First, some Thursday tidbits:

-A #14 (Ohio) and #13 (Murray State) seed won for the first time ever on the same day.

-A record seven lower seeds won on the same day.

-Eight of the 10 mid-major conference teams in the tournament won on day one.

-Eight of the 16 Thursday games were decided by three or fewer points.

-There were three overtime games Thursday; there were two in the entire 2009 tournament
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-Thursday’s games produced three one-point games; there were but two in the entire 2009 tourney.

-The biggest disappointment? Not just Georgetown, which lost by a whopping 14 points to the Ohio Bobcats, but the Big East conference as a whole. The nation’ s best conference that sent eight teams to the Big Dance went just 1-3 on day one, and Villanova needed overtime to win its game over #15 seeded Robert Morris.

The Bobcats, which finished next-to-last in the MAC East and was ninth overall with a 7-9 record in conference play shredded the Hoyas hitting 13 of 23 three pointers.

-BYU’s Jimmer Fredette looks like a 21st century version of Steve Nash; bigger, stronger, and, if you can believe it, an even better shooter. The point guard with a name befitting a J.R.R. Tolkien character (or one of Sarah Palin’s children) took a part Florida with a 13-26 performance from the floor. Fredette went only 3-8 from beyond the arc, making his 37-point performance all the more incredible. The Cougars defeated the Gators 99-92 in overtime.

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Referees played a huge in Villanova’s win over Robert Morris The Wildcats were whistled for 19 fouls while the Colonials were called for an incredible 31 fouls. Simply put, the refs stole the game fro Robert Morris. Clean blocks were called fouls. Jump balls were not called. And Scottie Reynolds went 15-16 from the free throw line. Late in the game the officials appeared to attempt a makeup call on a three point shot right in front of the Colonials bench.

What was the sign the game was stolen? While Colonials head coach Mike Rice generally freaked out on the sidelines and appeared many times to cross the line in berating the game officials, not one time did a referee approach Rice to settle the coach down, warn him for his behavior, or even talk with the coach, in general.

Then there was Wake Forest’s 81-80 overtime win over Texas. Wake center Chas McFarland was called a “grabber,” a “holder,” an “actor,” and everything but a dirty player by CBS crew announcing the game. McFarland received his fourth foul not long after the midway point in the second half. His Longhorns counterpart Dexter Pittman, the recipient of McFarland’s dirty play had only two fouls late in regulation. However, Pittman fouled out before McFarland.

In the overtime Texas went up 74-68 on the strength of two three-pointers. After a steal, Damion James was taking off for a dunk when McFarland came from behind, took a full swing, and smacked the Texas swingman the back, sending James reeling out of bounds. The obvious call was intentional foul. At first no intentional foul was called. However, the officials stopped the game just as the teams aligned around the lane for James’ free throws and went to review the play to look at McFarland’s play. They returned from the teleprompter review saying something about looking for a punch from McFarland and not seeing one, therefore there was no intentional foul. An intentional foul in NCAA basketball occurs when a player fails to make a “legitimate attempt to play the ball or player.”

McFarland did neither.

The officials indicated were looking for a punch from the Deacon’s center. This would have meant that McFarland would have committed, not just an intentional foul (it was his fifth), but an intentional flagrant foul, which would have resulted in technical free throws for Pittman as well as two free throws for the foul. However, there was no question that there was an intentional foul committed by McFarland, since the officials already admitted they were looking for a punch. McFarland was shown on the bench directly after the officials indicated they were checking for a punch and the center looked down and pulled his jersey over his head, knowing what what coming.

But no flagrant foul was called, let alone a flagrant technical foul.

Had the correct call been made James would have two free throws and Texas would have again had possession. James made his free throws making the score 76-68, but Wake got the ball.

Though there were several phantom calls made against Texas while Wake Forest players – especially McFarland and Ishmael Smith – were allowed to maul Longhorn players (if you DVR’d the game watch the final 1:35 seconds of regulation), this one turn of events in overtime – there was also another timely call against Texas which stopped the clock and gave Wake free throws, which they converted – gave the Demon Deacons a shred of hope, and turned the game around. And despite the Longhorns obvious problems – a lack of a point guard, their best lockdown defender, also a guard suffered a season-ending injury, and a horrible coaching job by Rick Barnes – this game was, in its crucial moments decided by officials far more than it was anything like J’Covan Brown’s two missed free throws late in overtime.

