It was a long season, but ended perfectly with a close defensive contest, that was won by Duke by about a millimeter. It was a battle that should have led to two trophies given out, but alas....that's not the way it works. As a good friend put it, "Two clean programs. No one-and-done players...just true student athletes. Every possession was tough and it all came down to the end." You really couldn't ask for anything more from the best Tournament in any Sport (Pro or College).

Please don't bump the amount of teams up to 96, NCAA. A watered down version of the madness is not what we need. Congrats Duke....here's your "OSM"....

And by the way, the Jennifer Hudson version wasn't that bad. Yes, it isn't the same as Luther. Yes, she got a little bit crazy near the end there. But all in all....it wasn't that bad. I don't understand the decision to replace the Vandross version, but it could have been worse.

You know, Arizona's a team in turmoil that's going to get stepped on a lot this year. That doesn't mean you have the right to literally do it, like Houston's Aubrey Coleman did yesterday while visiting Tucson and putting a sneaker into Chase Budinger's grill. The Cougars were up by 8 at the time, and in a righteous sense of karmic payback, lost in overtime.

I first saw the face-stomping while out at the bar, because the game wasn't on in my area, and man, that's just cold. Step on the man's face without even checking to see if he's okay. I mean, damn. Coleman got a flagrant and ejected, of course.

(Video thanks to The Dagger.)

Sure it's Division III, and doesn't technically count in the final standings (I kid), but this buzzer beater from Geneseo's Scott Morton to beat Oswego in the battle of SUNY schools....is pretty amazing. And who better to show it to you than our friend Dana? She even has an interview with the kid!

Good stuff Geneseo Knights and Mr. Morton! You have the top spot until Blake Hoffarber once again decides to unleash one of his ridiculous buzzer beaters on the Basketball World.

The good people at EA Sports decided to forward me a behind the scenes clip of how the announcers are brought into the mix. While I normally try to stay away from pimping products, EA actually directly thought of the readers and relevance of the clip before sending it along. I check it out, and it's certainly worth a look. If not for the technical aspects and voice overs, but at least for Erin Andrews. Enjoy!

Good stuff and now onto that announcement I mentioned earlier. EA has actually decided to sponsor the "Create A Caption" contest all of next week! The winner each day, as chosen by me, will receive a copy of the game which comes out next Tuesday. I will have copies on both XBOX and PS3, so hopefully you'll get the one that works for you.

I'm out for the rest of the day, but S2N will be by tomorrow for the PWCs. Have a good one, and be sure to get your funneh ready for next week!

(posted by One More Dying Quail)

A question for a lazy Sunday afternoon...

Tomorrow, Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley plans to announce whether he will leave school for the NBA or stick around for his sophomore season. So it comes down to that age old question:

Should he stay? Or should he go?

My opinion? Stick around for another year or two. Whenever kids are trying make this decision, people always throw the money issue out there (it's even in the second line of the above link). The thinking goes that you can always go back to school, but you risk losing millions if you return and get hurt, or someone manages to uncover and exploit a hole in your game.

Those are good points. But there are two things I can think of to counter them:

1) The old adage, "Money doesn't buy happiness," is true. Being the number one overall pick and signing a multi-million dollar contract does absolutely nothing to guarantee Beasley's happiness or peace of mind.

2) I transferred after my first two years of college and began commuting rather than living on campus, which totally changed my college experience. I was still in college, but I wasn't really "in college", you know? If Beasley truly wants to be a kid and have fun and experience college, he may do well to stick around.

But those are just my thoughts. Anyone else have an opinion?

There is no better production and recap better than the OSM. I want to give it the respect it deserves so there will be no comments from me and/or you. No comparing it to years past. Just enjoy....

CUE THE LUTHER (R.I.P.)!!!!

It just doesn't get better than that (more videos to come).

