The Sports Curmudgeon

Yesterday was the expansion of Orwell’s “one hour of hate” into a full day of hate directed against the NCAA Selection Committee. Now it is gone and many folks have turned themselves to filling out brackets – even at the “Schools That Were Screwed” where NIT brackets will probably be filled out first. Naturally, all the fanboys for all the “Schools That Were Screwed” will have those schools sailing through the NIT as if it were the Panama Canal. They cannot all be right…

Even schools that made the NCAA tournament can create grief on the “one day of hate”. The play-in game - - sorry, the NCAA has demanded it be called the “Opening Round Game” - - between Mt. St. Mary’s and Coppin State will be played in Dayton Ohio tonight. For those of you who live outside the Washington/Baltimore area, both of these schools are just outside Baltimore. Naturally, some “Baltimorons” complained that the game should be played in College Park at the University of Maryland venue. Of course, the play-in game is routinely played in Dayton every year; the NCAA seems to have decided that makes good sense for reasons known only to them; every school knows that before the season starts; every so-called fan should know that too. But on the “one day of hate”, people can complain about anything related to college basketball and get away with it. Now it is time to shut up and let these two schools play their game tonight to see which one will be a sacrificial lamb on Thursday.

If you want bracket picks and you cannot find them today, let me say only that Google is your friend. Here, I will only give you my Final Four predictions:

UNC
Georgetown
UCLA
Pitt

The Stanford Cardinal and the Cornell Big Red meet in a first round game. I am surprised that the NCAA has not found a sponsor for this one; maybe it could be played in the memory of Red Buttons.

If Villanova and Vanderbilt both win their first round games in meet in the second round, shouldn’t a portion of the gate go to the Jimmy V Foundation?

Every time I glance at my bracket sheet, I think I see a game between Kansas and Portland Cement. Actually, it’s Kansas/Portland State but I do not think the Vikings stand any more chance than a bag of Portland Cement in that game.

Duke and Belmont does not sound like a very intriguing game. It sounds more like an intersection in some city somewhere.

Purdue plays Baylor in a first round game. Purdue is a major program in Indiana; Baylor coach Scott Drew comes used to coach at much smaller Indiana basketball program, Valparaiso.

The only way for Mt. St. Mary’s to meet St. Mary’s in the tournament would be in the National Championship Game. Indeed, that would take Divine intervention…

Here is my All-Tournament Team of Colors – the Palette Team if you will:

DJ White – Indiana
Danny Green – UNC
Derrick Rose – Memphis
Gilbert Brown – Pitt [No, he does not weigh about 400 lbs…]
Drew Lavender – Xavier

Do not be confused.

Stanford Speech plays for Mississippi Valley State not Stanford
Dave Bliss plays for Georgia not Baylor
Chris Collinsworth plays for BYU and does not work for NBC
Taj Finger plays for Stanford and is not an obscene gesture
Dionte Christmas plays for Temple and is not a new holiday
Adam Liberty plays for Oral Roberts; Liberty did not make the field
Derrick Caracter plays for Louisville and his name is missing one
Longar Longar plays for Oklahoma and is not an echo

My All Tournament Team of players with great names would be:

Comelio Guibunda – American University
Yemi Ogunoye – Oral Roberts
Gyno Pomare – San Diego
Tweety Carter – Baylor
E’Twaun Moore – Purdue

Finally, here is a comment from Greg Cote in the Miami Herald about those new Reebok ads you are starting to see now:

“Bosox star David Ortiz filmed a new Reebok ad at Plantation’s Sunset Park recently, and I’m told the production crew for Papi’s commercial shoot numbered more than 100. Fathom that next time you wonder why sneakers cost $129.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports…