The Sports Frog

She's not leaving school early. She's just leaving with eligibility left. She graduates. She has her degree and has been out of high school for four years.

And she has two titles. Why come back?

So coach you won the National Championship, (well backed into it because no one was smart enough to foul on the last play of regulation before the shot) what are you going to do now?

Go to the bank. Just a year after the school gave Self a five-year contract extension last season, he wants to see how deep the pockets are at Oklahoma State.

Self could likely command far more money from Oklahoma State, whose billionaire alumnus Boone Pickens gave $165 million to the school's athletic department.

What's a guy to do? Sure you coach your team to a non-loss in the Championship game but the Memphis starting five is out earning you, that has to hurt your dignity. But as we all know that's for sale too.

...this is the second worst I have ever felt as a sports fan. Just behind the Montana to Taylor pass to end the 92-yard drive that still wounds any Bengals fans soul.

Maybe I should have found a way to love teams not named after Tiger themes.

Nice shot, Chalmers.

Fuck.

In my defense, who did?

40-12. And Billy Packer declaring the game over, with 7:32 left in the first half. All Kansas. UNC made the run that everyone had to know they would to make it a game, but, as is often the case, the energy it took to get back left them to drained to finish it off. Actually, as tight as Kansas was playing (and rightfully so) when the Heels drew within four in the second half, their final push to overcome the worry and put North Carolina away was almost as impressive as the early game blow-out. Completing the collapse looked imminent, and then, Kansas took control again. Damn impressive.

Stewart Mandel at si.com on just that point:

"Despite what both the halftime and final scores indicated, there was in fact a brief span of suspense -- which the Jayhawks promptly eviscerated. The comeback attempt "took so much energy out of us," said Green, that a 13-0 Kansas run beginning with 5:11 left put the final fork in the Heels.

Sherron Collins drained a three from the top of the key. Game-high scorer Brandon Rush (25 points) sliced through the lane only to find there were no defenders there. And in the game's defining, back-breaking moment -- a play that seemed to occur as if in slow-motion -- Rush dribbled to the wing, spotted Jackson sneaking toward the basket and lobbed it to him for a slam to go back up 71-61. "They came back with a run there late," said a visibly devastated Hansbrough. "We kind of went into panic mode after that ... They kept coming down, scoring. That was it."

Indeed.

---From Lawrence and the Journal-World:

"The transition from Roy Williams to Bill Self ended once and for all Saturday night inside the Alamodome, where the team with the better transition game won. Williams no longer should have to hear anything but thank you for 15 years of exceptional service from anybody who bleeds crimson and blue. As for Self, he no longer must be measured against the man who drove that 15-year run. The national semifinal scoreboard screamed the only meaningful measure of Self's five years on the job: Kansas 84, North Carolina 66. Williams, nothing but gracious in defeat, put a period at the end of that sentence he had to serve in the eyes of some KU loyalists for leaving Kansas for his alma mater, and he did so with humble words.

"I apologized to them," Williams said of what he told the players after the loss, "because some way, somehow, I didn't have my team as ready to play as Bill did, and that's not easy to say." Now Self goes onto the national-title game, bringing the program all the way back to where it was when Ol' Roy packed his bags after a loss to Syracuse in New Orleans. With a victory over Memphis on Monday night, Self can bring the program a national title, an accomplishment that eluded Williams until his second season at North Carolina."

Yeah, I guess it is hard to understand from the outside the pressure that has been on Bill Self following Williams' fleeing to Chapel Hill. I would guess that is indeed all gone now. If there was ever an important game for a coach, that was one yesterday for Bill Self. And he sure as hell had his team ready to play.

That baseline dunk by Chris Douglas-Roberts in the mug of Kevin Love signaled the beginning of the end for UCLA in the second half last night. Consider that it was followed a by a monstrous block by Joey Dorsey on the other end leading to a fast break culminating in a circus lay-up by Derrick Rose and the game was done. The rest was just running the clock down to the inevitable.

Happily, for Memphis fans, the whispers (and some shouts) of criticism of the team, their offense, their style of play, and the conference from which they have come have been muffled. Hard to see how they could not be at this point.

A round-up of the national chatter:

---Luke Winn at si.com on that sequence that began with CDR's mauling of Kevin Love:

"Extreme pressure on Collison meant that Love -- who carried UCLA here in much the same fashion that Rose did with Memphis -- didn't even get his hands on the ball enough to make a game-changing impact. Dorsey, who finished with 15 rebounds to Love's nine, was a physical force inside, but he played only 27 minutes; while he was on the bench, Shawn Taggart and Robert Dozier employed a swarming, double-teaming tactic that gave Love fits.

"I guess [Love] had never played against a team as athletic and long as us," said Taggart. "He was frustrated. ... I've seen him play [in games] when he got the ball 20 times, and I think he only got it about six today." Dozier admitted that Memphis' game plan had been not even to guard auxiliary big men such as Alfred Aboya, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute or Lorenzo Mata-Real. The Tigers' post defenders were strictly assigned to the task of keeping Love uncomfortable."

That they did. Then again, UCLA guards were so dominated that they really couldn't get Love the ball. Unreal.

---Gary Parrish at sportsline on the carnage:

"The Sweet 16, Elite Eight and Final Four have been simple, like earlier matchups with SMU, Rice and Tulane. Typically indifferent writers have walked away using words like whoa and wow, and there was this one guy who described himself as slack-jawed in the postgame news conference.

Honestly, the whole thing has been absurd and ridiculous -- just Memphis rolling through one opponent after another while using a dribble-drive motion offense that's been labeled everything from "innovative" to "irritating." Some people like it, sure. But most traditionalists roll their eyes and call it glorified street ball. Either way, here's what I know: It's working. And the main reason is Derrick Rose. The coldest hooper of them all. "We don't look at Derrick as a freshman," said Memphis senior Joey Dorsey, who finished with no points and 15 rebounds against UCLA. "Once he came in here he was coached by the veterans a little bit, but he just came in and started playing. And he's playing well right now." No kidding."

And, for some flavor from Memphis, check out Commercial Appeal columnist Geoff Calkins. Yeah, we're happy.

