March Madness Approaches
 

I'm getting antsy, I'm ready for a sporting event that actually means something to me. The NBA at this point is completely meaningless and well I've never gotten into College Hockey even though I go to school at UND. Bring on the upsets!!

Many of my personal faves will probably make it: Missouri, Maryland, St. Josephs, Penn. And St. Louis is always a sleeper in the C-USA tournament, so I'm still holding out hope.

I want to see a really really bad team make it in on a conference tournament win, so let's root for North Carolina A&T (currently 0-23).

Fueled by the Labron James frenzy I'm sure this year the networks will have a tremendous amount of discussion on the high school to NBA trend that is becoming so prevalent with good players.
I used to be in the camp that said that all players should go to college but I've changed my mind over the last few years, mainly because of why I'm going to college. I'd like to say I'm going to college to become a better person and all that crap but in reality the reason I’m here is so I can make more money in the future.
If someone would have offered me a 2 million dollar a year contract for 3 to 4 years when I left high school to do something I loved I wouldn't have thought twice about going to work for them, so why should any high school athlete who can make that much think twice?

I don't agree with the kids going to the NBA straight out of high school. They should have to go to college for at least 3 years. They're looking too much at the $$$, while not having the maturity to fully realize the impact of their decision. The only player I've seen in recent times that has seemed relatively mature coming straight out of high school is Kevin Garnett...and even he was a bit rough around the edges.

At the very least, there should be some sort of setup such as the minor leagues of baseball or the juniors in hockey. I'd let the college requirement go if something like that were in place in basketball and football.

College atheletes should be students first. - Particularly if they are being paid to be.

Talented kid? I'm all for straight to the pros if thats what you choose, why not?! Right on! Why should sports be different from other forms of entertainment employment? Show me the $$.

There should be non-academic options for young atheletes interested in developing their sports skills, but not interested in higher education. It would save basketball,football, and to a lesser extent hockey programs a lot of time and money covering up reality.

This said, I think Joe Paterno rocks. If your talent can afford you the opportunity for free higher education and the structure to improve as an athelete, youre a fool not to make the most of both gifts.

Sour fuckin' grapes, that's what I say. People that think they should go to college - why? Lots of people don't go to college. And if you've got a killer jump shot and a fierce dunk, why should you be forced to do something you don't want to do? Oh, it's because they make more in a year than you'll retire with.

Absent of a juniors/minor league system, athletes should go to college for the same reason most people do--to learn, be it chemistry or athletics.

College just isn't right for some people. No reason to force them to go.

Free will an' all.

Exactly, though college is great and the experience and friends are worth every penny I'm spending (the only way I keep sane is to keep repeating that mantra over and over again)

Keep in mind that I'm only for athletes going to college first b/c there is a lack of a real minor league system in basketball and football. I don't care if they blow off the classes, quite frankly.

And I seriously doubt an athlete would have a problem with learning something that they really love--their respective sport.

Yeah we need a minor league system that works for both parties, I think that would solve most of the problems

At the risk of emphasizing my lack o NCAA smarts:

Final Four- Syracuse, Arizona, Weber St yer upset special, and Florida. SU to win.

two screw-ups as of right now... I had S. Illinois and NC State

I'm glad Mizzou won, but I would have been happy with a Salukis win. Always have liked SIU...*proudly displays his SIU sweatshirt* I spent a lot of time in their library one October...and several weekends partying in Carbondale.

Weber State is currently hanging tough with Wisconsin.

(Griff, don't even try that whole low seed-final four deal. I tried that once...I had Wisc-Green Bay going to the final four. That was dumb.)

What's up with Creighton losing right now?

Kentucky is hardcore gonna win it this year.

Remember, I called it last year too. :)

I've already missed more games then any previous year, including those where I was in school for a good portion of the day. With the war and staying with friends who despise basketball I'm getting depressed. And I missed the Kings Lakers Game last night. :(

Texas is my prediction for this year though I hate to say a 1 seed will win it all.