The two games were shamefully officiated and added to the thought that the big 12 is the number four conference in the country behind the ACC, Big East, Big 10, and SEC are favored by the NCAA over the Big 12. During basketball season both the ACC and Big East receive many more nationally-televised games than do Big 12 teams. Both conferences are perceived as glamor conferences with better and more high-profile coaches, yet this season, top Big 12 teams are easily on par with both conferences and because they returned so many players.

Though most “experts” are today stopping short of saying the Nova-Robert Morris game was fixed and none seem to have noticed the second half and overtime officiating shenanigans in the Texas-Wake Forest game, many are throwing out the word “bias.” The crux of using the word is this: if game officials are perceived as being biased for one team against another, the game is fixed. The games are to be officiated without bias yet few are. There are officiating biases for or against coaches, players, and athletic programs. And any of these biases lead to skewed officiating. And skewed officiating means game-fixing.

Though mainstream and brain dead “independent” writers who suck up to mainstream perceptions won’t go as far as to type the word “fix,” there is no getting around the wrongs yesterday that allowed two “glamor conference” teams to advance in the Big Dance. It’s just too bad the NCAA won’t act, even privately, against the officials.

And what’s worse is that because there is no punishment for the actions of these officiating crews, there are sure to be equally shady calls today.

The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too.

U.S. law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that offers a tantalizing glimpse of issues related to privacy and crime-fighting.

Think you know who’s behind that “friend” request? Think again. Your new “friend” just might be the FBI.

The document, obtained in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, makes clear that U.S. agents are already logging on surreptitiously to exchange messages with suspects, identify a target’s friends or relatives and browse private information such as postings, personal photographs and video clips.

Among other purposes: Investigators can check suspects’ alibis by comparing stories told to police with tweets sent at the same time about their whereabouts. Online photos from a suspicious spending spree — people posing with jewelry, guns or fancy cars — can link suspects or their friends to robberies or burglaries.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil liberties group, obtained the Justice Department document when it sued the agency and five others in federal court. The 33-page document underscores the importance of social networking sites to U.S. authorities. The foundation said it would publish the document on its Web site on Tuesday.

With agents going undercover, state and local police coordinate their online activities with the Secret Service, FBI and other federal agencies in a strategy known as “deconfliction” to keep out of each other’s way.

“You could really mess up someone’s investigation because you’re investigating the same person and maybe doing things that are counterproductive to what another agency is doing,” said Detective Frank Dannahey of the Rocky Hill, Conn., Police Department, a veteran of dozens of undercover cases.

A decade ago, agents kept watch over AOL and MSN chat rooms to nab sexual predators. But those text-only chat services are old-school compared with today’s social media, which contain mountains of personal data, photographs, videos and audio clips — a potential treasure trove of evidence for cases of violent crime, financial fraud and much more.

The Justice Department document, part of a presentation given in August by top cybercrime officials, describes the value of Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and other services to government investigators. It does not describe in detail the boundaries for using them.
“It doesn’t really discuss any mechanisms for accountability or ensuring that government agents use those tools responsibly,” said Marcia Hoffman, a senior attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The group sued in Washington to force the government to disclose its policies for using social networking sites in investigations, data collection and surveillance.

The foundation also obtained an Internal Revenue Service document that instructs employees on how to use to use Internet tools — including social networking sites — to investigate taxpayers. The document states that IRS employees are barred from using deception or creating fake accounts to get information, a directive the group says is commendable.

Covert investigations on social-networking services are legal and governed by internal rules, according to Justice Department officials. But they would not say what those rules are.

The Justice Department document raises a legal question about a social-media bullying case in which U.S. prosecutors charged a Missouri woman with computer fraud for creating a fake MySpace account — effectively the same activity that undercover agents are doing, although for different purposes.
The woman, Lori Drew, helped create an account for a fictitious teen boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages to a 13-year-old neighborhood girl in his name. The girl hanged herself in October 2006, in a St. Louis suburb, after she received a message saying the world would be better without her.

A jury in California, where MySpace has its servers, convicted Drew of three misdemeanor counts of accessing computers without authorization because she was accused of violating MySpace’s rules against creating fake accounts. But last year a judge overturned the verdicts, citing the vagueness of the law.
“If agents violate terms of service, is that ‘otherwise illegal activity’?” the document asks. It doesn’t provide an answer.

Facebook’s rules, for example, specify that users “will not provide any false personal information on Facebook, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission.” Twitter’s rules prohibit its users from sending deceptive or false information. MySpace requires that information for accounts be “truthful and accurate.”

