all eyeing the division title. Yet the Ravens are dealing with a banged up secondary – particularly Ed Reed. The Steelers could find themselves in a hole early without Big Ben under center, and their defense was not as strong in 2009 as typical Pittsburgh defenses. Add that to the very young secondary in Cleveland and the Bengals look to have a very good chance to improve upon their poor 26th ranked passing offense.

Owens will no doubt form the most entertaining wide receiver combo with Chad Ochocinco, and when you add Antonio Bryant to the mix (whatever short time he is healthy), the Bengals could have a very potent passing offense that could help to balance the Cedric Benson-led running game. That could make the Bengals very dangerous, so you better getcha popcorn ready.

NBA Draft - Best & Worst Picks This Decade

With the NBA Draft on Thursday night, every site out there is putting together their mock drafts with tons of insight into team needs and best fits based on what the teams have said. Considering the teams are all currently bluffing each other to try and manipulate other teams into taking a guy too early, letting a guy slip, or trading up when it wasn’t needed, it seems like a huge waste of time. Instead, let’s look at who were the best and worst picks at each draft position (Picks 1-10, I don’t have all day. Well, maybe I do, but 1-10 is plenty) over the past 10 years.

#1 Pick

Best - LeBron James (2003 by Cleveland)
Worst – Greg Oden (2007 by Portland)

Really not a tough decision here. While James has a ton of potential to be the next Dominique Wilkins until he finally gets that championship ring, he is still a freak of an athlete. He has size and court vision like Magic Johnson and athleticism like Dominique. Once he learns to be a finisher like Jordan or Kobe, he will be completely unstoppable. And we will find out this summer if he wants to be a champion (signing with the Bulls), a celebrity (signing with the Knicks) or a loyal contender (re-upping with the Cavs). His multiple MVPs, a trip to the Finals and scoring title make this a pretty easy selection as the best #1 pick of the decade – well ahead of Dwight Howard, Yao Ming and Derrick Rose.

It’s unfortunate to list Oden here because injuries have been his downfall more than poor play. Yet the guy has barely seen the floor during his first two seasons, so even though Kwame Brown was mostly ineffective when he played, at least he was on the court. The highlight of Oden’s career has actually been when a picture of his wang was leaked on the internet.

#2 Pick

Best – Kevin Durant (2007 by Oklahoma City)
Worst – Darko Milicic (2003 by Detroit)

Durant has proven to be one of the best scorers in the league in only his second season. He still has to mature and get tougher if he wants to lead his team to championships, but he has a ton of young talent around him in Oklahoma City and based on his short record of success and potential to be among the league’s best players, he ranks as the top #2 of the past 10 years, ahead of a very weak class of second picks – LaMarcus Aldridge, Marvin Williams or Emeka Okafor.

Milicic will basically be seen as the worst #2 pick since Sam Bowie. And much like Bowie, Darko was not a horrible player, but the fact that superstars were taken after them (Bowie before Jordan and Wade, Anthony & Bosh after Milicic) make the picks look even worse than they would on their own. Basically it would be similar to if you had to draft a girl after only watching the pilot of Friends and you chose Phoebe, allowing your buddies to take Rachel and Monica with the next two picks. Phoebe went on to a below average career, getting parts in movies like Analyze This or Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion. While Jenifer Anniston’s movie career has not been great, her photo shoots for GQ most certainly have.

#3 Pick

Best – Pau Gasol (2002 by Memphis)
Worst – Adam Morrison (2006 by Charlotte)

The ironic part is that they both have collected back-to-back championships with the Lakers the past two years. Gasol gets the nod but just barely as the top #3 pick in the past 10 drafts, but just barely ahead of other superstars like Derron Williams and Carmelo Anthony. Gasol is among the top 2-3 big men in the game today as he has matured into a player tough enough to bang around inside and still step back and knock down an outside shot. He also plays tremendous defense and his passing is underrated, which puts him ahead of Carmelo’s selfish game. Gasol’s rings are probably the only thing that separate him from Williams, who is among the top 5 point guards in the game today and still has time to improve even more.

