NCAA Bracket Re-Cap

I am hopeful that your brackets have not been busted to this point. I still have 14 of the sweet 16 alive in mine. I wanted to take the time to go over some of my predictions to see where I stand.

1) VCU over UCLA: Come on now, you Bruin fans were scared for a minute or 40.

2) Butler over LSU: 75-71 final score. Whew for the Tigers.

3) Western Kentucky over Illinois: Yes!!!!

4) Michigan over Clemson: Yes again!!!!!!

5) Siena over Ohio State: Yes!!!!!! times three

6) Utah St. over Marquette: NO!!!! but you have to give props to the point guard that came back from a broken foot in 3 weeks.

7) Xavier as my dark horse: Still a bucking bronco.

8) At least one 13 seed will win a game: Yes times four, Cleveland State over Wake Forest.

All of my thoroughbreds are still alive and most of the PAC 10 are no longer with us.

My final four is still in tact, and I assure you no matter what happens, this year's sweet 16 will be a sight to behold.

Good luck to all teams involved (especially those I picked to go to the Final Four). I am sure that the best/hottest team will win.

Congrats to OU, Syracuse, and the rest of the overrated teams I mentioned that are still fighting.

Has anyone seen my sunscreen? I have a Cactus League spring training game to catch.

Ahhhhh....................... the beauty of the most gorgeous sweet 16 party ever.

2009 NCAA Mens' Baketball Tourney Predictions

It is time to stop the talk, and play some hoop. Here are my predictions for the final four and I threw in a couple of what I believe to be upsets. I have some major concerns (i.e. Ty Lawson's health (PG UNC). The Tar Heels are lucky they are facing Radford in the first round, but he better be healthy for the second game, or my bracket is going to be used as wallpaper in my shed.

Upset alert: Here are my picks as to who will be bowing out early.

(11)VCU over (6)UCLA: The Bruins have made the final four the last three years. I think they are ripe for an upset, and the Rams are just the team to do it.

(9) Butler over (8) LSU: While it is a mild upset, a mid major taking out an SEC team is a little more than minor. Bulldogs over the Tigers.

(12) Western Kentucky over (5) Illinois: The Hill Toppers are a very athletic squad, and the Fighting Illini have struggled on offense lately. Guard play will dictate he outcome. WKU wins.

(10) Michigan over (7) Clemson: After an 11 year drought of not being in the dance, the Wolverines may be poised to make some noise. Clemson has been brilliant at times this year, just not lately.

(9) Siena over (8) Ohio St.: Again only a nine over an eight, but the Saints over the Buckeyes is an "EYE" opener. Sorry about the pun, I just had to.

(11) Utah State over (6) Marquette: Reason for this upset? I think The Golden Eagles are a little banged up at guard. Originally, they were my dark horse in the tournament, now, I just don't know. I think the Aggies escape with a win.

Thoroughbreds: Teams that are primed to make a run: Memphis, Louisville, Villanova, Pitt, UConn, UNC, Kansas. Michigan State.

Overrated: Teams that should pray every night before they play their games. Oklahoma, Syracuse, Florida State, Arizona State, Arizona, USC.

Dark Horse: Let me say that there are between 10 and 12 teams that could win this year. That is usually not the case. That being said, Xavier is my new Dark Horse. The Musketeers may not go to the final four, but they could break some hearts.

Final Four: Well here we are, the last four standing. Louisville, Memphis, Pitt., North Carolina.

Championship Game: Pittsburgh vs. Memphis. The Panthers are long, fast and athletic. The Tigers are extremely tough on defense. This could go down as one of the greatest finals of all time if these two have the chance to play each other.

Champion: Memphis. The Tigers will make the NCAA selection committee pay for not making them a 1 seed.

Has anyone seen my antacids?

Ahhhh....the beauty of squeaky sneakers, over caffeinated cheerleaders and cutting down the nets.

March Sadness

The NCAA men's basketball tournament is supposed to be a celebration of the season past. The culmination is that a national champion will be crowned. The problem that I have with the current 65 team format instead of the 64 team format is that play-in game has been added.

That in and of itself is fine, but the criteria of the tournament is that the 30 or so conference champions receive an automatic bid. The question I have for the committee is why for the second year in a row, they have selected two conference champions to be a part of the "play in" game? These champions in years past would have been a lock to participate in the field of 64, now all of a sudden, two conferences are getting the shaft.

I would love for the NCAA to explain to me why the play in game is not between two of the last teams to make the tournament as say a 12 seed (i.e. Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan). These teams did not meet the criteria of playing in the tournament, yet they are assured a three day rest.

The Hornets of Alabama State and the Eagles of Moorehead State, two conference champions should be quite upset at the committee's decision that makes them compete just to play the number one overall seed Louisville Cardinals.

This scenario disturbs me to say the least. I am hopeful that the NCAA Tournament Committee does not follow in the footsteps of the "BC Mess" that currently exists regarding men's football.

This process needs to be reviewed by next year at the latest.

Has anyone seen my number 2 pencil with the extra large eraser? I need to fill out my brackets.

Ahhhh the beauty of a bunch of suits determining the fate of young men's lives.

For those of us that drive 4x4's.........

This is a short video of a couple of maniacs....enjoy!!!!!!

Ahhh the beauty of gravity!!!!!!

A March Madness Update

We are four days away from learning the 33 at large entries into the tournament, but I figured I would share a little knowledge with those of us that will be entering our office pool's.

Thing I am sure of: There has never been a tournament where all four number one seeds have played together in the Final Four. This year will be no different. The NCAA is loaded with many talented basketball teams. So many, that there is no way all four one seeds will make it to the finals. Mark my words.

Thing I am pretty sure of: There will be at least two Big East teams that are awarded number one seeds.

Thing I feel good about: At least one number thirteen seed will win in the first round again this year.

Thing I am not too sure about: The Big East will have the best record of all conferences in the tournament.

Thing I would be better flipping a coin over: Oklahoma does not make it to the Sweet 16.

Thing I wouldn't bet a nickel on: A number sixteen seed wins it's opening round game for the first time in tournament history..........(I have a better chance of seeing God).

I will give my picks for the Final Four on Sunday night. This is going to be a disappointing day for many deserving teams (that's just a hunch).


Ahhh....the beauty of March Insanity.

NBA MVP debate

There has been a lot of chatter recently about who this year's NBA MVP should be. As far as I can see there are three major candidates in this discussion. Please bear with me as I usually do not watch the NBA until the playoffs start, but I think I have seen enough to make an educated guess on this one.

1) LeBron James: The powers that be in Cleveland have finally put a fair amount of talent around the King to allow him to thrive this year. That being said, this may have hurt the King's chances to win this year.

2) Kobe Bryant: I'm sorry, as far as I am concerned, Kobe has way too much talent around him to win the award this year. Between Gasol, Bynum, Odom, Walton et. al, Kobe should be nothing more than after thought in this discussion.

3) Dwayne Wade: The only true support cast that D Wade has this year is the rookie phenom Michael Beasley. Considering the lack of support he has, Wade County deserves to win the award this year with LeBron coming in a close second. If the voters had the ability to make a decision after the playoffs, the decision may be different, but they do not, so therefore my prediction stands.

D Wade 2009 NBA MVP......that is all.

Ahhhh.....the beauty of the battles on the hard wood.