Cutler Done in Denver

Broncos Owner, Pat Bowlen has said that the Broncos will grant QB Jay Cutler a trade. Bowlen said that Cutler and his agent Bus Cook, have made it clear that Cutler does not want to be a part of the Denver Broncos. Cutler has refused to answer messages left by Bowlen and new Broncos Head Coach, Josh McDaniels. Denver is expected to be listening to offers immediately.

Calipari on the Move

According to reports, John Calipari has accepted the Head Coaching position at Kentucky. The deal is worth $35 million for 8 seasons, making Calipari College Basketball's highest paid coach. Calipari and Memphis lost last season's National Championship to Kansas after blowing a 9 point lead with just over two minutes left, and this season fell to Missouri in the Sweet 16. Kentucky missed the tournament this season for the first time since 1991, and had recentley fired Head Caoch Billy Gillepsi after just 2 seasons into his contract.

All Around Notes

-The Miami Heat got it right last night as the orginization retired Alonzo Mourning's number. Mourning had a great career despite having a kidney transplant. This guy was dominant on defense and had all the onions you would want in a player as he came back from not only the transpant, but other serious injuries as well.

-Giants WR Plaxico Burress went to court this morning. A plea in his gun charge case was not reached and court has been ajourned for another 60 days. It is unlikely Burress will be on the field in 2009 at this rate. The Giants might draft a WR or look into a trade for one. Some names on the market include Marvin Harrison, Braylon Edwards and Anquan Boldin.

-John Calipari to Kentucky is still not done. Things could get very bad in Memphis if Calipari leaves. It is reported that as many as 3 players would consider transefering if this deal gets done. Memphis also has the most top 10 McDonald's All-Americans coming in next season.

-The Detroit Tigers have released OF Gary Sheffield. It looks like he will end up back in the NL with the Phillies. I'll have a 2009 MLB preview on Friday.

-The N.I.T. Final 4 begins tonight. The match-ups are Baylor vs. San Diego State and Notre Dame vs. Penn State. Not a bad Final 4 for MSG.

-The Celtics have announced that F Kevin Garnett will miss atleast the next 4 games because of continued problems with his knee. I'm officially calling the NBA's Eastern Conference. The NBA Finals will most likely be Cleveland vs. L.A. Lakers, if not it will be Cleveland vs. one of the following teams I have ranked after 2.

NBA Ranks

1. Cleveland
2. L.A. Lakers

3. Houston Rockets
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Denver Nuggets
6. Utah Jazz

These are the only teams that have a chance at the title.

-In the NHL things are also coming to an end in the regular season.

East

IN
-Boston, Washington, New Jersey

WILL BE IN
-Philadelphia, Carolina, Pittsburgh, N.Y. Rangers

RACE FOR #8
-MONTREAL, Florida, Buffalo

West

IN
-San Jose, Detroit

WILL BE IN
-Calgary, Chicago, Vancouver

RACE FOR # 6-8
-COLUMBUS, NASHVILLE, ST. LOUIS, Anaheim, Edmonton, Minnesota

#1 DRAFT PICK WATCH
-N.Y. Islanders, Colorado,Tampa Bay, Atlanta

-The great thing about the NHL is that you have no idea what will happen in the playoffs. Out of the 4 major sports, home advantage means the least in the NHL.


PICKS-1-1 last night, overall blog record ATS is 110-75-3.

NBA

Lakers -5 @ Bobcats
Thunder + 13 @ Spurs
@Nuggets - 11 1/2 Knicks
Jazz @ Blazers OVER 192 1/2
@Kings +7 Hornets

Down to 4, Tiger Back

I admit it, I missed all Final 4 teams in by bracket and I'm kind of glad I did. This Final 4 of UNC, Villanova, Michigan St. and UCONN should be a good one. All 4 of these teams have great storylines and motivation to win it all. Which team has the most motivation to win it all going in?

-Villanova-Can they pull of what they did in 1985 against Gerorgetown? Nova is the clear underdog out of the 4 remaining teams and this is clearly their best shot to win it all, considering they will probably lose most of their core players. Jay Wright has really made a name for himself as Head Coach at Villanova and may have a few more tricks up his sleave.

-UCONN-The scandal has nothing to do with the players that Jim Calhoun will put on the court. As for UCONN Men's Basketball as a whole, this will be the last time this team will be in this position for a while, providing the recruiting violations are proven true. Can UCONN get one more championship before their program gets blown to pieces?

-Michigan St.-The Spartens destroyed Louisville who was the number one overall seed in the tournament. Michigan St. has a chance to revive a state for a short period of time, that has perhaps been hit the hardest by this country's economic problems. This is the first time a team will play in the Final 4 in their home state since Duke in 1994, and this is the closest any team will play a Final 4 game from their home campus since Kansas of 1988. Can the home team deliver Detroit and the state of Michigan a championship? Also, this could be Tom Izzo's last run at Michigan State, if Kentucky can't get a deal done with Memphis Head Coach John Calipari.

-North Carolina-This team wouldn't be here if players like Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansborough didn't decide to return to school. These players returned for one reason, to win a championship. Can Hansborough and Lawson lead North Carolina to another title?

One thing is for certain, this Final 4 is full of big time coaching. Jim Calhoun has two titles, Roy Williams and Tom Izzo have one title a pIEce, and Jay Wright is on the big time rise with Villanova. The storylines and motivation for these teams is also great, which I noted earlier.

In the end, North Carolina cuts down the nets over hometown favorite Michigan St.

Tiger Woods did it again. He slammed down a 16 foot birdie putt to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Woods began the day 5 strokes back of Sean O'Hair and beat him on the 72nd hole. This ties the biggest comeback in Tiger's career, matching his 5 stroke comeback at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2000. I would say Tiger is ready for Augusta.

Liberty G Seth Curry has decided to sit out next season and transfer to Duke. Just what the Blue Devils need, another outside threat. Coach K....you need big men.

Congradulations to Bemidji St. on getting to the Frozen 4. Air Force nearly made it as well, but lost to Vermont in double OT. There is a very unusual Frozen 4 this year.
-Miami (OH)
-Vermont
-Bemidji St.
-Boston

PICKS-2-2 in the tourny ATS putting my overall tourny record ATS to 28-30-2. Over the weekend I went 5-4 overall ATS, putting the overall blog picks ATS to 109-74-3.

NBA

Orlando @ Miami-UNDER 193
N.Y. Knicks @ Utah-OVER 212 1/2

How Not to Pick a Bracket

To find out this information, visit my previous post titled "Bracket". This was the worst bracket I have ever picked in my life. This morning I am left with 3 teams out of the Elite 8. Lousiville, UCONN and Pittsburgh. I still have my championship team left, however I lost my pool and I am done.

Going into Friday, I had no more straight-up match-ups due to previous poor picking. I finished at 29-13.

Against the Spread, I went 0-4 again and the overall running total during the tournament is 26-28-2.

The good news is that my bracket is over. I can stop looking at my bracket and just watch the hoops. I'm going to continue to pick against the spread in hopes to get the overall tourny record back above .500.

The NCAA Men's College Hockey Tournament is wack too. #1 seeds Michigan and Denver both lost yesterday in their openers.

Overall Record on this blog Against the Spread is now 104-70-3. 1-4 last night, with the one winner being an NBA game. Here are the picks for the rest of the weekend.

SATURDAY

ELITE 8 GAMES

Villanova +2 Pittsburgh
Missouri +5 1/2 UCONN

NBA

@Miami - 8 1/2 Milwaukee
L.A. Clippers + 16 @Houston
@Denver -12 Golden State
Phoenix +9 @ Utah
Memphis +13 @ Portland

SUNDAY

Louisville -6 Michigan State
North Carolina -6 Oklahoma

BRACKET HURT

I apologize for my 0-4 ATS performance on Thursday night. I thought the UCONN scandal would keep Purdue within 7 last night. Pittsburgh evidentely doesn't like to play basketball until there is 2 minutes left in the game, which is why they didn't cover the 7. Duke played their worst NCAA Tournament Game of all time and didn't cover the 2. Finally, Memphis was just blasted as favorites against Missouri.