Duke lost before the final four. I'm a happy man now, I can miss the rest of the tournament and live with myself since I caught their loss last night.

Go Orange
 

S'cuse is making a run!

Texas hits final four!
 

Bow down, unworthies!

Two letters...KU.

Jayhawks are my pick. Nice games this weekend, lot of what I would consider upsets.

This Texas Ex has gotta pull for Bevo and the boys in the orange showdown.

I'm pulling for Marquette...b/c they're the most "unlikely" of the FF teams.

Syracuse! "He's a man, man,'' Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. ``I'm telling you, he knows what to do.''

Syracuse better win, because I hate Kansas. I hate them with all my heart and soul. I hate them with all the hate I could possibly have.

(Because you have to if you're a Mizzou fan. It's one hell of a rivalry. :) )

I'm both a fan of KU and Mizzou. I get that privledge because I live roughly halfway between Columbia and Lawrence (although I confess I spend a lot more time in Lawrence than in Columbia).

Gonna be a damn good final, I think.

You need therapy. Someone help this man!

I think he may be beyond hope ...

Nonsense...I'm perpetually hopeful!

Listen...when you live a sports town as perennially bereft of big winners as KC (Chiefs have been in only two Super Bowls and have won only once, in 1970; Royals have appeared in two World Series and won only once, in 1985, we've had like two minor league hockey championships in thirty years and one MSL Soccer championship), you have to play both sides of the street.

I don' t consider KU/MU as an either/or proposition because I can cheerfully root for either or both of them. When they play each other (typically twice per season), I just pray for a great game. This year, I've leaned more toward KU, because Mizzou is still about two killer players short of a good run at the Final Four. Bet on a winner, I say, and KU has been a fair choice this year...and then some. Mizzou played exciting ball for the most part (the Mighty Quinn gets a lot out of his players, and he'll be getting a lot more in the future). I'll be pulling equally hard for them next year, but damn!!! KU just smacked Marquette's ass last night, and I'm happy as a clam right now.

The big talk radio station here in town, KMBZ, has as its main sports show guy an alumni of Syracuse. Think *he* is going to have a terrible dilemma tomorrow night? Hmmm???

For what its worth, there is *only* the Chiefs when it comes to football... :3eye:

It can't be helped it is April Madness after all. The Mrs. graduated from SU back in '87. She's hoping the students behave a little better this time. They should be in a better mood anyway!

Ep, have you heard about the possible recruiting violations that are surfacing in Columbia? From what I've seen thus far (and given Mizzou's spotty past), Mizzou could very well get the death penalty for a year.

Recruiting violations and the death penalty are the price that most major programs pay on their way up to the top tier. Happened to KU before they became a perennial power. Competition for quality prospects is unbelievably intense, and the difference between successful recruiting programs and unsuccessful ones is that the winners don't get caught.

But then I'm one who thinks that college players should be paid.

KU is looking like they are going to slowly lay down and die right now...sorry to see that, but Syracuse has run them ragged and beat the crap out of them so far.

Excellent game at least the second half(missed the first due to work), though if either team would have made their free throw the game wouldn't have been close

I'm watching the morning news with people crying and saying they hope that Roy won't go to NC...

Cam is correct...any free throw shooting at all, and the game woudl have been entirely different.

Even so, it was a good game. I thought for sure that Kansas was going to tie it up at the end, especially with that good look on the 3-pointer, but that block... whew. That was something else. After that, I pretty well knew it was over. Kansas' free-throw shooting was <b>pathetic</b> and Syracuse wasn't <b>that</b> much better.

If Gooden hadn't have left KU, I'm certain Kansas would have cleaned up this year. As it was, they still did pretty fucking well. It's a shame they didn't win, I think, because Syracuse has the talent to make the championship again in the next few years. KU doesn't really have much beyond its seniors, it seems.

