Tiger is Back!

I know, we are down to the final four in the Men's college basketball championship and I will get to that later this week but for right now, this Monday, the day after the Arnold Palmer tournament, I am going to focus on golf.

Tiger Woods was amazing yesterday! He started the day 5 back of Sean O'Hair for the lead and I don't that catching him was the amazing part because O'Hair shot a 73 and left the door wide open but did you see the way Tiger did it? It was vintage Tiger. He knew when it was go time and he went.

The putt on 16 from 25 feet to tie and then the 20 footer on 18 to win with everyone watching including O'Hair himself. Arnie was there and the pressure was on and Tiger hit it exactly where he had to and with the exact pace that he needed to and it fell right in the center of the cup.

I mean, don't forget fans, that was ALL the pressure at one time on one guy. He could have easily gotten incredibly nervous and missed it short by a foot. No, that putt was perfect. I have always struggled to say Tiger was the best ever because I wasn't alive to watch the guys from back in the day but yesterday, that was something that the best ever could and would do. I know beating Sean O'Hair in a non-major event doesn't count for a whole lot but think about the entirety of the situation and then maybe just maybe you will entertain the idea.

Don't forget that was only his second or third stroke play event after major knee surgery. I am obviously a huge Tiger fan but I don't think you had to be a fan to be impressed yesterday. Tiger's main goal of coming back when he did was to ready himself for the major's, well yesterday he definitely proved he was ready and I would be willing to bet that Augusta will be Tiger's domain again this year!

NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen Preview

Are you ready for the Sweet Sixteen? Well Verb and I give you our picks and preview the games for you right here on Jumping Offsides. The episode is 30 minutes long and has a preview of each game with picks by myself and Verb.


Teasers:

• I pick 2 number 1 seeds to lose while Verb takes 1 to go down (and they aren't the same ones either)
  
• Verb doesn't like Xavier or Michigan State
• I don't like Duke or Missouri

You will have to listen for the picks. Click here.

Should Jeter Move to Third Base?

This here is a 20 minute podcast episode that we are tentatively calling Sports Shorts. Just a short take on some of the main stories in sports.


Topics:

• Should Jeter Move to 3rd Base?
• Terrell Owens skips VOLUNTARY mini camp
• Is the United States the Orioles of World Baseball?
• Tennessee women's team loses in first round
• Browns having open quarterback competition

And I am sure there is plenty of other stuff too. Click here or on the sidebar to listen. Just 20 minutes of good sports talk.

Truly the Sweet 16!

Man was that an awesome weekend of college basketball! I'm sure we all have our top moment of the weekend whether it was the young kid from Gonzaga winning the game with less then a second or watching East Tennessee State compete with Pitt for most of the game. It could've been Dominic James coming back for one last game and almost helping Marquette get past Missouri. Maybe it was the few of you who actually picked Arizona into the sweet 16 and watching it happen. How about those of you who picked Cleveland State to beat Wake and watching Cleveland State actually dominate most of the game.

Those were only a few of the highlights from the opening two rounds. There were plenty more. I think that was just a preview of what is to come. There are going to be some incredible games in the third and fourth rounds. Who would've thought two of the regions would go "chalk" and another was 1,2,3 and 5? The only real surprise was Arizona in the Sweet 16. Incredible!

Three Games To Watch this Weekend:

3. North Carolina vs. Gonzaga - Ty Lawson came back against LSU and played like the ACC player of the year! He was incredible but what did it do to his toe? I am sure he will play against the Zags but will he be at 100%. The Zags got a huge win over Western Kentucky and are on a huge emotional high right now. The Zags are a very good team and I think they will give the Heels a real run! It's going to be close the whole way through the game. The key player is going to be Jeremy Pargo. If he can keep the game at the pace the Zags want, this will be awesome! Foul trouble will be huge too.

2. Oklahoma vs. Syracuse - Is the Syracuse zone going to be able to neutralize Griffin. I doubt it. No one has stopped him yet and I don't think that starts in this game. However, if Syracuse shoots like they did against Arizona State, its going to take more the Griffin for the Sooners to win this game. I think Syracuse is an overall better team and even though Griffin is the best player in the game, Johnny Flynn is pretty good too. The pace of this game is going to be important and if the Sooners can get Griffin into the game early the Orange may be in trouble but they have the shooters to keep this close and win.

1. Duke vs. Villanova - These two teams are exactly the same. Great guard play and both want to push the tempo. Both teams can shoot and that will be a huge key. Whichever team can make more three's could have the advantage. Villanova has a key advantage with Daunte Cunningham. Duke really doesn't have anyone that can matchup against him. Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek can't really keep up with him. Kyle Singler is athletic enough but Cunningham can overpower him. Both teams need to stay out of foul trouble and if Villanova has a say, I think its going to be a physical game. Both teams have some serious depth. I can't explain how excited I am for this game and it's not just because I am a Duke fan. I think its going to be that good of a game! Don't miss it!

Listen in later today to get more analysis via the podcast!

Is Your Bracket Busted???

Did you wake up this morning and cry in your cheerios?? Or did you do your crying Friday night after Wake lost?

It was an interesting weekend for the tourney as really the favorites all won for the most part. There were really only 2 teams that I truly thought would win that didn't. Obviously Wake Forest is one and the other is Florida State. Both of those teams should have won in my opinion.

Although neither outcome really surprised me either. In fact if you listen to the podcasts from last week you will hear me say that Wake should watch out for Cleveland State. I probably would have picked that but it wasn't a good move in my opinion since I didn't think Wake would lose in the second round either.

The Florida State loss was actually more surprising to me. I mean obviously Wisconsin wasn't very highly thought of going in but they did come from a big conference and they weren't bad all season. But nobody gave them a chance to beat FSU.

But really chalk is "in" again this season. For the first time since 1996, and only the 3rd time ever, all of the number 2 seeds are playing in the 2nd weekend. And all the 3 seeds are left. You have 2 regions with the 1,2,3,4 seeds still playing, 1 region with 1,2,3,5, and then you have 1 region with 1,2,3,12.

Will we see a second straight year of all 1 seeds in the final four? I doubt it but it is still a possibility. And honestly I hope not.

Actually if you look at the tourney from 20 years ago the regions are shaping up the same. In 1989 there were 2 chalk regions, 1 with a 5 instead of a 4, and 1 with a double digit sweet sixteen. I am pulling for a repeat of that season from here on in too. If history repeats itself you will see 2 #1 seeds lose Thursday or Friday and a #3 seed will win it all.

And I am a Villanova fan so a 3 seed winning would be exactly what I want to see.

Get Off Jay Cutler's Back Already

I was just watching Mike and Mike and they were talking about the Jay Cutler thing. I haven't spoken my mind about it this week as I was trying to stay focused on the event at hand, the NCAA Tournament.

*which was great last night by the way....VCU was soooo close*

Greenie was basically saying that he understands and if the situation with Cutler happened to him he would probably want to leave the show. Golic on the other hand said that at some point Cutler has to look at it as a business and realize that he has to work with these people.

My argument to that is Cutler IS treating this like a business. I think it is funny that everyone is getting on Cutler's case over this. Everyone is saying that its a business and he needs to realize this can happen.


Well what do Josh McDaniels and the Broncos have to realize? They should be getting most of the blame here in my opinion. THEY tried to trade their quarterback and after they couldn't they lied about it AND THEN said they might still do it.

WHAT???

If Andy Reid and the Eagles did this to McNabb everyone would ABSOLUTELY be on Donovan's side of the situation. Or if the Bengals did this to Carson Palmer.

And don't give me the "what has Cutler done" crap cause their defense and running game have been absolute jokes the past 2 seasons. AND he is still a young quarterback. Greenie and Golic compared him to Jake Plummer a few minutes ago and that is ridiculous. Plummer was a veteran quarterback who knew the game.

Personally I don't blame Cutler at all. Sure he could have just sucked it up and played a few more seasons in Denver and then left. But if the team is in the market for getting rid of him, why are they so upset that he wants to leave?

