His commentary may not be that insightful, but it really gets to the point of what the problem was. The Steve Lavin-led squad were thinking they were pretty good. But Gonzaza did pretty well. And it didn’t go well for St. John’s as a result. That’s the kind of poetry only the sport of basketball could conjure up.

The odds of that dude drunkenly trying to reenact Joe Namath’s advances on Suzy Kolber with Tetiana Anderson after his input was provided on-camera have been completely taken off the board.

Ben Higgins almost had a very  bad day Thursday.

Sure the San Diego State Aztecs had won their first tournament game and Higgins, the sports director for ABC 10 in Tucscon, was doing one of those normal news reports from the front of a darkened basketball arena. Then the driver of the Chevy Suburban behind him nearly wrecked his evening by backing over him mid-newscast.

I think — key word: think — it’s funnier because a photographer jumps in at the last second and stops the car so that Higgins doesn’t get run over.

Any serious injury to the sports reporter might have made this an awkward “can’t really watch it” scene. Now it’s just snarf-out-loud worthy.

23

Yesterday’s afternoon games were arguably the greatest stretch of basketball the tournament has ever seen. In a matter of two hours, there were four buzzer beaters. So the night games had a lot to live up to–and frankly, almost all the games were disappointing. That is, except the last 5 minutes of the MSU-UCLA matchup. Trailing by as much as 23 points, the Spartans mounted a furious comeback and came within one possession of winning the game. But alas, UCLA just barely held on when Kalin Lucas was called for a travel on the final possession.

5

Stepping away from the tournament for a moment, let’s look at what else is going on in the world of sports. Jim Tressel has given himself a 5-game suspension to match that of his players starting next season. But the final decision still resides with the NCAA, and there is a chance Tressel could be gone for as much as 1-year if they decide to drop the hammer. If that’s the case, it will be interesting to see if OSU decides to just move on from this debacle or stay the course with Tressel.

4

In case you missed some of our tournament coverage yesterday, here’s two (Butler and Morehead State) of the buzzer beaters we posted almost immediately. We’ll be continuing our on-time coverage today so if you’re next to a computer and want to see highlights, just come back and visit us and we’ll be sure to have them up as soon as possible.

IT’S MADNESS!!!

5

Good to know there’s at least one writer in America who remembers the Fab Five for what they really were. Immature kids who acted like a$$holes, didn’t win, and pretty much didn’t transcend anything. Jason Whitlock, who at the time was working at the Ann Arbor news absolutely eviscerated the Fab Five documentary, calling it film fantasy and not a documentary. He’s not the only one to come out recently against the film but he’s definitely the most prominent and the most willing to tell it how it is.

81-77

I guess the NCAA couldn’t have scripted this any better. In the very first game of the “tournament”, the play-in game if you will, North Carolina-Asheville and Arkansas-Little Rock headed to overtime. Before that though, Matt Dickey put the Bulldogs on his back scoring 14 of the team’s last 18 points in regulation, including a game tying three-pointer with 10 seconds left. They rode that momentum into the extra frame and pulled away when Arkansas-Little Rock got sloppy with the ball. Their reward? A red eye flight to DC to prepare for a Thursday night showdown with the Pittsburgh Panthers.

70-52

One game certainly doesn’t make a season and it certainly doesn’t make the selection committee look like a bunch of morons for letting a team in—oh wait, no, that’s a lie. Fans and media alike were utterly confused about UAB getting into the field of 68. Some, like Jay Bilas went as far as saying that the selection committee fell asleep at the wheel. Well, all the critique, all the jokes about UAB stood the test of time as they got absolutely rolled by Clemson 70-52. At no point was this game close and for awhile, I wondered if UAB would reach “Wisconsin-like” futility in their lack of scoring as they trailed 20-7 more than 12 minutes into the game. By the time UAB woke up from their slumber, the Tigers were already emptying their bench, readying for their “second round” game.

Every year on Selection Sunday, CBS sends their TV crews to several tournament-ready teams around the country. Their goal is to get a live, firsthand reaction of the players, coaches, and fans as they celebrate a tourney berth. But every year, CBS also sends their crew to at least one school that is squarely on the bubble. A school that some predict will get in, while others have them out.

It makes for great TV when that team beats the odds and makes the dance. It makes for pretty terrible TV when they’re snubbed.

This year, that team was Colorado. Watch as the players, including five seniors, find out their season will continue at the NIT–the toilet bowl of the NCAA.

Most bracketologists had the Buffaloes in–their RPI was strong and they had quality wins over Kansas State, Missouri and Texas. However, that wasn’t enough for the selection committee as they chose to go with weaker teams like UAB and Clemson. It’s certainly not the biggest snub in tournament history, however, it was definitely surprising and shocking for players, coaches and fans of the team. And it’s a snub they won’t soon forget.

