My Women's Bracket: Final Four

UConn over Stanford- I want to see a USC-Florida or USC-Ohio State BCS National Championship. There's something about seeing the two best programs playing each other for a National Championship that you want the opportunity to see. I thought that UConn and Tennessee were the two best programs and the year after they broke their yearly home and home agreement, that we'd see it. Apparently not so.

Tennessee over LSU- If you told me Candace Parker was going to pop her shoulder, I wouldn't have picked Tennessee. I guess there is some luck to this after all. Who am I kidding of course there is.

Tennessee over UConn- I figured this would be the crowning moment to end Parker's career and it still may be. Tuesday night.

NOW I see his point

Paul doesn't play Fantasy Games with me because there's a chance I can get lucky and beat him

This weekend I'll explain my rationale for each and every pick and Paul will poke his eyes out.

NCAA Men's Tournament Thoughts

While I love a good upset more than just about anyone, I couldn't be happier with this year's "all chalk" tournament and this weekend's all one-seed Final Four. Upsets are what make the first two weekends of the tournament interesting and make cubile progonsticators feel very smart when say Davidson beats say Georgetown. But two years ago the tournament had an upset every day of the first two weeks and the Final Four that year was among the worst ever. In fact Final Fours are usually so anti-climatic that you never hear anybody rank Final Fours like you do the Super Bowls or World Serieseses. None of them have three memorable games that people talk about until Midnight Madness the following year. I think the potential for that exists this weekend. The four teams (add Tennessee but their hype was always reserved) that everyone was talking about all year long as the best in the country playing each other. You could make a legitimate case for each as to why they'll be cutting down the nets on Monday. Memphis had the best regular season but against an inferior schedule than Carolina, Kansas, and UCLA. I'm glad we have this weekend to find out without any doubt or controversy who the best team in the country is.

Who am I rooting for? Once again I am rooting for my wallet and my wallet has UCLA.

I am currently in 9th in my office pool out of 50 but am one of only two with UCLA as my chosen champion. The other person has UCLA beating North Carolina, I have UCLA beating Kansas. Therefore if UCLA wins the National Championship by beating Kansas, I PPD win the Berrttuccci's NCAA Office Pool to add to my Super Bowl Squares winnings and a job in the Marketing Department, and a new apartment. Am I THIS lucky? No but I just wanted to make you aware of the possibility. Here are some more random thoughts...

If North Carolina can play in Raleigh, and then Charlotte. Syracuse can play in Syracuse when it makes it and becomes a #1 seed (you see why this argument is moot now) you just take away the opportunity for SU season ticket holders to purchase tickets and you can justifiably call it a neutral site, as neutral as Charlotte was.

Anyone else notice Gus Johnson being groomed to take over for Jim Nantz who we all know would much rather be doing Masters research right now. I was shocked that he got the final game of last weekend and the lead-in to 60 Minutes. I think CBS is starting to take notice of his positive reception. The only thing that could ruin things for Gus...openly rooting for one team over another (see the Davidson-Wisconsin game after Brian Butch hits a three, Gus says "ugh", I swear).

Any coincidence that rumors are circulating about Brett Favre coming back so recently after Tyler Hansbrough becomes ESPN's new boyfriend?

That redhead Kansas cheerleader gets a lot of camera love just for looking slutty.

It'll be a shame in five years when Memphis has to take down this year's Final Four banner if the NCAA finds out Calipari used old means to get these guys to come to Memphis.

File me under "not so crazy" about the NCAA's new seating configuration for domed stadiums hosting the Regional Finals. For the Final Four I'm all for it, the demand is there and when filled its a striking sight but for the Sweet 16, if the good travelling state schools don't make it, you see A LOT of empty seats. Plus the coaches look goofy on those stools.

You may be thinking "Syracuse has a domed stadium, will they try this". You have to weigh Dr. Daryl Gross' desire to make as much revenue on basketball as he can vs. Syracuse's tendency to poo-poo new ideas. Then think the NCAA will most likely want them to use this configuration when they host the Regionals again in 2010. Maybe a 'dry run' during the 2009 early season would be a good idea. Then again, the only opponent that CNY could turn out 50,000 to see would have to be a big time out of conference opponent and I say it ain't happening til it absolutely has to in March of 2010.

Next year the East Regionals are held at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. SCZA should starting pitching his blog idea now to make sure he gets credentials.

The Golf Ball Dies...

The Golf Ball will not see another day...

Neither will Chelsea

UCLA lost to Florida 76-66, they were only getting 3 points. The Bruins kept the game close in the First Half by playing sound defense. Once Florida jumped out to a lead in the Second Half, they gave up, got into foul trouble and gave up too many follow-up buckets.

For all the hype this Final Four got, the games were no more in-doubt than last year. Ohio State pulled away from Georgetown shortly after the last TV Timeout.

This will be the first year the same two teams have played in the National Championship games in Football and Basketball. Florida will attempt to become the only team to hold National Titles in Football and Basketball in the same calendar year and my money's on them to do it, especially if they can get Greg Oden in foul trouble early like Georgetown did tonight.

I still cash my chips having won 200 bucks, in a pool that is as fun as its been lucrative for me the past two years.

Here's that picture of Chelsea again...

UC? or LA?