Wouldn't you be upset if your closest boss (one that you have to work with everyday and are basically like family with) told you that he wants someone else to do your job? And don't lie....you would probably stay and work (cause what else can you do) but there is absolutely NO FREAKING WAY that you are going to give 100% to that boss.

Tourney Tip Off is ALMOST HERE!!

Man I love this day. We are only 2 hrs from tip off in the NCAA Tournament and I can barely focus.

Unfortunately I am at work today (off tomorrow though!!) and am trying to keep busy this morning or else I will just drive myself nuts.

These next 4 days are 4 of the best sports days of the year. Sure the Final Four is great but I don't care as much by that time. This weekend is all about teams like Siena or Utah State. Teams with big dreams like North Dakota State and teams that just want to keep it competitive like Morehead State.

The Duke's UConn's just want to get through the weekend without too much problem. They want to get to next Thursday or Friday where they finally get excited. That is part of the problem for the big schools, they know they should win these early games so they don't play as hard.

Then you have the Utah's of the world. The smaller schools that earned their trip easily but are the favorite to lose amongst the top 5 seeds.

Guys like Dominic James of Marquette can only sit and watch as one time Final Four thoughts have faded to just getting through to the Sweet Sixteen.

There are so many story lines that haven't been talked about and exciting moments coming these next 4 days that it is easy to get excited for all the games.

Today and tomorrow are especially great cause the traditional seed matchups are all taking place. I mean who isn't really excited about the 5/12 and 6/11 matchups. And what happens if a 16 keeps it close or a 15 takes it down to the wire? Pure hysteria.

And that is what makes these next 2, then 2 more, days so great.

Now we are only 1 hour 50 minutes from it all beginning!

4 Regions in 4 Days!

Ok, it's the eve of the Thursday of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Wow, that was a long way of saying it's the fourth day of 4 Regions in 4 Days. I know, I could've just said the tournament starts tomorrow and that hypes me up a lot but I figured if I wrote two really long-winded versions of the same idea you would get the picture.

I have covered the Midwest, the West and the East so far, which leaves the South as the last region that needs previewed. This is the region that brings us the biggest story of the tournament before it starts. A toe injury.

North Carolina is the top seed in the South and well all that really doesn't matter because all that is being talked about it Ty Lawson's right big toe. I wonder what Lawson is doing right now. My guess is that he is watching the NIT, eating some popcorn or something, drinking some water and icing his toe. If I were Roy Williams I would sit Lawson for the first game because they play Radford. The extra two days rest will help I suspect.

In the 8/9 game LSU plays Butler. I thought both of these teams deserved a higher seed. I know the SEC was down this year but LSU was strong in the conference. Butler was in the top 25 most of the season and only lost in the tournament championship by 3. I don't think they should've fallen all the way to a 9 seed but I think this will give them a chip on their shoulder. This should be a very interesting game and if Butler limits their turnovers this shoulder but a close one all the way down to the end.

Illinois is the 5 seed and they play Western Kentucky who won a game last year in the tournament. The fightin Illini are without their starting point guard for the rest of the tournament. This may only last one game as the Hilltoppers will be a very worthy opponent. I know I have given the 12 seed in each region a legitimate shot at winning but if I had to bet on one and really pick one, Western Kentucky would be it.

Gonzaga and Akron play in the 4/13 game and the Zags are hot. I don't know much about the Zips but I do know that no one is talking about them. The game is in Portland which give Gonzaga a distinct advantage and I don't think that this game will be within 10 for most of the second half. It will be interesting if Western Kentucky plays Gonzaga in the second round. I think that will be a good game with the winner getting the Heels. This could be a very fun section to watch.

James Harden and Arizona State come in as the 6 seed and A-10 tournament champions Temple are the 11 seed. I think the Sun Devils need to be on upset alert in this one. Outside of Harden, ASU really doesn't have a big time performer. I know Fran Dunphy will figure out a way to make everyone else beat them and I am not sure the other guys for ASU can do that. Dionte Christmas can score as much as Harden can and this one will be fun to watch.

Syracuse played like 5 or 6 games in the Big East tournament. Well really it wasn't that much but with as many overtimes as they played, it seemed like it. Outside of Durham, Johnny Flynn is my favorite player in college basketball right now. The kid is great! They play Stephen F. Austin. That's all I have to say about that.

In the 7/10 game Clemson plays Michigan. Michigan was one of the teams that I didn't think should've gotten in. They did and now some people have jumped on the bandwagon. Clemson was in the top 15 for most of the season but inconsistency killed them down the stretch. I think these teams are very even but I would take the ACC over the Big Ten any day of the year.

Blake Griffin and Oklahoma are the 2 seed in this region and are being overlooked big time. Since they have struggled a little bit down the stretch no one is giving these guys a chance. I had them as a 1 seed for almost the entire season. I still think they are one of the best four or five teams in the country. I still think they can make a run at the final four. They play Morgan State in the first round who beat Maryland earlier this season. They play Oklahoma, not Maryland and don't have a chance in this one.

This is going to be a fun region to watch but I think the best game to see is potentially Oklahoma/Syracuse and then if OU wins that OU and Carolina. To see Blake Griffin line up across from Tyler Hansbrough would be amazing.

I know I said I was going to give you my final four picks today at the end of this post but the GM and I did a podcast this afternoon revealing our picks so if you would like to see/hear them click here and you can listen to both of our picks.

Man, I can't wait. Only a few more hours!

It's going to be great and I hope you all enjoy!

NCAA Tourney Picks Podcast

Today Verb and I did our first podcast with one of us on the phone and it came out pretty good. In fact I doubt you would have noticed had I not told you.

We wanted to tell you who we were picking for the tourney and since we weren't planning on another full podcast until Sunday it would be kind of hard to to do that.

So....click here...and you can listen to our picks. It only took 20 minutes and we give you some pretty good information.


Teaser:

Verb's Elite 8:

Louisville, Kansas, UConn, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Duke, UNC, Oklahoma

theGM's Elite 8:

Louisville, Michigan St, UConn, Memphis, Xavier, Villanova, UNC, Syracuse


You will have to listen for our reasons and for our final four and champions. We also give you some early round upsets that you might not expect (and it isn't Arizona over Utah!).

How to Win the Cash in your NCAA Tournament Pool

I know most of us do at least one bracket pool this time of year. Maybe you do it for free, maybe you put a little cash on it. But you surely do it.

The question is how have you done? If you win regularly then you can skip this post and instead check out my post on changing the tournament a bit.

But if you aren't winning your pool's then continue as I will give you the keys to winning it all.


1. Pick your Champion and Final Four teams first

By doing this you don't have to be worried about any upset that could potentially exist. You choose your winner, runner up, and other final four teams. Then you put them in right away, just click on their name or write it down for every game they play. Don't even consider who else they might play.

2. Don't pick any crazy upsets

This kind of ties into #1 but here it is anyway.

Take note that of the past ten Champions, seven were number 1 seeds, two were 3 seeds and one was a 2 seed. Notice that there were NO Champions seeded lower than number 3 in the past 10 years.

Only THREE Champions have EVER (EVER) been lower than a 3 seed and 2 of those were in the late 80s. Overall 18 of the 24 Champions have been a 1 or 2 seed, which equals out to 75% of all the Champions.

And if you are thinking right now that maybe the lower seeds make the Championship but lose...nope....only 4 times has the runner up been lower than a 3 seed.

I am not saying the low seeds don't win or can't win BUT if you want to win the cash then let someone else pick a 4 or 6 seed to win it all.

3. Pick a 7 or 10 to get to the Sweet Sixteen

Every year except 3 (1989, 1995, 1996) has seen a 7 or 10 seed make it to the second weekend of the tournament.

Now if you have already picked your Final Four and Champions you would be able to look and say okay I think this 7 or 10 seed might make a run.

And honestly...most years....there are two 7 or 10 seeds that make it to the second weekend. But if you want to win the cash you only have to get one. Figure it out and you are one step ahead of someone.

*fact - I picked Kansas last season to win but finished second. why? the person who won had West Virginia beating Duke (a 7 over a 2).

4. Pick a 12 seed

You have to pick at least one 12 seed to win. In every year (except 3 1998, 2000, 2007) a 12 seed has beaten a 5 seed in the first round.

It happens every single year (almost) so you better make sure that you have one.

But don't get crazy. You only need one. Sure two 12's might win and it is okay to pick two but don't make it a stretch. Only take the 12 over the 5 that will surely lose in the next round anyways. If you have a 5 that you like to make the second weekend IF they win the first round game...DON'T pick them to lose in the first round.

Safest play is to look at the 5 seeds, which one won't win the second round game anyway? If you see one like that, take that 12 seed now.
5. Don't bet on 8s and 9s

Lots of people want to predict the big upset in the second round. They want to take an 8 or a 9 to beat a 1 seed.

Don't fall into that trap!

Sure it happens. But in 24 years only 10 have seen a 1 seed lose in the second round. It just isn't worth the risk.

The ONLY way you make this pick is if you think that a 4 or 5 seed is going to make the Elite 8. Then you could take the risk. But if you are wrong you fall behind.


There you go! Follow these 5 simple steps and you will win the cash!

Oh and go to this site here and check it out. It has the statistics for seeds and every tournament since 1985 filled in.

*editors note* - I have picked the champ the last 2 years and have lost both times....so you might not want to listen to me.


If you liked this read these:

How to Get Off Work for the Tourney
Verb's Midwest Region preview

4 Regions in 4 Days!

So far I have previewed the Midwest and the West.

Today I'm going to give you my preview of the East region that will play in Boston.

The top seed is Pittsburgh. They are solid inside and outside on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Sam Young has had a breakout year and if you haven't heard of him yet you will by the end of it all. Levance Fields has had a great year and well you all heard about Dajuan Blair when he housed Thabeet a couple of weeks ago. I thought this team was the overall number 1 seed but I was wrong. They will go very deep however.

The 8/9 game in this region is going to be great. Oklahoma State really came on strong late in the season and is probably playing its best ball of the year. Tennessee on the other hand has not been consistent at all this year and you never know which Bruce Pearl is going to show up. I have no idea which way this one is going to go.

Florida State is the 5 seed and Toney Douglas is probably the fifth best player in the country. This is another guy you haven't heard of but he is great. Wisconsin was a team that I felt was comfortably in but they got a 12 seed. I was confused but the committee obviously didn't feel too good about them. This is a danger zone for the Seminoles but I think the combination of Douglas and the big guys inside gets the job done.

Xavier is the 4 seed and if you listen to the podcast you will hear what I think about them. I can sum it up with this. I don't think they were the best team in the A-10 this year. I think that was Dayton. Portland State comes in is a 13 seed. I don't know much about this team other then they were in it last year. I'm not sure what to say here. I hope I don't have to watch this one.

UCLA got a 6 seed. I am ok with that. What I'm not ok with here is that they have to fly across the country and play in Philly. Eric Maynor and VCU come in as the 11 seed in this one and that may be a little high but I still think they are riding some of the momentum from beating Duke 2 years ago. I think this is going to be a great game and just the matchup of Collison and Maynor is worth watching. This winner of the game may get to play Villanova in Philly. Wow!

As I just mentioned Villanova got the 3 seed and is playing in Philly. That's right, an arena that they actually played "home" games in this year. That's crazy! They deserve but still, I didn't think that was allowed. Anyway, they play American U and this one won't be close.

Texas and Minnesota play in the 7/10 game. This one is going to be good. Minnesota is a bit inconsistent but so is Texas. AJ Abrams will be the best player in this game and in my opinion he will have to be the difference maker if Texas wants to win. He may be the best shooter in all of college basketball. Horns fans have to hope he is knocking them down.

Duke and Binghamton play in the 2 vs. 15 game. Since it is a well-known fact around here that I am a Duke fan I am going to refrain from giving my analysis here. I don't think I really need to say anything but you get my point.

This is a really hard region to pick for me but I know Pitt is coming out of the top but the bottom I'm torn on. Do I take my Dukies or do I take the team that I feel may be the most dangerous not top 2 seed team in Villanova. As I said above, since I am such a big fan, I'm going to not pick.

Check back on Thursday when I give you my final four predictions to see who I pick to win the region.

Man, I love college basketball, especially in March!

How to Make the NCAA Tournament Better

Right after the brackets are announced and for the following 24 hours you will always hear about what teams should have gotten in and what teams shouldn't have. It is part of what makes the NCAA Tournament so great.

But is it necessary?

I have 2 completely separate methods that will fix much of the problem and still make it a great tournament every year.

*note - I know option 2 has been mentioned elsewhere but I mention it again here*

Option #1: Have a RPI cutoff for conference Champions

I like having the conference champions get automatic bids but do you really care about teams like Morehead State or Alabama State? No you don't and neither do I.

So allow all the conference champions an automatic bid IF their RPI is in the top 120. The teams outside the top 120 would then go to the NIT instead. They still get postseason basketball and they might actually win a game (although not likely).

This would eliminate 6 automatic bids this season. Radford (131), Cal State Northridge (127), Morgan State (130), Morehead State (142), Chattanooga (174), and Alabama State (179) would all be left out of the NCAA Tournament and instead would be in the NIT.

Then you take the other low seeds and just make them 16s and 15s to replace those teams. You would also eliminate the DUMBEST THING IN SPORTS....the play in game. There would be no reason for it.

By eliminating the play in game (and making the field 64 instead of 65) and the low ranked conference champions you could have included 5 more teams. Maybe St. Mary's, Creighton, Penn State, San Diego State, and Auburn.

Now wouldn't you rather see a tournament with those teams as the 13 and 14 seeds instead of the Morehead State's of the world??

Admit it....you would.


Option #2: Make the Bubble Teams the Play In teams

Right now you have a ridiculous play in game that is supposedly part of the tournament. Well let's expand on that a bit.

Instead of making two teams that WON THEIR CONFERENCES and received automatic bids to the tourney let's make 4 of these play in games and have games between the Bubble Teams to see who gets in.

You leave the 12 or 11 seeds open on selection Sunday and you play 4 games on Tuesday (or Monday) between the last 8 teams considered. This season it would probably look something like this:

Wisconsin vs San Diego State
Minnesota vs Penn State
Maryland vs St. Mary's
Arizona vs Creighton

Play the games in Dayton or at another neutral site and the winners get into the field! This way the bubble teams get one last chance to prove who is worthy and it takes the guess work out of the hands of the selection committee.


There are always going to be complaints from teams just outside the tourney. Even if you use option 1 or 2 on here you are going to find teams like Auburn or South Carolina or New Mexico that will think they deserved the chance more.

But using those options would make the tournament more exciting AND in my opinion more complete!



What do you think about these options? Would you want to see either actually happen?


If you liked this then check these out:
Verb Thinks the Tourney Should Stay the Same
Why Thursday of Championship Week is Overrated
The Big East Tourney Should NOT Invite all 16 Teams

4 Regions in 4 Days!

Yesterday I did the Midwest, now today I am going to do the West region.

This is the region that has Connecticut as the top seed. There was some debate as to who should get the 4th number 1 seed and most people thought it was going to come down to Connecticut or Memphis. Well, Connecticut got it but Memphis will get the chance to prove they deserved being that they are the two seed in this region.

In the opening round out west we have:

Connecticut against Chattanooga in the 1 vs. 16 matchup. The noogs or the chats or whatever their nickname is won't be the first number 16 seed to win.

In the 8/9 game we have BYU and Texas A&M. BYU is a solid team that not many people know much about. A&M played well down the stretch to put themselves into the conversation and then comfortably in the field despite a bad loss to Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament. This is going to be a very good game and you should definitely make sure you see this one.