1

Not surprisingly, Ohio State and Kansas were two of the #1 seeds in this year’s tourney. The other two were up for grabs but Duke put an end to that discussion with a dominating performance in the ACC tourney. Pitt was forgiven for their early exit from their own Big East tourney but were also left with the most wide open of the brackets with perennial powerhouse MSU waiting should they slip up.

11

The Big East conference was certainly strong this year with several teams vying for top seeds. In the end, 11 of the 18 teams got nods into the tourney including Villanova, who had struggled mightily coming down the stretch. But can one of these teams get to the finals? Pitt has had major disappointments in the past and UConn seems to be a one-man show with Kemba Walker. Or maybe, just maybe Notre Dame finally breaks through and plays to their potential.

56

There is futility and then there is what the Milwaukee Bucks did yesterday in an NBA game. The team scored a franchise record low of 56 points against the Boston Celtics who consequently also set their own record for defensive proficiency. Bucks coach Scott Skiles didn’t hold back in his post-game interview, “”that’s about as humiliating a defeat as you’ll ever see,” Skiles said. “They got us on our heels and took our competitive fight away from us. We pretty much just gave into it.” Actually, sodomized is more like it Coach Skiles.

2

Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat have had their problems on the court this year but off the court, Wade won a battle that might be more important than any NBA championship. Wade had been in a bitter custody dispute with his estranged wife, Siohvaughn, who used more than 10 different lawyers in the divorce proceedings. And on Friday, the judicial system essentially stated that Siohvaughn was crazy and gave custody of the two boys to Dwyane. In the ruling the judge said, “…[Siohvaughn Wade] has embarked on an unstoppable and relentless pattern of conduct for over two years to alienate the children from their father, and lacks either the ability or the willingness to facilitate, let alone encourage, a close and continuing relationship between them”. In other words…bitch is crazy.

4

If you’re looking for some light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the NFL labor negotiations, there may have been some yesterday. The two sides met for four hours and now there are several owners and players whispering that a deal will come before the extension expires. More importantly though, we now see that we are witnessing billionaires fight with millionaires for more money. In this dark economic time, I’m glad we are so focused on this.

4

Four more teams punched their tickets to the dance yesterday with wins in their conference tourney. St. Peter’s, Wofford, ODU, and Gonzaga will all be in the field of 68 starting next week. For the Zags, this is the time of year where they usually shine but for a school like St. Peter’s this is a rarity. It is the school’s first NCAA berth in 16 years. On a side note, their mascot is the peacock—oddly intimidating.

1400

Last week, we reported on the tragic story of Wes Leonard, a 16-year old from Fennville, Michigan who died after making a game-winning shot for his team. Last night, his team honored him by winning their first playoff game 65-54. More than 1400 were in attendance for the game including MSU coach Tom Izzo and former Loyola Maramount standout Bo Kimble. It was Kimble who lost teammate and best friend Hank Gathers on the court in 1990.

Of note though is that in 2016, the National Championship game will rotate between Turner and CBS. Fairly surprising that we will one day see a major sporting event televised strictly on a cable station.

But, if it means that we will somehow get Charles Barkley and the TNT crew (assuming Chuck’s arteries hold up another five years), I’m all for it. I’m so ready for Barkley to call Coach Calipari an a–hole. Now that’s must-see Tv.

CBS, Turner win TV rights to tourney {ESPN}

I’m still at a loss for words.

Kansas, the #1 overall seed and a team that had only lost twice coming into this game was clearly stunned at the end of the game. Several players sat in shock well after regulation and some of them even in tears.

Northern Iowa will now face the winner of the Maryland/MSU game so their Cinderella run will continue next week in St. Louis. They’ll certainly be the talk of the town and the nation for the next few days. Jordan Eglseder and Ali Farokhmanesh will probably become household names. It was Farokhmanesh that delivered the nail in the coffin. With 34 seconds to play and the Panthers clinging to a 1 point lead, he pulled up for a three pointer on a fast break and buried it.

Cajones I tell ya. Not too many players in the nation dare take the shot for fear of the repercussions. But maybe that’s why the Panthers were so successful against the Jayhawks, they have nothing to lose.

Texas ended a very disappointing season in a very disappointing way. Wake Forest guard Ishmael Smith hit a shot with a little over 1 second remaining to defeat the Longhorns and advance into the second round.

Texas had a chance to go up 3 with 10 seconds remaining but Gary Johnson missed both free throws and Smith went the length of the court to hit the winning jumper.

It was an incredible ending for one of the better days in recent NCAA tourney history. Seven lower-seeded teams won games Thursday, including five double-digit seeds, the most on the opening day of the tournament since 1991.

I’m almost compelled to sing “One Shining Moment” but then again, nah, that song sucks.