A former U.S. cybersecurity prosecutor, Marc Zwillinger, said investigators should be able to go undercover in the online world the same way they do in the real world, even if such conduct is barred by a company’s rules. But there have to be limits, he said.

In the face-to-face world, agents can’t impersonate a suspect’s spouse, child, parent or best friend. But online, behind the guise of a social-networking account, they can.

“This new situation presents a need for careful oversight so that law enforcement does not use social networking to intrude on some of our most personal relationships,” said Zwillinger, whose firm does legal work for Yahoo and MySpace.

Undercover operations aren’t necessary if the suspect is reckless. Federal authorities nabbed a man wanted on bank fraud charges after he started posting Facebook updates about the fun he was having in Mexico.

Maxi Sopo, a native of Cameroon living in the Seattle area, apparently slipped across the border into Mexico in a rented car last year after learning that federal agents were investigating the alleged scheme. The agents initially could find no trace of him on social media sites, and they were unable to pin down his exact location in Mexico. But they kept checking and eventually found Sopo on Facebook.

While Sopo’s online profile was private, his list of friends was not. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Scoville began going through the list and was able to learn where Sopo was living. Mexican authorities arrested Sopo in September. He is awaiting extradition to the U.S.

The Justice document describes how Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have interacted with federal investigators: Facebook is “often cooperative with emergency requests,” the government said. MySpace preserves information about its users indefinitely and even stores data from deleted accounts for one year. But Twitter’s lawyers tell prosecutors they need a warrant or subpoena before the company turns over customer information, the document says.

“Will not preserve data without legal process,” the document says under the heading, “Getting Info From Twitter … the bad news.”
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

The chief security officer for MySpace, Hemanshu Nigam, said MySpace doesn’t want to be the company that stands in the way of an investigation. “That said, we also want to make sure that our users’ privacy is protected and any data that’s disclosed is done under proper legal process,” Nigam said.

MySpace requires a search warrant for private messages less than six months old, according to the company.

Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes said the company has put together a handbook to help law enforcement officials understand “the proper ways to request information from Facebook to aid investigations.”

The Justice document includes sections about its own lawyers. For government attorneys taking cases to trial, social networks are a “valuable source of info on defense witnesses,” they said. “Knowledge is power. … Research all witnesses on social networking sites.”

But the government warned prosecutors to advise their own witnesses not to discuss cases on social media sites and to “think carefully about what they post.”

It also cautioned federal law enforcement officials to think prudently before adding judges or defense counsel as “friends” on these services.

“Social networking and the courtroom can be a dangerous combination,” the government said.

The Masters is where I won my first Major and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game I feel like I am ready to start my season at Augusta.

Sports Illustrated golf writer Damon Hack was then asked on the ESPN morning show, First Take, about Woods’ return to golf. Hack almost immediately turned the announcement into a pronouncement of his own intentions concerning Woods:

As a member of the media I have questions as I’m sure my colleagues do about what happened that night after Thanksgiving – what has he been doing for three months. Why has he not made a public statement before; why was he in hiding. There’s a lot of questions that people have to ask, but I – knowing Tiger likes to control the message in good times I think he’ll do the same thing now and say, ‘listen, if you don’t have questions that have anything to do with golf I’m not gonna answer it.’

ESPN show host Dana Jacobson, after subtly indicating that the public and the golf world might well see a very different Tiger Woods after “all he’s been through,” turned to questioning Hack about Woods’ golf game. The SI reporter showed that, though he was almost surely one of the three golf writers Woods invited to his public apology (since Woods had only family, friends, and close associates at the apology, he apparently counted Hack as a person in those circles) he now has no knowledge of how Woods is preparing for the tournament and no longer has proximity to Woods:

We have seen him return from long absences and not do well. After his father passed away in 2006 he returned rusty at Winged Foot and missed the cut at the U.S. Open, so it’s highly likely he may struggle there [The Masters] and I think it would be understandable considering the absence, considering the emotional things he’s had to deal with the last several months obviously brought on by himself, he’s going to have to face that right now. I’ll be shocked if he went out and won The Masters. I thinks he’s more likely to miss the cut that he is to actually win the golf tournament.

The Hack gave his opinion of the crowd response to Woods:

I think eventually we will hear some boos for Tiger. I don’t know if you’ll hear them at Augusta National. I don’t think the crowds are that way. The green jackets and the officials there will be on guard and walking the course and really maintaining order which they like to do anyway. I think there’ll be more of a presence of members out there and people that are kind of watching the behavior and activity.