Purdue and Northern Iowa is a very interesting 5/12 matchup. I personally love this Purdue team and I thought a 12 for Northern Iowa was a little high. A 12 always beats a 5 though and this may be the one. I will be very surprised if it is though.

Washington comes in as a 4 seed and for their efforts they get to play a red-hot Mississippi State team with potentially the best single defender in the nation. I think Miss. State deserved a better seed but I'm not on the committee. I really don't know how good Washington really is. I know Brockman is a stud but with Varnardo on the other side, how much damage will he really do. This is going to be a good one as well.

Marquette without Dominic James just isn't the same. Utah State has already won 30 games. That's second most to Memphis so far this season. This is probably going to be a serious upset special for a lot of people but don't count out Marquette yet. They still have McNeal and they still are a very solid team. This is a really tough game to pick.

Missouri is coming off the Big 12 tourney championship and Cornell didn't even play in a conference tournament. I don't think this game is going to be close. Missouri is a good team and a team you should really watch out for.

California and Maryland may be the most intriguing matchup of the entire first round. Maryland may have gotten in solely on big wins. The win against Wake wrapped it up. Vasquez is the key for the Terps and but for Cal a solid performance may be all that is needed if the good Terps don't show up. Another incredibly hard game to pick.

Like I said above, Memphis is the 2 seed in this region and will have no problems with whoever they play. I said it like that because I honestly didn't know and really thought about if it was worth putting the effort into moving the mouse to check. I guess it was. Northridge is the victim in the first round but don't be surprised if Memphis doesn't go a really long way in the tourney.

I have the dream matchup in the regional final. I don't see Memphis or Connecticut losing. When they play each other I have UConn getting the L and Memphis moving onto Detroit.

Selection Sunday Podcast

This week on the Jumping Offsides podcast Verb and I discussed college basketball. And that is it. Was there anything else?

*You can find the podcast on the right sidebar*

Topics:

• The GM picks all 65 teams (outpicked Joe Lunardi)
• Discuss who has an argument to get in (St. Mary's, Creighton)
• Talked about who might not deserve in (Arizona)
• Discussed potential changes to the tourney (more coming tomorrow on this)
• Previewed each Region
• Made our picks (they are subject to change though)

We are hoping to get something up Wednesday night / Thursday morning with our updated picks. Check it out!!

4 Regions in 4 Days!

It's now Monday and that means we have 3 and a half days to wait until opening tip-off. I can't wait! It makes crazy looking at all the brackets for these 3 days and making my picks and analyzing every game in every region. I'm going to preview each region up until Thursday so that you all have my expert analysis about the tournament.

Let's start with the Midwest.

This is the region where Louisville came out of nowhere to receive the number 1 overall seed. The only reason I say out of nowhere is because before Thursday of last week they weren't even mentioned as a number 1 seed. Don't get me wrong, I think they deserve it but it was just crazy that all of the sudden they were the overall number 1 seed.

In the 8 vs. 9 game Ohio State plays Siena. In my opinion this is a little high for Ohio State. I know they made a big run in the Big Ten tournament but a 10 or 11 seed is where I had them. Siena is a really good team and can make some serious noise. They have a good chance of beating the Buckeyes but then they face Louisville. This will be a game to see, I promise!

A 12 seed always beats a 5 seed. The other thing is that, I swear every year when everyone knows who the last team in was that team always proves themselves. Arizona plays Utah in this matchup. I'm just saying.

Wake Forest is the number 4 seed and gets Cleveland State who some would argue is just as good as Butler and Butler is a 9 seed. This could be a setup game for the Demon Deacons who may be a little disappointed with this spot. I think this will be close but the Deacs get the W.

West Virginia and Dayton play in the 6 vs. 11 game. This may be one of the better games of the first round. I think Dayton is very good and if I were on the committee, I would've switched them and Ohio State in this region. I don't know who to tell you to pick here but either way you will be sweating to the end.

Kansas and North Dakota State is the matchup at 3 vs. 14. The last time Kansas lost in the first round it was to Bucknell. The seeds in that matchup were 3 vs. 14 and Bucknell's nickname is the Bison. Guess what NDSU's nickname is. Yep, you got it, the Bison. If and that is a big IF NDSU can win a game or two it will be a huge Cinderella story. This is the first year this team was even eligible for the dance and they actually have a whole bunch of players that were redshirted just for this chance.

In the 7 vs. 10 matchup we've got Boston College against USC. This is going to be a great game. These two teams are almost the same team. They both were mid pack in their conference but both seem to be playing their best ball at the right time. It's going to be a barn burner and a matchup I can't decide on right now.

Finally in the 2 vs. 15 matchup we Michigan State and Robert Morris. Michigan State was the last number 2 seed and well Robert Morris is Robert Morris. Michigan State will win this easily but it will be interesting to see if they will get past the winner of the BC/USC game.

I don't know who I am picking in every game but I have picked one bracket so far. I am going to go off of that one for the sake of the blog so right now I actually have Louisville playing Kansas in the regional final with Louisville going to the final four. If you listened to the podcast you will notice that between last night at 9 and this morning at 10 I have changed my pick from Kansas to Louisville as the champion of the region.

I love this stuff!

My 65 Teams that are in the Tournament

The GM gave you his 65 earlier today. I was fortunate enough to be able to watch Duke, Stephen F. Austin and Mississippi State win their respective conference tournaments before I was able to post mine. As of right now there is only one more automatic bid to give out. The Big Ten bid. That goes to either Purdue or Ohio State and I don't need to wait for that to end because I have both of those teams in anyway. The only thing that may change is their seeds and well I am in the same boat as the GM and I don't feel like torturing myself trying to figure out who is going to play who.

My list may be a little different then the GM's but to be honest I haven't really looked at his list only because I don't want to cheat. I want my own list and if it ends up being the same as his well then we must think a like.

Fans, the GM is a very organized, look at all the numbers and statistics kind of guy and I am more of an eye test, who is the better looking team kind of guy and that may be where most of the differences are. I think the GM and I would both agree on the fact that there are really only a few spots left anymore. I am ready to give you my last 4 in and my first 4 out. Since Mississippi State won that's all I really feel is debatable but those 4 spots are really up for grabs. There is potential for me getting all 4 wrong.

Let's get after it!

As the GM said, the 31 conference champions are on the right side bar. Obviously they are in and that also means I have half the field filled already. Boo Ya!

Now I have to give you my locks for being in. I am just going to look at each conference and list the teams that I would consider locks.

Xavier
Dayton
North Carolina
Wake Forest
Clemson
Boston College
Florida State
Oklahoma
Kansas
Oklahoma State
Texas
Texas A&M
Pittsburgh
Connecticut
Villanova
Syracuse
Marquette
West Virginia
Michigan State
Illinois
Ohio State/Purdue
Butler
BYU
Washington
UCLA
Arizona State
California
Tennessee
LSU

That's a total of 29 teams that I feel are locked in that didn't win their conference tournaments. These teams aren't sweating right now they are just waiting for their seed, location and opponent.

It's time to do some math. 31 conference champs + 29 locks = 60 teams in.

All that means is that I'm fairly confident I'm going to get that many right. After that who the hell knows. Only the committee that is sitting in that room in Indianapolis right now. That's who.

Now I am going to give you my bubble teams in the order that I am putting them in. This way, I can highlight my last four in and last four out just as the GM did earlier today.

61. Wisconsin
62. Maryland
63. Minnesota
64. Creighton
65. San Diego State

66. Saint Mary's
67. Florida
68. Arizona
69. South Carolina

70. Penn State
71. Auburn
72. New Mexico
73. Michigan

Those teams are kind of close but at the same time not really. They could've played their way in but it was a long shot going in. None of them really did anything to make a case for the dance. The NIT is going to be darn good this year!

There ya have it, I am not sure I'm going to go 65 for 65 but I hope I'm close. We will never know if I have my last 8 out ranked correctly but if they don't make it, it doesn't matter.

This tournament is going to be AWESOME BABY! Listen to the podcast to get the GM and I's analysis.

65 Teams for Men's NCAA Tournament

For the past couple weeks Verb and I have been giving our 65 teams each week on the podcast. But today we are waiting until after the brackets are announced to do the podcast. So I wanted to let you all know who I think the 65 teams are gonna be.

I am not going to try and seed the teams as I think that is a unenviable task and way too much work. But here are my 65:

31 Conference Champions:

You can see 27 of these on the left side of the screen plus you can add Purdue, Duke, Tennessee, and Stephen F. Austin to the list. That is who I expect to win but since I have a prior engagement to attend early this afternoon I must get this list up before those games are over.

34 At Large Teams:

These are in no particular order until you get to the end....

North Carolina
Florida State
Boston College
Clemson
Wake Forest
Connecticut
Pittsburgh
Villanova
Syracuse
Marquette
West Virginia
Michigan State
Illinois
Ohio State
Oklahoma
Texas
Kansas
Arizona State
Washington
UCLA
LSU
BYU
Xavier
Dayton
Butler

now my last 9 (last 4 in are bold):

Oklahoma State
Michigan
Wisconsin
Arizona
California
Minnesota
Maryland
Texas A&M
San Diego State


And here are my first 4 out:

St. Mary's
Creighton
Penn State
UNLV

Oh...and if Mississippi State beats Tennessee than San Diego State is out and A&M is my last team in.

So there you go. Now you only have to watch the selection show to see where the teams are seeded cause I am confident that I got all 65 correct!!

Why Thursday is the Worst Day of Championship Week

I just heard one of the talking heads on ESPN say, "today is Thursday of championship week, which is probably the best day of the week." I 100% disagree with this statement. I don't think there is one best day of this week to be honest. I love championship week.

Here are my reasons why Thursday isn't the best day:

1. I think he said it because its the day the big conference tournaments start and ESPN makes their money off the big conferences. I mean there were some games yesterday but the real ones were today. There were some huge upsets and some routine wins. ESPN has to say its the best day of the week because like I said, they make their money off the BCS conferences.

2. An example of an upset that happened today was Baylor beating Kansas. In my opinion this did nothing for the NCAA tournament. And that is why we have the conference tournaments right? I don't think this loss really hurts Kansas much. They will still be a number 3 or 4 seed and that's where I had them before this loss. Even though Baylor fans would like to think differently, their team isn't going to the big dance unless they win the whole thing. My point is this, when the top teams lose they don't really get hurt in my opinion and when these "below the bubble" teams win a game or two or hell for that matter the whole thing, why should they even be considered now? They only made it because they got a second chance because the conference wanted to make some extra money and they knocked out a team that had a much better season as a whole. It doesn't make sense to me.

3. For all these teams that are already in, its just more games before the big dance. I think these teams would love to win the conference tournament but even if they don't, like Marquette for example, they still will make the tournament and that's all that really matters. These tournaments are just another way for these conferences to make money. Didn't they make enough when all but 2 of their teams played in bowl games in the fall.

4. I am a Duke fan so I am going to use Duke and North Carolina as an example here. Let's say these two teams make it to the championship game. Somehow Duke figures it out and beats North Carolina. The questions will automatically be raised about Duke becoming a number 1 seed and Carolina falling to a number 2. Really? Carolina has been the better team all season and beat them twice in the regular season. My point here is that these tournaments just cause confusion.

We need to have the low major tournaments because they decide who makes it to the big dance. I don't know what the percentage is of number 1 seeds that win but I'm sure its pretty high. I would have no problem if the regular season champ automatically went and not the tournament champion but the small conferences usually reward the regular season winner with home court advantage during the tournament.

I think the big dance is awesome and shouldn't be changed. I repeat, there should be no changes to the NCAA tournament but championship week and the conference tournaments could be altered. I love the games. This week has been awesome! I'm just not sure its necessary.

The Big East Tournament Is Still Good But.....

This is the first year since the conference expanded to 16 teams that the entire Big East Conference was invited to New York for the conference tourney. And I think it is a mistake.

Who wants to see DePaul, Rutgers, South Florida, or St. John's play anyway? All it did was make it all but impossible for a team in a 9-12 spot to make a run. Not saying they would have but having to play 5 games in 5 days and win them all is probably never gonna happen.

Honestly I think adding the first day and NOT televising the games is actually hurting the Big East Tourney. I wasn't even the least bit excited to watch the games yesterday and usually I am just waiting for the games to start.

Not that the first day games are ever really exciting but I would much rather have watched Georgetown vs Syracuse than Seton Hall vs the Orange. Either way I think Syracuse would have won but it would have made for better TV.

Not only that should the schools that sucked that bad all season really waste all that money on travel costs to go to New York and lose? I mean is DePaul really going anywhere for the postseason? No. So why not just go home after going 0-18 and get ready for another sport or another losing season next year?

For some reason some people think that every team should be given a chance but I really disagree. There is no reason why all 16 teams are in New York. Reward the teams that actually did something (and those that kinda did) and leave the bottom 4 teams on their couches at home to watch with everyone else.

Top 5 Ways To Get Off Work To See March Madness

I am sure that there are a lot of you out there that want to be home for the opening days of the NCAA Tournament. I mean it is probably the best 2 day period for sports all year and if you are stuck at work for part of it that would suck.

Hell if you live on the West Coast you might miss the first 3 games each day. I don't know if I could live with myself if I missed that much.

So the question becomes how do you get off work for those two days without feeling guilty about screwing your employer?

In my book there are 5 sure fire ways to pull it off. If you try any of these remember two important things....DO NOT let anyone know you are a huge basketball fan and don't go to a public place where a coworker or boss can see you watching the games. IF you must go out to a bar you better go out of town. If you office does a pool for the brackets don't talk much about it, pretend that you are just guessing. This way they won't think you are taking off intentionally.

Number 5: Play Hooky

This is a classic excuse but it is not perfect. The best way to pull it off is to mope around the office on Wednesday and make sure people think you are coming down with something. Spend the day coughing, pretending your nauseous, and whining a lot! Oh and you can't eat much. Sneak little snacks during the morning and afternoon but DO NOT EAT LUNCH! And make sure your coworkers know you aren't eating lunch because you are sick. That way when you call of on Thursday and Friday people think you are actually sick.

Excuse Number 4: Actually Injure Yourself at Work

Depending on your job this will either be easy or impossible. If you work at a desk all day and don't do anything else it is going to be harder to pull off. But if you work in a warehouse or are a construction worker this should be a breeze. The unfortunate part of this is you actually have to hurt yourself a bit. Either fall off a ladder, drop something heavy on your foot, or (as a last ditch effort) actually fall down some stairs. And another important factor is to make sure someone is around to see it. That way you have someone to back up your story.

Excuse Number 3: The Dead Relative

This is a classic and can be used multiple times if you really want to. I have never even thought about this cause Karma is a vengeful bitch and I won't want to have any guilt on my conscience. You can either do this one of two ways. You can either build up the illness for a couple days by telling people your relative is in the hospital and sick or you can make it all of a sudden and just call on Thursday and tell your work that your relative died. Either way works, so long as no one at your job knows the person obviously, it just depends on how much you want to put into your story.

Excuse Number 2: Actually Make Yourself Sick

This one will take some time. You do have multiple options though. You can either plan ahead by a few days and start drinking out of the same cup or bottle as someone that is sick or just making sure you around sick people a lot. OR you can do a spur of the moment thing. If you are allergic to anything find it and touch it or eat it on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. That way you show up to work Wednesday and you are obviously ill and affected and you will probably get sent home. If worse comes to worse you can always eat a mushroom or berry from your yard. The risk there is that you might have to watch the games from the hospital which probably wouldn't be good. BUT it would allow you to see all the games.

Excuse Number 1: Schedule A Surgery or Medical Procedure for Wednesday

*I actually did this one once*

This takes more planning. You have to schedule something valid the day before the tournament. I personally did the wisdom teeth removal. I had 5 wisdom teeth (that's right 5! which makes me wiser than you my friends) and they actually came in okay but kept getting cavities so I had them removed. At the time I had minimal paid days off from my job so I needed something good to see the first round games. So I scheduled my wisdom teeth removal for that Wednesday. I was doped up on painkillers and couldn't eat a lot of junk but I got to see all the first round games.

And I would do it again!!

Would you rather have a vasectomy to stay home? (Deadspin)

If you need any other ideas this website surely has plenty of them for you.


Either way, if you are going to try and be home for the first round you better start planning it now!

Me? I fortunately have plenty of sick time now and taking the days off legitimately.

Bubble Teams Decide to Play Their Way Out

It must be the hot new thing. I swear this year more then any other year that I can remember bubble teams are trying to play their way out of the tournament as opposed to in. I know this year's bubble is probably bigger then any other year so maybe it's just more obvious when these teams play poorly but really this year has been out of control.

Four teams that come to mind right away are Maryland, Penn State, Florida and Arizona. A couple of weeks ago I had all four of these teams in and pretty comfortably too. Now, who knows, all four might be out. I have two of them out and two of them really close.

Let's look at all four teams more specifically.

Maryland won a huge game against North Carolina and they were riding high. They seemed to have the inside shot at the last spot from the ACC and really seemed to be firmly in the tournament. Now they have lost two in a row and most recently they lost to Virginia. Couple that loss with the Morgan State loss and Maryland looks pretty bad. All of the sudden they are 7-9 in the ACC and 5-5 in their last 10. In my opinion, the loss to Virginia sealed the deal and Maryland can't play their way in.

Penn State beat Illinois and man were they riding high. That was their second win against Illinois and they have a win over Michigan State on their resume. I said that after the second Illinois win that Penn State was in, well as long as they beat a bad Iowa team. Well guess what, they didn't beat that bad Iowa team and now they are a huge question. 10-8 in the Big Ten and the big wins that I previously mention help but Iowa is a bad loss. I think they have to win now in the Big Ten tournament at least once to feel comfortable come Sunday. Just think, all they had to do was beat Iowa.

Florida was once a lock for most experts. Then they lost 3 in a row. They weren't against bad teams but it was 3 losses in a row at the end of their season. Not a good time to go into a slump. Mississippi State was the worst loss of the three but earlier in the SEC schedule they lost to Georgia. That is a bad loss. They broke the losing streak with a win over Kentucky, which pretty much sealed the deal for Kentucky, but I don't think that helps Florida a whole bunch. They need a win or two in the SEC tournament to feel comfortable Sunday but in my opinion they are still in right now. They better not lose their first game in the tournament.

Florida had 3 losses in a row but guess what, that's not the worst losing streak of the 4 teams. Speaking of 4, Arizona recently had a 4 game losing streak. That's not good right now! Wait, this just in, they won 7 in a row to get into the conversation. This is the definition of a streaky team and right now they are going the wrong way. Well, they did just beat Stanford but really, I don't think that means a whole lot. They play Arizona State as their first game in the Pac-10 tournament and to be honest, I would not like to be in Arizona's shoes right now. That is definitely a game they could lose and if they do, Sunday will be a long day for the Wildcats.

I'm not a pessimist, I'm just a fan noticing a few bubble teams that may not think they are on the bubble. I don't know but all of these teams could've easily played their way in but they didn't.

Will the real bubble teams please step up?

Let's Keep The Tourney The Same - What's Your Verb 3/9

In this installment of What's Your Verb lets discuss why the tourney shouldn't change.

I know this is usually sweet sixteen day here at Jumping Offsides but today I feel like I have something that trumps that. I know that selection Sunday is only 6 days away and well this is the perfect week for my final sweet sixteen but I will be giving that to you later on today or tomorrow. I may even do it Saturday to see how close I can get to what the committee thinks the top 16 seeds are. Trust me, I won't quit on the sweet sixteen now, I just have bigger fish to fry today.

Last Saturday I was driving home from work around 10:30 and I turned on ESPN Radio. I enjoy listening to it when I drive to and from work because I have about a half hour commute so it gives me a chance to catch up on anything I may have missed. Well, I had never listened to this show before and to be honest I don't know who was hosting it because he never said his name but it was kind of like an open forum about whatever was bugging people. I think that's a cool idea so I decided to listen.

As I was listening the host of the show gave what his topic was. Fans, he argued that the NCAA tournament is flawed because its not the top 65 teams in the country. He wants to do away with the mid and low major conference tournament champions and just have the top 65 teams get in. He used Providence vs. Radford as his example. He thinks that because we let the conference champions in, we leave out some better teams "that could actually win the tournament." He thinks because Radford doesn't have a legitimate shot at winning the thing we shouldn't put them in.

I think he is crazy for like 2 or 3 reasons. First of all, the most basic and easiest argument to make to him is that does he realistically think Providence can win it all. I will give him the idea that Radford doesn't but I really don't think Providence does either. So if we were to do it his way, I think that realistically this year we would have maybe a twelve team tournament to decide. I don't think that sounds as fun as what we are going to have this year. The other thing is that if he really thinks Providence could win the whole thing, I would love to call him right now and ask him to join my office pool because I would love to have those 5 bucks in the pot.

Secondly, if you don't let these mid and low major conference champions in, what do they have to play for? Some of these conference tournament championships are the best games to watch of the season because those kids will leave EVERYTHING out on the court for a shot to play in the big dance. Even if they make it in a 16 seed and lose by 40, those guys can tell their kids that one day they played in the biggest tournament on the planet. It's all they play for throughout their 4 years in school and if we took that away from them it would be a crime. It's not like Providence doesn't know the system and hasn't had plenty of opportunities to play their way in.

Thirdly, sometimes the most exciting games of the whole tournament are when one of the mid to low major teams push one of the big boys to the brink or even beat them. If we took the top 65 teams overall, I suspect that even when there was an upset it just wouldn't be as exciting. It's part of what makes the first two days of the tournament so great. It gives those programs a chance to show what they can do on a national stage and when they do pull an upset or four like George Mason did a few years ago, people don't ever forget it. Those two or three teams that pull the huge upset are the only thing we talk about for a week. If you just took the top 65 only about 7 or 8 of them would be mid to low major at best. That doesn't help those programs.

I think the cat was way off line and I really wish he would've said his name because I would have loved to call him out personally on here.

I love the way the tournament is set up and if we adopted that idiots idea it would take a lot of it away for me!

March Madness - Who's In, Who's Out? (podcast episode 22)

Today Verb and I did episode 22 of the Jumping Offsides podcast. For the most part we spent most of the 60 minute session on the NCAA Mens Tournament and what teams are going to be in. It was one of the longer episodes but it was continuous banter and discussion on certain teams.

Topics Covered:

• Alex Rodriquez and his surgery
• World Baseball Classic coverage
• Terrell Owens and the Buffalo Bills
• A brief David Beckham reference

• College Basketball:

• Who are the locks? (I have 21 not counting the Conf Champs)
• Who are the pretty much ins? (Dayton, UNLV, Creighton, Minnesota)
• Who needs to do more to stay in? (Rhode Island, South Carolina, St. Mary's, Florida)
• Who is potentially in trouble? (Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Ohio State, New Mexico)
• Who were our last 4 in? (see above)
• Who are the last 4 out? (5 for me: Michigan, Penn State, Miami, Maryland, Kentucky)

It was some great discussion and you can see my picks here but Verb's teams are much different and the discussion over who should get in and who shouldn't. Take a listen!

Let's Kill Two Birds with One Stone

Unfortunately I am a big time San Francisco 49er fan. I say unfortunately because I still remember the good old days when they were great and couldn't be stop. The other unfortunate part is that I remember when the aforementioned Terrell Owens ran Jeff Garcia out of town and single handedly blew up my favorite team for many years to come. I would love to say that I have no hard feelings but if you check out my profile on the right side of this column you will see that Mr. Owens is my least favorite athlete. I think he is a cry baby, a cancer, a self-absorbed idiot, and really just a glory hog. Next time I will tell you how I truly feel about him.

