I may have forgotten how to blog. I’ve been away for about 10 days now and have therefore missed a good deal. I hit on 3/4 of my pre-conference season final four prediction. That makes me feel better for having an absolutely heinous bracket that included USC going to the final four and Davidson losing in Round 1. As this week progresses, I will give out my own personal awards for the tourney, which has been very good thus far. Today though is reserved for my MLB Season Preview, which I have been quietly excited for for quite some time.

In regards to my Round 2 Mock Draft, I promise, it will happen before the draft does. It just likely won’t happen this week.

MLB EXTRA INNINGS Free Preview on DIRECTV. How happy does that sentence make me? Answer: Very. Currently Watching: Diamondbacks @ Reds.

For now: ONTO THE 2008 SEASON.

We’re going to break it down by division, into specific categories. Those Categories Are:

-Player Integral To Their Success
-Biggest Question Mark
-Ceiling ( Potential World Series Champion (PWSC), Potential Pennant Winner (PPW), Shot at the playoffs (SATP), Improving (I), Not Much To Be Excited About (NM), and Doormat (D)
-Overall Breakdown of team.

(Teams will be listed in order of the place I see them finishing in their division).

AL EAST
1. Boston Red Sox
-Player Integral To Their Success: Josh Beckett
-Biggest Question Mark: Daisuke Matsuzaka
-Ceiling: PWSC
Breakdown: The Red Sox lineup is solid and I think their bullpen is as well. The addition of David Aardsma will really help this team. If Josh Beckett can come back by early May and be healthy for the rest of the season, they’ll have a real good shot at winning the World Series again. They need Daisuke to step up and be a number 1 quality starter. He’s being paid like one and needs to perform that way.

2. New York Yankees
-Player Integral To Their Success: Ian Kennedy
-Biggest Question Mark: Their Young Pitchers
-Ceiling: PWSC
Breakdown: Much like the Red Sox, I have no concerns about their lineup. They have practically zero holes offensively, to the point where they can have a guy get hurt or slump and still be productive. With Joba-God and Rivera at the back end of the bullpen, they’re solid. It really comes down to Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy’s ability to be big game pitchers in big game situations. You’re being slightly too hopeful if you think that both can be electric. I think Hughes will be. I have my questions about Kennedy.

3. Tampa Bay Rays
-Player Integral To Their Success: Scott Kazmir
-Biggest Question Mark: Bullpen. What else is new?
-Ceiling: I
Breakdown: I make no secret of the fact that I love this team and have for some time. James Shields has shown flashes of being a good starter in the Major Leagues and I like the addition of Matt Garza and subtraction of Delmon Young (and the subtraction of Elijah Dukes). Kazmir is integral to their finishing in 3rd in the division however. Like Beckett with the Sox, the Rays need him to come back healthy to be successful. The bullpen is not going to win them any games. It hopefully won’t lose them many. They’re on the rise and will not finish in 5th in the East.

4. Toronto Blue Jays
-Player Integral to Their Success: Roy Halladay
-Biggest Question Mark: Offense
-Ceiling: NM
Breakdown: They may have the best bullpen in the division. Their offense, however, beyond Alexis Rios and Vernon Wells does not leave me very impressed. If they can keep Roy Halladay healthy, they’ll contend with the Rays for 3rd in the division, but any dreams of making a playoff run are just that. Dreams.

5. Baltimore Orioles
-Player Integral to Their Success: Success?
-Biggest Question Mark: The Team
-Ceiling: D
Breakdown: This team is horrible and has no hope of finishing in 4th in this division.

AL CENTRAL
1. Detroit Tigers
-Player Integral to Their Success: Todd Jones
-Biggest Question Mark: Todd Jones
-Ceiling: PWSC
Breakdown: The best lineup assembled in my lifetime. Once Curtis Granderson comes back and they go Granderson, Polanco, Sheffield, Ordonez, Cabrera, Guillen, Renteria, Rodriguez, Jones in the order, no one will be able to stop them. Their rotation does not scare me, because they can afford to not be spot on all the time. The only concern I have is Todd Jones at the end of the bullpen closing out the occasional close game. Other than that, this is the best team in baseball. Hands down.

2. Cleveland Indians
-Player Integral to Their Success: Joe Borowski
-Biggest Question Mark: Joe Borowski
-Ceiling: PWSC
Breakdown: If not for the team above them, they would be the best team in baseball. They’re solid everywhere except for the back of the bullpen with Joe Borowski who is a blown save waiting to happen.

3. Chicago White Sox
-Player Integral to Their Success: Orlando Cabrera
-Biggest Question Mark: Their Starting Rotation 3-5
-Ceiling: SATP
Breakdown: I don’t have questions about Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez. I do have questions about John Danks, Jose Contreras, and Gavin Floyd. They only have a shot at the playoffs if they win the Wild Card and all three of those guys have +.500 records. I don’t really see that happening. OC is integral to their success because they need a culture change. If he can bring that and make the team fun again, like in 2005, they’ll have a shot.

4. Kansas City Royals
-Player Integral to Their Success: Gil Meche
-Biggest Question Mark: Alex Gordon
-Ceiling: I
Breakdown: Like the Rays, they’re not going to the playoffs this year, but they’ve started to do the things necessary to win and be productive. The bullpen is serviceable. The lineup is decent (so long as Alex Gordon can live up to his potential). The rotation is iffy. They need Gil Meche (a number 4 starter on the Indians and Tigers) to be an ace in their rotation if they want to approach .500 this year. Give them two years and they’ll be a PPW.

5. Minnesota Twins
-Player Integral to Their Success: Delmon Young
-Biggest Question Mark: A very thin rotation
-Ceiling: D
Breakdown: It’s amazing how much they’ve fallen, but they’re easily the worst team in this division. Livan Hernandez, who may be 45 years old, is their opening day starter and after that, you throw a dart at Kevin Slowey (the worst name for a pitcher ever), Scott Baker, and Boof Bonser (Second worst name for a pitcher/person ever). Their offense is not very good beyond Justin Morneau. They need Delmon Young to be a very productive hitter to even sniff 3rd in this division.

AL WEST
1. Seattle Mariners
-Player Integral to Their Success: King Felix
-Biggest Question Mark: Everyone after King Felix
-Ceiling: SATP
Breakdown: The lineup isn’t great. The rotation, beyond their two aces isn’t either. The bullpen, beyond JJ Putz might not be stellar. However, neither is this division.

2. Los Angeles Angels of California Angels of Anaheim California
-Player Integral to Their Success: Jered Weaver
-Biggest Question Mark: Pitching Health
-Ceiling: SATP
Breakdown: They’re not far from or ahead of Seattle, only because of the Lackey/Escobar injuries. They could be a a potential pennant winner if they had both of those guys at the head of the rotation. However, they’ll need Jered Weaver to step up and be an ace and Ervin Santana to figure out how to pitch well on the road to win the West. Their lineup and bullpen is better than Seattle’s however their starters are not.

3. Texas Rangers
-Player Integral To Their Success: They won’t have very much success
-Biggest Question Mark: Surprise! Pitching.
-Ceiling: NM
Breakdown: Their pitching is not very good.

4. Oakland A’s
-Player Integral to Their Success: They also won’t have very much success.
-Biggest Question Mark: Their increasingly buffoonish General Manger.
-Ceiling: D
Breakdown: Travis Buck, Daric Barton, Mike Sweeney, Jack Cust, Jack Hannahan, Mark Ellis, Bobby Crosby, Chris Denorfia, and Kurt Suzuki. That’s who they’ll trot out to hit in a League with the following pitchers: Erik Bedard, Felix Hernandez, Josh Beckett, Roy Halladay, Scott Kazmir, Justin Verlander, and John Lackey. Strikeouts galore. Oh, and their pitching is also not very good. But hey, they’ll have a high team OBP.