This has been fun. It is a generally likeable team, and all year, as they toyed with opponents and trying to avoid boredom, there was the worry that they would never put it all together and show the world how good they were. The last three romps over Michigan State, Texas, and UCLA have made certain that the memories of this team will always be fond. No matter what happens against Kansas (and I have no idea myself, I thought UNC would take care of them easily---oops), it has been the best season in Memphis' history, and this the best Tigers team ever assembled. And there have been some good ones here, so that's saying something.

Yeah, fun

There is probably no way the day can live up to the expectations. Of the two games, I fully expect UCLA/Memphis to be the one most likely to be close at the end. For my part, give me Memphis v. North Carolina for the final Monday night. With regard to the Memphis pick, I just think Derrick Rose is that good.

As for the chattering classes:

Cory McCartney with a good Xs and Os breakdown on si.com of UCLA/Memphis. His UNC/Kansas breakdown is here.

The consensus among the si.com writers? UCLA/North Carolina on Monday.

Gary Parrish at sportsline says that if UCLA, making its fourth straight Final Four appearance loses, Ben Howland will take some unfair criticism. Not from me, what UCLA has accomplished and appears set to continue to accomplish has been remarkable.

And, finally, the espn.com expert round-up with a lot of love for Tyler Hansbrough and, unlike si.com, a slight edge to Memphis over UCLA in today's game.

Here's to hoping they are good games.

Please don't tease me.

First time all four #1 seeds have made the Final Four. But you knew that. As it turns out, this is also the first time that the top four teams in the final AP poll have made the Final Four as well. So, yeah, this appears to be without precedent.

The round-up from the chattering class this morning:

Luke Winn at si.com on Memphis' Derrick Rose:

"Rose was back on the floor one minute later, going from 0-to-130 miles per hour in milliseconds, getting on his way to scoring 21 points and dishing out nine assists against just two turnovers. Said Robert Dozier, "Once Derrick gets it going, there's not many players that can stop him." None of those players were in Texas' backcourt: Rose was the star of an 85-67 victory that saw the second-seeded 'Horns get overwhelmed by Memphis' athleticism, and he was also the Most Outstanding Player of the South Regional, from which the Tigers booked their first trip to the Final Four since 1985. In what was supposed to be a duel of the nation's best college point guard, D.J. Augustin, and the college game's best pro prospect at point guard, Rose actually looked as if he might own both titles."

Ah yes, that would be correct. Rose is the best point guard in the country. With apologies to North Carolina's Lawson and UCLA's Collison. Actually, the Final Four is filled up with great point guard play, another reason to look forward to the games this weekend. Three months back, after extolling Rose's unquestionable athleticism in these spaces, I mentioned that it didn't look like he was ready for the NBA. Um, wrong, on my part. I am not sure at this point that he isn't the #1 overall pick ahead of Michael Beasley.

While we're here, Winn also has a very good rundown of the Final Four teams in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Well worth a read.

Jeff Goodman at foxsports.com works the Bill Self is relieved angle after Self finally makes a Final Four:

"Self said he's not immune to all the criticism he's received. He has a 140-32 record in five years since arriving in Lawrence, the highest winning percentage of seven previous KU coaches. However, after an Elite Eight appearance in his first season, the Jayhawks lost in the first round two straight years -- to Bucknell and Bradley -- before coming up one step short of the Final Four a year ago in a loss to UCLA. "I think about it every day," Self admitted prior to Sunday's game against Davidson. Throw in two more Elite Eights -- one with Tulsa in 2000 and with Illinois the following season -- and his wife couldn't go to the grocery store without hearing about it. "I'm happier for her than anyone else," Self said. "It's been tough because she lives with every possession and we've been so close so many times."

Ouch. Not to self (if not Self): don't disappoint Kansas residents.

Andy Katz at espn.com congratulates the selection committee:

"And, for the first time, you can say without reservation that the NCAA tournament selection committee had it all right at the top. The bracket is built to protect the four best teams in the country, as deemed by the committee. The committee members can't predict. They can only project. When asked late Saturday night in Charlotte what it would mean if Kansas and Memphis followed Saturday's top-seed winners UCLA and North Carolina by winning Sunday's Elite Eight games, Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said: "It would definitely substantiate that those four teams are the best four teams in the country," Williams said. "It's validation for the committee, and I do believe that each one of those teams would have a great deal of pride that they did that. But at the end, the cruel thing about this tournament is that only one team will be standing at the end."

Meh. One team wins, that's the way it works, Roy. And as for Katz's thesis that this is the first time the committee has gotten the four #1 seeds right, meh as well. Just because George Mason made the Final Four a few years back, doesn't mean they should have been a #1 seed when the tournament started.

Actually, these four #1 seeds this year were pretty easily identifiable come Selection Sunday, and if one of them had been tripped up, it would not call into question the decision to make them a #1 seed.

At any rate, we're here. Plenty of time for predictions/analysis, whatever, as the week wears on. But it is also clear that a good argument can be mounted for each of these finalists in terms of winning it all. What will be most fun? In my view, it will be watching four teams chock full of future NBA players work for the title. The talent level at this paticular Final Four is absolutely ridiculous.

Stephen Curry. Owner of all he surveys.

His tournament so far? 40 points. 30 points. 33 points. The latter coming with Wisconsin doing everything it possibly could to deny him shots. Tacking on his 30 point effort in last year's tournament, he is only the fourth player ever to go for 30 or more in four straight NCAA tournament games.

That's one sweet offensive game he owns. I still don't understand how he was passed over by the ACC, but, damn. Gregg Doyle at sportsline captures the six minute stretch that was dominating a college basketball performance by one player as you will ever see:

"Davidson's Stephen Curry was putting on a show -- sorry; he was putting on another show -- and LeBron was watching from the first row, as mesmerized as any us in the building and any of you watching on television. Curry scored 22 of his 33 points in the second half of Davidson's 73-56 demolition of Wisconsin. It was his third straight NCAA tournament game with at least 30 points overall and 20 in the second half, and it put the Wildcats into the Elite Eight. All of it is ridiculous, even to someone as sublime as LeBron James, who had been watching stoically until Curry detonated with 16 points in 6½ minutes midway through the second half. The sequence started with a pair of free throws, but then Curry began mixing in some degree-of-difficulty buckets.