The GM did a great job of describing the many possibilities that lie ahead for Owens and I believe it was a very accurate analysis of where Owens may end up. I think it will come down to 3 teams as well but my gut tells me the Saints will be much bigger players in this then what the GM thinks. I think it will come down to the Chiefs and Saints.

It would not break my heart to see no teams go after him and for Owens to have to retire against his own will. That, however, will not happen only because we all know that no matter how bad your attitude is or how much of a locker room cancer you are, if you have talent there is a place for you in some NFL locker room somewhere. I would take pleasure in begging the GM's in the NFL not to sign this guy but I know I would just be wasting my breath.

I have a solution that would make several people happy however.

See right now in the NFL there are several teams or individuals that have issues. Anquan Boldin wants out of Arizona. Donovan McNabb wants some help in Philly. LaDainian Tomlinson wants a restructured contract. Terrell Owens just wants a contract. Jay Cutler either wants to be traded or doesn't want it even talked about. I could go on and on with this but I think that two of these situations would go very well together.

They aren't Owens to the Eagles because we all know that won't happen. Boldin to the Eagles would be great for Boldin and McNabb but my gut tells me that won't happen either. So what is my solution. That's right, I think the Denver Broncos should sign Terrell Owens.

Why?

Denver needs to show their young stud quarterback that not only do they want him in Denver but they want to give him the weapons he needs to get them to the promised land. They are going to sit down next week and try to patch things up with Cutler and what better way to do this then say, "here Jay, we got you one of the most talented receivers in the game." I know it would be a lot for Cutler to handle and the GM made that point yesterday but Josh McDaniels did a great job with Randy Moss in New England and I don't see why he can't do the same with Owens.

On the other side of the field you have Brandon Marshall. The guy is a stud as long as he doesn't cross paths with the law, he is going to be great. They could arguably have the most talented group of receivers in the league. It would be right up there with Arizona and New England.

I know the Broncos need defensive help but they just got Brian Dawkins. Dawk would be able to keep Owens in line in the locker room long enough for the team to make a serious run at the Superbowl. Even with the 27 running backs on the Broncos roster, I don't think running the ball is going to be the strength of this offense. Why not make the strongest part of your game even stronger by adding one of the best talents in the game.

It may not make total sense but I think it makes enough sense for Denver to at least entertain the idea. They really need to patch things up with Cutler because I think he is the future of that team. Bringing in T.O. for at least the short term would please Cutler and give this team a serious shot at going somewhere in the playoffs.

I may be way off base here but its at least worth some thought...

Who Should Sign Terrell Owens?

Obviously you have all heard that TO was released by the Cowboys today. After weeks of avoiding the topic and giving mostly unbelievable comments about the situation Jerry Jones decided to take the 9 million cap hit and cut the cancer.

But the question is now....where should he go? Who should sign the (self proclaimed) best receiver?

Obviously the Cowboys, 49ers, and Eagles are not going to consider it. At least one would hope the 9ers and Iggles wouldn't.

So that leaves 29 teams. Let's take a look and see who will end up with him.

I think you can eliminate the Dolphins, Vikings, and Ravens based on the coaches were either in Philly when TO blew up or with him in Dallas. I am sure there are other teams there too but those three are definite no's.

Let's also eliminate the Giants, Redskins, Jets, Bills, Browns, Texans, Jaguars, Broncos, Raiders, Bears, Packers, Lions, Bucs, Falcons, Seahawks, and Rams. There is no way the quarterback on those teams could handle TO.

That leaves 10 teams.

Now let's eliminate Pittsburgh. I really don't see the Steelers risking their chemistry for TO.

Next are the Carolina Panthers. Steve Smith surely doesn't want him there and they have bigger problems to worry about.

The Colts are an interesting thought though. I think they could use him and I think Peyton could control him but I really don't think Peyton would allow them to sign him.

So that leaves us with 7 teams that might make a play at him. The Patriots, Bengals, Titans, Chargers, Chiefs, Saints, and Cardinals.

Let's examine those possibilities a little more:

Patriots

They might be excited to have Owens on one side with Moss on the other and Welker in the slot. The passing game would be UNBELIEVABLE. And if they can get him for say one year...it might be possible. He can behave for a season.

But the risk is can he get along with Moss? Rumor has it that they don't really care for each other and surely each thinks they are good enough to win a Super Bowl without the other.

I say.....a distinct possibility.

Bengals

They are probably not interested since the just signed Coles but they were (and maybe still are) looking for a big time WR after letting Housh leave via free agency. You put him, Ocho Cinco, and Coles on the field and you have a very solid receiving group.

But will he be too much for Palmer to handle? And can Marvin Lewis control him at all? I doubt it but I wouldn't put it past him.

I say.....not likely.

Titans

Here is a team that could absolutely use a big time receiver. They have had NO options at the position since Mason left a few years ago. TO would obviously bring that back to the team and the offense.

But does Kerry Collins want him there? And would Vince Young be interested in throwing too him? If Simms is the future you surely don't want TO. Plus Jeff Fisher probably isn't going to take the risk on him if he hasn't brought in a great receiver before this.

I say.....very doubtful.

Chargers

Another team that really needs a big receiver. And Rivers MIGHT have the personality to handle TO for a while. He would get plenty of catches cause there is no other option on the team. It would help LT too cause teams couldn't focus on him too.

But like the Titans reason above....why hasn't San Diego gotten a guy like Housh? The only other problem would be Norv Turner....can he handle an ego like TOs? Not sure. But it might be worth the risk.

I say.....a good possibility.

Chiefs

This team might be the perfect fit for him. You have a guy like Tony Gonzalez who is the leader and would stand up in the locker room against him. And you have Todd Haley who proved in the playoffs that he has no problem getting in the face of a player. It would give Cassel another option other than Bowe and Gonzalez and LJ would get some more space to run. With an upgrade or two on defense they could win the West with TO.

Would he be too much for Cassel? He doesn't seem like a strong personality type and TO might run him out. But then again Pioli did bring in Moss for the Pats so maybe he would do this too.

I say....very possible.

Saints

There are reasons this makes sense. Sean Payton can surely contain TO and he doesn't have a problem with locker room cancers, see Jeremy Shockey. Brees is the undeniable leader on this offense and TO would be aware of that from the get go. Lining TO up with Colston is an interesting proposition too.

But this team needs defensive help not offensive help. And I doubt that Brees would be interested in throwing to TO if the team consulted him. Colston is a very similar receiver and I think bringing in TO would hurt his development.

I say....intriguing but not likely.

Cardinals

Assuming they trade Boldin they might be interested. Warner is possibly tough enough to handle TO and Fitz is on the other side to draw the coverage.

But the coaching staff seems to be building a Steelers like mentality and I doubt they would risk that for a locker room cancer like TO. Plus the team is possibly trading Boldin, who is very similar to TO. If you don't want to keep Boldin would you really want TO? Doubt it.

I say.....nope.

So who is it gonna be????

Well I think it will be either the Pats, Chiefs, or Chargers signing the one, the only TO. If I were a betting man, which I am most certainly not (usually), I would say........Chiefs.

Who do you think will sign him???

What are the Cardinals Thinking?

The Arizona Cardinals may not have turned the corner like many of us thought. As a team they made it to the Superbowl and came up one defensive stand short of winning the thing against a much superior team. They did this because of two players in my opinion. The first player was Larry Fitzgerald. That guy is a beast and in my opinion is the best player at his position in the game. The other guy was the old, thought to be washed up quarterback, Kurt Warner. That guy had an amazing season and those two guys put that team on their backs and almost won that organization a world championship.

Larry Fitzgerald is signed for a long time for a lot of money so he won't have any issues for a long time. Warner, as you all know, is having issues. The guy wants 14 to 16 million a season for a couple seasons just until he retires.

He is the face of the franchise, a pro bowl caliber player and all around team guy.

So it's a no brainer right? Pay him what he wants and let him finish his career with the Cardinals.

