Weekend Hangover: Love/Hate

LOVE

- Has there ever been a more ridiculous ending to a college football game than the LSU-Tennessee game this weekend? LSU got down to the 3 yard line with under 30 seconds left and was completely confused and out of sorts trying to call a final play. With the clock about to run out, the center snapped the ball past the quarterback who fell on the ball to seemingly give the Vols the win. Only during the confusion of LSU substituting players and not knowing what play to call, the Vols were flagged for having 13 guys on the field. LSU got another chance and punched it in for the game winning touchdown with no time on the clock. A finish that was more unbelievable than Cristina Del Basso of Big Brother in Italy. Rumor has it that she is another of Tiger’s birdies. Wow.

- I love all the overdone hype surrounding the picture of Gisele at some European event and possibly kissing a dude that isn’t Tom Brady. There are so many possibilities and explanations that don’t involve a scandal or anything illicit. I mean, Gisele is Brazilian and they are all about kisses on the cheek for greetings and departures. Is it really a stretch to think that the guy just pulled a middle-school trick and turned his face at the last minute so she planted one on his lips? My brother asked me the most pertinent question that can be applied to this situation or the Dez Bryant dropping 55k on dinner: Wouldn’t you? If you were that guy and got that close to Gisele or if you were Dez Bryant and could afford to take an entire football team out to a steak dinner, wouldn’t you?

- That sound you heard on Sunday was the Vick hype train jumping the rails and going down in flames faster than Mel Gibson’s career. I haven’t seen how long Vick will be out, but the Eagles definitely need him. Kevin Kolb looked scared and weak-armed as he took over the Eagles and couldn’t lead them back against McNabb and the Redskins. The other lesson learned from this game: The NFC East is wide open because all of the teams suck. The Eagles were feeling good because they beat the Lions and the Jaguars. This week showed their defense is awful. The Redskins have two wins within the division, but have lost their two games outside the division.

- I love the slobber-fest that continues over Denard Robinson. Yes, he put up more video-game-like stats this week and just looking at the stats, he has to be the Heisman front-runner. Yet if you watch the game, he is not a very good passer and Michigan struggled to put away a poor Indiana team. Read the post game summaries and they talk about how he “heaved a high-arching pass to Hemmingway” for 42 yards which set up the game-winning touchdown. The reality is that he threw a terrible jump ball and Junior Hemmingway made a spectacular play to outjump and come down with the pass. At the end of the day, all that matters is that the Wolverines remained unbeaten after a win on the road, but at some point Michigan is going to play some competent defensive teams and when they do, it will be interesting to see how Robinson plays.

HATE

- Dear Ted Thompson, congratulations on building a championship contender in Green Bay. You have a top 5 quarterback, top 5 tight end, top 5 wide receiver, top 5 cornerback, top 5 linebacker, and adequate offensive and defensive lines. However you have a glaring hole at running back that needs to be addressed if this team is going to win a championship. I know you love draft picks more than I love Kelly Brook in a low-cut shirt, but this should be an easy decision. Give a call to Buffalo and see what draft pick they want for Marshawn Lynch. A 5^th rounder? Sure. A 4^th rounder? Sure. The lack of running game leaves the defense on the field for too much time, which tires out our talented veterans like Charles Woodson and Cullen Jenkins. Swallow your pride and fix the problem you created by not having more than Brandon Jackson behind Ryan Grant at the beginning of the year. This isn’t hard, Ted. You messed up when you didn’t get Randy Moss, so don’t be an ass-hat on this one. Make the call and make the deal. Sincerely, Trent

- Another big game for a Bielema-coached Wisconsin team, and another disappointment. Coach Alvarez used to excel at getting his teams up for the biggest games and they would come out with focus and energy in all of their toughest road games and difficult opponents. Coach Bielema just doesn’t seem to get the best out of his teams. He has an unbelievable amount of talent with studs like James White, Lance Kendricks, JJ Watt and he can’t seem to put it all together to get the most out of his teams. On Saturday, Michigan State beat the Badgers by doing exactly what the Badgers used to do with teams: pound them with the run game which opens things up for the passing game.

- I’m going to miss Mike Singletary’s post games quotes. Wait, he hasn’t been fired yet? Give it time, as there is no way he makes it through the rest of this season. He tried to deflect the shots by firing Jimmy Raye before this week, but now the scopes are set on the legendary linebacker. His press conferences are awesomely intense and his quotes are memorable, but unfortunately it has not translated to any on-field success.

- It sure seems like the Oregon Ducks should be considered for a spot in the national championship game if they continue to play the way they’re playing currently. At least I think so, but it’s hard to tell because I couldn’t watch the Oregon-Stanford game even if I wanted to because of the ridiculous television programming decisions made by Time Warner and ABC. Instead of watching a match up of two top-ten teams in prime time in one of the loudest stadiums in the country, ABC decided that the northeast would rather watch an awful Notre Dame team against an even-worse Boston College team. Are you friggin’ kidding me? Do you want to know why there is an east coast bias by voters? They can’t actually see the best teams because of the morons at ABC who still can’t get it through their heads that Notre Dame hasn’t been relevant in 15 years and NO ONE CARES about them. I don’t need to see another Notre Dame game for the next 5 years and I guarantee I won’t miss anything of importance.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- Congrats to Michigan for winning a huge game this weekend which should launch them……INTO the rankings? Seriously, we’re supposed to be impressed by a victory against a team that was barely .500 last year and lost their starting quarterback for much of the game? I don’t buy it. Yes, Denard Robinson has put up monster stats the first two games…against Connecticut and Notre Dame. Call me when he does something against a real team.

- I love the return of football season, but let’s not overreact too much too early in the season. The sky is not falling in Indianapolis, Arian Foster will not rush for 3,000 yards this season and the Seahawks will not go undefeated.

- So much for Boise State’s chances of making the BCS Championship. When you’re only marquee win is against a Virginia Tech team that then loses to James Madison (who knew they even fielded a football team?), you can forget playing for a national championship. That would be like Jessica Alba trying to claim she should get a lifetime achievement for acting award with her highlight being Into The Blue.

