Everybody Loves George. It isn't so much that the swarms descended on George Mason at the practices today at the RCA Dome, it's that even with the other three schools accustomed to some levels of tournament success having fans come out in full force, the Mason fans still made their presences known. That'll be the topic of tomorrow's column in advance of the games that night. George Mason isn't going to get swallowed up by the big powers as far as support in the stands and around Indianapolis is concerned.

They might get swallowed up by floods and/or a tornado, though. The mid-afternoon clear skies and summery temperatures gave way disturbingly quickly to tornado warnings, and then to thunderstorms that began about a half-hour ago. That probably will cut down on the night-before revelry, but not by much. Organizers insist that the weather won't affect the free concert scheduled for Monument Circle, walking distance from pretty much every downtown hotel, on Sunday, featuring John Mellencamp, Carrie Underwood, Collective Soul, Michelle Branch, and the latest reminder of what a coot I am, Chris Brown. (The waitress at dinner last night exclaimed, "That's who I can't wait to see!'' I was too embarrassed to answer, ''Who's he?'')

Back at the Dome, the Mason players and coaches, and even school officials like president Alan Merten and Tom O'Connor, were far looser and seemed to be enjoying the crush more than any other team. In their locker room, when the school's public relations people started ordering reporters out because the availability session had ended and it was time to leave, the players weren't in any hurry to leave. They kept answering questions. Tony Skinn was entertaining such a large crowd in the doorway, the reporters being rushed out of the locker room had to squeeze by them.

And at the podium, when he and his teammates were done with their big interview sessions, Lamar Butler asked, "Can I keep the name tag?''

Posted by David Steele at 7:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

It's raining this morning in Indianapolis, and open practices at the RCA Dome for the four teams at the men's Final Four begin in a little over an hour. George Mason is first, and it's probably not an accident that they're going earliest, since it would be a shock to see any of the other teams get anywhere close to the overall media attention this weekend that George Mason will.

It's also a strong possibility that there are more media following coach Jim Larranaga, the players and school officials this weekend, then actual, real George Mason fans. Walking around downtown Indy - albeit two days before the game, and also on the night of a big Pacers game at which Reggie Miller had his number retired - there was not a strong Mason fan presence. At one bar, UCLA fans were making the most noise, and one observer said that this is the case at the very hotel at which your Sun correspondents are staying. LSU is also out in full force.

Meanwhile, at a team cap store on the concourse of the Indy airport, Final Four hats are on display. for LSU, UCLA and Florida, and hats with all four team logos on them - but no individual Mason hats. Yes, I'll continue to search the city today. It may just have been an oversight, or underestimation, by the one shop.

The plane from BWI was, pretty much, the state coaches' charter. At least two local head coaches (actually, one current and one former) were on board, with plenty of smaller school staffs as well. The NABC holds its annual convention at the Final Four; their meetings began early this morning at the convention center connected to the Dome. The head coaches: Jimmy Patsos of Loyola and Butch Beard, recently let go at Morgan State.

Overheard a couple of times in the boarding area and on the plane: "I wish I could hit both Final Fours and see the Maryland women.''

Posted by David Steele at 10:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Blame my work ethic, or lack thereof. Comprehending what I saw at Verizon Center yesterday and last night - the entire weekend, actually - and trying to compress it into one column was draining, kept me at the arena late and pretty much killed any thought of staying an extra hour and blogging about it. Forgive me. But the thoughts are still fresh this morning.

* I didn't even come close on the Final Four, but as far as every No. 1 seed missing out, I nailed it. As for shaking up the elitist mentality of college basketball - saw that coming, too. But I'm not in this for credit or personal accolades; I'm a team player. Me and Alfonso Soriano.

* Seeing George Mason beat Connecticut in overtime to get to the Final Four might have surpassed what I had previously believed was the tell-my-grandkids-I-was-there moment of my career: Michael Jordan winning his sixth and last NBA championship on that shot in Utah, what was then believed to be the final shot of his career.

* George Mason actually winning it all would surpass that, though. I don't care what the guys on the team have been saying all weekend: nobody goes to George Mason thinking about winning the national championship. That's like going to Morgan State expecting to play in the Rose Bowl.

* The enormity of the difference between George Mason winning, and losing a heartbreaker at the buzzer after fighting UConn and the odds the entire game, can't be overstated. It's the difference between "Hoosiers'' and "Rocky.''

* On the other side, this loss is going to stick with Connecticut more than those two national titles will. Those titles will now be forever linked with losing to George Mason - as in, "How does a school with two championships lose to George Mason?'' Something tells me that in Storrs from now on, the team that beat them will be referred to as "George F. Mason.''

* Billy Packer had better bring his extra-thick skin to Indy this weekend.

* Refreshing sight: UConn players, incredibly dejected, pausing to shake hands with the Mason players, then walking very slowly off the court and to their locker room where, presumably, they let the tearful anguish flow. Refreshing because they didn't let it all out on the final possession when they had (and got) a great chance to tie or win it after all - unlike the stunningly un-composed, non-poised Adam Morrison. There's something to be said for pulling oneself together when the pressure, emotions and tension are at their peaks. UConn saved its season twice in three days, forcing overtime two games in a row at the buzzer. Can you imagine if Rashad Anderson or Denham Brown had been walking around bawling uncontrollably on the last plays of regulation in those games?

* How many "greatest'' lists does this belong on, if not at the top of? Greatest upset ever in the tournament. Greatest upset ever in college basketball (all things considered, it gives Chaminade over Virginia a run for its money). Greatest tournament game, or at least greatest tournament regional final (remember, there were three classics just last season, and the Duke-Kentucky Christian Laettner game would be tough to beat). Greatest upsets, period (lots of talk the last 18 hours about Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson, Rulon Gardner over Alexander Karelin in Olympic wrestling, Mets over Orioles, Jets over Colts, and the Miracle on Ice).

* Personal near-miss tale: I was with several dozen reporters in Sydney in 2000 watching the U.S. baseball team shock Cuba to win the gold medal, when cell phones started ringing off the hook from reporters who were at the Gardner match downtown. We all sprinted to the nearby media center for Gardner's emotional press conference, with his parents and wife, then sprinted back to the baseball stadium for the end of the game, the celebration and an equally-emotional press conference, starring manager Tommy Lasorda.

* Speaking of the above examples, isn't it a relief that Baltimore is on the right side of a historic upset for once? Thanks, Will Thomas.

* With all due respect to Kimmie Meissner winning a world championship at age 16, the chances of that happening were not even remotely as great as a team like George Mason beating a team like Connecticut to get to the Final Four. I'm not entirely convinced that what Thomas, Aberdeen's Jai Lewis and the rest of them did wasn't a bigger accomplishment. I'm getting the sense that a Baltimore basketball player reaching the pinnacle of his sport at a young age is taken for granted. Besides (again, no disrespect intended), the Connecticut players didn't fall down at midcourt and open the door for them to win. There has to have been a major final in which Sasha Cohen didn't fall down, but it's hard to remember when it was.

* Never mind whether the Patriots should have gotten into the field - they won with a starter who, it could be argued, shouldn't even have been allowed to play. Suspending Tony Skinn even longer than one tournament game for that groin punch in the CAA tournament wouldn't have been out of line. (Truthfully, I didn't include that as a commentary, but as a means to mention that a buddy of mine has dubbed Skinn "Buster Groin-dexter.'') Nevertheless, George Mason's once-suspended guard got the better of UConn's once-suspended guard, Marcus Williams.

* Teams have reached the Final Four with starting lineups composed entirely of players from one state before (I'm assuming. LSU, for one, is big on that sort of thing). But has any gotten there with a lineup entirely from a state other than its own? The research begins.

* I really hope Washington fans aren't whining as much as it appears they are. The George Mason game should have slapped some sense into them; instead of saying, "The refs stole the UConn game from us,'' they should be saying, "We had a chance to beat UConn at the end of regulation and in overtime - we blew it, and George Mason didn't.'' Do they put double-shots of paranoia in the grandes at the Seattle Starbucks or something? First the crying over the Super Bowl, now this. Quit thinking about conspiracy theories and grow some ... guts.

* The subject has been beaten into the ground, but let's give it one more hit: Gary Williams, Pat Kennedy at Towson, Jimmy Patsos at Loyola and a bunch of other coaches probably haven't slept well in two weeks, and this week won't be any better. And if Brenda Frese gets the Terp women to the Final Four tonight, it'll make for even more tossing and turning for one of those coaches.

Posted by David Steele at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

LSU 62, Duke 54. Told you to watch out for the Big Baby.

