March 16 - Cowboy Up - OSU to Win NCAAs

Well, after much deliberation, I am taking the Oklahoma State Cowboys to win this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship. I am far from confident with my pick, but I am going with the Cowboys because I feel Eddie Sutton has a real nice squad and it is finally his time to cut down the nets. Oklahoma State just seems to me like the most well rounded team in the tourney. As is customary for a Sutton team, the Cowboys play solid man-to-man defense and they have the ability to shut down good perimeter players. On offense, the Cowboys have some firepower in Joey Graham and John Lucas; and if Dan Bobik or JamesOn Curry can make some outside shots, Oklahoma State has more then enough ammo. But that is not to say the road to the championship will be easy. A third round game with Arizona or LSU could be tricky especially if LSU is the opponent. The Tigers have a ton of muscle inside and if Oklahoma State has a weakness, it is a tendency to have problems guarding size. Wayne Simien ate then alive late in the season and they simply do not have that much size other then Graham and Ivan McFarlin. Once past the regional semis, Illinois looms in what basically amounts to be home game for the Illini. Oklahoma State will have a hard time beating Illinois in Chicago, but I think they have the kind of athletes that can shut down the Illini’s vaunted perimeter trio. In my mind, the winner of this game will be National Champion. From there, I think the Cowboys take out either Louisville or Washington in the semis and North Carolina in the Finals. Carolina has more talent than Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys play better defense and are more likely to make plays in the big spot. That is why I think you will see a lot of Eddie Sutton's mug when CBS concludes its 2005 tourney coverage with a little "One Shinning Moment."

Aside from Oklahoma State and North Carolina, I am picking Oklahoma and Louisville to make it to St. Louis. This gives me a number 1, 2, 3 and 4 seed and two teams from a state better known for its football than its basketball. In the regional finals, I am picking Ok State over Illinois, North Carolina over Kansas, Louisville over Wake and Oklahoma over Duke. I like UNC over Kansas simply because Carolina has a deeper team and an answer for Wayne Simien in Sean May. I also am a huge seller of Kansas point guard Arron Miles and I think he will end up costing Kansas a final four spot, much like he did a year ago against Georgia Tech. This is saying a lot since he will be up against a guy on Carolina – Ray Felton – who is just as likely to collapse in a big spot. This game, by the way, will be almost un-watchable since the announcing team will surely bombard its viewers with references to Roy Williams coaching against the kids he recruited at Kansas. Out West, I don’t love Louisville, but I think the draw is favorable and complementary of their style. I see them getting a crack at Washington and Wake in the Regionals and both of these teams like to play it fast and loose. This suits Louisville just fine and I think they will be able to conjure up just enough offense from their big three to move on. These games should be played in the 80s and 90s. As for Oklahoma, I think they play a physical kind of basketball that will drive Duke crazy. Other then Sheldon Williams, Duke is a finesse team and my guess is sharpshooter J.J. Reddick will find it much more difficult to get his shot off against the Sooners than those soft defenses he plays against in the ACC. Oklahoma is a bit hard to watch, but I think they will be able to throw Duke around on the inside and scare up just enough offense to move.

If I had to pick some upsets or early exits, I would start with LSU over Arizona. The Tigers have loads of muscle inside and Arizona simply has no answer. Channing Frye is a better than average inside player, but he is all alone and I see him wearing down against LSU’s two headed behemoth down low. Lute’s team is dangerous with Salim Stoudamire shooting the way he has all season, but the cats are shallow, inconsistent and destined to lose this game. I also see Syracuse having some trouble getting out of the opening weekend. Boeheim’s club should find an answer to stop Vermont’s Taylor Coppenrath in the opening round, but I don’t think the Orangemen are all that good, especially if Gerry McNammara is anything short of lights out. He saved the Orange from an early exit last year, but he has been inconsistent all season and I don’t see history repeating itself. As such, Tom Izzo will find a way for his Spartans to win that second round game and move on to Austin where they will get a rematch with Duke. I am also a seller of Kentucky. I think they get out of the weekend, but I don’t see them moving any further then the regional semis. They were soundly whipped by Florida last weekend and that follows a loss to Gators the prior week. The Wildcats have been far from impressive in recent weeks and I sometimes wonder how they manage to score 60 points. They can play defense, but there is no one on the roster that can step up and make key shots with the game on the line. Tubby and his Cats have developed a reputation of underachieving in recent tourneys and I think this year will be no different And staying within the Southeast, I don’t think Florida is nearly as good as people as some pundits suggest. The team, which hasn’t done a thing in the tourney since 2000, is playing better defense than in years past, but that isn’t saying a whole lot given the comparables. Their resume is basically buttressed by a couple of wins over Kentucky but how impressive are those given Kentucky’s flaws? Further, I just cannot stand Matt Walsh. It’s hard to pick against seeded teams in the first round, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Florida go down against a very physical team from Ohio.

