Vacation

I'm on vacation this week, so this will be my last post until Monday, at which point most of my posts will be about the NCAA tourney. I cannot wait. In the mean time, a few thoughts.

• UCLA is a really good team. Clearly one of the top 4 in the nation. As Stephen A. Smith would say, HOWEVA, their past two wins have been entirely, outrageously, shenanigan-filled. The last play of regulation in the Stanford game was clearly NOT a foul. Some have been claiming that their was body contact on the play. I am not stupid or blind. I play basketball. I am fully aware that a defender can get all ball with their hand and still foul a player with their body. This was not one of those plays. It was a clean block, and the Cardinal community should be outraged. Luckily, it probably will not affect their tournament standing, as they will probably be a two seed anyway, but it does rob them of a share of the Pac-10 title, and that sucks. Additionally, UCLA's comeback against Cal, while impressive (although why was Cal beating them like that?), was also filled with nonsense. Kevin Love's 3, while impressive and lucky, but that is part of the game. The ensuing foul on Ryan Anderson was pretty outrageous, but the final shot by Josh Shipp was the proverbial final straw. It was an amazing shot, and I wish there was not a rule that made that illegal, but there is, so it should not have counted. Despite all this, UCLA is still probably a final four team.
• I am convinced every team in the Big Ten sucks. Ohio State, as previously discussed on this very blog, sucks. Now they are probably going to make the tournament because they beat Michigan State and Purdue? Let's be real, those teams are pretty mediocre too. Unless they receive some miraculously easy draw, I would not be surprised if the Sweet 16 lacked any Big Ten teams. Seriously.
• The SEC sucks too. Kentucky was ridiculously bad in the 2007 portion of the season, and now, because they have been good in conference, they are a tournament team? And they got better without their best player (Patrick Patterson)? While I am willing to believe that they are a decent team due to the senior talent that has underachieved the past 4 years (Bradley and Crawford...), I think their success is more of a reflection on the general mediocrity of the conference.
• Speaking of Crawford, he and Malik Hairston played together in High School. They were also both top 10 recruits in 2004. Out of the top 14 recruits that year, 12 of them are currently in the NBA. The only exceptions are these two. Just an interesting note...
• Carolina beat Dook. Sure, the officiating was bad, but really, it was bad in both directions. However, based on UNC's style of play, this loose officiating should have been more detrimental to them. But they still won. Needless to say, I am quite pleased with the result.
• On a serious note, applause to the Gameday crew, the UNC, and the Duke administrations for their handling of the tragic Eve Carson murder. They handled it respectfully and with class. Even the Duke student body, for the most part, acted with class and dignity. It was a senseless tragedy and my thoughts are with her friends and family.
• With that said, I hope everyone enjoys all the conference tournaments, and I shall return once the tournament field is unveiled.