OVERALL STRAIGHT UP IN TOURNY (GAMES BASED ON MY BRACKET) 1-2 last night, 29-13 overall in tourny.

OVERALL AGAINST THE SPREAD IN TOURNY- 0-4 last night, 26-24-2 overall in tourny.

Give Villanova and Missouri credit, they can have something to say about who cuts down the nets. Memphis at least had the heart to make a run late in the game to make the outcome respectable against Missouri. Duke on the other hand, was terrible. As soon as the 2nd half began, you knew the game was over. I talked to Austin Dufault, a Colorado starter at the end of the regular season and he told me on this blog that Missouri was the best team he played against. That includes the likes of both Oklahoma and Kansas. I should have listened to him.

The NCAA Tournament has again baffled me. I have never watched more college hoops than I have this year, and my bracket looks like a spider web. I have one team left in the Midwest, which is Louisville, I had them losing to Memphis in the Final 4. I have UCONN left in West, but I don't have them winning another game. In the East I only have Pittsburgh left, but I do have them winning it all, I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Finally in the South, I have Gonzaga and Syracuse left with the Orange winning that region.

The bracket is hurt but not dead. I need this to happen tonight:

1)Michigan St. has to lose to Kansas
2)Louisville needs to lose at any point prior to the title game.
3)Gonzaga has to beat North Carolina
4)Syracuse has to beat Oklahoma

This is just for me to basically stay alive in my pool. Am I asking too much? I am, but it is the tournament and it can happen.

PICKS-0-4 last night. 103-70-3 overall ATS

Arizona +9 Louisville
Kansas + 1 1/2 Michigan St.
Gonzaga + 8 1/2 North Carolina
Syracuse +1 Oklahoma

NBA

Denver +4 1/2 @Dallas-If Denver doesn't get this win, their win Wednesday in New Orleans means nothing.

Strange Things and Back to the Brackets.

I was expecting to just throw in my tourny picks for tonight, however I came across some strange stories. First, after browsing through the Dallas Morning News I came across a bizzare story. Dallas Police Officer, Robert Powell was caught on tape holding up Texan's RB Ryan Moats as he had rushed to the hospital to see his dying mother-in-law. Moats had run a red light and given the circumstances, Powell probably could have been more sensative. This video clip courtesy of the Dallas Morning News is just wrong.

http://www.dallasnews.com/video/index.html?nvid=345818&shu=1

It is hard to look in the mirror today if you are New York Knick, Al Harrington. What are the odds of this? The Knicks and Clippers play eachother only twice all season. The Knicks had both games wrapped up against the Clipps thanks to Harrington making which many thought were game winning dunks during both games. The problem is that both times this has happend, Harrington was T'd up for hanging on the rim which ultimately gave the Clippers both wins. Wow, if I'm Knicks Head Coach, Mike D'Antoni, I send Harrington back to pre-school for being so stupid. If the Knicks had 2 more wins on their resume, maybe they would be able to compete for the #8 seed out East.

Speaking of the NBA, things are getting pretty tight out West. A game and a half separates seeds 2-4, 2 1/2 games separate seeds 4-8, and only 4 games separate seeds 2-8. This is not a good time for any West playoff contender to hit a losing streak.

Tiger Woods is beginning to come along. Woods finished round 1 of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at -2, right now the lead is -4. Woods hit the ball pretty bad, but turned in a good number. This is the first time since his comeback that he has battled through bad ball striking and posted a good number. Look for Woods to be in the mix for the win come Sunday.

Now back to the brackets.....

Sraight Up Picks from my only bracket-28-12 (you can view the bracket by clicking on "BRACKET" from my previous post list)
Tourny Picks ATS-26-20-2
Overall Blog Record ATS-103-66-3

TONIGHT'S SWEET 16

Duke -2 Villanova
Pittsburgh -7 Xavier
Memphis - 4 1/2 Missouri
Purdue +7 UCONN

UCONN Stunned, Questions to Readers

I can honestly say I could not believe what I heard this morning about UCONN Men's Basketball. According to reports, UCONN committed recruiting violations and had a so called "middle man" help get a recruit. As a dedicated follower of the Big East Conference, I always assumed that UCONN was clean, at least on the Men's side. UCONN Head Coach, Jim Calhoun is a Hall of Famer, however his legacy is in serious jeopardy if these reports are proven true. My favorite college basketball team is in this conference and is one of UCONN's biggest rivals. I can honestly say that I respected everything that UCONN was about, but if this report is proven true, I will hate this team.

Other Notes....

-My South Dakota St. Women's team went down to Baylor last night. The 'Rabbits gave everything but fell 2 points short. Hell of a story. The slipper also fell off of Ball States' foot last night as they lost to Iowa State after beating Tennessee in the first round.

-Many people are making a big deal about the Orlando/Boston match-up tonight in the NBA. I have said it for a long time on this blog, Orlando is not a contender without their All-Star PG Jameer Nelson. It doesn't matter who wins this game, Orlando will not be a player as far as a championship.

-After last night's one point win at home against Golden State, the Spurs look terrible. I know I picked them a long time ago on this blog, but they are really playing like crap.

-The Nuggets will be short-handed tonight in a critical game at New Orleans. Nene is out because of suspension. He got screwed on a bad call Monday in Phoenix and now the Nuggets are getting screwed with this suspension.

Questions to the Readers

1) With the NFL Owners meetings going on, are you in support of a 17-18 game regular season schedule beginning in 2011?

2) The Duke Women were a #1 seed in the tourny. In a 2nd round match-up, they had to play on Michigan State's home floor, when the Spartens were a much worse seed in the tournament. With the parity shown in Women's College Basketball, is it time that the NCAA gets serious and elliminates these kind of situations from happening? It never happens in the Men's tourny.

PICKS-I was 1-1 last night, bringing the blog overall record ATS to 103-66-3. Tonight.......everything is bad, layoff.

I will talk to you tomorrow with tomorrow night's Sweet 16 picks.

USA Baseball Must Step it Up, McDaniels Must Step Down

The WBC is finally over and Japan has repeated after beating Korea in 10 innings last night. For people in Asia this game was a huge deal. If you are a fan of Korea or Japan and didn't get one of the 54,000 seats at Dodger Stadium last night, you were packing the streets to watch the game on a jumbo-tron across the Pacific.

For Japan and Korea this was a true world championship game, for USA it was an embarassment. Baseball is supposed to be America's past time and USA hasn't even made the championship game in each of the first two WBC Tournaments. This is just how the world caught up to the USA in basketball, by not putting out the best of the best in these world tournament situations. I understand most major leaguers have a season to get ready for right now, but USA needs to man up and talk about rescheduling this event so it can put the proper team on the field to beat Asia's powerhouses. Team USA thinks they can just assemble any group of players and win a championship, they thought that in basketball and now baseball. It doesn't work! USA baseball should take a meeting with Coach K and find out what it takes to put a world championship team together. As a U.S. citizen it was embarrassing to see the U.S. get hammered by Japan, and even more embarassing to see the championship game hosted on U.S. soil. Get serious about this tournament or get out of it.

New Broncos Head Coach, Josh McDaniels reffering to QB Jay Cutler-"He's our quarterback". McDaniels then told the media that Cutler hasn't returned a text message that he sent him. Can people finally start seeing what I see in McDaniels? He is adding to the drama by putting himself on television, and as for text messaging you have to be kidding me. With a problem this big the guy can extend an e-mail, maybe a phone call, or maybe he should do the proper thing, get on a plane and sit down with Cutler man to man and apologize for screwing up the orginization before even coaching a game. Give me a break, a text message to fix the problem. What a joke.