Paul from Fair Lawn wants to know:

I'd also like to hear your thoughts on the UCLA cheerleaders' Mbah a Moute jersey dresses as compared to traditional cheerleader outfits.

Anyone whose paid attention knows that UCLA's Dance Team wears traditional blue one piece uniforms in the first half...



Then at Halftime changes to large basketball jerseys with blue knee high socks. The outfit is suggestive that the girls are not wearing pants.



This is a no-brainer. The knee high socks make the Second Half outfit. While Aaron "Wherever you may go, I'll" Affalo is stroking threes, I'm stroking something else.

Final Four Thoughts

Well the NCAA filtered down the field this weekend to the Final Four Regional Champions. Ohio State, UCLA, Florida, and Georgetown. Here are my random thoughts from the weekend.

-Joey Dorsey, welcome to the Jerramy Stevens Hall of Idiots.

-If you didn't have any interest in the Kansas-UCLA game then you probably didn't enjoy it, but if you had money on the line. This defensive battle was a roller-coaster ride throughout which seemed much closer than what the score was.

-UCLA has a ridiculously hot cheerleader that almost got as much camera time as Tajuan Porter's Cauliflower Ear (or whatever that growth was).

-They also have a complete hack in Lorenzo Mata who loves to high five. In one sequence he missed a layup and gave up his 4th foul, then high fived his teammates on the way to the bench. This guy is going to take years off my life next weekend.

-Pizza Parlor KeriAnn during the UNC-Georgetown game "Why does Hansborough (that's how she said it) wear that mouthpiece, without it he looks cute, with it it looks like he's missing teeth." PPKA does not know that a) Hansbrough got elbowed in the face three weeks ago and b) they've shown his girlfriend at games, he's doing just fine.

-The consensus Final seems to be Florida vs. Ohio State. If so, someone will have to research whether or not that is the first time the College football and basketball national championship games have featured the same two schools. I'm guessing it is.

-Congratulations to Mike Friedlander who had a perfect weekend, picking all 8 Elight Eight teams and all 4 Final Four teams. This means he's picked at least 12 games in a row. An impressive stretch, the likes of which I don't think I've ever seen in doing NCAA pools.

-The Golf Ball survived the weekend. Although to be honest I don't like UCLA's matchups against any of the other three teams in the tournament. They don't have the size to contain any of the other three teams low-post players. Meaning the Golf Ball's hopes rest on the shooting of Aaron "Wherever you May Go, I'll" Affalo (You're with ME Leather!)

The Golf Ball

As Paul reported earlier I once again have a shot at a big payoff thanks to a Golf-Ball Against-the-Spread Pool that I've done for three years now. Here's how it works.

1. 64 Golf Balls with tournament teams written on them go into two buckets, one for the left side of the bracket, one for the right side of the bracket.

2. 32 Participants pick a ball from each bucket to receive two teams.

3. To advance a player's team must beat/cover the spread in that day's game.

4. In the event of a loss and cover the player with the covering team advances and receives the winning team in his/her team's place.

So I originally drew.

Marquette and Indiana

Marquette lost to Michigan State in a pick 'em game eliminating that ball.

The Indiana ball covered against Gonzaga (favored by 1) but also covered against UCLA (7 point underdog, lost by 5). Therefore I have UCLA.

Last year, I also had UCLA, receiving them via Gonzaga originally drawing Xavier.

For my Golf Ball to advance UCLA would almost definitely have to win the tournament and cover all the way. They are favored by 3 against Pittsburgh. If they played Kansas in the next round they would likely be a slight favorite because the game would be played in San Jose. Florida is the only team left on their path to the final that I'd imagine would be favored against them. The biggest threat to the golf ball would be Southern Illinois. In quick turnaround action, UCLA would probably be a double-digit favorite with little time for that spread to go down. Those that have watched both teams know they both have defensive half-court styles that would make a blowout unlikely.

Funny thing is pools like this are becoming trendy. The guys from Bar Stool Sports in Boston who I hung out with last Friday (announcement coming soon) were doing a pool exactly like it.

Here's wishing UCLA and my Golf Ball luck the rest of the tournament!

Derek's Day Off: Evening

After a lackluster 8 afternoon games, hoping for better in the night session. Since Duke is Duke, their game against VCU is being carried nationally to any market without an interest in any of the other games.

DK vs. VC- New Edition's Bobby Brown is coaching VCU, I avoided this tempting upset, now I'm regretting it. 5-5

DK vs. VC- Duke is handling VCU's press when VCU is even able to set up a press by scoring. Early on I'm feeling smart 16-7 DK

DK vs. VC- Game is following a pattern VC is coming back but never getting closer than 3. Impressive whiteboy dunk by Martyus Pocius (pronounced pro-SHEE-us, not POKE-US, unfortunately)

DK vs. VC- This is our best chance yet for a classic game. After VC pulls even Greg Paulus (who I would hate no matter where he was from) draws a 3-point shooting foul despite moving his pivot foot just before. Hits two out of 3, 40-38 DK 2.4 seconds left

Duke 40, Virginia Commonwealth 38- Halftime

MQ vs. MS- Golf ball pick Marquette is in trouble. Having trouble scoring against Tom Izzo's defense. 28-18 MS

OS vs. CC- Ohio State vs. Central Connecticut. One thing both schools have in common is that Daren has competed on both campuses. At Central Connecticut in the New England Regionals when he was 12.