Morrison’s game is about as awful as his mustache. Scoring 7.5 points per game on 37% shooting through your first three years in the league is pretty painful. It also just acts as a reminder to teams never to waste a draft pick on a college player that cries like a teenage girl. Consider that a lesson learned in Charlotte and everywhere else in the NBA. At least I saw that he was auctioning off his game jersey from the Finals this year. Did he even wear a jersey? I thought he was in a suit on the bench the entire series. Does his jersey just have a large “NO” instead of a number on it?

#4 Pick

Best – Chris Paul (2004 by New Orleans)
Worst – Marcus Fizer (2000 by Chicago)

Paul is right there with Derron Williams as the best young point guards in the league. I’m thoroughly confused by the rumors circulating that the Hornets are shopping him, and would consider trading him to the Nets for Devin Harris and the #3 pick in Thursday’s draft. Paul was outstanding in leading the Hornets deep into the playoffs two years ago and was banged up last season, leading to the sinking of the Hornet’s season. His toughest competition for the best #4 spot since 2000 are also point guards, Tyreke Evans and Russell Westbrook, taken during the past two drafts.

Fizer was a bruiser at Iowa State and was part a streak of horrendous picks by the Bulls, including Eddie Curry, Tyson Chandler and Jay Williams. Just over 5 seasons in the league, averaging less than 10 points and 5 rebounds was quite a disappointment from the 4th pick in the draft. Although in his defense, the 2000 draft was extremely weak, so who would the Bulls have been better off taking – Chris Mihm or Joel Pryzbilla?

#5 Pick

Best – Dwyane Wade (2003 by Miami)
Worst – Nikoloz Tskitishvili (2002 by Denver)

Wade has established himself as one of the best players in the game today and he has that elusive championship ring that has eluded all of the other marquee free agents this summer. Will he get the help he needs to stay in Miami? Will he continue to mature and develop his outside shooting so he doesn’t have to subject his body to the abuse of crashing to the rim over and over? He may never win an MVP award because of that LeBron guy, but he has proven to be much more valuable than the next best #5 picks, Jason Richardson or Devin Harris.

Nikoloz Tskitishvilil? Yeah, I barely remember him either. But that’s because he averaged 11 minutes a game and less than 3 points per game during his illustrious 4 year career. Ouch. That was a bigger bust than Katy Perry.

#6 Pick

Best – Brandon Roy (2006 by Portland)
Worst – DaJuan Wagner (2002 by Cleveland)

Roy has been an extremely solid leader for the young Trailblazers and looks poised for a Clyde Drexler-type of career. Roy might actually be the best player taken in the first half of the 2006 draft, and he is easily better than the other #6 picks during the decade – Shane Battier or Danillo Galliari.

Wagner was drafted out of Memphis on the coattails of his father, Milt Wagner and expected to be a star point guard for Cleveland. Unfortunately the only thing that Wagner did for the Cavs was assure them of enough ping pong balls in the following year’s lottery to draft the hometown hero, LeBron James in 2003. The worst part for the Cavs is that if their front office had been smarter in 2002, they could have drafted Amare Stoudemire with the Wagner pick, and they wouldn’t have had to trade for Antwan Jamison this year.

#7 Pick

Best – Stephen Curry (2009 by Golden State)
Worst – Eddie Griffin (2001 by New Jersey – traded to Houston)

Despite his lack of size, Curry has continued his assault on nets all over the NBA with his deadly range and quick release. While his sample size is currently small, his upside is huge and that puts him ahead of a group of solid #7 picks – Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich, Nene Hilario or Randy Foye.

Rest in Peace, Eddie Griffin. The story of Eddie Griffin unfortunately went from sad comedy to just plain sad with his death in 2007 when he was drunk driving and tried unsuccessfully to beat a train across the tracks. However, that unfortunate event doesn’t take away from the events in 2006 when he was still in the league but got busted for drunk driving when he hit a parked car with his SUV because he was watching porn on the DVD player in the car and spanking the monkey. Not exactly the legacy you would hope for from a talented 7th pick in the draft.

#8 pick

Best – Jamal Crawford (2000 by Cleveland - traded to Chicago)
Worst – Joe Alexander (2008 by Milwaukee)

Crawford might be the second best pick behind Kenyon Martin in a pathetic 2000 draft. He has scored over 50 points in a game twice in his career and was a valuable sixth man for the Atlanta Hawks this past season. Despite a career that could be be described as average, it’s the best of a pathetic pool of #8 picks. Which might be bad news for the Clippers, because in addition to having the poor drafting record of being the Clippers, the 8th pick has proven to be one of the most unsuccessful picks in the draft. The next best players after Crawford are Channing Frye and Rudy Gay – not very impressive.