Hack was then quick to add:

I do think once tiger steps on the course at a regular Tour event larger crowds, maybe not your everyday golf fans like you have at Augusta National, Tiger will face some heckling. He’ll have to deal with some things he’s never heard on a golf course before.

Almost assuredly, the jeering or heckling woods might hear at tournaments other than The Masters will be induced by the media. Writers and columnists will press Woods no matter his making question about his private life off limits. They will then excoriate Woods in the press and on television, thereby setting up the atmosphere for fans to feel entitled to get nastier than they already are toward Woods.

If you think people snapping pictures and coughing and yelping as Woods is in the midst of his swing is rude, just wait until certain members of the press incite fans to openly disrupt Woods at any given moment.

WEST REGION
#8 Gonzaga – #9 Florida State. The Seminoles love to play defense and the Bulldogs love to get up and down the floor. It is interesting that the first two rounds of the West Region here is being played in Buffalo. However, it might be best for Gonzaga to finally get away from the pressure of playing in the Northwest and go somewhere where the fans aren’t expecting them to go to the regional finals. The problem for the Zags with Florida State is that after playing a rough out of conference schedule they play in the West Coast Conference. There are only a couple of games each conference season that the Zags must get up for, so by the time the Big Dance comes around they are no longer used to tough competition. The Seminoles, on the the other hand play in the ACC and even though the conference was down this past season, the competition is still, game in and game out, a cut above that in the WCC. Florida State should win this game.

#5 Butler – #12 UTEP. Despite losing its conference championship game UTEP was gifted with a spot in the field of 64. Now they get a disciplined Butler team. BUT. The Bulldogs must contend with outstanding guard Randy Culpepper, Louisville transfer Derrick Caracter, Jeremy Williams, and Arnett Moultrie, all of whom average over 10 points a game. Each are capable of huge scoring games, so it will be tough for Butler to defend them all equally. Though many experts believe the Bulldogs can make a deep run in the Big Dance, it would be no surprise at all if UTEP came into this game with a huge chip on its shoulder and upset Butler after blowing a big lead in the Conference USA final game and nearly failing to make the field at all.

#4 Vanderbilt – #13 Murray State. This could be the second-biggest seed discrepancy upset of the tournament. The Racers can play and Vandy flourished in a relatively weak SEC this season. The Commodores can shoot, as always, but they are not deep and not as athletic as Murray State. If you have more than one bracket pick the Racers on one sheet.

#3 Pittsburgh – #14 Oakland. This is the game to watch. The Panthers are not skilled enough overall to take this game lightly. If Jamie Dixon does not have his team prepared and ready for this game, rather than Pitt’s second round potential matchup, the Grizzlies can beat them.

SOUTH REGION
#8 California – #9 Louisville. The Bears can shoot and his Louisville team has, for the most part, underachieved much of the season for Rick Pitino. However, if Cardinals focus they might well end up in the regional finals, beating Duke along the way. But if they come in a little out of kilter like they have some games this season the Bears will shoot Pitino’s squad out of the arena.

#4 Purdue – #13 Siena. The Boilermakers definitely overachieved this season. when Robbie Hummel is your team’s best player, your team is not all that good and Matt Painter’s Purdue squad is without Hummel. Siena has been here before and are not at all afraid of the Boilermakers. This is a team that barely lost on the road to A-10 champ Temple (73-69) and played Norther Iowa tough for most of their game. Without Hummel Purdue really struggles to score points and might not get over 50 in this first round game. The only thing that will save Purdue is if the officials allow them to play a beat ‘em up physical style. If the game is called tightly, the Saints will pull off the upset.

#6 Notre Dame – #11 Old Dominion. When Luke Harangody went down to an injury many people thought the Irish’s season was over. Mike Brey, in one of the more incredible mid-season stylistic switches, pulled in the reins on his team. No more was the Irish an up-and-down the court, three point shooting, slack defensive team. Brey slowed the offense, stressed defense and the team began to win. And win and win. Now Notre Dame more resembles an old school big East team or a Big 10 team. Previous to Harangody’s injury the Irish were better suited to the high scoring Pac 10. But the Monarchs barely lost road games to tournament teams Missouri (66-61) and Richmond (67-60), and upset #3-seed Georgetown 61-57. This game will be no picnic for the Irish. As with Purdue, the officials will help to decide this game. A closely-called game favors the Saints, while fewer whistles greatly favors Notre Dame.

