At this juncture in time, New Jersey Nets Guard Vince Carter, notorious for half-assing most things, is about to begin a monumental tank job. The Jason Kidd trade to the Dallas Mavericks became official this afternoon, thanks to Keith Van Horn who came out of retirement to make 4 million dollars in the next month and then retire again (The NBA…Where Hilarious Happens). As it stands, the Nets are getting back Devin Harris and a sack of manure with some late first round draft picks thrown in. The Mavericks are getting back a great catalyst for the next few months, in the hopes that they’ll win the NBA Title. The hope should be, if you’re Dallas, that Jason Kidd will make Dirk Nowitzki become a better playoff performer, because he’s been about as good as the filler that Dallas sent back to New Jersey in this trade, during his career in the postseason.

For the remainder of this year, Dallas is the clear winner in this trade. The Nets will have to work to make anything of the two first round picks they are getting back, as the Dallas Mavericks don’t tend to have lottery picks. Of course, this isn’t the biggest highway robbery of the past month in the NBA. That goes to the Lakers/Grizzlies trade, where the Lakers sent just the bag of manure and got a better, younger player, than Jason Kidd, in Pau Gasol. I hate to say it, but if Andrew Bynum comes back healthy and Kobe’s finger can stay attached, the Lakers are the favorites in the West. Though I am not giving up hope on my New Orleans Hornets.

This is such a dead zone for sports. The only good spring training baseball story is the prank the Phillies pulled on Kyle Kendrick. Find video of it, it’s fabulous. The NBA season has turned into the Hot Stove Report. The NHL is still the NHL. And, frankly, I write an awful lot about college basketball. With that said….

Here are my top 5 best conferences in Men’s College Basketball:

5. SEC
– In The Tournament: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State
-Need to Do Work: Kentucky, Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas
-Will Probably Fire Their Coach: Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina, Georgia
-Already Fired Their Coach: LSU

Breakdown: The SEC isn’t very good. However, Tennessee is a legitimate Final Four team, which sets it ahead of the Big 10. That pretty much says it all.

4. Big 12
-In The Tournament: Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Kansas State
-Need to Do Work: Baylor, Oklahoma
-Will Probably Fire Their Coach: Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska
-Already Lost Their Coach: Texas Tech

Breakdown: The Big 12 also isn’t very good, though I think Oklahoma should be much better than their current record (5-5; 17-8) indicates. Baylor is a nice story and if they get into the tournament, will be a nice first round elimination for a 7 seed. I really think Kansas is the only Final Four Team in the conference. Texas is too inconsistent and coached by Rick Barnes. Texas A&M is a joke at this point and will be lucky to advance to the Round of 32. Kansas State is the dark horse. If they get a good draw in March, I could see them advancing to the Elite 8. However, a mediocre game by Michael Beasley, and they’re done. I see K-State as the second best team in this conference when the dust settles.

3. ACC
-In The Tournament: Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, Clemson
-Need to Do Work: Wake Forest, Miami
-Will Probably Fire Their Coach: Tyrese Rice University, Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Florida State, Georgia Tech

Breakdown: Sadly, no team has fired their coach in the ACC, so the joke couldn’t continue. Look, the ACC isn’t very much better than the Big 12. Duke and North Carolina are better, though, than the top two teams in the Big 12 (Kansas and whomever you’d like). The ACC is also slightly deeper. Wake Forest and Miami will probably make the tournament because the committee needs to pick at least six ACC teams every year no matter what the records are of those teams. Miami is not good. Wake Forest is VERY intriguing, especially after beating Duke on Sunday by having more heart and more bad calls go in their favor (more so the latter). The bottom of this conference, as a side note, is atrocious. You pick a team from that bottom category that is any good.

2. Big East
-In The Tournament: Georgetown, Louisville, UConn, Notre Dame, Marquette, Pittsburgh
-Need to Do Work: West Virginia, Syracuse, Villanova
-Will Probably Fire Their Coach: Seton Hall, South Florida, Saint Johns, Providence, Cincinnati, Rutgers, DePaul

Breakdown: Nine teams in. You have to. I think all three of the “Need Work” teams will make the tournament. Syracuse did well to improve their standing by beating an all-of-a-sudden beatable Georgetown team. The Big East is in this position because it is deep, not because it is top-heavy with talent. I think Louisville is on the rise and, like Kansas State, a potential Elite 8 team, though I’m more skeptical of the ‘Ville because of the presence of turnover-waiting-to-happen Edgar Sosa.