NL EAST
1. Philadelphia Phillies
-Player Integral to Their Success: Brett Myers
-Biggest Question Mark: Bullpen
-Ceiling: PPW
Breakdown: The lineup is nowhere near as good as the Tigers in the AL, but it’s by far the best in the National League. I don’t love their pitching rotation outside of Cole Hamels, who should be their number 1 starter. If Brett Myers can make his success equal his stuff, they’ll be a great team. Otherwise, they’ll fall back in have to compete with a number of potential pennant winning teams.

2. New York Mets
-Player Integral to Their Success: Jose Reyes
-Biggest Question Mark: Team Health
-Ceiling: PPW
Breakdown: Their rotation is much better than the Phillies. Their lineup, however, is not. If they can stay healthy, and that’s a big “if” they can win the pennant. As a slight side note, I would like to see Jose Reyes be Jose Reyes and not a watered down version of the catalyst that he is for the Mets. In case you’re not aware, Jose will not be teaching Spanish on the Shea Stadium video board, he will not be dancing, he will not be himself. This is all part of some idiot’s plan to make Jose Reyes a “serious ballplayer.” Jose Reyes is seriously good. Let him be himself.

3. Atlanta Braves
-Player Integral To Their Success: Jair Jurrjens
-Biggest Question Mark: Bullpen
-Ceiling: SATP
Breakdown: They’re not as good as you’d be led to believe they are.

4. Washington Nationals
-Player Integral to Their Success: No success.
-Biggest Question Mark: The Worst Rotation in Baseball. Worse than the Orioles’.
-Ceiling: D
Breakdown: Despite a walk-off win last night, this team isn’t going to contend for anything this year. Their rotation is horrible, especially as banged up as it is right now, with Shaun Hill out.

5. Florida Marlins
-Player Integral to Their Success: No success.
-Biggest Question Mark: A really terrible lineup beyond HanRam and Uggla.
-Ceiling: D
Breakdown: They’ll probably win the World Series next year, because they’re due. Just not this year.

NL CENTRAL
1. Chicago Cubs
-Player Integral To Their Success: Rich Hill
-Biggest Question Mark: Kerry Wood
-Ceiling: PPW
Breakdown: A solid lineup. A good rotation. If Rich Hill can be a solid number 3 they’ll likely run away with this division. I’d like to see Kerry Wood be a prosperous closer for them as well.

2. Milwaukee Brewers
-Player Integral to Their Success: Ben Sheets
-Biggest Question Mark: Everyone after Ben Sheets.
-Ceiling: SATP
Breakdown: I really think that the Brewers have taken a step back this year. Their pitching is full of question marks, including Ben Sheets’ ability to stay healthy. Even their bullpen, “anchored” by Eric Gagne, is worse this year than last. They’ll score runs. I just don’t think they can stop the other teams in the NL from scoring.

3. Houston Astros
-Player Integral to Their Success: Brandon Backe
-Biggest Question Mark: Starting Rotation
-Ceiling: NM
Breakdown: Unlike the Braves, I think the Astros aren’t being looked at enough. This is not a great division. I honestly think they could win it if the Cubs falter. Their lineup is not amazing, but they play in side of a small silo. Runs will be scored. I don’t really like their rotation beyond the always good Roy Oswalt. If Brandon Backe and/or Wandy Rodriguez can be effective, they might not be a bad team.

4. Cincinnati Reds
-Player Integral to Their Success: Homer Bailey
-Biggest Question Mark: Starting Rotation
-Ceiling: I
Breakdown: I actually like the Reds to have a better shot at the playoffs than Houston and Milwaukee if a lot of things go their way. First, they need Homer Bailey who is starting the year in AAA Louisville, to come up to the big club and perform like his stuff indicates he can. They’ve improved a terrible pitching staff with Josh Fogg, Edinson Volquez, Jeremy Affeldt, and Francisco Cordero coming aborad. Getting a contribution from Bailey and Johnny Cueto can propel this team into some real success. I think they’re the best team in the NL Central…just next year.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates
-Player Integral to Their Success: No success.
-Biggest Question Mark: There’s a few.
-Ceiling: NM
Breakdown: They have a really pretty ballpark.

6. St. Louis Cardinals
-Player Integral to Their Success: No Success.
-Biggest Question Mark: A horrible rotation.
-Ceiling: D
Breakdown: They’ve fallen even more than the Twins have. This team won a World Series two years ago and now starts the year with Adam Wainwright, Braden Looper, Joel Pinero, Kyle Lohse, and Todd Wellemeyer as their starting rotation. And there’s nothing to really be optimistic about.

NL WEST
1. Arizona Diamondbacks
-Player Integral to Their Success: Chris Young
-Biggest Question Mark: All of the Young Guys.
-Ceiling: PPW
Breakdown: I think this team has the highest ceiling over the next 5 years in baseball. They’re stellar at the front end of the rotation with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. The bullpen, though not amazing at first glance, is still good. The big question is whether all of their young position players can get it done. Chris Young is important to this team because of his immense talent. If he can boost his batting average, a dismal .237 last year, and get on base (by hitting, not walking) more, he can kick start the offense.

2. Colorado Rockies
-Player Integral to Their Success: Aaron Cook
-Biggest Question Mark: Back End of the Rotation
-Ceiling: PPW
Breakdown: I’m still driving this bandwagon (though I allow Amanda to drive it as well) into this year. I really like this team. They grabbed my attention in late September last year and continue to. Troy Tulowitzki is a star waiting to happen. Matt Holliday is one of the 5 best hitters in the game. I’m only concerned about how well their pitchers beyond Jeff Francis perform. If they can have an Aaron Cook or Ubaldo Jimenez step up and be a solid number 2, they can win this division.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers
-Player Integral to Their Success: Andruw Jones
-Biggest Question Mark: Their ability to score at least once every game.
-Ceiling: SATP
Breakdown: Just a horrible offense last year. No power whatsoever. I think that as Andre Eithier, James Loney, Russell Martin, and Matt Kemp get older, they’ll polish their power hitting ability. The Dodgers need them to. Otherwise, they’re not going to win more than 80 games this year.

4. San Diego Padres
-Player Integral to Their Success: Anyone who knows how to hit.
-Biggest Question Mark: Subpar Offense
-Ceiling: SATP
Breakdown: Where the Dodgers have the potential to be a good offensive team this year, as their young prospects get more playing time, the Padres don’t really have a lot of good young prospects playing everyday. Beyond Adrian Gonzalez, I don’t see a guy who can help this team score runs. Their pitching will be solid with Jake Peavy and Chris Young. I just wonder whether their offense can give them enough runs to win games.

5. San Francisco Giants
-Player Integral to Their Success: They’ll be successful if they win 50 games this year.
-Biggest Question Mark: Numbers 1-9 in the order.
-Ceiling: D
Breakdown: It’s a shame that Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain have to pitch for this team. This franchise is embarrassing.

Playoffs

American League

Detroit over Seattle
Cleveland over Boston

Detroit over Cleveland

National League

Arizona over Philadelphia
Colorado over Chicago

Arizona over Colorado

WORLD SERIES

Detroit over Arizona

AWARDS

AL MVP: MIGUEL CABRERA (DETROIT TIGERS)
AL CY YOUNG: JUSTIN VERLANDER (DETROIT TIGERS)
AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: JACOBY ELLSBURY (BOSTON RED SOX)

NL MVP: MATT HOLLIDAY (COLORDAO ROCKIES)
NL CY YOUNG: BRANDON WEBB (ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS)
NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: JUSTIN UPTON (ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS)


Game O’ The Day: Just Watch Baseball.

Much to talk about this fine Wednesday. Let’s jump right in:

1.) The Boston Celtics, if they had not already, proved in the last two nights that they are the team to beat in the race for the NBA Title. By coming back from 22 down against the Spurs on Monday night in San Antonio and ending the Rockets winning streak at 22 games last night in Houston, the Celtics have hopefully answered the call for the Eastern Conference. I may even argue that the Detroit Pistons are the second best team in the NBA, after dismantling both the Hornets and Nuggets in their previous two games.

