March Madness Marathon

I had a mission yesterday, and I thought I was ready to go the distance. I sat down on the couch and clicked on CBS a few minutes after noon, just in time to hear Seth Davis make one more eminently forgettable comment that would have no impact on any of the 16 games being played that day. I knew the games would go until some time after midnight, but I thought I was in good shape to make it to the finish.

The marathon started fast with a very enjoyable game between Maryland and Davidson (see below). Just enough excitement to get the blood pumping, but as the Terps took control in the second half, I felt I was establishing a nice rhythm that would serve me well into the evening. As the first of many, many, CBS promotions for The Masters flashed onto the screen, I drank it in like it was pure oxygen. The second feature game of Georgetown-Belmont kept the pace, with the lower seed getting out fast to an 11-4 lead before the Hoyas awakened, first annoyed, then angered. By the time the kids made it home from school, this one was also in the books, and it was time to get out of the house because the GW-Vanderbilt game was not being shown by the local Baltimore affiliate.

So I tore my sons away from their homework, and we set out for a local fine dining establishment with four televisions, each of them wider than Roy Hibbert's wingspan. We missed the tipoff, and GW trailed 13-5 by the time we sat down. Sometimes, it's fun to watch games on a big screen. This was not one of those times. Vanderbilt crushed the Colonials in just about every way you can imagine. When it was 45-20 at the half, I said to myself, "Well, at least it's not as bad as Stanford," who had trailed Louisville by more than 30 earlier in the day. Then Vandy opened the second half with a 13-4 run.

The reason no one should ever complain about winning ugly is because losing ugly is so much worse. I've actually seen GW play worse, including a 103-73 loss at Duke in 1994 and a 54-34 loss to Temple in the Atlantic 10 semifinals. The Colonials led that one 24-16 at the half and didn't score a point for 15 minutes. Fortunately, there are plenty of wonderful wins to go with the woeful losses, and in time, this team will be remembered for winning the school's second Atlantic 10 Championship and a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The ride home was like that charter flight back from an all-inclusive trip to Cancun. On the flight to Mexico, there are complimentary margaritas and hot towels from cheery flight attendants, but the return trip is one long, sunburnt hangover. I was a little queasy at the thought of watching more games, but I tried to chalk it up to the bleu cheese dressing that came with the wings at the restaurant. Luckily for me, VCU provided the perfect remedy. The Rams pressed, trapped and battered Duke until the Blue Devils were left looking for a Laettneresque miracle that was nowhere to be found. The first upset of the day was as dramatic as you (and the CBS executives) could have hoped for.

But the Rams' celebration turned out to be the end of the line for me. I took the dog out for a few minutes, and when I returned, the Doc had steered the remote towards Grey's Anatomy. I rallied for a few mintes of Wright State-Pitt, but my attention wandered and as I switched over to the Daily Show during a commercial break, I fought to stay awake, but it was all over.

Maybe it was all the excitement of so many local teams playing, the emotional highs and lows. Maybe it's the fact that I turned 40 a few weeks ago, and the sports TV marathon, like pickup basketball, is a young man's game. Or maybe, call me crazy, but just maybe, we aren't supposed to try to watch 12 hours of basketball in one day. Could be, I guess. I'm about two hours from giving it another shot though, so I'll let you know.

Who is Stephen Curry?

That's the question every Division I major conference basketball coach whose team is not in the NCAA Tournament is asking right now after watching the freshman torch the Maryland Terrapins for 30 points in a valiant losing effort this afternon. Unfortunately for the assistant coaches, their bosses are also asking the inevitable followup, "Why is he at Davidson University?"

And it's a pretty good question. Every March, America learns the name of a very good player who escaped its notice all year because he doesn't play in one of the power conferences. Usually, he is a senior who was overlooked by the big names because he wasn't a high school star or he was injured or he was an academic or discipline risk. But Curry is a freshman and was a two-time All-State player at Charlotte Christian in North Carolina, where they do pay attention to basketball. And I don't think too many players with academic issues slip past the admissions office at Davidson.

Here's the best part though. His dad is Dell Curry, one of the best players in Virginia Tech history who had a solid career in the NBA. And yet none of the traditional powers could find a spot for this kid who did a pretty good Mike Bibby impression today. So, all you assistant coaches, in the words of Ricky Ricardo, "You got some 'splainin' to do."

Maryland, to its credit, took care of business in the second half today. Curry had five quick points to start the period, but D.J. Strawberry, with assists from Hayes and Vasquez, kept him in check as the Terps asserted themselves at both ends of the floor. Vasquez did a great job running the offensive show and Bambale Osby had several and-one opportunities in relief of Ibekwe, who was in foul trouble. The Wildcats had little offense other than three-point shots and the pace of the game took the legs out from under their long-range attempts.