(That video will also be YouTubed as soon as they get their site back up and running)

Just in case you're one of the lucky (or unlucky) few that have to attend the games this week/weekend you might need a refresher on those NCAA live-blogging rules. Here they are again via Eye On Sports Media....

NCAA Blogging Policy

Each Credential Holder (including television, Internet, new media, and print publications) has the privilege to blog (e.g., real-time or time delayed journal entries) during competition through the Credential Entity. Any blog representing an NCAA championship must submit the appropriate link to ncaasports.com Blog Central. In return, all media entities entering a blog must post the ncaasports.com logo/link on their site. All blogs must be free of charge to readers. All must adhere to the conditions and limitations of this NCAA Blogging Policy.

A blog description includes in-Competition updates on score and time remaining in competition as well as description of the championship and competition taken place during the given time. The NCAA and its designated championship personnel shall be the final authority about whether a Credential Holder or Credential Entity is following the NCAA Blogging Policy.

The following is the NCAA’s policy for the number of blogs allowed during a Competition or Session (i.e., where more than one contest takes place under the same admission ticket). They apply to all sports listed and are applicable to both genders.

Winter Sports
Ice Hockey: Three per period – one in between (includes overtime)
Basketball: Five times per half; one at halftime; two times per overtime period
Wrestling: Ten per session
Indoor Track and Field: Ten per day/session
Swimming and Diving: Ten per day/session
Bowling: Ten per day/session
Gymnastics: Ten per session

That's right you horrible bloggers! Only 11 total updates per game!!! I love how clueless the NCAA governing board is. It's comical. Lucky for you those rules don't apply to AA.

Remember Those NCAA Blogging Rules This Week (Eye On Sports Media)

Hi, I'm Chris from Run Up The Score. You may know me from such works of crap as Metal Band At Retard Party, Larry Johnson Is A Big Stupid Poopyhead, and The Decapitation of Larry Leadfoot. I'll be filling in for AA tonight as he moves into his new house of ill repute.

Outside of a few thrilling Sweet Sixteen games, this year's tournament has been One Shining Turd. Other than VCU's immensely satisfying stunner against Duke, eleventh-seeded Winthrop provided the biggest upset of the opening weekend, beating a Notre Dame team that had played way above its talent level all season long. Of course, Winthrop was promptly throttled by Oregon while VCU fought valiently but ultimately succumbed to a despicably boring Pitt squad. That left the sports media to force 7th-seeded UNLV into the Sweet Sixteen Cinderella role, which was much like forcing a cat into a filled bathtub. Put another way, you could eat an entire bottle of Tums and not experience such a chalky, disappointing three weeks.

Still, Florida and Ohio State have a chance to kinda-sorta salvage this tournament. Florida is favored by five points, which would ordinarily make me want to call a Caribbean gaming tycoon and place a bet on the Buckeyes if the Gators weren't so talented at every position. Both teams are 7-2 against the spread in their last nine games, so that's no help.

Gametime is 9:15 ET (8:00 a.m. in Kathmandu, a nod to Awful Announcing's huge Nepalese following). CBS.com is also ready for the action -- their Sportsline site is counting down every second until the title game, which begins in...

What will we do until then? Drop your predictions, insults, Billy Packer jokes, and laments about Gus Johnson's absence in the comments. Apparently, we're going to be waiting a long time for tip-off.



As a matter of disclosure, my girlfriend will win our NCAA tournament pool if Florida prevails tonight. She managed to pick all four of the Final Four teams. I picked Kansas to win the whole thing -- seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I look back on it and say "Kansas?!? I'm lucky they got out of the first weekend unscathed!"

We're a half-hour from the start of CBS' coverage (hey, Sportsline fixed the countdown clock!) and it seems to me that people are giving Ohio State the same chance that we all gave Florida in the BCS championship game back in January. What needs to happen in order for Ohio State to win tonight?

1. Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble. Ohio State can't afford for him to pick up two fouls in the first six minutes of the game, because they'll be screwed if that happens.