He curled into the lane, caught a pass and kissed a moving 14-footer high off the glass. Davidson led 48-43. LeBron's eyebrows went up. Curry next did one of his abracadabra 3-pointers, catching the ball and getting rid of it in the same motion. Davidson led 51-45. LeBron started clapping. After a Wisconsin turnover, Curry caught a pass in the corner, paused as defender Joe Krabbenhoft flew past, then drained another 3-pointer. Davidson led 54-45. LeBron looked around and mouthed the word, "Wow." Minutes later, with the shot clock winding down and two Badgers trying to prevent Curry from getting off a shot, he uncorked a vicious crossover dribble, stepped back and swished a 3-pointer. Davidson led 60-45. LeBron stood and raised both arms.

After a Wisconsin free throw, Curry attacked the rim, floated underneath, hung in the air as he was hit and spun a circus shot high off the glass. He added the free throw, giving him 16 of his team's last 18 points. Davidson led 63-46. LeBron screamed "Oh s---!" There's a good chance I screamed the same thing."

Yeah. Pretty much anyone paying attention was having the same reaction. The game went from 45-43 Davidson lead to 63-46 Davidson lead and pretty much game over on as pure a display of offensive greatness from one player as you could hope to ever see. And Wisconsin prides itself on its defense.

Davidson's victims now? Gonzaga (7 seed), Georgetown (2 seed), and Wisconsin (3 seed). Whatever happens against a remarkably good Kansas team on Sunday, Davidson has been the team of the tournament, and Stephen Curry this tournament's best player.

No question about it.

...Memphis would have survived okay in the Big 10 this season. Gracious.

Play like that again, and even John Calipari's worn-but-effective we-don't-get-respect-card might start to look sillier than it does even now. By the way, Calipari is a good coach. Deal with it.

Oh, and Mike Freeman, owner of an absolute hatchet job on Memphis from sportsline after the team's win over Mississippi State, this time around goes with back-handed compliments. See, it's stuff like what flows from Freeman that gives Calipari the juice to play the respect card. I guess Memphis fans should thank Freeman for that. So, thanks.

Oh, and perhaps the easily confused Freeman, who continues to insist that Memphis doesn't run an actual offense, might find time to peruse this piece back in February from vastly superior writer Grant Wahl of SI. Matter of fact, to any of you who missed that piece on the dribble-drive offense that is currently sweeping all levels of bsaketball, go there and read it. It will be the tonic to ignorance from the uninformed.

I don't mean Wii. I mean Michelle Wie. Robin, one of theLopez twins from the Stanford basketall team is dating the darling of the LPGA. I wonder if he let's his twin brother hit that on the sly?

Ramona Shelburne of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED pens a piece on a day in the life of Stanford's 7-foot-1 basketball brothers Brook & Robin Lopez.

While skimming through the tall tales of Disney infatuation and Michael Jackson fandom, we came across a short blurb of interest:

Robin is dating Stanford's current most famous female coed, golf phenom Michelle Wie, although both have tried to keep things as quiet as possible

As usual, with the initial noisy fun out of the way, the tournament gets down to serious business next Thursday through Sunday. What are the thoughts among the national chattering class this morning? Read on:

Stewart Mandel on si.com:

"At 4:42 p.m. EST, I looked up at the screen and realized that three separate games -- Tennessee-Butler, Georgetown-Davidson and Western Kentucky-San Diego -- had simultaneously reached two-point margins late in the second half. The Hilltoppers eventually pulled way from the Toreros, but the other two went right down to the wire at the exact same time. With CBS switching between the two more quickly than I possibly could with my own remote (eventually they stopped bothering with the cutaways and Greg Gumbel intros and just kept flipping the switch), I got to see every dramatic moment of both."

Yeah, bully for CBS. And, it was annoying. At least, it would have been, had I not purchased the tournament pass option. That what I could control when and how long to switch to the compelling games. Ah, sweet freedom. If you have never taken this option before, strongly consider it for next year if you care about watching the tournament.

Seth Davis on si.com:

"SI.com: What'd you think about Tennessee almost going down?

SD: I picked Tennessee to go to the Final Four, but Tennessee has a very serious problem at the point guard position. If they don't correct it, the Vols are going to get blown out by Louisville, which sends pressure then sits back in the zone. It's very hard to play against if your offense isn't running. Vols coach Bruce Pearl benched Ramar Smith for the second straight game, and that's something I'd be curious about. He's not a classic point guard, but he's still the one they have. They played J.P. Prince in the position and he darn near lost the game, committing seven turnovers, and at the end of regulation he picked up his dribble and took a step. I think that's why Lofton didn't have a good game -- he's not the kind of guy who can create his own shot, he still needs a point guard. Butler chipped away at the lead and hung in there. Tennessee is very fortunate to be in the Sweet 16. You saw what Louisville did to Oklahoma. Tennessee has some work to do.

Yes, yes they do. Particularly with having no point guard, apparently, at the moment. The reason that game went to overtime yesterday? Because Bruce Pearl handed the keys to non-point guard JP Price and watched him do everything he could to throw the game away in regulation. That was as bad a two minute sequence as I have seen outside of rec leagues at the Y from the point guard position in awhile, the last two minutes of the Butler/Tennessee game, when Tennessee was on offense. Yuck. As good as Louisville is playing, I am having a tough time figuring out how Tennessee wins that one.

Mike Freeman at sportsline.com goes from some low-hanging fruit. And he could not be more wrong:

"Following what was a pedantic and predictable non-tremor inducing regional, I leave you with this thought: Memphis is the most flawed No. 1 seed in the tournament. They might be the most flawed top seed in many years. That thud you just heard was Memphis demonstrating the fine art of stonemasonry while shooting its free throws. That's right, Coach C. You should be worried about your team's flaws after this game. Memphis, the construction guild called, they want their concrete back.

The bottom line from Memphis' near death experience is the Bulldogs demonstrated what I have been saying about Memphis since the NCAA tournament began -- Memphis is ripe to be had. They may yet win everything because of sheer firepower. In some cases, they're the U.S. Army and opponents are Grenada. They have enough game, guns and elevation to inflict damage to both backboards and frontcourts. But Memphis is nothing more than streetballers. They're AND 1. They're rock stars, the Britney Spears of college basketball. The Tigers will sell out arenas and sell a lot of records but it remains to be seen if they can win a Grammy. There is no display of team ball like UCLA or North Carolina or even Texas. They couldn't care less about making free throws. All John Calipari does is roll the basketball onto the floor and his players shoot 3s and dunk and brick their free throws. Yet make them adjust and run an actual offense and they can't do it. The Tigers have accumulated a gaudy record because of the sheer force of the athleticism of their players. Calipari has assembled a group of superhuman trapeze artists. But not a true basketball team.