One reason I would have liked to see KU win is that it would have shown what senior leadship can bring you. Instead everyone is going to look at this championship as a sign that staying until your a senior is not all it's cracked up to be. Maryland's Championship 2 years ago attempted to get a trend of Seniors staying but I think this year will have undone any good that that game did.

I really hope that Syracuse stays together it would be nice to see a team in college basketball actually have a chance at repeating. Carmello Anthony could be the last player ever to win the MOP in the Final Four.

But if Roy Williams goes to North Carolina it will be UNC's year next year. :) 2 years of absolute pathetic basketball from your favorite team and any change sounds good.

Another prominent name being dropped for the UNC job (as it was a few years ago) is Larry Brown, the coach of the Sixers. And he won an NCAA championship while coaching at...Kansas.

*twilight zone music*

We've heard that year after year, but KU is an NCAA tourney perennial, and a frequent visitor to the Sweet 16, Great Eight and Final Four.

KU recruits as strong as any university in the country, and it is hard to argue the quality of their coaching.

Seniors have always been important at KU, but then they usually are important wherever they play.

I do agree with Cam, though...I hate to see these kids leave for the NBA. If Carmello Anthony heads for the NBA after only his Freshman year, he's a fool...on the other hand, someone is going to hand him a big sack of money, so what's he need an education for?

That's the thing... here I am, making a lot of money for a kid my age (and I have been for two years), and I don't have a degree. If someone offered me a contract at a measly $1 million a year for six years... I would jump on that in nothing flat. Education is great, and I plan on going to school... but my real dream is to <b>sit around and do nothing</b>. It's just how I'm happy. I don't need to go out and accomplish something big to feel good about myself; I'd rather spend my time reading stuff online and playing more games and spending more time just relaxing. If I got an opportunity to even work my ass off for six years so that I could stop after that... I wouldn't think twice about it. Sign me right up.

So why should these kids be any different? We *should* have educated children, yeah... but most basketball players aren't Ph.D students anyway, so we can probably assume that their contributions to society aren't going to be sorely missed. They get to be happy and make a ton of money doing something that they love... like I said, wouldn't even think twice. I'd do that in a heartbeat.

I'm happy becuase I'm a UNC fan but the I don't like the fact that he's leaving Kansas. I wish UNC would just find some lesser known coach to take over the program and bring it back to glory. Kind of like Notre Damn did with Ty Willingham.

I like Roy, but I hate Kansas...Quin is grinning ear to ear right now, I bet...

We are in mourning here in KC. Roy was loved and treated as a minor deity here.

Sad day for KC area sports.

I feel for you Elpsode, like I said before I'm glad to see such a great coach come to UNC but I always hate seeing great coaches leave their resepective programs. Especially to go coach for someone on the same level. But it will add a new meaning to any meeting that Kansas and UNC happen to have in the next 2 or 3 years hopefully in the national championship.

Roy has always dreamed of returning home. He gave us a break three years ago when he stayed. I think we all knew he'd go someday, we just wished he would go with a National Title under his belt for KU.

It is a good time to be a college basketball fan in Philadelphia right now...

I'm definitly cheering with you Syc, I love it when a small school comes out of nowhere and shocks the entire nation. I've always been a Gonzaga fan, even when they were barely known(actually almost went to school there).

Can't say I was a St. Joseph's fan before this season though, but I am shamelessly hanging onto the bandwagon.

I've been a fan of St. Joe's for a while now...well before I moved here.

We have 5 Division I teams in the city alone. Two in the suburbs. 3 more that have regional ties. I like 'em all, though I am partial to Maryland, St. Joe's and Temple.

We're at the half...

(2) St. Joseph's 41, Temple 23
(1) Stanford 42, UCLA 23

Come on Hawks...come on Bruins!

I'm a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro... I've always thought it would be great if they would win it all one year. (They were Division III when I was there, and then moved to Division I a couple years after I graduated. There's no doubt, they're in the low rent neighborhood of Division I, but they do get an invite to the tourney if they win their conference--which they did several years back. Of course they were a 16 seed and dutifully lost in the first round.)