Expanding March Madness

There have been suggestions to expand the tournament? Is it just me or are teams being left out a non-issue?

I have mixed emotions on this one.... I really hate that a lot of times the small conferences lose their best team in those meaningless conference tournaments. I kind of think the high seeds deserve the virtual bye they get by playing these teams. There has to be some reward for having an outstanding season so the regular season is not completely meaningless.

Including all of the conferences is a good PR move, you avoid the Boise St. situation (like you have in NCAA football), and the visibility over time can turn into some fairly well established programs see So. Ill, Creighton, Gonzaga, Butler, George Washington. 5 years ago we would have said they didn't belong....

Through the visibility in the tournament they were able to establish themselves. They never win as 16 seeds but as 15 and 14 seeds we have seen a few upsets, don't let one of them get the 12 seed!

All that being said, there is no argument you don't have the 64 best teams in the tournament, but none of the teams left out are likely to win it either.

If you are to expand the tournament, you should have 4 play in games that consist of the top eight bubble teams. These slots would 4 "at large bids." Teams who won their conference tournaments (i.e. FAMU vs. Niagra)should not be in "the play in game." The play in game (as it stands now) should consist of the top two bubble teams (i.e. Drexel vs. Syracuse). Read more!

The Discman

This is a real quick story on how I came to purchase my first MP3 player.

They opened up a new 24-Hour Fitness near my home. When you are using the fitness equipment there are always televisions, and headphone jacks on the fitness equipment (treadmills, stairmaster, etc.). At this particular location they had televisions, but they didn't have the headphone jacks for you to listen to the programming. After 45 minutes of cardio with no entertainment, I knew something had to give. In addition, at the club that I usually went to the programming was increasingly slanted towards the Lifetime Network persuasion.....

So I noticed that pretty much everybody at the gym had some type of media player, i-pod, mp-3, one of those walkmans on a arm-band they all had something. So I decided to take matters in my own hands and went home to search my house to find my own portable media device so that I can listen to my favorite music at the gym. When I got home the only device I could find was a CD Discman. I thought cool, I can take all my old CD's I can jam every day during my workout!

So my next day at the gym, I had my CD of the Lox (Money, Power, and Respect). The CD is hype I am thinking I will be so inspired I will do an hour of cardio easy and just be throwing up sets of 225 on the bench like nuthin..

OK, first problem. On the modern equipment there is no where to put a discman!!! I failed to notice that every one else had i-pods and little cute mp3 players they could comfortably slide in their pockets. Next, when I finally did find a way to get the discman situated on the treadmill it skipped so much it would not even play. I turned on the 10 seconed ESP (electronic shock protection, do you even remember what that is?) thinking that would solve the problem, it basically saved 10 seconds worth of the CD skipping at a time.

I literally messed with this thing for 15-20 minutes. People were walking by looking at me as if I had totally lost my mind... I must have looked like I had just got off a time machine and they couldn't figure out what era I was from and what that device I kept messing with was supposed to do. I think this is the vision they had in their head.


So after another 30 minutes on the treadmill, with absolutley no music at all. I proceeded to work out and as you can imagine I evidently had not thought about what I was going to do with the discman while going from station to station at the gym, before long I had to lug that bad boy to the locker room and store it in my gym bag.

Needless to say I invested in a mp3 player. I share this story as apreemptive strike, as my wife has had entrie groups of people doubling over clowing how "throwed off" I must have looked up there with that d-i-s-c-m-a-n... Read more!

Indifferent

Since pretty much every one that knows me, knows I am a HUGE fan of the Dallas Cowboys I have been asked at least 100 times what I thought about the Cowboys hiring Wade Phillips.

For the most part I am pretty much indifferent. My team has not won a playoff game in 10 years, and I am not sure how a coach that has never won a playoff game is supposed to change that fact. That being said I was more than ready to see the exit of the fatty fish. I do feel this team underachieved, but fans for probably every team feel that way about their team except for the Colts and maybe the Saints!

The thing that disturbed me the most about Parcells staying around for another year was the 2007 NFL Draft, and his uncanny ability to pick flops. Aside from Jason Witten, even the good draft picks could have been better. Compare Stephen Jackson to Julius Jones or Shawn Merrimam to Demarcus Ware. Not only did he grossly overestimate talent, but he was drafting talent that couldn't even make the team roster. Our 1st round pick last season did not even dress out on game day for half of the season, and this was not due to injury....

But enough on the Toxic Tuna. When asked about Wade, I stated my indifference but said I will have to look at the signs I see leading up to the season. The first of which of course would be the 2007 NFL Draft. I said at the end of the draft I was left saying huh? That would be the first strike against him.

