Smell That?

The snow and ice is melting, and Spring has arrived, and that can mean only one thing: It's time for baseball! More later on the subject.

How bout that?

I am an optimistic, unrealistic SC fan, and not even I called that one. USC over Texas, everybody's final four team out in the terrible thirty two? I guess it's fitting that Nick Young avenged the Trojans Rose Bowl loss caused by Vince Young.

TV's Hottest Drama

Imagine a reality show that has more drama than “Grey’s Anatomy,” more action than “24,” a more talented cast than the final rounds of “American Idol,” and more unpredictable twists than “Prison Break.” No wonder that March Madness is heading towards its 69th season and still hasn’t been cancelled.
The Big Dance, or March Madness, is the 65-team college basketball tournament that eventually crowns a national champion. The tournament kicked off Tuesday with the “play in game” where the 65th and 64th rated teams in the country play. The loser of the game is eliminated, and the field is trimmed to 64 teams. The remaining teams are split up into four “regional” tournaments, of 16 teams each. At the end of it all, there is a legitimate national champion and a plethora of upsets, surprises, and Cinderella stories.
The regional tournaments begin today, with first round games at several locations around the nation. Games will be televised on CBS.
What makes the tournament, and collegiate athletics in general, so wonderful to behold is the passion, the intensity, and the heart that every player on the court plays every second of the game with. They play with such emotion, because the majority of the athletes, if they are in their senior year, know that their team’s last game, will truly be their last organized game. College players may not have the talent that the NBA players have, but if talent were measured in heart and love of the game, as opposed to skill, the average college senior could take down any professional athlete, any time, anywhere.
College players truly play the game for the sake of playing the game, representing their school, and just having fun (what a concept.) They know that the name on the front of their jersey is worth a bunch more than the name on the back, something that flashy millionaire pros should really take note of as they forget how to pass the ball while receiving paychecks fatter than a walrus.
Yes, most pro players were once college players, but professional athletes just have a different mindset than they did when they were in college. The biggest difference between an athlete in the pros and in college, what they are playing for. A pro athlete represents their team, but they could easily be traded away, they have next to no choice of where they play, at least when they’re first drafted, and they rarely even live in “their city.”
A college player has a much more poetic motivation. They play for their school, their hometown (even if only for four years), and they don’t play for the money. College players don’t transfer to their rival school, the way pro athletes sometimes sign contract with teams that “their city” hates, such as baseball’s Johnny Damon moved from the Boston Red Sox to the New York Yankees, a move that Benedict Arnold himself would scoff at.
Because the players play with such intensity, no game is ever over ‘til it’s over. Underdogs often come out victorious, despite what the rankings may show. TV analysts, columnists, and every day fans alike take part in a ritual known as “bracketology,” wherein we use a chart to try and predict which teams will win individual games, and fill out the brackets, to attempt, usually with little success, to predict the national champion.
TV stations like ESPN offer hours of highlight and statistic shows, where pundits attempt, with slightly more success than Joe Fan, although slightly being the operative word, to fill out the brackets.
This year’s tournament seems to be as promising as ever. Defending champion University of Florida started off the year hot, but then stalled at the end of the year, but will still probably earn a berth. Ohio State and star freshman Greg Oden, and Texas, led by freshman phenom Kevin Durant, both look to make a dent at this year’s tournament. UCLA just had one of its best seasons in the post Wooden era (the period of time after the retirement of legendary coach John Wooden), and also seems set to make another visit to the Final Four.
Undoubtedly, there will be some team who everybody will claim they thought would make it, but in reality nobody ever heard of, who has some success in the tournament. Last year, that team was George Mason, a small private school from Virginia who came out of the blue and made it to the national semifinal game.
The only thing you can predict about the NCAA tournament, is that it will be one wild ride. As for my predictions, I will conveniently wait until after the tournament and either boast or change the subject accordingly.

Congrats Moody

Acording to Head Coach Angelo Gasca, Pete Carrol personally phoned Venice High School before Junior Day in regards to Moody McNeal. After Carrol called, Moody went into the office, and Gasca called Carrol. Carrol then personally offered McNeal a scholarship.

Again!

What in the name of basketball does the NBA have against Kobe Bryant? They suspended him for fouling Marko Jaric on a play that even Jaric said he thought was unintentional! What is wrong with these No Brain Association people?!