April 4 - 1957, 1982, 1993 and 2005

What do the Final Fours of 1957, 1982, 1993 and 2005 all have in common? Well, first of all, they were all played in states that touch the Mississippi River (Missouri and Louisiana). Secondly, following tonight’s game, each will have been won by the University of North Carolina – my pick to win to the 2005 National Championship. I don’t make this pick with a ton of confidence, but I feel North Carolina crossed an important bridge on Saturday evening and they appear to have just enough juice to get over the finish line.

Let’s be honest here, Saturday night was not pretty for UNC, particularly in the first half. They were outhustled and outplayed by Michigan State and I felt they were lucky to be only down five at the twenty minute mark. It was North Carolina at is worst – Ray Felton was as wild as St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Rick Ankiel was during the 2000 NLCS, and the Heels were simply getting manhandled on the defensive glass. MSU was just throwing crap at the rim and successfully chasing it down with only token resistance. A few offensive rebounds are understandable, but when the number swelled to double digits, I was longing for the days of George Lynch. Fortunately, at halftime, Coach Roy Williams was able to regroup and the Heels came out and played a terrific second half. Felton stopped handing the ball over to MSU and the Spartans were treated to a massive helping of Sean May. I mentioned in my preview that I thought these two were the keys to the game, and in the second half, I was proven right. In the second half, Felton only had one turnover, made several key shots and got May the ball down deep where the 260 pound badass could cause havoc. MSU center Paul Davis gave a game effort, but he was no match for May who ended up with 18 second half points. Meanwhile, MSU, always a bit erratic when it comes to perimeter shooting, simply lacked enough firepower to stay with UNC in the second frame. The Spartan cause sure wasn’t helped by the fact that Alan Anderson went scoreless and senior Chris Hill was firing blanks. Shannon Brown took up some of this scoring load early, but when his gun cooled, the Spartans were cooked.

So now Carolina moves on to face Illinois in a matchup of the nation’s top two seeded teams. The Illini got a scare on Saturday night as they only led by one with ten minutes to go, but Luther Head rode to the rescue with three big bombs that slingshot Illinois to a lead that it would never relinquish. Head’s air assault followed a ten minute power sermon by Roger “The Minister” Powell that resulted in 14 unexpected points for Bruce Webber’s crew. However, despite Powell’s performance, Pitino’s Cardinals were right there with ten to go. And surprisingly, they were there without any contribution from Francisco Garcia. This could not have been anticipated, especially since Garcia was being defended by a much smaller player in Deron Williams. On paper, this should have been all Louisville, but Garcia looked unsure of himself all night and on many occasions, he forced shots that had no prayer of being answered. Yet, Coach Rick Pitino kept calling his number even though it eventually became clear that Louisville’s best matchup was Ellis Miles against anyone on the Illini’s roster. Miles was truly a force yesterday, yet Louisville didn’t do nearly enough to exploit his power. Further, I felt Louisville was much too passive on defense, rarely coming out of their zone and never pressing when Illinois had its entire backcourt triumvirate in the game. Perhaps Pitino felt his guys were just not quick enough to handle Illinois off the dribble, but at some point, he had to get some more pressure on the perimeter.

So why am I going with Carolina? It’s really pretty simple. Coach Williams has a weapon that Illinois simply cannot stop and that is Sean May. If Ellis Miles can unload on Illinois, just imagine what May will do come tip-off. If I am Coach Williams, I open up this giant can of whupass at 9:21 EST and shove it down Illinois’s throat for the next two hours. I am not saying the Carolina doughboy is going to have the same kind of 21/22 championship night that Bill Walton had in St. Louis back in 1973, but if I had to guess, I would say May is good for a 24 point and 14 rebound game on his way to the Final Four MVP. With May as their cornerstone, I think Carolina will have their way on offense so long as Felton can keep things tight. The Heels sometimes struggle with shot blockers, but that is of no concern against Illinois’s vertically challenged big guys. Further, Felton and McCants should have no trouble taking Dee Brown and Luther Head off the dribble. With that said, Carolina will get its points and the only question that remains is whether Illinois will get more. Hell, if the Illini pour in 15 three’s, all bets are off, but so long as Carolina can get some pressure out on the perimeter, I think they will be in decent shape. There are the key numbers I am looking at. Carolina needs May to rack up at least 20, Felton to keep his turnovers to four or less, and keep Illinois to less than 35 percent from three. So long as these metrics are hit, Carolina will leave St. Louis with its fourth national basketball championship in school history.