2.) I failed to mention the other day that the Denver Nuggets scored 168 points in a regulation game against an NBA franchise on Sunday night. Sit and let that stew in your head. That’s 42 points per quarter. That’s 10 players averaging 16.8 points during that game (every player who entered the court of play scored a point). No Nugget scored over 30. The NBA franchise who allowed such a thrashing does not deserve their name to be mentioned in some idiot’s insignificant daily blog.

3.) I’m 1-0 in my picks for this year’s installment of March Madness thanks to Mount St. Mary’s victory last night over Coppin State. The road to 64-0 has begun.

4.) I give to you the lineup tomorrow in D.C. on our CBS affiliate. Michigan State vs. Temple, Marquette vs. Kentucky, Duke vs. Belmont, Notre Dame vs. George Mason. Nowhere in there do I see USC vs. Kansas State, as it is trumped by the game happening 4 miles from me at the Verizon Center between Duke and lowly Belmont. Also, each of those games is the worst in their time slot. I’m glad I signed up for the games on my computer 3 weeks ago.

5.) The Boston Red Sox are apparently ready to boycott their Japanese trip because every coach on the team is not getting paid the $40,000 bonus that the Sox players are receiving for the two exhibition games, two regular season games, goodwill trip to an Army Base, etc. There is no way that they go through with this. MLB will cave.

6.) Allen Iverson returns to Philadelphia for the first time since becoming a Denver Nugget tonight. If he doesn’t get a standing ovation from every person in that crowd, an injustice will have been committed.

There’s no game of the day today, not because there aren’t good or compelling NBA games, but rather because you will be watching sports nonstop for the next 4 days.

Mid-Atlantic Bias is going to be taking a break, as I will be watching loads of college basketball tomorrow, then returning home to Taunton on Friday morning/afternoon, then fixing myself in front of a TV for the next 2 1/2 days. It should be a blast. I will return next week with Round 2 of my NFL Mock Draft and lots of rants, raves, and explanations for what will happen in the tournament between then and now.

See You Soon.

I went away from the usual headline today to signify the excitement you should have about my bracket. Really, when you analyze it, my entire life (well, since November) has led up to this point. All of the college basketball I’ve watched. All of the polls I’ve broken down. All of the articles I’ve read. All of it for this. And at this point, my entire life seems pretty pointless. And when my picks fail and I look like a fool, you will wonder, “Why the hell have I read this every day for the last X weeks?” With that said, Let’s Bracket:

FIRST ROUND

East Region
(1) North Carolina over (16) Mt. St. Mary’s.
(9) Arkansas over (8) Indiana
(5) Notre Dame over (12) George Mason
(4) Washington State over (13.) Winthrop
(11) St. Joseph’s over (6) Oklahoma
(3) Louisville over (14) Boise State
(7) Butler over (10) South Alabama
(2) Tennessee over (15) American

Midwest Region
(1) Kansas over (16) Portland State
(9) Kent State over (8) Nevada-Las Vegas
(5) Clemson over (12) Villanova
(4) Vanderbilt over (13) Siena
(6) Southern California over (11) Kansas State
(3) Wisconsin over (14) California State Fullerton
(7) Gonzaga over (10) Davidson
(2) Georgetown over (15) Maryland-Baltimore County

South Region
(1) Memphis over (16) Texas-Arlington
(9) Oregon over (8) Mississippi State
(5) Michigan State over (12) Temple
(4) Pittsburgh over (13) Oral Roberts
(6) Marquette over (11) Kentucky
(3) Stanford over (14) Cornell
(10) Saint Mary’s over (7) Miami (FLA)
(2) Texas over (15) Austin Peay

West Region
(1) UCLA over (16) Mississippi Valley State
(8) Brigham Young over (9) Texas A&M
(5) Drake over (12) Western Kentucky
(4) Connecticut over (13) San Diego
(6) Purdue over (11) Baylor
(3) Xavier over (14) Georgia
(10) Arizona over (7) West Virginia
(2) Duke over (15) Belmont

Breakdown: Pretty chalk, as I stated yesterday. I think that much like last year, there will be very little in the way of first round upsets. As I also said yesterday, Siena could beat Vandy and I also smell a San Diego/Connecticut tight matchup.

SECOND ROUND

East Region
(1) North Carolina over (9) Arkansas
(5) Notre Dame over (4) Washington State
(3) Louisville over (11) Saint Joseph’s
(2) Tennessee over (7) Butler

Midwest Region
(1) Kansas over (9) Kent State
(5) Clemson over (4) Vanderbilt
(6) Southern California over (3) Wisconsin
(2) Georgetown over (7) Gonzaga

South Region
(1) Memphis over (9) Oregon
(4) Pittsburgh over (5) Michigan State
(3) Stanford over (6) Marquette
(2) Texas over (10) Saint Mary’s

West Region
(1) UCLA over (8) Brigham Young
(5) Drake over (4) UConn
(6) Purdue over (3) Xavier
(2) Duke over (10) Arizona

Breakdown: The Second Round is always incredibly exciting and completely underrated. Duke/Arizona would be a great matchup as would Georgetown and Gonzaga and Tennessee and Butler.

SWEET 16

East Region
(1) North Carolina over (5) Notre Dame
(2) Tennessee over (3) Louiville

Midwest Region
(1) Kansas over (5) Clemson
(6) Southern California over (2) Georgetown

South Region
(1) Memphis over (4) Pittsburgh
(3) Stanford over (2) Texas

West Region
(1) UCLA over (5) Drake
(2) Duke over (6) Purdue

Breakdown: Trying to pick the North Carolina/Notre Dame matchup is and was a lot tougher than you or I would think. I’m verrrrrrry intrigued by the Luke Harangody/Tyler Hansborough matchup in that game, but really, it’s all about USC and Georgetown. If that happens, and I hope it does, Wow! Great game.

ELITE 8

East Region
(1) North Carolina over (2) Tennessee

Midwest Region
(6) Southern California over (1) Kansas

South Region
(1) Memphis over (3) Stanford

West Region
(2) Duke over (1) UCLA

Breakdown: Your head probably exploded at the USC pick and I understand. Also understand that KU and USC played a tight neutral court game at the beginning of the year. USC has meshed better as a team since that game (a four point loss). I really think USC is this good. As for the other “upset,” please don’t take it as my being a homer, I picked Duke to lose in the first round last year. However, I have confidence in this team. Because of their great perimeter scoring, I think they can beat UCLA head-to-head.

FINAL FOUR

(1-East) North Carolina over (6-Midwest) Southern California
(1-South) Memphis over (2-West) Duke

Breakdown: Pretty chalk. I don’t think Taj Gibson of USC can defend Psycho T in the post and I think Ty Lawson is too quick for OJ Mayo. USC’s run ends here. Memphis is just too strong and physical for Duke. You’ll notice that only 1 of my original Final Four from the preseason makes their way into my Final Four now.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

Memphis over North Carolina

Breakdown: There is one thing, only one, that can hold Memphis back in my opinion from winning the National Title and that is their free throw shooting. They’re good enough to get past UT-Arlington, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Stanford, and Duke to not have to worry about their free throw shooting. It is this game where Memphis meets someone who is better than they are, overall. North Carolina is the best all-around college basketball team. However, Joey Dorsey will neutralize Psycho T in this game and it will be a battle of the young, dynamic point guards on both teams. The X-Factor, to me, is Chris Douglas-Roberts. I don’t think Danny Green can defend such a long shooter.

So there you have it. My National Champion pick is the Memphis Tigers.

Game O’ The Day: Boston @ Houston. Destiny vs. The Streak. Sound intriguing? It should. TNT, 9:30. Game of the Year in the NBA, to this point. Be in front of a T.V.