A couple more observations from the couch as the second half wore on (the first half was spent mostly on New York Avenue, partly on the parkway):

* It's now second nature for every announcer doing Duke games, even in the NCAA tournament, to describe the Blue Devils as a win waiting to happen, and their opponents as eventually on their way to a loss. Sure enough, with eight minutes left and Duke up by five after having just taken its first lead since the first half, J.J. Redick squared up for a three, and as it was in the air, Dick Enberg said, "It could be the dagger if it falls!'' (Or something like that; forgive me, I wasn't taking notes, I leave that to the Medium Well blogger.) It would have given Duke an eight-point lead with eight minutes left. What group of mortals could possibly be expected to overcome that?

Later, when Redick hit his third (and final) basket of the game, with about three minutes left, Enberg broke out another one: "That could be the shot that gets him on track!'' He was something like 3 for 16 at that point.

Not that this sort of thinking is limited to Duke broadcasts. It infected NBA game calls throughout the Lakers' run earlier in the decade, including (or especially) the '04 Finals which they lost to Detroit. It took most people until the fifth and final game to realize that the Lakers actually were not the better team and were not destined to win. It's lazy more than anything else.

* Enberg is a certified play-by-play legend, but this was not a Hall of Fame performance. He shot about 40 percent overall on play stoppages (fouls, who they were called on, changes of possession, that sort of thing). Meanwhile, Jay Bilas might be better on games than he is in the studio. Oops, creeping into someone else's territory again.

* Redick hitting a wall at the end of each of his four seasons isn't necessarily a bad omen for his pro career, but it's not exactly a good one. Habitually running out of gas around game 32 tends to be looked upon unfavorably in an 82-game season, not including exhibitions and playoffs. In other words, regardless of what Dick Vitale says, NBA teams won't automatically be blind or stupid for not taking him in the top 5.

* Maybe Coach K could have offered the close-up fatherly advice and walked off the court arm-in-arm with Shelden Williams. Isn't he a senior, too, and didn't he do a little bit for the program, including show up in the last game of the season?

* OK, if you thought both Tyrus Thomas and Glen Davis would finish the game after picking up their third fouls so quickly in the second half, raise your hand. Now, if you had a feeling Williams wouldn't foul out after getting his fourth, raise your hand.

*It probably means absolutely nothing in terms of what Duke will be like next season, but Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts looked a lot like freshmen in a big game, again. Speaking of which, wasn't it easy to forget that if things had gone differently, Duke could have had Luol Deng (now with the Bulls), Shaun Livingston (Clippers) and Shavlik Randolph (76ers, and actually healthy) this season? If all they had was Deng, they might be going to their third straight Final Four instead of going out in their second straight Sweet 16. Kind of puts that whole John Gilchrist-Chris McCray thing into perspective.

* May we all live long enough to see Duke lose another game in which the other team shoots 12 of 23 from the line. Of course, if you can't rebound those misses, wins are harder to come by.

* Boston College is the last ACC school left. One of them football schools. Uh-oh. If they do win it all, some old-liners are going to have some mixed feelings.

Posted by David Steele at 10:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

If Jim Larranaga of George Mason brought the sizzle, Jim Calhoun brought the steak. Writers who felt well-fed by Larranaga as the feisty underdog, gorged on Calhoun as the beleaguered favorite, lamenting the inconsistent, sometimes uninspired play of his second-ranked, top-seeded team. He was asked about an earlier comment by Washington's Brandon Roy - "We just hope that they do have that lapse during the game where they are a little unfocused'' - and he ran with it.

UConn, Calhoun said, not only has had lapses, it has "probably had five complete games all year.'' It's his team's nature, he said, to not be consistent - and, he added later, "Forget the chronological ages of the players, this by nature has not been quite as mature a team as I would like.'' UConn, he said, "needs to ... have a bust-out game.''

At least he's not ranting at the media for manufacturing a perception that the team is struggling, the way certain ACC coaches with multiple championships and multiple commercials airing during the tournament have done from time to time. If anyone wondered where the idea started that UConn was underachieving, he or she could point right to the head coach - which actually is a good thing.

Meanwhile, question of the day came from a radio reporter who asked Lorenzo Romar if there was an advantage for the University of Washington (the state) to play in Washington (the district). "Is this a trick question?'' Romar replied.

Reason why you might not want to lay the mortgage on Wichita State: the first words out of coach Mark Turgeon's mouth at his press conference were, "We're just happy to be here.''

Tipoff for Game 1, George Mason-Wichita State, is 7:27 tomorrow night; UConn-Washington is roughly 10 p.m. Calhoun understandably wasn't crazy about the start time, but not only understood it, but understood that his players probably aren't stressed about it. He recalled one of his players telling him, "I went to bed early, I was in bed by 1:15.'' Oh, those zany kids.

Posted by David Steele at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The practices and press conferences for the four teams playing in D.C., are underway. George Mason coach Jim Larranaga just finished his standup routine from the podium, cracking wise about the Bracket-Buster game last month against Wichita State being a preview of their Sweet 16 matchup tomorrow. "It's almost as if  you couldn't have foreseen it!'' he mugged. He was on fire, soaking up every minute of his time in the spotlight.

Practices are open to the public, and with Mason taking the floor first, there was a pretty good turnout from the locals. Students clearly blew off class today, much as they did much of the week as they lined up for tickets.

At this time, I'd like to thank my wonderful hometown for continuing its tradition of sending road crews to block off major portions of New York Avenue on the day of a big event at the downtown arena. The trip here today was almost a carbon copy of last year's trip for the ACC tournament. There were, of course, flashing signs asking commuters to avoid the congestion and take Metro to the games, which I would gladly do if there was a Red Line stop at, say, Fayette and Charles.

I'd also like to thank Verizon for the fact that once again, their cell phones don't work in most areas of the arena that bears its corporate name. If anyone of you readers are wandering by the Sun building, stop by and let my editors know that I got here.

Posted by David Steele at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Add the entire state of California to the movement against canonizing Paul Tagliabue, if this column on CBS Sportsline is any indication. That's a former colleague in San Fran writing that, and I can vouch for all of it, certainly the part about city after city and stadium after stadium in Cali being neglected. One could make a case for the stadiums for the 49ers, Raiders and Chargers as being the worst, most decrepit, most obsolete in the NFL, and that doesn't count team-less L.A., whose best stadium is still the Coliseum. How does that happen in California, of all places? Nashville gets a new stadium but no place in California can? It's hard to make a case for Tagliabue's greatness on the stadium issue with a gap that big in the resume.

Look at the facilities for all the other sports that have come into being the past decade and a half, while the NFL has abandoned California. The former Pac Bell Park for the S.F. Giants. Staples Center for the Lakers and Clippers. A renovated Oakland Arena for the Warriors. The former San Jose Arena for the Sharks (also several NCAA men's and women's basketball regionals). The Pond in Anaheim for the Mighty Ducks. Even the old Anaheim Stadium has gotten a major makeover recently for the Angels. And a new arena for the Sacramento Kings is being debated (even though Vegas might end up being the destination). But nothing anywhere for the biggest, baddest sports league in the land. That's just weird.

But enough about him. It is my sad duty to report that the Sun is among many media outlets that were apparently punked by the infamous March Madness-lost productivity report. Slate magazine is only the latest outlet to out the fake math used to reach that figure and the agenda behind it. The original report, that America suffered lost workplace productivity to the tune of $3.8 billion, always sounded suspicious. I figured a similar number, at least, would apply to productivity lost to playing computer solitaire. Note, in particular, the fact that the same company spreading this around, raised the cost nearly $3 billion from last year's estimate.

Posted by David Steele at 1:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Guess what, Baltimore? You're not alone. St. Louis has a major beef with Paul Tagliabue and the glimmering legacy being spun for him, and for virtually the same reason Baltimore did: the 1992-93 expansion, specifically Jacksonville, as this St. Louis Post-Dispatch web column points out. And yes, both cities got teams back the same way, within a year of each other: by stealing them from other cities. So the Tags bandwagon isn't all that full after all.

FYI: the Maryland basketball women are sweating it out in the second round of the NCAAs: just over six minutes left, they're down by one to ... St. John's? I keep looking for Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson and Walter "The Truth'' Berry as some explanation how this is happening, but they're not around, just the St. John's women who have never gone this far before.

Posted by David Steele at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I don't know if I could put it any better than Ken Murray did on the front of this morning's Sun, or John Eisenberg on the front of the sports section. I'm not even from here (yeah, you all know where I'm from), and had I been completely detached from the impact it had on Baltimore, the announcement of Paul Tagliabue's resignation this summer as NFL commissioner still would have left me cold. But throw in the utter disrespect he showed this city, the hypocrisy in dealing with other cities, the overall legacy of franchise free-agency and his generally pompous demeanor, and it's hard to work up much of a glowing testimonial.

OK, give him the nearly 20 years without having lost a game to a labor stoppage; even that little tussle a few weeks ago over the collective bargaining agreement extension was nothing compared to what baseball, the NBA and the NHL went through. And football came back to town on his watch, whereas it had left under Pete Rozelle's watch.