2. Ron Lewis can't go 1-for-9 like he did against Georgetown.

3. Mystery offense. Jamar Butler? Daequan Cook? Ivan Harris? Ohio State will need substantial offense from more than just Oden, Lewis and Mike Conley.

4. Luck Of The Brick. Maybe Lee Humphrey and Taurian Green finally go cold tonight.

5. Rebounding. Florida just slaughtered UCLA on the boards. All five guys need to crash the defensive boards for Ohio State.

I'm watching the ESPN GameDay coverage, and they went out and asked a bunch of current high-profile coaches who they thought would win tonight's game. Every single one said Florida except for Bobby Cremins, who practically admitted that he picked Ohio State just for the sake of being different.

You know, Florida is only favored by five points. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that the Washington Generals were playing tonight.

It's a little late - there's about eight minutes left in the first half as I write this - but consider this an open thread for what could be an epic Georgetown-Ohio State battle (I'm taking the Oden and the Buckeyes) and a revenge match between UCLA and Florida (I've got the Gators, just because I'd like to see a college team actually repeat).

Leave your thoughts, predictions and concerns in the comments...I'll be in and out after the jump.

(Looking for a real, live, live-blog? The Big Lead is all over this.)


6:37 - Early foul trouble for both Oden and Hibbert. The difference? Hibbert has 8 of Georgetown's 14 points, Oden is scoreless thus far.

6:44 - 23-17 Buckeyes with 3:40 to play, thanks to a long three from Mike Conley Jr., who has nine.

6:45 - I like the fact that they changed the ending of the GM robot commercial. In doing away with the ridiculous "suicide" angle, they've actually made the end of the commercial more funny.

6:48 - Hustle points for Georgetown.

6:49 - Oden has only played three minutes so far? Wow.

6:50 - Pithy comments thus far, eh?

6:51 - We have a 27-23 ball game at the half, in favor of Ohio State. Things are still very much up in the air and could depend largely on the foul situation with regards to Oden and Hibbert. Other factors: can Conley continue to shoot well (5-of-6 from the field, 11 points) and will Jeff Green become more involved in the Hoyas offense?

9:25 - Oden and Hibbert both played well in the second half - Oden finished the game with 13 points and 9 rebounds, Hibbert had 19 and 6 - but Jeff Green never got on track. He reeled in 12 rebounds and shot 80% from the field while playing all 40 minutes, but only attempted five shots in tallying nine points. The Hoyas struggled from three point range, hitting 7 of 21 attempts, and were unsuccessful in taking the ball inside and drawing fouls, attempting only eight free throws overall. Ohio State wins 67-60 and Greg Oden is one game closer to adding "NCAA Champion" to his growing resume.

11:00 - It's official, we have a championship game: Florida vs. Ohio State, Monday night. Oden vs. Noah, an exceptional group of freshmen vs. a quartet of juniors who returned specifically for this reason, a coach who believes in the five-second rule vs. a coach who will soon have to decide between continuing to build his legacy or following the money and the prime job.

Florida 76, UCLA 66, in a game that wasn't really even that close.

11:04 - What the hell was Joakim Noah looking at during the post-game interview?

11:14 - My pick for the final? Florida over Ohio State, 67-63. It would be a nice story if Oden wins, but I've always been a sucker for mini-dynasties, so I'm hoping Florida takes it.

Are you ready for the start of the NCAA Tournament? Yeah I know, no one really considers this the start of the NCAA Tournament, but if you want to get technical, this is the start. My name is Marco from Just Call Me Juice (aka Brian Fantana of the Channel 4 News Team) and I'll be your guide for tonight's play-in game between Niagara and Florida A&M. Just to let you know up front, if some stuff doesn't make sense, it's because I'm rocking a 101 fever as we speak. I love how I got through the entire winter without getting sick, only to go down the week of the NCAA Tournament and just as the weather gets nice in PA. But I'm professional and I don't stand for any amateur bullcrap (If you own the best of Will Ferrell Volume 1, you'll get that joke) so I promise that this will be an interesting live-blog. Niagara is the heavy favorite (-9 as of this afternoon) if your a betting man, but FAMU already has play-in game experience, beating Lehigh in the 2004 play-in game. Game start at 7:30 on ESPN, below are the team previews, stolen directly from Deadspin.....