UNC PG, Ty Lawson is expected to play in North Carolina's Sweet 16 match-up against Gonzaga.

The South Dakota St. Women are in action tonight against the #2 seed Baylor. I'm all about the Jackrabbits. I know many people knock the women's tourny, but this team is a great story.

PICKS...4-1 last night, I knew there was a reason I didn't pick NIT games. Overall record ATS is now 102-65-3

NBA

Lakers - 7 1/2 @ Thunder
@Spurs -8 Warriors

DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE WOMEN

We had pretty much chalk through the first weekend of the Men's NCAA Basketball Championship, so how about the women? The first round of the Women's NCAA Basketball Championship was fantastic. For the first time maybe ever the women's game is showing some serious parity. Tennessee went into the tournament as a #5 seed and lost to #12 Ball St. It was the first time ever Tennessee lost in the first round. As for Ball State, that was their first ever NCAA tournament game. Some are calling the upset, the greatest in women's basketball history. A #2 seed in the women's tournament has never gone down to a #15 seed. Last night, UTSA (University of Texas-San Antonio) took Baylor to overtime before getting knocked off. Minnesota, a #10 seed, is trying to become the Arizona men's team. Perhaps one of the last teams in, the Gophers upset #7 Notre Dame in South Bend. Other upsets included #12 seeded Gonzaga over #5 Xavier and #11 Michigan St. over #6 Texas. The best story of this tournament is a #7 seed, South Dakota St. In their first year of elligibility they put it on #10 seeded TCU 90-55. In a tournament that will probably be dominated by UCONN, go Jackrabbits. South Dakota St. has only two losses and could be a big time cinderella story.

-Team USA's run in WBC is over. Japan took it to the Americans last night setting up a Japan vs. Korea final. This tournament lost a lot of juice once the NCAA's started. In the future the WBC might want to think about rescheduling. This was a good tournament, it just got over shadowed by bigger things at the time.

-Pitcher Curt Schilling officially announced his retirement on his blog. Screw this guy, he should have been a media guy instead of a ball player given the way he continues to shoot of his mouth. I will always look at Schilling not for what he did on the field, but for how he would always shoot off his mouth during situations that had nothing to do with him. Schilling was a pretty good pitcher and a pretty bad human being. Thanks for finally going away Curt.

-What a surprise, Buffalo WR Terrell Owens was a now show during the team's first voluntary workout session. It's not that big of deal, however Owens did tell management he would be there. This will be the first issue of many between TO and Buffalo.

-Lance Armstrong crashed during a race in Spain today. Armstrong fractured his collerbone and should be OK. I'm rooting for this guy to come back and win the Tour De France. This news really kind of sucks.

-Wizzards Guard, Gilbert Arenas is finally going to put on a uniform. The injury plagued Arenas is expected to suit up for Washington on Saturday. It has been so long since Arenas has played, I forgot he was still in the NBA.

PICKS-After the weekend blitz, the overall blog record against the spread stands at 98-64-3.

NBA

@Atlanta -11 1/2 Minnesota
@Miami -9 Memphis
Denver @ Phoenix UNDER 237
Philadelphia +8 @ Portland

NCAAM-I don't usually pick NIT games, but get on this one.

@Creighton -2 Kentucky

NCAA BRACKET UPDATE 4

SUNDAY'S RESULTS-It turns out that there isn't much to picking the bracket. Every team left is seeded #1-#4, besides #5 Purdue and #12 Arizona. Syracuse dominated Arizona St. and the Orange look strong heading into the Sweet 16. The only problem for Syracuse is they have to first go against Blake Griffin and Oklahoma, and if they win that they will most likely meet UNC in the regional final. Cleveland St. didn't take Arizona by surprise, the Vikings cinderella run came to an end today at the hands of the Wildcats. Arizona was perhaps the last team in and they are in the Sweet 16. Xavier took care of business against Wisconsin, the Badgers may be the most boring team to watch in college basketball. Pittsburgh struggled again but found a way to get buy Oklahoma St. Pittsburgh has a lot of work to do this week if they want to advance to the Final 4. Missouri beat a pesky Marquette team in the final moments, setting up a great 2/3 match-up against Memphis next week. Michigan St. won ugly against USC, look for them to get beat by Kansas in the Sweet 16. The Jayhawks had no problem putting away a bad Dayton team which I have no idea how they got by West Virginia in round 1. Finally, Louisville looked less then sharp getting by Sienna.

Sweet 16

Midwest

Louisville
Arizona

Kansas
Michigan St.

West

UCONN
Purdue

Missouri
Memphis

East

Pittsburgh
Xavier

Villanova
Duke

South

North Carolina
Gonzaga

Syracuse
Oklahoma

TOP QUESTIONS GOING INTO SWEET 16

1. Pittsburgh and Louisville have looked less than impessive as #1 seeds. Can they get their focus and swagger back?

2. Kansas has had an easy run to this point. How will the Jayhawks respond when they face Michigan St. Kansas had the easiest run to this point, beating North Dakota St. and Dayton.

3. Can #12 Arizona continue to surprise? I don't think so.

4. Does Missouri and Purdue have an edge over their opponents because both survived tight 2nd round games?

5. Duke and Villanova have some of the best guard play in the country. Which backcourt will be better?

6. Can the Big 12 beat Syracuse? As a #3 seed in 2003, Syracuse beat 4 Big 12 teams in route to a titile. Will Oklahoma be able to handle Boeheim's 2-3 zone?

7. How healthy will UNC's Ty Lawson's toe be?

With the lack of upsets this weekend, it will set up a great Sweet 16. I'm sticking with my original picks, but I think Louisville, Kansas, UCONN, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Duke, UNC and Syracuse win.

MY BRACKET-I did not have a great weekend because I over-thought the process of picking my bracket. I still have 10/16 teams left, 7/8 Elite 8 teams and all Final 4 teams. I guess I'm OK since none of my big dogs went down.

SUNDAY STRAIGHT UP-I could only play 4 out of the 8 games straight up because of previous misses in my bracket. I went 3-1 in those games. I hit Syracuse, Missouri and Pittsburgh. I had Louisville goint to the Sweet 16, but not against Sienna. I did not have Kansas and Dayton even getting to the 2nd round. I had Xavier losing to Maryland in round 2. Finally, I had Arizona and Cleveland St. originally in their match-up, however I took Cleveland St. and lost.

SUNDAY AGAINST THE SPREAD-2-5-1.....Sometimes you lose, I got smoked today.

OVERALL TOURNAMENT RECORD STRAIGHT UP-28-12

OVERALL TOURNAMENT RECORD AGAINST THE SPREAD-26-20-2

OVERALL RECORD AGAINST THE SPREAD ON THIS BLOG-98-64-3

YOU CAN VIEW MY ORIGINAL BRACKET BY CLICKING ON MY PREVIOUS POST TITLED "BRACKET"

Time now to take a deep breath and step away from the tourny. I will pick up coverage again beginning Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Between now and then I will focus on the other sports. Have a good week and talk to you tomorrow.

NCAA BRACKET UPDATE 3

SATURDAY'S RESULTS-Everything went according to plan except my pick of LSU over North Carolina. When I filled out my bracket, I felt that North Carolina would win it all if they were 100 % healthy. Ty Lawson's toe injury is why I picked LSU to upset UNC. I figured the only way UNC would go out is if they went out early in the tournament bacause of the Lawson injury. LSU had a 5 point lead in the 2nd half, but UNC proved to be too much. Ty Lawson now has nearly a week to get back to 100 % and North Carolina is going to be next to impossible to beat.