Bottom line: excellent adjustment by Gary Willliams and his defense, and good leadership from Strawberry, Vasquez and Osby, but the Terps need to take better care of the ball (22 turnovers) to get to the Sweet 16.

Terps in Trouble

Halftime, Maryland leads 44-43, and you would think this game is being played at the pace the Terps prefer, but Davidson seems very comfortable as well. The Wildcats are beating Maryland's press and have at least three guys on the floor who can shoot the three; they are 7-19. DJ Strawberry is carrying too much of the load on offense. Jones has two threes, but he took a long time to get going. Strawberry needs to find Stephen Curry, and guard him from end-to-end on every possession. Curry has the conscience and range of Gilbert Arenas. All five Maryland starters have two fouls. Will Gary Williams back off the press or will Maryland be able to wear out Davidson? Great start to the tourney, more later.

Ripost

For all of you in disbelief over Sanjaya's survival on Idol last night, I believe I told you last week that Diana Ross would be his salvation. As far as the rest of the show, the big stage and the big diva songs were a bit too much for almost all the contestants. I know everyone likes Melinda and Lakisha, but I think this competition is more wide open than that. Neither of the two female favorites has shown an ability to get outside a certain comfort zone of songs, which could really hurt them down the stretch. Melinda needs to sing a song that people under the age of 40 would recognize and Lakisha needs to do more Gladys Knight and less Whitney Houston.

That's all for today. The NCAA Tournament beckons, and it's a sweet siren's song that I cannot resist. Maybe I'll do some pop-ins throughout the day. My picks today are Maryland, ODU, VCU, UCLA, UNC, MArquette, GW, Wright State, Texas Tech, Georgetown, Ohio State, Xavier, Louisivlle, and Texas A&M.

[ ] Post

Okay, here's how I pick a bracket. First, I print out the form and fill it out with GW winning the National Championship. Next, I tear that one up and print out another one. This time, I am irrational, but not completely insane, about GW's prospects. I start by studying all the matchups in one region and meticulously pick the games down to the Final Four representative from that region. I move on to the next region, begin to study the next set of matchups, get bored and just scribble in names until the bracket is finished. I tend to favor the teams that I know, and the automatic bid teams over the bottom of the at-large pool, and you'll probably see a lot of names from the Local Poll moving through the bracket. I also go with teams that have good backcourts or a great player. Most of the time. I have never won a pool. I have never been close. I am pretty sure both of my children beat me last year. So here we go.

In the Midwest, I'll take Florida right up to the regional final where they will lose to Oregon, led by Bryce Taylor, the mightiest Duck since Donald and Daffy. Other upsets in this region include ODU over Butler and UNLV knocking out Wisconsin. Even though everyone wants to anoint Butler as this year's George Mason, ODU is a Local Poll team and I needed a couple upsets here. I'll make up for this rough treatment of the heartland teams in the West, where Kansas cruises to the Final Four over UCLA, despite some excitement provided by VCU and Wright State as they win their first round games and the Rams get the full George Mason treatment in advancing to the Sweet 16. Mostly favorites in the South except for one win for Xavier and Texas A&M dismissing my least favorite NCAA coach, John Calipari, and his Memphis Tigers. This pleases me so much that A&M also beats Ohio State in the regional final. Saving the most ridiculous for last, I have GW beating Georgetown to get to the Elite 8, where I regain my senses and have them losing to Texas, which beats UNC. Also Texas Tech over BC in the first round.

So that leaves a #1 (Kansas), a #2 (UCLA), a #3 (Texas A&M) and a #4 (Texas). I like a high-scoring but close final of Kansas over A&M, 86-83. Will it happen? Not a chance.

Poll First, Brackets Later

First of all, a big shout out to Karl Hobbs and the George Washington University Colonials. Back in October, I interviewed Karl for some articles I was writing in the GW game program. I asked him if he was aware that the Colonials had never made three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.

"Is that right?" he asked. "I did not know that. But it's a great goal."

The Colonials played ferocious defense in beating St. Joe, St. Louis and Rhode Island to win the A-10 tournament. Critics will note that St. Louis knocked out UMass, and URI took care of Xavier, but after a four-game losing streak a month ago, the Colonials have been on a tear, winning eight in a row. This one is especially sweet for senior point guard Carl Elliott, the only starter to return from last season's historic team, and fellow senior Dokun Akingbade, who came to GW as a walk-on and redshirted last season. Akingbade started 30 games this season and had 15 points and nine rebounds in the A-10 Championship game.

In bracket news, I have no sympathy for Syracuse. The Orange played exactly one nonconference road game this season, courageously venturing 150 miles west to play that notorious hoops powerhouse Canisius. Drexel, by comparison, went 6-2 in their noncon road games including wins at Villanova, Creighton and, yes, Syracuse. So, I don't care that 'Cuse went 10-6 in the Big East, they have to get in line behind Drexel to file a complaint. The guy I feel bad for is my friend Mike Tuberosa, who went to Syracuse and is now the Assistant AD at Drexel. But he did his graduate work at Niagara and worked at GW and Georgetown, so he's got a few horses in the race.