Before I get to all 65 teams…I’m not kidding…Bob Knight needs to have the tables reversed on him by Jay Bilas. For once, I want the chair thrown in the direction of Bob Knight, preferably by a man with a law degree who both wears a suit and looks good in it. First things first with Bobby: A 128 team field would be more watered down than that first Keystone Light you drink when all you want is a Guinness. I don’t know about you, but I’d be going into cardiac arrest in anticipation for a Virginia Tech @ Baylor matchup. That’d be great. Or how about the prospects of UMass @ Villanova? That would make the first round much more exciting. It’d be like one of those preseason tournaments they play in a city like Milwaukee sometime in late November when no one cares about college basketball. We could call it the Coaches Vs. Common Sense Classic. Second, Bobby: Wear a suit. You’re not so important that you can sit on a set with 4 other suited men and not stand out like a pompous windbag in your hideous green pullover sweater. Do everyone a favor and go hunting instead of take up a spot where someone like Doug Gottlieb or Andy Katz should be sitting.

Whew. Now that I have that out of the way, first, let me congratulate the Houston Rockets on beating the Pau Gasol-less Lakers. Your luck will soon run out.

Now, on to the field of 65 and the handful of teams that got snubbed:

First, the snubs. I was obviously upset at the snub of Virginia Commonwealth. I truly think that they’re one of the 65 best teams in college basketball. The problem is, this year’s pool does not feature the top 65 teams. Because of wins by teams like Coppin State and the beyond ridiculous Georgia Bulldogs (more on this in a second) there wasn’t room for teams like VCU and Dayton. I think the Rams, Flyers, Arizona State, and Illinois State have the biggest gripe. However, the debate between Illinois State and Villanova or Arizona State and Baylor is a slightly ridiculous conversation to spend time on, as none of those teams have a shot to win the NCAA Championships. So while I would love to see Eric Maynor and the VCU Rams play the Clemson Tigers, instead of Villanova, I can’t complain, especially with a great slate of Round 1 Games.

Now, I should give Georgia some time here. And a kudos. So let’s get the Kudos out of the way. Kudos. Now, the problem I have with this, Georgia is the all-time example, from here to the end of eternity, of an underachieving team, over-achieving and getting into the tournament. It also leads me to this argument: We have less argument for the snubbed teams in a year when a team that won 4 conference games in the regular season wins their conference tournament by playing 3 games in 30 hours, in 2 different arenas. What Georgia did defies logic, and also shuts up teams like Arizona State, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech who didn’t win their conference tourneys.

Now, I have my entire bracket filled out and I could give you my entire bracket today, but that wouldn’t give me much to talk about tomorrow, besides the showdown in Dayton, OH between Coppin State and Mount St. Mary’s that should draw a -0.4 rating. I really hate the play in game, as it’s not fair to the loser. I think we’d be better off making Portland State a 15 seed, plugging in Coppin State against UNC and Mt. St. Mary’s against Kansas and eliminating the last team in, which this year was Villanova. But that’s just me.

I’m going to break down all 65 teams and their chance at winning it all, broken down to (No Chance, Needs a lot of Luck, Needs a break or two, Good Shot, Very Good Shot). Here That Goes:

-Coppin State: Not much of chance to beat Mt. St. Mary’s, nevermind North Carolina, etc. No Chance.
-Mt. St. Mary’s: Will probably beat Coppin State and get slaughtered by North Carolina. No Chance.
-North Carolina: Very Good Shot.
-Indiana: Needs A Lot of Luck.
-Arkansas: Needs a Lot of Luck.
-Notre Dame: Needs a Break or Two.
-George Mason: No Chance.
-Washington State: Needs a Lot of Luck.
-Winthrop: No Chance.
-Oklahoma: Needs a lot of Luck.
-St. Joseph’s: No Chance.
-Louiville: Needs a Break or Two.
-Boise State: Is Ian Johnson eligible? No? Okay, No Chance.
-Butler: Needs a Lot of Luck.
-South Alabama: No Chance.
-Tennessee: Very Good Shot.
-American: No Chance

Kansas: Very Good Shot
Portland State: No Chance
UNLV: Needs a Lot of Luck
Kent. State: Needs a Lot of Luck
Clemson: Needs a Lot of Luck
Villanova: No Chance
Vanderbilt: Needs a Lot of Luck
Siena: No Chance.
USC: Good Shot
Kansas State: Needs A Lot of Luck
Wisconsin: Needs a Lot of Luck
Cal State Fullerton: Good Shot (assuming every player on every other team dies)
Gonzaga: Needs a break of two.
Davidson: Needs a Lot of Luck.
Georgetown: Good Shot
UMBC: No Chance.

Memphis: Very Good Shot
UT-Arlington: No Chance
Mississippi State: Couldn’t beat a team that played a few hours before they played them. No Chance.
Oregon: Needs a Lot of Luck.
Michigan State: Needs a Lot of Luck
Temple: Needs John Cheney to kill Tom Izzo, Jamie Dixon, and then John Calipari. Otherwise, No Chance.
Pittsburgh: Good Shot.
Oral Roberts: Despite having God, No Chance, as God can’t defend Lavance Fields.
Marquette: Needs a Lot of Luck.
Kentucky: No Chance.
Stanford: Good Shot.
Cornell: Well, they’re smart at least. No Chance.
Miami: As the entire tourney isn’t being played in “The OB” I would say No Chance.
Saint Mary’s: Needs A Lot of Luck.
Texas: Good Shot.
Austin Peay: No Chance.

UCLA: Very Good Shot.
Mississippi Valley State: Can Jerry Rice play football? Also a no? Okay, No Chance.
BYU: Though I’d love a Final Four matchup with Oral Roberts, I’ll say They Need a lot of luck.
Texas A&M: No Chance.
Drake: Needs a Lot of Luck.
Western Kentucky: No Chance.
UConn: Needs a lot of luck.
San Diego: They need another Jonestown to occur, only this time in Storrs, CT. No Chance.
Purdue: No Chance.
Baylor: There’s so many jokes here. I’ll just go with No Chance.
Xavier: No Chance.
Georgia: Please.
West Virginia: No Chance.
Arizona: Needs a lot of Luck.
Duke: Very Good Shot.
Belmont: No chance.

You may have noticed that only two teams “Needs a Break or two.” The breaks that that those teams (Notre Dame and Louisville) needs are Tyler Hansborough’s Leg and every Tennessee player’s wrist. But kidding aside, I think they can both make a run.

The following teams have a Very Good Shot:

North Carolina
Tennessee
Kansas
Memphis
UCLA
Duke

The following teams have a Good Shot:
USC
Georgetown
Pittsburgh
Texas
Stanford

The Final Four will come from those two pools above. I find it difficult to imagine all of the teams who need a lot of luck (3 point heavy teams like Vanderbilt and Oregon or middle of the pack teams in tough brackets, like Michigan State and Washington State) can make it very far in this year’s tourney. It’s stacked.

Here are my top 5 games of the first round that you have to find a way to watch:

5. West Region: (7) West Virginia vs. (10) Arizona: Arizona is much better than a 10 seed and West Virginia is not as good as a 7 seed. I just like this matchup. No real analysis here.

4. East Region: (7) Butler vs. (10) South Alabama: You won’t find a better contrast in schools than in this matchup. Butler, from Indianapolis playing South Alabama from Mobile, Alabama. Butler’s star guard AJ Graves matching up against South Alabama’s star guard Demetric Bennett. Should be interesting.

3. East Region: (4) Washington State vs. (13) Winthrop: Want to watch an insane contrast in styles? This is your game. Winthrop will try to make Wazzou run. Washington State will try to make Winthrop take a nap. I don’t think Winthrop can pull off the upset, but it could be a very intriguing game.

2. Midwest Region: (7) Gonzaga vs. (10) Davidson: I’ve talked about Stephen Curry before. This is your chance to see him go up against the legendary mid-major team. Davidson is better than you’d think. But so is Gonzaga.

1. Midwest Region: (6) USC vs. (11) Kansas State: This is everyone’s game to watch, for good reason. It’s more than just OJ Mayo vs. Michael Beasley. But really, it’s not. Rarely do we get to see two star freshman go head-to-head. As I’ve stated many times, I really like this USC team, but remember, Kansas State beat Kansas this year.