BY THE NUBMERS

SATURDAY'S RESULTS STRAIGHT UP-3-1 (There was only 4 games I could play because of previous misses in my bracket.) I did have Purdue, Villanova and Gonzaga advancing to the Sweet 16, but not against their opponnents today. I missed on Oklahoma, I had them losing to Clemson in round 2. I'm still looking OK having 11/16 Sweet 16 teams, 7/8 Elite 8 teams, and all Final 4 teams.

SATURDAY'S RESULTS AGAINST THE SPREAD-5-3

OVERALL TOURNAMENT RESULTS STRAIGHT UP-25-11

OVERALL TOURNAMENT RESULTS AGAINST THE SPREAD-24-15-1

OVERALL RECORD AGAINST THE SPREAD ON THE BLOG-96-59-2


SUNDAY'S 2ND ROUND NCAA TOURNY PICKS

Syracuse -2 Arizona St.
Cleveland St. +3 Arizona
Pittsburgh -8 Oklahoma St.
Louisville -11 Sienna
Dayton +8 Kansas
USC +4 Michigan St.
Missouri -3 Marquette
Wisconsin +4 Xavier

NCAA BRACKET UPDATE 2

FRIDAY-It wasn't a good morning to say the least. I dropped 3 games out of the 8 played. First my cinderella pick, North Dakota State went down to Kansas. The Bison were competitive and very well could have pulled that one out. I think we can now officially say that the Kansas first round curse is over. Utah St. fell by one point to Marquette. I only picked Utah St. because they were overlooked and Marquette entered the tournament without perhaps its' best player in Dominique James. The other game I lost really hurt in West Virginia. I knew Dayton had a chance, but I decided to pick West Virgina based on history and coaching. West Virginia had the better coach in Bob Huggins and had went to the Sweet 16 the previous 4 seasons. Based on the bracket set-up, I had West Virginia going to the Elite 8....ouch. The night session started OK, I hit 3 out of the first 4. Boston College made things hard on me in the Midwest Bracket. In the lower part of the Midwest, I have now lost both Sweet 16 teams and the Elite 8 team. USC wouldn't have made the tournament without winning the Pac-10 tourny and I thought Boston College was the better team, my bad. The last part of the night session was OK. I hit my #2 cinderella pick as Cleveland St. smoked Wake Forest. Michigan St. took care of business as expected, however they looked a bit sluggish. I had Florida St. going to the Sweet 16 and they just collapsed down the stretch against Wisconsin in OT. The Badger win should have not happend, this team will get rocked in round 2. Finally Sienna beats Ohio St. in double OT. How? 2 miracle 3-point shots. Ohio St. was in Ohio and got beat by Sienna, they suck. Here's to a good Saturday! I will update this weekend unlike previous weekends, but I will focus just on the NCAA unless something huge happens.

BY THE NUMBERS

FRIDAY'S RECORD STRAIGHT UP- 10-6

FRIDAY'S RECORD AGAINST THE SPREAD-10-6

OVERALL TOURNY RECORD STRAIGHT UP-22-10

OVERALL TOURNY RECORD AGAINST THE SPREAD-19-12-1

OVERALL RECORD AGAINST THE SPREAD ON THE BLOG-91-56-2

I did not have a good first round straight up, I did against the spread. The good news is I still have 12/16 Sweet 16 teams, 7/8 Elite 8 teams, and all Final 4 teams.

SATURDAY'S NCAA 2ND ROUND PICKS

LSU +11 North Carolina
Duke -7 Texas
UCONN -10 Texas A&M
Villanova -1 1/2 UCLA
Maryland +9 Memphis
Okahoma -6 1/2 Michigan
Purdue + 1 1/2 Washington
Western Kentucky +10 1/2 Gonzaga

NCCA BRACKET UPDATE

THURSDAY'S RESULTS-I began the day with 7 in a row and all was good. CBS took a break from their coverage for a brief period of time and when they got back things began to turn a little south. Mississippi St. did not come to play and were blown up by Washington. I thought that would be a much closer contest with Mississippi St. coming up on top. Clemson just baffled me and it could screw up my bracket. I thought they would get by Michigan and beat Oklahoma. Michigan got it done and the Wolverines will be a much easier match-up in round 2 for the Sooners. Clemson should be disapointed in themselves, they could have made a nice little run. I thought that I would give Illinois the benefit of the doubt who took on Western Kentucky, however not the same Western Kentucky team that won a few games in last year's tournament. The result, Illinois showed up too late and got beat. I went back and forth on that game but in the end I made my worst pick of the day taking Illinois. My other miss was VCU over UCLA. The Rams hung tough, but in the end UCLA showed that they should not be picked against in round 1 of the tourny.

BY THE NUMBERS

-RECORD STRAIGHT UP-12-4 (I still have 15/16 Sweet 16 teams left)

-RECORD VS. THE SPREAD-9-6-1

-OVERALL RECORD VS. THE SPREAD NOW 81-50-2

I have a heads-up match going on with a buddy. Dude dropped 14 winners today out of 16 games and he still has all Sweet 16 teams left. A-Hole.


FRIDAY PICKS ATS

Arizona +1 Utah
Cleveland St. +8 Wake Forest
Syracuse -10 Stephen F. Austin
Temple +6 Arizona St.
Louisville -21 Morehead St.
Ohio St. -3 Sienna
Pittsburgh -20 East Tennessee St.
Oklahoma St. + 2 1/2 Tennessee
Robert Morris +17 1/2 Michigan St.
Boston College + 2 1/2 USC
North Dakota St. + 11 1/2 Kansas
Dayton +9 West Virginia
Missouri - 12 1/2 Cornell
Utah St. +7 Marquette
Florida St. - 2 1/2 Wisconsin
Xavier -10 1/2 Portland St.

To see my straight up bracket picks, it is listed on the blog.

Bracket

FIRST ROUND WINNERS

MIDWEST

LOUISVILLE
OHIO ST.

ARIZONA
CLEVELAND ST.

WEST VIRGINA
NORTH DAKOTA ST.

BOSTON COLLEGE
MICHIGAN STATE

WEST

UCONN
TEXAS A&M

PURDUE
MISS. ST.

UTAH ST.
MISSOURI

MARYLAND
MEMPHIS

EAST

PITTSBURGH
OKLAHOMA ST.

FLORIDA ST.
XAVIER

VCU
VILLANOVA

TEXAS
DUKE

SOUTH

NORTH CAROLINA
LSU

ILLINOIS
GONZAGA

ARIZONA ST.
SYRACUSE

CLEMSON
OKLAHOMA

2ND ROUND WINNERS

MIDWEST

LOUISVILLE
CLEVELAND ST.

WEST VIRGINIA
BOSTON COLLEGE

WEST

UCONN
PURDUE

MISSOURI
MEMPHIS

EAST

PITTSBURGH
FLORIDA ST.

VILLANOVA
DUKE

SOUTH

LSU
GONZAGA

SYRACUSE
CLEMSON

3RD ROUND WINNERS

MIDWEST

LOUISVILLE
WEST VIRGINIA

WEST

UCONN
MEMPHIS

EAST

PITTSBURGH
DUKE

SOUTH

GONZAGA
SYRACUSE

4TH ROUND WINNERS

MIDWEST

LOUISVILLE

WEST

MEMPHIS

EAST

PITTSBURGH

SOUTH

SYRACUSE

FINAL 4

MEMPHIS OVER LOUISVILLE
PITTSBURGH OVER SYRACUSE

CHAMPIONSHIP

PITTSBURGH OVER MEMPHIS-TOTAL POINTS 141

PICKS-0-2 yesterday, now 72-46-1 ATS

One game tonight sticks out

Nuggets -5 1/2 @ Memphis

Thursday's NCAA picks

Binghamton + 21 1/2 Duke
Texas -4 Minnesota
Radford +25 North Carolina
LSU - 2 1/2 Butler
UCONN -20 Chatanooga
Texas A&M + 4 1/2 BYU
Villanova -16 1/2 American
VCU +9 UCLA
Memphis - 18 1/2 CS-Northridge
Maryland +3 California
Oklahoma - 16 1/2 Morgan St.
Clemson -5 Michigan
Northern Iowa +8 Purdue
Miss. St. + 5 1/2 Washington
Western Kentucky + 6 Illinois
Akron + 13 Gonzaga

Who's Fault is it?