- Everyone knows I hate everything Philly. Watching the Packers beat the Eagles brings me an inordinate amount of joy. And while it is a big road win to start the season in Green Bay, there are definitely some major concerns, particularly on defense. Dom Capers defense seems to be completely boom or bust. They blitz and take chances and if they don’t get a sack or an interception, they give up a ton of wide open pass plays and gashing runs. Perhaps Andy Reid’s sugar rush wore out by the end of the game, but he made some really questionable decisions down the stretch. Using his timeouts with more than 5 minutes remaining left the Eagles without a way to stop the clock after the 2 minute warning. And then on the critical 4^th and 1 play, with the Packers struggling to keep up with Michael Vick, Reid chose to take the fastest guy on the field and run him straight ahead like a fullback rather than stretch the field and let him use his speed. At least now we’ll get to watch the Eagles idiot fans whine about a quarterback controversy all season.

HATE

- Can the media – particularly BSPN – finally stop trying to sell us the hype on Miami quarterback JaCorey Harris? Much like the success of Glee, I just don’t understand the fascination with a show about the glee club or the fascination with a quarterback who can’t throw. He is a great athlete but a terrible quarterback. He was exposed against Wisconsin in the bowl game last season, so what made anyone think he would excel against an Ohio State team that was better than the Badgers and returned most of their starters? Harris threw 4 interceptions against the Buckeyes, ensuring an easy win for Ohio State. Looks like a reincarnation of Isiah “Juice” Williams at Illinois. Who? Exactly – another overhyped nobody quarterback.

While BSPN was hyping this as “Monster Saturday” they would have been more accurate to call it “Exposing the State of Florida” weekend – Miami and Florida State got hammered in so-called marquee games and the Florida Gators continued to show they have a long way to go to get past the ghost of Tim Tebow.

- Went to the US Open on Saturday with tickets to the women’s final. It’s a great atmosphere and we got there early and had drinks out in the gallery watching the end of the Roger Federer match on the multiple big screens available. Then we settled into our seats and watched Kim Clijsters absolutely destroy her Russian opponent, 6-2 6-1 in exactly one hour. As if I wasn’t disappointed enough that neither Venus Williams nor Caroline Wozniacki were in the finals, but then the match was a complete blow out. Imagine how annoyed I would have been if I actually had to pay for the tickets.

- The Wisconsin Badgers have enough talent to win the Big Ten this year, but they seem to be plagued with the same thing that has been a staple of too many Bret Bielema teams – they are undisciplined. They are careless with the football and make stupid plays which allow inferior opponents to stay in the game. Opening weekend against UNLV they gave up more points than yards in the first half (14 points and 12 yards), and this week against a pathetic San Jose State team, the continued to turn the ball over with a chance to put the game away before halftime. The Badgers have an awesome trio of tailbacks, a dynamic tight end, and an emerging receiving corps, yet if they play this way against a respectable opponent, they will get blown out.

- Even if the call at the end of the Lions-Bears game was correctly interpreted, it sucks. Calvin Johnson caught the winning touchdown in the final seconds but the ball came loose as he was bouncing up to celebrate. It’s a shame because the Lions played well enough to win even after franchise QB Matt Stafford was injured.

A Quick Reference Guide to the Big Ten for Nebraska

UPDATE: Check out the Weekend Hangover - discussing all the things to "Love" or "Hate" during the past weekend.

Welcome to the Big 10 Mr. Cornhusker. Once it is officially announced later this week, Nebraska will eventually become part of the Big 10 conference and will have played a major part in the collapse of the Big 12 conference. Congrats on that. So as you start your journey, I wanted to put together a quick reference guide to make you feel at home and realize that things are not all that different in your new surroundings. In fact, there are quite a few similarities between your old conference and your new conference, and here is a school by school breakdown of your new neighbors.

First, let’s start with your prettier and more outgoing twin sister, the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin is what you would look like if you lost 15 pounds (which would make you faster on the football field) and got a boob job (aka improve your basketball program so that the best player to ever come from your school is better than either Eric Piatkowski or Tyronn Lue). Wisconsin should be the poster on your wall for what you want to be in 7 years if you make smart changes. Joining the Big 10 was your first smart move. Calling Notre Dame and telling them to stop being such arrogant deuchebags and suggesting they join you would also be a smart move.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are like your Texas Longhorns. They are the biggest and the baddest in the conference. They spend the most, they make the most and they have the loudest, most loyal and vocal fanbase. Don’t ever say anything bad about them because they will rally the rest of their rabid irrational fans and you will never hear the end of it.

The Michigan Wolverines are the Oklahoma Sooners. They think they are the big powerhouses of their conferences because they have strong traditions, but they fail to realize that they’ve been completely surpassed by their rivals (Ohio State for Michigan and Texas for Oklahoma).

The Indiana Hoosiers are your Colorado Buffaloes. They have some tradition in sports, but haven’t been relevant in years. They are also among the biggest party schools in the conference and have the easiest girls that like to party. If you’re looking for a good time, the same way you used to head to Denver, you now can head to Bloomington. Yes, I know, that’s in Indiana, and it’s hard to believe that a good time can be had in Indiana.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are the well, Iowa State Cyclones. They are both inbred, corn-fed farmers that occasionally put together a decent team or two when they get a good recruit like Marcus Fizer or BJ Armstrong. Oh, and no offense to you, Mr. Cornhuster for that “corn-fed” comment. Then again, the Beach Boys did let us know that the midwest farmer's daughters really make you feel alright, so there is something to be said for that.

The Minnesota Gophers are your Texas Tech Red Raiders. They have hideous uniforms for every sport and while they may hire a big coach (Tubby Smith like TTU’s Bobby Knight), they still suck. It’s not really worth spending too much time on a team whose mascot is a smiling furball wearing a maroon polyester sweater.

The Purdue Boilermakers are the Baylor Bears. The Boilers are the forgotten team in Indiana like Baylor is the forgotten team in Texas. At least Purdue has not had the scandals that plagued the Bears a few years ago. They are never really contenders for any titles despite having some really good players, like Drew Brees, Glen Robinson or Kyle Orton.