No, the Cardinals are being the Cardinals and low balling the guy and offering 20 mil for 2 years.

I think that is ridiculous. They owe Warner something. Do they really think Matt Leinart will come in and do some of the things Warner did. Hell no! Forget it!

I'm glad Warner decided to go visit the division rivals over in San Fran. I personally don't think he ever had any intention of signing with them but at least he made forced Arizona's hand. The part I don't like is that Arizona hasn't budge and now they are leaving it up to Warner to make the decision. Warner, in my opinion did the right think and is going to compromise with the Cards and probably sign for what they want him to.

It bugs me that Arizona wouldn't pay him what he wanted though. That guy is your team pretty much and you have the audacity to low ball him and play mind games with him.

It just shows what kind of franchise Arizona really is and why they have been bottom dwellers for so long before last season.

The Cardinals front office and owner and all those guys got what they wanted but they should be ashamed that it came to what it did. Like I said before, they owed that guy something and they didn't give him anything.

Is Jay Cutler Being a Baby?

I would imagine most of you have heard that Matt Cassel was traded, along with Mike Vrabel, to the Chiefs for a 2nd round pick in this years draft.

If you haven't heard about this yet then shame on you for not paying more attention to the NFL!

But you might not be aware that the Broncos and Patriots were also discussing a trade that would have included a team like Tampa Bay. In that scenario Denver would have sent Cutler to the Bucs, the Bucs would have sent their first round pick (19th overall) to the Patriots, and Matt Cassel to the Broncos. Or something close to that anyway.

That whole situation raises another question, did the Patriots give the Chiefs a better deal due to Scott Pioli being the new GM?

But that is a question and topic for a whole separate post.

This post is about Jay Cutler and his whining now that the Broncos MIGHT have been quarterback shopping.

Some people feel that Jay has no right to get upset because 1) he hasn't really achieved anything yet in the NFL and 2) he might have asked for a trade earlier this season.

Well if you are a believer that he has no right to complain cause of his lack of success I would say you are an idiot. Name a player on that team in the past year that has given him decent production other than Brandon Marshall. (who by the way just got arrested again) You probably couldn't name too many could you. Give Cutler a good line and a good running back (or Randy Moss) and he would have gone 11-5 too.

OR for that matter give him a defense that keeps teams from gaining 200 yards a game on the ground and see what he can do. Hell if Cassel is in that offense last season you know how many games they win? No more than Cutler.

So to those who feel like Cutler can't get upset and complain cause he hasn't succeeded I say Shove It!

BUT if he actually did request a trade after his quarterback coach left then he has no right to whine now that they are shopping him. What is a team to do? If your quarterback expresses an interest to leave the team and you have a chance at another good young quarterback you have to look into it.

So basically he shouldn't be blamed for whining anymore than Donovan McNabb should have blamed after Kevin Kolb was drafted UNLESS he asked to be traded first!

Verb's Sweet Sixteen - 3/2

Today is my birthday and it is snowing here in south central Pennsylvania so what is there better to do then write a blog about college basketball and the NCAA tournament.

NOTHING!

That's right, it's March now and even though I have been writing this post for weeks now, it's time to get serious. I know the fun and hot thing to talk about right now is the bubble and trust me, I love that too, but getting one of the top 4 seeds is a big deal also. Trust me, those teams care just as much about getting a top seed as much as the bubble teams care about getting in.

I can't really spotlight one huge game only because there are so many this time of year. The conference tournaments start this week and well, every game for every team is huge when you talk about the conference tournaments.

The one huge thing that happened for last week's top 16 was Marquette's Dominic James went down with a season-ending injury. Now, it may be a little harsh to drop them out of the sweet sixteen just because of this injury but it's huge. McNeal is still a stud for this team but they have lost their last two, albeit, to Connecticut and Louisville. Should they be dropped out, I'm not sure, I guess we'll see in a little bit.

East (Boston)

1. Pittsburgh - It's now terribly obvious that Dajuan Blair HAS to stay out of foul trouble. Sam Young can score and maybe make up for Blair if he does get in trouble but I don't know if he can do that every time. Blair is the key to this team and if he can stay out of foul trouble, they can win the whole thing.

2. Duke - Even though every game Duke plays seems to be close these days, they keep winning. That's the key during this part of the season is to just win baby! If they can keep doing this they make get lucky and get a 1 seed but I think they only way that happens is either a victory over UNC or a tournament championship.

3. Villanova - The loss to Georgetown hurts but not too badly. If you look at Georgetown's resume, its not that bad. It was considered a home loss but it was at the Wachovia Center, which isn't actually their home floor. This team is still very dangerous in my opinion, so keep an eye out for this team in the Big East tournament.

4. Purdue - They just blew out Ohio State and even though they lost to Michigan, they have a recent victory over Michigan State. They may be a little inconsistent but they still are a solid club that could make a decent run in the tourney.

South (Memphis)

1. North Carolina - If they lose to Duke they could lose the number 1 seed. I don't think they will. The game is in Chapel Hill and well, the only way they lose is if they decide defense doesn't matter AGAIN. If this did plays D, they are great. I feel like a broken record with that.

2. Louisville - They have won 5 in a row, which will probably turn into 7. They will enter the conference tournament on a huge hot streak. This team is really good. I think they only way they get a 1 seed is if they win the conference tourney and Pitt or UConn lose early.

3. Kansas - Big 12 champions in all likelihood. I think that warrants a 3 seed, don't you?

4. LSU - SEC champions in all likelihood. I think that warrants a 4 seed, don't you?

Midwest (Indianapolis)

1. Connecticut - Hasheem Thabeet is a game changer on defense. AJ Price is really good. This team could definitely win the whole thing! It would be hard for this team to lose their number 1 seed. They will be number 1 this evening and that's not hard to lose obviously but that's why they play the games.

2. Michigan State - The Purdue loss is the only one in the last 10. I think of the number 2 seeds, this team is the least likely to move into a number 1 but that doesn't mean they aren't good. Kalin Lucas may be the Big Ten player of the year and he will carry this team deep into the tournament.

3. Wake Forest - This has been a strange team since they had that huge win over Duke. Definitely an up and down team that could definitely win the conference tournament. A number 2 seed definitely isn't out of the question.

4. Missouri - I don't know anything about this team other then I think they are overrated. I expect they can't move up much from here but an early loss in the conference tournament could cause them to move down.

West (Glendale)

1. Oklahoma - Two losses without Blake Griffin doesn't really hurt this team. I love this team and I think a long run in both tournaments are in the future here. I can't see this team losing their number 1 seed.

2. Memphis - What a game it would be if Memphis and Oklahoma played for a spot in the final four. Dozier against Griffin. Evans against Warren. Capel against Calipari. We can only hope, right?

3. Washington - Pac-10 champions deserve a number 3 seed, don't they?

4. Clemson - They were number 16. It came down to Clemson, Gonzaga, Marquette, and Xavier but Clemson got the nod. I don't really have a reason to be honest. I just felt that overall they deserved it the most. I would make Marquette the number 5 seed in the region which would result in a Marquette/Clemson game in the second round. I would pick Clemson right now, so there, there is my reason.

That's all for this week guys. Man, I love this stuff. Oh and in case your thinking about what I am going to do for the rest of my birthday...I am working 12:30 to 10:00.

Boo Ya!

Podcast Episode 21

Last night Verb and I recorded our 21st podcast episode and it is up now for your listening pleasure. Last week we covered our 65 team fields for the NCAA Tournament. So this week we made our weekly changes to that list and talked other stuff.

Topics:

• NFL Free Agency
• Eagles talk
• Broncos talk
• Patriots talk
• Kurt Warner
• Daniel Snyder printing money in Washington
• The WBC
• Santana's elbow a concern for Mets
• Schilling wants back??
• We went through our bubble teams and discussed a few teams in depth
• And we gave a brief rundown of the conference tourney's that start this week.

Next week we will be back again getting into more NFL Free Agency stuff, maybe some NHL trade deadline talk, and even more on March Madness.

Enjoy!