The Jay Cutler vs. Josh McDaniels fued has blown up and gotten out of control, not only in the Denver media but across the nation.

Who is to blame in your opinion for the disaster in Denver? Should #6 go, and if so where and for who? Broncos fans, does this affect your fan support for this team? The conversation is open.

Other Notes.....

-New England is about to get DE Julius Peppers from Carolina for a 2nd round draft pick.........wow!

-Team USA vs. Puerto Rico tonight to avoid ellimination in the WBC.

-Alabama St. vs. Morehead St. tonight in the play-in game. What a prize for the winner! They get the right to be humiliated by Louisville.

PICKS...1-1 last night, 72-44-1 overall ATS

NBA-play the powerhouses tonight

@Cleveland -6 Orlando
@L.A. Lakers - 9 1/2 Philadelphia

The NCAA Did Well

The NCAA did a fantastic job of piecing together this year's bracket. The field is one of the most balanced and most competitive of all time. The NCAA had a few issues in order to get this puzzle solved. First, who deserved the last #1 seed? The NCAA chose UCONN, however put Memphis as a #2 in the same bracket. This was a great decision, let the teams battle it out to see who is better. The Big East got 3 teams in as #1 seeds. Due to the flops of other powerhouse teams in their conference tournaments, it gave the NCAA virtually no choice but to give 3 #1 seeds to the Big East.

The NCAA did a great job with the bubble. Arizona is the only team in the bracket that anybody can question. If you put Arizona against the snubbs, (Penn State, San Diego State, St. Mary's and Creighton) there is no huge discrepency on why they are in the tournament instead of the others. It is not Arizona's fault that the other bubble teams didn't get in, it is the fault of USC, Mississippi State, Temple and Cleveland State for winning their conference tournaments and taking away bids. All in all, great job by the NCAA on their bracket. I will post my bracket on Wednesday night.

Broncos QB Jay Cutler has demanded a trade after weekend talks with the orginization went bad. Denver Owner, Pat Bowlen must step up. He told the Denver Post that he is very disapointed with the entire situation and that he is not just disapointed in maybe losing his star QB. Bowlen now must act and not speak. Bowlen has to force Josh McDaniels and Jay Cutler to sit down, just the two of them with no agents or GM's in order to work things out, or Bowlen has to make a choice. If Bowlen wants Cutler to be his guy, he needs to fire McDaniels, just like I said when this whole thing started. If Bowlen believes in his new hire, he must publically put Cutler on the trade block. It doesn't matter what side you're on, but Bowlen must end this debacle. Cutler may be acting like a baby, but this is McDaniel's fault. Football is a business and Cutler understands that, he is just upset that McDaniels wasn't up front with him and that McDaniels didn't immediately come clean with him after the fact. The bottom line is when you want to make a trade this big you must do two things. 1) Talk to the franchise player that you want to deal first, and 2) Get the deal done, so things like this don't happen. I've been a Broncos fan since 1986, and I want to get a ticket as a fan to the home opener so I can boo. I'm so disapointed in this team right now, I don't think I can longer be a fan. Jay Cutler is a good player but not a perfect human being, it is Josh McDaniels who I can't stand. Go back to New England you 32 year old idiot.

Phil Mickelson won Doral over the weekend. Doral was the first regular tournament Tiger Woods has played since the knee injury last June, and Phil won it. I'm not going to say it was a statement win, I just think it's a funny story. Mickelson went into the hospital because of heat stroke/deydration/stomach virus after Saturday's round and still held on to win. Was he trying to one-up Tiger winning the U.S. Open with a torn ACL and fractured leg? Of course he wasn't, but it is a strange coincidence that this happens at the exact time Tiger comes back to stroke play action after his long lay off. Tiger is still the man and his accomplishment of winning the U.S. Open last year was the greatest accomplishment in sports. Phil, sorry you were sick but you are still soft and not even in the same zip code as Mr. Woods.

NBA last night...Phoenix 154, Golden State 130. Good D there.

The Houston Astros have just signed Pudge Rodriguez.

PICKS-3-2 on Friday night. I missed 2 games by a combined 1 1/2 points. Overall I'm 71-43-1 ATS.

NBA

@Memphis + 6 1/2 Portland
@Denver -9 1/2 New Jersey

More Hoops.......

As a sports fan you had to appreciate the show that Syracuse and UCONN put on last night. In 6 overtimes there was only one lead change as the Orange beat the Huskies 127-117. Outside of the NCAA Tournament this was the best game of all time, it would be the best of all time but it wasn't in the tournament.

Putting last nights game against other sports is hard to do. In the NBA it is hard to top Boston's 128-126 triple overtime finals win against Phoenix in the 70's. The NFL has Super Bowls 3 (Bal/NYJ), 5 (BAl/DAL), 13 (PIT/DAL) 23 (Cincy/SF), 25 (NYG/BUF), 32 (DEN/GB), 34 (TEN/STL), 36 (NE/STL), 38 (NE/CAR), 39 (NE/PHI), 42 (NYG/NE) and 43 (AZ/PIT). There has also been great games such as "The Catch", "The Catch Part 2", "The Drive", "The Ice Bowl", "The Immaculate Reception", and "The Greatest Game Ever Played" between the Giants and Colts back in '58. If you compare the game to baseball, I think of the the 1991 World Series and game 7 between Minnesota and Atlanta. I also think back to 2007 and game 163 between the Rockies and Padres. Other great games in baseball include Joe Carter's blast to win the '93 series in Toronto and Kirk Gibson limping around the bases in game 1 of the '88 series. Baseball has also brought us Carlton Fisk waving his hands inside the foul poul, Buckner's error in '86 and the Yankees amazing collapse in 2005. Also, don't forget the shot heard around the world. In hockey you have "The Miracle on Ice". In the NHL you have the 2000 Stanley Cup Playoff game between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia that went 5 overtimes. College Football you have "The Band Game" between Cal and Stanford, you have Flutie's miracle throw to beat Miami, Kordell Stewart's miracle throw to beat Michigan, Texas over USC in the 2006 title game, and many others. Was last night's game between UCONN and Syracuse the best game ever? No, but nothing is the greatest ever, it is too hard to compare. The point is the game will be talked about and remembered for years. 50 years down the road people won't immediately recall who won the 2009 championship in college basketball, but they will recall last night's game at the Garden.

Moving on, there were no major upsets this afternoon, however UNC was nearly knocked off by Virginia Tech. North Carolina got a generous whistle at the end to hang on and get the win. The last 24 hours have put the future #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament in a tailspin. UNC is likely the only lock right now on a #1 seed. UCONN, Pitt, Oklahoma and Kansas all lost their conference tourny openers. Teams like Michigan State, Louisville and Memphis are all looking better as far as getting a #1 seed.

PICKS- 2-0 last night puts me at 68-41-1 ATS overall.

NBA

@Philadelphia -3 1/2 Chicago
Houston +1 @ Charlotte
@Boston -11 Memphis

BIG EAST

Louisville - 4 1/2 Villanova
Syracuse + 6 1/2 West Virgina

SYRACUSE 127, UCONN 117-FINAL 6 OT'S

Putting your favorite sports and favorite teams to the side, where does this game rank on the list of all-time great games in sports??? If it's not close to the top of your list, what tops it???