I'll have more bracket observations later in the week. After years of not picking brackets for no good reason, I did fill one out last year, and this year, it looks like I'll be in at least five pools. I will win none of them. I have trouble picking against my sentimental favorites and eventually I make my picks strictly for entertainment purposes, mostly my own. Speaking of my own entertianment, here is this week's Local Poll (Big Stein should have the full results up this afternoon):

1. Georgetown
I’d feel better about their title chances if they also had Michael Graham, Jr.
2. Maryland
Once again, the Terps get screwed because they have to play the conference tournament in a traditional ACC hotbed.
3. VCU
If the Rams beat Duke, the only person happier than head coach Anthony Grant might be his boss, VCU Athletic Director Norwood Teague, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Class of 1987.
4. GW
I got your overachievers right here, pal!
5. Virginia Tech
Could not stop the NC State Wolfpack's determined march to the NIT.
6. Virginia
See Virginia Tech, above.
7. Old Dominion
Better not sit Blaine Taylor and Bruiser Flint next to each other at next year’s CAA Preseason Media Day Breakfast.
8. George Mason
Note to the GMU pep band: It’s been nearly a week now, it’s time to stop playing “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
9. Loyola
If it’s March on North Charles Street, that can mean only one thing … lacrosse season.
10. American
They come into your town, they’re gonna party down, they’re an American University.

A Little Song, A Little Big Dance

Alright, what did I say we were going to do today? Oscars, AI, and NCAA Tournament. Okay, here we go, in reverse order.

College Basketball
Pinewood Joe (see below) wants to know if Maryland will get into the Tournament this year. Well, it's certainly easier to say yes after the win over Florida State last night, but they still have to finish well. The Terps are now 21-7, 7-6 in the ACC, with games remaining at Duke, and home against UNC and NC State. If they only win the NC State game, they'll need at least one win in the ACC Tourney to make sure. In that scenario, they would still be only 6-4 over their last 10 with their best road wins this year being at Illinois and Clemson, neither of whom is a lock to get in either.

Before the ACC fans start to bluster about how strong the conference is, let's take a look at the Illini: 20-9, tied for fourth with an 8-6 mark in the Big 10 (home of #1 Ohio State and #2 Wisconsin). Yes, they lost at Xavier, but they didn't let anyone as bad as Miiami beat them at home, and they have won five of their last six, just like Maryland. Illinois also lost at Arizona, who is 17-9 and sixth in the Pac-10 but had an out of conference schedule that also included UNC, Louisville, UNLV, Virginia and Memphis.

Or how about Notre Dame, which gave Maryland its first loss of the season? The Big East has five teams in the Top 25, including West Virginia, currently in seventh place in the conference standings. The Fighting Irish are tied for fourth with a 9-5 league record, 21-6 overall, with a loss at lowly South Florida but wins at Georgetown and at home against #5 Alabama.

The point is, you can't take five or six teams from all the big conferences. The Mountain West has three teams with 21 or more wins and the CAA has four teams with 20, and after George Mason's run to the Final Four, you cannot discount the lesser conferences so easily and limit them to only one bid.

If that sounds complicated, that's the point. Maryland is in pretty good shape, but they still need to win some games in the next two weeks .

Idol
Okay switching over to American Idol. For once,and hopefully this is the only time this will ever happen, I agree with Ryan Seacrest, who told us on Tuesday night, "If five hours of American Idol this week isn't enough for you, perhaps you should seek professional help." I have only caught bits and pieces, so I'm not ready to handicap or predict who will be sent packing tonight, but I do have one observation/question? Who is helping these people choose the songs? Knights in White Satin is a great tune if you have the backing of a full symphony orchestra and a gospel choir and even better if the audience is in the 50+ age demographic, but of all the songs you could pick .... And it's not as if that was an aberration. Last night, one of the girls sang Eric Carmen's All By Myself, which I hadn't heard in at least 30 years, and the only reason I remember it is because there was a girl in our neighborhood who used to cry every time she heard it. I cry also, but I think for different reasons. I learned today that Celine Dion has also performed this song recently, just another reason to hate it. Like I said, I haven't seen everyone, but my favorites so far are Lakisha, Chris Sligh and the Beat Box guy. If he hangs around a few more weeks, maybe I will learn his name.

Oscars
With any luck, I'll have a full preview tomorrow before noon but for now, here's a little Oscar trivia for you, courtesy of my new friend Kevin: If Forest Whitaker wins for his performance in The Last King of Scotland, he will be the third member of the cast of Fast Times at Ridgemont High to receive a Best Actor or Actress Award. Who are the other two? The Godfather has four (Brando, Duvall, Keaton, Pacino), so one could argue that Fast Times is nearly its cinematic equal. One could, but one wouldn't.