DK vs. VC- Who knew Virginia Commonwealth would have the best looking set of cheerleaders/dance team so far in the field??

DK vs. VC- Duke goes on 9-0 run to go up 59-50 could this be the first entire day of NCAA Tournament without any good games??

UCLA 60, Weber St. 33; Michigan State 47, Marquette 29; Duke 66, VCU 58 That is why the blog updates aren't coming so fast. Theyre's simply nothing interesting going on.

DK vs. VC- Now we're talking! VCU's press has caused turnovers and pulled them even with 3:30 to go 70-70

DK vs. VC- Paulus rebound off a missed 2nd free throw. Turns the ball over. VCU hits to pull ahead 1. Timeout Duke 1:53 left 72-71 VCU

DK vs. VC- McRoberts shorts a three then tries to pretend he got fouled (worked at the end of the 1st half) Jumpball Poss Arrow: Duke 72-71 VCU

DK vs. VC- Wil Fameni fouls out McRoberts makes 1 of 2. 72-72 VCU answers 74-72 Duke's foul shooting is atrocious!

DK vs. VC- Paulus hits a layup to tie. ONE MINUTE LEFT! Finally a game!!!

DK vs. VC- Maynor puts VCU ahead 2. McRoberts draws a foul screams like a girl to get the call. This is why people hate Duke Josh. That and Christian Laettner

DK vs. VC- McRoberts misses the first makes the second. Duke needs to foul now as there is only 16 seconds left 76-75 VCU.

DK vs. VC- VCU makes one of 2, Duke answers with a layup. Tied!!! MAYNOR WITH A JUMPER 1.8 seconds left!! 79-77 VCU!!!

Christian Laettner is disgusted. Who takes Duke's last shot here? Not Josh McRoberts that's my call.

DK vs. VC- Paulus misses the three VCU WINS!!

Virgina Commonwealth 79, Duke 77-Final needless to say, the game of the day!

BY vs. XU- We're sent to Lexington for BYU-Xavier a home game for the 9 seed Xavier. Noticable crowd.

Nevermind...

IU vs. GU- Indiana vs. Gonzaga. This isn't looking good for a repeat run in the golf ball pool. Marquette is out already losing by 12. Indiana is giving up 1.5 to Gonzaga. Every bracket I did picked Gonzaga and I've questioned Indiana's validity as a tournament team now I have to root for them.

IU vs. GU- A feeling out process. Announcers are still talking about Duke's early exit. First First Round loss since 1996 (Eastern Michigan). Len Elmore said that was a "Long, long time" 1996 was my freshman year. I know its been a long time but I never enjoy references like that. 20-12 Indiana

IU vs. GU- This game has actually been pretty fun. Back and forth, almost like a game of horse. Good shooting. This could make up for at least half the blowouts we've had to endure today 30-27 Indiana

Indiana 34, Gonzaga 29- Halftime

NC vs. EK- North Carolina is up 25 on Eastern Kentucky. Its going to be a long time until a 16 ever beats a 1, if it ever happens.

PT vs. WS- CBS catches Wright State on a 10-0 run to cut Pittsburgh's lead to 3. Check that no more lead. 22-22

IU vs. GU- Indiana's opened up an 8 point lead. And I found out Len Elmore is a Harvard educated lawyer. Who knew? Xavier is on a ridiculous run to pull ahead of BYU. Looks like maybe both these games could be good. Pitt got back to a 13 point lead at halftime of their game 45-35 Indiana.

NC vs. EK- Just noticed, Eastern Kentucky has pulled within 4 of North Carolina. Its only the first TV timeout of the 2nd Half but they must be stunned in Winston Salem right now.

NC vs. EK- Almost on cue, after the Live Look-In, EKU craps their shorts and UNC goes on a 7-0 run. Tar Heel fans are going apeshit. More apeshit than you should be allowed to when you're only up 11 on Eastern Kentucky. Can we move to BYU-Xavier please??

BY vs. XU- Thank you! 71-71

BY vs. XU- Have to like BYU down the stretch although age could be a factor. Average age of BYU's players 28 1/2 73-73

BY vs. XU- Beautiful putback by BYU Xavier answers with a Josh Duncan 2 Xavier's cheerleaders are not hot! 75-73 Xavier

BY vs. XU- BYU gets three good shots none go in Xavier rebound. Xavier fouls...
Drew Lavender makes both free throws 79-75 Xavier 12.3 seconds left

BY vs. XU- BYU doesn't get a shot off until the buzzer. Game over.

Xavier 79, Brigham Young 77-Final

I'm exhausted, luckily it looks like I might be able to end this with the Indiana-Gonzaga game (UNC is back up 15 on EKU)

IU vs. GU- This game has gotten away from Gonzaga. Indiana up 11. The Golf Ball Survives! Big Ten is 3-0 today. 68-55 Indiana.

Indiana 70, Gonzaga 57-Final

North Carolina is up 21 on Eastern Kentucky the day will end like it began with a blowout.

Hope this helped to make the day a little exciting. Xavier and VCU with the two good games of the day. Hope for better tomorrow!

Derek's Day Off: Afternoon

Hello and welcome to Derek's Day Off One firm figured out America loses 1.2 billion dollars of lost productivity during the NCAA Tournament. One firm lost 60 dollars worth of productivity figuring that out.

So to make the most out of the approximately 150 bucks Bertucci's is losing out of me today, I will be blogging my experience watching today's NCAA Tournament games.

In three days after Selection Sunday ESPN has found time to declare every team (besides Jackson State) dangerous, a title contender, primed for an upset. It made my head spin so I tuned up watching CBS about an hour before the games tip off.

-On the Price is Right, Bridget the cute sorority girl from Arizona State was a 12 seed in Hole in One (or TWO!!!!)

Brief newscast and then we're set. I'm in-market for Boston College-Texas Tech so expect a heavy dose of that matchup

-Only 77,963 people ahead of me in the waiting room for March Madness On-Demand, I can see the door!

-That poor Chris Daughtry needs some exposure...

-Five seconds into the telecast Clark Kellogg gives our first "survive and advance"!

-First set of games are (my bracket picks in bold) Boston College vs. Texas Tech, Maryland vs. Davidson, and Louisville vs. Stanford

-In case anyone's wondering in the golf ball pool I came in 2nd in last year my balls this year are Indiana and Marquette the spread (although they're both two points in the first round) could get me North Carolina and UCLA again in the later rounds.

MD vs. DV- Five minutes of this before CBS switches me to BC vs. TT

MD vs. DV- Davidson has five European players, which may mean nothing other than they have the worst teeth of any team in the tournament 2-2

MD vs. DV- Sloppy game to start, both teams are tight 5-2 DV, off to Winston-Salem...

BC vs. TT- How does Jay Bilas get to do CBS and ESPN games? And does this mean CBS chooses to have nothing to do with Dick Vitale?

BC vs. TT- Predictably poor shooting and sloppy play before the first TV timeout in both games...This MasterCard commercial with the Elephant and the Zookeeper tugs my heartstrings. 3-2 BC

BC vs. TT- Tyler Roche is from Hooksett, NH? No, that's not enough for me to root for BC here and I'm picking them 7-2 BC

I'm in March Madness OnDemand!!

BC vs. TT- Jared Dudley has 2 fouls before the halfway point of the first half, trouble for BC 16-14 BC

I don't think my connection's strong enough to receive MMOD, oh well might've just distracted me. Here are your scores at 12:51

MD 27, DV 28; BC 24, TT 18; UL 19 ST 8

UL vs. ST- After the break we're sent to Lexington. Louisville and their press are dominating the game.

MD vs. DV- Davidson keeping up with Maryland, actually up 32-27. Smallest school in the tournament.

BC vs. TT- Back to Winston-Salem (both would be creative names for cigarettes, don't you think?) 27-20 BC

BC vs. TT- Dick Enberg is just a little too excited over Tyrese Rice 34-31 BC, approx 3min left in the First Half

BC vs. TT- 3rd foul on Dudley! This could play a factor late in the second half but I don't think it could make Dudley any worse a defender. 39-39

BC vs. TT- Halftime, 41-39 BC

UL vs. ST- Louisville's up 41-16, if Stanford didn't want to play in this tournament they probably should've told somebody on the Committee

MD vs. DV- Halftime, 44-43 MD

UL vs. ST- Live Look-In. Stanfords high RPI and wins over the top 4 Pac Ten teams aren't doing it much good in the First Half against Louisville. I'd give anything to be watching this game with Jim Boeheim right now...

BC vs. TT- Dudley's back in playing tentatively. Time for Texas Tech to make their move 50-49 Tex Tech

BC vs. TT- Tech Guard Alan Voskuil no relation to former UConn Forward/Center and Charlotte Bobcats player Jake Voskul

BC vs. TT- 10:20 left and BC is up 2, Texas Tech has managed to not go on any kind of run despite Jared Dudley forced to take defense off with three fouls. I'm putting a check next to my pick here. BC 61-59

BC vs. TT- BC up 6 now, Maryland/Davidson looks like it might end memorably. Hopefully we'll get a cut away from this snoozer. Hope its not as boring to read as it is to write about.

UL vs. ST- Stanford on a 4-0 run, only down 27!

MD vs. DV- Maryland has opened up a six point lead, I still think this one is going to the final possession

BC vs. TT- In crunch time, BC has a seven point lead. Uninspired performance from Texas Tech. Almost no defense played at all. They deserve to go home.

They better put Maryland-Davidson on before I'm compelled to take a nap...

BC vs. TT- 84-75 BC Final Thank God that one's over!

MD vs. DV- Just as we join this game Maryland has its largest lead at 7 with 1:12 left. So much for Upset Special #1 or so it seems... 75-68 MD

Things I want to do while CBS is showing the end of Stanford-Louisville:

1. Nap
2. Download a Stormy Daniels Bit Torrent
3. Watch Stanford-Louisville 74-46 UL

MD vs. DV- 82-70 Maryland, Much better than the score implies.

Instead of showing us the mercilous end of Louisville-Stanford, CBS is showing us the beginning of Washington State vs. Oral Roberts from Sacramento. Thank you.

WS vs. OR- Blowjob Bobs' Caleb Green is the best player on the court in this game. CBS cuts away to show Louisville dribbling the ball to end a blowout. That makes no sense. Anyway

UL vs. ST- 78-58 Louisville. Thanks for playing Stanford...or not playing. Trent Johnson now knows that Louisville likes to press.

