WBRS Sports Blog

Mikey C. is going to post a nice baseball preview tomorrow, but for now here are our picks for the rest of the NCAA tournament.

Mini Me:

Well I correctly predicted the Final 4, so there is no way I am changing my original picks now. So without further ado, here are my picks...


UCLA over Florida

Why do I have UCLA advancing over the defending champs? Yes this same Florida team beat UCLA last year in the finals, but I think this year's Bruins are better equipped to knock off the Gators. Here is why:

1. Farmar is no Afflalo. Farmar was a great talent, but he didn't have the capability to take over a game like the way Afflalo showed us he could do vs. Kansas. That game solidified Afflalo as the leader of this team and if UCLA's offense stalls at times during the game Afflalo is capable of single-handily keeping his Bruins in the game.

2. Darren Collison. Perhaps the most underrated guard in the whole country. Not only does he do a great job of running the offense from the point position, but he is also a major threat from behind the arc (46% on the season) and will provide solid perimeter defense on the Gator guards.

3. Their bigs (Mbah a Moute, Mata, and Aboya) have not only matured but gotten better, specifically on the defensive end of the floor. As a result, I believe they will have more success containing Horford and Noah than they did last year.

4. And finally, redemption. I even think that UCLA would agree that they were a little overwhelmed/outmatched last year in the finals. But this team has a chip on their shoulder to prove that this year is their year.

Ohio State over Georgetown

Hibbert vs. Oden. It has been a long time since college basketball has seen two phenomenal true centers go at it in the Final Four. These two are so essential to their team's success, not only because of their points, rebounds, blocks but also because of the space they clog up in the paint on the defensive end. Conley Jr. and Green have to change the way they play when those forces are protecting the basket. Maybe this is somewhat of an oversimplification, but I believe whichever center can stay on the court the longest, their respective team will come out on top. However, I urge viewers not to change the channel even if one team gets up by 15-20 points, because both teams have shown during this tourney that they have the offensive firepower to comeback from any deficit.

UCLA over Ohio State

UCLA's tourney experience will be the difference-maker in this one. UCLA's pressure defense will be a little bit too much for Conley Jr. to handle. Oden gets into foul trouble and UCLA wins their 12th championship in school history, and the first since 1995.

MVP: Aaron Afflalo



Easy E's picks

Final Four:

Florida over UCLA

Ohio State over Georgetown

Final Game:

Florida over Ohio State

Final Four MVP: Corey Brewer

Mikey C's picks

Final Four:

UCLA over Florida, 67-63

Georgetown over Ohio State, 75-69

Final Game:

UCLA over Ohio State. 60-52

Final Four MVP: Darren Collison

Later today I will post not only our MLB predictions but also our Final 4 predictions! Stay tuned...

We all remember the Chicago Bears fan that lost the infamous bet that resulted in him legally changing his name to Peyton Manning. Unfortunately it appears that Scott Wiese won't be able to pay up, as yesterday Macon County Judge Katherine McCarthy disallowed the name change. Why would she not allow it? "Because it would be too confusing and might infringe on the privacy of the Indianapolis Colts quarterback.

It would be too confusing? Is she serious? How is it possible to confuse some average Joe from Chicago with arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time, who also happens to be in more television commercials than Lewis Scott? I'm not really sure if this woman is qualified to be a judge after assessing this situation so poorly. I hope this ruling gets overturned, if not for my personal enjoyment, for the integrity of humorous-based gambling everywhere.

Okay, so this is somewhat of a continuation of Monday's theme...

Who is more badass, Happy Gilmore or Roy McAvoy?


A few things to keep in mind, Gilmore can drive it 400 yards and has a hockey stick shaped putter. Meanwhile, McCavoy can beat you in golf with a collection of gardening tools and also invented the semi-platonic kiss.

Who is more badass?
	Happy Gilmore
	Roy McAvoy
pollcode.com free polls

Some stories I recommend you check out!

Some questions to ponder when trying to figure out who is going to play in the National Championship on Monday. [Complete Sports]

Greg Oden has set himself some lofty goals. [One More Dying Quail]

We are down to the Final 4! Female reporters that is. [The Big Picture]

Games for Week 1 in the NFL have been announced. [Sports Column]

And finally, Blog Show #1. [Mr. Irrelevant]

Your life is on the line. If Person A hits an uncontested NBA 3-pointer then you live. If he misses, you die. Who do you want Person A to be?

It could be anyone, living or deceased (and in their prime).

Yes, Kobe's historic scoring as of late (4 in a row with 50+ points) is damn impressive. But I think this amazing feat actually has a negative impact on the Lakers. Kobe trying to score as many as he can will not work against the elite teams in the West. And who cares about moderate regular season success if that doesn't translate into any playoff success?

Let's take a look at the quality of teams the Lakers played in their last four games, during Kobe's scoring surge.

Kobe scores 65 and the Lakers beat Portland by 5.
Kobe scores 50 and the Lakers beat Minnesota by 7.
Kobe scores 60 and the Lakers beat Memphis by 2.
Kobe scores 50 and the Lakers beat New Orleans by 6.

The Lakers might get away with Kobe shooting about 40% of the team's shots against the bottom-tier teams of the West, but there is no way this philosophy will work in the playoffs, where every team is a quality team. The Laker's figured that out last season, when Kobe got his teammates involved more so than he ever had in the past, and subsequently averaged 27.9 ppg, well below his 35.4 ppg average during the season. The result? They were a single game away from upending the Phoenix Suns. They couldn't get that elusive 4th win, and eventually wound up losing the series in 7.