#7 Richmond – #10 St, Mary’s. Not too many people are talking about this game. Last year the WCC runner-up Gaels thought they were snubbed by the tournament selection committee. This season though, St. Mary’s took care of business and defeated Gonzaga in the WCC championship game to gain entry to the Big Dance. The Spiders are a very solid team with few weaknesses. They play a difficult defensive style that might present the Gaels with problems. Because Richmond has so many interchangeable players on the floor at any given time, they a re able to switch on all screens, negating any advantages most offense attempt to gain. However, St. Mary’s doesn’t necessarily need to run offensive sets with multiple screens because of their center Omar Samhan. The 6′11, 260-pound senior is a monster on the block and can pop out to the elbow and wreak havoc on defenses with his jumper. He is physical on the boards and is capable of dominating inside play on both ends of the floor without help from his teammates. If the Gaels can get Samhan rolling early, they can not only stick with the Spiders but pull of the upset.

This year there will be two lower-seeded teams that will make far deeper runs in the tournament than they should. Picking which teams is the hard part. I’ve supplied you with the matchups that will produce those teams. Now it’s up to you. good luck with your brackets. I know I’l need it.

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Related:
A Look At the Big Dance’s Best First Round Matchups, Part 1: East and Midwest Regions

First a random tweet:

* lol @OGOchoCinco getting salty cause @ESPN_Colin (Colin Cowherd) made some true statements about athletes that blow money & end up broke

Ochocinco then responded with a grip of tweets in response:

* @espn_colin you look like an extra from the movie LORD OF THE RINGS, get your lisp fixed before you do your next show ! about 1 hours ago via Swift

* @espn__michelle tell your lil fake Ryan Seacrest never made it in life so I am gonna judge everybody who does what I couldn’t do to shutup! about 1 hours ago via Swift

* I guess Colin won’t be happy till I get a DUI, arrested, well hell maybe I should get accused of rape, maybe that’ll make him STFU!!!! about 1 hours ago via Swift

* Colin Coward with all the negative going on with athletes how do u find a way to lump me n yo show just say I don’t like this black guy!! about 1 hours ago via Swift

Then, after ripping Cowherd and driving a semi over Ben Roethlisberger, Ochocinco dug into Erik Kuselias and John Clayton:

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So, is Twitter the catalyst for athletes expressing their private thoughts? Athletes now know they can immediately respond to what they feel is unfair criticism by the media and know millions of people, including fans, other athletes, and other member of the media will read those thoughts and judge the validity of the statements for themselves, rather than hear a judgement solely through the media?

Because of public battles like the above, is it just a matter of time before Roger Goodell and/or David Stern come down with the “No Tweet” rule for NBA and NFL players?

(hat tip to Miranda)

First a random tweet:

* lol @OGOchoCinco getting salty cause @ESPN_Colin (Colin Cowherd) made some true statements about athletes that blow money & end up broke

Ochocinco then responded with a grip of tweets in response:

* @espn_colin you look like an extra from the movie LORD OF THE RINGS, get your lisp fixed before you do your next show ! about 1 hours ago via Swift

* @espn__michelle tell your lil fake Ryan Seacrest never made it in life so I am gonna judge everybody who does what I couldn’t do to shutup! about 1 hours ago via Swift

* I guess Colin won’t be happy till I get a DUI, arrested, well hell maybe I should get accused of rape, maybe that’ll make him STFU!!!! about 1 hours ago via Swift

* Colin Coward with all the negative going on with athletes how do u find a way to lump me n yo show just say I don’t like this black guy!! about 1 hours ago via Swift

Then, after ripping Cowherd and driving a semi over Ben Roethlisberger, Ochocinco dug into Erik Kuselias and John Clayton:

—————————-
So, is Twitter the catalyst for athletes expressing their private thoughts? Athletes now know they can immediately respond to what they feel is unfair criticism by the media and know millions of people, including fans, other athletes, and other member of the media will read those thoughts and judge the validity of the statements for themselves, rather than hear a judgement solely through the media?

Because of public battles like the above, is it just a matter of time before Roger Goodell and/or David Stern come down with the “No Tweet” rule for NBA and NFL players?

(hat tip to Miranda)

Brady Quinn, who was traded by the Browns Sunday to Denver, admitted in an exclusive phone interview with The Plain Dealer that he has no idea why the new regime turned the team over to 35-year-old Jake Delhomme instead of him.