In case I thought I was going to see a game between a Washington State team and an Oklahoma team tip to buzzer up here in Massachusetts, we switch to Georgetown vs. Belmont.

GT vs. BM- Belmont arrives with just about the same team as last year. Wonder how many blogs that guy wrote Belmont's Baptist affiliation? 3-2 Belmont

If you've been following along all day I apologized, the nap happened. I'm back here's what I missed

Washington State 70, Blowjob Bobs 54; Georgetown 64, Belmont 38; Butler 41, Old Dominion 32; Texas ATM 41, Penn 39

Besides about 52 "Blowjob Bobs" references that Bill Simmons can't make you didn't miss any great blogging. Been a pretty ho-hum first afternoon of the tournament Hopefully things will pick up tonight.

Georgetown 80, Belmont 55 Final

ATM vs. PN- K I'm still waking up and so is ATM. Vanderbilt vs. George Washington are tipping off in what might be the least interesting NCAA Tournament matchup ever! 55-45 ATM

ATM vs. PN- ATM in pull away mode. Good thing too. They are a Final Four pick. Would've been a shame if this was the ONLY upset this afternoon. I'm thinking Chicken Pot Pie for dinner.

Texas ATM 68, Pennsylvania 52 Final

That wraps up the afternoon and a blah one at that. Hopefully the action AND the blogging picks up tonight!

Let's Tipoff with a Warm Fuzzy!

Derek's Day Off

Rather than pretending to be productive tomorrow or pressing the "Boss Button" on March Madness On-Demand every 10 seconds, I am taking a Personal Day tomorrow. Piggybacked Wi-Fi Connection willing, I will blog my entire day or at least the parts when I'm watching the NCAA Tournament.

Keep checking here for updates and my commentary...

A Final Word on Syracuse...

Closing the books on the Syracuse NCAA snub before I'm officially "over it" and move on to enjoying what should be a fantastic tournament.

This was my least favorite Syracuse team since Todd Burgan's senior year. This senior class (one Sweet 16, two First Round losses and an NIT bid) grossly underachieved their entire time at Syracuse and in key games this season. They let teams back into games towards the end of the first half several times and they blew big leads late in games. All in all, they were a very frustrating team to watch.

That said, they were one of more than a handful of frustrating teams across the country. Some teams that were brought from "The Bubble" to the tournament had just a .500 conference record (Purdue), or fewer than 20 wins (Stanford), or a .500 record in their last 10 games and a losing record in road/neutral games (Indiana). Syracuse had a +.500 record in what is believed to be (by those outside the committee) a tougher conference than Purdue's, four more wins than Stanford, went 7-3 since they were put on "The Bubble" (meaning 7-3 in "must-win" games, like the tournament is) and at least managed to go .500 on the road and in neutral sites.

The committee contradicts itself in this tournament's field when it reveals the seeds as some teams with lower RPIs are seeded higher than teams with higher RPIs teams that won good conference tournaments are given the same seed as some of the "last teams in".

There are five one seeds in this tournament as the committee chose pretty much not to choose on UCLA giving them a 2 seed with 1 seed privileges. Gary Walters, chairman of the committee tipped his hand when he admitted that Niagara was put in the play-in game because they were sympathetic to what the perception would be if two predominantly black colleges were put in the play-in game. Seems the committee was sympathetic to other perceptions besides that.

Drexel and Syracuse were linked all year because of Drexel's win over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome in December. Old Dominion and Drexel were believed to be a decision the committee would have to make because they were in the same mid-major conference. Old Dominion, having beaten Drexel twice would be a controversial choice to be left out in Drexel's favor. In the mind of the committee leaving out Drexel and including Syracuse would've been a P.R. disaster, and they are probably right on that. There wasn't enough room for Old Dominion, Drexel, and Syracuse.

The appearance is the committee decided to circumvent the Old Dominion, Drexel, Syracuse controversy by only including the one team without a loss to the other two, Old Dominion and putting one of the other suspect bubble teams in.

Syracuse is an easy snub as they are the anti-Drexel, a big school who doesn't schedule tough road games early in the season, but whenever you leave out the 5th place team in the Big East, you are going to create controversy and Gary Walters and the members of the committee should not be as suprised as they seem to be that Syracuse was a controversial omission.

In closing, neither Syracuse or Drexel had an National Championship trophy snatched from their hands by this decision and I am grateful that the controversies in College Basketball are nowhere near the stakes of its older brother, Football.

I still can not wait for one of my favorite times of the year, the NCAA Tournament.

I will take this time to credit Syracuse.com's College Basketball Blog as an invaluable resource for many of my Syracuse posts over the past few weeks. It has become my new favorite way to follow the Orange from afar.

Pet Picks

Paul likes:

Butler
Southern Illinois
Georgetown
Tennessee (mascot)
Albany
Nevada

Scott likes:

Jackson State
Arizona
Davidson
Kentucky
Villanova
Pittsburgh
Weber State
Washington State
BYU
Memphis

If you have a bird try:

Winthrop
Oregon
Miami, OH
Niagara
Virginia Tech
Marquette
Oral Roberts
Boston College
Louisville
Creighton

If you own an Indian, your chances are much less:

Illinois

More Complaints and Headscratching...