As far as my Bruins go, I am going with my heart and giving them a win over Texas Tech before they exit at the hands of the Zags. Thursday night against the Red Raiders, I am looking for a little payback that Bobby Knights has had coming since his Indiana squad whipped the Bruins in a 1992 regional final. That game was over early, but Knight had his dogs pawing at the carcass late in the game and its time for him to pay a long-overdue bill. I honestly feel the Bruins stand a good chance to win this game. Texas Tech is passable, but they are nothing special. Ron Ross is a real nice player but Tech doesn’t play great defense or rebound too well and I think that will give Dijon Thompson the opportunity to have a big game for UCLA. History is certainly on UCLA’s side in this one as Bobby Knight has not made it to the regionals since 1994. He has a ton of early round blemishes on his resume and on Thursday night, he will add another.

Do you think Barry Bonds is going to sleep well over the next several weeks? The bet here is that Bonds is going to be walking on egg shells this spring as he waits to see whether his former trainer – Greg Anderson - becomes a government witness. Anderson has been accused to distributing steroids and it now looks like he plans to cut a deal with the government rather then face a jury. “Syringe Boy” was supposed to appear at a hearing yesterday in which he was to argue in favor of a dismissal, but Anderson’s lawyer asked that the hearing be delayed while a plea could be negotiated. This begs the question of whether the government is on the verge of flipping this guy. Hell, if faced with ten years in federal prison, I suspect Anderson would do anything to halve his time and that includes giving up his friend Barry. We already know Bonds told the grand jury that he received steroids from Anderson, but Bonds has maintained that he thought the drugs were nothing more than flaxseed oil and a balm to fight arthritis. That is his testimony under oath, but what if Anderson flips and suggests that Bonds testimony was far from truthful? Instead of just being a hayseed addicted to flaxseed, Anderson could testify that Bonds was a knowing and willing accomplice. It strikes me that the prosecutors in this case will jump at the opportunity to rope Bonds into this case. And if number twenty-five lied to the grand jury, Anderson could hold the key. And if you don’t think Anderson’s testimony is enough to sink Bonds, than you obviously were not following Bernie Ebbers trial. Barry is now staring at a problem that goes far beyond any he confronts on the field. He faces a juiced-up Justice Department that may soon have him by his steroid-impaired testicles. And unfortunately for Barry, no flaxseed oil in the world will help him hit the splitter that is coming his way.

I thought it was impossible to outdo Elgin Baylor and the Los Angeles Clippers when it comes to poor drafting, but after reading a recent piece by ESPN’s Len Pasquerelli, I think the Cleveland Browns are perhaps in the same ballpark. The ineptitude of the Browns was highlighted earlier this week when the team released defensive tackle Courtney Brown - the player the Browns selected with the first pick in the 2000 NFL draft. Number one picks in the NFL draft are supposed to be six-time pro bowlers and not released after five unexceptional years. Brown’s release comes right on the heals of the Browns decision to trade 2001 first round pick Gerald Warren to the Broncos for a fourth round pick in this years draft. Mind you, Warren was the third player selected in the entire draft and has now been shipped off for a pick that will be made long after ESPN ends their Saturday draft-day coverage. If this isn’t bad enough, the Browns first picks in 1999 and 2002 snagged Tim Couch and William Green. Couch, who was also the first player selected in the entire draft, was released by the Browns a couple years back and is now one step away from calling Edmonton his home. Meanwhile, Green has never averaged four yards a carry in his three seasons and has been caught sniffing the sideline chalk on a few occasions. It is almost impossible to conceive a track record this bad, but it gets worse when you factor in the Browns second rounders. It’s a virtual whose who of journeymen wide receivers. How would you like these picks on your resume: Kevin Johnson, Dennis Northcutt, Quincy Morgan and Andre Davis? This is tantamount to picking Gallagher, Carrot, Paully Shore and Colin Quinn if you were assembling a comedy team.

To illustrate just how bad the Browns record in the second round, has been, I submit 2002 as exhibit A. In that draft, the Browns selected the underwhelming Morgan. Quince made no impression whatsoever and was shipped off to Dallas this year for an old oil rig and two season tickets to the Dallas Stars. That same year, the Patriots were able to snag both of their starting wideouts - Deion Branch and David Givens - after the Browns had selected Morgan. With this track record, is it any wonder that 2004 first rounder Kellen Winslow broke his leg in the second game of last season? In fact, I am surprised he is still alive. Now the Browns have finally brought in some guys who may be able to turn this nightmare around. Phil Savage, who had great success in Baltimore, has been brought in to oversee personnel and Romeo Cornell has been brought in from New England to coach. These guys have great pedigrees and if they cannot get it right, then I will give some credence to the theory that this city was cursed the day Art Modell took the original Browns to Baltimore.