“It’s really hard to try to figure out what it is,” said Quinn. “[Mike] Holmgren has had a lot of success, and I’m sure the decisions he’s making he’s got a lot of reasons for them and he’s doing what he wants to with the team. It’s not really for me to question. I’m a Bronco and I couldn’t be happier heading over to Denver.”

Quinn, the Browns’ first-round pick in 2007, was traded to the Broncos for backup running back Peyton Hillis, a sixth-round pick in 2011 and a conditional pick in 2012, based on Quinn’s playing time.

Quinn said he never asked to be dealt or released, even when team president Holmgren made it clear he was actively looking for quarterbacks.

“No, there was no request for a trade,” said Quinn. “The first I learned about it was when [General Manager] Tom Heckert informed me of it [Sunday afternoon]. But when they signed Jake to the deal that they did [$7 million in 2010 according to a league source], the writing was on the wall.”…

“I’m just looking to create a role for myself on the team,” said Quinn. “Anytime you’re in a situation like this, all you can really do is go in there and learn the system, get to know your teammates and coaches. That’s really my focus right now. All of those things will take care of themselves in the end.

“I really wanted to be the guy to turn things around and turn the tide, but that’s not the situation I’m faced with this at this point,” he said. “I think you just have to give yourself a dose of reality. Things don’t always work out the way you want them to in life. I know God has a plan for me and obviously those plans are leading me out to Denver right now.”

For Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace? Hopefully, what Mike Holmgren is thinking will be made clear soon. And there are definitely questions for Browns head coach Eric Mangini. What was Mangini’s role in the trade? Did Manginini want Quinn gone? Did he fight for Quinn to stay?

These and other questions should be answered soon.

Brady Quinn, who was traded by the Browns Sunday to Denver, admitted in an exclusive phone interview with The Plain Dealer that he has no idea why the new regime turned the team over to 35-year-old Jake Delhomme instead of him.

“It’s really hard to try to figure out what it is,” said Quinn. “[Mike] Holmgren has had a lot of success, and I’m sure the decisions he’s making he’s got a lot of reasons for them and he’s doing what he wants to with the team. It’s not really for me to question. I’m a Bronco and I couldn’t be happier heading over to Denver.”

Quinn, the Browns’ first-round pick in 2007, was traded to the Broncos for backup running back Peyton Hillis, a sixth-round pick in 2011 and a conditional pick in 2012, based on Quinn’s playing time.

Quinn said he never asked to be dealt or released, even when team president Holmgren made it clear he was actively looking for quarterbacks.

“No, there was no request for a trade,” said Quinn. “The first I learned about it was when [General Manager] Tom Heckert informed me of it [Sunday afternoon]. But when they signed Jake to the deal that they did [$7 million in 2010 according to a league source], the writing was on the wall.”…

“I’m just looking to create a role for myself on the team,” said Quinn. “Anytime you’re in a situation like this, all you can really do is go in there and learn the system, get to know your teammates and coaches. That’s really my focus right now. All of those things will take care of themselves in the end.

“I really wanted to be the guy to turn things around and turn the tide, but that’s not the situation I’m faced with this at this point,” he said. “I think you just have to give yourself a dose of reality. Things don’t always work out the way you want them to in life. I know God has a plan for me and obviously those plans are leading me out to Denver right now.”

For Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace? Hopefully, what Mike Holmgren is thinking will be made clear soon. And there are definitely questions for Browns head coach Eric Mangini. What was Mangini’s role in the trade? Did Manginini want Quinn gone? Did he fight for Quinn to stay?

These and other questions should be answered soon.

The Big 12 champs Kansas Jayhawks are the overall #1 seed.

Finally, March Madness officially begins. It’s time to fill out your brackets and hope to win whatever pool or pools you’re entering. What I’m going to do right now is pick out the most intriguing first round matchups in each region.

MIDWEST REGION
Overall number one seed Kansas resides in the Midwest portion of the draw but the Jayhawks didn’t get any favors being kept close to home. Though KU gets a patsy in Lehigh in the first round, there are some great first round matchups here.

#5 Michigan State – #12 New Mexico State. The Aggies went out and beat Utah St. 69-63 on their home court to claim the WAC championship. The NMSU likes to get up and down the floor they toughed it out against the “other” Aggies. On the other hand, this Spartans team is not one of Tom Izzos best. Though they play hard they just don’t have the overall talent of many of his other teams. The Aggies, though, give up 78 points a game. The Spartans should win but don’t be surprised if this game stays close late.