But also consider this:

* Cleveland had to get jerked around in order for Baltimore to get a team  back.

* Cleveland was allowed to keep its team name, colors and history, something that never happened with Baltimore.

* Also deserted callously: Los Angeles (the second-biggest market in the country) and Houston (how do you let Texas lose a pro football team?). L.A. remains unresolved, while Houston got a team back almost immediately, as had Cleveland - again, a reward Baltimore never was offered or considered for. It's all thanks to stadium roulette, which reached its peak under Tagliabue and shows no signs of stopping. Garbage franchises with inept ownership and management get to twist the arms of cities and states for stadiums, with Super Bowls dangled before them by the distinguished commissioner as a carrot. Not to mention Detroit specifically, of course.

* Charlotte and Jacksonville got the expansion teams. No one needs to go into that story again. But Jacksonville is proving more and more every day to be a mistake, no matter how much Tagliabue would like to selfishly convince everyone it wasn't. Meanwhile, Baltimore has been a huge success in every way, even managing one of the smoother owner-transfers ever done. Which, again, highlights the fact that Tagliabue isn't exactly the type to ever admit he was wrong. We've already pointed out here that he's not always on the best of terms with the truth, at least not in public.

Sports Illustrated gave him the big-feature treatment in January; you can see an excerpt here, although the entire story is accessible only to subscribers. His putdown line about baseball is worth the price of a subscription alone, although he (rather weakly) backtracked on it in a letter to the editor in a later issue. It seems to sum his persona up pretty well.

As for the other commissioners: if David Stern resigned today, his legacy would be that he truly saved his league. Gary Bettman nearly ruined his. Bud Selig has presided over so many dizzying highs and disgraceful lows, his reputation will be all over the place.

Tagliabue's somehow has a nice glow on it. It's undeserved. Be happy that while he was in charge, you saw a full slate of games every weekend. Be justifiably angry that, here in Baltimore, you had to wait too long to see games in person.

Posted by David Steele at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

95 South will be calling pretty soon, but here are a few final observations from the weekend in College Park and Philadelphia:

Connecticut should be booking its flight to Indianapolis, because it's almost impossible to imagine losing to Washington, George Mason or Wichita State. Of course, Illinois, North Carolina and Tennessee probably couldn't imagine it either, but Connecticut simply should not lose to any of the teams coming to D.C. Then again, as I wrote for tomorrow, Connecticut shouldn't have had to sweat out Albany and a Kentucky team that didn't exactly bring back memories of the Goose Givens days, or even Jeff Shephard. I'm pretty sure the guys who played for the Kentucky team depicted in "Glory Road'' could handle their counterparts today, in their 60s. But UConn needed a huge finish by Marcus Williams, an insane three straight offensive rebounds of missed free throws by Hilton Armstrong, and one very questionable out-of-bounds call down the stretch to hold onto what was a 13-point second-half lead.

Patrick Sparks went crazy for Kentucky: 28 points, 19 in the second half. Of course, someone in the post-game press conference prefaced a question about him by saying, "He's not the most athletic player out there ...'' Three guesses what color Sparks is. Please don't get me started. Jim Calhoun eventually pointed out to the questioner, he's probably more athletic than you.

Villlanova-Boston College and Gonzaga-UCLA (in that order) are far and away the most appealing matchups in the next round, although it would make a lot of people happy if Duke-LSU was at least close.

Bonus for the growing legion of disgruntled Terp fans: Shane Clark, 17 minutes, two points, four fouls. Not a big impact as far as I could tell, but I can't say I watched every minute of that game.

So, you ask, how's the bracket? Eight of the final 16, that's how. I wrapped yellow police tape around the D.C. side of it. I had Alabama-Birmingham, Illinois, North Carolina and Seton Hall. Three of four are alive in Minneapolis, three in Atlanta, two in Oakland. Half of my Final Four is DOA (North Carolina and Kansas, leaving Texas and BC).

Conference call: Big East 4, Missouri Valley 2, ACC 2, Pac 10 2, SEC 2, then Conference USA, Big 12, West Coast and the mighty, mighty Colonial. G'night, thanks for coming, stay sober: the Big Ten, six and out.

One final thought swirling around the UConn locker room yesterday: after all the effort all season to get the top seed in the region they wanted, they might end up playing for the Final Four against George Mason in front of their home crowd.

Posted by David Steele at 8:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

... as Stuart Scott calls it. I'm in Philly for today's NCAA doubleheader: UConn-Kentucky for a berth in D.C., Villanova-Arizona in the Minneapolis region. It will help to get a taste of quality basketball back in my mouth. Apparently, many respondents to yesterday's blogs from the Maryland NIT game agree. The natives are very restless, with lots of fierce debate about exactly what should be done to turn this around (including a stunning number of dump-Gary suggestions).

Here, though, the interest in these two games, even with Villanova playing, pales in comparison to the T.O.-to-Dallas reaction. Listening to callers on WIP as I entered town, and reading the news story and Stephen A. Smith's column in this morning's Inquirer, indicate that Eagles fans are not only not saying "Good riddance,'' they're saying, "You screwed up, Eagles.'' Even after being so embittered with him after he engineered his own exile from the Eagles, they're enraged that less than a year after T.O. helped them to the Super Bowl, the Eagles have mishandled everything and are approaching rock-bottom, if not already there. Angry bunch.

Maybe Eagles fans and Terps fans should have a scream-off, to see who can vent the most about what's happened the last couple of days.

Tipoff here for UConn-Kentucky is about a half-hour away. At least this won't end in a draw, like certain heavyweight title fights we've seen. I didn't see a single punch thrown last night (hopefully HBO will be replaying it soon), but anytime there's a draw in a boxing title bout, it leaves a little bit of a stench in the air.

Speaking of stenches, I missed the fight broadcast because I went to see "V For Vendetta.'' A better title would have been "S For Shoulda-Been-Bettah.''

Posted by David Steele at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Gary Williams had a lot to say at the end of the NIT game, and Maryland's season, and the players had some even more interesting things to say (unfortunately, you'll have to pay for most of them tomorrow morning). Williams did say this about the disgrace - regardless of the final score - against Manhattan: "I'm surprised. I expect my teams to play well in every game. You can feel sorry for yourself (but) no other school in the country cares whether we're in this game or not.''

In other words: not wanting to play in this game and pining away for the NCAAs gets you nowhere. Obviously.

Running themes in the locker room: we were listless, we should have beaten this team, this can't happen again. "We can't continue to go through this. We've got to change things,'' D.J. Strawberry said. If he wasn't named a captain for next season before he even changed out of his uniform yesterday, then that's a further sign of the program's decline. There were times when it seemed he was the only truly inspired and inspiring player all season. Yet he had as bad a game yesterday as anyone.

Signature moments: the little groove that Jeff Xavier was wearing into the spot on the right wing where he kept launching his three-pointers, with Maryland leaving him open each time ... the scattered boos when Kenny Minor - all 5-8 of him - slithered through the lane for the layup that gave Manhattan its biggest lead at 61-47 early in the second half ... Xavier completing a three-point play to halt a Maryland surge, then picking off an inbounds pass, having a player fall on him in the scramble, him getting up slowly but staying in the game ... Manhattan calling its last timeout with four minutes left to control a loose ball under its basket with five seconds left on the shot clock, then getting a layup off the inbound ... Maryland coming out of the next timeout down by 10 and Strawberry immediately turning it over ... Caner-Medley having to commit his fifth and last foul when no teammate is able to catch up to the ballhandlers off an inbound in the final two minutes ... Xavier's dive into the Maryland bench to intercept and save it on a huge Terps possession with 57 seconds left and the lead down to three.

And, of course, the silence (from the announced crowd of 4,761) as the final buzzer sounded. All things considered, you wonder if they wouldn't have been better off turning down the bid after all.

Oh, one more thing to clear up. Jason Wingate didn't hit five three-pointers in the first half either. I've only been reading stat sheets for 25 years, give me a break.

Posted by David Steele at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

Manhattan 87, Maryland 84.

In his postgame radio interview, Gary Williams was asked about the first half, and he said, "The way we came into it -'' He paused, and continued, "They outworked us.''

He'll surely have more to say in a few minutes. Stay tuned.

Brief correction: Jeff Xavier did not have five threes in the first half. He did end up with a career high 31 points. And Manhattan did have four players foul out, but still won.

Posted by David Steele at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Just goes to show you, you can't spell "humiliation'' without U-M or N-I-T.

Manhattan 47, Terps 37 at halftime. After about the fourth straight bad shot or turnover was converted into points in the final minute of the half, the sparse crowd started booing and cursing at the court. Barely-used walk-on Gini Chukura was inserted with 34 seconds left, as Manhattan was pushing its lead to 12. Gary Williams left the floor debating (to put it mildly) with an official, most likely about one of his heady seniors, Nik Caner-Medley, picked up a technical after his third personal foul with 4:01 left, giving the Jaspers a four-point play.

