The Links

More Brooklyn Decker....... Syracuse escapes with a win over UConn...... Duke crushed North Carolina's tournament dreams..... Rex Ryan continues to be awesome...... Lindsey Vonn could miss the Olympics because of an injury...... Carl Peterson did do some good for the Chiefs while he was the President...... Celtics blow another 2nd half lead and lose...... The Devils blow another two goal lead against the Flyers...... Did anyone else know Rick Majerus is still coaching?...... John Mayer: Go to your room!..... R.I.P. Captain Phil Harris

NHL needs to start cracking down on head shots (Fanhouse)

And I thought the crowds for Kings games last year were embarrassing (Fire Andy Reid Now!)

Ryan Miller's Uncle Sam USA hockey mask (Burn Monkey Burn)

Understanding the NBA trade deadline (NBA.com)

Could Kevin Durant eclipse Jordan? (Pacman Jonesin')

Your guide to the sexy 2010 Winter Olympics (Guyism)

The TCU-Utah women play the game of the night (SB Nation)

The Good, Bad, & Ugly of Denver Nuggets trades (Denver Stiffs)

Stephen A. Smith is back in Philly and is as stupid as ever (Philly.com)

Josh Gorges blocks slap shot with his head

National Championship Game: Michigan St. vs. UNC Live Blog

Well 64 teams have been widdled down to two and tonight Michigan St. and North Carolina will play for the national championship game.

Michigan St. will obvisoulsy be the sentimental favorite, but North Carolina is favored by most people to win tonight.

So who will win? We will see tonight.

The pre-game starts at 6PM PST/9PM EST. Please feel free to leave any of your comments.

Michigan St. vs. North Carolina: Who Do You Have?

Who: Michigan St. vs. North Carolina

Where: Detroit, Michigan

Why: For the college basketball national championship

Announcers: Jim Nantz and Clark "baking soda" Kellogg

Since my bracket is completely shot, I am not going to pick this game.

I want to see Michigan St. win because I want to see Tyler Hansbrough go his entire college career without a national championship.

But who do you have? Leave your pick in the comments......

Sunday Links

Well we get Michigan St., North Carolina Monday for the National Championship. While it's not the title game we expected or wanted, it still should be a fun game..... Durrell Summers of Michigan St. had the dunk of the tournament so far.... Ty Lawson did some gambling before the Final Four.... Michigan St. was just plain better than UConn.... Michigan St. is peaking at the right time.... Jim Calhoun is going to ponder his coaching future.... And a North Carolina cheerleader

- Michigan St. has destiny on their sides (KC Star)

- Michigan St. was up to the task yesterday (Detroit News)

- Villanova fell behind early and couldn't catch up (Philly.com)

- Could be the end of an era or end of a special season at UConn (Hartford Courant)

- Jim Calhoun's team is always looking up to the UConn women's team (NY Times)

- It's championship or bust for North Carolina (News & Observer)

- Make room for the Michigan St. bandwagon (Boston Globe)

- Will Courtney Paris have to pay back her scholarship? (The Oklahoman)

Final 4 Live Blog

Well we are here. It's Final Four weekend. The first game we get is the Michigan St. vs. UConn game, then we get the Villanova vs. North Carolina game.

Please feel free to leave your comments, and enjoy the games.

Villanova vs. North Carolina Breakdown

Who: Villanova vs. North Carolina
Where: Detroit, MI
When: Saturday, 8:47 EST
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Clark "Baking Soda" Kellogg
Key Matchup: Nova's Scottie Reynolds and UNC's Ty Lawson will be battling all game long. Lawson hasn't let his toe injury affect him the last couple of games. Reynolds will have to stop Lawson at the offensive end. Turnovers will be key. In 100 minutes, Lawson only has 2 turnovers. Reynolds has to lock down Lawson for Nova to get the win.
Nova needs Cunningham: Donte Cunningham is Villanova's biggest threat in the inside. He also has to watch his fouls. If he gets into foul trouble early, Nova could be in trouble.
My pick: I like North Carolina in this game. They are too deep and they have more of a presence on the inside. Bobby Frasor and Ed Davis are huge off of the bench for UNC. Davis gives them an inside presence that will be hard for Nova to match. Frasor has also been huge for UNC with his defensive presence. Wayne Ellington will also be in a mis-match with Dwayne Anderson. North Carolina will just be too much for Villanova.