#8 UNLV – #9 Northern Iowa. Most #8-#9 matchups are tough games in the Big Dance and the nine seed wins about half the time. UNLV lost the Mountain West tourney final game to San Diego State 55-45 but this team is tough. However Northern Iowa became the first Missouri Valley Conference team to win its tourney championship back-to-back as a #1 seed. The Panthers are one of the toughest defensive teams in the nation and limited their MVC tournament opponents to a three-game total of 132 points, shattering the previous record of 147 set by Southern Illinois in 2006. But the Panthers are playing another team in the Rebels that loves to play defense. This will be a grinder but look for the #9 to come away with a win.

#4 Maryland – #12 Houston. Though this Tom Penders-coached Cougars team was an inconsistent 19-15 during the regular season and had to pull off a serious upset of heavily-favored UTEP to win the Conference USA tourney chip, the Terrapins need to take them seriously. Houston is athletic and have shooters, led by Aubrey Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer. They play a wide-open style on offense and can get after their opponents on defense. The Terps are led by mercurial point guard Grevais Vasquez. On paper Maryland should win easily but watch out. The Terps can be maddeningly inconsistent within the 40 minutes of a game and if the Cougars can gain some momentum during one of Maryland’s walkabout periods during the game, they can pull off the upset. But look for Maryland will win this one.

#6 Tennessee – #11 San Diego State. SDSU is the best #11-seed in the tournament and are playing a Tennessee team that got stomped by Kentucky in the SEC semifinals. Bruce Pearl is known as a great motivational coach but he will have to do the job of his life to get this Vols team back off the carpet before they play the Aztecs. This is an upset waiting to happen. Look for the Aztecs to send Tennessee back to Nashville.

#7 Oklahoma State – #10 Georgia Tech. OK St. will, most often, feature a four-guard offense, spread the floor, drive and kick with multiple ball handlers and knock down threes and mid-range jumpers. Their opponents, the Yellowjackets, will feature two potential lottery picks in forwards Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors. The problem for Tech is, can their point guard trio realize exactly how potent the two big men are, feed the post, and play the game from inside out? If they don’t the Cowboys will burn them.

EAST REGION
#8 Texas #9 Wake Forest. The Longhorns were once 17-0 and #1 in the country before finishing their season 24-9. Injures to guards have made life difficult for Rick Barnes and the point guards the Longhorns have don’t seem to understand they have potent post scoring men in swingman Damion James and Dexter Pittman. The Demon Deacons finished their ACC season poorly and them got blown out by Miami in the tournament, 83-62. This game is a battle of confidence. Will Texas upperclassmen James and Pitman be able to carry the day or will the young Wake players relax an play to their abilities? Texas should win motivated by the fact that they would play Kentucky in the second round. And Texas actually has the talent to upset the hyper-talented but young Wildcats.

#5 Temple – #12 Cornell. This is the trendy upset pick. temple is the A10 champion, while Cornell took care of the Ivy League. The Big Red like to play slow, slow, slow and shoot more than their share of threes. Temple can play different tempos within their Princeton-style offense, but also like to be deliberate. The Owls, though, can play lock down defense, which should separate them enough from Cornell to avoid the upset.

#6 Marquette – #11 Washington. This game will be an interesting contrast in styles. Washington was a preseason nationally-ranked team and went downhill from there. The Golden Eagles, on the other hand, are one of the hardest-playing teams in the Big Dance. This game is about which team can impose its style n the other. The Huskies like to play up-tempo and score points while Marquette wants to get in your face on defense and will look for the best shot not the first shot on offense. Look for the Golden Eagles to grind out a tough game.

(Next the South and West Regions)

The Big 12 champs Kansas Jayhawks are the overall #1 seed.

Finally, March Madness officially begins. It’s time to fill out your brackets and hope to win whatever pool or pools you’re entering. What I’m going to do right now is pick out the most intriguing first round matchups in each region. First though, a complaint. How did West Virginia, who tournament chairman Dan Guerro (UCLA A.D.) said was the first second seed, land in Kentucky’s bracket? Kentucky was said to be the number two team in the country behind Kansas, which means the Mountaineers should have landed in number four #1 seed Syracuse’s portion of the draw. But since the two schools are both in the Big East, why wasn’t West Virginia moved to Duke’s region?

This was a gift to the Blue Devils. Guerro lamely explained that West Virginia was kept close to home. What??? So, unfairness to the #1-seed schools be damned. The NCAA thinks keeping lower seeds closer to their home crowd at the expense of the teams that earned number one seeds is a good practice?