Twelve Maryland turnovers leading to 19 Manhattan points. Seven three-pointers by Manhattan, five by Jason Wingate. Mike Jones, one point.

But it's only halftime.

Posted by David Steele at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

It's 15 minutes to tipoff here at Comcast Center, Maryland plays Manhattan in its NIT opener, and there's plenty of parking and tickets available. By the way, if you have an urge to make a last-second run to College Park from Baltimore, go some other way than the B-W Parkway, unless you like sitting in traffic waiting for fallen trees to be cleared from the road just past the 197 exit. It's 41 degrees, headed toward the low 50s. Your next traffic and weather together in 10 minutes.

Early indications are that the fans here will be paying attention to a certain NCAA game as closely as they will be the game in front of them. There's tremendous interest in Duke-George Washington in the Atlanta Region second round at Greensboro. It tips off around 1 and will be shown here, so don't be surprised at a mass exodus, even if the NIT game is close. As much talk as there is about the ACC's 4-0 record in the opening round (and glee over pratfalls by the Big Ten, SEC, Big East and Missouri Valley), this clearly is an ACC loss they can stomach.

Posted by David Steele at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

So ... they blow a double-digit lead in the final minutes of regulation. Their best player, big man Craig Smith, decides to dribble upcourt with the score tied in the closing seconds, travels and gives Pacific the ball with four seconds left. They give up back to back 3s to begin the first overtime, and at the end of it, they leave UOP's leading scorer, Christian Maraker, open under the basket (but barely recover in time to disrupt his game-winning layup attempt). Then they get their act together and wrap it up in double OT. Over the No. 13 seed, the champion of the vaunted Big West Conference.

Yup, I'm feeling good about that BC pick to win the national championship.

Meanwhile, buh-bye, Seton Hall: Wichita State by 20. Told you they didn't belong in the field. And Wisconsin-Milwaukee 82, Oklahoma 74. Three hours in, and we came within a layup of having two double-digit seeds pull it off.

And the scare in San Diego appears to be over; the arena was evacuated earlier today. Tipoff of that opening game was pushed back about an hour.

Posted by David Steele at 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

That's what a former colleague annually labels his baseball predictions in the paper, and it's as perfect a description as anyone has ever come up with for this tortuous tradition. And nowhere does it fit better than in the NCAA Tournament. With that in mind, I direct you to my tournament predictions from this morning's Sun. As if to focus particular attention to my ineptitude, Channel 13 is scheduled to air my national champ, Boston College, right out of the box this afternoon.

Except that on my TV right now, on Channel 13, I'm seeing Wichita State-Seton Hall, from Greensboro. Not to worry - it appears to be filling up the 20 minutes between the start of CBS's programming and the tipoff of BC-Pacific (or, as we called it in my days out West, UOP) from Salt Lake City. We'll see. For what it's worth, after ridiculing its selection to the tournament in Monday's paper, I have Seton Hall going to the Sweet 16, knocking off Tennessee, in the bracket I filled out that gets BC into the title game.

At the first TV timeout: Wichita State 12, Seton Hall 4. I refer you again to the title of this post.

Posted by David Steele at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

I saw the report on ESPN last night about Dwight Gooden getting busted again on a cocaine-related offense, as I was talking to a younger colleague on the phone. My reaction: "Oh damn, Doc Gooden, not again.'' The younger colleague's reaction to that: "Doc Gooden - Doc Gooden - OK, I should know who that is - who is he?''

Wow.

That's how far Gooden has fallen, from phenom, legend and sure Hall of Famer, to cautionary tale, to unrecognizable. Well, that is proof that he still works as a cautionary tale. It just means that his story requires an introduction now. And it's only been 20 years since he blew up huge, and 10 years since he threw a no-hitter and won a World Series ring. I thought Kirby Puckett's time on stage had passed quickly. More time has passed for Doc, yet it still seems as if Gooden's comet rose faster, blazed brighter and burned out faster than nearly anyone of his magnitude I can remember.

More proof of how far he's fallen off the radar: the New York papers could barely squeeze the story in amidst everything else going on; once upon a time, anything that happened with Doc and Darryl (Strawberry, that is, whose life took a disturbingly identical turn) merited not just the back pages, but the front. The online versions of the Times and Post don't even have stories about it. The Daily News and Newsday do.

Of course, if you're of the demographic that reads blogs, you might be wondering, "Well ... why are we supposed to know who he is?'' Here's as good an explanation as any I've seen, by ESPN.com's Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, from last summer. I knew at some point I'd have to say "You had to see him to believe him,'' a phrase that drove me crazy when I was younger (I heard it most often about Jim Brown and Oscar Robertson), but now I say it, and it's tough to describe what a spectacle it was when Dwight Gooden pitched for the Mets in the mid-80s, before it started falling apart.

The photos - mug shots - that accompany these stories are painful and depressing. Doc looks like a 41-year-old addict who can't stay out of jail. That's not what he was, but that's what he is now. In case you didn't recognize the name.

Posted by David Steele at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Man, I'm feeling way out of the mainstream today. I see that Maryland got left out of the NCAA tournament so that the second-place team in the Mountain West could get a berth, and I think that's wrong. I see that Jamal Lewis re-signs with the Ravens and I think that's good. And nobody agrees with me. I'm hurt. Of course, I loved "Arrested Development'' and can't stand "American Idol.'' Maybe I'm just anti-social.

The bizarre picks in the field of 65 is a bigger issue than Maryland. I get the sense that around here, people have overdosed on Maryland so much that they focus solely on how disappointing and underwhelming they've been, don't have them in any perspective with the rest of the country - which, I have to repeat once again, ain't all that impressive - and automatically believe that there have to be 34 at-large teams more deserving than those clowns that got smoked by BC.

Actually, there probably are 34 at-large teams more deserving, except that a bunch of them didn't get in the field, either. Cincinnati deserved it more. So did Florida State. So did Hofstra. They got screwed, too. Of course, once you've seen George Washington go from sixth in the nation to eighth in its region (with potentially two games against North Carolina teams in Greensboro, including the No. 1 overall seed) by losing one tournament game while its best big man is TEMPORARILY sidelined, then you figure the picks were way more random than the committee and the bracketologists would have you believe.

At some point, someone should just come out and say, "We want the smaller schools better represented this year, so you bigger conferences are being held to a higher standard, OK?'' Nothing wrong with that. It's honest. Or say, "We're tired of being hit over the head with the ACC by Billy Packer and Dickie V and Jay Bilas.'' God knows that's the truth. Or say, "We have an irrational love for the SEC, so we're getting Alabama in no matter what.'' All the talk about RPI and strength of schedule and out of conference play and conference rankings - please. The members had reasons to pick who they wanted and leave out who they didn't, and everyone's fooling themselves if they think the picks were 100 percent objective.

Gotta admit, though, that was a priceless scene at Comcast last night. It went this way: after Gary Williams vented about the selection process, he left the room without committing fully to going to the NIT. Still, everyone figured it was just a formality and he just had to let off steam. Reporters went to the court and talked to the players, returned and started working. Only a handful were left when Williams came back to the room, sat in a seat where the media had been sitting (rather than at the table from which he had spoken before) and said he had decided not to go, that under the circumstances there wasn't much point in rushing to another game with a couple of injured starters (mainly Nik Caner-Medley) and that athletic director Debbie Yow was agreeable to whatever the players and Williams wished. As he explained this, he was handed a phone message asking him to call back right away. He seemed annoyed. It was pretty clear that someone was calling to talk him out of the NIT snub. Williams left, promising to come back.

Naturally, the reporters there dove at the phones to call this in. Minutes later, Williams comes back. Changed our minds, he said.

The change of heart did seem sincere, rather than his being muscled into it. When he said that old colleagues C.M. Newton and Dean Smith were influential in his giving the newly-constructed, NCAA-organized NIT more deference, he meant it. Still, it was clear he didn't necessarily want to fight the selection committee on that front, where it would be perceived badly. He was still as angry as before about the selection and still plans to get some answers this offseason about more clear criteria. But the national headlines about him turning the NIT down wouldn't have been worth it.

As for Jamal? You would think Baltimore fans would rather see him get healthy, regain his form and his passion and chew up opposing defenses for the Ravens rather than against them. Something about returning here, for whatever money he's getting, with the team with whom he fought last year, and now with another running back sharing touches with him, must have still be good enough for him. If he really didn't want to go, believe it, he would be gone, and the money wouldn't be a factor. Although it will be interesting to see if there was any chance Indianapolis would give him a look with Edgerrin James off to Arizona.

Mike Anderson, by the way, is scheduled to meet with reporters at the Castle tomorrow, and we might find out how this splitting carries thing is going to work out. This is a rare instance where a 32-year-old back has less mileage on him than a 26-year-old. This is going to be interesting.