Once you get past Syracuse and Drexel's snubs, The field itself has some real question marks. I'll go from the bottom up...

16's-Niagara in the Play-In Game even though the two teams with the lowest RPI's in the tournament were JACKSON STATE (32 spots lower than Niagara) and Florida A&M. Seems like someone was a little afraid of what Jesse Jackson would say if two predominantly black colleges had to play for the right to get into the field of 64.

15's-Texas A&M Corpus Christi not playing Texas A&M , we all could've told our receptionists that Corpus Christi was the big one with the 12th Man and the ROTC students and they may have believed us. Although it does give me two opportunities to make my "Texas ATM" joke.

14's-No problems here although Daren's fiancee's Redhawks are only dancing because of a clock malfunction.

13's-Albany in as a 13, when their team was much better last year, actually winning the America East regular season when they were the 16th seed. Almost as if the committee got lazy and pencilled them into Vermont's spot.

12's-Except for Odie, an uninspiring line of 12 seeds to pick over 5s. And Odie's playing Butler. Be much easier to pick them if they were playing USC or Virginia Tech.

11's-George Washington is better than Old Dominion or even Illinois, really?

10's-Creighton, they're the team that won the 5th rated conference in the country right? You say if they played Texas Tech on a neutral site, that one could go either way? And Southern Illinois the team they beat without much drama is 6 lines higher than them?

9's-Gary Walters must have had a REAL good time at Purdue and there must be pictures.

8's-I knew Syracuse was in trouble when their only marquee win before Feb. 26 got slotted an 8 seed.

7's-Reviewed my favorite RPI site to try to make decisions on my own and one thought jumped at me. What did Indiana do to make this tournament? Besides be close to Purdue?

6's-Notre Dame and their 309th ranked Non-Conference Strength of Schedule gets Winthrop, that one's almost too good to be true.

5's-USC was sent to Spokane to setup a matchup with Texas and about 300 camera shots of Vince Young in attendance.

4's-I know about their home record but who the hell is picking Virginia to be in the Sweet 16?

3's-I only saw Washington State once but I have a hard time buying them as a 3 seed. Another upset pick jumping at me.

2's-No problem with the 2's just the handjob everyone's giving Georgetown. You can't say things like "Georgetown is one of the best 2 seeds I've seen in a long time" then turnaround and say "Syracuse didn't beat anybody".

1's-Florida sent to the Midwest and Ohio State sent to the South???

Syracuse Snubbed

Syracuse will not be in the 2007 NCAA Tournament

I was all set to compare Syracuse to some of the suspect teams that got into this field, but Kim Baxter of the Post-Standard already did it for me.

A lot of weight was given to performance in the conference tournaments, SU wishes they had this committee the past two years.

If this were enough to convince Syracuse to schedule some marquis non-conference opponents in November and December, I would say this be a snub that would do SU some good. But I'm sure instead we'll get more 128 Team Tournament talk from Jim Boeheim.

Hard to see a 10 win team from the Big East get snubbed especially with all the mediocre teams in the Big Ten getting in.

What I Learned Last Night...

Ayinde Ubaka probably has a very satisfied girlfriend...


Even in a Double Overtime Conference Tournament Quarterfinal involving a "bubble team", the words Inappropriate Sexual Relationship will get my attention...

Very rarely does a commentator broadcasting a game say any team involved in said game does NOT belong in the tournament (West Virginia) or deserve a #1 seed (UCLA)...

Two people do NOT want to see Syracuse in the tournament:

ESPN Announcer Doug Gottlieb and Paul Amin

Before West Virginia's loss to Louisville both said that they wouldn't be surprised if Syracuse was out of the NCAA Tournament.

Even though both had Syracuse in the tournament either if it beat Connecticut (in Gottlieb's case) or regardless.

While Paul's agenda is simply being a provocative contrarian, something he's great at. Gottlieb has another agenda...

In 1995 Gottlieb was a prized recruit out of California. He played for Notre Dame and started at Point Guard. However during the 1995-96 season he was booted from the team for stealing his roommate's credit card and charged over $900 fraudulently. He later transferred to Oklahoma State.

As an announcer for ESPN, Gottlieb cited Syracuse's weak pre-conference schedule. Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim rebutted by
bringing up the scandal.

This spawned a feud that is not resolved and both sides refuse to discuss publicly.

Take anything Doug Gottlieb says about Syracuse with a grain of salt.

SU-Notre Dame Chit-Chat Transcript

(This is the e-mail banter during Syracuse's Quarterfinal matchup with Notre Dame transcribed. Unlike yesterday's transcript, read this from top to bottom)

DG: We ready boys???

DL: Are we set for a 2:35pm tipoff? Does Billy like/dislike the orange uniforms?

SI: Terrence Roberts still sucks I'm wearing orange at work

DG: Im not....you are all gay

SI: Tim Higgins is YOUR ruferee

DL: Worst ref in all of college basketball, yet gets invited to do every tournament. Put him up there with Joe West, Dick Bavetta, and those clowns that reffed the Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl

MF: He is playing on a bad knee.

SI: Coach, stop pulling a Pete Mason. If his knee is hurt, sit him down!

DG: Not sure the 2-3 zone is gonna be good versus ND's good shooters...