My Upset of the First Round (the biggest seeding disparity) That I Actually Picked: East Region (6) Oklahoma losing to (11) Saint Joseph’s.

My Upset of The First Round (The biggest seeding disparity) That I Would Have Picked, Had I Had Testicles: Midwest Region: (4) Vanderbilt losing to (13) Siena. Vandy needs to be hitting 3’s to win any game and they don’t do that well away from home. Tampa, FL is not Nashville, TN. Accordingly, I’m skeptical. Siena beat Stanford earlier this year. I’m just saying.

Game O’ The Day: Boston Celtics @ San Antonio Spurs. This is where the Celtics schedule starts getting real tough.

Some confusion yesterday, as it appeared to the naked eye that I published my post at a very early time. Rest assured that I published at 11:30 A.M. The timestamps have always been confusing on this site.

Every team that needed to win to get in the NCAA tournament lost yesterday. This is good because it leaves the door open for Virginia Commonwealth, who Matthew thinks is solidly out of the tournament. However, Matt also thinks that Boston College, after thankfully knocking off Maryland last night, can beat Clemson, Duke, and North Carolina on three consecutive days to win the ACC tournament and get into the Big Dance. So there’s that.

On to the completion of the Mock Draft. We pick up where we left off, at number 17 with the Minnesota Vikings.

17. Minnesota Vikings
-What They Need: Wide Receivers, Wide Receivers, and a few more Wide Receivers.
-What They Should Do: Stay Put.
–THE PICK: WR Limas Sweed (Texas)-Sweed gives the Vikings a talented Wideout, something that they’ve lacked since Randy Moss left. I don’t think they should go QB here. Is Tavaris Jackson the answer for this team? I think he can be. Give him time and some weapons on offense and I think he can be very good.

18. Houston Texans
-What They Need: Running Back, Wide Receiver, Cornerback
-What They Should Do: Stay Put
–THE PICK: CB Leodis McKelvin (Troy)-This is a really tough pick. If they narrow it down to corner, they have the choice between McKelvin and Rodgers-Cromartie. However, Jonathan Stewart (RB/Oregon) is still on the board and there’s a slue of receivers they can draft to pair with Andre Johnson. I think their defense is the more pressing issue. They’re solid up front on the line. They need secondary help. McKelvin fills the bigger need.

19. Philadelphia Eagles
-What They Need: Probably not to draft another quarterback. They already have an issue with that. Wide Receiver and Linebacker.
-What They Should Do: I would trade down. There’s no really pressing needs on this team. The offense is decent. The defense is decent. There’s no pick here that I think will really set them apart from the rest of the NFC East.
–THE PICK: WR De’Sean Jackson (California)-De’Sean gives them great speed out of the slot and a great return man with blazing speed. He could add a needed wrinkle to their offense. The best two players on the board here are Jonathan Stewart and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, however, they don’t need a feature back or a corner.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
-What They Need: To get younger on defense. To get younger at wideout. Getting younger.
-What They Should Do: Stay Put
–THE PICK: DE Derrick Harvey (Florida)-Rodgers-Cromartie would be an interesting pick here. So would a bunch of available wideouts. However, if they want to be great on defense again, long-term, line Harvey up opposite Gaines Adams on the line. Wideout is deep in this draft and they don’t “need” a corner yet.

21. Washington Redskins
-What They Need: To get off of my TV and Radio. Also, someone besides Santana Moss who can catch footballs.
-What They Should Do: Stay Put, unless they can move down to the end of the first round.
–THE PICK: WR James Hardy (Indiana)-They already have the speed in Moss at WR, now they have the size in Hardy (6’5”). Hardy has had off the field issues. If they keep him in check and away from the guys I pass on the street who end conversations with, “Alright, my n—a, I’m gonna go take care a’ some bizniss,” he should be a quality piece on a playoff team.

22. Dallas Cowboys
-What They Need: To wipe up the stain Darren McFadden created in Jerry Jones’ slacks.
-What They Should Do: Not go apeshit crazy over a running back when they already have Marion Barber III.
–THE PICK: CB Dominique-Rodgers Cromartie (Tennessee State)-If there’s any team with no pressing issues that can be fixed in the first round, this is the team. They happen to have two first round picks. So they’ll just get better. I love this pick in this spot. They don’t really need a cornerback, however, he’s the best player on the defensive board currently and sures up an area where they looked less than mediocre in the playoffs. Now this is a pick that Jerry Jones should have a plastic-surgery induced erection for.

23. Pittsburgh Steelers
-What They Need: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
-What They Should Do: If any of the top 4 corners are still available at about pick 20, they should trade up and draft the available cornerback. Can you tell this team needs a cornerback? They really need a corner.
–THE PICK: OG Brandon Albert (Virginia)-After corner, there’s no huge pressing need for this team, so why not sure up an offensive line that plays in front of an immobile (except when he’s going backwards), inaccurate quarterback who is paid ten million dollars a season.?

24. Tennessee Titans
-What They Need: Someone Vince Young can throw a football to.
-What They Should Do: Draft someone Vince Young can throw a football to.
–THE PICK: WR Devin Thomas (Michigan State)-Thomas has more size than Early Doucett and isn’t a jerk like Mario Manningham, which makes him the best choice at wideout here. He’s not as fast as Doucett or as polished as Manningham, but in the Titans dink and dunk offense, he’ll stay healthier than Doucett will and can still breakaway from some defenders.

25. Seattle Seahawks
-What They Need: They’re deep at most positions. Except tight end.
-What They Should Do: Win a game away from home once in a while.
–THE PICK: TE Fred Davis (Southern California)-They have no one on their roster that can play tight end. Nobody. In fact, here’s their tight ends presently: Zac Alcorn, Will Heller, Jeb Putzier, and Joe Newton. Only Putzier has made any impact in the NFL and his impact is similar to that of a feather being thrown at a brick wall. Davis will give them another pass-catching option on offense.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars
-What They Need: Nothing. They’re the best team in the AFC right now. Additional help at corner, perhaps.
-What They Should Do: Trade up for one of the corners. This team is so deep, they can afford to give up draft picks to sure up their secondary.
–THE PICK: DE Calais Campbell (Miami FL)- Campbell would make an already solid front line even stronger. Good insurance policy for Paul Spicer and Rob Meier at End. It’s probably a little boring, but this team is insanely good in Hot Stove terms.

27. San Diego Chargers
-What They Need: Safety help. They’re really really thin there.
-What They Should Do: Stay Put.
–THE PICK: S Kenny Phillips (Miami FL)-He’s the best safety on the board. They need a safety. 2+2=4.

28. Dallas Cowboys
-What They Need: We’ve been here before.
-What They Should Do: Keep bolstering the best roster in the NFC. They’re the Jaguars of this conference.
–THE PICK: RB Jonathan Stewart (Oregon)-Here’s a novel concept if you’re the Cowboys: You think you need a running back? Keep both picks and you end up with a high value pick at 28 in Stewart, who can back up Marion the Barbarian and be a functional kick returner. Which would you rather have: Darren McFadden or Jonathan Stewart, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and your 3rd or 4th round pick?

29. San Francisco 49ers
-What They Need: That top 7 pick from the Patriots. And a lot of help.
-What They Should Do: Cry.
–THE PICK: DT Kentwan Balmer (North Carolina)- The 49ers have a lot of wide outs, just no good ones. That’s sort of the case everywhere on this team. They have a lot of mediocre players and very few standouts. Balmer will give them depth up front where they’re very mediocre.

30. Green Bay Packers
-What They Need: A dose of reality. Brett Favre went out to get a pack of cigarettes and he won’t be back. However, he left plenty of food in the cupboards and you’re capable of taking care of yourself now. Plus, your new daddy is very good. You just need to give him time.
-What They Should Do: Unlike the 49ers, they need to stop crying.
–THE PICK: QB Joe Flacco (Delaware)-This isn’t what I would do, but rather what I think will happen. There’s not a ton they can do with this first round pick. They’re mostly solid. However, enough people will freak out about Aaron Rodgers and his injuries a few years ago and enough people will continue talking about how Joe Flacco has a “Brett Favre” arm. And alas, we have a quarterback quandary in Green Bay. (For the sake of it, I would actually trade down here and try to get some picks for next year’s draft).