Posted by David Steele at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Back home in B'more. With Maryland having been run out of town, our services were no longer required. To the state university's credit, its fans closed down all the bars in the headquarters hotel last night. Clumps of red all over the lobby and deep along and around the bars; they just kept swarming in after the late finish to the game. And clearly it was Terp red rather than Wolfpack red, which was impressive because there was no more angry group of fans in Greensboro on Friday than N.C. State fans during and after that embarrassing loss to Wake Forest that afternoon. Since they were in their home territory, they likely found other places outside the hotels to drown their sorrows. Honestly, though, the Maryland fans didn't sound all that sorrowful. I think they saw that spanking as inevitable, if not by B.C. than by someone else.

Speaking of which, Boston was not hugely represented down there, but if B.C. wins tomorrow, that will be the last time that happens at an ACC tournament. Don't think that New Englanders who care about college ball aren't getting a kick out of going down into the heart of Tobacco Road and getting a shot at winning the tourney the first time out. And don't think this isn't rubbing the locals wrong; it might tick them off worse to see this than to have seen Maryland do it twice.

Not that it wasn't a great facility that treated us well, but it was a relief on many levels to check out of that hotel and head home. For one thing, it was a big break that the flights back to BWI that were completely booked at least back to last week, got a couple of openings, enough for both intrepid Sun reporters to squeeze in. After calling the airline back five times between the end of Friday's game and about 1 this afternoon, I had resigned myself to flying back Sunday and was going to catch at least one of the semifinals yesterday - until I heard a late-afternoon flight was available. Packed in 15 minutes, checked out, drove through thunderstorms and set a record (and avoided being pulled over) from Greensboro to the Raleigh airport. Can't say I'm proud of it, just fortunate.

The only delay in getting out of town was the elevator. On Wednesday, the night before the tourney started, I had headed to dinner and stepped on the elevator on the 21st floor, and as the door closed, the car jolted hard, stopped, started again, went down one floor, jolted to a stop again, started again, went down another floor, and the door opened. I jumped out like Jack Bauer diving out of an exploding helicopter. I walked the 19 floors down to the lobby. The other diners got a nice chuckle out of that, and kept laughing when I refused to take that particular elevator the rest of my time there. Naturally, as I was racing to get that flight today, the first elevator to come to the floor was that one. Otherwise, I would have made it three minutes earlier.

Next posting: after the bids are out tomorrow night.

Posted by David Steele at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Gary Williams said that Nik Caner-Medley "seemed fine'' after spraining his ankle in the game, and that he'd likely be able to play in their next game. Caner-Medley himself said he had "no idea'' if there was anything seriously wrong. Either way, Maryland's next game would be no earlier than Tuesday - worst-case scenario, of course, meaning they'd be in the NIT. NCAA play starts Thursday.

The word "disappointed'' surfaced the most from the coach and in the locker room. BC played their big win down, except Jared Dudley, who said that the late start didn't worry him because his family and friends on the West Coast got to see more of his games, and they could keep "watching people pick up to lose.'' Not sure who actually did pick BC to lose, but whatever works.

The picks come on the air Sunday at 6.

Posted by David Steele at 12:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

BC 80, Maryland 66. If there were more than 6,000 left in the 23,000-seat Coliseum by game's end, it would be a miracle. Most of the crowd had cleared out after the North Carolina game, but the exodus accelerated at halftime and throughout the second half of this debacle.

Remember the very first post of the day, the business about football schools vs. basketball schools? Not only did Miami give the football schools something to be proud of, BC gave them something to outright brag about. That was a massive smackdown. Of the three recent expansion teams, Miami won its second-ever ACC tournament game, and now BC has won its first-ever, and handily. The Eagles never even looked worried when Maryland would cut the lead down to 18 or 14. Of course, they get North Carolina in the semis tomorrow, which could be a totally different story.

News on Nik Caner-Medley's ankle should come after the game. He fell hard on the baseline three minutes into the second half and needed a lot of help to get up and get to the bench. He was taken to the locker room, came back to the bench later and watched from next to the assistants. It's not his final game, of course, but his availability is as least in question. As is, where he'd play that next game.

Posted by David Steele at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Did the Terps know something? Did they wear the black uniforms in anticipation of mourning their NCAA hopes?

At the break, it's Boston College 41, Maryland 22, and it's a miracle it's that close. It's as if they're playing the Celtics, and not this year's Celtics, either - Bill Russell's Celtics. Gary Williams called a timeout 2:01 into the game, when it was 7-0; he threw his jacket 5:11 in, when it was 17-2. Their leading scorer, Mike Jones, went to the bench with his second foul 5:58 in - and he had two points. The best that can be said is that they reached double figures in points as a team before Craig Smith and Jared Dudley each got there.

Their 22 points tied a season low for a half. They trailed 19-2, 27-6, 32-12 and 39-19.

As if that wasn't enough, at a timeout with 7 1/2 left in the half, when it was 27-10, the Maryland band played "Ball of Confusion.'' Not making things better: Buck Williams and Keith Gatlin are on hand to watch. Not a lot for the alums to be proud of.

It may not kill the Terps' chances, but it's hard to see how a loss of this magnitude would help. Objectively, the margin of defeat at this time of year wouldn't make a difference one way or another - but the committee members are human.

Posted by David Steele at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Slurp down some coffee. Grab a quick shower. Maryland and Boston College tips off in a couple of minutes. FINALLY. North Carolina couldn't truly subdue Virginia until the final minutes, endured the late fouling, advanced to tomorrow's semifinal by 79-67 - and the final buzzer didn't sound until nearly 9:15. The final game will begin around 9:40. You'll see the final score here afterward, but pray for our colleagues on Calvert Street that they get the score into tomorrow's paper. We'll do our best.

A late surprise in the starting lineup - not the players, but what they're wearing. Black uniforms! Apparently, for the first time this season. They all stayed in their warrmups until after player introductions, then pulled the warmups off to reveal the new gear. More details on that later.

Posted by David Steele at 9:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

It was mildly surprising to see buses and other vehicles approaching the gates of the Coliseum this week greeted by a security person with a mirror on a long pole, to search under the vehicles for possible explosives.

It's even less surprising with this report coming out today, about the FBI warning arenas hosting conference and national championship tournament games this month that they might be terrorist targets.

The report offers a chance to compare security measures here to other venues. The biggest difference, at least from the perspective of media people, who bring more large bags in than the normal attendee - we've had bags searched, IDs checked and bags opened and scrutinized each time, but have not been patted down, as we are at Ravens games at M&T Bank Stadium. No patdowns at Camden Yards, though, or at Byrd Stadium or Comcast Center. There may be specific reasons for the differing standards at M&T, but none that I'm aware of right now. Feel free to offer answers if you know of them, as unsettling as this entire topic is.

North Carolina and Virginia have just tipped off. Maryland and BC go in approximately 2 1/2 hours.

Posted by David Steele at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

That question will be asked now that last-place Wake Forest is in the semifinals, courtesy of that royal butt-whuppin' put on N.C. State just now, 82-71. Understandably, conference supporters will claim that it is more proof of how tough this league is, making it more deserving of that fifth (or even sixth) NCAA bid. The naysayers - many of whose voices have risen in recent weeks as the battle between conferences has heated up - counter with the idea that this is more proof that the ACC is down, that a league a bottom-dwelling, double-digit-conference-loss team wins twice in two days over high seeds, shouldn't be so rewarded.

The guess here is that this will not help the ACC's rep this year, although technically, it shouldn't affect the number of bids at all. Wake hasn't even been the biggest hard-luck loser in the conference this year; that honor goes, hands-down, to Virginia Tech, which went through it again last night in losing to Virginia in the final seconds.

Meanwhile, the debate is rekindled: which single player's loss from last year hurt his old team the most? Until yesterday, the runaway winner was Chris Paul and Wake, but after this game, Julius Hodge and N.C. State is back in the running.

Tomorrow's first semifinal is set: Duke vs. Wake. No surprise, Duke swept them by a combined 41 points in the regular season. Today's night session starts at 7. Now, off to see if Justin Gray has fresh material, to follow up yesterday's Allen Iverson impression.

By the way: Virginia is still the only last-place team to win it all, in 1976, when there were seven teams in the conference. So, in a way, Wake has already made history; the Deacons are automatically the lowest seed ever to advance this far, since until now, there never was a No. 12 seed.

Posted by David Steele at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Duke 80, Miami 76. In the end, it came down to Duke's money player, J.J. Redick, hitting a huge jumper with 32 seconds left to push a one-point lead to three, and Miami's money player, Robert Hite, heaving a crazy 35-footer on the next possession, with 17 seconds left, coming out of a time out and the shot clock off.