FLORIDA A&M RATTLERS

1. Currently holds the record for most racially offensive prior names. Originally established as the State Normal College for Colored Students; apparently, that was deemed to not effectively differentiate it from the rest of the state-run universities. So, the name was changed to Florida Agricultural and Mechanical College for Negroes. Somehow, white guilt infiltrated the state legislature, and the school is now known as just Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

2. The best year. Greatest basketball legend is the 1952 team known as the "FAMU Famed Final Four." No, it's not a reference to THAT final four. The team won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tourney despite playing the final five minutes and two overtimes with only four players after the rest of the team fouled out. The losing team, Alabama State, contemplated dropping basketball after the loss.

3. NBA Factory. FAMU has been a pipeline to the NBA over the years. Or, at least it has been for Jerome James, Clemon Johnson, Samuel Watts and Bob Williams, if you have ever heard of them. The greatest contribution the Rattlers have made to professional sports is that deliciously sexy milk chocolate drop Pam Oliver of Fox Sports. -- Nation Of Islam Sports Blog

NIAGARA PURPLE EAGLES

1. We wear purple to stay neutral. MAAC Tournament MVP and freshman Tyrone Lewis was barred from his valedictorian speech at his High School in Levittown, Penn., because of a threat by the ever-popular Bloods. When his sister testified against the gang they shot at Tyrone's car, killing one of his friends after a school dance, and they threatened to get him during his graduation speech. His speech was given over closed-circuit feed from an undisclosed location. When the team traveled to Rider this year for an away game, Tyrone received a police escort from the arena to the team bus based on the high concentration of bloods in the area.

2. Not The First Time. We've been to the NCAA's twice before this, once with Calvin Murphy's team in 1970 and once with All-American Juan Mendez in 2005. In 2005 the school flipped out and NU was a huge story in the media based on its 35-year drought. Going to the NCAAs twice in three years (with an NIT bid the year before that) has been splendid. One more thing: There's no way we're a 16 seed. Jay Bilas said so!

3. Not Guilty, and We're Filthy. Back in August there was a scuffle between some basketball players and some baseball players, which lead to a concussion and some basketball suspensions. Team MVP Charron Fisher was suspended for eight games but the charges were ultimately dropped. During those games we went 2-6; since then we've gone 20-5, including a current 11-game win streak. In that time Fisher averaged 21 points per game and eight rebounds. Opposing fans enjoy singing the "Cops" theme song to our players, because they are completely misinformed. The players eat it up and use it as inspiration to play hard and quiet opposing fans.

There's really no news this morning besides Pat Summitt's legs and Diarrhea at a Sports Illustrated Party. Soooooo, I'm taking this opportunity to Let you know that I'll be live-blogging the first two days of the tournament (drunk and covered in wing sauce). The goal is to do the whole day, but I very well might die.

Why am I posting this? Well my goal is to get a few people involved with live-blogs in different parts of the country, so we can have all of the games covered. I know "all" of the games getting a live-blog is quite a task, but we can probably come close. I'll have the March Madness On-Demand for the computer, but if we're missing some then I'll just update you on the stats and scoring as it happens.

I figure most people will be at work that day, so I want to make sure everyone knows what's going down up to the minute. If you have ideas, or want to be involved, shoot me a quick email at AwfulAnnouncing@gmail.com.

Also, I'll be putting together a Bracket Contest similar to the Bowl Pick Em' Contest (with better prizes)....more news on this and the live-blogs soon.

Happy Madness,
AA