Monday, March 12, 2012

MARCH MADNESS STARTS NOW

***MARCH MADNESS***
The ESPN analysts didn't go out on too many limbs when airing their picks in the tournament. Only Digger Phelps went off the board when picking the final four, while the rest of the experts picked the four #1 seeds to make it to the final four. I can't see this happening. There are always upsets, Cinderella teams that make a big splash, such as Butler. That's what I like about college basketball: nobody gets overwhelmed by numbers. You can only put five guys on the floor at once and you can't suit up 110 guys and bully smaller colleges.

Hopefully, the Cincinnati game taught Syracuse that you can no longer give away the first 20 minutes of the game and then steal the win in the last five minutes. The teams now are too good for that to work. Syracuse's strength is it's depth. Let's hope Boeheim doesn't panic and keeps a 10-man rotation, so his players remain fresh when you have to play two games in a three day period.

Nicknames are going to be a problem, too. You can't rely on the nickname to let people know who you're rooting for.
You're rooting for the Bears? Not good enough: that could also mean the Bearcats or the Golden Bears.
Go Wildcats! Wait, is that Davidson, Kentucky or Kansas State?
I'm a Cardinal fan. Great, is that Louisville or Lamar?
Spartans all the way. I'm rooting for Michigan State, too. No, I mean Norfolk State.
The Gaels are the best. Okay, we've been thru this already - Iona or St. Marys?
It won't help to root for the Bulldogs, either. Gonzaga is in Spokane, Washington, while N. Carolina-Ashville is, well, you know. Thank heavens, Georgia's not in it, too.
Maybe you should just root for the Xavier Musketeers or the Wichita St. Shockers, or even the Mississippi Valley St Delta Devils. They might go too far, but at least people will know who your team is.

***OH YEAH, BASEBALL***
It's still too early to tell anything, except you can see why most of the players with numbers in the 70s and 80s, will be spending time in the minors. Pitchers are still only throwing 2 or 3 innings and closers are forced to pitch in the 4th inning so they can face actual major leaguers in an effort to to properly evaluate their progress. So, we'll give it another week.

AJ Burnett is back in action. Because of his eye socket injury, he can only play catch for a while and had his first session this weekend. But he seems to have made some progress over the winter. Out of 50 tosses, he only threw four wild pitches.

If you're a true Yankee fan and a Syracuse Orange fan, you have a tough decision ahead of you. The last six times Kentucky has won the National Championship, the Yanks have won the World Series. Now what do we do?

***THEY SAID IT***
"In tennis, Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Akgul Amanmuradova in the inaugural Spell Check Classic." - Brad Dickson
"Alex Rodriguez, 36, is taking on a leadership role in the Yankees clubhouse. Remember when he and Cameron Diaz were a couple of crazy kids sharing popcorn?" -- Cam Hutchinson
"Edna Geisler, 69, of Commerce Township, Mich., says she's a prisoner on her own property because of an aggressive assailant: a 25-pound wild turkey. Or as John Daly calls it, my dream drink." -- Dwight Perry
"Former New York Met, Lenny Dykstra, was sentenced to three years in prison; he had the option to serve his time as the Mets batting coach, but he chose prison instead." -- Alex Kaseberg
"Last week, former Cal QB Joe Ayoob broke a Guinness World Record by throwing a paper airplane 226 feet, 10 inches. Brett Favre tried to top him, but the airplane was intercepted and run back for a touchdown." -- Janice Hough
"Major League Baseball has begun its exhibition season. Who is the one guy who usually leads the entire league in stealing? The man selling $9 beers." -- Alan Ray
"It's annoying how the media obsesses on Tiger Woods. Especially when there are so many other great golfers such as (note to self: look up names of other great golfers)." -- Greg Cote
"The New Orleans 'bounty' story will not go away. The NFL is contemplating punishment, including requiring the Saints to be renamed the Sinners." -- Reggie Hayes

CP-

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