Hoops

Put Notre Dame in the same class as Georgetown, they are so incredibly bad they don't even deserve an N.I.T. bid. I picked them + 5 1/2 against West Virginia last night, thinking they would ignite a spark in the Big East Tournament. Wrong, the Irish were down 20 points 7 minutes into the game. Notre Dame is poorly coached, bad defensively, lazy and soft. How Notre Dame and Georgetown were once top 10 teams is beyond me, they both just suck.

What happend with Texas A&M? They blow a 19 point halftime lead to Texas Tech and let Mike Singletary score 29 consecutive points, this guy wasn't even a starter. I picked A&M -6 and stopped scoreboard watching at half thinking that the game was over. How does a bubble team let that happen?

As for today, more crazyness is going on. Kansas fell to Baylor, and Clemson lost to Georgia Tech. Villanova blew a 16 point halftime lead against Marquette and then went on to win the game 76-75, on a buzzer beating lay-up. The Villanova win sets up a great semifinal game tomorrow against Louisville, that should be a great game. Also, don't forget about tonight. Pittsburgh and UCONN are both in action, look for one of those teams to be upset. Out west, Arizona St. beat Arizona by a dozen. I think Arizona should be on the wrong end of the bubble due to that loss. The Big 10 also got going today, is it just me or is Big 10 hoops that bad to watch?

The hoops going on right now are great and you just have no idea what will happen from day to day. I did OK last night going 4-3 in the picks, but these conference tournaments are the hardest thing to pick in sports, even harder then the opening round of the dance. I would lay off until the tourny starts and just enjoy the college ball.

Picks-66-41-1 ATS overall

NBA

L.A. Lakers + 2 1/2 San Antonio--Lakers are playing the 2nd game of a difficult back-to-back on the road. This team has found a way all season to win games that seem impossible, they will do it again tonight in a statement game.

Cleveland - 3 1/2 Phoenix--The Cavs defense will shut down the Suns' offense. Shaq is starting to get mad and Phoenix is beginning to realize that they are done in the west.

Sports Since Friday

T.O. in Buffalo. If this isn't an indication that this guy is on his last leg, I don't know what is? Nothing against Buffalo, but T.O. in Buffalo? It doesn't make sense, the only logical explanantion is he got absolutely no interest from other teams. T.O. won't even be the number one WR, Lee Evans has a hold on that position. If this guy was mad in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas, T.O. is really going to hate Buffalo. I feel bad for Bills QB Trent Edwards, the guy was doing good things for the Bills last season and this is his gift? Talk about a lump of coal. I guess it is good publicity for Buffalo though, up until now they have been the NFL's forgotten franchise.

The Broncos bosses' had a conference call with QB Jay Cutler in attempt to smooth things over from the trade debacle. A source inside the originization says that things have gone from bad to worse. Denver did sign QB Chris Simms. Things are looking up on his end, at this rate Cutler will never be in a Denver uniform again. There isn't much in the free agent market if you are looking for a QB. Aging QB's Jeff Garcia, Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich top that list. Denver could maybe trade Cutler to Detroit for the #1 draft pick, but I don't see the point in that. Denver has screwed up so bad, they might get the #1 draft pick in 2010.

Has anybody been watching the WBC? It has been pretty good baseball. The Nederlands elliminated powerhouse Dominican Republic, the USA has looked dominant, and defending champ Japan looks beatable, hence their loss to Korea on Monday. This is actually a good tournament to watch. The countries involved have been passionate about the tournament and you are seeing great games and upsets. The Nederlands have been a great story and it is hard not to root for them, but the flops from the Dominican and Canada have been humiliating, and those two teams should be ashamed of themselves.

Alex Rodriguez will be out for an extended period of time after hip surgery. The Yankees will manage, as for Rodriguez, you kind of get what you deserve.

The NCAA conference tournaments have been fun to watch. Two teams grabbed my attention last night as they gained their automatic bids to the NCAA tournament. In their first year of elligibility, North Dakota State beat Oakland to take the Summit Championship. This is the first time this has been done since Long Beach St. of 1970. I expect the Bison to get in as a 12 or 13 seed and be a difficult out for their opponent. This team is #2 overall in the nation in 3 point shooting, and they play a fast paced type of game that if they make their shots, they will pull off an upset or two.

The other team that grabbed my attention was Cleveland St. who beat Butler to gain their automatic bid. This team is athletic and passionate. Cleveland St. refuses to lose and can pull of an upset in the first round. It doesn't matter what the circumstance, this team will give whomever it plays all it can handle. On the opposite end, Butler has been a "cinderella type" favorite the last few years to win their first round game. It won't happen this season, this is a team that is overrated and should not even be ranked. They will get in as an at large, but expect a quick exit.

Depaul was a nice story in Big East. They took down "bubble team" Cincinnati and gave another "bubble team"Providence all it can handle this morning before losing, not bad for a team with an 0-18 conference record. Georgetown should be ashamed of themselves. Once ranked very high, the Hoyas fell to lowely St. Johns in the opening round of the Big East. G-Town doesn't even deserve and N.I.T. bid, they are horrible. Due to the new format, this Big East Tournament is just brutal.

Who will get the #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament? Ink in UCONN, Pittsburgh and North Carolina. I don't know who will get the 4th #1 seed. Expers are saying Louisville, but I can't see the committee giving the Big East 3 #1 seeds. I'll throw in Oklahoma, Kansas and Memphis. I think one of those 3 teams will get the 4th #1 seed.

The UCONN women are incredible and still undefeated. They had Louisville by 40 + in the Big East Championship last night. I would take this team against a handful of mens' teams. I don't know who can trip them up in the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma-no. Duke-no. UNC-no. Maryland-no. The rest of the field should just give up and hand the Huskies the trophey.

I'm officially ruling out the Phoenix Suns as a playoff contender in the NBA's Western Conference. Your playoff teams in the West will be the Lakers, Spurs, Hornets, Jazz, Blazers, Nuggets, Rockets, and Mavericks, in no particular order. The West is brutal, hence the Denver Nuggets. Denver was in a virtual dead heat with San Antonio for the number 2 seed, then the team loses 5 out of 6, and are now 7th in the West and 3rd in their division. If the Nuggets are going to do anything to get back into the upper part of the West, they have to win their next 5 games, all against bad teams.

The Eastern Conference is horrible. Seeds 1-6 are locks in my opinion. Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, Miami and Detroit will all be in the playoffs. Philadelphia should get in, and then the # 8 spot is up for grabs. Seeds #8-14 are within 6 games of eachother, so I'm saying that Chicago, Milwaukee, New Jersey, Charlotte, Indiana, New York and Toronto will all be playing for the right to bring their sub .500 record into the playoffs and get their head kicked in by Boston or Clevleand, fun stuff.

Picks....I put out 8 games last Friday and went 5-3. The overall record stands at 62-38-1. Many games are going on in the afternoon today, so my picks will begin with games that start at 7 eastern.

NBA

@Atlanta -1 Utah
@Philadelphia - 6 1/2 Toronto
LA Lakers @ Houston OVER 201

NCAAM

Syracuse - 6 1/2 Seton Hall
Oklahoma St. -10 Iowa St.
Notre Dame + 5 1/2 West Virginia
Texas A&M -6 Texas Tech

Just Some Picks

I was too busy yesterday to post, but it seems the headlines are pretty bad anyway. Coverage I have seen has been dominated by Terrel Owens and Manny Ramirez. T.O. is coming up on his last years. His agent says many teams are interested, I see him in a Redskins uniform next season. Manny will lift the Dodgers to an NL West title next season and contend for NL MVP honors. In the off season next year, Manny and the Dodgers will go through the same thing since Manny has an opt-out clause after next season, even though it is a 2 year deal. LA will benefit short term, but expect the same type of circus next season.