While we are talking about idiotic draft composers, I must take a second to highlight the magnificent record of my friend Elgin Baylor – the “Architect of Ass.” Over the past nineteen years, Elgin has put together as ghastly a resume as any on this planet. Here are some of the first round beauties with their selection years in parentheses: Reggie Williams (87), Joe Wolf (87), Danny Ferry (89), Bo Kimble (90), LeRon Ellis (91), Randy Woods (92), Elmore Smith (92), Terry Dehere (93), Lamond Murray (94), Lorenzan Wright (96), Maurice Taylor (97), Michael Olowakandi (98), Darius Miles (00), Chirs Kaman (03). There have been some decent picks sprinkled in there – Lamar Odom, Danny Manning, and Antonio McDyess - but not too many. With this track record, is it any surprise that the Clippers have had just one winning record since Baylor got there in 1986? He seems like a nicest guy in the world, but he cannot pick personnel to save his life. Can you imagine this guy going on the basketball version of “Lets Make a Deal?” with Monty Hall. I can just imagine it now – Baylor has just won the rights to Yao but Monty gives him the option of trading those rights for the opportunity to win a giant timberwolf behind door number three. Baylor, expecting to land Kevin Garnett, takes the deal but it ends up backfiring and all Baylor wins is a 125 pound Alaskan malamute. Such is the history of Elgin Baylor and the Los Angeles Scissors.

If this isn’t irony, I don’t know what is. It is being reported in some circles that New England Patriot linebacker Teddy Bruschi is suffering from a hole in his heart and will have surgery shortly to correct the problem. Bruschi, as you may remember, had a mild stroke last month and some reports suggest that this heart condition may have contributed to his aneurism. Bruschi’s play on the field has always been about heart and wouldn’t it be ironic to see his career end because he bore a hole right through that muscle? I have no idea if Bruschi is ever going to return to the field but it certainly doesn’t look too promising right now. If this is indeed it, I will remember number 54 as a great guy who left it all on the field and evidently that now includes a small piece of his heart. Get well soon Teddy.

Speaking of wounded Patriots, is cornerback Ty Law going to find a home next year? Law reportedly wants big money, but NFL teams, including the Kansas City Chiefs, are leery of giving him an eight figure signing bonus until they are sure that his badly injured foot has healed. Law is the victim of poor timing. More then four months after injuring his foot, he is still walking around in an inflatable boot and that is not exactly the kind of thing that teams want to see when they are courting a free agent. That is kind of like a man showing up to a porn audition with a bandage around his dong. Kansas City is reportedly interested in Law but they seem willing to keep their powder dry until Law can demonstrate that he is healthy. That is at least a few weeks off and perhaps much longer. The Steelers are also in the mix, but Law’s price tag may be out of their price range. In fact, so long as injury concerns persist, his price may be out of everyone’s range. So what does the future hold for the Lawman? Who knows for sure but he may be forced to sign a one year deal with someone and use 2005 as an opportunity to re-establish his value. Law has basically become another Nomar. He gave up big money from the Pats because he thought they were disrespectful and following an injury, he finds that there is barely a market for his services. If my Nomar theory holds, I guess Law is going to marry soccer player Heather Mitts and wind up in Chicago playing for the Bears. All kidding aside, who is to say Ty doesn’t end up back in New England under a one year deal? He is probably too proud to do that and I am not sure Belichek would take him back, but stranger things have happened.

I penned a piece in this space on February 11 predicting the ouster of Virginia Basketball coach Pete Gillen. It took about five weeks, but my predictions were borne out on Monday when the folks down at Monticello said they had seen enough mediocrity during Gillen’s reign to last a lifetime. Gillen closed out the year with a terrific 1-6 flourish, but he did accomplish something that he had previously not done in six previous years and that is win a game in the ACC tourney. Rather then see Gillen torment UVA fans a single day longer, UVA did the smart thing and bought him out for two million dollars. So where does UVA go from here? Not very far, if you ask me. Gillen is returning this car with barely any fumes in the tank. The Wahoos are losing perhaps their two best players - Elton Brown and Devin Smith – to graduation and all that leaves are some young guards who cannot shoot straight. So who is going to replace Gillen and resurrect this bombed out program? I can’t give you that answer but I can comment on a totally asinine rumor I heard yesterday out of the mouth of WFAN’s Mike Francesca. The fat man had the audacity to go on the air and say “somebody told me that Tommy Amaker is a possibility.” I got to know who that source was and my guess is that it was a Michigan alum who is praying that Amaker leaves Ann Arbor. Other then an NIT title, Amaker has done nothing in his four years at Michigan and is a good candidate to be fired next year. Francesca begrudgingly conceded this point but fired back that Amaker is a Virginian and so it makes a lot of sense for him to go home. Go home? Amaker is from Falls Church and that is a hundred miles from Charlottesville. Moreover, if Amaker has such a longing for home, why did he choose to attend Duke over Virginia? The moral to this story is Francesca had absolutely no insight on this subject whatsoever and got caught out on the limb pitching a ridiculous rumor that he probably made up in the first place. As his partner Chris Russo is apt to say: “Bad Job!”