Even though the Lakers lost in the first round last year, they could have and should have won. And the point that needs to be noted is that Kobe, Phil, and co. realized that rather than Bryant shooting over the double-team, he could instead use that defensive attention to his advantage, by unselfishly providing open and easy shots for his teammates.

The fact that Kobe has scored fifty his last four games against below average teams and the Lakers have barely managed to win manifests the fact that Kobe won't be able to single-handily beat the elite teams in the West, who not coincidentally are also the best defensive teams in the NBA. Thus, rather than shooting the ball 40 times a game now, Kobe should be practicing a playoff-style offense, one in he shoots less, and creates for his teammates more. This is the only plausible way the Lakers can win in the playoffs, and unless they begin implementing this mindset in the regular season, the Lakers will have to wait at least one more season to find post-season success in a post-Shaq era.

Alright, let's state the obvious: Danny Ainge has not had good results so far in Boston. He wouldn't know how to make a successful trade even if the Lakers offered them Kobe Bryant for a second round pick - somehow Danny would screw it up.

---

First, let me start by giving you the following information that is directly from an article by Chris Sheridan, an ESPN writer.

Trades made by the Celtics and their evaluations, in the eyes of Sheridan:

Jan. 26, 2006
The deal:
Boston traded Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks and Justin Reed to Minnesota for Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi, Dwayne Jones and a future first-round pick (likely in '09 or '10).

Winner: Timberwolves. As Davis noted upon his return to Boston earlier this season, Minnesota won this trade big-time. Davis and Blount are averaging nearly 30 points between them as the Wolves' No. 2 and No. 3 scorers. Szczerbiak is out for the year with a bum ankle, and his contract is borderline untradable.


June 28, 2006
Portland traded Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and a second-round pick in 2008 to Boston for the draft rights to Randy Foye, Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau.

Winner: Blazers. Portland turned Foye into leading Rookie of the Year candidate Brandon Roy, while Telfair lost his starting point guard job in Boston.

June 28, 2006
Phoenix traded Brian Grant, the rights to Rajon Rondo and cash to Boston for a future first-round pick.

Winner: Celtics. The draft pick owed to the Suns was originally Cleveland's and should fall in the mid-20s. Rondo can't shoot, but he's been a better acquisition for Boston than Telfair. If the Suns had kept him, he'd be a better alternative than Marcus Banks.

June 28, 2006
Denver traded the rights to Leon Powe to Boston for a second-round pick in 2007.

Winner: Nuggets. Powe went 49th. The pick Denver will get will be in the low-30s.

October 13, 2006
Cleveland traded Luke Jackson and cash to Boston for Dwayne Jones.

Winner: None. Jackson was the Celtics' final training camp cut, while Jones hardly plays for Cleveland.

---

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that Sheridan didn't have much trouble deciding the winner/loser of the deals made by Boston during Danny Ainge's reign of destruction. Why on earth would you trade the 7th Overall pick in Randy Foye for some moron and a guy who stinks (Telfair) and also make a trade for Rajon Rondo, who is essentially the same player as Telfair, except a better passer and smarter basketball player? Why not keep Foye or package the pick and another player to actually land a player that can help you. Don't get me wrong, I like Rondo a lot, but I think Telfair has no future in the NBA. Or, trade Foye for Roy like Portland did. Silly Danny.

Let's actually look at the "blockbuster" deal that gave Minnesota their 2nd and 3rd scorers: Blount was awful in Boston, but Davis was playing well here. Wally is only a shooter these days and isn't nearly as athletic as Ricky Davis, who by the way, was acquired in a controversial trade. With Davis, Pierce, and the guys who have emerged on the Celtics, Boston would have been a better team this year, and next year. Though, the injury to Pierce this year gives the Celtics an opportunity to go from a .500 team that will either win the Atlantic or get the 7th or 8th seed, to a contender in the east (pending the lottery).

Leon Powe? Why? The Celtics definitely would have had a better pick than Denver this year regardless of the Celtics' injuries, and probably would have had a shot at a decent 2nd round player, but Danny messed that up.

The Luke Jackson deal - who cares.

As far as the T'wolves go, I hope they suck for the next few years and end up giving Boston a top 5 pick in '09 or '10.


Danny Ainge's future, as well as Doc Rivers' future depends on that draft lottery, and whether or not Greg Oden and Kevin Durant declare for the draft.

On another, non Celtic note, what's up Kobe Bryant? Boston could have picked him in 1996, as they had a high pick that year, or even Tracy McGrady the year he came out, instead of having Antoine Walker (traded away by Ainge, traded for by Ainge, and let go by Ainge), Chauncey Billups (who was traded), or Ron Mercer (also traded). Those drafts, however, were not Danny Ainge's fault.

--Edit--
So, is it really time to fire him? Probably not, but I guarantee that if things don't start out right next year, there will be talk about the potential firing of Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers. At this point, I will say Danny Ainge has drafted well with the spots they have drafted, but the trades he has made have not panned out well so far. I think Rondo will be the starting point guard of the Celtics within a year or two, perhaps Wally will be able to contribute when he's healthy, and maybe, just maybe, Boston will land a high draft pick from the pick they are getting from Minnesota.

This was first posted in frustration of the trade evaluations posted by ESPN, as well as my own frustation with the loss Wednesday night, which I was in atendance for and I was in attendance tonight versus Dallas. Therefore, there are some possible cheap shots taken at the Celtics.

Let's just cross our fingers and hope Greg Oden or Kevin Durant is a Celtic in 2007-2008.


Also, check out why we think Kobe's excessive scoring is not good for the Lakers.

Here is more love for Gus Johnson courtesy of our guest blogger Ted, who calls his home A Price Above Bip Roberts. However lately he has been spending the night at our house a lot.

