We Are Back.....College Hoops is Heating Up, Plus a Few Other Thoughts

I have a couple of NFL thoughts before getting to college basketball. First, I have bashed Matt Millen for years now. This does not make me unique, as he is clearly one of the worst sports executives ever to lead a major sports franchise. He has potentially done an inferior job to Isaiah Thomas has with the Knicks. However, Millen made a great trade this week. Not a good trade, a great one. He gave up an aging, overrated, slow, disgruntled cornerback (who was a Tar Heel no less), and got back Tatum Bell (a speedy if underachieving back who has strong potential in the right situation), George Foster (a serviceable starting tackle in the league), and a draft choice. Wow. I am speechless. My only possible conclusion is that we have a Weekend at Bernie’s scenario playing out, and somebody else is pulling the strings while Millen has actually died.

In another trade, the Bears gave up Thomas Jones and the 63rd pick for the 37th pick. This was acceptable for the Bears according to John Clayton, by moving up to a point in the draft where they can expect to select a possible starter for this year for a guy that no longer fit into their plans. Personally, I think the Jets stole a good, not great, running back. Teams in the NFL seem to overvalue draft choices, and this is another endless example of that. Last I checked, it is still a crapshoot, especially when we are talking about the second round. Meanwhile, Thomas Jones has proven that he can be a productive starter in this league, and still should have 2-3 good years left, as he is just 28.

Speaking of professional sports trades, I think, unless I misunderstood, that the single worst trade in history went down at the NBA trading deadline without a mention. The Sixers traded a player, Alan Henderson, to the Utah Jazz, for the right to trade second round picks. The problem with this is that Utah has 100% better chance of finishing with a worse second round pick than the Sixers, so basically they gave away a guy for nothing. How is that even legal? I know Henderson is not worth anything, and that the Jazz later waived him, but how can you give a guy away for nothing. Another reason the NBA is stupid.

With all the attention on college hoops, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that the Grapefuit and Cactus Leagues have begun. The Phillies seems to have a new personality as they have abandoned the laid back approach and are basically talking trash in the media, with Jimmy Rollins saying they will win the division (they finished 12 back last year!), and Cole Hamels saying he will win 20 games. You know what, I believe them! I love this team, and it can be special. The key is getting a decent year from Pat Burrell, and getting some bullpen help. Go Pat Gillick….

And now, some college hoops thoughts. First of all, I think it was not warranted that Gerald Henderson was tossed from the game and suspended for another for what, in my opinion, was clearly an unintentional elbow. Now, I recognize that I am biased in this situation, but I am usually fairly objective, and I think there was zero chance that Henderson intended to hit him that way. No need to get into the details, as it has been beaten to death, and most people are anti-Duke so they think the guy should basically be sent to prison for assault and battery. The question is will Duke use this as a rallying cry, and build momentum going into the big dance? Stay tuned…..

One more Duke note: I have seen in several places this week that people now think Billy Packer is pro Duke. Are you kidding me? Any Duke fan that has followed the Devils over time will tell you that he in fact cannot stand Duke, and usually bends over backwards to criticize them. This all dates back to the late 50’s when Packer was a point guard prospect. He wanted to attend Duke, but Duke would not offer him a scholarship. Instead, he ended up at Wake Forest and has held a grudge ever since. Packer being a Duke fan is just laughable.

Here is my early list for the 65 teams that I would put in the dance as of now:

Locks (or expected conference champs in 1 bid leagues):
America East (1): Vermont, who I expect to beat Albany in their tourney final
Atlantic 10 (1): Xavier
ACC (7): Duke, UNC, Virginia, Va Tech, BC, Maryland, Ga Tech
Atlantic Sun (1): Belmont (remember the Bruins were ahead of UCLA for 15 minutes last year before getting demolished)
Big 12 (3): Kansas, Texas A&M, Texas
Big East (7): Georgetown, Pitt, Marquette, Nova, Louisville, Notre Dame, ‘Cuse
Big Sky (1): Northern Arizona
Big South (1): Winthrop
Big 10 (4): Ohio St, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan St
Big West (1): Long Beach St.
Colonial (1): VCU
Conference USA (1): Memphis
Horizon (1): Butler
Ivy (1): Penn
MAAC (1): Niagara
Mid Continent (1): Oral Roberts
MAC (1): Akron
MEAC (1): Delaware St.
Missouri Valley (2): Creighton, Southern Illinois
Mountain West (3): Air Force, BYU, UNLV
Northeast (1): Central Conn St.
Ohio Valley (1): Eastern Kentucky
Pac 10 (4): UCLA, Washington St, Oregon, Arizona
Patriot (1): Bucknell (I hate Holy Cross; is the Sports Weasel hates Duke, then I hate the Crusaders)
SEC (4): Florida, Vandy, Kentucky, Tennessee
Southern (1): Davidson
Southland (1): Texas A&M Corpus
SWAC (1): Mississppi Valley St
Sun Belt (1): North Texas
WCC (1): Gonzaga
WAC (1): Nevada

Up For Grabs (8 spots), here is how I would rank them today:
1. USC (Beat Stanford and they are locked, lose and they probably sneak in anyway)
2. Texas Tech
3. Drexel (13 road wins! Beat Nova, ‘Cuse, and Creighton)
4. Purdue (Beat Iowa and they are in, lose and they fall out)
5. Appalachian State (not sure the committee will be as kind)
6. Florida St (beat Clemson they are in; lose and they are out)
7. Kansas St. (really needs a win in Big 12 tourney)
8. Old Dominion (can the Colonial get three teams? Very doubtful)

Others in consideration:
1. Stanford (jumps onto board if they can beat USC)
2. Illinois (needs probably two wins in Bog 10, at least)
3. West Virginia (needs to win 1 or 2 in the Big Apple)
4. DePaul (they at least enter the discussion if they beat Nova)
5. SEC West (Bama, Ole Miss, Miss St, Arkansas). Can any win two games to get in the conversation?
6. Missouri St (only team here with no games to play; probably ends up just short, again)

I will try to get at least a little something posted each day for next several as the excitement build towards Selection Sunday….