On a slow sports Saturday afternoon, I figure some random thoughts might be good for passing the time. Today's focus, shockingly, is college basketball. This week's observations, followed by some general thoughts on the season thus far, approx. a month in.

• Wake Forest/Princeton are on ESPN2 right now. 2nd time watching the Deacs this week, who I thought may be the second best team in the ACC. They still may be, eventually, but with no thanks to their home court advantage. Wake constantly complains about not getting its due, being the forgotten of the Big 4 in NC. The crowd at their game against DePaul on Tuesday(?) night was awful. There were about 150 students there trying to make noise, but that was it. The team never got motivated to play hard and the crowd never helped them get in it. Pathetic. Maybe they should change their slogan to "Don't worry, we won't Wake the Neighbors". The color man on the game Tuesday went as low as to call them a "wine and cheese" crowd. Like whoa.
  
• Tennessee tore Texas up on the road today. Little surprised that Texas played so badly, I thought they might take a little time to gel this year, but they played well earlier in their games against West Virginia and Iowa. Chris Lofton, the 2 guard for Tenn, can shoot the lights out. My Dad and I noticed him last year at the Maui Tournament. Combine him with Andre Patterson and Major Wingate and the Vols B-ball team could help heal the hangover from their abyssmal football campaign. Too bad Buzz Peterson got fired before he could mold his guys into a force this year.
• Also today, good win for Kentucky, playing March Desparate against Louisville (that would be playing like if you lose, you go home; hence March). Michigan did not play that way against UCLA, dropping a tough non-conference contest at home that will surely be remembered come March.

Now for the season thoughts and maybe a top 10 or something.

• Duke has survived well thus far. But, UCONN is the best team I've seen so far, as most would probably acknowledge. Easing Marcus Williams, their troubled point guard, back into the rotation will be key for the Huskies long-term.
  
• Just showed Wake Forest students during the Princeton game at halftime clapping and cheering to the school fight song. By clapping and cheering, I mean in the way you would at a funeral. They looked like someone just kicked their collective dog. I'd be happy to oblige.
  
• Villinova is better than I thought. It seemed people might be a little quick to rank them so highly, as they had a solid season last year, played Carolina close one game (that they lost) and suddenly the Cats are worthy of being a top-5 team. But, they mashed Oklahoma (who has zero shooters, yikes) and have won all the other patsies. The lesson: UCONN and 'Nova, plus Louisville as it gels, Syracuse (maybe) and even Cincinnati (who is quietly playing pretty well) equals a nasty Big East.
  
• My Stanford prediction has held up quite well. In bizarro world.
  
• But, Washington has been strong as I hoped. Win some, lose some I guess.
  
• I love how North Carolina is all of a sudden a top-20 team by losing close at home to Illinois and beating UK. They should (?) win out until the Jan 7th battle with rival NC State. By then, UNC will probably be ranked in the top 15, maybe even 12 or so.
  
• Sold On: Illinois, Washington, Michigan St (Final 4?), Houston (except for the loss to VCU), & Wisconsin.
  
• Sold Out On: Memphis (beat somebody good; I have a hunch they will and are pretty good), Florida (sustain for the year and dominate a terrible SEC), & Boston College (I just don't think they're that good)
  

My randon thought this afternoon was why doesn't King Kong have a...um...member. Yeah, member. You'd think a monkey that large would resemble a telephone pole down there, but alas, nothing ever appears. Maybe the epic new motion picture will enlighten us. My theory is the gorilla is really a lesbian who obsesses over that blonde chic. Reminds me of this story I heard of a girl who created a personna and stalked her best friend...or maybe that was a Lifetime movie. Shouts to those of you who know what I'm talking about. I'll shut up before I get into trouble.

Probably won't update this for a couple weeks given a big move to a new metropolis for a new job. Have a holly jolly Christmas everyone. I hate that Christmas carol, it's my least favorite. Poll time: What Christmas Carol gets on your nerves the most? Holler.

Reg-gie Reg-gie

Apparently I need to update the blog, as Chief Grandpa G is sitting next to me at his second home known as the PHAG house in need of some material to read. How ‘bout that? Therefore, blog I shall. My thoughts could be rough today, as I am attempting to write while watching #1 Duke and #2 Texas ball it up. Today’s main topic: The Next Big Thing, aka Reggie Bush.