-------------------------------------

"In his neighborhood," Gus Johnson told us of Louisville frosh guard Edgar Sosa right off the opening tip of their game with Texas A&M Saturday night, "if you're tough, they call you tigre - the tiger."

This piece of information would become central to understanding the brilliance of Johnson throughout what is ostensibly, and sadly, his final game for CBS this season. Rumor has it the four Regionals will be called by announcing duos of Nantz/Packer, Enberg/Bilas, Lundquist/Raftery, and Brown/Elmore. Last year, of course, Johnson/Elmore called Oakland, resulting in the seminal Gus moment - "A STEAL! STEAL BY FARMAR! FRESHMAN MOUTE!" etc.

See, as the latter Lexington second-round game progressed, Gus built himself to a boil with this "Tigre" stuff. Sosa drove the lane a couple of times - simple stuff, really - and Gus would drop his token "Got it!" with an occasional "Tigre" reference tossed in, casually. You knew, though - if you know Gus like we do at AA - that he was building to an unforgettable, climatic moment. And he was.

With about 7:00 left and the game knotted at 56-56 all, Sosa had the ball out behind the three point line. "Sosa... STOPS and STARTS..." said Johnson, his voice rising from beagle pup to rabid dog as he intoned each syllable. Sosa would kick the ball to the wing. The three attempt would be bricked, but Louisville would grab the rebound and kick it back to the frosh. He let one fly - Gus let us know with his voice rising to an almost incoherent mess with those exact words, "LETS IT FLY" - and then, the kicker.

The shot, of course, went in. Louisville 59, Texas A&M 56.

"TTTTTTTIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEE!"

Johnson let it rip, almost primally, and I imagine Dan Bonner let out a little yelp. Johnson punctuated it - he always does - with a little "EDGAR SOSA! THE BRONX, NEW YORK! RICE HIGH SCHOOL!" - but the moment had already reached mythical levels. Sosa is now, and will always be, The Tiger. He could go pro this June, have a middling pro career with the Grizzlies as a second rounder always coming off the bench, and I'd always refer to him as "The Tiger," despite my friends mocking me. I still call Moute "a freshman," even though he's not. I just can't get Gus screaming "FRESHMAN MOUTE!" out of my head.

That's the true magic of Johnson, which was on display in the earlier game, the "Battle for the Buckeye State" (as Johnson called it at least three times, in between telling us how close Thad Matta and Sean Miller are - "They're BEST friends") between Xavier and Ohio State. Xavier had the lead because of Drew Lavender and others - his fall away three to give them a 11 point lead resulted in some screeching and indiscernible words, and led me to wonder whether Dan Bonner continually keeps popping the top on Red Bulls at the desk. When Ohio State made their run, Gus built to a climax, which came - naturally - with the Ron Lewis three ball to tie.

After screaming something no one will ever be able to decipher, Johnson said, in a low, eerie voice, "We're going to OVER TIME," then came back in a voice similar to Dirk the Clown and said, "IN LEXINGTON!" Then, he began laughing - a psuedo manic, "I might kill Steve Tasker in his sleep at the hotel this fall" kind of way. "HA HA!" he said. "College basketball! HA HA! CBS Sports! HA HA! This is March Madness!" They went to commercial.

If that's not used on every single CBS college hoops promo for the next three years - if it doesn't replace "By George, do you believe in miracles!" by this Thursday - it's a crime, and frankly, Sean McManus should be fired.

There you have it: the broadcaster for the ages at an arena for the ages, calling a few second-round games for the ages (er, at least this year). Enjoy James Brown, everybody. If him and Elmore go West, and a Kansas vs. UCLA Regional Final is as good as it might be, pour one out for your homie G. Johnson. He should be calling it. Because, honestly, someone back in the hood probably has a nickname for Darren Collison, and to hear it bellowed at 100 decibels during a second overtime of a game with a trip to the Final Four on the line? Priceless.

For those of you that don't know Formula One Racing, Kimi Räikkönen was Michael Schumacher's main rival. This is a clip from 2006, when Kimi is asked why he wasn't present when Pele presented a trophy to Michael Schumacher.

I have created a petition.

I am not usually a proponent of these sort of things, but CBS' decision to replace Gus Johnson with James Brown as a play-by-play man for the upcoming regional semifinals and finals games is like downgrading from filet mignon to spam; BMW to a Fiat; Angelina Jolie to Jon Voight. And I can't stand for such a decrease in my quality of life.

You can sign the petition here. The petition states the following:


Dear CBS,

We are greatly infuriated that you have replaced the venerable Gus Johnson with James "big name" Brown as one of your four play-by-play men in your Sweet 16 and Elite 8 coverage of the NCAA Tournament. We are perturbed by the fact that you have "sold out", choosing to replace the best announcer in college basketball, who also happens to have eleven years of experience calling NCAA tourney games, for James Brown, a man whose resume before this NCAA tournament includes calling one single college basketball game in the past 13 years.

Not only is Brown lacking in college basketball experience, but when it comes to ability to excite viewers, Brown is completely outmatched and outclassed by Johnson. While Brown’s calls are insipid and mediocre, Johnson’s are memorable (see Ohio State-Xavier this year & Gonzaga-UCLA last year).

In conclusion, we respectfully request that next year you revert to your past actions, which include assigning your most talented, not your most paid, to call your Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games. Or if that can't be arranged, perhaps you could drop Jim Nantz into the Hudson with some cement sneakers? Or maybe we could check Billy Packer into an old age home? Seriously though, without Gus Johnson, the regional semi-finals and finals just aren’t quite the same.


                Sincerely,


                     Disgruntled Gus Johnson Fans


I plan on sending the petition to CBS Sports once we have a sufficient amount of signatures.