The Links

Even though they need a quarterback, the Vikings should pass on Cutler.... Donte Stallworth was booked for DUI manslaughter... Titans are claiming the Redskins tampered with Haynesworth.... USC coach Tim Floyd might become the next Arizona coach... Madonna is trying to adopt another kid... Here is hot wrestler Kelly Kelly

- Your 2009 Sports Emmy award nominees (Awful Announcing)

- Allen Iverson would rather retire than come off the bench (Fanhouse)

- College athletics make you rich (Wiz of Odds)

- UNC coach Roy Williams doesn't like the raised floors at Ford Field (With Leather)

- The best looking women in network news (Stiles Points)

- NBA legend Nate Thurmond spends a lot of time at his BBQ restaurant (LA Times)

- The Jets are expected to be one of the bidders in the Jay Cutler trade talks (NY Post)

- All your questions are answered about Detroit and the Final Four (Detroit News)

- The fallout from Calipari taking the Kentucky job (Orlando Sentinel)

The Links

Sara Jean Underwood for your viewing pleasure.... Will John Calipari become the next Kentucky coach?.... Tiger Woods had a day yesterday.... Ryan Moats accepts Officer Powell's apology.... R.I.P. Lou Saban.... Seth Curry, Stephen's younger brother, has transferred to Duke, NO!!!!!!!!

- Jack Edwards is back (Awful Announcing)

- Worst of the weekend in the NBA (Basketbawful)

- Pitino suggests Kentucky looks at one of their native sons (Online Sports Guy)

- Missouri needs to pay Mike Anderson a top salary (KC Star)

- Even though they lost, Louisville still had an historic season (Courier-Journal)

- Michigan St. is headed back to the Final 4, their 5Th in 11 years (Detroit News)

- Blake Griffin wasn't enough for North Carolina (The Oklahoman)

- Why wouldn't Calipari leave Memphis for Kentucky (Commercial-Appeal)

- LeBron and Cleveland have their eyes on the best record in the league (Cleveland.com)

- Once again, Michigan St. shows how good they are (Indy Star)

Elite 8 Live Blog

Yesterday was sure exciting. Let's hope today is even better. We play the final two games to see who are the other teams to complete the Final Four.

Should be losts of fun. Louisville, Michigan St. starts us off. And North Carolina, Oklahoma finishes off the weekend.

Enjoy the games and feel free to leave your comments:

Day 2: Sweet 16 Live Blog

Well we have already seen a coach fired today. Last night saw Duke get destroyed, and Pitt's tubby point guard Levance Fields become a hero. But we move on to the next 4 Sweet 16 games, to see who advances to the Elite 8. It should be a fun set of games. As always feel free to leave your comments.

Here is tonight's schedule and announcers, courtesy of Awful Announcing:
Louisville vs. Arizona (Indianapolis, 7pm)- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore
Oklahoma vs. Syracuse (Memphis, 7:30pm)- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg
Kansas vs. Michigan State (Indianapolis, 9:30pm)- Gus Johnson, Len Elmore
North Carolina vs. Gonzaga (Memphis, 10pm)- Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg

My local affiliate is showing the Arizona, Louisivlle game and the UNC, Gonzaga game. But I am sure I will be flexed sometime during the night. Enjoy the games:

Breakdown of Today's Sweet 16 Games

Last night was an eventful one. Villanova made the whole country proud by giving Duke an ass-kicking. UConn ran away from Purdue. Levance Fields looks like he should be playing at the local YMCA, but he was clutch last night for Pitt. And Missouri's "40 minutes of hell" ran Memphis out of the gym. Today's games should also be as great.

Louisville vs. Arizona
Where/Time: Indianapolis, IN/7PM EST
Announcers: GUJO and Elmore
Cinderella?: I still refuse to call Arizona an Cinderella team. Yes, they are a 12 seed, but they play in a big-time conference in the Pac-10. They underachieved all season long, and they were given a favorable seed in the Midwest.
The Zone is Key: Louisville has to run their zone presser defense perfectly. They rotate four guards in-and-out of the game to keep their players fresh. They will have to keep the presser on Arizona to get the win.
My pick: If Louisville can keep the presser on Arizona guard Nic Wise all game long, they will beat Arizona. The Wildcats offense revolves around Wise and his ability to make plays. If the Cardinals stop Wise they will win.

Oklahoma vs. Syracuse
Where/Time: Memphis, TN/ 7:30PM EST
Announcers: Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg
Can the 2-3 zone stop Griffin?: Syracuse and Jim Boeheim have perfected the 2-3 zone. And it will be key to stop Oklahoma's Blake Griffin. They will have to double-team Griffin and force the other Oklahoma players to make plays.
Warren could be the key: Oklahoma's Willie Warren has to have a major role for the Sooners tonight. He is their best outside threat with the way he can penetrate to the hoop and his outside shot. He will have to keep the presser off of Griffin.
My pick: I like Syracuse in this game. Oklahoma doesn't have a real threat at point. While Syracuse has one of the best point guards in Johnnie Flynn. Syracuse's offense revolves around him and he is the best right now at penetrating to the hoop and kicking the ball out to their great shooters in Andy Ruatins and Eric Devendorf.

Kansas vs. Michigan St.
Where/Time: Indianapolis, IN/9:30PM EST
Announcers: GUJO and Elmore
Sutton vs. Aldrich: We have a classic match up between big men in this game. Kansas' Cole Aldrich versus Michigan St.'s Goran Sutton. Whoever wins the match up between these two, their team will win.
Collins is key: Sherron Collins has to play under control for Kansas. There are times when he plays out of control and Kansas will lose. Their offense revolves around him playing in control and distributing the ball.
My pick: I like Michigan St. in this game. They have more depth that can slow down both Collins and Aldrich. Kalin Lucas and Travis Walton are big time players that will be too much for the Jayhawks to guard.

Gonzaga vs. North Carolina
Where/Time: Memphis, TN/ 10PM EST
Announcers: Nantz and Kellogg
Lawson's big toe?: The health of Ty Lawson is still a huge concern for North Carolina. He was huge for them against LSU, but they will need a healthy Lawson to beat Gonzaga. He will have to defend Jeremy Pargo, who likes to drive down the lane for the basket.
Heytvelt vs. UNC: Whoever is guarding Josh Heytvelt will have a huge challenge. Heytvelt is athletic and strong in the middle for Gonzaga.
My pick: This was the hardest game to choose. Gonzaga has great scorers and UNC has depth. I have to go with UNC because they can bring Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller, and Larry Drew off the bench. UNC's depth will be a huge factor in this game.

All these games have the potential to be great. I expect all these games, except the Arizona, Louisville game, to be close.

It should be a fun night, and once again we will be live blogging the games.

The Mourning After: NCAA Tournament Round 2 Observations

Round 2 finally gave us some excitement. Sure there was really no upsets, and no I won't call Arizona a Cinderella, but there were some edge of your seat finishes.

Like the ending of the Marquette, Missouri game. In the final seconds of the game a Missouri player was fouled which lead to an injury. Missouri used a "pinch" free throw shooter to take the lead.

Then Lazar Hayward became infamous. Down by two with 5.5 seconds left Hayward was in charge of inbounding the ball. Missouri went with their usual full-court press and Hayward hesitated and stepped on the line. He turned the ball over to Missouri erasing Marquette's shot at a last-second shot.

Hayward I am sure is taking a beating from the entire state of Wisconsin right now. But it wasn't all his fault. Missouri was using a stingy full-court defense that wasn't going to allow anything by. Also making a shot in 5.5 seconds is tougher than it looks. For every Christian Laettner and Bryce Drew there is one guy who takes a last-second shot and either airball's it or the ball clanks off the rim. Just ask VCU's Eric Maynor about it.

Hayward did make a crucial mistake, but the odd were against Marquette from even tieing that game.

Here are some more observations:

- Here's an interesting fact. Xavier, who is coached by Sean Miller, will face Pittsburgh in the Sweet 16. Why is this important? Because Miller was the person who passed the ball to Jerome Lane who promptly slammed the ball and broke the backboard. Bill Raftery then unleashed the famous "Send it in, Jerome!"

- The referee's screwed up by not recognizing Western Kentucky coach trying to call a timeout during their game with Gonzaga. The Zags took the lead with 0.9 seconds left, giving the Hilltoppers a chance. W. Kentucky coach Ken McDonald was calling for the timeout but the refs didn't recognize it, and W. Kentucky lost the game. Granted they probably wouldn't have scored 0.9 seconds you have to give them a chance.

- Siena probably put up the toughest fight of the weekend. After beating Ohio St. in two overtimes, they took Louisville down to the wire. If it wasn't for Terrance Williams, Louisville would have lost that game.

- Ty Lawson wins the toughest player of the NCAA tournament so far. Lawson, who is fighting a painful toe injury, was the key reason why the Tar Heels beat LSU on Saturday.

- Why does Oklahoma allow their star player Blake Griffin to get beat up in their games? They allowed Texas to knock him out silly. They allowed a Morgan St. player to give him an armbar. They allowed Michigan players to play Hack-a-Shaq on him. They do nothing about it. I am not saying Griffin needs to respond, because he doesn't. But someone else on that team needs to get some payback for all the cheap shots Griffin has had to take.