Alexander has been hampered by injuries which has prevented him from living up to the Bucks expectations. Although, it’s still unclear what the expectations were considering that the only attribute that garnered attention for a top pick was his jumping ability. That is like claiming AnnaLynne McCord is the hottest girl in Hollywood because she has a special skill of allowing paparazzi to photograph her constant wardrobe malfunctions.

#9 Pick

Best – Amare Stoudemire (2002 by Phoenix)
Worst – Patrick O’Bryant (2006 by Golden State)

Stoudemire is likely going to opt out of his contract this summer with the Suns because some team is going to overpay for him – hello NY Knicks!! Yet Stoudemire has established himself as a great athlete with the ability to finish around the rim on great passes from Steve Nash. His defense is worse than Lindsay Lohan trying to explain yet another time her SCRAM bracelet went off, but he remains among the top 25 players in the league today.

O’Bryant was able to leverage a sweet 16 run at Bradley into the Warriors overreaching to draft him in the top 10. In his 3 seasons, he has bounced back and forth from the D-League and has averaged less than 5 minutes a game. Him being a disappointment takes the heat off of the Knicks, who drafted Mike Sweetney with the 9th pick and he also has been a huge disappointment.

#10 Pick

Best – Joe Johnson (2001 by Boston)
Worst – Mouhamed Sene (2006 by Seattle)

To give you a sense of the depth in this year’s free agency group, 4 of the guys I picked as the top draft pick at that position this decade are in the market for new teams – Johnson, Stoudemire, Wade & James. Johnson is a tremendous scorer, but there are questions whether he has the drive or fire to be a marquee leader. That was proven during this year’s playoffs when the Hawks rolled over against the Magic. Johnson will need to pair up with another superstar if he wants to win. Yet he is the best #10 pick, ahead of Caron Butler, Andrew Bynum and Brandon Jennings.

Sene was a big man from Senegal who never panned out. As evidenced in this list, picking a guy purely because he is big and hoping that he will develop basketball skills is the exact opposite of drafting an Australian model and hoping she looks good in a bikini.

So enjoy the NBA Draft tomorrow night and hope that your team finds the next Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade or Amare Stoudemire and avoids the Joe Alexander or DuJuan Wagner.

Everyone Hates Duke - Are They Really Different This Year?

Obviously the story lines for this year’s Final Four stink. There are not a ton of stories because of the lackluster teams and the lack of star players. Instead we started the week with a bogus story about Tom Izzo being offered the Oregon job (side note – Oregon hired the worst recruiter in the history of the world. They were hired to target coaches and they came up with…..drumroll……….Tom Izzo. Really? That’s what they got paid for? What did they do for research – open the newspaper and watch SportsCenter? Everyone knows Izzo is the best coach in the sport. Why not just throw Coach K, Jim Boeheim and Roy Williams out there as candidates?). In other breaking news……Katy Perry can fill out a bikini. And now we’re on to an even more ridiculous story about why people hate Duke and whether it’s warranted that people dislike them.

People dislike Duke for a multitude of reasons, including jealousy, rivalry, ignorance and stupidity. And at the end of the day, so what? I’m not going to go through the reasons and prove or debunk them because people are locked into their opinions. People are not going to change their minds because some sportswriter pens a diatribe about how this year’s Duke team is different than the past teams and their dislike is “an outdated cliché.” Dude, your article is a waste of time. Let people dislike teams like Duke or Notre Dame or the Yankees with absolutely no sane reason for it. That’s part of being a fan.

More interesting to me was the notion that this Duke team is really different than those previous teams that everyone disliked. Are they? They have a tough-nosed white point guard who can shoot from the outside, an athletic wing man, and a tweener white guy who is more athletic than he looks and can shoot or go inside and they are coached by a guy that looks like an owl. That was Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Christian Laettner and Coach K in the early ‘90’s. It was JJ Reddick, DeMarcus Nelson, Josh McRoberts and Coach K in the middle of the 2000’s. And now it is Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Coach K. It is the exact same formula Coach K has always employed. And feel free to make your comparisons of Cherokee Parks to the Plumlee brothers or to Greg Zoubek.