In the midst of March Madness, there is still a lot going on in the NBA. In regard to the MVP debate, things have become a lot more confusing. While only about a month ago Dirk seemed to be the favorite, edging close friend Steve Nash, now the Dirk 4 MVP campaign is no longer a sure thing. Nash has gained ground and now even new candidates have emerged as legitimate possibilities.

Whether you agreed with it or not, it seemed impossible not to give Dirk, the best player on a 70-win team, the MVP, even given the fact that Nash has better numbers this year than he did in his past two MVP seasons. However two straight losses later and 70 doesn't seem so likely (must go 16-1). However, Phoenix gained no ground on Dallas during their two-game skid, as they themselves lost to Detroit, then at Denver.

So besides Nash and Dirk, who else is there?

Kobe Bryant. There seems to be a very easy formula to become involved into the MVP talks...A few of your key teammates (Luke Walton and Lamar Odom) succumb to injury and you take it upon yourself to lead your team to some victories. After the injuries, the Lakers found themselves in a bad place, losing 13 of 16. It seems Kobe has said enough is enough by scoring 115 over his last two, both resulting in Laker victories. The Lakers currently find themselves 35-32, in the sixth spot (no easy feat in the tough West). Given the talent, or lack there of on that team, if Kobe can keep them there while Luke and Lamar continue to recover, than Kobe should be considered for the MVP.

Lebron James. He has certainly been on a tear lately (27 ppg, 9.5 rpb, 7 apg, 3 spg over last 4 games) and the Cavs find themselves just 1.5 games back of Detroit for the top spot in the East. But let's remember, it is the East! Nobody in the East is getting my MVP vote, unless your team lacks any talent at all or you win 70. Well, maybe that whole lack of talent thing applies to Lebron's Cavs.

Hello friends. This is a guest post, by the guy who writes here and occasionally some other places. Feel free to holler at me at any time.

Finally we got to witness some fantastic finishes, specifically Ohio State vs. Xavier. What an unbelievable comeback and with that victory by Ohio State, my bracket is not dead, but merely in a coma.

I will be traveling until Tuesday, so won't be posting until then. Enjoy the games!


Mini

Yesterday during the intermission in between the afternoon and evening games (and when Easy took a cat nap) I wrote the following:

I feel like all of those conservative, scared, not really that college basketball savvy kind of guys are on cloud 9, at least momentarily. Why's that? Picking all of the favorites has never tasted sweeter. 8 games thus far, 0 upsets. That's right, not a single lower seed has won today. Hopefully that changes shortly, because without the Cinderella teams, March Madness lacks just a little bit of luster.

I think my statement was certainly verified last evening after watching VCU upset the Dukies via a last second shot. March Madness is like a drug, and after spending all day in withdrawal (no close games or upsets), I finally experienced euphoria as Coach K's squad made their earliest exit since 1996.

Screw my bracket, all I want is as many upsets and close games as possible. After the first eight games, we all experienced what a tournament could be like without not only thriller games, but even good ones...and it absolutely sucked.

Hopefully VCU's magic can rub off on some of the other mid-majors and lower seeded teams today, resulting in a better day of games...one filled with Madness!

Sammy Sosa...Coming To a Park Near You [Kansas City Star]

Tonya Harding Is Officially Off the Reservation. [Globe and Mail]

What do Bobby Knight and Pac Man Jones have in common? [Dallas Morning News]

At least one Coach K won last evening. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]

I want to personally thank Easy E for live-blogging for approximately 12 straight hours yesterday. We found your comments to be both insightful and hilarious. You are welcome back here anytime.

Note: keep refreshing this page

12:10 --North Carolina and Pitt pull away in the second half and advance to the second round, thus ending a long and eventful day here at WBRS Sports. Thanks to all the commenters and everybody who stopped by--I had a fine time and hope that you did as well. A special thanks to Mini Me for sticking with me all the way to the end. It's time to get some rest--Albany and Virginia tip off in 12 hours.

11:48 --Indiana pulls away in the second half and wins . The Hoosiers kept making threes and Gonzaga just couldn't get stops when they needed to. Indiana will play UCLA on Saturday.

11:37--Xavier holds on and win in what was easily one of the two best games of the night.

11:34--Drew Lavender hit two big floaters down the stretch for Xavier and Josh Duncan makes a tough runner in the lane to give the Musketeers a two point lead with 30 seconds left.

11:26 --Xavier leads BYU 71-68 in a terrific back and forth contest. I think Gus Johnson's fervor is single-handedly keeping this a close game.

11:15--A 30-8 Eastern Kentucky run has cut UNC's lead to 5 and they now have the crowd behind them. One of these days not playing defense was bound to catch up with the Tar Heels.

11:04--Xavier goes on a run to get within two. Gus Johnson is getting excited.

10:59--Gonzaga without a doubt has the two ugliest beards in the tournament thus far. Both David Pendergraft and Sean Mallon need to be introduced to a razor. In Buffalo, Pitt has responded to Wright State tying the game with an 18-3 run. Pitt now lead 43-30 at the half.

10:47--The Pitt-Wright State game has turned into a turnover clinic. BYU leads Xavier 44-38 is what has actually been one of the most well played games of the tournament. Eastern Kentucky has cut in UNC's lead and now only trails by 12. Finally, Duke trails VCU 79-77 with no time left on the clock.

10:36--Wright State has mounted a small comeback and now trails Pitt 22-19. Meanwhile, my roommate just informed me that Indiana guard Earl Calloway sat in front of him in his History of Jazz class. Student Athletes who go to class?--that doesn't bode well for the Hoosiers on the court.