So the Heisman Trophy presentation is tonight. I feel confident calling Bush the winner, even though ESPN will have us all thinking that it is anyone’s award to win by the end of their one hour special. I promise this is not intended to toot my own horn, but where the heck have all these people on my Reggie Bush Bandwagon been on the last three years? It’s like the last month or so, all the “experts” have figured out that Bush is the best player in the country. When he was a freshman running back at USC, he returned punts, kickoffs, and saw some action in the backfield. 270 all-purpose yards against a decent Washington team and an unbelievable 57 yard TD run against Notre Dame. Eight total TDs for the freshmen back on the eventual Co-National Champion Trojans. That run against Notre Dame sold me on him enough to pick him as my pre-season Heisman winner TWO years ago. That would be the year before Leinart won the award. I still thought he should have won it last year; instead he finished 5^th. I could not believe it. You’re telling me last year’s top four of Leinart, Adrian Peterson, Jason White, and Alex Smith are better players than Reggie Bush. None of those four are pushovers, but we’re talking about Superman here.

Being stubborn, I picked Bush to win the award before this season as well. But until a month ago, all you heard about were Vince Young, Leinart, Drew Olsen, Maurice Drew, Marcus Vick, DJ Shockley (foam shocker fingers sold separately), and Matt Baker for Heisman. With all the recent hype, well-deserved mind you, I say to the “experts”: welcome to the Bush Bandwagon, where the heck have you been? The guy has been insane for three years, don’t start kissing his tail and singing his praises cause of two great games against UCLA and Fresno St.

With that out of the way, I hope he is as good as possible in the NFL. I also hope he plays for a team I can stand. So, please not the Jets, the Thug Raiders, or Ravens. I’d rather see him in Houston or Green Bay. But seriously, Reggie, don’t get hurt. We never got to see the full potential of Hershel Walker or Bo Jackson for more than four or five years; don’t tease us like they did. Dominate for 12 years, win a couple MVPs, release a highlight DVD that’s 10 hours long, and go to the Hall of Fame. I’m with you President Bush (that would be his nickname).

The randoms of today:

• Props to LenDale White foe being unbelievable, albeit in Reggie Bush’s shadow. They could be the two best backs in the NFL in five years (along with LT probably).
• Saw Duke and Virginia Tech at Cameron last Sunday night. It was my first Cameron experience, and wow, what a game it was too. The Crazies weren’t as crazy as I thought they would be, but it was still an unbelievable atmosphere. It’s a game I was lucky to see and will remember for a long time.
• Saw Kansas and Cal on TV a little while ago; that was unimpressive. Neither team played well and both have a lot of work to do to be deserving of bids come March.
• I’m feeling an extended post about college football bowls/playoff system coming on soon. Be ready to argue.
• If you watch WWE wrestling, give me some ideas for the Bogeyman. The PHAG house laughs every time we see him, but “where are they going with this,” Rhino wants to know.
• Quick thoughts on the MLB off-season

Winners – Toronto (Lyle Overbay is most under-rated move thus far, great addition of a guy about to bust out), San Diego (resigning Hoffman and Brian Giles), Mets (even though they overspent), and [maybe] the Braves.

Losers – Florida, their fans, the Miami area, and everyone now traded to them; the Dodgers (sure you got Furcal, but you spent way too much for him), the Phillies (lost Wagner, didn’t get any pitching or another bat), and the Rangers (I don’t care where Soriano’s position is, just play him somewhere).

• Duke is killing Texas. I think they woke up. Reddick hasn’t been stopped, he's got 41 right this second.

Ok, enough babbling. Hopefully a better entry will come soon with some time to write. For now, I be on dat Kryptonite, and some sort of coffee kick. Yaw behave, peace out.

Random thoughts

No general theme today, just some thoughts.

• http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/12/02/people.stapp.311.ap/index.html That is one of the funniest things I personally have ever heard of. I want a copy of the security tape and I think it should be sold nationwide. Yes, I love 311 and they are my boys...but seriously, people would pay money to see Scott Stapp get some smackdown laid on him. Next up, a steel cage bout between the former Creed frontman/lunatic and all five members of 311. They call that a handicap match; then again, Scott could fight himself in a handicap match.
  