So this year’s team is pretty much a clone of previous Blue Devil squads. Feel free to hate on them if you want, as long as you understand that disliking any team is almost always based on nothing rational. My guess is Duke doesn’t really care what you think of them and that your feelings about them will have less than no impact on whether they can get past the Mountaineers on Saturday night.

Bracket Breakdown - East & South

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Tip back a green beer or ten while you fill out your bracket and read the breakdowns below of the East and South brackets. See yesterday’s post to get the breakdown of the Midwest & West.

And a reminder – get your entry in for The Sports Addict 2010 Bracket Challenge. See the details on the right edge of the page. It’s free to enter and you can win free gear from your favorite college team and some Sports Addict swag.

My official bracket with thoughts on every game along the way will be posted Thursday morning before the first game tips off. I am one of those people that waits until the very last minute to fill out my final bracket. I want to consume as much information and knowledge which is guaranteed to make me outthink myself and finish in the bottom half of the pool. It is as much of a sure thing as someone getting thrown out at Augusta for heckling Tiger on the first day of The Masters. Anyway……..on to the East & South breakdowns. (by the way, while I was writing this, Ben Sheets just gave up another 5 hits and 3 runs. Really Ben? 10 batters faced and not one out for the A’s on Monday? Ouch.)

EAST BRACKET

Theme Song: “Happy For The Rest of Your Life” by Jimmy Soul
The song is an oldie, but a goodie, and if you don’t recognize it by name, here’s a link with lyrics on youtube. It will be stuck in your head the rest of the day. The key lyrics – “If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, never make a pretty woman your wife. So from my personal point of view, get an ugly girl to marry you.” Now I don’t subscribe to the theory – as evidenced by my wife who is way better looking than I deserve – but the song is appropriate for this bracket. If you’re going to pick a team from this bracket to win the tourney, you are most likely going to be a fan of rugged, “ugly” basketball. Stingy defense, and physical play will be all over the bracket with West Virginia, Marquette, Wisconsin, Temple and Cornell. Add to that the immature play of Kentucky and the sloppy uptempo games favored by Texas, Clemson and Missouri, and you have the potential for some unattractivegames. As the song says, if you’re marrying your bracket to one of these teams, “Though her face is ugly, her eyes don’t match, take it from me she’s a better catch.”

Katy Perry (talent to bust out): West Virginia (#2 seed)
The Moutaineers are as hot as any team in the country after their Big East tournament championship. They have proven that they can win close games and Da’Sean Butler has made his case as the most clutch player in the country. West Virginia also have the leadership of veteran Bobby Huggins, who would love nothing more than to follow “One Shining Moment” with John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (feel free to put this on in the background while you read about them) The Mountaineers also have a favorable half of the bracket with the weakest #3 seed in New Mexico and their toughest matchup before the regional final might come in the second game against a high-scoring Clemson or Missouri team.




Scarlett Johannson (best stats): Texas (#8 seed)
The Longhorns started the year 17-0, and finished 24-9, but their stats are over the entire season. They have the 5th highest scoring average of any team in the tournament, and were 3rd in the nation in rebounding margin – outrebounding their opponents by more than 9 per game. In addition, Texas has the dynamic scoring, but horrible free-throw shooting Damion James on the wing, a player who has the potential to carry a team if he gets hot. They have a tough draw if they can get past Wake Forest and do battle with the top-seeded Wildcats, but they have size in Dexter Pittman to match up with DeMarcus Cousins and their own highly regarded freshman point guard in Avery Bradley.

Elisabeth Rohm (underappreciated): Temple (#5 seed)
She can’t exactly be considered ready to break out considering she really hasn’t done much (outside of a handful of Heroes episodes) since 2005 when she left Law & Order, but in my humble opinion, she is very underrated. Smart, talented and capable of bringing the heat. Temple is not exactly an unknown, having won the regular season and tournament titles in the Atlantic-10, yet no one really knows anything about the team. Did you know that their coach, Fran Dunphy has taken teams to the tournament 11 times (he's been at Temple since 2006)? Granted, he is 1-11, but still. This team plays ferocious defense and should be able to handle everyone’s favorite upset pick, Cornell, in the first round. They finished 4th in the country in lowest field goal percentage allowed, and more importantly for us, they had the 3rd best record in the country against the spread at 22-11-1.

