Feb 23- Big-12 Busts

The Big-12 will be hosting this year's Final Four in St. Louis, but if last night was any indication, the conference won't have one of its own on the floor when that show comes to town. I probably shouldn't make too much out of Oklahoma State's loss last night to Nebraska, but it can't simply be swept under the rug either. Sure, Oklahoma State was probably looking forward to its Saturday matchup with slumping Kansas, but losing to the Huskers is still difficult to explain. Moreover, the Cowboys pride themselves on playing solid defense yet last night the Huskers were able to shoot 56 percent from the field. I cannot imagine Eddie Sutton was thrilled with that performance and it wouldn't have surprised me if the Cowboys had stayed on the court after the game for a little Herb Brooksian nightcap. And check out the line for JamesOn Curry last night: 1-4, 0 boards and six turnovers. He lost his ride at UNC for selling dope and based on last night, it looks like the store is still open. I guess that helps explain why Ricky Williams was sitting courtside.

Is there a streakier team in America than Iowa State? This is their recent history. They win four in a row, they lose six in a row and then they win seven in a row. Was last night's loss to Texas A&M the beginning of another streak to the downside? The Cyclones schedule would suggest otherwise, but this team cannot expect to get a tourney bid by simply limping to the finish line. They should feel confident of their chances with games against doormats Nebraska, Missouri and Colorado ahead, but they cannot afford to dump two of these games. After all, the Cyclones are only 15-9 and two losses would leave them at .500 in conference at seasons end.

Maryland is doing its best to play itself right out of the tournamnet. Ten days ago, the Terps were sitting pretty after sweeping the season series from Duke. But since that time, the Terps have lost to NC State, squeeked by Virginia and lost to Clemson. In last night's debacle at home, Maryland allowed Clemson to shoot 58 percent from the field. Does anyone in this conference play any defense? Furthermore, does this make any sense - Maryland has swept Duke but has also been swept by both NC State and Clemson. Losing two to the Wolfpack is understandable, but being swept by Clemson is another story entirely. These two losses have put a big crimp in Maryland's resume. They finish against UNC and Virgina Tech and the Terps are going to need one of these games to lock down a bid. If they lose both, the Terps will probably need a win - or possibly two - in the ACC tourney to secure an invite.

The big story in the NFL yesterday came out of Nashville where the Titans released a bunch of players due to salary cap restrictions. The news got me thinking - how long before the same thing happens to Indianapolis. In the past year, Colts GM Bill Polian gave Peyton Manning a huge check and handed out rich contracts to both Marvin Harrison and Brandon Stokley. They then signed right tackle Ryan Diem to a big contract yesterday and franchised Edgerrin James. Where is all this money coming from? The answer is that a good deal of the money we are talking about is deferred for a couple years. The Colts have basically leveraged their future in order to win right now. Manning's contract explodes in 06 and 07, and when it does, the Colts are going to face the same problems that confronted the Titans this year. The window is closing on the Colts and closing fast.

So I guess its just about certain that Drew Bledsoe will be playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys next season and nobody is more excited by that prospect then Philadelphia Eagle defensive coordinator Jimmy Johnson. JJ is a blitz addict and it doesn't take a guru to know that he now has one of the more "blitzable" quarterbacks in the NFL playing in his own division. Some have been quick to applaud this signing (ESPN's MIke Golic), but I think the only people who are truly pleased are those coaches in the AFC West who are scheduled to play the NFC East next year. With Dallas now headed by Bledsoe and Washington dumping receivers, I am not sure this dismal division will be any improved next year.

Nothing could please me more then to see Bledsoe headed to Dallas since it helps assure that Bill Parcells will fail in the third year of his three-year plan. I don't care that Dallas has some cap room to be active in free agency and the team has a couple of firsts in the upcomming draft. With Bledsoe at the helm, this team cannot possibly play with Philadelphia. The numbers support my thesis. Over the past three years in Buffalo, this guy threw 55 TDs and 43 interceptions. Those are hardly Cantonesque numbers. And more importantly, since 1997, Bledsoe has simply not won all that often. I have every confidence that this trend will continue in 2005. However, I will point out that there is one glimmer of hope in this signing. Bledsoe's best years in New England came while he was teamed with a terrific tight end in Ben Coates. Bledsoe relied on Big Ben to bail him out and when Coates went downhill, Bledsoe followed. Drew didn't have such an outlet in Buffalo and that possibly explains why he took so many sacks and threw so many interceptions. Perhaps the Cowboys' terrific young tight end - Jason Witten - can be Bledsoe's new safety valve.

I loved the exchange that occured late in yesterday's press conference between Barry Bonds and one his antagonists from the evil media. The reporter, whose identity I don't know, asked whether Barry thought it was "cheating" to use steroids. It was a generically-phrased question that sought to determine whether Bonds thinks the use of steroids is unsportsmanlike. Bonds answer was sheer brilliance. After a second of thought, Bonds moved forward with the classic: "I don't even know what cheating is?" You cannot make this stuff up. And if that weren't bad enough, Bonds made an interesting point yesterday when he menitoned that if critics want to scrub the sport's record books, they should start by going back to the 19th and 18th centuries. 18th Century? Did I miss something? I always thought that baseball was a Civil War-era invention but now I am told by Mr Bonds that it was alive and well during the Adams administration. I guess Alexander Hamilton was the first to come up with the idea of giving Baseball the anti-trust exemption that it still enjoys today.

Last week, I may have made a mistake when I said Emeka Okafor was my pick for mid-season Rookie of the Year. Okafor has been very solid, but there is a guy up in Chicago who is starting to dominate games. Ben Gordon may not start many games, but he sure finishes them, as we saw last night when the Bulls took out Miami. Gordon had 29 against the Heat, 15 of which came on fourth quarter and overtime three-pointers. He now leads the lead with 15 games of scoring 10 or more points in the fourth quarter. The Bulls should be a playoff team this year and Gordon is a big reason for the turnaround.

Congratulations to Florida Junior Ryan Lochte who shattered two American records at the Southeastern Conference Swimming Championships. First he took out the record in the 200 yard individual medley and then came back two nights later and took out the record in the 200 yard backstroke. For those of you who aren't familar with the sport, American records don't fall too often, especially if your last name ins't Coughlin or Phelps. What makes Lochte's performance so remarkable is that he was not rested for this meet. That will not be the case at next months NCAAs and so its safe to assume that Lochte's best is yet to come.