The Illinois Fighting Illini are the Oklahoma State Cowboys. They wear orange, they’ve had some issues in the past with rule breaking (Eddie Sutton at OSU and the whole Deon Thompson issue with Illinois basketball), and they’ve produced some of the on-air talent at ESPN – Doug Gottleib and Steven Bardo. Illinois does have the ability to recruit some off-field talent from the greater Chicago area, much like Oklahoma State can recruit from Oklahoma City or Tulsa. Why would you recruit talent from Tulsa? Because spell out Tulsa backwards and you’ll learn what you can find in that city.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are the Kansas State Wildcats. They are the state schools that play the ugly step-sister to their “non-state” teams – Penn is tremendously more accomplished academically than PSU, and Kansas has the athletic tradition that KSU wishes it had. Both PSU and KSU also have coaches that provide endless moments of unintentional comedy with Joe Paterno and Frank Martin.

The Michigan State Spartans are the Kansas Jayhawks. They are both basketball powerhouses that are perennial title contenders. Unfortunately, that’s all they have going for them. It’s tough to find pictures of talent from the schools – seriously, I looked – and their football legends include Plaxico Burress, TJ Duckett, Charles Rogers, and Todd Reesing (yeah, that’s the best Kansas had to offer). At least Kansas will likely be able to dominate the Mountain West basketball standings now.

The Northwestern Wildcats are the Texas A&M Aggies. Well, the Wildcats are really like the Aggies with a large dose of Adderall. Unlike your former conference, you will actually find more than one school in the Big 10 that has strong academics – assuming you overlook the fact that the Big 10 can’t count. Texas A&M probably wouldn’t crack the top half of your new conference, and we know that your academic record will put you at the bottom of the conference next to Penn State, Indiana and Minnesota.

So welcome to the Big 10!! We hope that this has helped to make you feel at home and see the many similarities to your old neighborhood and the many upgrades and amenities that are now available to you. We hope you’re prepared to step up your game and bring some of your finest talents to our towns. We’ll make sure they are taken care of. Good Luck!

Degenerate Friday!! Random Ramblings

Before I get to any gambling talk, a couple of random thoughts…..

First, who the hell invented button-flys on pants or shorts? My wife bought me a new pair of khaki shorts because she said cargo shorts were more out than Ricky Martin. Anyway, they’re your basic shorts except that they have a button fly. A button-fly must have been invented by a woman and signed off on by a guy who has never gotten any in his life. Let’s see, a girl – we’ll say Diora Baird for fun - finally decides to give you some action, but you’re going to make it extremely difficult to get into the junkyard to play with your junk. And while she’s fiddling with the buttons, your chubinski has went softer than the Suns defense. Great idea Mr. Clothes Designer.

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I’m in the gym yesterday afternoon in Manhattan and notice a girl is wearing a pair of shorts with “Wisconsin” across her rear end. Interesting, and then I notice she’s also wearing a t-shirt with “Wisconsin” across her chest. So in many instances I would ask her if she went to Wisconsin or was from Wisconsin. However, in this instance, what’s the proper way to approach a girl and tell her that you noticed she had Wisconsin across her butt and across her chest….but I wasn’t checking out her butt or her chest. And since she was wearing headphones, do I motion towards her butt or chest? Yeah, that’s not going to go over well. Let’s just move on……..

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Maybe the Magic and the Suns will get back into their series this weekend. Maybe not. My degenerate picks for the week:

Saturday: Boston (-3.5) at Orlando
Sunday: Phoenix (-3) vs. Los Angeles

Maybe the Suns can hope for their fans to be almost as rowdy as these European hoops fans (wait for the 35 second mark)……

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

Well my bracket is completely busted after the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, so that’s the hate of the week………….the link is on the right to check the standings of the Sports Addict Brackett Challenge and see how awful my picks were.

LOVE

- Who was the biggest hero of the weekend? It definitely wasn’t the politicians who want to celebrate the fact that they actually did something over the weekend. And let’s face it, they really didn’t do anything since there are still more hoops to jump through. The real hero of the weekend was Ali Farokhmanesh, the Northern Iowa kid who hit the 3-pointer that sent home tournament #1 seed Kansas. His shot wasn’t just a clutch shot, it was one of those shots where the coach is yelling “Noooooooooooo! Yes!!!” because you’re up 1 with under a minute to play and typically the coach wants you to run some clock before shooting. Yet the Kansas defended backed off Ali, and to quote the great Gus Johnson, Ali decided to “rise and fire” from beyond the arc. Immediately after he hit the shot I got a text from my brother “that kid has balls the size of….well…….Iowa.” Enough said.

- The other contender for hero of the week? Korie Lucious of Michigan State, hitting the game winning shot to send the Spartans past Maryland into the Sweet 16. In a highly entertaining game that went back and forth in the final minute, Lucious carried a team that lost its best player, Kalen Lucas, and was also dealing with an injury to Chris Allen. It also ended the career of Maryland’s star guard, Greivis Vasquez, and it will be interesting to see where Vasquez’s pro potential ends up. The Spartans will have their hands full dealing with the Northern Iowa team next week, especially if the Lucas injury is a torn achilles heel like it appeared to be.

- So what is the best conference this year? There are 11 conferences represented in the sweet 16 which is a great illustration of the parity and thin line between the major conferences and the mid-majors. There is only one conference with more than 2 teams still alive: The Big Ten (Michigan State, Ohio State & Purdue). The Big 12 (Kansas St & Baylor), Big East (Syracuse & West Virginia) and SEC (Kentucky & Tennessee) have two teams each, and the rest are single teams from conferences including the ACC, Pac-10, Ivy, Atlantic-10, Missouri Valley, West Coast and Horizon. It was a very impressive showing for the much-maligned Big Ten.

- On the other side of the spectrum, it was enjoyable to watch teams that were definitely overrated show how overrated they were. I’m talking directly to New Mexico, a team that cried about a lack of respect for their great record and then they completely wet themselves in the tournament. They were completely dismantled by the 11th seeded Washington team. Other teams that were exposed as frauds during the first weekend: Temple, Vanderbilt, Richmond, Pittsburgh and yes, Wisconsin. It happens every March when teams cry for respect or build up expectations, only to deliver a performance like Jennifer Lopez like Gigli.