DL: Birthdays of the Month at 3pm in my office. You gotta be shitting me!

DG: We're watching ESPN360 at work. We signed out the projector and we watching the game in my office....hahahha. So productive today



BP: I just took a bite of a pretzel.It was crunchy.Now I'm typing and chewing.
My butt itches. I wonder if Dan or Scott can scratch it. I bet Mike borrowed Stacey's orange shoes.Why is the sky blue?

DG: Look out! Look out! The ceiling is falling....

SI: I hate how Digger's tie always matches his highlighter That is gay

BB: SU 22 - ND 16, Harris just plowed over a defender and got called for a charge....

DG: Can anyone else picture derek sitting in a conference room eating cake while wearing a paper birthday hat?

SI: Derek, there is a Buffalo Wild Wings in Milford CT
2 hours and fifteen minutes from my house 26-16 Rautins to Roberts... he makes it the second time... ass clown

DG: Harris is having a decent first half Watkins always looks goofy to me.
Roberts is definitely in pain while he's playing. How's that pretzel Billy?

PA: the orange unis do not look good...but that has to do with the color...too bright
Jay Bilas made a Ron Burgundy reference Raf told him to stay classy im going back downstairs those of you watching should keep scores coming for those who aren't
Haskins if they aren't servicing you, just text me

SI: Great, let them take the lead why don't you 29-28 DAME

BB: MAKE A LAYUP EMINEMDORF!!

DG: Does Roberts have a tattoo on his arm for every free throw he misses?

SI: Big Nickel is MONEY

BB: Is this the same team that put up over 100 on us?? Halftime, SU 34 - ND 32

JH: Roberts just made two sick Magic-esque passes to Watkins and he blew the dunk. Big doofus looking guy.

JH: Ass-whooping has begun. Notre Dame is raining threes like Dan likes it when its raining men - All over the place. ND up 49-42.

BB: Nichols 3!!! ND 51 SU 45... Devendorf 3!!! ND 51 SU 48 13:21 to go..

DL: Went from 34-32 to 51-48 in three e-mails. Crazy!

JH: Notre Dame is chucking it up like Anton in the backyard of 920. Grab a damn rebound. 59-53 ND 11:35 to go

JH: Well, its worse now. Good thing we are staying in the zone. 65-57 ND. 8:57 left

JH: Good thing Roberts keeps posting up and getting fouled since he's money from the line. Notre Dame still up by six.

DL: When Josh says "Good Thing", he means bad thing.

JH: We took a huge smelly crap in our pants today boys.

BP: 76-70 2:38 left

JH: I like that Devendorf is at least looking to hit people since the Orange CAN'T HIT A DAMN FOUL SHOT! 11-24. That's crap.

SI: I have to work for an hour and this is what happens. FUCK YOU DEVENDORF!

BP: we're down 8, Nichols got fouled on a 3 with 1:05 left

BP: Down 4 with 46 sec left. ND ball. Time out.

BP: down 4 36.0 left

SI: We lost 89-83

BP: 89-83 bad guys

DL: The dynasty is over. Now hopefully SU (my pants are clean, no smelly crap taken here), can rest their legs and get out of the First Round of the NCAA's.

PA: played well: devendorf, Harris, Roberts
played poorly: Watkins, Nichols, Rautins

go back and look at Rautins game log in the past 10 games or so hes feast or famine
when he plays well they win, plays poorly they lose

mark my words
if WVa beats Louisville that knocks SU into the NIT

SU-UConn Chat Transcript

(Below is everyone's e-mails watching yesterday's Syracuse win over Connecticut in the First Round of the Big East Tournament. The e-mails have been transcribed to look like a chat session, which is pretty much what they were. Read from the bottom up.)

PA: I thought Beers was making millions off freesuri.com

SI: Beers, better buy up collegesportsbitchfest.com

PA: great second half by the Orange
they stopped turning it over which ended the fast breaking
the refs stopped calling fouls...no it was tim riggins...it was jim burr
tough game against ND...if they are on shooting our zone will get killed
I think our players ordered a size up in the new jerseys because they didnt look that tight
didnt look like wife beaters, more like sleeveless Ts
Derek is so upset that no one except me reads his blog
there is a Buffalo Wild Wings in a subway station in Brooklyn
SU is still on the bubble but looking pretty good

BB: By the way... This has spawned off a fantastic web site idea in my head... If only I could follow through on these things :(

DL: This was fun…let's do it again tomorrow!

DG: Btw, I cant wait to see the first fat kid in one of those new uniforms.
Baggy shorts and wife beaters is very futuristic...

JH: How is Rautins a horrible free throw shooter? He's white! Our foul shooting is awful. So awful.

SI: We'll take it. Bring on Digger's Dykes.

DG: horrible line for rautins 4 fouls 7 points 3 rebounds 0 assists.

DL: He's playing with four fouls. How does a scrawny little white kid get called for four fouls?

DG: Rautins cant hit a layup...horrible

DL: I believe tomorrow is 2pm tipoff also?

SI: Big Nickel with the trey! 75-60 cuse 3:08 left

JH: 4 minuets left, up by 16

SI: Where are the obligatory Leo Rautins crowd shots

DG: thanks josh. didnt know aboutthat

JH: I'm watching on Espn 360 off espn.com. 61-48 SU

DG: Jesus christ. I wish I had a tv at work

DG: There's still 10 minutes left and SU hasnt going into there prevent offense yet.