• UCLA & Colorado better not win this weekend. I am somewhere on the fence regarding the BCS, but I don't want to see the potential thrashing of Texas by Southern Cal in the BCS Title game spolied by a sorry 7-4 Colorado squad or the Bruins of UCLA.
  
• Glad the ACC pulled another ACC/Big Ten challenge title out this season...oh wait, I mean Big Ten/ACC challenge. Yeah that thing. Either way, the Big Ten can't get it done. Especially impressive win for Duke @ Indiana (worked well for Carolina last year on their way to the Nat'l Title) and a nice showing by Georgia Tech. That one was a little surprising.
  
• I hope the Colts win the Super Bowl if my favorite team does not. Heck, go undefeated. Unfortuately, that's about the only way Peyton, Marvin, Edge, Reggie, etc will get their due among great players, teams, and offenses in NFL history. People always say that aren't exciting personalities or whatever. Hel-lo, they haven't been stopped yet this season. How much more do you want from a team?
  
• That's all for now, it has been a busy week. I leave you "with arms wide open" and a 311-generated smile on my face. Peace out.
  

Format

Sorry about the font and color format issues below. My team is working on it.

It’s been a while since the last update, but typing up this blog has taken longer than I anticipated. But, time aside, I figure that this entry is more indicative of who I am and what I do.

If you know me, you know I enjoy college basketball. I bristle at the term obsessed, but I am close to obsessed with NCAA Hoops. March is the best month; Christmas comes the night of the NCAA Tourney Selection Show. For about a month and a half prior to the pairings being released, I have a notebook used for tracking teams and their performance over the course of the season. Each week, I make a new tourney bracket and play it out, crowning a champion each week. The concept is similar to Joe Lunardi’s BRACKETOLOGY on ESPN.com, but I do things my way. Sometimes these pairings are quite accurate; others turn out to be more than slightly off target. Either way, it is fun and has kept me awake in many a college class.

That being said, to start off the season, I have pre-season rankings, picks for ten major conferences, and a full NCAA tournament. These things excite me, so take it and like it. Without further adieu:

ACC	A-10	Big East	Big Ten
Duke	G. Washington	UCONN	Michigan St
Wake Forest	Xavier	Syracuse	Illinois
Maryland	Charlotte	Villinova	Indiana
NC State	Dayton	Louisville	Iowa
Boston College	St. Joseph's	West Virginia	Wisconsin
N. Carolina	UMASS	Pittsburgh	Michigan
Miami	Temple	Cincinnati	Ohio St
Georgia Tech	LaSalle	Notre Dame	Minnesota
Virginia Tech	Rhode Island	Georgetown	Northwestern
Florida St	Richmond	DePaul	Penn St
Virginia	Fordham	Marquette	Purdue
Clemson	St. Louis	St. John's
	Duquesne	Rutgers
	St. Bonaventure	Providence
		Seton Hall
		South Florida
Big 12	Conference USA	Mountain West	Pac-10
Texas	Memphis	New Mexico	Stanford
Oklahoma	UAB	Utah	Arizona
Oklahoma St	UTEP	San Diego St	Washington
Iowa St	Houston	UNLV	UCLA
Kansas	Central Florida	Air Force	Oregon
Texas Tech	Tulane	BYU	California
Nebraska	Tulsa	TCU	So. California
Texas A&M	Rice	Wyoming	Oregon St
Colorado	SMU	Colorado St	Washington St
Missouri	So Mississippi		Arizona St
Kansas St	E. Carolina
Baylor	Marshall
SEC	WAC	Others to Watch
East:	Nevada	Ohio U
Kentucky	Hawaii	Akron
Florida	Utah St	Kent St
S. Carolina	New Mexico St	No Iowa
Vanderbilt	La. Tech	Creighton
Tennessee	Boise St	So Illinois
Georgia	Fresno St	Gonzaga
West:	San Jose St	Wisc-Milwaukee
Alabama	Idaho	CS Fullerton
LSU		Pacific
Arkansas
Auburn
Mississippi St
Ole Miss

Above are conference predictions. Next, let’s look at a projected NCAA tournament with how things might play out.