- The quote of the weekend. It had nothing to do with basketball, and took place at dinner Saturday night with a group of friends discussing how a girl should pace herself drinking on a date to roughly match the amount that the guy is drinking. We got into a discussion of a girl who was drinking 4 cocktails to 1 for her date because she figured it was free drinks and she knew the date wasn’t going to lead to a second date (or even a second bar). To which my friend just deadpans “Why would you waste a hangover on a bad date?” Well said.

HATE

- The performance of Wisconsin was pitiful. First, Cornell was flat-out better than the Badgers in every aspect of the game. Their big slow white guy was better than Wisconsin’s guy, Nankovil. The Cornell scorer (Wittman) was equal to the Wisconsin scorer (Leuer). The Cornell undersized point guard played under control, didn’t turn the ball over and made shots – all things that Trevon Hughes did not do. The Cornell shooter (Jacques) made his shots, and Wisconsin’s shooter (Bohannon) could barely hit the ocean if he fell out of a boat. Cornell had guys coming off the bench that made contributions, and the Badgers did not. At the end of the day, there are not many teams that can out-fundamental a Bo Ryan team, and Cornell did that.

The most disappointing aspect was the disappearance of the Badger senior backcourt of Hughes and Bohannon. When the Badgers got hot near the end of the regular season after Leuer returned from injury, those two were driving the bus. In the Big Ten tournament and in both NCAA Tournament games, they drove the bus into a ditch and lit it on fire.

- In addition to the Wisconsin veteran backcourt collapsing, the same happened to Kansas and Villanova. Kansas’s Sherron Collins was awful in the Jayhawks debacle and he wasn’t able to step up and carry the team like you would expect from a senior All-American point guard. Similarly, Scottie Reynolds couldn’t get Villanova past St. Mary’s in the second round, proving that the first round struggles were not a fluke and Villanova was not nearly as good as everyone thought. Time to change the thought that an experienced floor leader is what is needed to advance in the tourney. And it also put an end to my “Fat Point Guard Theory.”

- If you were a pseudo-small market team and were about to sign your franchise catcher to the biggest contract in the history of the franchise (and among the top 5 contracts ever in the sport), wouldn’t you want that to be the lead story in sports? Wouldn’t you want your team to get the publicity it deserves for keeping its star player? The Twins signed the best catcher in the game, Joe Mauer, to an 8-year, $184 million contract that will keep the Minnesota-native home and keep the Twins competitive. Yet they announce it on a Sunday when all the national sports outlets are spending their time on the NCAA tournament and the Tiger Woods interview. Wouldn’t they have been better served holding on to the announcement until Tuesday when the college hoops dies down and they can get the attention of the media?

(and I say pseudo-small market because Minneapolis is not Milwaukee, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Baltimore, Tampa or Cincinnati)

Every Monday I give a quick recap of some things during the weekend that were a “love” – enjoyable, good, or entertainment – or things that were a “hate” – things that stunk, bad plays, or other things that were painful to watch.

The Official Sports Addict Bracket

Well, the time has come to unveil the official Sports Addict bracket. Right before tip-off, you might want to print off this one-page summary sheet from Czabe.com and bring it with you to the watering hole to watch the games – it has a bullet on every team, their coach, key player, conference and records. Awesome. There are not a ton of upsets outside the first or second round, but I don’t see that much talent outside of the top seeds.

MIDWEST BRACKET

First Round:
#1 Kansas over #16 Lehigh
#9 N. Iowa over #8 UNLV
#5 Michigan St. over #12 New Mexico State
#4 Maryland over #13 Houston
#6 Tennessee over #11 San Diego State
#3 Georgetown over #14 Ohio
#10 Georgia Tech over #7 Oklahoma State
#2 Ohio State over #15 UC-Santa Barbara

Kansas, Ohio State and Georgetown will hardly break a sweat and will likely cover the spreads. Northern Iowa plays enough defense to stop the Rebels and don’t turn the ball over, a recipe for an early round victory. Do you want to bet against Tom Izzo against an inferior team? Me neither. Houston coach Tom Penders has a great record of getting to the tourney, but a terrible record once there. The nation’s leading scorer Aubrey Coleman should match up with the Terp’s Greivis Vasquez in one of the best individual matchups of the first round. Tennessee has been hit or miss all season, and they play a frenetic style of play, similar to San Diego State. The difference is the Vols have better athletes. Georgia Tech has more widespread talent that can make up for the best single talent, James Anderson.

Second Round:
#1 Kansas over #9 N. Iowa
#5 Michigan St. over #4 Maryland
#3 Georgetown over #6 Tennessee
#2 Ohio State over #10 Georgia Tech

Mostly chalk, with the only exception being Michigan State. The Spartans have had chemistry issues of late, but I don’t like Tom Izzo any time other than the NCAA tournament. N. Iowa will keep it close with Kansas and put a scare into the Jayhawks.

Sweet 16:
#1 Kansas over #5 Michigan State
#2 Ohio State over #3 Georgetown

Kansas defense will keep the Spartans from scoring enough to keep up. Collins can dominate Lucas and the Spartans don’t have the inside presence to handle Aldrich and the Morris twins. The key for the Buckeyes will be the ability of Dallas Lauderdale to slow Greg Monroe and keep him off the glass. Georgetown has no one to match up with Turner on the perimeter, when they also have Buford and Lighty slashing and Diebler from the perimeter. This could be the best game of the entire sweet 16.

Elite Eight:
#1 Kansas over #2 Ohio State

The depth of the Jayhawks will be the difference. Ohio State has as much talent as Kansas in the starting five, but Kansas has the ability to bring waves of reinforcements. Thad Motta doesn’t have that luxury. The Jayhawks are the best team in the country and survive a very tough bracket to advance to Indianapolis.