Ever since CBS got the rights to the NCAA tournament in 1982, Billy Packer has been the color commentator for the national championship game. Lest you forget, Packer came over to CBS from NBC where he used to work alongside Al McGuire in a three-man booth. I have always been a fan of Packer’s, even in those early days when he had to work with disgraces like McGuire and Brent. Unlike most in the business, Billy calls it like he sees it. He is an old-school analyst who is willing to offer an opinion even if it paints a player or coach in an unfavorable light. Moreover, Packer’s knowledge of history is deep and he has a great feel for identifying the subtle nuances that end up deciding games. Despite such qualities, I think I am in the minority as far as Packer goes. In recent weeks, I have heard many fans and pundits criticize Billy P and the cyberworld is filled with complaints aimed at the bald demon deacon. (http://underscorebleach.net/content/jotsheet/2005/03/billy_packer). If I had to synthesize these complaints into a single cohesive thesis, I would say basketball fans dislike Packer because he much too negative. I have heard other complaints as well, but the outstanding issue for most is Packer’s obsession with calling a glass half empty. What the hell is wrong with these people? Guys, Packer is an “analyst.” He is paid to analyze and offer critiques, even when such critiques are not flattering to a coach or a player or a program. In my estimation, there is nothing worse than an analyst who cannot step up and offer well-earned criticism. After all, every time someone takes a player off the dribble, a defender was taken off the dribble. In this case, both the success and the failure deserve attention. If you are going to bombard me all night with comments on how Sean May is unstoppable, than I think it is probably worth mentioning who May is abusing each time he touches the ball. And when coaches mess up, like Tubby Smith did against Michigan State, I want those mistakes highlighted and brought to the masses. Packer did as much when he faulted Smith for playing Timmy Lupus and Rudy Stein in the second overtime of last week’s regional final in Austin. But to hear his critics tell it, Packer was just harping on the negative to rip a coach he doesn’t like. We have enough glorification in sports and the reason for that is the networks, which pay astronomical rights fees, are unwilling to hire analysts who disparage the product. I wouldn’t say Packer unfairly disparages anything, but at least he is willing to offer an opinion that isn’t supplied to him by his producers. We need more of this in sports, not less of it. Good analysts must have a healthy degree of skepticism. Those who lack this trait should try out for cheerleader or perhaps writing equity research for a big Wall Street investment bank. I will be the first to admit Packer isn’t perfect, but I’ll take his frankness any day of the week over those whose purpose is to protect the product at all costs.

Could someone please explain to me what this love affair the guys at ESPN have with the Minnesota Twins? In case you didn’t notice, four of ESPN’s top six baseball writers (Jayson Stark, Buster Olney, Peter Gammons and Jerry Krasnick) have picked the Twins to win the 2005 World Series. It seems that every year, and in every sport, there is a trendy underdog pick and this year it is obviously the Twinkies. I realize it is a bit conservative and boring to pick the Yankees or the Red Sox or the Marlins, but what is this fascination with the Teflon Twins? What have these guys done to deserve such adulation? Hey, I will concede the Twins are a very well run organization that keeps plugging away with a great farm system and a $55-60 million dollar payroll. This is a club that is constantly able to reload from within and always acts dispassionately when tough organizational decisions have to be made. While such aptitude is to be commended, it doesn’t automatically make this club a serious contender for the World Championship. I recognize they have a stud at the head of their staff in Johan Santana, but do Brad Radke and Carlos Silva strike fear into opposing lineups? There are some great arms in the bullpen, which is shocking for a low budget club, but is Joe Nathan the guy you want out there closing games in October? He was passable against the Yanks last year in the ALDS, but those five walks in five innings don’t exactly inspire confidence. Everyone seems to love catcher Joe Mauer, but so what if he hits .300 with 25 bombs this year? Those are more Varitek-like than Pudge-like numbers. True, they will have super-soph Justin Morneau for the entire year this season, and he could be a monster, but he better be another Harmon Killibrew because there isn’t a whole lot of power coming from the corner outfielders. Getting rid of Koskie’s whiffs at third was probably a positive, but Mike Cuddyer isn’t exactly Gary Gaetti and there isn’t much offense coming from this club’s middle infield. Basically, this is a throwback club and I believe that is a big reason why they are getting so much attention right now. It seems with all this steroid stuff dominating the news, pundits are looking to champion a team that is symbolic of a time when baseball was a little more pure. The Twins fit that bill and that is one possible reason for all these foolish World Series predictions. I am going with this thesis, but perhaps I am over analyzing the situation. Maybe it is something simpler like the guys at ESPN are just joking around with predictions that don’t count for a whole lot.