31. New England Patriots
-What They Need: To not videotape things.
-What They Should Do: Stop all covert missions.
–THE PICK: FORFEITED

32. New York Giants
-What They Need: A dose of reality. Wide receiver help and linebackers galore.
-What They Should Do: Get stomped out. Stay put.
–THE PICK: LB Dan Connor (Penn State)-Every mock draft I’ve seen has them taking Connor. I’m not being trendy (see my Keith Rivers pick and Jonathan Stewart falling), it’s just such an obvious fit. They lost Kawika Mitchell and Connor is a Tom Coughlin type of player. No frills. Gets the job done. He’s not a glamor pick. He’s a smart pick.

Ladies and Gentleman (mostly gentleman) that brings Round 1 to a close. Still available are Felix Jones (RB/Arkansas…my top rated back), Brian Brohm (QB/Louisville…my second rated quarterback, behind Flacco), Early Doucett, Mario Manningham, Brandon Flowers (CB/Virginia Tech), and a lot of other value guys for Round 2. Who knows…maybe I’ll do a full 7 round mock draft.

Don’t hold your breath. However, maybe a second round if my readers (Ryan and Matt) would like.

Game O’ The Day: USC/UCLA. Don’t worry though, we won’t be able to watch the game live as our local FOX Sports/ComCast Sportsnet channels will preempt coverage of this really interesting exciting game with this plate of deliciousness, broken up into local markets: Boston/Utah (New England), Washington Capitals/Atlanta Thrasher (Baltimore/Washington), Thrashers/Capitals (Atlanta), Orlando/Miami (Florida), Northern Michigan/Michigan State (College Hockey…seriously…Detroit), Akron/Western Michigan (Ohio), St. Joseph’s/Xavier (Whatever city gets FSCN), Chicago/Columbus (NHL…CSNC), Minnesota/Minnesota State (College Hockey…Minnesota), and on and on and on. The point is this, all of those above games are garbage. UCLA and USC is an inner city rivalry that both teams split on their opponent’s home court and now we get a rubber match, on a neutral court, that is still in Los Angeles (Staples Center). I predicted USC would win the Pac-10 title and I’ll continue with that prediction. I just won’t be able to see it live.

Mid-Atlantic Bias will not have a weekend edition. It will, however, return on Monday morning to rant about the field of 65. On Tuesday, I will have my entire bracket for you. On Wednesday, I will probably break down the play-in game. And then on Thursday and Friday, my heart will explode from excitement. So it should be a fun week. If you don’t like college basketball…next week at Mid-Atlantic Bias is no place for you.

Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday.

You may recall that a few years ago, while with the Magic, Tracy McGrady thought, after winning Game 5, that the Magic had advanced in the playoffs past the first round, unaware that the format had been changed to a Best of 7 series. The Magic then lost the next two games.

I am recalling this gem because the Rockets won their 20th consecutive game last night. I know, I said they would lose, and it looked that way before the Hawks decided to stop scoring points in the final 3 minutes of the game. Look, 20 consecutive wins in any professional league doesn’t just happen. The Rockets have been playing a stretch of cupcakes of late. As I pointed out earlier this week, they have to play the Lakers, Celtics, and Hornets within the next few weeks.

Shelley Duncan was just playing hard and trying to knock the ball loose, apparently.

Okay, it’s mock draft time. Here’s the deal: This will be a combination of what the teams will do and what they should do. For the purposes of not getting too ahead of myself, I will not create trades between teams, just suggest them. I reserve the right to get bored with it and just end whenever I feel like.

1. Miami Dolphins
What They Need: QB, WR, OL, DL, CB, Replacement for Bill Parcells
What They Should Do: Trade this pick for value. However, no one wants to take this pick because there’s no clear cut number one choice, like last year with the great 300 LB JaMarcus Russell…There’s plenty of help up here for the ‘Fins if they can’t trade this pick.
THE PICK: OT Jake Long (Michigan)

2. St. Louis Rams
What They Need: DL, OL, WR
What They Should Do: Stay Put. The Rams aren’t really the second worst team in the NFL. If Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson can stay healthy, they should be okay. They’re a little thin at wideout, but there’s obviously no one here worth a second pick. This is an easy decision for the Rams. Take the available Long.
THE PICK: DL Chris Long (Virginia)

3. Atlanta Falcons
What They Need: A New Team. Also QB, DL, OL
What They Should Do: Stay Put.
THE PICK: QB Matt Ryan (Boston College)- I’m only going to comment when I feel the need to. With the previous two picks, I think you have no-brainers. With “Matty Ice” you have a guy who I don’t think will be a very good NFL quarterback. He has one thing that scouts love: size. That’s not a good thing. How did he do in big games last year? Don’t remember. Allow me to remind you: He struuuuuuuggggggled for 58 minutes against Virginia Tech before throwing a prayer across his body and then stunk up the joint against Florida State. I’m just saying.

4. Oakland Raiders
What They Need: Not Darren McFadden. They have running backs. They need everything else.
What They Should Do: Trade this pick immediately to the Dallas Cowboys. Jerry Jones is enamored with Darren McFadden and the ‘Boys have two first round picks. I don’t frankly think that the Raiders can afford to pay Darren McFadden and they DO NOT NEED A RUNNING BACK. With that said:
THE PICK: DT Sedrick Ellis (Southern California)- This pick comes down to Glenn Dorsey vs. Ellis. I feel as though most scouts are split down the middle on these two. Frankly, I think Ellis will be the better pro, as he comes in in better shape than Dorsey, who could not stay healthy this past season at Louisiana State. But really, the difference is mostly negligible.

5. Kansas City Chiefs
What They Need: More than you’d think. They need a QB (I don’t think Brodie Croyle is the guy). Also, Wide Receiver, OL, LB, CB.
What They Should Do: Trade down to get an OL who isn’t valued this highly.
THE PICK: DL Vernon Gholston (Ohio State)- They don’t need defensive line help as much as other areas, like offensive lineman, but do they really want to draft a Ryan Clady this high? That’s the question. I take Gholston and make him an edge rusher, either off the d-line, or as a linebacker. He’ the most versatile of the first round Lineman and will help sure up a medicore defense.

6. New York Jets
What They Need: QB, RB, WR, TE (really, they need offensive help. Also, linebacker)
What They Should Do: Stay right where they are. They can do a lot with this pick.
THE PICK: RB Darren McFadden (Arkansas)- The Jets will be very happy to see this name available at the number 6 spot. I think the only team that would take him is the Raiders, so they may very well end up with Run DMc. I’m not high on him, however, for what the Jets need, he is the best available player. Picking up Kris Jenkins this offseason almost assures that they will not draft the falling Glenn Dorsey.

7. New England Patriots
What They Need: A new philosophy for doing business. CB and LB.
What They Should Do: Trade Down. They can get the same cornerback that they’ll draft here towards the end of the first round. Perhaps if the Jets don’t take Run DMC, the Dallas Cowboys would like to swap a pair of first round picks to get their running back. If that scenario is available, the Patriots should jump on that like Louis Anderson at the opening of a buffet.
THE PICK: OLB Keith Rivers (Southern California)-The Patriots aren’t going to just draft someone because the experts think they should. I would love to see Aqib Talib (CB/Kansas) here, but he’s not a top 7 pick (nor are Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie or Leodis McKelvin). Rivers gets them much younger at linebacker and can be matched up opposite of Adalius Thomas, giving the Pats two outstanding edge rushers.