10:24--Indiana leads Gonzaga 30-27 with three minutes to go in the first half. The Zags could really use a player like Josh Heytvelt--unfortunately Heytvelt decided it was worth jeopardizing his basketball career so he could stare at objects appearing on his wall for six hours.

10:14--There's another shutout in the works. Pitt leads Wright State 13-0 after three minutes.

10:07--Instead of showing the two tightly contested 8-9 7-10 games, CBS has elected to show Taylor Hansbrough work on his fadaway jumpers against Eastern Kentucky. On the bright side, Julian Wright just nearly broke the nose of an EKU palyer by swatting a shot back in his face. Jay Bilas sums in up by saying "North Carolina is more athletic at every position on the floor." After 4 minutes UNC is on pace to score 150 points.

9:59--Indiana is putting on a three point shooting clinic and leads 14-11. Gonzaga has to double team D.J. White down low and so they're basically stuck hoping that eventually the Hoosiers will start missing from outside.

9:48--Here's a quick recap of the last two hours as the late games get under way. Ohio State and UCLA won easily, Marquette decided to show up for the last five minutes, but it was too little too late, and Eric Maynor single-handedly beat Duke in the last two minutes with an array of floaters and jumpers. Right now BYU-Xavier is the only game underway and the Cougars lead 14-13.

Note: keep refreshing the page


9:38--Paulus' last ditch heave misses the mark and VCU wins. Kevin Harlan excitedly tells us we just saw the biggest upset all day--uh Kevin, it was the only upset all day. I guess this is what happens when the officials forget to add an extra three seconds to the clock.

9:36--Looking like they're scared of giving up a game winning three, VCU inexplicably lets Nelson go coast to coast for the tying layup. Mayner comes right back down the floor and drains the go ahead jumper with 1.8 seconds left.

9:33--Mayner hits another runner to give VCU the lead and a chance for a final minute 2 for 1.

9:31--Scheyer is down and bleeding from the eye. Hey Duke, ever hear of karma?

9:20--Paulus hits one of four free throws to give Duke a 70-68 lead. In years past Duke was the best team in country in the last four minutes of close games--that's not the case this year.

9:14--VCU has come all the way back and it's now 69-68 Duke. If VCU could get a rebound they would be up by 10.

8:59--There's a break in the Duke game so officials can wipe some VCU blood off the court. Regrettably, for the second time in three games that's not a figure of speech. Over in Winston-Salem, Michigan State leads by 20. Marquette really misses Big East Defensive Player of the Year Jerel McNeal.

8:54--Paulus and Eric Maynor have words for each other after a colliding. I think they should just settle the game by holding a caged fight between the two. A bevy of VCU gaffes now have Duke leading by 11.

8:45--Christian Laettner is in the house tonight, and he's sitting next to somebody who is extremely excited to be on a cell phone. The look on Laettner's face says he'd rather be sitting on an NBA bench right now.

8:34--Paulus hits a three to give Duke a 6 point lead. One of the most under the radar and remarkable stories of the year is how the regression of every single player on the Duke team has by default left Paulus as the star of the team. Paulus could always hit threes, but now he's actually taking them because nobody else on the team knows how to score.

8:23--Gregg Gumbel asks Seth Davis if Weber State can come back against UCLA--I would've like to see Davis take the challenging route and explain why the Wildcats are going to win.

Note: keep refreshing this post

8:13--Dominic James hits the back iron on a three quarter court shot at the buzzer. The Golden Eagles trail 30-18 at the break and haven't made a two point field goal.

8:07--The refs hand Duke two free points before the break and the most entertaining half of the day ends with Duke leading 40-38. Michigan State now leads by 7, UCLA leads by 12, and Ohio State leads by 21. Gregg Oden has 4 points and 7 rebounds in his tourney debut. Since there's not much else going on, this seems like a good time to give my two cents on the Durrant-Oden debate. The way I see it, Durrant is a scorer and Oden completely changes the game on the defensive end. While Durrant is an unbelievable scorer, 85% of the guys in the NBA can score. Only about 10% are defensive game changers. If it's a choice between Tracy McGrady and Dirk, or Shaq and Hakeem, you have to go with the big centers.

7:57--New point guard Josh McRoberts gets bailed out by a late whistle. Duke now leads by six as they hustle back to the bench for another TV timeout.

7:52--Paulus sits down for the first time--here we go.

7:50--Marquette is on the board, but they still have no points from star point guard Dominic James. I'm starting to think the only reason he's rated so highly by NBA scouts is that his elbow sleeve makes him look like Allen Iverson.

7:48--Did you know dropped calls can ruin a conversation?

7:40--Weber State and the spirit of Harold Arceneaux lead UCLA 10-9. Weber State features players from Uruguay and Lithuania while UCLA has two Cameroonians. Over in Lexington Central Connecticut State's upset chances appear to be slipping away.

7:33--McRoberts hits an 18 foot jump hook to give Duke a 13 point lead. I'm left wondering if the NCAA 2006 video game version of McRoberts even has any good moves. McRoberts makes Desagana Diop look like Tin Duncan. With under 14 minutes left in the first half Michigan State is still pitching a shutout.

7:26--Michigan State lead Marquette 6-0 three minutes in. I can't remember a tournament where so many teams found it so hard to score. Meanwhile, Coach K just discussed how not being a #1 seed forces you to be ready for your first game and how that's a good thing. I'm not sure that's right, but given Duke's track record as a #1 seed, maybe being a #6 seed is what they need.

7:18--Demarcus Nelson give Duke a 6 point lead and then alertly hustles back to the bench for a TV timeout. Nobody gets to the bench faster for a timeout that Duke--I bet the team spends the last 20 minutes of every practice working on TV timeout awareness. Meanwhile the refs have already awarded Duke a bogus charging call on a play where McRoberts was standing under the basket. Can anybody think of a good reason there is no semi-circle under the hoop in college basketball?