So we have our first confirmed steroid loser and his name is Alex Sanchez. Alex who? This is baseball’s wet dream – suspend a player nodofy has heard of and even fewer people care about. Sanchez is a non-descript centerfielder playing for a non-descript team and no one, including his mother, will give a second thought to his absence. That is just how baseball wants it. The steroid wolves, like this author, were seeking some lambs and baseball obliged with Sanchez – a guy who I thought was traded back to Cuba for the rights to the post-Castro Copa. This disclosure is so damn convenient that I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that MLB framed this patsy. Think about it. Baseball has to cough up some offenders. No one is going to believe the game is completely clean so what does baseball do? They find Mr. Irrelevant, juice up his sample, and single him out as an offender four weeks after tests were originally supposed to be disclosed. Is this a coincidence? Probably, but I wouldn’t put it past either the league or the union, Heck, the union doesn’t give two shits about throwing one of its rank and file under the bus so long as the guys with the big payrolls don’t get in trouble. And as far as MLB goes, they cannot have any qualms about manufacturing evidence so long as it helps them avoid another debacle on Capitol Hill. So that brings me to my second question. Is this it? Is this the only player caught in the spring training testing net? Commish Bud Selig had promised in late February that culprits would be identified as soon as possible, but we had not heard a whole lot until this recent disclosure. So is Sanchez the only problem child? Judging from Baseball’s silence all spring, long after initial testing was completed and results obtained, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sanchez coming out of this as the only fall guy. Hell, if Oswald acted alone, who is to say Sanchez didn’t as well.

The Patriots are seemingly playing with fire as they try to lock up Tom Brady to a long term extension. Word out of Boston this weekend is Brady, a free agent after the 2007 season, is agreeable to a six year extension that includes a paltry $24 million signing bonus. This is way below market, as Peyton Manning and Mike Vick both got bonuses with three handles, but Brady has reportedly agreed to take a sizable hometown discount. How sizable? Well, Brady is basically willing to accept Chad Pennington and Matt Hasselback money. That isn’t a hometown discount – it is more like a going out of business discount. So how are the Pats responding to Brady’s generous offer? Well, they are reportedly trying to string out the bonus payments over a few years. (Guys, signing bonuses are supposed to be paid out up front – otherwise it is called salary) Talk about ungrateful. What is next – pulling stroke victim Teddy Brushci’s health insurance? Tom Brady is quite simply the BEST quarterback in football and he just cut the Pats a huge break that will provide them with some payroll flexibility. Owner Bob Kraft needs to sober up and stop trying to draw another ounce of blood from the heart and soul of his team. It is time for Kraft to go down to his bank and get a cashiers check made out to Tom Brady for $24,000,000. He then needs to drive by Tom’s house, personally hand over the check, and say thanks to number 12 for letting him off without a Vick-like ass raping.

There is a new face emerging in American women’s swimming and it belongs to fifteen year old Katie Hoff. The teenager from North Baltimore burst upon the scene last year by qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team even though she disappointed under the spotlight in Athens. This year, she is proving she was no Olympic year fluke, as she broke Amanda Beard’s American Record in the 200 IM on Friday night at the U.S. World Championship Trials. She also won the 400 IM and 200 Freestyle at the trials this weekend and there is a chance she adds another title before the meet concludes on Wednesday night. Hoff, who swims for the same club in Baltimore that produced Michael Phelps, appears to have the same kind of versatility as her old teammate, and at this early stage in the Olympic quadrennial, she is the only American teenager who looks ready to compete on the World stage. Based on this weekend, it looks like Hoff could be on the verge of a coming out party at this summer’s World Championships in Montreal, much like Phelps did in 2001. Meanwhile, aside from Hoff, the U.S. team at World’s is not looking so strong. Athens star Amanda Beard pulled out of the Trials at the last moment and both Natalie Coughlin and Kaitlin Sandeno seem to be suffering from some post-Olympic malaise. Coughlin may be back in shape come July, but as it stands right now, Hoff may have to carry the flag when the U.S. team arrives in Montreal.

The University of Pittsburgh took a hit this morning with news that both Chris Taft and Carl Krauser will make themselves eligible in this June’s NBA draft. Taft's announcement was not a surprise since he is expected to be a lottery pick, but Krauser’s move was a bit of a surprise since he is no lock to play in the NBA. Because of this uncertainty, Krauser is expected to keep his options open so if he falls too far, he would be free to come back. Nonetheless, the loss of Taft and senior Chevy Troutman, along with the possibility of losing Krauser, greatly clouds the future of this program. Jamie Dixon inherited a solid crew from Ben Howland after the 2003 season, but he has been unable to capitalize on his assets. In 2004, Pitt had a nice season before going down to Oklahoma State in the regional semis, but this year, Pitt regressed and suffered an opening round knockout in the tourney. Now Dixon goes into his third season as coach with a rather depleted cupboard. Dixon does have a couple big kids coming in, including 6’8 260 pound Tyrell Biggs, but Troutman and Taft will be hard to replace with kids. Listen, Taft wasn’t exactly Charles Smith, but he had his moments. He may have fellen asleep at times, but he was a lot better than your average Big East center. At this point, Dixon better hope Krauser doesn’t impress at the upcoming pre-draft camp or he will face the prospect of facing an expanded Big East in 2006 with a young and very untested team.