After the game last night I saw a couple of kids around the stadium asking people for their ticket stubs…

I must’ve been naive enough to think that the kids were just doing it for memorabilia purposes. As I walked towards them to give em my ticket, I was stopped by a friend…

“Dude, they sell that stuff on ebay and make money”

“Really”

Didn’t really believe him until this morning….

There was a ticket being sold on ebay for 49 bucks. A ticket stub to a game you didn’t even go to?

Lame.

Almost as lame as the way State played yesterday. But don’t get me started on that…

If you’re looking for a rooting interest tonight, look no farther than Hansbrough’s momma…

Ok fine, I actually want you to root for MSU, but in case you’re thinking with your other head, here you go…

*Edit*

I received several emails from UNC fans saying that this was not Hansbrough’s momma. More than likely, it’s his sister.

To me, it doesn’t matter. She’s hot nonetheless. I guess she’s a SILF.

5 NCAA teams have stayed in the Lions locker room since they opened Ford Field

and all 5 have lost.

MSU lost to UK in the “Basketbowl” (2003)
Villanova lost to Kansas (2008)
Wisconsin lost to Davidson (2008)
Davidson lost to Kansas (2008)
UCONN lost to MSU (2009)

For you sports fans at home, that would make the Lions Locker room 0-13 for the 2008-2009 year.

In fact, the last time a team stayed in that locker room and won was the Lions victory over Kansas City on Dec 23rd of 2007.

This does not bode well for North Carolina who apparently pissed off the karma Gods and will have to stay there for tonight’s game.

*Update*

“Karma Gods be damned says Tarheel Nation”

“Actually, I already played,” Lawson said this afternoon. “We got in last night, and Coach gave us a curfew of 1:30 (a.m.). I went over to Greektown and won about $250. So I already had my time there. It’s probably the last time I go there before the games start.”

Can’t say I blame the guy either. The economy is in the crapper and hey, a man’s got to make a living.

And as a Detroiter, I welcome any and all NCAA players to waste whatever money they have. Whether it be from boosters, scholarship money, anything…

So Jim Calhoun, you might as well fork over your special “stipend” to your players now.

You know how fans are always saying that announcers and analysts are against their team?

Most of the time it couldn’t be farther from the truth. But when you are watching games through the colors of your school’s alma mater, nothing will really sway your opinion.

Which brings me to ESPN douche extraordinaire Digger Phelps.

For years I heard State fans complain that Digger hated MSU because of the 1979 Final Four game.

I never believed it until recently.

On the air just a week ago, Digger complained about losing that game.

For you math wizards out there, that game was 30 FREAKIN YEARS AGO. To complain about that game borders on the delusional.

And MSU coach Tom Izzo apparently is sick of Digger and his “slow down the ball” theory of Big Ten Basketball as well.

And he absolutely berated ESPN and singled out Digger in the process…

“Why does everybody write about and why does everybody preach that defense wins championships? Pick the sport. Go ahead, pick it. Any one of you in here, pick it…But it doesn’t matter what sport you’re in. I do it every single year. I take hockey, baseball, football and basketball. I always put it up on a board or I reiterate it from a piece of paper. Who won the championship? When Baltimore was in it, best defensive team. It’s 90% of the time it happens.
“So I guess I just learned that that’s the way you have to win championships. But at the same time I want to run every time. I want to run every time. So I do get annoyed, sick of, frustrated with Digger saying, `They’re trying to slow it down.’ Well, if we tried to slow it down and scored 64, what did the other team do?

I’d love to see a response to this but of course, we will get a canned response from ESPN and their myriad of stooges.

Oh well….props to Izzo for calling them out.

Are you a female college student struggling to pay her bills? Did you spend your loan money on condoms and beer? Do you want to see your team in the Final Four but just don’t have the funds?

Well, look no further than Craigslist for your answer….

I have a great seat available for a MSU female hottie who would like to go. These are not nosebleed section 300 seats. You will have to spoil me for spoiling you. This ticket is worth 500-700. I am a good looking, easy going and generous white professional male.

I’m no criminal expert or anything but don’t serial killers describe themselves as “good looking, easy going, and generous white professional males?”

I’m just saying…

H/t: Spartantailgate

Every male who has hit puberty has an affinity for cheerleaders. Most of them don’t even have to be hot for us to notice them. Its just the idea of chicks in halter tops and skirts that get us.

And this pervertedness stretches well into our 20s and 30s….that is, until you have a daughter who is old enough to be a High School cheerleader.

Then you just become a creepy old man.

But apparently, this doesn’t stop CBS cameramen from being “the creepy old man” as they have showcased cheerleaders as much as possible during the tournament.

And by cheerleaders, I mean cheerleaders crotches.

And at first, I thought my buddies were the only perverts who caught this but lo and behold, our friends at Deadspin have no lives either.

And please, spare me the emails saying the site is soft-core pornography. We’re much better than that….ok, barely…

HA!