7:14--We're underway again. Ohio State has a quick 3-0 lead and Gerald Henderson's elbow appears to be showing no ill effects from being hit by Taylor Hansbrough's nose.

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And....we're back. It was a rather uneventful afternoon--unless you had 40-1 odds on Vandy to win by 30--but fortunately there's a new crop of games just around the corner. Duke-VCU and Ohio State-Central Connecticut State tip off in just under 20 minutes. So pull up a seat and make sure you join us as we chronicle every Greg Paulus turnover and a whole lot more.

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5:31--I just want to thank Easy for all of his work today. He did a great job and we all appreciate it. Hopefully he comes back this evening for a nightcap. We currently have a semi-break in action before the evening games begin. Only one game is currently in progress and it really isn't much of one. Vanderbilt is dominating George Washington, 39-14, with just a couple of minutes remaining till the half.

5:36--I feel like all of those conservative, scared, not really that college basketball savvy kind of guys are on cloud 9, at least momentarily. Why's that? Picking all of the favorites has never tasted sweeter. 8 games thus far, 0 upsets. That's right, not a single lower seed has one today. Hopefully that changes shortly, because without the Cinderella teams, March Madness lacks just a little bit of luster.

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5:15--A&M holds on and wins 68-52. The Aggies victory saves a lot of talking heads the embarrassment of having one of their Final Four teams lose in the first round. I would've loved to read Andy Katz's 1,000 word column on what went wrong. The Aggies game against Louisville will be one of the best matchups of the 2nd round.

5:01--Butler wins 57-46 and will play Maryland on Saturday, while Georgetown wins 80-55. The good news for me is that along with the others in the Washington area, I will have the crucial 4:40 game on CBS because it features George Washington. GW's stay in the tournament may be short lived. They trail 13-2 after 6 minutes.

4:52--I just caught the Entourage DirecTV commercial for the millionth time. The fact that this commercial exists seals the deal in my mind that the show has lost everything it ever had. I'm also personally offended that Turtle had no interest in floor seats to see Arena, Butler, Jamison, and the Wizards take on the Lakers.

4:47--Penn takes a short-lived 39-37 lead before A&M scores 10 straight to take an 8 point lead. Meanwhile, both Georgetown and Butler have double digit leads and look like they will advance to the 2nd round.

4:38--Jay Bilas considers Texas the best #4 seed in the tournament--Really? Are you sure it's not Duke?--Or is Duke a #1 this year?

4:35--CBS moved Survivor to Wednesday night because of the Big Dance. It's a good thing the tournament isn't on Fox, otherwise it might have been moved to Tuesday afternoon to accommodate American Idol.

4:28--Butler takes a 9 point lead behind two quick three pointer from Pete Campbell. Meanwhile Penn has cut the Texas A&M lead to 35-31. An Aggie loss could raise Memphis' chances of reaching the Final 8 from 2% to 8%.

4:19--Washington State pulls away in the 2nd half and wins 70-54. It looks like Oral Roberts will not be this year's George Mason--although considering that this year's George Mason isn't in the tournament, maybe they will be.

4:12--Dick Enberg informs us that two Belmont players had their jerseys stolen during the Atlantic Sun Tournament. I guess that means there are two Nashville youths striking fear in their playground opponents with their dark blue Belmont Bruins jerseys.

4:05--Am I the only one who feels weird hearing James Brown do play-by-play for an NCAA tournament game. I keep expecting him to blurt out "A dog who ate an entire strawberry short cake--next on World's Funniest!!!"

4:00--We still haven't seen a shot of Patrick Ewing cheering on his son in the Georgetown game. I wonder if his wife forbade him from appearing in public again until he loses 70 lbs.

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3:51--Texas A&M leads Penn 26-13. You really have to feel bad for the Quakers--They were expecting to get into the tournament and harass some poor major conference team with their slow deliberate Ivy League style--but they ended up playing the most slow, deliberate, and fundamentally sound team in the tournament. Now they'll be lucky to break 40 points.

3:43--Butler and Old Dominion head to halftime with ODU leading...20-19? It seems I was right that nobody wants to win this game. I think the line on the Pitt-Wright State game just went up 10 points.

3:35--Madness on Demand just cut to commercial three different time in the middle of an Oral Roberts possession. Somehow I was able to catch part of the Cougars 9-0 run to start the second half--they now lead by 7. Georgetown leads by 13 at the half and appears to have the game in control. For the record, Roy Hibbert ended up jumping twice the entire first half.

3:25--We get our first insightful stat of the day from CBS--Georgetown has now scored 14 points on its last 6 possessions to take a 10 point lead......and Jesse Sapp proceeds to drain a three making it 17 points on 7 possessions. If only the Chicago Bears offense was that prolific.

3:18--For the first time today I've got all four games on my computer and TV--and Penn still hasn't scored!! Meanwhile, Old Dominion has a three point lead over Butler in a game whose winner still wont earn any respect.

3:15--Texas A&M leads Penn 2-0 after two minutes in. I'm pulling for the shutout. I also want to note that A&M coach Billy Gillespie is such a workaholic that he once went 6 months without buying groceries. That's another true story.

3:06--Belmont is hanging with Georgetown in the early going--after 7 minutes they're tied at 11. Roy Hibbert is dominating the game in the paint and he hasn't even had to jump yet.