- It took almost two games, but Eric Devendorf of Syracuse finally profiled a shot. After Arizona St. was getting closer to Syracuse in the game, Devendorf hit a three to extend the lead. Then Devendorf hit another three to basically put the game out of reach. For his last three Devendorf went all douche with it, and profiled the shot. He can't go the entire tournament without profiling a shot. Wait until he has to face Blake Griffin in the Sweet 16.

- Have to love Duke going crazy after their win over Texas. They realize they play for Duke right? They have been to the Sweet 16 before. But I'd guess I would go crazy too if I haven't been to the Sweet 16 since 2006.

While there really isn't any Cinderella teams in the Sweet 16, and no Arizona doesn't count, there are some great match ups. We should have another fun weekend, with the action kicking off on Thursday.

UNC-Duke Live Blog

Who: North Carolina vs. Duke
When: 3PM Eastern, Sunday, 3-8-09
Where: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Why: This game is always about respect and the ACC championship.

So I hope you can join me today. You can go to the live blog by clicking here.

In the meantime, enjoy the greatest YouTube video of all-time:

Review: "Battle for Tobacco Road"

I caught the HBO documentary "Battle for Tobacco Road: Duke vs. North Carolina" last night and I was impressed.

While I have no interest in either school, the movie itself dug into why both schools hate each other and how the rivalry started.

Both Duke and North Carolina basketball programs were irrelevant in the first part of the last century. Football ruled the land in North Carolina and especially Duke football. We would have never had the rivalry if it weren't for North Carolina St. NC St. was tired of getting beat up in football so they put a huge emphasis on basketball. Both Duke and North Carolina took notice.

North Carolina struck first when they hired Frank McGuire. He brought in New York basketball players and the program won the National Championship in 1957 when they beat Kansas and Wilt Chamberlain. Recruiting violations forced McGuire out and his assistant Dean Smith took over.

The rivalry took off when both teams started competing against recruits and the rivalry was started. Duke struggled against UNC during the 70's and the focus on Smith was why he hasn't won a National Championship yet.

The movie delves into how Smith desegregated North Carolina, by bringing in Charlie Scott into the program. It also goes into how Smith created the famous "four corners" offense.

It also goes into how Smith brought in Michael Jordan and then he finally won his coveted National Championship in 1982.

The movie also goes into how Duke counterattacked by bringing in an unknown coach name Mike Krzyzewski in 1980. His career didn't start out that well and there were rumors that Duke was going to fire Coach K.

But by the middle of the 80's he turned around Duke and even lead them to the national championship in 86, losing to Louisville.

Coach K had his greatest success in the late 80's and into the early 90's when he lead Duke to five straight final four's and back-to-back National Championships. The movie also delves into how Coach K was tired of seeing UNC get all the calls by the refs and seeing Coach Smith getting away with technical fouls.

While I liked the movie, Duke homers will complain it is too slanted towards North Carolina. Which it is. It delves into how the entire state loves UNC and you have to be a current student or a former student of Duke, to love Duke. It also goes into how K-Ville was started and the creativity of the Cameron Crazies.

It also goes into why so many people either love or hate Duke. It's a great documentary and would recommend it to anyone.

Boston College Upsets North Carolina

Everyone talks about how hard it is to go undefeated in the NFL, but try college basketball.

Boston College went to North Carolina and beat the Tar Heels 85-78, ending North Carolina's undefeated season.

Tyrese Rice scored 25 points for Boston College and exposing the North Carolina defense. The Tar Heels play on Wednesday against Charleston, then they have to travel to sixth ranked Wake Forest.

North Carolina shouldn't be that upset. A loss will come to you. But they are expecting a championship and if they don't accomplish that goal, then they will be truly upset.

Actually Good Teams Playing in Ford Field Tonight

At 6:15 Pm tonight on ESPN, Michigan St. will play North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten challenge at Ford Field in Detroit.

All season long the poor fans of Detroit have had to endure the awfulness known as the Lions. Well at least they get to watch two teams that are actually good.

North Carolina is the number one ranked team and Michigan St. is the twelfth ranked team. Michigan St. is reveling in injuries right now, but they have a great chance of reaching the Final Four this year at Detroit.

North Carolina is also dealing with injuries. Tyler Hansbrough has been dealing with a shin injury and might not play tonight. Not that the Tar Heels need him right now. They are absolutely loaded and should be favored to win the national championship.

This should be a great game tonight and finally Detroit fans will get to see two great teams play at Ford Field.