8. Baltimore Ravens
What They Need: To get younger on defense. Wide Receivers, an insurance policy for Willis McGahee.
What They Should Do: I’m not going to kid you, I have no idea what they should do here. There are a million different roads they could go down to try to improve, but none that will be immediate helps. Trading down doesn’t make sense. But all of the defensive help that they need isn’t where they need it. They drafted a defensive tackle (Haloti Ngata) two years ago, so Dorsey don’t make any sense.
THE PICK: OT Ryan Clady (Boise State)- This pick makes the most sense. They need someone to replace the aging Jonathan Ogden when he decides to retire. I like Clady. I don’t love him, but there’s no better pick here. This team is not going to get any better immediately because of this draft, unless they really make some moves.

9. Cincinnati Bengals
What They Need: Defensive Help
What They Should Do: Draft Here.
THE PICK: DT Glenn Dorsey (Louisiana State)- No brainer. This is the easiest pick in the history of the NFL Draft if he’s available here.

10. New Orleans Saints
What They Need: CB, LB, DL (Their defense is what you would call “terrible.”) Also, WR depth, but they can get that later.
What They Should Do: Draft here.
THE PICK: CB Aqib Talib (Kansas)-Cornerback is sort of a no-brainer here. The Patriots took the best edge linebacker off the board and with Dorsey, Ellis, Long, and Gholston gone, there’s no “can’t miss” lineman here. This pick comes down to Mike Jenkins (South Florida) and Talib. I like Talib a lot, though he’s not my favorite cornerback in this draft (That nod goes to a guy I hope the Patriots have the sense to draft in the second round, Antoine Cason of Arizona). Whatever New Orleans does, they need to draft on defense here. Offense later.

11. Buffalo Bills
What They Need: WR, OL, DL, Defensive Secondary
What They Should Do: Stay Put
THE PICK: OL Chris Williams (Vanderbilt)- Look at their depth chart at OL. No brainer. Take the best available lineman.

12. Denver Broncos
What They Need: More botox for Mike Shannahan’s face. Also a running back and receivers for Jay Cutler to throw to.
What They Should Do: Stay Put
THE PICK: WR Malcolm Kelly (Oklahoma)-Similar to the Bills, look at the Broncos depth chart at receiver. Kelly gives them the ability to throw the ball deep with his size and speed. This pick is a relative toss up between Kelly and his Red River counterpart Texas Wideout Limas Sweed.

13. Carolina Panthers
What They Need: A quarterback. Also, offensive line help and possibly defensive line help.
What They Should Do: I would consider trading up to get Clady or Williams, as I think there’s a drop off at the position after them. Or, I would trade down to get the second best quarterback in the draft (In the scout’s eyes. The scouts and I differ greatly).
THE PICK: OT Jeff Otah (Pittsburgh)-They need a tackle. He’s there. Feel the excitement in Charlotte? Me too!

14. Chicago Bears
What They Need: To cut their losses with Cedric Benson. 4 wide receivers and a quarterback to throw them the ball.
What They Should Do: Rejoice.
THE PICK: RB Rashard Mendenhall (Illinois)- If Mendenhall is still available at pick 14, I’d be quite happy if I was the Bears. They could go Wideout here too, but there’s more value at Running Back with Mendenhall.

15. Detroit Lions
What They Need: NOT A WIDE RECEIVER. Maybe some help on defense???
What They Should Do: Stay put and improve quickly
THE PICK: CB Mike Jenkins (South Florida)- I give the slight edge to Jenkins over Leodis McKelvin and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie because he played in the Big East, a conference that does not feature Troy or Tennessee State. Really, anyone who knows the fundamentals of the cornerback position would work here.

16. Arizona Cardinals
What They Need: They currently only have 3 defensive lineman on their roster. You guess what they need.
What They Should Do: Draft the best available defensive lineman.
THE PICK: DE Phillip Merling (Clemson)-Merling gets the nod over Derrick Harvey of Florida because Florida’s defense was atrocious last year and I don’t really like drafting a defensive player in the first round who played on an awful defense in college. Merling and Harvey are both subpar against the run, but Harvey, who is faster, backs off of blocks rather than push through them. So Merling is the pick, though not a surefire star, and only by a slight margin over Harvey.

Don’t worry. I’m not done. I’m only halfway through and, frankly, I really enjoyed that. Tomorrow you will get the second half of the first round.

Game O’ The Day: The Pac-10 tournament. I know I’m a hypocrite now, but it’s the best conference in America, people. The best game in a slate of great games is the Cal/UCLA rematch. A must watch. Cal is on a mission after getting hosed Saturday. They win this game and pose an interesting argument for the tournament committee. Also see Washington State and Oregon, USC and Arizona State and Arizona and Stanford. Oh the Pac-10 and your awesomeness.

Also note if you will, that while I did say the Rockets would lose last night, I did correctly say that the Hornets would defeat the Spurs. They won by 25. So there.

I try to temper my use of curses in this spot, not because I have a group of young children who read this, but because swearing isn’t generally deemed as being professional. However, the use of the word “asshole” applies very well here to Shelley Duncan and the New York Yankees, who I am rekindling my childhood disdain for at the moment.

It began when Hank Steinbrenner decided that he should speak. Ever.

It continued last week when new Yankee manager Joe Girardi complained because the Tampa Rays were playing hard in a spring training game.

It escalated today when Yankee pitcher Heath Phillips (not to be confused with Heath Bell or Andy Phillips) purposely threw at (bow your head in respect) baseball’s top prospect and Rays third baseman, Evan Longoria. Phillips was ejected.

It reached a boiling point, however, when Shelley Duncan, known only for his ability to smash his forearm against Jason Giambi’s forearm, slid cleats up into the groin of Rays second baseman Akinori Iwamura. Duncan was then tackled by Rays outfielder Johnny Gomes and the benches cleared, though apparently, no punches were thrown.

And so my new favorite rivalry in the American League has begun. The standard bearer franchise and the upstart club, stocked full of young talent, fighting, literally, with each other, to get on top.

Kudos to the Rays for fighting back.

To the Yankees, who were angry because a Rays player collided with a Yankee catcher in a Spring Training game, I say this: Play hard, not dirty. Throwing at the best prospect in the majors and sliding, cleats high, into a second baseman are not examples of playing hard in spring training. I kind of wish the Rays were playing the Yankees tomorrow when Billy Crystal (you read that right) will be playing for the “Pinstripes.”

All can rejoice, as the Syracuse Orange are NIT bound, after falling to Villanova in the first round of the Big East tournament this afternoon. Now if we can get Ohio State, Virginia Tech, and Maryland to be eliminated in round one of their tournaments, perhaps the deserving Virginia Commonwealth Rams can get in to the tournament, where they belong.

The Houston Rockets winning streak ends tonight against the Atlanta Hawks.

Tomorrow, I will have a full first round mock draft.

We are 8 days away from the start of the NCAA tournament. Rejoice.

Game O’ The Day: Spurs @ Hornets. At some point in the future, the New Orleans Hornets will get more respect than “I really like this team, but I don’t think they can advance in the playoffs, where I think that experience really matters.” Until then, they’ll just continue to be only 2 games out of the top spot in the Western Conference and beating the teams ahead of them. Guess what, Marc Stein, Tim Legler, Greg Anthony, Hubie Brown, etc…EXPERIENCE DOESN’T MATTER. BEING GOOD MATTERS. THE HORNETS ARE VERY GOOD. DEAL WITH IT.

Apologies for all of the short posts lately, but really, I don’t feel like analyzing the Roger Federer/Pete Sampras match from the other night. And I’d be a hypocrite if I got that excited about “Championship Week.” Again, tomorrow I will have MY mock draft. I’ll try to temper what I would do versus what I think teams will do. i.e. Ray Rice won’t be a first round pick, sadly.

Some of you may remember that a female friend of Randy Moss’ claimed during Super Bowl week that he had physically injured her. Well, she’s asked to have her charges against Moss thrown out. Very nice.

Today is another fantastically slow day. Some thoughts, however:

1. The Houston Rockets won their 19th consecutive game last night, this time defeating the inferior New Jersey Nets. Next week, the Rockets will begin a stretch where they play Los Angeles (Lakers), New Orleans, Detroit, and Boston (among others). That should be a good test as to how good they actually are.