2:58--Butler and Old Dominion are set to tip off. This is an interesting game because in my mind it will be hard for both teams to get motivated. Butler is used to taking on a major conference team as an underdog, but now they find themselves in a position where they're expected to win. Additionally, Butler isn't even playing a team from a major conference--they have to play ODU. The same goes for Old Dominion--Instead of a chance for a memorable upset of a major conference team, they have to play Butler. Even if they win, nobody is going to remember them because when we look back on this tournament, we'll just assume that Butler sucked and didn't deserve to be a #5 seed--which by the way is partly true.

2:51--Jay Bilas informs us that John Thompson used to call Roy Hibbert "The Big Stiff." Thanks Jay.

2:48--Georgetown and Belmont are set to tip off, while Oral Roberts has a 13-10 lead over a Washington State team that looks likes a clone of the 2004 Gonzaga Bulldogs. Before I forget, I want to thank all the commenters who are with us today. You guys are the pink flower of my inspiration.

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2:40--Not Surprisingly, Louisville faces no big second half challenges from Stanford and cruises to a 78-58 victory. I've said it before an I'll say it again, with the exception of Oregon and UCLA, the Pac-10 sucks.

2:35--Oral Roberts leads Washington State 6-4 after four minutes. In ESPN.com's National Bracket over 21% of America picked the Golden Eagles to pull of the upset, while no more than 6% picked any of the other #14 seeds. Sure, Washington State isn't any good, but this is a case of people wanting to pick an upset and not really thinking what pick has the best expected value for their bracket.

2:25--Maryland dominates the paint in the second half and pulls away for a win. Thanks to Stanford deciding not to show up, we now have 6 minutes without competitive basketball. Cardinal coach Trent Johnson is now on my enemies list.

2:17--BC pulls away and then hangs on down the stretch for an 84-77 victory. 56% of America rejoices and begins to count their NCAA tournament pool winnings. Tyrese Rice finishes with 26, Dudley adds 19 and sheds no tears.

2:15--Mike Jones...For three!!!! Maryland leads by 7.

2:07--According to Deadspin, if you have a Mac and are trying to watch March Madness on Demand, you're screwed. All my years of stubbornly sticking to PCs are finally paying off.

2:00--Bambale Osby begins to take over as Maryland grabs a 4 point lead. Davidson is starting to look a little skaky, and a little more like a team that almost lost to Brandeis two years ago. (I couldn't hold out any longer without making a Brandeis reference.)

1:53--Kevin Harlan (I think) finally mentions that Greivis Vazquez played high school ball at Montrose Christian with Kevin Durrant. For some reason that has been one of the most unknown and underrated stories of the year. By the way I'm not sure how, but that team managed to lose two games.

1:51--BC leads by three with seven minutes left--unfortunately I can't watch the game because every time I click on the link to watch the video, Cbssportsline just send me to the college basketball scoreboard. Thanks guys.

1:44--The CBS cameras finally found Del Curry, I think for the first time. Somebody should be fired for having it take that long to find him, although in CBS's defense, I don't know what Del Curry looks like.

1:36--Davidson starts the second half on a 9-0 run to take an 8 points lead over Maryland. Who do they think they are--Miami?

1:33--Maryland heads into the locker needing to figure out a way to stop Stephen Curry. The Terps come out for the second half and promptly allow Curry to score five straight points.

1:27--Is it just me, or does it seem like when BC's John Oates eschewed his shaved head and grew his hair out he changed from in inside banger to a finesse shooter. Oates had three treys against Miami in the ACC tournament and he already has three in the first half today.

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1:18--Brook Lopez's draft stock is dropping so fast he might not even get an NBDL contract.

1:15--Stanford now trails by 28--It looks like the Cardinal didn't realize teams are allowed to guard and pressure them in the backcourt. I was wondering what the atmosphere would be like in Lexington--it's basically a home game for Louisville, but because Kentucky fans hate them it was possible there would be a huge anti-Louisville faction there--however that doesn't seem to be the case--its a home game for the Cardinals.

1:11--Maryland leads by 1 at the half, but they're a good second half team and I expect them to pull away when Davidson goes cold from behind the line. When I bumped into James Gist at Wawa two months ago I could see in his eyes that he wouldn't let the Terps lose in the first round.

1:04--Stanford now trail by 21, confirming my hypothesis that the Pac-10 sucks. Curry and Davidson are hanging with Maryland, and BC leads Texas Tech by 2 at the half. Dudley picked up his third foul so we'll have to see how that affects BC. By the way, Dudley is my pick to fill Adam Morrison's shoes and be the guy to cry on the court after (or right before) his team lose.

12:53--Davidson takes a 32-27 lead. Just for fun let's take a look at some of the differences between #13 Davidson and #2 Memphis (Just a heads up--a theme of today is going to be comparing Memphis to all the other team in the tournament that won a lot games and didn't beat anybody good). Memphis lost to Georgia Tech, Arizona, and Tennessee. They beat Kentucky, Oklahoma and Gonzaga. Davidson lost to Michigan, Missouri, Duke, and Appalachian State. Their big wins were Mississippi State, Old Dominion, and Missouri State. Memphis' resume is a little bit more impressive, but not a lot more. The last few years the committee has done a better jobs of including mid-majors, but now they need to do a good job seeding them. Davidson and Winthrop should be somewhere in the 6-9 range, not where they are now.

12:46--Stephen Curry hits another three to give Davidson a 28-27 lead. Curry wanted to follow his dad Del to Virginia Tech, but Hokies coach Seth Greenberg only offered him the chance to walk on. Curry ended up at Davidson and he's become one of the best freshman in the country.

12:38--Louisville has jumped out to an early 17-6 lead against Stanford. The Cardinals have been playing much better since freshman Derrick Caracter returned to the lineup. Caracter had been suspended on two separate occasions for behavior problems, and his mom even sent him a Dunkin' Donuts job application because that's where she thought he would end up. That's a true story.