WEST BRACKET

1st Round:
#1 Syracuse over #16 Vermont
#9 Florida State over #8 Gonzaga
#12 UTEP over #5 Butler
#13 Murray State over #4 Vanderbilt
#6 Xavier over #11 Minnesota
#3 Pittsburgh over #14 Oakland
#7 BYU over #10 Florida
#2 Kansas State over #15 North Texas

Syracuse is probably still annoyed by their opening round loss in 2005, and won’t need their injured center to blast past the Catamounts. Kansas State will run past the Mean Green and Pittsburgh will smother the Detroit suburb school, Oakland. Florida State’s defense will be enough to swallow up America’s favorite underdog Gonzaga, which will hamper secretary brackets all over the country (“I love that they’re called the Zags and aren’t they a small school that upsets teams?”) Butler’s only size is a slow 6’8” center who can’t handle anyone outside of their weak conference. Well UTEP has a 6’11” forward and 6’9” Derrick Caracter who is too quick for the Bulldog’s Matt Howard. And the Miners then bring the offensive speed of Randy Culpepper. Murray State can score with anyone and average over 10 steals a game, which is a bad match up for a Vandy team that turns it over all too willingly. (If Butler & Vandy get to the second round, the match up of Howard & Ogilvy might cause fans to think they’re watching a game in 1950 based on the slow, plodding play of the centers) Minnesota and Florida were both lucky to make the field and their stays will be short.

2nd Round:
#1 Syracuse over #9 Florida State
#12 UTEP over #13 Murray State
#3 Pittsburgh over #6 Xavier
#7 BYU over #2 Kansas State

Florida State can’t crack the ‘Cuse zone. The Miners continue their run with more offense. Xavier has the ability to beat Pitt, but the Panther defense and grit after a tough Big East season carries them through. The Kansas State-BYU game has given me nightmares, because I want to believe that BYU could ride the hot hand of Jimmer Fredette all the way to the Elite Eight. I want to believe that the discipline of the Cougars will outdo the volatile emotions of Kevin Martin and the Wildcats. But K-State can shoot it with both guards and have an effective swingman in Curtis Kelly. I am picking the smart kids to fluster Kansas State causing them to lose their poise.

Sweet 16:
#1 Syracuse over #12 UTEP
#7 BYU over #3 Pittsburgh

The Orange is not deep, which could make this a potential upset as the Miners try to push the pace. Yet Syracuse has too many weapons for UTEP to handle, and by this point, they will start to get some contributions back from Arinze Onuaku. BYU continues their run with shooting that can overcome the physical Panther defense. Jimmer Fredette becomes the tournament sweetheart like Stephen Curry did at Davidson.

Elite Eight:
#1 Syracuse over #7 BYU

The clock strikes midnight on this year’s Cinderella when the Syracuse zone causes problems for the BYU team. The Orange are long and athletic which will cause problems for BYU’s shooters, finally slowing down Fredette. Wes Johnson completes his transformation from an unknown transfer to a key cog on a Final Four team, securing his spot in the NBA lottery next season. Jim Boeheim does caps what possibly has been his best coaching season with a trip to the final four with a team without a top-50 recruit and a team that started the season unranked.

EAST BRACKET

1st Round:
#1 Kentucky over #16 East Tennessee State
#8 Texas over #9 Wake Forest
#5 Temple over #12 Cornell
#4 Wisconsin over #13 Wofford
#6 Marquette over #11 Washington
#3 New Mexico over #14 Montana
#10 Missouri over #7 Clemson
#2 West Virginia over #15 Morgan State

Barely an upset in the first round in the East bracket. Kentucky, West Virginia and Wisconsin should not be tested in their games (good gawd did I just curse my Badgers? Probably. I take it back. Wofford is really, really good and Wisconsin will have to play really well to beat this solid group of players despite the fact that their school name resembles the sound a dog makes more than it does a prestigious university) Texas has more raw talent than the Demon Deacons in a battle of underachieving and slumping squads. Temple’s defense will slow the hot shooting Big Red of Cornell and send Randy Whitman’s kid home. Darrington Hobson by himself is enough to carry the Lobos past Montana. There is no safer bet in the NCAA tournament than Oliver Purnell losing in the first round, he’s 0-5.

2nd Round:
#1 Kentucky over #8 Texas
#4 Wisconsin over #5 Temple
#6 Marquette over #3 New Mexico
#2 West Virginia over #10 Missouri

Texas has the raw talent to stay close to Kentucky, but since they haven’t put it together all season, why would they do it now? Kentucky will have two nice games to get their youngster jitters out before the toughest part of the bracket gets to them. Wisconsin plays a similar style to Temple, only better. They have veteran guard play and the Owls have no one to contend with Jon Leuer. Marquette will be able to dominate the Lobos physically and has the guards to match up with Hobson in the only second round upset in this bracket. West Virginia has the talent to overwhelm the Tigers, even if the Mountaineers are not at their best.

Sweet 16:
#1 Kentucky over #4 Wisconsin
#2 West Virginia over #6 Marquette

Both Wisconsin-based teams get the bounce in Syracuse. The Badgers have the talent, experience and defense to stymie the potent Kentucky attack, and the homer in me wants to pick Bo Ryan’s crew to keep going. If they win, it would not be a monster surprise, but the inside tandem of Cousins and Patterson will be really tough matchup for Leuer and Nankovil. Marquette’s run will be fueled by heart and energy, which won’t be enough to get past their conference rival. West Virginia has the perimeter players to keep up with the Golden Eagles, and has an inside presence that Buzz’s boys can’t match.

Elite Eight:
#1 Kentucky over #2 West Virginia

After Kentucky has survived the athleticism of Texas, and the grind of playing against the Badgers, they will not be surprised by the style of the Mountaineers. Kentucky has a minimum of 3 NBA players on the court at almost all times, and they will be able to overwhelm the game Huggins’ squad.