Faith Hill & Tim McGraw (best matchup): #6 Marquette vs. #11 Washington
The country singers just seem to fit well together, and while they rarely make the tabloid headlines, they always look good at the awards shows. This match up with Marquette and Washington is a perfect pairing of teams that are led by perimeter players (even though Lazard Hayward is the power forward, he’s 6’5” and gets by on pure effort in the paint) and squads that have been playing better as the season went on. The Golden Eagles have played more close games than anyone in the country and a tough battle will be exactly what Buzz and his team expect.

SOUTH BRACKET

Theme Song: “Funk Soul Brother” by Fatboy Slim
The first time you hear the song, you kind of get into it, feel the beat and are into it. Then after you hear it a couple times, it’s starts to really annoy you and eventually the thought of the song makes you want to punch Fatboy Slim. The South bracket is very much like that. When I first saw Duke as the top seed, I knew I would have my bracket to pick an upset team to make the final four. Then the more I looked at the bracket, the more I realized that there are not any teams I’m comfortable backing to get to the Final Four. Before the pairings came out, I had pegged 12 teams as potential Final Four teams, and of those 12, only one is located in the South (Villanova). Annoying. (since I find Fatboy Slim annoying, I decided to thow a picture of Christopher Walken up - he was in the video for "Weapon of Choice" so it's related. And Christopher Walken is like Mike Tyson, just adding them to any situation makes it inherently funny. Are pigeons funny? No. But if you have a reality show with Mike Tyson racing pigeons? Pure Gold, Jerry.)

Salma Hayek (talent to bust out): Baylor (#3 seed)
If nothing else, Baylor is a story you want to get behind. They are coached by the brother of Bryce Drew, the Valparaiso NCAA tournament hero, and are a talented group. Like Salma, they have a pair of dominating features, which for the Bears means their backcourt of LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter. They have proven their ability to win in the rugged Big 12 in addition to nonconference wins over Xavier and Arizona State. The Bears do not have any tournament experience, so it will be tough for them to beat an experienced team like Villanova or Duke later in the tournament. However, they will have the advantage of playing those teams in Houston, much closer to their home and likely a stadium dominated by their fans.

Kelly Brook (best stats): Duke (#1 seed)
Duke is the most annoying team in the tournament. They have the stats to be a #1 seed, and potentially the #3 overall team. They are 29-5 and won the regular season and tournament ACC championship. They are the top offensive team according to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency stats. They are third in the country in defensive 3-point field goal percentage. They have the 3rd best point differential of any team in the bracket, beating their opponents by an average of over 17 points per game. Yet despite the great stats, you can’t take them seriously as a title contender, can you? They have an experienced backcourt with Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, and an all-around player in Kyle Singler who can get hot and be almost unstoppable. Does that mean they will advance to the Final Four?

Yvonne Strahovski (underappreciated): Old Dominion (#11 seed)
Strahovski is the girl from that awful show “Chuck” where she plays a spy and probably saves the world from bad guys on a weekly basis. She is the only redeeming quality of the show. Much like Old Dominion is the only redeeming quality of Colonial Athletic Association conference. ODU has the advantage of playing a Notre Dame team that is confused whether or not they want to play their 2-time All-American, Luke Harangody or not. Since Harangody got hurt, the team shifted to a slower paced game and has been successful with him coming off the bench. That slower style is preferred by the Monarchs, and may play right into their hands. The biggest thing holding ODU back from being a lock in this game is their horrid free throw shooting, which is typically needed down the stretch to put away an upset.

Rihanna & Matt Kemp (best matchup): #7 Richmond vs. #10 St. Mary’s
Should I try to make the case of them both being a matchup of someone from the west coast with someone from the southeast (assuming you can say Rihanna’s hometown in Barbados is very-south-very-east?)? Nah – I’ll just say it’s a matchup of two midmajors, which would be a pretty good description of both Rihanna and Kemp’s celebrity status. Richmond is getting the most attention the program has gotten since they beat Syracuse as a #15 seed in 1991, primarily due to the play of their guards Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez paired with the shooting of Ryan Butler. St. Mary’s finally got over the hump of beating Gonzaga, so the fear is whether they are happy just to be included in the tournament.