12:30---Well, I've already lost my internet connection six times since the tournament started so that's good news. As for the games, Davidson looks like they came ready to play. Also Will Bowers, Maryland's token big white stiff, was just rejected by a mid-major center for the first time today--The over-under for the game is five.

12:22--And we're underway...Ekene Ibekwe lays it in to give Maryland a 2-0 lead. Good thing I have him on my tournament fantasy team.

It’s March Madness time folks. That’s the only explanation for why I’m sitting here with 150 beers (thanks Costco), a stack of pizzas (thanks 5-5-5 deal), and all day to watch basketball because I lack a full time job (thanks liberal arts education). My name is Eric—for some reason everyone here at WBRS likes to call me Easy—and I along with a few others will be your resident bloggers for the day. You may ask what the occasion is that would have us live blogging 12 hours of basketball. I’ll tell you the occasion. Today we celebrate the one year anniversary of cbssportsline.com’s March Madness on Demand—the extraordinary system that allows us to watch every game in the tournament. It’s easily one of the top five greatest innovations of all time—I would rank it #3, right in between the wheel and the E-Z pass. So sit back, relax, get your bookie on the phone, and enjoy the day here at WBRS.

To help you out today, here is a link included the schedule for all of today's game, courtesy of Deadspin.

The 12:20 PM games include:

Maryland Terrapins (24-8) vs. Davidson Wildcats (29-4)
Boston College Eagles (20-11) vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders (21-12)
Louisville Cardinals (23-9) vs. Stanford Cardinal (18-12)


Stay tuned...

We are about to embark upon perhaps the greatest yet tiresome and ludicrous feat ever attempted by this humble, little blog of ours.

We will try (and succeed!) to live-blog the greatest day in sports for 12 straight hours. Beginning with the 12:20 PM games all the way until the 9:40 PM games.

In order to do this, a little bit of preparation is required...

From a semantics standpoint we purchased the March Madness package from Direct TV, which will actually allow us to view each and every game.

Now to the grind. We will only leave our chair to use the bathroom and pay the Chinese delivery man (beef and broccoli), Italian delivery man (pizza), and our roommate who will be making several grocery store runs for beer, chips, and perhaps some Chris Simms homemade spinach dip. Other than that we will spend the rest of our time live-blogging and most likely cringing as our brackets are prematurely dismantled on day 1.

So please join us and share your comments, brag about the upsets you predicted, and the cinderellas that screwed you over once again. It should be a fun time!

This offseason the AFC East teams have stocked up, well, except for the Bills.

Buffalo Bills: Unless a miracle occurs, the Bills will be last in the AFC East next year. They lost Nate Clements and London Fletcher-Baker to Free Agency and will miss them dearly. They also traded away their top Running Back, Willis McGahee, for two draft picks this year and one for next year. They have added some depth to their offensive line with the additions of Derrick Dockery, Langston Walker, and Jason Whittle. Hopefully for them they will have better protection for JP Losman if they want him to have any chance of succeeding, but their defense needs some help after losing their best corner.

Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins should have a healthy Daunte Culpepper next season and they may be second-place contenders in the East if Culpepper returns to form. They did lose Wes Welker who performed as their best receiver for much of last year and they have lost backup Running Back Sammy Morris, though neither should be a significant loss. With a healthy Ronnie Brown and healthy Culpepper their offense should be fine. On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins added Joey Porter and made their defense a bit scary. They already had the 4th best defense in the league last year and with the addition of Porter they are even better for next season. Porter may be on the downside of his career, but in Miami he will play alongside Zack Thomas and Jason Taylor. They also added K Jay Feely to replace Olindo Mare, TE David Martin, RB Cory Schlesinger, and S Cameron Worrell. Only Martin and Feely should be significant factors next year.

New York Jets: The Jets upgraded their featured Running Back in the trade for a 1200 yard back named Thomas Jones. If Chad Pennington stays healthy again, this team should improve on last year's 10 wins. They have also added RB Darian Barnes, DE Kenyon Coleman, DE Bobby Hamilton, and OT Wade Smith. Bottom line is that their new running back is WAY better than anything they got from Leon Washington and Kevan Barlow last season. This team will make the playoffs in 2007.

Of course, the Patriots will win the division, though it will be a tougher task this season. Scroll down for Patriots offseason news.

Editor's Note: I did this on my old site last year, and I had my best finish in a college pool yet, finishing just points out of first place. Since I've now moved over here and don't have the chance to talk college hoops, I have to do this here. This is how every game will shake out. Mark my words. -Pradamaster

St. Louis Bracket

FIRST ROUND
Florida 98, Jackson State 54
Purdue 62, Arizona 54
Old Dominion 70, Butler 55
Maryland 67, Davidson 66
Winthrop 66, Notre Dame 62
Oregon 69, Miami (OH) 61
UNLV 77, Georgia Tech 68
Wisconsin 66, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 56

Notes: Arizona has the talent, but has no fight left in them...Old Dominion's arguably a better team than Butler, so that won't be much of an upset at all...Drew Nicholas hits a running buzzer beater to give Maryland an improbable one-point victory over UNC-Wilmington. Oh, this isn't 2003? So replace Nicholas with DJ Strawberry, and UNC-Wilmington with Davidson...Winthrop will break through one of these years, and Notre Dame's the type of team who relies too much on the three to put them away...Georgia Tech has one true road win all season. Don't pick them for an upset.


SECOND ROUND

Florida 88, Purdue 69
Maryland 70, Old Dominion 65
Winthrop 75, Oregon 68
Wisconsin 58, UNLV 55

Notes: I'm not a fan of Oregon. They started off really well with wins over UCLA and Georgetown, but have been so-so recently