Taking It All In..... - 3/30/11

So, I think my head is still spinning about the Final Four. I have had a few days to digest it all but it's just not sinking in. My bracket (along with most of America's) has been ravaged beyond recognition. I lost my Orangemen before the Tournament's second weekend. I lost Duke (For as much as I hate the Blue Devils, I still had them going to the Final Four.) and Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. I lost Kansas (my national champion pick) in the Elite 8. Naturally, none of these losses sting more than the ugly 'Cuse loss to Marquette but the rest of my bracket still pains me nonethless.

Let's take a look at some of the numbers. This is the first time in NCAA Tournament history that there will not be a #1 or #2 seed in th efinal Four. Kentucky is a 4. UConn is a 3. Butler is an 8. VCU is an 11. The matchup between Butler and VCU is the highest combined seeding matchup in Final Four history. VCU is the first #11 since George Mason (2006) to reach the Final Four. There are tons of other numbers but the one stat that I am still stuck on is this one:

The 13-year span from Kentucky's last Final Four appearance (1998) to this year is the longest Final Four drought in UK hoops history. 13 years. That's it. How many schools would kill for a history like that? Oh, and the Wildcats took home the national title in '98.

Some other thoughts:

1. Recently, I was having a debate with a handful of people about what motivates a team. What gets players fired up to play? What gives players that extra push when they need it most? How do coaches tap into the internal psyche of their players and gain that competitive edge? A key moment that kept coming up was the Harvard/Princeton basketball game from a few weeks back. Harvard defeated their fellow Ivy Leaguers, forcing a one-game playoff for the League title and its automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament (The Ivy doesn't play a conference tournament and doesn't participate in the 1-AA football playoffs either. As the Crimson players celebrated and their fans stormed the court, Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson made his players stay on the floor and watch the celebration unfold. One week later, the Tigers took down Harvard in an exciting finish, 63-62, on a neutral court at Yale. Princeton would eventually bow to Kentucky in their first round (I know it's technically a second round game now but I refust to acknowledge those First Four games as an actual first round. They are still play-in games.) NCAA Tourney game, 59-57, but the strategy worked. The Princeton players used the Harvard celebration as motivation to stick it to them in the one-game playoff and they did just that...or so it sould seem. There are so many similar anecdotes and I'm sure psychologists and scientists everywhere would be willing to weigh in on this idea as somewhat of a hoax. However, anyone who has ever played and/or coached a sport knows that these little mind games are actually quite important. And the word "important," in this case, is a tremendous understatement.

2. It's hard to look at the Ohio State football program the same way. Since Jim Tressel came on board the Buckeyeshave been the class of the Big Ten, routinely taking home conference championships and making BCS appearances. With their recent domincance, many quickly forget how John Cooper's Buckeyes were regularly "put out to pasture" by Michigan. There were many who were excited to see Ohio State finallly beat an SEC team, outlasting Arkansas, 31-26, in the Sugar Bowl. There was a cloud over that game, of course, with Terrelle Pryor and company having their suspensions put on hold until the start of next season.

And now, there's Jim Tressel. I'm not a big Ohio State fan but I have long been a fan of Tressel. Maybe it's just the sweater vest that throws you off the scent but he always came across as one of the good guys on the sidelines. Tressel was the toast of the town in 2002 when he took the Buckeyes to the Fiesta Bowl and defeated the defending-champion Miami Hurricanes to capture the BCS National Championship. Fast forward eight seasons, Tressel plays five "ineligible" players in the Sugar Bowl, barely holds on for the win, knows about their transgressions, covers them up, backtracks in interviews, and has generally become a public relations nightmare. Ohio State may be okay with the 5-game suspension for both Tressel and the players but don't think for one second that the NCAA is done investigating the issue. Don't be surprised if THE Ohio State University ends up canning THE head coach before all of this is said and done.

3. Tennessee moved quickly. Just a few days before its NCAA Tournament opener against Michigan, Vols athletic director Mike Hamilton went on the air and didn't exactly give basketball coach Bruce Pearl a vote of confidence. The Vols then went out and laid an absolute clunker against the Wolverines. Days later, Tennessee fires Pearl and hires 39-year-old Cuonzo Martin, the head coach at Missouri State for the last three seasons. Martin was 61-41 at Missouri State, highlighted by this season's 26-9 finish in which he earned the school's first regular-season Missouri Valley Conference title. Martin was also an assistant at Purdue for eight seasons under both Gene Keady and Matt Painter (who is rumored to be a candidate for the Missouri job.).