Seed	East (Washington DC)	South (Atlanta)	Midwest (Minneapolis)	West (Oakland)
1	Duke	Texas	UCONN	Stanford
2	Oklahoma	Kentucky	Michigan St	Gonzaga
3	Louisville	Arizona	Memphis	Villinova
4	Florida	Syracuse	Wake Forest	Illinois
5	West Virginia	Alabama	Indiana	Maryland
6	UCLA	NC State	Washington	Oklahoma St
7	Nevada	Iowa St	N. Iowa	Iowa
8	Wisconsin	Boston College	LSU	Pittsburgh
9	George Washington	Wisc-Milwaukee	Kansas	Creighton
10	Miami (Fla)	Michigan	N. Carolina	Texas Tech
11	Ohio U	Cincinnati	W. Kentucky	Akron
12	Hawaii	Xavier	Cal St Fullerton	S. Carolina
13	George Mason	Alabama-Birmingham	New Mexico	Iona
14	Davidson	Gardner Webb	Pennsylvania	Winthrop
15	Holy Cross	E. Kentucky	Oral Roberts	Boston U
16	Monmouth	Northwestern St	Delaware St/Alabama St	Montana St
	Just Missed: Oregon, Arkansas, So. Illinois, Ohio St, Vanderbilt, UTEP, Utah

(Teams in Italics are automatic bids from winning their conference championships)

First Round
1 Duke over 16 Monmouth	1 UCONN over 16 Delaware St
8 Wisconsin over 9 GWU	9 Kansas over 8 LSU
5 West VA over 12 Hawaii	5 Indiana over 12 Fullerton
4 Florida over 13 George Mason	4 Wake Forest over 13 New Mexico
6 UCLA over 11 Ohio U	6 Washington over 11 W. Kentucky
3 Louisville over 14 Davidson	3 Memphis over 14 Penn
7 Nevada over 10 Miami (Fla)	10 N Carolina over 7 No Iowa
2 Oklahoma over 15 Holy Cross	2 Michigan St over 15 Oral Roberts
1 Texas over 16 Northwestern St	1 Stanford over 16 Montana St
9 Wisc-Milwaukee over 8 BC	8 Pittsburgh over 9 Creighton
5 Alabama over 12 Xavier	5 Maryland over 12 S Carolina
4 Syracuse over 13 UAB	4 Illinois over 13 Iona
6 NCSU over 11 Cincy	6 Oklahoma St over 11 Akron
3 Arizona over 14 G Webb	3 Villinova over 14 Winthrop
7 Iowa St over 10 Michigan	10 Texas Tech over 7 Iowa
2 Kentucky over 15 E Kentucky	2 Gonzaga over 15 Boston U
Second Round
1 Duke over 8 Wisconsin	1 UCONN over 9 Kansas
4 Florida over 5 West VA	5 Indiana over 4 Wake Forest
3 Louisville over 6 UCLA	3 Memphis over 6 Washington
2 Oklahoma over 7 Nevada	2 Michigan St over 10 N Carolina
1 Texas over 9 Wisc-Mil	1 Stanford over 8 Pittsburgh
4 Syracuse over 5 Alabama	4 Illinois over 5 Maryland
3 Arizona over 6 NC State	3 Villinova over 6 Oklahoma St
2 Kentucky over 7 Iowa St	2 Gonzaga over 10 Texas Tech
Sweet 16
1 Duke over 4 Florida	1 UCONN over 5 Indiana
3 Louisville over 2 Oklahoma	2 Michigan St over 3 Memphis
1 Texas over 4 Syracuse	4 Illinois over 1 Stanford
2 Kentucky over 3 Arizona	2 Gonzaga over 3 Villinova
Elite 8
1 Duke over 3 Louisville	1 UCONN over 2 Michigan St
1 Texas over 2 Kentucky	2 Gonzaga over 4 Illinois
Final Four
Duke over Gonzaga
UCONN over Texas
National Title Game
Duke over UCONN

For the sake of having something else to write about soon, I’ll leave thoughts and comments on the season and teams for another post. Just absorb the data for now.

With that, I love you I love you I love you I looooove you

These words were indeed my own.