Sigh. Good lord. Over-reach on snap judgments much? Again, good lord. Here is what we know in Memphis, trust, anyone locally has been saying the same thing all year. They can't shoot free throws. Why? No fuckin' idea. It's not for lack of trying. They practice all the time, these free throws, in, ah, practice. They get to practice in meaningless games in C-USA. They practice in tough non-conference games. They practice until the word loses all meaning and Allen Iverson's practice speech starts to make sense. And none of that matters. They simply suck at free throws.

Fine. That's a given. And a deep flaw. But for that to open up Freeman to the rest of that screed is absolute bullshit. Derrick Rose is a remarkably talented player, as is Chris Douglas-Roberts. The best part of their game is NOT three-point shooting, but rather getting to the basket and making mid-range jumpers. The Tigers DO run an offense, and what is considered to be a rather iteresting one at that, a dribble-drive based offense that highlights their strengths. On top of that, Mississippi State is one of the best defensive teams in the country, second in the nation in field goal defense. Memphis beat them by going to the basket in the second half, and making gutsy shots in the face of that tough defense, NOT by gunning three-pointers.

Insane. Look, asshead, they can't shoot free throws. They can't. They can't. It will cost them at some point, and soon. But that massive flaw should NOT be the reason to make sweeping and absolutely incorrect generalizations about what is still a very talented basketball team. Fuck. Now I am kinda pissed to start the day.

As for the rest of my thoughts, March edition (NTYC):

---Stephen Curry is crazy good, and the kind of player that you love to watch at tournament time. And not just a shooter, but showed toughness in getting to the basket and making very difficult almost circus-like shots against Georgetown that I did not know he had in the repetoire.

---North Carolina, Kansas, and Louisville were clearly the most impressive teams from the first four days of the tournament. Luckily for Memphis, UCLA, Texas, and Stanford, they are on the other side of the bracket, and will be avoided until the final game. The potential North Carolina/Kansas Final 4 game looks like the "true" national title game, should it come to pass.

---Georgetown's collapse, even taking into account Curry and Davidson's general excellence, was eye-opening. 17-point second half leads should not melt away that easily.

My Final Four projection off of what just happened this past weekend: North Carolina vs. Kansas and Texas vs. UCLA. North Carolina vs. UCLA in the final and North Carolina to win. That is what one of my brackets looked like to start the festivities, so nothing too surprising there, at least from my perspective.

---Kevin Love is a beast. He had been way off my radar for a top 4 NBA pick to, say, Memphis, but after watching that performance last night, well, damn. 19 points, 11 boards, 7 blocks. He and Darren Collison absolutely willed UCLA to their comeback win in one helluva game with aTm. Bill Simmons is probably right on this one, while Love sure doesn't appear to meet the eye test for athleticism with regard to the NBA, he gets a lot of things done anyway, and then some.

---As good as the UCLA/aTm game was, the Stanford/Marquette overtime thriller before it was even better. It would appear the Lopez brothers will have some sort of career ahead of them in the Association.

---Duke's most recent early demise is not all that hard to figure out. I am with Dave (ACC basketball expert) in that Duke was a classic live-by-the-three-die-by-the-three team. They won't regain past heights of post-season excellence, I think, until they once again find a dependable inside game. What's wrong with Duke chatter underway in the Swamp.

Grant Wahl with a good read to get you ready for more hoped-for goodness today as he looks back on yesterday's excellence.

It took a little while, but the upsets (and great games) arrived in a big way yesterday. In Tampa. All in Tampa. Tampa, where higher seeds go to die. The rundown (as if you do not already know):

Western Kentucky 101. Drake 99. A 12 over a 5. In overtime. On a last second shot.

San Diego 70. UConn 69. A 13 over a 4. In overtime. On a last second shot.

Siena 83. Vanderbilt 62. A 13 over a 4. No overtime or last second shot needed. Just a good old fashioned blowout. Vanderbilt was never in it.

Villanova 75. Clemson 69. A 12 over a 5. No last second shot needed, just the minor matter of 'Nova erasing an 18-point deficit.

Ridiculously entertaining series of upsets. That they all happened in Tampa makes one incredibly jealous of the random fan that got a hold of tix for the sessions and went just for the experience. Completely bonkers.

I, I, I had no idea.

None.

And, as you would expect, Tommy Amaker's recruiting coups at a place as hallowed as Harvard has brought with it claims that NCAA rules are being broken.

Which brings with it hand-wringing over potential tarnishment to Harvard's sterling reputation. I guess. Just because the guys from Blue Chips are coming to Boston is no reason to think things are amiss.

Not a ton. But since it does have ridiculous amounts of airtime to fill, it gives coaches of sports that would otherwise not be anywhere near a legitimate televised presser a chance to make a name for themselves.

Or, yaknow, to completely lose their minds in what ends up being an amusing fashion for the rest of us.

So, thanks to you, UM women's bb coach Kevin Borseth, for your wonderful insane rant about your team's inability to rebound. Much appreciated. Thanks also to the wrench for pointing this goodness out in the Swamp.

Actually, he's over-the-top hysterical. Following Indiana's more-gripping-than-it should-have-been win over Northwestern Saturday night, this revelation:

"Armon Bassett, one of many terrific players on a team in mid-scandal limbo, said he received a text message from an admirer after a tense victory over Northwestern. `He told me he loved me, he's happy for me and good win,'' Bassett said.

The texter: Kelvin Sampson."

That's tender, I guess. At any rate, Jay Mariotti climbs off his rage-against-Ozzie Guillen horse to rage against Sampson. Which helps to make Sampson more sympathetic, frankly. Although he REALLY needs to put his cell phone down and step away. There may be a support group for people with his addiction. But first, as I understand it, he needs to admit he has a problem.

It's right about time to start figuring out who's in, who's out, and who's close as conference play grinds toward conference tournaments.