No way Dan, you, sir, are being completely disingenuous. This seeding placement was derived to aid Duke as much as possible while at the same time subtly punishing John Calipari.

It’s not like it wouldn’t be the first time either happened.

Onto the matchups.

———————-
MIDWEST REGION
Overall number one seed Kansas resides in the Midwest portion of the draw but the Jayhawks didn’t get any favors being kept close to home. Though KU gets a patsy in Lehigh in the first round, there are some great first round matchups here.

#5 Michigan State – #12 New Mexico State. The Aggies went out and beat Utah St. 69-63 on their home court to claim the WAC championship. The NMSU likes to get up and down the floor they toughed it out against the “other” Aggies. On the other hand, this Spartans team is not one of Tom Izzos best. Though they play hard they just don’t have the overall talent of many of his other teams. The Aggies, though, give up 78 points a game. The Spartans should win but don’t be surprised if this game stays close late.

#8 UNLV – #9 Northern Iowa. Most #8-#9 matchups are tough games in the Big Dance and the nine seed wins about half the time. UNLV lost the Mountain West tourney final game to San Diego State 55-45 but this team is tough. However Northern Iowa became the first Missouri Valley Conference team to win its tourney championship back-to-back as a #1 seed. The Panthers are one of the toughest defensive teams in the nation and limited their MVC tournament opponents to a three-game total of 132 points, shattering the previous record of 147 set by Southern Illinois in 2006. But the Panthers are playing another team in the Rebels that loves to play defense. This will be a grinder but look for the #9 to come away with a win.

#4 Maryland – #12 Houston. Though this Tom Penders-coached Cougars team was an inconsistent 19-15 during the regular season and had to pull off a serious upset of heavily-favored UTEP to win the Conference USA tourney chip, the Terrapins need to take them seriously. Houston is athletic and have shooters, led by Aubrey Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer. They play a wide-open style on offense and can get after their opponents on defense. The Terps are led by mercurial point guard Grevais Vasquez. On paper Maryland should win easily but watch out. The Terps can be maddeningly inconsistent within the 40 minutes of a game and if the Cougars can gain some momentum during one of Maryland’s walkabout periods during the game, they can pull off the upset. But look for Maryland will win this one.

#6 Tennessee – #11 San Diego State. SDSU is the best #11-seed in the tournament and are playing a Tennessee team that got stomped by Kentucky in the SEC semifinals. Bruce Pearl is known as a great motivational coach but he will have to do the job of his life to get this Vols team back off the carpet before they play the Aztecs. This is an upset waiting to happen. Look for the Aztecs to send Tennessee back to Knoxville.

#7 Oklahoma State – #10 Georgia Tech. OK St. will, most often, feature a four-guard offense, spread the floor, drive and kick with multiple ball handlers and knock down threes and mid-range jumpers. Their opponents, the Yellowjackets, will feature two potential lottery picks in forwards Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors. The problem for Tech is, can their point guard trio realize exactly how potent the two big men are, feed the post, and play the game from inside out? If they don’t the Cowboys will burn them.

EAST REGION
#8 Texas #9 Wake Forest. The Longhorns were once 17-0 and #1 in the country before finishing their season 24-9. Injures to guards have made life difficult for Rick Barnes and the point guards the Longhorns have don’t seem to understand they have potent post scoring men in swingman Damion James and Dexter Pittman. The Demon Deacons finished their ACC season poorly and them got blown out by Miami in the tournament, 83-62. This game is a battle of confidence. Will Texas upperclassmen James and Pitman be able to carry the day or will the young Wake players relax an play to their abilities? Texas should win motivated by the fact that they would play Kentucky in the second round. And Texas actually has the talent to upset the hyper-talented but young Wildcats.

#5 Temple – #12 Cornell. This is the trendy upset pick. temple is the A10 champion, while Cornell took care of the Ivy League. The Big Red like to play slow, slow, slow and shoot more than their share of threes. Temple can play different tempos within their Princeton-style offense, but also like to be deliberate. The Owls, though, can play lock down defense, which should separate them enough from Cornell to avoid the upset.

#6 Marquette – #11 Washington. This game will be an interesting contrast in styles. Washington was a preseason nationally-ranked team and went downhill from there. The Golden Eagles, on the other hand, are one of the hardest-playing teams in the Big Dance. This game is about which team can impose its style n the other. The Huskies like to play up-tempo and score points while Marquette wants to get in your face on defense and will look for the best shot not the first shot on offense. Look for the Golden Eagles to grind out a tough game.

(Next the South and West Regions)