SOUTH BRACKET

1st Round:
#1 Duke over #16 Arkansas-Pine Bluff
#9 Louisville over #8 California
#5 Texas A&M over #12 Utah State
#4 Purdue over #13 Siena
#11 Old Dominion over #6 Notre Dame
#3 Baylor over #14 Sam Houston State
#7 Richmond over #10 St. Mary’s
#2 Villanova over #15 Robert Morris

The top 3 seeds should cruise through with blowouts, and the fact Arkansas Pine-Bluff gets to say they have won a tournament game by virtue of winning the play-in game is all the evidence I need to confirm how opposed I am to expansion. Louisville hasn’t beaten anyone of consequence outside of Syracuse (twice), and has lost to UNLV, Charlotte and Western Carolina. That concerns me, yet the Pac-10 has been awful, so I’ll take the Cards over the Bears. Utah State had no business getting an at-large bid and should be easily dismissed by the Aggies. Everyone wants to bury Purdue without Hummel but this Siena team is not as good as their past squads that won in the first round in 2009 and 2008. Purdue still has E’Twan Moore, JaJuan Johnson and Deon Grant, which will be enough to get past the Saints. Old Dominion can play the slow style Notre Dame has adopted, and the Irish are confused what to do with Harangody. Richmond’s backcourt will be enough to lead the Spiders past a solid St. Mary’s squad that is happy just to finally get past Gonzaga and into the tournament.

2nd Round:
#1 Duke over #9 Louisville
#5 Texas A&M over #4 Purdue
#3 Baylor over #11 Old Dominion
#2 Villanova over #7 Richmond

Duke’s discipline will be able to handle the Louisville pressure, allowing the Blue Devils to advance. Purdue can get past a mid-major without Robbie Hummel, but it’s a different ballgame going up against a tough Aggie team lead by Donald Sloan. Baylor’s defense will stifle the Monarchs and will blow them out. The only thing that is worrisome about the Bears in the early rounds is their lack of tournament experience, but thankfully they will not face a very tough test, even if Notre Dame manages to be their second round opponent. Villanova has guards and experience that can neutralize the Richmond attack. It is another game for the Wildcats to get back to their early season form when they got as high as #2 in the country.

Sweet 16:
#1 Duke over #5 Texas A&M
#2 Villanova over #3 Baylor

Everyone wants to find a reason to knock out the Dukies early, yet there has not been a team yet that can match up with them. Texas A&M will have the advantage of playing Duke in Houston, but Sloan can be matched by Nolan Smith and the Aggies will have a tough time if Singler gets hot. Villanova will also face a hostile crowd in Houston against Baylor, but their experienced backcourt will be the difference against the Bears defense.

Elite Eight:
#2 Villanova over #1 Duke
Just like last season, Villanova has the perimeter players to match up and best the Duke guards. Scottie Reynolds gets another trip to the Final Four and he combines with the best pair of Coreys (Stokes & Fisher) since Corey Haim and Corey Feldman.

FINAL FOUR

#1 Kansas over #1 Syracuse
#1 Kentucky over #2 Villanova

CHAMPIONSHIP

Kansas Jayhawks over Kentucky Wildcats

Kansas is too deep and too talented with too many weapons for Syracuse to stop. Kentucky’s inside game is too much for Villanova. This sets up a coaching rematch from the 2008 final between Bill Self’s Kansas squad and John Calipari’s Memphis team. Calipari once again has a freshman point guard leading the charge, but this time John Wall is not as poised and mature at Kentucky as Derrick Rose was in 2008. The senior leadership of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldridge will be too much for the Wildcats to stop. Bill Self collects his second title, and cements his legacy among the great coaches in the game. It’s time for Rock-Chalk-Jayhawk to ring down from the rafters at Lucas Oil Stadium when Kansas cuts down the nets.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate: Oscars!!

LOVE

- I think I can smell the desperation from the Bears all the way out in New York. The Bears stole all of the headlines at the opening of the free agency period by throwing money around like they were trying to make Avatar. And as we saw how that worked out last night during the Oscars…….the big winner was the low budget Hurt Locker. What did the Bears actually get for all that money? A defensive lineman that has never played hard consistently and does not play hard when he isn’t playing for a new contract? Check – Julius Peppers. A backup running back that has only been a starter for 1 year even though he’s 31 years old to compete with a guy who has rushed for over 2,100 yards in his first two seasons? Check – Chester Taylor. A tight end that hasn’t been relevant since 2003 to compete with one of the better tight ends in the league? Check – Brandon Manumaleuna. (I don’t care if that’s spelled wrong – I’m not looking it up, and I’m not typing it again) Wait – I just looked up his stats and he has NEVER been relevant. His career year was 2003 (great guess by me) when he had 29 catches for 238 yards. And the Bears are excited about this guy?!?!

None of those moves address the Bears problems which include offensive line, wide receiver, defensive backs, linebackers, a QB who might be color-blind, a clueless coaching staff, and the fact that they are the Bears. I think the Bears might be worse than the Lions next season.

- The Wisconsin Badger basketball team continues to roll, and is now well positioned for at worst a #4 seed in the NCAA tournament. They head into the Big Ten tournament next weekend with confidence and after they put the Illinois tournament hopes on life support, they have a chance to pull the plug completely on Friday in the Big Ten tourney. Interesting that according to this site, the Badgers, as the #4 seed in the tournament has better odds to win the conference tournament than Michigan State, the #3 seed. Considering Wisconsin would likely get Ohio State, and Michigan State would likely get Purdue in the semifinals, I can’t say I agree with those odds.

- Loved watching Alec Baldwin & Steve Martin hosting the Oscards. They were the perfect tandem in that the lines are always stiff and awkward during the awards shows, and the two of them excel at sarcasm, and acting awkward. Question about Baldwin – was he actually appreciated before 30 Rock? I mean, he was phenomenal in old movies like Glengarry Glen Ross, The Hunt For Red October and Beetlejuice among others. Yet, it doesn’t seem like he wasn’t nearly as famous until the past few years.

- Another quick note on the Oscars – it was great to see Jeff Bridges win an Oscar. I don’t know much about him, but he just seems to be a fairly down-to-earth kind of guy and a hard-working actor. Maybe I just project his character in The Big Lebowski on him, but either way, I like the guy. I actually think that his best work was in Arlington Road – a great, great movie that is not widely known. Put it on your Netflix – you will not be disappointed. It’s also worth pointing out that his movie credits also include Tron – an 80’s icon movie. Awesome.

