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.