Let's just say he has 2 strikes left. When they traded out of the 1st round and got the 3rd pick of the 2nd round, and a 1st round pick in 2008, I was very impressed (I promise not to participate in the what if we had drafted Brady Quinn talk 3 years from now). Then we traded back in to the 1st round to draft Anthony Spencer?? To quote Deion Sanders, do you even have this guy on your board??? I followed the proposed draft boards extensively and not once did I hear this guys name.

I even understand Wade's logic here. He looks at how this defense fell apart at the end of the season and the most logical explanation was the loss of Greg Ellis. So his priority was to minimize this vulnerability. This guy Spencer also appears to be quite a playmaker.

So what is my problem? To start I think we reached to get him, giving up a valuable 2nd pick in the 2nd round. The 3rd pick of the 2nd round is effectively a 1st round pick in a draft this deep with talent, and Spencer would have still been available. Secondly, this guy has the stats of being quite a playmaker, but I have to wonder that he may have piled up these stats against teams like Illinois and Northwestern as opposed to Michigan and Ohio St.

The remainder of the draft is even more disturbing. I am left wondering if Spencer may be the only draft pick that may ultimately make the team? I can't figure out the reluctance to draft on the first day and constantly trading to stockpile a bunch of late round picks. The worst of which is the spin they are trying to put on Isiah Stanback. An injured QB that we want to convert to a WR, in a draft where there were as many as 10+ WR's projected to be starters by the start of this season. I guess they are hoping to get the second coming of Patrick Crayton???

I just hope the 2008 Cowboys draft pick doesn't end up being a better pick than Cleveland's. Read more!

Doesn't Necessarily Bother Me...

I am mentiong this although it doesn't necessarily bother me. What do you do when you find out what you thought you understood about a person isn't exactly the case?

A couple of minor infractions, but misconceptions none the less. The first of which was a little over a year ago. Each year I bought a pair of 10-packs to go to the Mavericks games. I thought this was great as an avid Sports fan I was excited that there was a sporting event that my wife found entertaining as well. I didn't catch on to it from the constant mention that there was no point in watching the game until the 4th quarter. I would almost have to agree with that, particularly as it pertains to the NBA.

Then the following year, I called to review the games we should go to in the upcoming season, and to my surprise the repsonse was I don't care, I don't really like going anyhow. Huh??? So I am thinking what's wrong with the Mavs? At this time they had several seasons of 50+ wins, played tough into the 2nd round of the playoffs in the previous season, and had Avery Johnson as their new coach. This was an exciting team to watch. So I am like, what's the deal with the lack of interest? Her response, I was just going to the games because you liked it...... What?? Next time please, feel free to tell me you don't want to go before I spend the $500.

So no big deal, didn't necessarily bother me. The next time was a little more interesting. If you have seen my profile one of my favorite singers is Kenny Latimore. We have every CD he has made, including the duet albums with Chante Moore. We have seen him in concert twice, we even got married to his song "For You," needless to say I am a big fan.

So what makes a better Christmas gift than to buy the greatest hits and sneak it in the wife's CD player for the next time she hops in the ride. Set at the perfect volume, on the perfect song. So a few days later, no mention of the CD, so I ask what do you think of the Kenny Latimore CD? The response I don't know I don't really like his music??

OK, I am starting to see a disturbing trend. I am continually uncovering pleasures that I thought we shared, only to find out I was projecting my own desires on her. Makes me wonder what else it is that I love, that she could just assume do without....

Doesn't necessarily bother me, just thought I would write a blog about it? Read more!

Talking Football in May..

Had to make a quick entry based on my disappointment in every single NFL General Manager (GM)for being inept and essentially handing the Lombardi Trophy to the Patriots this season.

It really bothers me that the team that was a 1st down away from playing in their 4th Super Bowl in 6 years was able to upgrade their team so significantly. To start they got the #1 Free agent (FA) player on the market in Adalius Thomas. They were able to re-sign there own hottest player on the market. There used to be a day when free agents from one the league's best team was coveted..

They had a major concern at the wide receiver (WR) position, so they signed Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Kelly Campbell. Stallworth was at the top of the FA list for WR. Welker is a coveted player, and Campbell is a former 1st round draft pick from the University of Tennesee who has had limited playing time sitting behind 2 Pro Bowl WR's in Cincinati.

They also managed to have 2 1st round draft picks, to address there only outstanding need at Safety. The other they used to get a 2nd 1st round pick in 2008.

To cap it all off the icing on the cake. The Patriots get Randy Moss, at one time arguably the best WR in the game, with no reason to believe he will not be able to re-gain that status. They get him for a 4th round pick, which turned out to be John Bowie??? This is after the Raiders had already drafted 6 players in 4 rounds. Are you kidding me, not one NFL team could make a better offer than this? This is unbelievable? The Raiders were shopping Moss for a 1st round pick, but every NFL team stepped to the side and let the bull run right by........ Every NFL GM gets an F grade for this off-season. They will all get time to study to make a better grade next year while watching the Patriots in yet another Super Bowl! Read more!