Breaking Down the Field (Part II)

UPDATE: Join the 2010 Sports Addict Bracket Challenge! It's free to join. Click here for details.

Let’s get right to the continuation of the top 25 breakdown. For the top 13 teams, please see yesterday’s post by clicking here. And good night UConn - can we please stop talking about them? They are not on the bubble, and cannot even see the bubble they are so far away after mailing it in last night against St. John's.

14. BYU Cougars
Why They Will: They can score points. They have scored over 100 three times and over 90 points on 6 other occasions. Yet the amazing part is that they only gave up over 80 three times, losing two of those 3 games. Guard Jimmer Fredette averages over 20 points a game and just dropped 49 on TCU last week. Much like an Australian model, they have talent, though it’s mostly unknown and you probably don’t want to cast her as the star of your blockbuster movie.

Why They Won’t: They are not battle tested, with no signature wins (Arizona & Arizona St do not qualify as quality victories. In addition, they were swept by New Mexico during the regular season.

Bottom Line: Their ability to score can make them a tough matchup in the first round, but they will struggle to get much further than that.

15. Tennessee Volunteers
Why They Will: They have already beaten both Kansas and Kentucky, the top two teams in the country during the season. They play pressure defense and have one of the more charismatic coaches in the country in Bruce Pearl. With Scotty Hopson playing like he is capable combining with Wayne Chism, this team has the skills to make a long run.

Why They Won’t: Since they jettisoned Tyler Smith from the team, the Vols have jelled, but they are not deep and have been extremely inconsistent. Are they too emotional? Like Katy Perry, they can wow you at times, but you know it’s going to be a rollercoaster ride.

Bottom Line: This is a team that will be very dependent upon their seeding. They have the talent to get to the elite eight, but they could also be ripe for a first round flop if they get a disciplined, methodic team from a mid-major conference.

16. Pittsburgh Panthers
Why They Will: Jamie Dixon teams are always tough defensively and bring full effort on every play. They are Christina Aguilera, a little rough around the edges, tough, and kind of a scary matchup.

Why They Won’t: They don’t have a consistent enough scoring threat, which can be a problem in the clutch. They are only 5-5 when they give up 70 points or more, and are 19-2 when they keep teams under 70, which will be tough if they get deep against some of the more prolific offensive teams.

Bottom Line: Their defense will propel them into the sweet 16, at which point they will likely run into a team that can play enough defense to stifle the Panther attack and send Pittsburgh home.

17. Temple Owls
Why They Will: The Owls have shown flashes of brilliance, beating Villanova, Penn State, Seton Hall and Virginia Tech. They tied for the conference title in the surprisingly tough Atlantic-10, which was a better conference than the Pac-10 this season.

Why They Won’t: They got annihilated by Kansas at home, and don’t have anyone averaging more than 14.5 points per game. Like Jenna Fischer, they are among the top choices in a small town/conference for the girl-next-door type. Unfortunately, the bright lights of the tournament want more flash.

Bottom Line: Their disciplined play will allow them to avoid an early upset, but they will be the #4 or #5 seed that the cinderella teams are hoping to catch in the second round. But look at the bright side, they still have Bill Cosby as their most recognizable fan.

18. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Why They Will: Like Butler, their status as an underdog expired a few years ago. They don’t sneak up on anyone, yet they continue to dominate their conference during the regular season.

Why They Won’t: Because they don’t sneak up on anyone anymore, they are consistently overseeded at this point, potentially protecting them in the opening round. Like Kathryn Heigl, they went from underrated to overrated and were exposed as lacking the talent to compete with the best competition.

Bottom Line: They are a prime candidate to get knocked off in the first round in a 12-5 or 11-6 upset.

19. Maryland Terrapins
Why They Will: Their best player, Greivis Vasquez, is not afraid of the big moment, and he actually thrives on them. They tied for the ACC regular season title, and have Shooter from Hoosiers stalking the sidelines – Gary Williams.