Super, Clear-Cut, NO DOUBT #1. Pac-10
-In The Tournament: UCLA, Washington State, Arizona State, Arizona, Stanford, USC
-Need to Do Work: Oregon, Washington, Cal
-Have Already Fired Their Coach: Oregon State

Breakdown: Don’t worry. I don’t think 9 teams will make the NCAA tournament from the Pac-10. I think that 7 should (who that 7th team is, I don’t know, though I favor the Oregon Ducks despite the fact that they are STRUGGLING). UCLA is top tier. Washington State, Stanford, and USC are very good teams (despite USC’s record, I think they are another sleeper, especially if they can get Daniel Hackett back healthy in time for March). Arizona and Arizona State (two very different teams) can also make runs to at least the Sweet 16. I wouldn’t be surprised if 4 Pac 10 teams make the Elite 8. These teams play marquee games every Thursday and Saturday night (similar format to the tournament). Oregon State is the only bottom feeder (granted, a huge one) in this conference. Not enough people on the east coast pay attention to the Pac-10. Watch, See, Learn. The Pac-10 is the best conference in basketball. HANDS DOWN.

In the course of this post, I’ve ruined a potential column. So with that, here are, with no explanation (for now) my top 5 sleeper tournament teams. These are teams not in the top 10 presently, who I think could make it to the Elite 8. Big 10 teams need not apply. Except for…

-Indiana
-St. Mary’s
-Louisville
-Kansas State
-USC

Game O’ The Day: (sidenote: Watch Davidson play UNC Greensboro on ESPN 2 at 7 p.m. tonight, if only for a few minutes. You’ll be seeing them the first two days of the tournament). Atlanta Hawks @ LA Lakers. This is Mike Bibby’s first game with the Hawks. I think his acquisition makes the Hawks the 3rd best team in the East. Better than Cleveland. They have a great starting 5 and with Acie Law IV, Zaza Pachulia, and Josh Childress coming off the bench they are legit. This is not an NBA Finals preview. It is, however, an intriguing matchup on a lackluster day for good games.

NOTE: I’ve reviewed a few of my posts and have noticed a slue of spelling errors. For this, I apologize. I type freely, rarely looking things up, attempting to post as much information in as little time as possible. I’m like the American Media. I could read these posts before I click the PUBLISH POST button, but I feel like because I’m writing for a very small audience who knows I’m literate, it’s more important that I just get the post published. Again, thanks to you all for reading.

I could turn this into a long rambling post about today’s hearing in D.C. I watched the first three hours of it. My opinion: Clemens is lying. McNamee is lying. There is no conceivable way that Roger Clemens is telling the truth. I just can’t see it. Andy Pettitte is not the type of guy to set up one of his good friends. How is it that Brian McNamee told the truth about Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch, but not Roger? Roger would also do well to have his sniveling weasel of an attorney disappear.

But Brian McNamee is no better. The Rep. from Indiana (clearly a big Clemens fan) read off a list of quotes attributed to McNamee that the former trainer admitted were all fabrications/inaccurate. If body language determined guilt, both men would be guilty. I’ve had enough of this topic. Pitchers and catchers are reporting to camp. Let us all rejoice.

Some college basketball house cleaning:

1.) Texas’ victory over Kansas Monday night was huge. D.J. Augustine had a terrible night shooting, and the Longhorns still managed to beat the Jayhawks, who no longer look invincible.

2.) Rutgers should have won Monday’s game against Tennessee. I watched the entire game. Tennessee stopped getting the ball inside to Candace Parker in the 2nd half and it nearly cost them the game. Pundits are saying now that if these two teams play again, Rutgers will have all the motivation. I still think Tennessee beats them.

3.) North Carolina nearly lost last night to lowly Virginia. They need Ty Lawson back ASAP.

4.) Purdue looks like the best team in the Big 10. I’ve mentioned my dislike of the Big 10 in this spot before. They play basketball like they play football. No great athletes. Grind it out. Frankly, boring. I don’t think anyone in the Big 10 is a Final Four threat. Indiana could be, but Eric Gordon has been inconsistent in conference play (he needs to come back for his sophomore season).

Today, I will count down the current top 10 and break down their chances in the tournament, per Matt’s request.