HATE

- Does anyone want the 4th #1 seed? Duke lost to Maryland last Sunday, and then Kansas State lost to Iowa State this weekend. Has Purdue stabilized enough to get the spot? Does Duke still get it due to their wins over top RPI teams? Was Kansas State coach Frank Martin more focused on his contract extension (announced Sunday) than on Iowa State? Isn’t it annoying when I keep asking questions? Anyway, I still think Ohio State can get the top seed if they win out the Big Ten tourney. Seems like the other 3 top seeds are more of a lock than Sandra Bullock was to win her Oscar last night.

- While I am already sick of the Clash of the Titans movie promos, for this year’s NCAA tournament, you will notice a lack of “titans” in the brackets. UNC is having one of the worst seasons they have ever had, UConn will be in the NIT tournament, and Arizona has been awful in the worst of the big conferences. It’s kind of like an Oscars ceremony without Meryl Streep being nominated. She has been nominated like 16 times and only has 1 win.

- RIP Arizona Cardinals chances of making the playoffs next season. Once Kurt Warner retired, did the team throw in the towel in free agency? They lost their best linebacker (Carlos Dansbury) to the Dolphins, their best safety (Antrelle Rolle) to the Giants and traded away their second-best receiver (Anquan Boldin) for a warm beer. Was that really the best deal they could get for Boldin? They gave up Boldin & a 5th round pick for a 3rd and 4th round pick. Seems like a bargain price for a guy who has 5 seasons with over 1,000 yards in 7 years. Though he has only played a full 16 game season twice.

- I will mostly reserve judgement on Ben Roethlisberger until the legal process runs its course. Yet, no matter what the legal result is, he’s guilty of poor decision making. Ben is 28 years old, so why was he at a college bar doing whatever he was doing with a 20 year old? And this is now the second accusation in 2 years against him (though no chargers were ever filed in the first case – there is a civil case), which makes you wonder – why is he always in the wrong place at the wrong time? At some point, its no longer a coincidence that bad things happen to you if you keep putting yourself in bad situations. On the flip side, if you put yourself in better situations, you can have more success. Kind of like that Giuliana Rancic that went from being a random E! reporter to suddenly having her own reality show with her husband – who won the first apprentice show.

- If the Nets are able to avoid setting the record for the worst record in the history of the NBA, they may have the Knicks to thank. They have beaten the Knicks for 2 of their 7 wins on the season, and on Saturday night, New York went out and and missed all 18 of their three-point attempts in the loss. It is just another chapter in ineptitude for the Knicks and another reason that LeBron James will not sign there this summer. That was a serious Toilet Bowl at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Weekly Rankings - College Professors

Yesterday’s story about the NYU professor got me thinking about my college professors and since we haven’t had a much to rank in a while, I decided to rank my top 5 college professors during my time at the University of Wisconsin. Whether or not you went to UW, you may have had professors like these gems……..or maybe not. And after looking at the list, what stood out to me is the classes I took more than the professors. How did a Finance major end up in Linguistics, The History of African Music, Puerto Rican History & Nursing 101? I tend to be an optimist, so at least this proves I have memories from college that don’t all include some combination of beer, women and sports.

5. The Watermelon – Linguistics

My roommate Archie & I signed up for linguistics because it met some crazy requirement in order to graduate. We really didn’t care about the origins of language or whatever the class was about……because as you’ll see in a minute, I didn’t complete the class. We settle into our seats in the middle of Bascom Hall among roughly 200 students. We’re slightly punchy because it’s the first day of class to start a new semester and we may or may not have been out drinking the night before. The professor takes the stage and she’s a rather robust woman, wearing what can only be described as a lime green moo-moo dress that also could have doubled as a parachute. Archie doesn’t miss a beat and cracks under his breath, “She looks like a huge watermelon up there.” I absolutely lost it and had to bury my head in my arms to keep from laughing out loud. Every time I looked up, all I could see was a huge watermelon, so I spent the rest of the class with my head down shaking with laughter. I dropped the class the next day.

4. Unknown Professor – Nursing 101

I really have no idea whether this professor was good or bad. As I’m starting my final semester, I get the dreaded call telling me I was one credit short of graduation. I assume one of my roommates is messing with me in a knock off of a Saved By The Bell episode, and proceed to tell them they don’t know what they’re talking about and they should recount them and call me back. They do, and they walk me through how I am actually 1 credit short, and it’s already almost 2 weeks into the semester, so all of the phy ed classes are already full. The only 1 credit class I can find Is Nursing 101. My roommate Diggity assesses the situation as this: “Perfect. Freshmen girls who want to be naughty nurses. I’m signing up with you.” And we both register for the class. I went to the first class to scope the talent and pick up the class agenda for the semester. Turns out it was a jackpot – two short papers and one take home exam. I never returned to the classroom other than to turn in the papers. Oh, and I may or may not have gotten some help on the exam from a friend’s sister who was taking the class seriously.

3. The Dude - History of African Music

Picture in your head the perfect teacher for a class about the African music beginning in the early 1900’s and running up until Tupac and Dr. Dre. Who are you picturing? My thought would be someone that might look like Red Foxx or James Earl Jones. Imagine my surprise when on the first day of class an older white guy who resembled The Dude from The Big Lebowsky begins the lecture. The Dude also showed up for every class wearing a Colorado Avalanche “Starter” jacket. But The Dude knew his music and the class was a phenomenal way to rack some credits just by listening to great music from Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, and Tupac. The class was an hour and a half of listening to a song, then listening to The Dude talk about that time in history, then playing another song. I’ve never been more relaxed after a class.

2. Bulent Paker – Finance

Paker was one of the nicest and most caring professors I encountered during college. He was maybe 5’3” and of Indian decent, teaching in a huge 350 student lecture hall with a sliding chalk board system at the front of the room. Due to his lack of height, he would have to jump up and down to fully erase the board during his lecture, which led to some great unintentional comedy (and the opportunity to wager on how many times he would jump during each class). I learned the CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) from him, and if I didn’t know any better, I would think that the only thing you ever needed in finance was the CAPM formula. He was obsessed with it, and he would get so excited that he would stop class and repeat over and over: “Don’t write thees down, just leeesen (listen) and understand.”

