Take A Good Look At This Picture...

I should have blogged about the NCAA tournament sooner than this. As a matter of fact, there probably should have been a post published shortly after the pairings were released to show the world my picks for this years bracket. I'm thankful that I held off because, now that the first two rounds are in the books, one of my Final Four predictions has already bit the dust. That's right. Take a good look at the logo you see at the top of this post. That's about how my face looked on Friday night when the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest were utterly embarrassed by Cleveland State in Miami. That teeth-clinching, angry looking smirk has yet to leave my face even a few days in the aftermath.

I know. I'm my own worst enemy here, and my friends at home and work let me know about my horrible prediction of putting Wake Forest in my Final Four as soon as I informed them I penciled in the Demon Deacons over Louisville. "What?! Are you crazy?!" the voices rained down on me as I returned to work on Monday morning. But all I could do was bow my shaking head in remorse knowing I'd just blogged about the Cardinals' greatness just a week after they won the Big East Tournament outright.

I try not to mix passion with money and sports. Deep inside (and I know most of you know what I'm talking about here) I felt as though if I picked Louisville to go all the way and cut down the nets on April 6 in Detroit, they would somehow stumble in the opening rounds of the tourney, and somehow I would blame myself for it. Sometimes that's just how my luck rolls when it comes to pools and fantasy leagues. Speaking of pools, I'm currently in one run by friends that also includes family members. This pool has about 20 entries, if not more, and the winner will be paid out almost $300 in cold hard cash. See why I'm pouting now???

I still have Memphis, Pittsburgh and North Carolina still alive to make it as three of my Final Four teams. But, then again, so does everyone else in America along with their pen pals in foreign countries. So there is no ground to be gained here.

I thought Wake Forest would have been a decent pick to come out of the Midwest Region and make it to the Final Four. Heck, Seth Davis from CBS predicted the same. Of course he also had Virginia Commonwealth upsetting UCLA and, well, we all know now how that turned out. Sorry Seth. But apparently we both suck this year and so does Wake Forest. My chant from here on out will be to bring on the upsets and GO CARDS!

Muchas Gracias, NCAA Tournament Committee

Signed,
Randy Burns

(Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, March 17th)

Tournament Selection Committee: Do Your Job

Okay I will openly admit it. Loud and proud. I'm a University of Louisville Cardinals fan. I should be. I mean after all it is my alma mater and I have lived in this town my entire life. But whether anyone associated with the Men's Division I Basketball Tournament has ever stepped foot on the Derby City is irrelevant. The bottom line is, after taking down Syracuse last night in Madison Square Garden, the Cards deserve an overall #1 seed in this years NCAA tournament.

Of all the "projected" number one seeds, North Carolina, UConn, Pittsburgh, Michigan State, Oklahoma (the list could go on and on), Louisville was the only school to win their conference tournament and the regular season crown. Let's not forget the fact that the Big East was without argument this year the most talented conference in all the land. Tune in to ESPN's Bracketology show tonight and Dick Vitale will explain to you exactly what I'm talking about. If he says anything less, it will be due to the fact he is still pouting about the Tar Heels loss to Florida State yesterday. It wouldn't surprise me if he even hyped up Duke for a #1 overall seed if they win today simply because he is in love with the ACC.

Let's get back to the Cardinals for a moment. In the last few games, they may not have performed up to par in the first half, but they have certainly finished strong and were never faced with nail-biting two or three point losses. Rather they have dominated their opponents in the second half and Pitino has been a March Mastermind when it comes to coaching. But then again, what else is new. Kentucky fans will hate me here, but, this years Louisville squad reminds me of the 1996 Wildcats when they won the National Championship. I'm not saying the Cards are loaded with unbelievable talent or even multiple future NBA'ers, but they arguably have the same amount of depth. That's a credit to Pitino's recruiting over the years which has now allowed him to swap players in and out to suit the game's tempo. You want offense, keep in Sosa and Smith. You want defense, put in McGee and Knowles. Couple that with the superstars of Terrence Williams and Earl Clark and its easily seen that Louisville is, quite simply, locked and loaded for the tournament which begins this Thursday.

Ladies and gentlemen, keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. Grab your closest anxiety medicine and put the remote down. March Madness is finally upon us....GO CARDS!

Take 2: Shame On You Jerry Jones!