Good night tonight for NBA Hoops.....Cavs v. Celtics, Nuggets v. Jazz, Phoenix v. Houston. Also, a good weekend of college hoops coming up. Keep an eye on those mid-major conference tournaments, if your favorite team is on the "bubble", you want no part of any upsets. There are also some key Big East, ACC and Big 12 showdowns that could determine #1 overall seeds in the tournament. Duke and UNC also, but UNC will destroy them.

I like a handful of games tonight.......Here are the picks....I went 3-2 on Wednesday, putting me at 57-35-1 overall.

NBA

New Jersey @ Orlando UNDER 203
@Boston - 1 1/2 Cleveland
@Houston - 5 1/2 Phoenix
Phoenix @ Houston UNDER 226
@San Antonio - 12 1/2 Washington
Denver +9 @ Utah
Minnesota @ L.A. Lakers UNDER 215

NCAAM

@Notre Dame -11 1/2 St. John's

Have a good weekend.

Dallas Skake-Up

The Cowboys have released WR Terrel Owens. I have no clue where he will go, but that he is gone from Dallas. Good or bad for Dallas? Comments welcome.

Warner Back to Arizona

Kurt Warner has agreed to return to the Arizona Cardinals. The deal is for 2 years and $23 million ($19 million guaranteed). The Cardinals did not take the cheap route, they will remain contenders.

According to reports the Raven's and LB Ray Lewis have agreed to a new deal that will keep Lewis in Baltimore

The Broncos sign RB LaMont Jordan to a 2 year deal.

NHL trade deadline is today. So far the biggest deals have been Boston picking up Mark Recchi, the Penguins have also aquired Bill Guerin, Calgary gets Olli Jokinen and Jordan Leopold, and the Rangers get Nick Antropov. The biggest news out of the NHL could be an injury suffered in practice. Capital's superstar Alexander Ovechkin took a hard slap shot of the foot this morning and had to leave practice.

Pistons G Allen Iverson out 2 weeks with a back injury. I love A.I. but this is good for the Pistons, who are winning games without him. Iverson just can't find a place that will fit him. I hate to say it, but maybe he should go to Golden State next season, he might fit well in Don Nelson's system.

2 quick questions-

1. How do you look at Manny Ramirez after the last 10 months? Do you still see him as a great player or do you see him as a complete jerk because of his high demands for money in a bad economy? Ramirez did agree to a 2 year deal for $45 million with the Dodgers and can opt out after the first year.

2. Have you noticed what Don Nelson is doing in Golden State? Is it right for a coach to intentionally bench his starters when his team is out of contention? It can affect playoff seeding outcomes for other teams. Lately, Nelson has been playing his key players only when he wants to, do you think that violates the integrity of the game?

Picks...2-1 last night....Golden State played their guys against Minnesota, so I lost that one. I'm 54-33-1 ATS.

NBA

Boston @ New Jersey UNDER 196
Houston + 8 1/2 @ Utah
Indiana +10 @ Portland

NCAAM

@Virginia Tech + 9 1/2 North Carolina
@San Diego State -15 Colorado State.

Finally

According to reports, the Dodgers and OF Manny Ramirez have agreed to a 2 year deal worth $45 million.

Tuesday Notes

News broke a few hours ago that the Coast Guard will officially call of their search for 3 missing people in the Gulf of Mexico at sundown. NFL Players' Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith along with former South Florida football player William Bleakley have not been found after an extensive search by the Coast Guard. The only survivor from this fishing trip that contained Cooper, Smith and Bleakley was Nick Schuyler, who was found yesterday clinging to the overturned 21 foot boat. This is a very sad story and you have to feel for the families in this situation. I've been in a situation where I almost drowned in the ocean and it was a terrifying experience, one can only hope for a miracle now, like the one that happend to me almost ten years ago.

Now the stuff that is far less important, the sports.

-According to reports the Broncos will not trade QB Jay Cutler. Cutler and Head Coach Josh McDaniels will meet next week. Smart move on the Broncos part, I might still be a fan.

-This is a critical time for the Arizona Cardinals to step up and show the world that they are no longer the cheap Cardinals of the past. After visiting the 49'ers yesterday, QB Kurt Warner has said that he would stay with Arizona at the price of 2 years and 23 million. Warner also said that he would give back money from that contract if the team can work out a new contract that would keep WR Anquan Boldin in Arizona. If Cardinal's ownership can't get this done, they will officially sink below the Los Angeles Clippers on my list of the worst ownerships in professional sports.

-WR TJ Houshmandzadeh to the Seahawks, interesting. With a healthy Matt Hasselbeck at QB and Arizona undecided about their future, Seattle can be a player in the NFC West in '09.

-Nuggets @ Pistons tonight. No Melo and No Allen Iverson. "The Answer" is off in D.C. getting his injured back looked at, and Carmelo Anthony is suspended for the game for refusing to come out of Denver's last game at Indiana, at the request of his coach George Karl. This just is what it is, Karl had to throw down the suspension otherwise he would lose all credibility and Carmelo was caught up in the heat of the moment wanting to help his team win. Carmelo is truly a good guy that means well, but he just continues to make mistakes. Carmelo's decison to not go out of the game will probably cost Denver 2 wins. They ended up losing in Indiana, Melo was not on his game that night and the Nuggets, due to Melo's suspension are underdogs tonight in Detroit. This is a minor set back for the Nuggets and it won't affect them the rest of the season. Oh by the way, Chauncey Billups comes back to Detroit for the first time since the trade. I think the Detroit fans will give him a standing-o. Looking back on the trade, it may have been the worst all time if you are a Piston fan.

-Barry Bonds wants back in the MLB. His agent is set to contact all 30 MLB teams, due to the delay of his perjury trial, which won't be heard until 2010. If I'm an American League GM, I sign the guy. Why not, if it is all about winning? Bonds would make a great DH.

-College Hoops-The mid-major conference tournaments begin tonight. This is when the "bubble teams" need to scoreboard watch. All the Maryland's and Providence's of the world want no part of upsets. "Bubble Teams" need the best regular season team from the lower ranked conferences to win their conference tournaments for them to have any chance at making the dance.

-Your #1 seeds in the tourny as of right now in my opinion-Pitt, UCONN, UNC and Oklahoma

-NHL News-Sean Avery is back with the Rangers. This is the guy who shot his mouth off about other NHL players dating his ex-girlfriends in a rather crude fashion. Dallas released him after that and now he's back in NYC. Looking at the NHL, Boston is slipping a little bit, Calgary and New Jersey are hot. Here are my top 5.

1. Detroit
2. Boston
3. Calgary
4. San Jose
5. Washington

Recent talk on this blog has been about how competitive the West is in the NBA, look at the West in the NHL. Did you ever think that you would see the Colorado Avalanche dead last? On top of that, there are only 3 teams in the entire conference under .500, incredible.

Anyway, I'm done. Here are the picks tonight, I'm 52-32-1 ATS after going 1-1 last night.

NBA

@Minnesota +1 Golden State
Chicago @ Charlotte-UNDER 193

NCAAM

Florida State + 12 1/2 @ Duke

A Mile High Mess

I have been following the Denver Broncos since 1986 and covered them daily from 2003-2006. I do not like what I've seen since their loss to Pittsburgh in the 2005-2006 AFC Championship Game.

You can trace the beginning of the problems in the Broncos organization back to Thanksgiving Night 2006, Denver was on their way to the playoffs when Mike Shanahan decided to bench QB Jake Plummer in favor of Jay Cutler. Cutler was clearly not ready and Shanahan's decison ultimately cost his team a playoff birth. This was Denver's first huge collapse, even with Cutler at quarterback the Broncos would have made the playoffs with a home win on the last day of the season against a bad San Francisco team, and Denver lost the game. Despite what critics think, Jake Plummer was a winner in Denver during his tenure and the Broncos should have stuck with him until the end of that season.