2. San Diego won the WCC Championship last night, meaning that 3 teams from that conference better get into the tournament, eliminating Syracuse or Maryland, or some other als0-ran.

3. The big conference tournaments, however irrelevant, begin later this week. The best, of course, will be the Pac-10, which I think USC will win, though a team like Oregon or even Arizona State (who should already be in) would be wise to go on a run and secure an automatic bid to the dance, as I fear the committee will take a traditional team (Maryland) over a good team (Arizona State).

4. Tyler Hansborough will have his Number 50 retired by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (not to be confused with UNC-Wilmington or UNC-Asheville, who may or may not retire 7’7” Center Kenny George’s queen-size bed sheet, er, jersey). I hate Tyler Hansborough. Hate him because I wish he played for Duke or Tennessee or West Virginia or Kansas or UCLA. Anyone but UNC. However, he gets the stuffing beaten out of him nightly and still puts up great numbers. He is the National Player of the Year. Not Michael Beasley, who has put up great numbers on a very average team. Hansborough carried UNC while Tywon Lawson was out for most of the conference schedule. They’re a talented team, yes, but they wouldn’t be where they are without “Psycho T.”

5. Those of you who had Harvard winning the Ivy League next year in your office pools may want to rethink that, as their top recruit has decided to not attend the school, beyond the fact that he wasn’t actually academically worthy of being there.

6. I still hate Joe Lunardi.

7. Today would have been a good day to do my NFL mock draft, but I fear that I’m losing readers and question whether I should put forth the effort.

Game O’ The Day: There isn’t one. There’s no intriguing NBA matchups. The only Men’s College game of note is Cleveland State and Butler in the Horizon League final. Oral Roberts and IUPUI squaring off in the Summit League finals intrigues me slightly, but it’s not a game of the day. My advice: Check out the Veto competition tonight on Big Brother 9, formerly “Til Death Do We Part.” Apparently death comes after the producers.

So, after coming up with a coherent and (I believe) accurate bracket recently, I have developed a further hatred of ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi. This is Lunardi’s job. His only job: Lunardi “accurately” (64 of 65 teams correct during the last 10 years) predicts the teams in the NCAA tournament. Today on ESPN2’s First Take, Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg took a dig at Lunardi saying to Dana “I hate Jesus” Jacobsen that Lunardi isn’t very accurate. Considering that there’s usually 4 or 5 bubble teams, missing a team every year isn’t exactly great. Jacobsen was caught completely off guard, as Lunardi has been preening about on the network this weekend and was in studio during this interview. Her “Oh god. Don’t make him mad, Seth,” look during the interview brought great applause from me.

The point of all of this is this: Seth Greenberg is right. Joe Lunardi is not the NCAA Tournament Committee. His saying that “Team X” is out and “Team Y” is in, and ESPN taking his statements so seriously you would think they could be found in the book of Exodus, is foolish. Lunardi is no better than any D-Bag blogger (me) with too much time on their hands. Except Lunardi is employed by “The Worldwide Leader” and I am not employed by anyone. ESPN is devoting way too much time to what Joe Lunardi has to say. Let this fiasco that is Championship Week play out and see what happens.

Here’s what’s happened so far:

-VCU may have played their way out of the tournament by losing to William and Mary yesterday. They’re in a no-win situation, unless someone actually looks at their resume and realizes that they belong in the tournament despite the loss. They’re better than the “Bubble teams” (Syracuse, Maryland, Florida, Ohio State, etc.) . If they don’t get in, I’ll be a tad angry.
-I turned off the San Diego/Saint Mary’s game about 5 minutes in last night because the Gaels were dismantling the Terreros. I even joked to my roommate, “I guess I’ll turn off the TV because I don’t really think this is much of a game.” Well, turns out that the Terreros hadn’t been completely dismantled because they won the game in double overtime. Saint Mary’s is still in the field of 65, unless San Diego beats Gonzaga tonight, which would then mean that the West Coast Conference would get 3 teams in, which the committee will not allow, thus eliminating the deserving Bulldogs (Gonzaga) or Gaels (Saint Mary’s) from the field and replacing them with the Syracuse Orange and their abysmal record. Fun.
-As a college basketball fan (can you tell?), I am starting to hate the conference tournaments because they provide the opportunity for underachievers (Maryland and Ohio State) to play their way in to the real tournament by giving them the opportunity to play teams with nothing to gain (Michigan State) and thus increase their RPI. Here’s an idea: Scrap the conference tournaments. Yes, sponsors will weep and college presidents will stomp their feet, and all that jazz. However, I don’t want to see an undeserving, underachieving Maryland team make the field of 65, while a scrappy Virginia Commonwealth team with a star point guard that no one knows or remembers (Eric Maynor) has to play in the NIT, because of a 2 point misstep against an overachieving William and Mary team. VCU’s entire season, 22-5, before the loss to W&M, is washed away because of one loss, while Ohio State’s entire season, 19-12 (losses to Michigan and Minnesota included), is forgotten about if they beat a mediocre Michigan State team with nothing to gain. I hate it. It’s not as corrupt as the BCS, but it’s close.

Should we just discount one or both of UCLA’s last two victories? Can we do that?

The Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings beat the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers yesterday. The NBA: I don’t get it.

I’m probably going to have an NFL Mock Draft this week. It might be just a top 10 (so I don’t begin to hate Mel Kiper Jr. the same way I now hate Joe Lunardi) or it might be a full first rounder. So look for that.

I’m going to end with a bit of slightly breaking sports news. It’s not important, so you can skip it, but it has interested me all season. First, the backstory:

Lute Olson’s name is written on the court at the McKale Center at the University of Arizona. He has coached the Men’s basketball team there since 1983. They have won a national title under Olson (1997). Olson is notorious for letting his athletes just play, having a thin playbook and little on-court control. Lute Olson’s wife, Bobbi, whose name appears next to Lute’s on the court, died a few years ago, after 47 years of marriage. Two years later, Lute remarried. He filed for divorce in 2007 and soon after, announced he was taking a leave of absence from Arizona basketball, for “personal reasons” after the season began.

Kevin O’Neill took over for Olson after he took his leave in December and has installed a functional offense, with a thick playbook, and coaching control. The players, by all accounts, enjoy playing for him. O’Neill has a ton of coaching experience (in both the NBA and College, with the Toronto Raptors and Northwestern Wildcats, respectively). He was named Lute Olson’s successor as head coach if and when Olson retired, at the start of the season.

What has bothered me as a follower of Pac-10 basketball this season is the thought that Olson could come back whenever he wanted and take this team away from O’Neill. O’Neill has turned a Lute Olson team (all offense/no defense) into a basketball team that can score AND defend. It’s his own team, with someone else’s players and he’s done a very good job with ‘Zona.

Today, that day came and Lute Olson announced he will return at the start of next season, which will push O’Neill back to an assistant role. This is incredibly unfair to Kevin O’Neill who has proved himself to be a good coach, capable of leading Arizona. If you’re the University of Arizona, do you allow your aging legend coach (73 years old) to continue to coach kids more than a half century younger than him or do you allow a significantly younger man with a grasp on the current state of college basketball, who is in touch with today’s players, but has no glamorous spots on his resume, lead your team? My pick, as if you couldn’t tell, is O’Neill. Arizona’s will inevitably be Lute Olson’s. And they will falter because of it.

Game O’ The Day: Though I’m very excited for the Clippers/Heat matchup tonight, to see who will score 80 points first, the real game of the day is the West Coast Conference Final between Gonzaga and San Diego. If you are a fan of VCU, Western Kentucky, UAB, Saint Mary’s or, God help you, Syracuse, Ohio State, or Florida, you’re rooting for the Bulldogs. If you like to watch people suffer, you’re rooting for the San Diego Terreros. I’m rooting for Gonzaga, because I do not want to see Saint Mary’s and VCU pushed aside for a team that went on a late run in a conference tournament that happened to be played on their own court. The game is on ESPN2 at 9 P.M.

Welcome. Quick hits: