IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN

The time when my wife and editor, Annie-O, beats me soundly in the NCAA brackets. This year, she hid her bracket until I picked mine, because...well, she's mean. She thinks I would have cheated.  After losing for eight straight years, shouldn't I get some kind of  benefit? Apparently not.

Just for the record, I picked Louisville to go all the way, based on a suffocating defense. Either they have found a way to get six men on the court at once, without the refs noticing, or at least four of their players have three arms. Yes, I know, I know, who does Annie-O like? It's Georgetown.

***MAYBE I'LL PICK ON THE WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT INSTEAD***
I don't watch a lot of the women's  game, but I have seen some of the better teams play. The four #1 seeds are  Baylor, Notre Dame, Stanford and Connecticut., with Baylor being the overall top seed. Baylor has Brittany Griner, a 6 foot 8 inch center who dominates every game. She's so big, that she really doesn't have to jump to get rebounds or shoot. Analysts say she doesn't just score under the basket, but she has an outside game, too. She does score from 10-12 feet, but again, she doesn't really jump. They're just standing push shots. Doesn't matter, Baylor will still take it all.

***LET'S PLAY THE NAME GAME***
There are some different teams in the Women's Division. We have Stetson, Quinnipiac, Marist College, Liberty, Hampton and Tennessee-Martin, to name a few. They have a Middle Tennessee, too, a name I picked on in the Men's Division. The Women have gone one step further. The have a Central Michigan, too.

The nicknames are a little different in some cases. There are some who use the same designation as the men, like the Syracuse Orange or the Oklahoma Sooners. Some just feminize the names, such as the Lady Vols or The Lady Bears or the Oklahoma St. Cowgirls,  Some names border on being sexist, such as the Marist Red Foxes, although the ladies probably don't mind being called a fox. How about the Delaware Blue Hens? Sounds a little like some sad women to me. The Navy, in it's infinite wisdom, doesn't go in for this feminine stuff. The ladies who play for Navy are called Midshipmen. But maybe that's better than being a Lady Grizz if you play for Montana.
There are names which make no sense; Stetson's team are called the Hatters. Their logo does show a stetson sitting on a block S, so there is some method here. Chattanooga calls their women Mocs. What the hell is a Moc?

***OTHER NOTES***
Here is where the men will always shine brightly, though. James Madison just had one of their players, Rayshawn Goins, arrested for Disorderly Conduct over the weekend. The problem is that Goins leads the team in scoring AND rebounding. What to do, what to do? You can't sanction that kind of behavior, but this IS the NCAAs. James Madison figured it out. They suspended Goins for the FIRST HALF of the game against LIU Brooklyn. Whew, that was a close one.

Mark Teixeira may end up having season ending surgery on his wrist, which is more bad news for the Yanks. Right now they are looking at a converted outfielder,  or a struggling rookie to play first base. Derek Lee has refused their offer, so things are really getting tight. I wonder if Joe Pepitone is available?

Dice-K Matsuzaka couldn't make the Cleveland Indians roster. He'll start the season in the minors. So much for old Gyro-Ball.

The Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico will play for the WBC Championship tonight. Then it's over with.

***THEY SAID IT***
"Pablo Sandoval apparently has a mild elbow injury. SF Giants just hope the doctor tells him to stop lifting burritos, burgers, pizza…."  -- Janice Hough
" According to marine biologists, many sharks take a break each spring to focus on eating, having sex and swimming in warm water. If we're talking San Jose Sharks, you can add golf."  -- RJ Currie
"President Obama attended his daughter Sasha's basketball game. It's tough to guard the Obama daughter. Whenever you foul her, 10 Secret Service agents wrestle you to the ground."  -- Brad Dickson
" I would naturally be offended by the Leafs raising ticket prices, if I wasn't already offended by the prices they charge now."  -- Steve Simmons
"What, Saint Louis won the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament? Hey, why not — Nashville plays in the Pacific Coast League, doesn't it?"  -- Dwight Perry
"In the Canada/Mexico basebrawl game in Phoenix, Canadian coach Larry Walker was hit with water bottle and a ball thrown from the stands. Security ejected these two fans. They were met outside by Arizona Diamondback scouts who immediately signed them to minor league pitching contracts."  -- TC Chong
" According to reports, Lamar Odom may have fallen asleep during a custody hearing. You think that's bad? I remember when Odom played with the Dallas Mavericks and once nodded off during a fastbreak."  -- Brad Dickson
"The exhibition season continues in the MLB. Teams use these games to work on the squeeze. And that's just at the ticket window."  -- Alan Ray

"First Elvis Dumervil’s late fax, now, according to the Patriots, Wes Welker’s agent is the reason the WR isn’t back with New England. Hard to believe there’s been this much bad publicity about agents and Scott Boras isn’t involved."  -- Janice Hough
"The San Antonio Express calls the Dallas Cowboys "the Kardashians of the NFL - with no discernible talent, famous for being famous." Not to mention a lot of dated athletes."  -- RJ Currie

CP-