Miami coach Frank Haith wasn't accepting the moral victory: "We want to win the game.'' The crowd was on his side, sending the teams off after the final buzzer with a mixture of boos and loud exasperation.

Duke still looked tired, and every sign is there that their lack of depth will do them in this year as it did last year in the Sweet 16. Trading out Shavlik Randolph for Josh McRoberts was an upgrade, but the bench problems surfaced again today: DeMarcus Nelson drew his fourth foul with 10 minutes left and had to stay in the game, because the Devils couldn't afford to take him out, not with Miami's guards torching theirs.

Mike Krzyzewski made a thought-provoking point: teams without byes, who would have to win four games instead of five, may end up playing even with the teams with byes, because they get into a flow and rhythm and use that against teams coming in cold.

Could be valid. With three minutes left in the first half of Game 2, Wake Forest (non-bye) leads N.C. State (bye) 32-13.

FYI: Redick doesn't think he's been in a slump. He was 9 for 17 for 25 points today, so if he was in one, he's not anymore.

Posted by David Steele at 3:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

At the half, Miami 41, Duke 35, and the fans from every other school are backing the 'Canes fans in rooting against Duke. The roar as the teams left the floor was deafening.

So, how many speculations can I get wrong in one blog post?

The reason this is happening is simple: Miami's guards are outplaying Duke's, and Duke isn't taking advantage inside where it ought to be dominating. Twenty-one of Duke's 30 field-goal attempts have been threes, and they've hit only seven of them.

Can this keep up? We'll see.

Posted by David Steele at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Friday at the ACC Tournament - which means, to most people here, that the real tournament is starting. As a column in this morning's Greensboro News & Record put it, "the football schools went home and the basketball schools bought up the empty seats.'' Sounds like expansion was kind to the ACC, but the ACC (at least the old-school wing) isn't kind to expansion.

Truth is, though, the first game today is a showdown between old and new, basketball and football, pre-expansion and post-expansion: Duke and Miami. The Cameron Crazies vs. The U. A richer source of potential rampant stereotyping can't possibly exist anywhere else in the country today. If there was any chance that Miami could make this game close, or if the 'Canes could have mustered up enough supporters to make a peep among the Blue Devil swarm, this might be one for the ages. With a half-hour to go before tipoff, the ratio of Duke fans to Miami fans in the Coliseum was about 5,000 to 1, and likely to grow.

Meanwhile, as it surely pains the old-schoolers to acknowledge, one of the football schools, BC, got a bye. Hey Terps fans, only 10 hours until game time!

Funny J.J. Story of the Day: as J.J. Redick trotted toward the court for warmups, three young female fans shouted his name and held out their hands for a high-five. Redick offered one, and the recipient shrieked, "Ohmygodimneverwashingthishandagain!'' I wish I was making that up.

Old Coot Moment of the Day: I sat on the shuttle to the Coliseum next to a photographer from the Durham paper, and mentioned to her that my first college internship was at the paper down the road from her, in Raleigh, "when you were probably three years old.'' She laughed, and when I told her it was the summer of 1984, she blushed and said, "I was five.''

Posted by David Steele at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Maryland 82, Georgia Tech 64, and that's even with the Jackets outscoring them 17-2 over a three-minute span in the second half. That cut a 29-point lead to 14. What few Tech fans remained kept things noisy, but they never got closer. The Terps did have to expend energy keeping them down, though, with starters having to play longer and harder than anyone would have liked. Whether that will be a factor tomorrow night (tonight, actually) will be something to watch.

Nevertheless, Maryland gets Boston College in the second-day finale, which at least gives the Terps a few hours extra rest.

They're 19-11, got a win in the tournament, and probably still have to win Friday to feel good about themselves.

Pertinent numbers: Mike Jones finished with 19 points, with Nik Caner-Medley leading everyone with 20. With most of the front line except Caner-Medley in foul trouble, Will Bowers did a nice job defensively. Even though it seemed Georgia Tech had them on the run the whole second half, they only shot 36 percent in the half and 34 percent for the game, while Maryland topped 50 percent in each half and finished just under 52 percent.

See ya Friday.

Posted by David Steele at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Maryland 42, Georgia Tech 27. For the first 16 minutes, the Terps made the Jackets pay for virtually every miss and mistake. In short, Georgia Tech was hitting nothing, Maryland was hitting everything. Heather was right about Mike Jones; he scored 13 points in the half, hit three three-pointers and converted a D.J. Strawberry steal into an acrobatic dunk. Between Maryland harassing them in the open court and inside, and Georgia Tech forcing and bricking the decent shots they did get, Georgia Tech went scoreless for nearly six minutes and without a basket for almost seven.

The P.A. announcer struggled with Ekene Ibekwe's name early on, not a huge surprise if you haven't practiced or if you've been calling games since noon. But he also inexplicably blew James Gist's last name, rhyming it with "nice.'' The Maryland fans loudly corrected him - "GIIIIIIIIST'' - and when he got it right the next time around, the crowd cheered.

Encouraging half - as long as you ignore the way Tech trimmed a once-23-point lead to 15, the fact that Tech dragged them into overtime at Comcast less than three weeks ago, and the 18-point lead they blew at Virginia before winning in the season finale. Lots of basketball left to be played, as they say.

Posted by David Steele at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

...one to go. Virginia 60, Va. Tech 56. The Hokies had the ball and a chance to tie the game with 18 seconds left - but Zabian Dowdell A.D. Vassallo rushed a 3 from the left wing with 10 seconds left, missed, and the Cavs sealed it with one of two free throws. Va. Tech is now 0-for-2 in ACC tournament games; Miami, meanwhile, won its first today, on its second try. So far for tomorrow: Duke-Miami, N.C. State-Wake Forest and North Carolina-Virginia, in that order.

Terps took the floor about six minutes ago to warm up; Georgia Tech followed soon after. Estimated tipoff: 9:30 p.m. ET. Next to me, beat writer Heather Dinich noticed that Mike Jones is hitting his warmup threes. Hmmmm.

Posted by David Steele at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Enlightening conversation at dinner between sessions here in the Coliseum - a pair of Boston media members, one broadcaster and one writer, talked about their first ACC tournament experience. After all those years in the Big East with BC, they said, they see that this tournament has a "culture'' and a "legacy.'' It never quite felt that way during the Big East tourney in the Garden, they said, as intense as those games historically are.

Plus, they said, the feel of the crowds were completely different - they singled out Comcast Center, for example, as one of the sites where the crowd was a factor and drove up the atmosphere. The only buildings in the Big East to match that, they said, were UConn's and Syracuse's - the latter being, of course, the largest-capacity on-campus arena in the country. Elsewhere, the likes of Georgetown, St. John's and Seton Hall played in NBA arenas that swallowed up the atmosphere, while Villanova's building was too much of a bandbox.

They also picked up quickly on the Carolina-centric vibe, noting that they felt a bit like outsiders, particularly here. I fought the urge to say, "No, really, do ya think?'' It's tempting to run that past Gary Williams later, but there likely won't be enough time to listen to his entire reply.

Plenty of long-timers here were interested in how BC, in particular, would handle its first taste of this tournament in this place. Those who think Maryland can slip past them tomorrow (provided they win tonight, of course) are pointing to that factor: BC getting a big lungful of something it's not used to or prepared for.

There's a bit of a pall over the scene right now (Virginia-Virginia Tech tips off any minute, one of the lesser attractions of Day 1) because of the shriveling prospects of conference teams for the NCAAs. After Florida State's loss, Leonard Hamilton said it was all out of his hands now, that he can only hope the pre-tournament record was already good enough. Meanwhile, senior Andrew Wilson denied the implication that the 'Noles took Wake Forest lightly. You do wonder, though, whether all the pre-game talk of how they already were in, convinced them that they didn't need to win today. The truth is that a loss likely hurt them more than a win would have helped them.

Posted by David Steele at 7:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Final in Game 2: Wake Forest 78, Florida State 66. Buh-bye, 'Noles. Off the bubble you go. FSU led by eight at halftime, then fell apart. In their defense, it was pretty much a Wake home game. On the other hand, Wake was the last-place team.

This is turning into a grim day in the ACC. While all the chaos was unfolding earlier with the Miami game and, more important, the Syracuse Big East game, it was overlooked for a long time around the Coliseum that Temple had beaten George Washington in the Atlantic-10 tournament opener.

Now, it's pretty clear, nothing less than two wins can get Maryland in, and even that might not be enough.

Posted by David Steele at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Final from the Garden: Syracuse 86, UConn 85. On to the Big East semis. Incredible finish, right down to UConn missing a makeable jumper in the lane and then the tip at the buzzer - after Syracuse opened the door by blowing an open layup, and by McNamara missing a free throw. Just a thought: anyone see Rudy Gay during the final minutes and overtime? Didn't exactly take over when his team needed it.