(I use the ESPN Coaches Poll for my top 10)

10. Butler
-The Bulldogs are not a cute story. They’re a real team. While I don’t think Butler can win the National Championship, I do think they can beat a team that can win the Title. AJ Graves, despite looking like a 12 year old boy, is a star and capable of shooting the daylights out of anyone from Evansville to Memphis. They also have solid role players who do their job night in/night out. They nearly lost last night to UW-Milwaukee, on the road, which is not an issue. I like that they were able to pull it out in OT, on the road, against a decent team. I think they’ll lose one more game this season (hint: Bracketbuster), perhaps twice. They’re a 5 seed, at this point. They advance to the Sweet 16.

9. Michigan State
-I can’t say enough about how average I think this team is. Drew Nietzel is nothing more than the poor man’s AJ Graves. The loss last night to Purdue showed that this team is nowhere near good enough to be ranked number 9. Their best nonconference win is a six point win at home against an inconsistent Texas team. And then there’s the clunker against Iowa in January where they scored 36 points. Michigan State will be a 4 seed, somehow and will lose in the first round.

8. Georgetown
-Losing Jeff Green after last year hurt this team. There’s no denying it. If Green had come back, they would be a top 3 team. Jonathan Wallace is one of the best players in the Big East. He’s one of those guys who won’t get a shot in the pros, even though he is more than capable of running the show. Roy Hibbert is what he is. I’m not impressed every time I see him play. He doesn’t wow me. Their supporting cast is great right down to the spot above Jeremiah Rivers, who I fear will commit a silly turnover or take a ridiculous shot in a key game. I’d like to say that Georgetown could win the title, but I don’t see it. I see them as a 3 seed, losing in the Sweet 16, even though they’re better than that.

7. Stanford
-Huh??? This makes my head explode. Stanford is 20-3, which is good. Their 3 losses: UCLA (in Palo Alto), at Oregon (who should be better), and…SIENA!!! In their nonconference, they also beat Sacramento State, Santa Clara, Harvard, Yale (they apparently like the Ivies), and Northwestern State. They still have games (are you ready): at UCLA, at USC, at Arizona, and home against Washington State. They will lose 4 more games. They’ll be a 6 seed. They’ll advance to the Round of 32.

6. UCLA
-The best team in college basketball. All things equal, they are the best. They can beat you defensively. They can outscore you. They’re deeper than the Pacific (though not as deep as Kansas and Memphis). Kevin Love is one of the 5 best players in college basketball. Not just Freshman. Their coach, Ben Howland, is eh. He’s not Rick Barnes-level inept. But he’s not Coach K smart. They’re playing without Luc Ricard M’Bah Moute currently, a key contributor. The key to UCLA’s success though is Lorenzo Mata-Real. I think he’s the most inept key player on a major team. If he doesn’t senselessly foul big men, and miss 3 foot shots, he gives the Bruins a chance to win the title. UCLA also needs, as I’ve mentioned this week, Darren Collison to be healthy…fully healthy. There are a lot of ifs with UCLA, but a ton of talent too. They’ll probably lose another game, on account of how good and deep the Pac-10 is. They’ll be a 1 seed. They make it to the final four for the 3rd straight year.

5. North Carolina
-I’m going to leave this simple. With Ty Lawson healthy, they are unbeatable, unless they beat themselves. It’s been like that the last 3 seasons. Yet, they haven’t won a title. They’re not as deep as some people, Billy Packer namely, would allow you to believe. Marcus Ginyard and Danny Green are not starters at other top schools. North Carolina will be a 2 seed. They will be upset in the Elite 8.

4. Tennessee
-I’ve beaten my drum that I think Tennessee is for real. They are the only (ONLY) team in college basketball that can score 100 points on a regular basis. They are tenacious as all hell on defense too. Their one and only weakness, however, is a big one. They don’t have a post presence. The top teams: Memphis (Joey Dorsey), UCLA (Kevin Love), Duke (Kyle Singler), North Carolina (Tyler Hansborough), and Kansas (Sasha Kaun and Darrell Arthur and Cole Aldrich…my God they’re deep) all have guys who can get it done in the paint to varying degrees. Tennessee doesn’t. What they do have is Chris Lofton, the best 3 point shooter in college basketball since JJ Reddick. Mississippi State played a grinder against Tennessee, and the Vols won. Memphis is leaps and bounds better than Mississippi State. They have an ENORMOUS game against that Memphis team on the 23rd. The biggest game of the season. Tennessee loses twice more (but not to Memphis) and enters the tournament as a 2 seed. They advance to the final four.