Why They Won’t: Vasquez has the ability to make or break a team, because when he’s hot he’s as good as anyone. Yet when he’s cold, he’s too arrogant to know that he should look to contribute in ways other than heaving another 3-pointer. Like Sienna Miller, they can draw you in with her flashes of talent, but you’re not sure if she’s stable enough that you want to hitch your wagon to them for the long-term.

Bottom Line: Because the ACC was unbelievably weak this year, the co-champs of the conference will likely end up as a #5 or #6 seed, which means they are in danger of a first-round flame out. Expect them to sneak through to the second round, where they will be dropped.

20. Vanderbilt Commodores
Why They Will: You cannot write off a team that won at Tennessee and swept Florida with an inside-outside attack from Jermaine Beal and AJ Ogilvy. They are like Rachel Bilson – well-rounded, and very likeable.

Why They Won’t: Consistency has not been their strength, evidenced by losses to Western Kentucky, Cincinnati and at Georgia. They have the talent to play with most teams, but they don’t seem to have the focus, which brings into question the ability of their coach to take them to the next level.

Bottom Line: They appear to be a prime candidate for a first round upset due to their inconsistency. They tend to play up or down to their competition which could lead them to losing to a Sienna or the other upset sweethearts.

21. Baylor Bears
Why They Will: They are very overlooked in the sneaky tough Big 12, where they swept Texas and Oklahoma and beat Arizona State on the road. Like Tina Fey, they are sneaky attractive, in that you don’t think about them in that way at first. But then after you look past the 2003 incident where a Bear player was convicted of killing a teammate, the school brought in Scott Drew (brother of NCAA Tournament legend Bryce Drew) who has turned the program around.

Why They Won’t: They don’t have the required go-to guy that can generate his own offense when things break down. That’s the biggest weakness I can see on this sleepy team that no one is talking about.

Bottom Line: They are a great sleeper pick to get to the elite eight, as they have a team that plays well together and if they get hot, could knock off a top seed in the sweet 16.

22. Georgetown Hoyas
Why They Will: They have the Lt. Aldo Raines coach in John Thompson III, a leader that the players believe in and will do whatever he needs them to do. That measured approach to the game allows them to play well in big games because the team doesn’t get overly emotional. They also have the Jenni Farley, “J-Woww”, frontcourt with Greg Monroe and a guard in Austin Freeman that everyone is rooting for after learning he is dealing with diabetes.

Why They Won’t: They are not a great outside shooting team, and despite the strong play of Monroe & Freeman, they go into scoring droughts which can be the end of teams in the tournament.

Bottom Line: This is a team that lost to Syracuse, beat Duke, lost to South Florida and then beat Villanova all within 2 weeks. Yet, when they are hot, they are as good as anyone, and it would not surprise me to see them in the elite eight.

23. Texas A&M Aggies
Why They Will: Like Maggie Gylenhaal, some people are into this team, yet I don’t really understand how or why they are successful. The Aggies finished tied for second in the Big 12, and played Kansas close during their only meeting. They play tough defense and can grind it out in the tournament.

Why They Won’t: They don’t still have Acie Law, do they? Because he was pretty good and that was a Texas A&M team that had the skills to go deep in the tournament. They can’t win without Law.

Bottom Line: Another team ripe for a first round upset, and if they do manage to get by the opening round, they will be cannon fodder in the second round.

24. Xavier Muskateers
Why They Will: Like Anne Hathaway, they are disciplined, a little uptight and talented. They are still a mid-major from the Atlantic-10, yet they are viewed as closer to one of the big boys. Guard Jordan Crawford leads a strong offensive attack and has the ability to take over games when needed.

Why They Won’t: They played a fairly tough schedule, but did not come away with a signature non-conference win, losing to Marquette, Baylor, Kansas State and Wake Forest, and beating LSU & Cincy.

Bottom Line: if they can snag a #6 seed, they will be a dangerous matchup for the #3 seed in the second round. Look for them to win one and then be eliminated.

25. UTEP Miners
Why They Will: This is the school that hasn’t been relevant since they produced a third of the best backcourt in the NBA – “Run TMC” in Golden State. Tim Hardaway is a UTEP alum and made famous his cross-over which he called the UTEP-Two-Step. In his honor, they get the Kim Kardashian backcourt award. Does this UTEP team actually have a strong backcourt? I have no idea.

Why They Won’t: Quick – name the conference UTEP plays in! You can’t. Most people can’t. It’s Conference USA, which has been dominated by Memphis for years. They have a high-scoring guard in Randy Culpepper, but they have not beaten anyone of note outside their conference.

Bottom Line: They are the classic team for the 8-9 seed matchup in the first round, meaning it will be a tough call in the first round, and then they will get blown out by a top seed.

So there it is – The Sports Addict breaks down the top 25 like no one else. We will continue to focus on the tournament as we are only 8 days away from Degenerate Christmas when the tournament tips off. It’s the most wonderful time…..of the year…….

Make sure to check back on Monday after Selection Sunday - I'll be setting up a free bracket challenge with an opportunity to win swag from your favorite college team.

Degenerate Friday on Saturday!! Week 13

I’ve got the back-up computer working, so I will be able to keep providing you with my insane ramblings and glorious gambling picks. Unfortunately, I had to send out my primary computer to be fixed, so I did lose what I had written up for Friday’s article. I had ranked the games based on college football conference tiers. I’m way too lazy to try and rewrite the article, or the story about Ron Jeremy. So instead, just quick picks for the week. After a pitiful 2 week stretch, I’ve fallen to 88-87-2 on the season, not counting Thursday’s winner with the Jets covering in Toronto against the Bills.

First, as it’s just a few hours before kick-off, I like Alabama +5.5 over Florida in the SEC Championship. Nick Saban gets his revenge for last year’s loss.

Standard disclosures apply: recreational use, NY Post lines, home team in CAPS, etc.

Cowboys (-2) over GIANTS – Giants defense hasn’t stopped anyone since week 5 and Cowboys are feeling pretty good. Can they stop their traditional December slide?

Broncos (-4.5) over CHIEFS – Chiefs just got lit up by the Chargers and McDaniels has the Broncos believing they are underdogs again.

STEELERS (-14.5) over Raiders – Despite the locker room turmoil, the Steelers will be ready to “unleash hell” as Coach Tomlin promised, and what better team to unleash it on than the Raiders?

Texans (Pick) over JAGUARS – Jags beat Texans in Houston, are 4-1 at home and Houston doesn’t know how to close out games. Yet the Texans are the better team and the pick.

Titans (+6.5) over COLTS – Titans are white hot and Colts have been allowing teams to hang around. The Titans are the more desperate team that needs the game to keep their playoff dreams alive.

FALCONS (+5.5) over Eagles – The Georgia Dome will be rocking to welcome back Michael Vick with boos, and in a game with a ton of injuries (Ryan, Westbrook, Turner & DeSean Jackson), take the home team and the points.

Lions (+13) over BENGALS – The Bengals are the Katy Perry of the NFL – definitely a healthy dose of crazy, but there are two big reasons they are able to be successful…….for the Bengals, it’s Cedric Benson and Larry Johnson.

Saints (-9.5) over REDSKINS – This is a dangerous spot for the Saints, coming off a short week on the road against an improving defense. Yet the Saints want to dominate all season and will continue against the Skins. Someone let Jim Zorn know what time he has to get to the stadium to impersonate a statue for 3 hours.

Buccaneers (+6) over PANTHERS – Jake Delhomme might be a blessing for the Panthers. Matt Moore starting is not.

BEARS (-9) over Rams – Chicago needs this game to relieve the pressure on Lovie Smith. But it might be too late as the ghost of Mike Shanahan looms over the city.

Chargers (-13) over BROWNS – The weather could be a factor in Cleveland, but the Chargers have the ability to go through the air with Rivers or the ground with Tomlinson.

49ers (Pick) over SEAHAWKS – Seattle might be getting the Human Walrus, Mike Holmgren back in town next year. 49ers have Crabs and VD, which is too much for the ‘Hawks.

Vikings (-3.5) over CARDINALS – Peterson may end up with less rushing yards than his speed on his ticket this week (109), but Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice are too much for the Cards.

Patriots (-4.5) over DOLPHINS – Belichick and Brady don’t lose back to back games.

PACKERS (-3) over Ravens – Ravens defense shut down the Steelers last week, but Aaron Rodgers is about 10 levels above Dennis Dixon. The ageless Donald Driver and Greg Jennings should have a field day against the Ravens secondary.