If there's not a hole in a TV set somewhere in Greensboro, courtesy of Gary Williams' foot, then he's got tremendous restraint.

Posted by David Steele at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

Big panic in the Coliseum media workroom, or anyplace in the building that has a monitor: the Miami-Clemson game here and regulation of Syracuse-Connecticut at the Big East tournament ended at practically the same time. The Syracuse game actually was of bigger interest, because the further the bubble-dwelling Orange last in their tournament, the more one of the ACC bubble teams - Florida State and Maryland, to be specific - gets pushed off. Miami's comeback against Clemson climaxed just as UConn was finally overcoming Syracuse's lead. The monitor in question, then, was being flipped back and forth on every shot and every stoppage.

So...Clemson's Vernon Hamilton missed the potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer, sealing Miami's victory, seconds before Syracuse's Gerry McNamara repeated his heroics of the day before, hitting another huge three in the final seconds to send the game into overtime. Hamilton, who got the ball on a deflection before faking a defender past him, had been wide open, and Clemson had been third in the conference in threes made this season. McNamara, meanwhile, hit from the top of the NBA arc, with at least two defenders rushing at him.

Yikes!

Next: OT at Madison Square Garden, with FSU taking the floor against last-place Wake Forest in 20 minutes here to try to secure its NCAA berth.

Posted by David Steele at 2:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Twelve hours of basketball (including the breaks between games and sessions) have just begun here at the Greensboro Coliseum. And Maryland is in the house. Five Comcast season-ticketholders were lounging and chatting in the lobby of my hotel this morning a couple of hours before the first session was to start - and, of course, 11 hours before the Terps' approximate start against Georgia Tech. One, a former professor at the College Park campus, dates back to the Gene Shue days - in fact, he described his longtime affiliation this way: "You know those banners hanging in the rafters with the retired numbers? I've seen all of them except the guy from the '40s.'' (That, of course, would be Bosey Berger.) Turns out that all of them but one is from the D.C. area; the other was from Baltimore. All were pretty much in agreement that the Terps ought to win tonight, and, if they do, have a decent shot against Boston College.

There were quite a few Maryland supporters roaming about the hotel and will at least have a fairly noticeable presence in the building, at least by the time the team plays. About 50 showed for the practice yesterday. Of course, the hordes from Chapel Hill and Durham are arriving today and will be drowning out everyone else any minute now, with their teams playing tomorrow.

The front page of the Greensboro paper this morning reminded us of whose show this really is, with yet another analysis on the phenomenon that is Duke's J.J. Redick. It includes a link on which one can take sides, love or hate. The mention, near the end of the story, to the web site that features "snippets of Redick picking his nose and mouthing profanity'' refers, of course, to the infamous Maryland alum-driven Truth About Duke site.

More about our host state: friends have asked the inevitable question that arises for any visitor here - Have you seen a Piggly Wiggly yet? None so far, and there were none listed in the Greater Greensboro phone book. That problem was quickly solved by a diligent friend, who sent along Piggly Wiggly's website and store locator. Gotta admit, that logo is very soothing.

At the first dead-ball timeout, Miami and Clemson are tied at 9.

Posted by David Steele at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Thank goodness Maryland had a short but intense practice at nearby UNC-Greensboro earlier today, because the Terps came to the Coliseum this afternoon for their scheduled public workout and media availability, goofed off for about 50 minutes, held a half-court shooting contest while Gary Williams yukked it up with onlookers at courtside - and, after freshman David Neal hit from midcourt, left the floor with 10 minutes remaining.

Looks as if the Terps are loose. That may mean they're ready for tomorrow night's tournament opener against Georgia Tech - or maybe it won't. We'll know for sure if they jump to a 15-0 lead, or fall behind 15-0.

At least Maryland showed, though. North Carolina and Duke, who both have byes into Friday's quarterfinals, skipped the session, which is voluntary. They're both close enough to Greensboro and have played here enough not to have to get used to the building (as well as to not have to talk to the media, for what that's worth). Meanwhile, the two other nearby schools, N.C. State and Wake Forest, worked out today, as did the two other teams with byes, N.C. State (again) and Boston College.

No one was perturbed about it. Gary Williams said if he was in the same situation - if his team was at a nearby site that it's already comfortable in - he might skip the day-before session, too.

In a future blog: the billboard story. There's a big one on each of the approaches from interstates 40 and 85 into Greensboro. "Fear The Turtle,'' featuring Williams and Brenda Frese. They were in place for last week's ACC women's tournament, and they're creating the intended buzz.

Posted by David Steele at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Here at the headquarters hotel for the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, tournament fever hasn't completely taken over yet, but the guests are aware of what's coming. The biggest event here right now is a state teachers' summit, which wraps up today. Or, as one participant said on the elevator last night, "Just in time.'' Teams, reporters and fans started arriving yesterday, and about a half-hour ago, the Florida State players went through the lobby and out the door for their 11 a.m. practice at Greensboro Coliseum.

The trip here started off on the wrong foot, at the Raleigh-Durham airport last  night. I was waiting to have a rental car dug up, since the demand was high already; when it was ready, it was taken not to the usual space in the lot, but right to the door of the main office, still dripping wet and seemingly just returned by another renter. As all this was going on, another renter was going through the same thing next to me.

I put my bags in the car, got into the front seat and, before closing the door, started adjusting the mirrors and vents and radio, finding all the lights and trying to plug in my cell phone, the usual routine before driving off. As I did this, the man who had been standing next to me at the counter walked up, with his wife and his luggage, stood next to the open door and stared at me, then at the car, then back at me, then back at the car.

"Is this mine?'' he finally asks me. Strange question, I thought, since I was sitting behind the wheel. "Excuse me?'' I replied, sincerely believing I hadn't heard him right.

"Is this our car? Are you bringing this out for us?'' he said.

Oh, great.

Just to be clear: I was wearing a tan leather jacket, a v-neck sweater over a striped button-down shirt, jeans and sneakers. Not exactly easy to confuse with a Hertz uniform.

"No,'' I said, calmly and (I think) without any attitude, "I'm about to drive to my hotel in it.''

He started apologizing profusely, saying they had told him the same model car was being brought around for him. I nodded, closed the door and drove off.

To be fair, and to not stigmatize the state or the South in general, some version of that has happened in every region of the country to which I've traveled, throughout the entire time I've been in this business. The one I remember most was in Portland, actually, about 15 years ago; I was standing with my bags waiting for my hotel shuttle to arrive, and a woman walked up, set her bags down next to mine, walked to the door of the shuttle behind us and stood waiting. I gave her the stare, and she finally realized it and said, "You're not the driver?''

Now, if I'd been thinking more clearly, I would have done what Karl Malone allegedly did one time early in his career; he got the "are you the bellhop'' treatment, started unloading bags from the car, then asked for a tip.

Well, you know what they say: It's gettin' hard out here for a pimp. (I've been waiting three days to work that reference into something, whether it fits or not. So leave me alone.)

Posted by David Steele at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

The very first entry on this blog back in December was about the passing of Elrod Hendricks, pretty much the last thing I wanted to have to comment about. This comes fairly close, in a sense. Kirby Puckett's death today is breaking hearts in Minnesota tonight the way Ellie's did here. The fact that Puckett went so young, with the memories of his play so fresh in everyone's mind, doesn't make it easier. (It's also difficult to forget the horrible stories about his personal life that emerged a few years ago, allegations about threatening his wife and charges of assaulting women, but it's probably best to put those aside for the moment.)

What made me decide to post this now was a visit to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's website, which has blanket coverage of Puckett's passing, but also something that was very uplifting, and unexpectedly so under the circumstances. The photo the site is running with its stories is of Puckett's face, in his prime, when he's young, eager and apparently full of joy. It captures what endeared him to everybody better than any photo I've seen yet. There have been plenty of action shots of him on TV and on the internet, of course - but there also have been photos of him in his post-retirement years, when quite frankly, he didn't look healthy at all.

That's always been a pet peeve. Too many times when someone famous passes, the photo that goes around the country and/or the world looks like it was taken a minute or two before he or she dies. Perfect recent example: Don Knotts: instead of a photo like this, at the youthful height of his fame as Barney Fife, we saw too many shots of him post-Three's Company. It's unnecessarily unflattering. They deserve better than that, and so do the people who admired them and hold an image of that person in their minds and hearts. (For that matter, anyone who passes on and has the good or bad fortune to have a photo of him- or herself flashed all over TV and in the papers, deserves to have a decent photo at his or her best. But that's a topic for another day.)

So the Star-Tribune did it right, because the photo makes you smile about Puckett's memory instead of frown. (A side note: ex-Sun baseball writer Joe Christiansen wrote the appreciation.)