In order to find this post amusing, you must read the comment that follows the initial post entitled "Shame On You Jerry Jones!" Interestingly enough, the author of that comment, Billy Ottman, just happens to be a life-long Buffalo Bills fan! So now it appears he will be eating his words as Terrell Owens has signed on for a one year deal to play in Buffalo. Good for the Bills because, in the event Owens mis behaves, they can release him from the team or use him as trade bait. Bad for Billy because the man who he claims is the "Team Obliterator" is now going to be the thorn in his side (according to the response to my post).

I will finish by saying this: T.O. will produce and flourish in Buffalo. He'll be a nice compliment to standout Lee Evans and be a nice compliment to the Bills' wide receiver core. He won't win a championship by any means, but he can end his career on a good note should he choose to do so. But Billy, for your sake, I only wish you could be in the locker room when Owens gets into a ruckus with quarterback Trent Edwards if the Bills get eliminated from the playoffs before season's end.

A-Rod = The $275 Million Coward

Call it what you want to call it but the latest in the Alex Rodriguez saga has turned out to be a pure cover up. A-Rod is now so ashamed to take the field on opeining day, he has opted for hip surgery that will keep him out of the Yankees lineup until May. This comes just weeks after he confirmed reports to be true that he had indeed taken steriods while playing for the Texas Rangers about 8 years ago.

I don't mean to single out A-Rod in this blog as the only player with this type of behavior. After all it has been going on for quite a while in across all sports. When an athlete is ashamed about their actions, and hasn't been labeled a "bad boy" of the sport by the fans, they'll simply go into hiding by blaming their absence on a physical injury. The reason players, and Alex is certainly no exception here, sit out for weeks and/or months at a time after their inexcusable behavior is because it allows time for fans and the media to remove focus from them and their situations.

I can sometimes be a conspiracy theorist, as some of my friends and family will tell you. Sometimes I create these conspiracies for the sheer entertainment and thought of "what if...". But listen, if you signed a 10 year $275 million contract with the most successful franchise in the history of sports, you need to man up to it. A cist on your hip? Are you kidding me?! A-Rod might as well have said he was going to have surgery because of a hang nail.

Manny Isn't Worth The Money

I know I talked him up before in past blogs but "Manny being Manny" just isn't worth the money here. The Dodgers decided to keep Ramirez on their roster after inking him to a 2-year $45 million contract. Bad move by the boys in blue. Los Angeles is putting all of their eggs into one basket expecting one man to make all the difference. Why not try restructuring that contract and spread the wealth by trying to attract better pitching prospects or even a few key utility players to beef up the depth on the bench?



Now I agree that I hopped on the bandwagon when L.A. first landed the spectacular outfielder, but to pay this guy this much money over a short span of time is not the brightest of decisions no matter what sport. Unless of course we are talking Michael Jordan. And Manny is not the MJ of baseball. Never has been in my opinion.



When the Dodgers grabbed him from the Boston Red Sox last year, I thought for sure he would have made a huge impact on a team managed by Joe Torre. I even predicted them to make it to the World Series. That didn't happen. And neither should this contract. At best, look for the Dodgers to win the division but will run out of gas in the divisional playoffs come October.

Shame On You Jerry Jones!

Let me make one thing clear before I get into this post. I'm not making a case to better the star logos that reside on the Dallas Cowboys' helmets. In fact I despise the Cowboys almost as much as the Green Bay Packers. Rather this post is intended to point out the wrong doings of owner Jerry Jones after releasing Terrell Owens. Sure TO made for a chaotic locker room. But who cares? He put points on the scoreboard and put butts in the seats. After all, isn't that what Jerry Jones has always wanted as the team's owner?



I mean here is an experienced receiver who has been to a super bowl and even caught 10 touchdown passes last season. Not to mention he was paired with a great complimentary wide out in Roy Williams who was aquired midway through last year. By taking TO out of the mix, Williams is now left vulnerable to the always dreaded double coverage as he will without a doubt become the team's new #1 option at the position. Production through the air will definitely be lost.



I even heard on the radio that Jones wanted to make it "Tony Romo's team". Are you kidding me?! That guy is more worried about where Jessica Simpson is sitting in the stands and what colored #8 jersey she has on than caring about his teammates. Much less getting his club to the Super Bowl!



I'm not defending Terrell Owens here either. I've never been a fan of him nor do I believe I ever will be. But fact is fact. The guy can put up solid numbers. And solid numbers on the football field is what you need when competing in the NFC East.



Better land you an above average wide receiver through free agency, Jerry. Otherwise Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder is going to take over the starring role of Diet Pepsi Max commercials!