3. Kansas
-The best team in college basketball. Because all things are not equal. I don’t really see why Kansas lost to Kansas State or Texas. They’re so deep. Insanely deep. Brandon Rush, Russell Robinson, Darrell Arthur, Sasha Kaun, Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins, Mario Chalmers are all (too varying degrees) good-to-great talents. I love Brandon Rush. I wish they could get him the ball more, but with so many playmakers that’s tough. The one thing that I think will do this team in, if anything, is Bill Self’s inability to win a big game. Last year’s team should have gone to the Final Four, but Self was outcoached by Ben Howland. This year’s team will be a 1 seed and will advance to the final four.

2. Duke
-I could write a good deal about this team. I know more about Duke and have seen them play more than any other team (purposely because of my love). They lack a guy who can grab rebounds in the paint over the big boys. Kyle Singler is a great Freshman talent and a good mid-range player, but he’s not big enough to stay in the paint against Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansborough all game. I’m also, as always, skeptical of Greg Paulus’ ability to run the show without making too many mistakes. Duke will be a number 1 seed, but will fall in the Elite 8. Sadly. Because I really love this team and think that DeMarcus Nelson deserves a better sendoff.

1. Memphis
-I think they’re beatable. Not having played a good team for a month and a half (sorry Gonzaga and Houston…you’re not “good” teams). Memphis is also extremely talented. Chris Douglas-Roberts is a great swingman (a lot like Brandon Rush). Joey Dorsey is a beast. He’s a more talented version of Ben Wallace, in that he can score actual points. Calipari is a good coach. They play a relentless style of offense. Oh, and they have Derrick Rose, an outstanding talent at point guard. Memphis will lose one game (I’ve hinted at that one in this post) on their remaining schedule. They will be a number 1 seed and advance to the final four.

And there you have it. I’m sticking with my final four.

Game o’ the Day: Maryland @ Duke. Duke wins by 5. It’ll be a great game. That’s all you really need to know.

Mid-Atlantic Bias is taking an undeserved break and will return on Tuesday of next week and will continue DAILY. We have the internet now. No more Panera. Instead of watching sports this weekend, spend time with the family. And be sure to check out the Daytona 500 and the NBA All-Star Game. Rudy Gay will win the Dunk Contest.

For those of you who missed out on LeBron James’ antics in yesterday’s 30 point loss to the Nuggets, allow me to inform.  James sat alone at the end of the bench during a timeout when the rest of his team was huddled up.  Now, yes, this was not a playoff game.  It was just another of 82 Snooze-fests on the Cavs schedule.  However, someone needs to remind me of all the times Michael Jordan sat alone at the end of the bench during a timeout.  LeBron needs to cut the prima dona bullshit and play.  Play when his leg hurts a little bit.  Play when his team is getting run out of its own building by a mid-level Western Conference team.  Play in the fourth quarter.  He needs to start playing, shut his mouth about Jason Kidd, and be a star the may Jordan was a star.  LeBron will never be better than Jordan.  And he will never, if he continues this season’s trend, be the team player and LEADER that Michael Jordan was.

Rusty Hardin and Mercury Morris are really getting on my nerves.  Hardin is Roger Clemens’ attorney who is easily a ghost from the 1930’s American South.  He uses terms like “bunk” and “riff-raff” and I assume his grandchildren call him “grandpappy.”  I hate him.

I’m very often wrong about most things.  My Game Of the Day picks are always a good supporter of this theory.  I pick a team.  That team loses.  Simple, really.

The New England Patriots will win Super Bowl 42 by a score of 38-14 over the New York Giants.  Tom Brady will win the MVP award and Benjamin Watson will be the surprise player that everyone is surprised by (intentionally redundant).

So, not that I saw it coming or anything, but the Patriots pulled a fast one and everyone and it became very apparent yesterday with the release of the injury report for the Super Bowl, when Tom Brady’s ankle was not mentioned (don’t worry, his right shoulder was).  It was all a scam.  Brady’s ankle never hurt, just as I theorized last week.

I apologize if anyone came here looking for a post from the previous few days.  We’ve been having some internet issues, in that the internet isn’t working very well.  I’m currently operating off of one wireless bar, which is one more than we’ve had in the past two days.  Because of this, Mid-Atlantic Bias may be taking an indefinite leave of absence, unless I can get some signal tomorrow.  I’ll cover a few thoughts now, before I turn off the computer and cross my fingers:

There is not anything I hate more than watching a Bill Belichick interview.  If I was a journalist, I would ask him the absolute most ridiculous questions possible:

This is the Weekend edition of Mid-Atlantic Bias.  As I’ve previously stated, it’s easier to post when I’m trying to kill time during the week than on the weekend when I actually do things.