Stewart Mandel's bracket on si.com here. A Mandel note:

"It was a rough week for last season's national-title game participants, Florida and Ohio State, which went a combined 1-3. Already fighting for their tourney lives, the Gators (19-7) did themselves no favors by falling at home to LSU (9-15), while the Buckeyes (17-9) laid an egg at 8-17 Michigan. As a result, both teams fell out of my projected field. If the same holds true on Selection Sunday, it will mark the first time since 1980 -- the year after Magic-Bird for Michigan State and Indiana State -- that both the defending champion and runner-up failed to earn bids to the following year's tournament."

The Bubble Watch feature at espn.com is a must this time of year. Their note on Kentucky (they're not dead yet) is of interest:

"Kentucky [13-10 (7-3), RPI: 73, SOS: 16] The Wildcats were awful at Vandy, but it's just one (really ugly) loss. They rebounded to take out LSU on the road and now have three straight winnable home games before a trip to Knoxville. Incredibly, if the Cats enter that game at 10-3, they don't have to win it to maintain a credible chance to making it as an at-large, despite a bad nonconference slate that includes crippling home losses to Gardner-Webb and San Diego."

16-11 regular season and two wins in the SEC tournament to bring them to 18-12 enough to slide them into the field? Maybe. It's a damn site closer than a lot of people thought they would be at the end of December.

Gary Parrish's best guess at sportsline.com here. Check back probably tomorrow for an update, that is dated from Feb. 13th.

Fraank Burlison of scouts.com with material running at foxsports.com has his take too.

Assuming your thoughts are starting to wander toward next month's brackets, tuck this away:

Out of 341 Division I basketball teams, the #1 Memphis Tigers are 341st in free throw percentage.

That seems less than ideal.

IU puts the distraction of playing for a cheat behind them in the blessed calm of an actual basketball game and waxes Michigan State 80-61. Bob Kravitz in the Indy Star works the players-rise-above-their-coach angle.

More interesting? Speculating what IU will do if they do indeed fire Sampson by the end of this week (when their third investigation quickly wraps up). Here's a fun musing from the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Scott Skiles as head coach

It actually makes some sense, given he was an Indiana high school hoops star before playing his college ball at Michigan State. Rumors are fun.

Apparently he will still be the coach today when Indiana hosts Michigan State. In an unhappy confluence of coverage, ESPN's Gameday crew was already slated to be camped out for that game. Guess we can expect about 12 hours of Sampson related murmuring/shouting. That won't help Indiana's PR problem at all.

As for what IU is doing to deal with accusations against its coach, the IU President has assigned the AD and a "team of investigators" to report back by next Friday. Bob Kravitz in the Indy Star calls the investigation what it really is...window dressing before a firing. A highlight:

"This is nothing more than a little dance they have to do, a procedural two-step orchestrated by the school's legal beagles before IU does what it needs to do and will do in less than a week's time -- fire Kelvin Sampson. This is about appearances, window dressing, about looking like IU gave Sampson a chance to address the charges in the NCAA's letter of allegations. This is about ensuring that the university doesn't get slammed down the road the way Ohio State did, when it lost a wrongful termination suit filed by former coach Jim O'Brien. Nothing more. Nothing less."

And while Kravitz is at it, he goes to whacking on the AD - the same one who hired Sampson - being the one handling this particular investigation. Fun read. Oh, and in the meantime, recruits from Indiana's heralded incoming class are reportedly starting to waver with regard to their decision. Go figure.

Ugly is as ugly does.

39 points for super-frosh Jerryd Bayless of Arizona.

Just 15 points for the rest of his teammates as Arizona gets upset by rival Arizona State. How is that possible? Well, the non-Bayless Wildcats went just 3 for 33 from the field. Damn.

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

- Dylan Thomas

Get the %#&& out of here you lousy c*##$@&$^#. What kind of moronic question is that.

- Bobby Knight, now retired.

...behold:

That was Huggins' attire for the West Virginia home game against his former team, UC, before UC ripped West Virginia asunder. I am guessing the Moutaineers were distracted and horrified by their coaches attire while UC's players were gratified that there coach didn't look like a cartoon pimp.

Best one-liner I have seen in various forms? Mortgage crisis forces Century 21 agent into college basketball.

Per Lance McAlister's blog on Cincy sports station 1530 WCKY Hug's threads came from Cincy speciality suit shop House of Adam. Sadly, they don't seem to have a website. But if you are in Cincinnati and want to get your own cartoon suit, the map and directions are here.

Starts off with a good one (in just a few minutes) as Memphis hosts Gonzaga. The chance for a good non-conference game in the midst of another walk-over in C-USA is welcome locally, let me tell you.

Some decent reading to get you ready for the first non-football weekend in five or so months:

Weekend Watch on espn.com here.

Gary Parrish at sportsline.com has a must-read overview of the weekend as well.

Oh year, Seth Davis at si.com has a good discussion as well.

Since we are in the dead zone before the Super Bowl, might as well get caught up on college basketball. Just six weeks until brackets are upon us.

It's not just a lack of time to post when work gets busy, it's also that I simply don't get enough time to even watch espnews or read through the headlines on line. Plus, watching a handful of old bitties in New Hampshire breathe life back into the Clinton campaign was beyond depressing. At any rate, some odds and ends that have certainly been commented on elsewhere, but here's a little more commentary:

---The Billikins try and pick up the pieces from a loss more familiar in over-35 lawyer league.Hang 20 on the board there, and you go back and laugh about afterwards over a beer. Hang 20 on the board in a Division 1 college basketball game, and well:

"The postgame news conference had finished on Thursday night, but Rick Majerus didn't move. The St. Louis University basketball coach sat at the table in the small interview room at George Washington University and picked up a copy of the box score from the table in front of him.

And he stared. And stared, looking at numbers the likes of which he had never seen before for a team he had coached. Seven for 48 from the field. One for 19 on 3-pointers. Twenty points in 40 minutes. As many blocked shots and steals for George Washington as SLU had points. Finally, after about a minute or so of silent staring by Majerus, the school's sports information director tapped him on the arm to tell him it was time to go. Otherwise, who knows how long Majerus might have sat there?"

I am guessing until he got hungry. Course, this is a Saint Louis team that already found a way to lose by 41 to Kent State earlier this year, so, 20 in a game in a record-setting performance really shouldn't be all that surprising. But, still. Damn.

---David Stern calls for a do-over. Great, so the final minute of a Hawks/Heat game will be replayed. Does this mean NBA fans can get a replay on the Suns/Spurs series from last year with Amare NOT suspended?

---Boston beats the Nets, moves to 30-4. Rockets eviscerate the T-Wolves, drops the T-Wolves to 5-30. My dream of an NBA season where one team wins 70 and another loses 70? Still alive.

And interesting not just for the full-breasted co-eds in the Grove before football beatdowns anymore.

Picked to finish dead last in the SEC West, Ole Miss rather improbably had streaked out to a 13-0 record to start the year. While their early schedule wasn't beastly, it did include a win over Clemson. Still, last night's game for the #16 ranked Rebels at #8 Tennessee was seen as a litmus test for their bona fides.

Consider Ole Miss bona fide. While they lost, it was a helluva game. Ole Miss erased a 12-point second half deficit, led by four late, before poor free throw shooting from its big men allowed Tennessee one last chance, which the Vols converted. In front of 21,000 people in Knoxville, UT 85 Ole Miss 83.

Strong. Too bad it wasn't on nationally. In a year where the SEC's basketball teams are as collectively down in terms of overall talent as its football bretheren were up in terms of talent, Ole Miss looks to be one of the handful of NCAA tourny caliber teams in the league.

And, one more note on that. Their coach, Andy Kennedy, is doing a ridiculously good job. He was the interim successor to Bob Huggins at UC after Huggins was fired, and cut his teeth learning from Huggins. UC, wanting to cut ties with all things Huggins, let Kennedy go despite Kennedy propelling a mediocre UC team to the brink of the tournament. Kennedy is fantastic coach, as it turns out (and as he previewed in his one year at UC as head man), and UC was insane to let him go. He's doing what he is doing in Oxford with not a ton of talent, but that will begin to change before long. Ole Miss is fortunate the Bearcats administration was so short-sighted.

And then some.

Conference play is underway, which is a good thing in most of the country. Less so if you live in Memphis and are stuck in C-USA. Check out the C-USA RPIs for the top half of the conference (courtesy of the Commercial Appeal and Real Time RPI):

Memphis #1 (say, that's a good start)
Tulane #77 (oh, um, damn)
UTEP #101 (wheels already off, rolling down the road)
Houston #106
Tulsa #116
UAB #123
Marshall #194
East Carolina #204

And that's the strength of the conference in terms of RPI. Want a further chuckle? SMU at #325 overall and a mere 16 from dead last in the country ain't gonna help matters much once conference play starts either. In case you were wondering why Memphis schedules its ass off non-conference, the above is why. Thank the deity of your choice for remaining non-conference games for Memphis against Gonzaga and Tennessee. Gracious.

Great read from Seth Davis in si.com in the stock up/stock down buy/sell format. A taste:

"Indiana: BUY

Hoosiers are just outside the top 10 right now, but that will change in the next couple of weeks. Not only is Eric Gordon the front-runner for Big Ten player of the year as a freshman, but I think he should be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. The Hoosiers also have plenty room for growth. Look for freshman Jordan Crawford and juco transfer Jamarcus Ellis to steadily improve the next two months.

Kansas: BUY

No need to overthink this one. The Jayhawks have more depth and talent than any team in America, and I love the way Darnell Jackson is playing down low. Plus, the Big 12 is just so-so and they only have to play Texas once.

Kansas State: SELL

I realize the Wildcats have a 9-4 record and are unranked, but I'd guess there are still some people out there who are thinking, "Well, they have Michael Beasley, so they're probably going to the tournament." No, they're not. You still need good guard play in college basketball, and with David Hoskins still not recovered from knee surgery, it looks like Beasley's one season of college basketball will have to end in the NIT.

See, I did not know that about K-State. And now I do. He said, while wondering about either Eric Gordon or Michael Beasley in a Grizzlies uniform this fall...

Gary Parrish at sportsline.com (one of the handful of great college basketball writers on the national sites) has a solid article on the impact that transfers are having on a number of programs this year and why it does not happen more often.

And, while we are here, power rankings:

Frank Burlison's effort at foxsports.com
The Power 16 on espn.com

Enjoy.

The season is about to kick into relevance with conference play starting (except in Memphis, where C-USA will put the locals on "snooze" until March) and now is a good time to look around at the landscape of college ball heading into 2008.

Top 25 polls tend to be meaningless in college basketball, I get far more use out of various power rankings on the big sites. Luke Winn's latest on si.com is a good place to begin if you want to know who is playing well. The Power 16 on espn.com is a good stop too. And, while I am at it, foxsports.com's effort.

Over at sportsline.com, Clark Kellogg gives you five teams who look elite so far. Even if you have not been paying attention, I bet you can name at least four of his five if you glance at the rankings collected in the preceding paragraph. Sometimes college basketball "expert" is over-rated.

Earlier this week I posted on the corspe of Mike Wallace and its impending interview with Roger Clemens on 60 Minutes. Today I pause to note Gary Parrish's column on sportsline.com regarding the return of the corpse of Eddie Sutton to coaching. It will be for San Francisco, and, I am guessing, not even a San Francisco Zoo tiger would want to maul it.

Locally? The Memphis version of Tigers have another big home game one week after knocking off Georgetown. Saturday night (l a t e) they host Arizona in another tester. The 15th ranked Wildcats were the last team to beat Memphis in the regular season, getting them a year ago in Arizona. Once that game is done? Gawdawful conference play, broken up by two good non-conference games against Tennessee and Gonzaga. C-USA fever! Impossible to catch!

Sorry for a local post, but enough is happening in the city I call home that it cannot be avoided.

The good:

Memphis Tigers basektball.

I was fortunate to score a ticket (and a free one at that) to the Memphis/Georgetown game yesterday. It was easily the most electric college baseketball crowd I have ever been a part of, and the noise was deafening at critical times. The Tigers have a genuine home court advantage at this point, supporting a very good basketball team. The game itself? Played at a very high level by both teams before Memphis' defense wore down and overwhelmed Georgetown. When Chris Douglas-Roberts is on his game along with Derrick Rose, Memphis will be tough to beat.

Hard not to be a part of that crowd and again despair at Memphis' being marooned in Conference USA. A parade of teams like Georgetown, Connecticut, Louisville, and the rest of the Big East through Memphis would be most welcome. Instead, scenes like yesterday are fleeting, as the realities of a parade of East Carolina, SMU, and Tulsa conference games will suck the life out of the proceedings.

The bad:

Memphis Tigers football. It is beyond me my Conference USA has six bowl tie-ins. Absolutely indefensible that a conference that plays as bad a football as C-USA does will be able to send legitimately bad teams to play one more game. And the Tigers were a legitimately bad team this year. Their reward? Yet another game against a Sunbelt Conference team having already lost in the regular season to Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee State. The outcome Friday night? Preordained as far as I was concerned. When you can't stop anyone, then for certain, you will lose. Apparently if the Tigers were adrift in the Sunbelt they would never win. If I were calling shots for Memphis, Tommy West would not have a job this morning. I'm not, so he does.

The awful/hopeful:

The Memphis Grizzlies in close games are awful. Actually, they are pretty damn awful in not-so-close games too. Another buzzer-beating loss last night, this time to the Sixers, adds to a series of gut-punch losses this year. It has reached laughable proportions. Then again, if they were not busy choking away 11-point 4th period leads, it might not come down to last second shots.

The hopeful part of the wasteland that it is NBA basketball in Memphis is Rudy Gay as he continues to make a definite leap. He's averaging 20 points a game with 6 boards and showing increased desire to be the man at the end of games. In fact, there is little question locally that the leader of the team is now Gay, as opposed to Pau Gasol. That, at the least, is something positive for a bad team to build on as it waits for its latest top five overall draft pick.

Yeah. Apparently. It's not like they went all that far away, but there has definitely been slippage.

At any rate, for those of you easing into the college ball season, Grant Wahl with his usual must read mailbag at si.com leads with the reason for the hot start for Duke:

They're running. Unrepentingly. Apparently Krzyzewski's work coaching Team USA this summer left an impression. Grudgingly, I note, job well done to Krzyzewski.

Also in the mailbag, Wahl's thoughts on:

---growing pains for OJ Mayo and Derrick Rose

---the pressure school's are putting on their "one and done" players to stay in school and finish the spring semester

---musings on Drake's beatdown of Iowa State

There's more. Much more. Enjoy.

The season is underway. The early hype on the frosh has been a little overblown (as had to almost be expected). Duke isn't as bad as advertised.

And Texas is really good. Even without Kevin Durant. Leading Grant Wahl to this observation (among many others) in his latest mailbag:

"Rick Barnes can coach. There. We said it. The 'Bag has always believed this, and yet few coaches in the nation have taken a more public beating than Texas' Barnes has in the past year, mainly for what was perceived in some precincts as his team's inability to get the ball in the hands of Kevin Durant more often. Implicit in that criticism was another indictment: that Longhorns point guard D.J. Augustin wasn't up to the task. Well, now look: Durant may be gone, but Texas has pulled off the nation's most impressive pair of wins so far this season, knocking off two of the 'Bag's preseason Final Four picks: Tennessee (on a neutral court) and UCLA (in Pauley Pavilion).

Both times Augustin was the best player on the floor, combining timely scoring with near-flawless passing and the wisdom to know when to push the pace and when to slow it down. (Don't use Darren Collison's rustiness as an excuse for Augustin's poise.) And both times Barnes outcoached an accomplished counterpart: Tennessee's Bruce Pearl and UCLA's Ben Howland. Barnes put on a coaching clinic Sunday. The Longhorns' 2-3 zone flummoxed a UCLA team that didn't have an Arron Afflalo-quality outside shooter to bust it open (Josh Shipp needs to be that guy). It was Barnes who managed his timeouts smartly, rather than Howland, who burned his last TO at the 2:23 mark and had Kevin Love watching on the bench over the final 2:12."

Strong. And, indeed, something of a lone voice in the wilderness given the criticism sent Barnes' way in the last few season.

There's a bunch of other really solid stuff, as usual, in the rest of the piece. Wahl, as regular readers here know, is on our extremely short list of best in the business in covering college ball (with Gary Parrish at sportsline.com), and it is well worth your time if you like college hoop at all.

They look so delicious.

So tempting.

So sweet.

But they do not exist.

They are a figment of your imagination.

For most of you who are not college basketball zealots, he is probably not on your radar just yet. He's one of the top five incoming freshmen in college ball supposedly, and, after two games for Memphis, I can tell you the reality matches the hype. I made it to the FexEx Forum last night to watch him live, because after watching his first game on TV it was immediately clear he is one of those talents that you don't want to miss if you have a chance to catch a game. A few impressions:

1. At 6'-3", with the way he handles the ball and sees the floor as a point guard, the early murmurings that he was most easily compared to Jason Kidd are not misplaced. Were it not for the current NBA eligibility rule, he would probably still be in Memphis, but it would be for the Grizzlies, not the Tigers.

2. He has a better shot than Kidd now. He apparently was a 48% shooter from 3s in high school, and is already knocking them down at that clip through two games as a collegian.

3. But the shooting is by no means the best part of his game. That would be his defense and floor smarts. He is clearly going to be a guy who will fill up highlights on a nightly basis. The first game? A clean block from behind of a player who was clear and going for what appeared to be an uncontested lay-up on a fast break. Last night? A one-handed rebound in traffic, and then leading a fast break where he weaved through defenders and finished an end-to-end bit of brilliance with a lay-up through more traffic. It was the kind of play that compelled people out of seats in awe of the brilliance.

4. The better news for Memphis? Rose is apparently a very humble guy, and is working overtime to fit in with the talented team that Memphis returns. Every soundbite from Rose and his teammates is that the only objective in Memphis is winning. That helps.

5. Conference-USA is once again likely the suck. The good news for casual observers who are wondering just how good Memphis is, they will be tested non-conference. A brief review. Memphis returns four starters and adds Rose to a team that is coming off of back-to-back Elite 8 appearances and is anchored by juniors that are used to long runs in the tournament. To get them ready for what is to come, Memphis' non-conference schedule includes:

Richmond
Either Kentucky or Connecticut
USC
Cincinnati
Georgetown
Arizona
Pepperdine
Gonzaga
Tennessee

That's plenty strong enough to give everyone a hande on how good Memphis will be come tournament time, even as they kill C-USA fodder. For those who grump about their C-USA schedule, please, Tigers fans beg of you, talk your favorite BCS conference into rescuing the school from the wasteland that is C-USA. We would like nothing better than to see the Tigers in a conference that isn't shit. For now, the best we can do is enjoy the non-conference goodness and wait for a happier conference affiliated day.