A huge blow to the organization happend New Years Day 2007, when CB Darrent Williams was murdered during the early morning hours. This tragedy turned the Broncos into an emotional mess. Head Coach Mike Shanahan, for the first time ever showed tears and emotion in a press conference, WR Javon Walker was destroyed. (Walker was in the car with Williams at the time of the shooting and had Darrent's blood covered on his shirt) Darrent Williams was a great locker room guy. Williams was easy going and always had a smile on his face. Darrent was the starting corner opposite Champ Bailey and when he was murdered, it truly took an emotional effect on the entire team, especially the defense.

During the 2007-2008 season the Broncos struggled as expected, finishing with a 7-9 record and missed the playoffs for the 2nd straight season.

Now the 2008-2009 season, before it even started the Broncos parted ways with thier best kicker ever in Jason Elam. Denver had a soft schedule and found itself up 3 games in the AFC West with 3 games to play. Mike Shanahan did a great job filling in pieces just to keep this team together. Denver used 7 running backs and the majority of their defense was injured the entire season, including Champ Bailey. WR Brandon Marshall missed a game because of suspension, rookie WR Eddie Royal missed time with an injured ankle, TE Tony Scheffler also missed some time due to nagging leg injuries. Like I said, it was a great patch-up job done by Shanahan. However, Shanahan had his faults which led to his firing. During the season Shanahan made decisons that were just for a lack of a better word dumb. His decison making and play calling was bizzare and to the viewer looked desparate at times. It was unacceptable that Denver lost at home to Buffalo to clinch the AFC West in week 16. The loss was Shanahan's fault. Late in the 2nd quarter, Shanahan decided to try a long field goal with his team in control of the game. The kick was into the wind and Matt Prater, the Broncos kicker was struggling big time. Prater missed the field goal and Buffalo went down the field to score before halftime, changing the momentum of the game. Denver then went on to get blown away by San Diego in the final game of the season, becoming the first team in NFL history to blow a 3 game lead with 3 to play. I felt that the Broncos needed to make a change and agreed with the firing of Mike Shanahan.

Owner Pat Bowlen named Josh McDaniels Head Coach and brought in Brian Xanders for GM duties. I would have liked to seen Bill Cowher take over both those roles, but Bowlen did what he did. The hiring of McDaniels made absolutely no sense to me, he did good thing as Offensive Coordinator for the Patriots, but that was it, he was a young Offensive Coordinator. Denver's issues were on the defensive side of the football. The offense was good but young. During the season, Denver moved the ball with ease but turned it over often. These are fixable problems, given that Denver's offense is so young and inexperienced. Also, assistants of Bill Belichick have failed. Look at Charlie Weis at Notre Dame, Eric Mangini with the Jets, and Romeo Crennel with Clevleland, all failures. I was willing to put all of that aside and give the new team of Bowlen, McDaniels and Xanders the benefit of the doubt, that was until this previous week.

The moves made by the Broncos have been difficult for me to understand. They released numerous veteran players, making it look like the team was going to fix it's problems by going young, and now with recent free agent signings, that does not seem to be the case. McDaniels solidified the team's secondary by signing safties Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill. Both players are a signifficant upgrade from any combination the Broncos had last season at the position. Denver signed former Dolphins CB Andre' Goodman to take the place of Dre' Bly. I'm OK with that, it might be a slight upgrade. Denver signed LB Andra Davis, now the team at best has 2 legitimate linebackers. The other defensive pick-up was DT Darrel Reid from the Colts. What does McDaniels plan to do with Denver's defensive line? The team may have taken a step back from last year's defensive line which was terrible. The new men in charge of the Broncos didn't fix the team's number one problem, the defensive line, and I have a problem with that.

What really baffles me is what McDaniels is doing on the offensive end. Denver's offense was young and good, they just needed a big name running back and good coaching to solidify things. McDaniels instead goes out and gets running backs Correll Buckhalter and JJ Arrington. What is that going to do for a team that had 7 running backs last season? Nothing against Buckhalter and Arrington, but what can they possibly add to Denver, they are not that good. McDaniels couldn't get out of New England without bringing in one his own players. The Broncos picked up former Pats WR Jabar Gaffney. If Gaffney is coming in to replace Brandon Stokely the move is idiotic. Stokely was one of Denver's leaders on offense last season and is damn tuff in the slot. Stokely has no fear going across the middle and taking a big hit and if McDaniels lets him go it would be a huge loss for the Broncos.

Those moves made me really question McDaniels and Xanders, however as we all know it got worse. Denver tried to acquire QB Matt Cassel, who ultimately ended up with the Chiefs. It was reported that Denver was in trade talks with the Bucs, Lions and Patriots that would ultimately bring Cassel to Denver and send Jay Cutler packing. There was nothing wrong with the offense in Denver last season. Jay Cutler has the best young arm in the league and has the cockyness and confidence to go with that arm stregnth. Why would McDaniels try to do this? What has Matt Cassel proven? Cutler is building chemistry with all of his young targets and McDaniels wanted to make a QB change? The Broncos got in the Cassel sweepstakes too late, McDaniels didn't get his prize, and the backlash is overwhelming.

Jay Cutler is furious and has a right to be. The Broncos denied shopping him and everybody knows that they were. The Broncos not only put their young Pro Bowl QB on the trading block, but they also lied to him by saying other teams were calling them about Cutler's availability. Will Cutler leave the Broncos? Maybe, and if he does, who would blame him? It's a stange connection that when all of this broke on Saturday, that night Cutler's favorite target, WR Brandon Marshall was once against arrested, this time for disorderly conduct. The chargers were eventually dropped against Marshall, however he still can be suspended by the league. The point to all this is McDaniels and Xanders have created a disasterous situation.

Now in Denver, you still have a bad defense. In Denver you also have, which was once a good offense in complete turmoil. Cutler doesn't trust McDaniels and at this time has refused to mend the fence. Brandon Marshall could have a 4 game suspension coming up in the future and worst of all you have a group of offensive players that have no clue who their leader will be in the future. The Broncos have a brutal schedule coming up in 2009. In addition to playing their division opponents twice the team has games against the NFC East, AFC North, Indianapolis and New England. Putting the schedule aside for a moment, McDaniels hasn't even coached a game and look what he has created with this team. Mike Shanahan is off playing golf some place laughing his you know what off. McDaniels wants Cassel instead of Cutler, what a joke. I will not be a fan of this team if McDaniels wants to turn it into his version of the New England Patriots.

Things are ugly right now in Denver and Pat Bowlen needs to sack up and do something drastic to save this team. Fire Josh McDaniels and Brian Xanders before they do anything more to screw up this team. The Broncos aren't the Broncos right now. The NFL knows it, players know it, and most importantely the fans are starting to know this isn't the team that they have lived and died with over the last 40 years. Sack-up Bowlen and fire these two jokers, it is the only way to save your team. When it is all said in done I hope I'm wrong about McDaniels and Xanders, but I doubt I will be.

Tonights NBA Picks-Overall Record 51-31-1 ATS

Atlanta -4 1/2 @ Washington
Dallas - 5 1/2 @ Oklahoma City

Trouble Again

According to reports, Broncos WR Brandon Marshall was arrested early Sunday morning in Atlanta on charges of disorderly conduct, stemming from an alleged fight. Marshall was released on a $300 bond. Marshall could be facing a legnthy suspension from the NFL due to his prior legal problems. Marshall was suspended for the first game of the 2008-2009 season for his off the field behavior.

Needless to say, the Broncos didn't have a very good weekend. I will share my thoughts on my Monday post. From one die hard Bronco fan to others, you may not want to read what I have to say about this orginization.

A Legend Passes Away

I learned today that legendary radio broadcaster Paul Harvey has passed on at the age of 90. Harvey, in my opinion, changed the scope of news radio. I know this is a sports blog and Harvey was known for his news segments, but I wanted to pay my repsect to Mr. Harvey. Rest in Peace, the world will miss your work.