Martin brings great energy and a powerful personal story (He is a cancer survivor.) to Knoxville. Hopefully he will be able to remove some of the stain that has engulfed the Vols' program. Despite the poor record of compliance, Pearl did accomplish some things in his six seasons at Tennessee: 145-61 record, the school's first-ever #1 ranking, the school's first SEC regular-season title in over forty years, and the school's first Elite Eight appearance.

4. MLB Opening Day is tomorrow. The Yankees host the Detroit Tigers at 1pm to kick off the MLB season on ESPN (The Mets open up in Florida on Friday.). There are plenty of storylines to pay attention to but here are a select few: Will Chase Utley or Johan Santana make significant contributions to their respective teams before the All-Star Break? Can the young rotation of the Oakland Athletics surprise the AL West? Is Don Mattingly the answer as manager of the Dodgers? Will the Brewers all-in (trading for Shaun Marcum & Zach Greinke) approach pay off? how will the Braves fare in their first season in two decades without the venerable Bobby Cox managing from the dugout?

Speaking of managers, keep an eye on Buck Showalter and his Baltimore Orioles. No one (me included) is saying they're going to jump into the thick of the AL East race. But after playing near-.600 ball aftger his hiring last season, the O's should be an interesting, scrappy, efficient bunch to watch.

5. The NFL lockout continues. People everywhere moan and groan. I do love the NFL but thank goodness I am a far bigger college football fan. The lockout has pushed spring football to the forefront. Colleges are getting coverage like never before. I cannot wait until ESPN gives us a full slate of spring games in April and early May.

6. The joyride that has been the second half of the New Jersey Devils' season has almost officially come to an end. Though "Jersey's Team" hasn't officially been eliminated, they are 12 points out of the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with just seven games (one in hand on the 8th-place Buffalo Sabres) left to play. Two points by the Sabres at any point over their next six games will officially eliminate the Devils from the playoff race. The "One Game At a Time" approach brought great success and many of us are hoping that head coach Jacques Lemaire decides to come back for one more season. Lemaire has looked reinvigorated since returning to the Devils' bench in December. Perhaps he will stay for one more season and ride off into the sunset with goaltender Martin Brodeur, who is entering the final year of his contract next season. This will be the first spring since the 1995-96 season that there will be no playoff hockey in Jersey. There are no words to describe all of the anger and frustration I feel about this. However, to look back and think that this team was 10-29-2 at one point and that we would even entertain the notion of sneaking into the playoffs is crazy. Since hitting rock bottom before the New Year, the Devils have gone 24-7-3. Unbelievable.

7. WrestleMania XXVII is just four days away. Still can't believe that The Miz is the reigning WWE Champion and will get to main event WrestleMania. But I give him a lot of credit. It's clear that he has taken his role quite seriously and has put in the requisite work to succeed. He is the top heel on the RAW roster right now. And Triple H is back!!!!! Can you tell how excited I am? As much as I respect The Undertaker and his undefeated streak, here's hoping that the "Cerebral Assassin" ends 'Taker's streakand hangs that first loss on him.

Some WrestleMania predictions (or hopes): Edge retains the World Heavyweight Championship over Alberto Del Rio with some help from Christian; John Cena becomes the new WWE Champion by beating The Miz and then gets hits with a Rock Bottom courtesy of guest host The Rock; Triple H defeats The Undertaker and ends "The Streak"; CM Punk defeats Randy Orton; Jerry Lawler beats Michael Cole then guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin hits all parties involved with the Stone Cold Stunner. Rey Mysterio defeats Cody Rhodes; John Morrison, Trish Stratus, & Snooki defeat Dolph Ziggler & Lay-Cool; Daniel Bryan regains the United States Title by beating Sheamus; The Corre defeats the Big Show and company in an 8-man tag match.

Random Moment: April 6, 1992
Over 50,000 fans pack the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the National Championship Game as the defending-champion Duke Blue Devils took on the freshmen "Fab Five" and the Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines held a 31-30 halftime lead but the Blue Devils turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, limiting Michigan to just 29 percent shooting. Grant Hill had a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Duke defeated Michigan, 71-51, to repeat as National Champions. The "Fab Five" of Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, and Jimmy King would return to the National Title game in 1993, falling to North Carolina, 77-71, after Chris Webber's ill-fated "timeout" technical foul.

Until next time.

-Meech