SI: Is that tomorrow? For shizzle

BB: glad to be wrong with my pick here.. Orange day wouldn't be the same tomorrow if they were already on a bus back to South Campus.

EW: Syracuse pulling away up 11

JH: Nichols with a 3. Up by 11.

SI: More importantly, instead of the Big Check... should we order a
championship ring for Josh?

SI: Look at that homo dressed up like a Husky. What a douche.

DG: Josh is gay....email of the year

SI: I'm surprised there haven't been any Beat Thabeet jokes.

BP: Rautins made and 3 and Jay Bilas just said, "Wow, it doesn't take long for him to squeeze on off does it?"

JH: Wow. You guys are tiring. I think "I love wings...." could be nominated
for the email of the year. 45-43 SU up

DG: I love wings....

DL: http://thepizzaparlor.blogspot.com/2007/01/ohio-state-weekend-blog-b-dubs.html

DL: Does anyone even read my blog anymore?

EW: I have seen those places in Buffalo !!!

SI: Where can I find one of these Buffalo Wild Wings places? Looks like
the kind of place Derek and I could go nuts in.

BP: 45-40 SU on top

DG: We are going to get josh anal beads instead of a championship ring.

MF: Is Bill watching AMC?

JH: Devendorf is down. 53-45 SU

BB: Syracuse looks asleep...............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..................Here is why I am worried about our Big East draw:Team Rebounds Rankings:1) UConn
2) Syracuse 3) Notre Dame Gulp....

SI: OK, I'm watching now. I assume we've played down to the level of our competition for a half, gotten some bad calls, and Devendorf has 20 turnovers. That about right?

BP: 38-36 UConn at the half

MF: So many fouls.I think they may ask me to start the second half.

BP: 32-31 UConn w/ 3:40 left

PA: it's a miracle we're only down four at this point
they are playing very poorly
Raftery just said theyre gonna give Harris a blow
EZ chuckled
im going downstairs to watch the rest
enough of the rest of you are watching to keep haskins informed

BP: One Gerry McNamara reference down in the BE Tourny... 2,465,367 to go. STILL OVERRATED!

EW: Currently in montage of G-mac last year.

MF:We are in major foul trouble.Did Harris hit a jumper this year?I think I have a better shot than him.
PA: foul trouble Roberts has 2 Watkins has 2 Devendorf has 2 Matt Gorman is playing the middle of the zone we're about to enter a stretch where every UConn possession is missed shot, missed tip, good follow the great Boeheim plays only 6 guys all year
SU has no bench can't wait to hear him bitching about the selection committee on Sunday

DL: Mike likes them and thinks Terrance Roberts looks sexy in his.


PA: Jay Bilas called Andy Rautins a savvy defender
Bill loves court savvy

EW: The uni’s are GAY!!!!! When was silver a team color?

PA: Bill is wrong the new uniforms do look nice much better than the picture SU hates guarding jump shooters rautins chucked up a horrible 3 and fell on his ass UConn leads 8-5

MF: Rautins missed two threes by a mile. Watkins may be the difference maker if he can control the boards.

EW: We are currently in a commercial break – allstate insurance

BP: I'm changing my mind, they don't look good. They're too tight compared to the bagggy shorts. Looks like they're wearing wife beaters. UConn up 3-0

BP: Uniformed don't look bad, they're cool actually. They're not the underarmour tight shirts they were made out to be

MF: Nova wins 75 - 67.

BP: Exactly!

DL: In the tradition of Myron Cope, Tom Heinson, and John Sterling. Mike is our lovable homer.

EW: That’s what I like to see

MF: SU runs the table.

Big East Tournament

The Big East Tournament starts at Noon today. I was all set to call this tournament the "Carrier Classic", naming it after the December cupcake tournament Syracuse held every year in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse won this tournament every year Earl Boykins didn't play in it.

Two years in a row Syracuse has won this tournament winning four games in four days. Two years in a row Syracuse has had no legs left for its NCAA First Round game and lost.

By calling the tournament the "Carrier Classic", I was hoping to jinx Syracuse and reverse this trend.

The problem is, Syracuse must win at least today to ensure a birth in the NCAA's in case more Wright States happen across the country.

A loss to Connecticut this afternoon would probably put Syracuse on either CBS or ESPN's broadcast watching nervously.

Sad thing is I picked UConn to make a little noise in this tournament. So my picks in the Big East Tournament are:

Villanova over DePaul (Augustinians shoot much better than Vincentians)
Connecticut over Syracuse (Again with the reverse jinxing)
Marquette over St. John's (St. John's will be without their best player)
West Virginia over Providence (Guards over Forwards)

Villanova over Georgetown (ensuring a birth)
Connecticut over Notre Dame (Don't think Notre Dame's done anything in this tournament yet)
Pittsburgh over Marquette (payback)
Louisville over West Virginia (in 2 OTs hopefully, rematch of Mike's engagement party)

Villanova over Connecticut
Louisville over Pittsburgh

Louisville over Villanova

This Time Last Year...

Boeheim Melted Down...

If there's anyway Coors Light could turn this into a commercial with those guys at the Press Conferences, I'd be forever amused...