1. Bruce Harms – Business Law

This is the guy that most closely resembled the NYU professor from yesterday’s post. Harms was known as a prickly guy with an ego too big for his cubicle which led to extremely difficult exams. I actually thoroughly enjoyed his class and found the cases really interesting. Yet, my favorite moment came after the first exam and he put the distribution of grades on the board: A – 4, AB-10, B – 15, BC-35, C – 30, D – 35, & F-15. (Let’s just say I was not in the top 3 categories) He then proceeds to point to the top 3 categories and explain that these people are in trouble because they will relax and do poorly on the next exam. And then he circles the bottom groups and adds this gem: “These people are in the sweet spot because they will study more for the next exam and pass those people that are currently at the top.” What? I’m sitting there with a C. I do not consider that the sweet spot. No matter what I get on the NEXT test, I’m still sitting here right now with a C on this test, you toolbox.

Weekend Hangover - Love/Hate

LOVE

- U-S-A! U-S-A! The men’s hockey team upset the Canadian powerhouse last night, which is ironic since today is the 30th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice victory over Russia in the 1980 Olympics. This was nowhere near the level of upset and is still in pool play not a medal round, but it was an extremely entertaining game – especially for a guy like me that does not follow hockey (I have an issue with any sport that calls it’s jerseys “sweaters”). But the best part of a hockey game? The goal horn. Is there anything better than the loud fog horn that blasts after each and every goal in any hockey game? Just awesome.

Since I am not old enough to have any memories of the 1980 games, here is my first memorable hockey introduction. I grew up in Wisconsin, which is hockey crazy, yet despite my cousins playing the sport, I never was really exposed to the game. Fast forward to college, where Wisconsin has a rich hockey tradition. I somehow snag two prime seats at mid-ice for a game and manage to talk this girl who played on the University’s women’s club hockey team to go with me. Now I know what you’re thinking – that she was more interested in the cheerleaders than me – but I don’t think that was really the case. We settle into our seats and she’s attempting to explain the game to me when Dany Heatley (currently playing for Team Canada) scores for the Badgers. The place goes bezerk and that fog horn goes off. I’m into it, though still spinning trying to figure out how people can keep up with the puck. Suddenly the entire crowd starts pointing at the opposing goalie and chanting “Sieve!” - particularly this 75 year old grandmother sitting next to us who is screaming with extreme passion! That’s when I knew that hockey was something that must be in your blood and you either have it or you don’t. I didn’t. Grandma Sieve defintely did.

- NBC Hockey Announcer Doc Emrick is outstanding. He combines the emotions and pace of Gus Johnson, the intelligence of Jay Bilas and the personality of Steve Lavin all into one. There were times during the game where I wasn’t fully paying attention but simply the tone and pace of his voice made me focus back on the game.

- I have generally poo-poo’d all of the hype around John Wall at Kentucky this season. Without having seen him play very much, I tended to believe that that he was a very talented guy, lightning quick point guard with a solid shot, but he was immature and probably quite as good as advertised. Well, I’m starting to come around. Despite having an off shooting night, he was able to come up with a game saving blocked shot and knock down crucial free throws as Kentucky took down Vanderbilt on Saturday night. I still think Wall is not as polished as Derrick Rose was during his one year in college, and I think DeMarcus Cousins might be the best freshman on Kentucky this year, but I’m starting to believe that he will be a major contributor in the NBA next season.

- I am a big fan of match play golf relative to the low-score method that is used in most pro tournaments. There’s just something to going head to head for the 18 holes against the guy you’re battling and not having to worry about checking the scoreboard to see who is having a good round. It just brings a different attitude to the course – kind of like on The Bachelor when they make all the women live in the same house with no access to television or phones and a fully stocked liquor cabinet. Then we act surprised when the claws come out and the girls are not quite as they appear on the show………like this season’s villain, Vienna.

HATE

- Boner has gone missing!! Who knew that this would be the only time it would “family friendly” to type those words? Andrew Koenig, the guy who played Richard “Boner” Stabone on the 80’s sitcom Growing Pains went missing at the Olympics this weekend. He was supposed to return to LA and didn’t show up for his flight. Hard to believe that guy is 42 years old now, and another sad story of a childhood actor struggling when their career matures.

- Enough with the analyzing of Tiger’s speech last week. To no one’s surprise, there are people crying for more from him and others who think he nailed the apology. Obviously, those that profit from Tiger (like ESPN & the PGA) think he was great. Those that profit from continued drama (like the rag mags) think he was too staged and robotic. Who cares? Let the dude put his life back together.

- I have had enough of Bode Miller. I get that the guy is the “most decorated Olympic skiier” in US history – which is kind of like being the tallest midget. The guy can ski faster than anyone because he has no fear, which is impressive. But he is obvlivious to the honor of being an Olympian, and has no pride in skiing for his country. Listen to some of the past medal winners in the US or even some of the current winners – Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hamil, Lindsey Vonn or even Shaun White – they all speak about the pride and pressure they felt to win for their country. Not Bode – he measures success not by winning or posting a good time, but by the fun he has with a twelver in the hot tub. In his spoiled, deuchebag world, this is just another week partying on the slopes. He’s the John Mayer of skiing – he has one great talent, but is a complete asshat when he’s not doing that one talent.

- While Major League Baseball fans whine about the lack of a salary cap in baseball, the system that is currently in place in the NBA doesn’t seem to be working either. What kind of system rewards a team for blowing up a team for 2-3 years with no intentions of winning in hopes of clearing enough salary cap space to sign two super stars? That’s been the program the Knicks have been on for the past 3 years. Not a program of rebuilding with young stars that may take some years to develop. (That is the plan the Blazers and Thunder have used successfully) The Knicks have taken on terribly overpaid players with expiring contracts and have freed up the cap space to sign two of the big free agents from this year’s bumper crop of available stars.

Can they convince LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to both come to New York and rule Gotham as Batman & Batman? Tracy McGrady would play Robin to the two of them, and let’s not kid ourselves – a team of those 3 would easily be among the favorites to win the title. Part of me wants to see it happen just for the intrigue of it, but the rest of me doesn’t want to reward a franchise for being awful and taking money from their season ticket holders who were paying good money for an intentionally suboptimal product.