In the Sun sports department, a few desks away from mine, hangs a copy of the front page the day Johnny Unitas passed away - and the photo (which lots of fans probably saved) is of him on the sidelines at Memorial Stadium. Again, excellent choice, for the right reason. Give everyone a chance to honor his memory with a photo of him in his prime and in the pose his fans cherish most.

That might be just me, but I don't think so. Compare the Star-Trib photo to some of the others you've seen of Puckett since Sunday, and see which you'd prefer - and which one he'd probably prefer.

By the way, the title of this entry, of course, comes from Jack Buck's call of Puckett's home run to win Game 6 of the 1991 World Series. If you saw the homer and heard the call, you'll never forget it - and you're probably shocked that the hero that night is gone already, because it feels like it was just yesterday that he was rounding the bases and pumping his fist.

Posted by David Steele at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

OK, got a scenario for you, about Maryland and the NCAA tournament.

Remember, at this time last week, the Terps were coming off of a pounding at North Carolina and looked dead. They were going to finish the season at home against Miami, which had embarrassed them back in January in Coral Gables, and at Virginia, which had led most of the game in Comcast last month before losing and which was closing out University Hall and bringing back the legends. Of course, now we know they won both games and got to .500 in the conference, and have confidence they haven't had since Chris McCray got the boot.

They were on track to finish eighth or ninth in the conference and to play Clemson in the first round of the ACC tournament Thursday in Greensboro. The Terps had lost all four games to Clemson the past two seasons. They were on a roll as bad as the one that ended last season. All the signs were negative. Even if they had managed tot solve Clemson, Duke would be next, and that magic potion seems to have worn off lately.

Now? They're up to sixth in the conference, and get Georgia Tech in the first round. They beat Georgia Tech twice this season, including a dominant performance in Atlanta in their first game without McCray, really the most consistent and balanced game without him until Sunday in Charlottesville.

So they have a better-than-good chance of winning that. If they do, they get Boston College. BC happens to be the only one of the top four seeds, the bye teams, that Maryland beat this season - back in mid-December, of course, in the conference opener, at Comcast, with McCray and in BC's first ACC game. Granted, BC is now ranked 12th in the country and has won three in a row, but it also ended its season by barely beating Virginia Tech at home. This is also their first ACC tournament after all those years in the Big East.

Hmmmmm...

It's not inconceivable at all.

Gary Williams said after the Virginia game Sunday that he didn't even think Maryland had to win in the tournament to get into the NCAAs. He thought the Terps just had to "play well'' not have "a poor showing.'' That might be a stretch. They do have 18 wins, but a .500 record, sixth place, with no signature wins, a bad road record and close-but-no-cigar losses to Gonzaga and GW early on at neutral sites are no guarantee, and if they are, they shouldn't be.

But one win should get them in, and two would lock it up. Anything else is a fantasy, because North Carolina would be next. By then, though, the Terps would have 20 wins and be in the semifinals of the ACC tournament. Try to leave them out with a record like that.

Thursday's game is the last of the day. Bad news for us deadline types, but isn't that what blogging is all about?

Posted by David Steele at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Before we get into the details of this story, which many likely have already heard about, a quick disclaimer: This is a one-time departure from a self-imposed rule for this particular blog, which hadn't been mentioned before because mentioning it would, naturally, violate the rule. The rule was: no mentions of the wife of a certain newly-acquired Orioles pitcher who seems to have no trouble getting enough attention focused on her name, face and everything else of hers elsewhere - particularly in this publication. For example, this morning's paper.

Here's why the exception is being made now: It seems that Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko and his wife, Masha Lopatova, have an arrangement. According to the current ESPN Magazine (on newsstands now, I think), Masha, who gave up being a pop-singing mega-star in Russia to marry Andrei and live in the U.S., acknowledges what NBA life on the road is like and allows him one fling per season. One woman, one night, once a year, that's it. It was her idea. "When I'm aware and I let him do it, it's not cheating,'' she says in the story.

Go ahead, catch your breath.

The reaction around the country, reports the Salt Lake Tribune, has been strong, swift and pretty comical. Which brings us to you-know-who. In the story, one observer refers to Mrs. Kirilenko as "the anti-Anna Benson.'' That's a reference to her infamous promise of revenge if she ever caught her husband cheating on her. Apparently, the two wives' opposing theories hinge on the concept of being caught. Then again, we don't know if this was an option You-Know-Who has ever considered.

So the question is: where does this place Masha on the all-time list of athletes' wives? Presuming, of course, that Marilyn Monroe (Joe DiMaggio) is No. 1 and Halle Berry (David Justice, that fool) is in the top 3, where do both Mrs. Kirilenko and Mrs. Not-Sayin'-Her-Name-Again land? Are there obvious candidates for obvious reasons we're missing here?

There are probably more questions than that about all of this, but that'll do for now. Have a nice weekend, drive safe.

Posted by David Steele at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Is it off to a good start or a bad start, this plan to bring in a veteran to challenge Kyle Boller for the Ravens' starting job next season? Depends on how you feel about who's available and what you want to believe. For instance, it appeared, by every report last night, that Steve McNair was locked in as a Titan for 2006, now that he's had his option declined and he's signed for $1 million next year. But not so fast, says this morning's Nashville Tennessean: he's still got a huge cap number and might still be released, according to his agent.

Whether that excites you depends on whether you think McNair has anything left. Try not to judge him too much off the Pro Bowl last month, when he fumbled away two snaps. For that matter, don't scrunch up your face too much about the fact that he made the Pro Bowl in the first place after the season he had (he was an injury replacement).

Supposedly, Daunte Culpepper's off the market, too, now that the Vikings are insisting they're paying his roster bonus - so they say now. Again, how much faith do you have in Culpepper in light of (1) his knee, (2) the season he'd had before the injury and (3) the Love Boat incident? Which, by the way, isn't going away any time soon, especially if the claim he and the other charged Vikings are making about being unfairly singled out goes anywhere. Which, if you look below the surface and don't instinctively scream "Race Card!'', isn't exactly implausible. It sounds as if the players weren't the only ones on the boat committing unsavory acts in public.

Nevertheless, he'd better be back to his All-Pro, Randy Moss-era level to justify dragging all that baggage into this organization.

Drew Brees? He's being dangled, apparently. But today's Sun throws water on that idea, for good reason: get him, lose a chance at filling other areas of need.

Jon Kitna? Doesn't look good, says another Sun piece today.

Which means we're back to Kerry Collins and that crowd. Oh well.

Posted by David Steele at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

A quick clarification on the previous post: fellow blogger Ray Frager reminded me that the NFL Network will carry regular-season games next season not only on Thanksgiving, but eight times total. There's no way the league trades network rights money for cable fees if it doesn't mean more money in their pockets (the network is going to get on a whole lot more systems between now and the start of next season, and you'll know when they do by the jump in your cable bill). It's safe to presume that the union knows this, and has it in mind as it argues for a share of everything, not just what the owners feel like sharing with them.

Anyway, conveniently enough, the NFL has given itself more time to straighten this out; it is delaying the start of free agency by three days and thus won't start tonight at midnight as scheduled. So the situation is still "as dire as dire can be,'' except that now it isn't.

Posted by David Steele at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Man, that was a long break, way too long. Remember all that praise I was heaping on antibiotics last month? Forget I said it. I'm moving ATMs ahead of them on my greatest-inventions list.

Paul Tagliabue just finished his Imminent Collapse of the NFL press conference by telling us that there's nothing to talk about with the union on a new labor agreement, that what the union is asking for is unreasonable, and that they're "trying to have their cake and eat it, too.'' That meant that the players were asking for a bigger cut of the revenues without recognizing all the risk and debt the owners were taking on by building those big, pretty, state-of-the-art stadiums that are bringing in the revenue lately - including the increased TV money that, apparently, is a direct result of those nice stadiums.

For the record, those are the same stadiums that the owners and league stumped, lobbied and blackmailed local governments to build for them, at an absolute minimum of cost to the teams themselves. Teams have threatened to move unless those governments bankrupted themselves to keep them in town, and Tagliabue sometimes dangled Super Bowls in front of those cities to get them to roll over (which is, as we know, why the last two games were in Jacksonville and Detroit).

As for that TV money, the NFL is beginning the process of keeping that in-house, now that its NFL Network is carrying regular-season games this coming season. Just Thanksgiving so far, but you know it won't stop there.

Some would call that a necessary negotiating ploy, others would call it posturing and gaining leverage with the public. Still others would call it lying through your teeth. The title of this posting is the punchline to the old joke, "How can you tell when (some owner, commissioner, spokesman, or whoever habitually struggles with the truth) is lying?"

Speaking of which, Tagliabue said the situation with this new agreement is "as dire as dire can be.'' Which is not far from what his NBA counterpart, David Stern, said last summer, not even two weeks before the league and union struck a new deal - and the old deal didn't have two more years to run, as the NFL's does. As always, take it all with a grain of salt.

Posted by David Steele at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)