And, in the meantime, enjoy Derrick Rose.

I make an effort to not put too much Kentucky stuff in this space because it seems too self-serving. However, I feel like if I'm going to do a UK post, why not have it be about the start of the Billy Gillispie Era. So here are some quick-hitters:

- Stop calling him Billy Clyde, local writers (and I typically am a fan of Mark Story, easily the best columnist since Chuck Culpepper left). Please. I cannot explain the reasons why, but this bothers me to no end. You are not his long lost family, you are not college buddies. You are the media and I cannot fathom any reason that you should use his middle name so often until such time as he is revealed as a Mass Murderer/Serial Killer. Thank you.

- While I'm on the local media, what would it take for the Lexington Herald Leader to take John Clay, a current columnist, an re-assign him to UK Hoops (that's the women's team to the uninitiated) while giving Jerry Tipton more space. Tipton's articles are well-written, informational and generally a pleasure to read. Clay's are, well, not. Too much opinion, which is not a bad thing until you pair it with a tendency to flip-flop. And I won't even get started on Clay's lists.

- To the folks running the big screen at Rupp Arena, when you show the 6th man, the UK student section, fix the words that say Erruption Zone. That makes no sense. It's Rupp Arena. It should be the "eRUPPtion zone." I'm not the only one who thinks so. Fix it.

- Hey Joe Crawford: stop sulking. Play the game. Go to the basket. Embrace the Gillispie Era the way that it appears Ramel Bradley has. If you don't you'll find your hangdog look further down the bench, in Gillispie's hangdog house.

- And finally a note on Patrick Patterson. He looks like the real deal, and he is saying the right things. Dealing with the OJ Mayo circus seems to have given Patterson a sense of perspective. And while he's saying the right things, no one is expecting him to stick around for his degree, like he says. I'm guessing two years.

It's time. The season starts tonight, ready or not.

I have not been following this story all that closely, but the sanctions have been very real (Sampson loses $500,000 from his salary this season ("the Belichick") and Indiana loses a scholarship for next season) for the series of impermissible calls made over the last year during the closed period for contacting recruits.

Several things about this catch my attention.

1. The violations were found by an IU intern whom IU has worked very hard to keep nameless. Smart move. Identifying that poor bastard would probably not be advisable. Unless they are looking to get a job with Kent Benson or Ted Kitchel (read on).

2. The law firm that was hired to do an independent investigation into the matter by IU is called Ice Miller. Well. Fuck. Why can't I work at a firm with a cool name like that? Ice Miller. Apparently the firm underwent a name change to get to that in 2000. Presumably discarded were Ice Bud and Ice Coors. Say!

3. Apparently there is zero love lost between Sampson and former IU players judging by these series of quotes from the Star article linked above:

"Reaction by former IU players Monday was swift and harsh. Kent Benson, a two-time All-American, called the situation "a total travesty."

Ted Kitchel, another former All-American who previously criticized Sampson's hiring by saying he "wouldn't hire that guy to coach my fifth-grade girls team," said the new reports suggest Sampson does not believe rules apply to him.

Joe Hillman, a member of the 1987 national championship team, said it's embarrassing to "the program, the university and to Rick Greenspan."

Benson, in particular, blasted the university. "I'm absolutely, totally embarrassed for the Indiana basketball program," Benson said. "They need to do the right thing. If no tolerance means no tolerance, they get rid of him. And Greenspan should be right behind."

Ouch Ted Kitchel. Why you gotta do Sampson like that?

Some Swamp chatter underway here thanks to all-star swamper billy22g. Drop by with a thought or two.

This morning's random weird headline goes to si.com in its Truth & Rumors section for this (verbatim):

"Florida Hot for Mass. 16-year-old"

Hey, Florida? We know, thanks to Elijah Dukes, what passes for okay in your hedonistic state when it comes to lusting after 16 and 17 year olds, but when you start taking that shit across state lines? That's into some dangerous territory.

Barely Legal my ass.

In case you missed it over the weekend, Jackie Chiles put up a Hall of Fame post over at Airing of Grievances with a report from the legendary Rucker in Harlem, where he attended the Elite 24 High School All-Star Game.

Not only does he break down the performances of some of the best college-bound talent in the country (sounds like Arizona has a player), but he brings us the highlights of the crowd chants, including this story:

"Remember I mentioned fan-favorite Dexter 'Dex' Strickland. Well, Dex had some kid isolated, and this kid's skin really didn't look much better than James Edward Olmos'. Let's just say Proactiv may come calling. So, anyway, Dex starts in to his shakin' and a bakin', and while setting dude up we hear: 'C'mon Dex, shake some of them bumps off that brutha's face!!!' Well, Dex crossed him over and smoothly took it to the hole for two which was immediately followed by: 'Nice, that shoulda popped two or three pimples!!!' I almost felt like a bad person for cracking up. Almost."

Mandatory reading material.

...find your way to sportsline.com college bb writer Gary Parrish. Parrish, who locals in Memphis had the pleasure of reading when he was with the Commercial Appeal, covering the Tigers for several years, made the leap to a national audience with sportsline in the last year. And his stuff has been absolute quality, as I would have expected.

Really, among the national types, he's in a class with si.com's Grant Wahl (when Wahl is on his college bb beat) and Luke Winn when it comes to readability and insight. A true pleasure.

His last two efforts are solid reads (Lebron James earning ever more respect at his camp and a nice piece from the Nike Peach Jam), even in the dead season of college ball that we are in now. Here's a sample from the fine news and notes Peach Jam piece:

"I'm proud of the Gauchos, not because they won the Peach Jam but because they didn't publicly fight or propose a fight Sunday. It was a break from the norm. On Thursday, some Gauchos got into a fight with each other at a local McDonald's (see what happens with you eliminate super sizing?), and three of them were sent home. On Friday, I'm told they behaved. But on Saturday I witnessed three other Gauchos about to jump a player from the Georgia Stars in the lobby of the Riverview Park Athletic Center. They were cursing and doing whatever it is tough/idiotic kids do, and the situation would have exploded had a high-major Division I coach not stepped in and demanded the three Gauchos walk away. Their response? They started cursing the coach. So I was glad when the Gauchos won Sunday night, if only because I didn't want to see them angry. Because I've seen them angry. And I don't like them when they're angry."

Enjoy.