Selection Sunday Live Blog

Almost The Greatest Moment In College Basketball History

If that goes in.......Christian Who?.......Lorenzo Charles' what?........what's luscious about Korie?

Often we dream of seeing that unforgettable sports movie-esque ending in real life. The miracle shot to win the championship. Especially for an underdog. And tonight. Tonight. Just that close from completing a script that would make Hoosiers seem mundane.

Just that close.

Give it up for Duke, though. They won this. They earned this. This game was (shockingly) not determined by the refs. Bad calls went both ways. Good calls went both ways. You may not like Duke, and trust me, I will never like Duke and Coach K, but after watching that game, how can you not respect them? They earned it tonight. They beat a Butler team that was beyond valiant. Most had Duke in a blowout. What no one was coming was one of the greatest championship games we have ever seen.

And nearly the greatest moment college basketball as ever seen.

Butler can take solace. After the first game of the tournament, Bill Raftery proudly claimed that a valiant underdog Robert Morris squad was "only losers on the scoreboard." Tonight that team was Butler. And maybe it hurts too much to think that way now, whether you are a Butler fan or a Duke hater that wanted Butler. But instead of thinking about what could have been, think about what was, and what will forever be. No one is going to forget this night. No one is going to forget where when they screamed at the top of their lungs as they thought that maybe.....just maybe.....they were witnessing sports' greatest moment since February 22, 1980. And by default, no one will forget this run.

No one will forget the Butler Bulldogs of 2010. Maybe Hollywood will re-write a better ending someday, or maybe Brad Stevens gave that ending to the kids in the locker room. Whatever it is, no one will forget this night and that moment.

After the game, Jim Nantz told Clark Kellogg, "Partner, we just witnessed one of the greatest championship games ever played."

Like I said: Unforgettable.

Brokeback Mountaineers

Your NCAA Final Four Schedule And My Thoughts On Each Team

In case you missed it, forget it, or want to see it again, here is the schedule and tip times for the 2010 Final Four to take place on Saturday, April 3, 2010 in Indianapolis.

Butler vs. Michigan State 6:07 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)
Duke vs. West Virginia Approx. 8:47 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

We've got six days now until another meaningful college basketball game is played. My thoughts on the teams are this, one very likable team, 2 meh teams, and 1 utterly detestable team.

Butler is the underdog and frankly, how can you not like them. Sure their games are not the best, but you can't deny that Mack and Hayward and the rest of the Butler Bulldogs are fun to watch. Plus, their college is 8 miles away from Lucas Oil Stadium (if you are wondering about Sparty and last year, East Lansing is some 80 miles from Detroit and Ford Field). If ever a team had home court advantage on a supposed neutral court, it is Butler in the 2010 Final Four. Chance of a championship per the mind of JFein: 10%

Then there is their opponent, Michigan State. Sure they are not the most exciting basketball team on earth either, but you can't help but to respect the job that Tom Izzo does year in and year out on getting his teams through the regionals and into the Final Four. This is Sparty's 6th final four in the last 12 years and it is by no coincidence that that is so. They may be injured, but if there is one coach and one team you can bank on giving it their all in the NCAA Tournament, it is Michigan State. They are always counted out in the beginning of the tournament, and every year they prove all their haters wrong with no silencing being more powerful then the one this year. With all their injuries, no one gave them a chance in hell of making the Final Four, but here they are. Chance of a championship per the mind of JFein: 20%

West Fucking Virginia. At this point, how are they not the odds on favorite to win this whole thing? They won the Big East Tournament and frankly, they have been the most solid team of the bunch in this tournament. Again, another team that may not be the most exciting to watch (that's a recurring theme in this year's Final Four), but they are a good basketball team. We may all hate on Bob Huggins, but at this stage, my favorite player remaining in the tournament has to be Da'Sean Butler. You gotta respect a god clutch player and Da'Sean Butler is exactly that. The only downside of things if West Virginia wins (aside from the whole Bob Huggins is a champion bit) is several couches will be burned in the Mountain State. Chance of a championship per the mind of JFein: 40%

Duke. Oh boy. What is a Final Four if not for Duke? Every year Duke is always detestable and yet this year, it seems like they are even more detestable than normal. What is it about Scheyer, Singler, the Plumlees and the rest of the Dookies that we don't like this year. I guess their overall snobbiness for a start but even though they are probably the last team remaining most willing to open things up, they are still not a fun team to watch. Now does anyone actually believe that Duke can win this? Well look at who they have beaten thus far in the tournament. Arkansas Pine Bluff, California, a Robbie Hummel-less Purdue team, and Baylor. The only real overall solid team on that list is Baylor and they underperformed in today's game. Their biggest test of the tournament will be West Virginia and even though it is my philosophy that you never should go against Tom Izzo in a basketball game, the winner of the West Virginia-Duke Final Four game will be the national champion. Even if that winner somehow just happens to be Duke. Chance of a championship per the mind of JFein: 30%

4 teams.
3 games.
2 days.
1 champion.

The 2010 Final Four is upon us. Are you ready?

Coach K To LA?

How is this for a surprise? The rumor is being floated out there that everybody's favorite coach, Mike Krzyzewski (spelled correctly without any aids, BOO-YAH!), might leave Duke University where he became world-wide famous for taking a bunch of goody two shoes kids from many affluent suburbs in the northeast and mid-Atlantic and made them even more stuck up by bringing them down to Duke University, home of the stuck-up. Yeah, that Coach K. Well, it appears that he may leave Durham, NC for Los Angeles, California. That job in LA though is not a college job. It's a professional job. As in, Coach K may actually be the next coach of the Los Angeles Lakers! From Fox Sports.

To start, let's take a look at an intriguing rumor that has been persistently floating around in cyberspace:

That, within the next month, Mike Krzyzewski will take over as Lakers coach once Phil Jackson announces his retirement.

Giving some credence to this possibility is the fact that Kobe Bryant lobbied long and hard for Krzyzewski to take over when Jackson walked away from the Lakers bench back in 2004.

All kidding aside about Duke and Coach K, there is little doubt that Coach K is great at what he does as a basketball coach. That being said, though, I just don't think that I see him coaching in the NBA. He has literally become a staple of that program and while it certainly is a possibility and I have no idea what Coach K himself is actually thinking, I just don't see him leaving what made him what he was.

Besides, if Coach K leaves, who else would have the capability to tell Greg Paulus and all others like him to have no regrets when it comes to the Duke rite of passage of kissing a boy (and liking it)?

Greg Paulus Humped A Boy And He Liked It

I so hope that this picture is indeed an actual picture and not an all-round photoshop job. If so, then this might be one of the most hilarious and ironic things I have ever seen.

Greg Paulus wants Villanova's sloppy seconds (Brahsome)

"Coach Jay Outcoached Coach K"

So said Beasley Reese at the start of the CBS 3 newscast. And that's exactly what happened, 77-54, the Villanova Wildcats defeated the Duke Blue Devils in a blowout. An ass-raping. A lambasting. A wipeout. You name it, we saw it in the TD Banknorth Garden.

And now that leaves, Pitt as the only remaining obstacle to the Wildcats' run to the Final Four. And yes, being Big East rivals they played each other this year and Villanova defeated Pitt 67-57 in the last college basketball game to ever be played in the Wachovia Spectrum.

But I'll worry about Pitt later. For now, seeing as my favorite DI college basketball team just beat my least favorite, let me just let out this one, big, huge,

YIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

77-54!!!!!!!!! A BLOWOUT!!!!!! DUKE GOT BLOWN OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT!!!!!!!!! AGAIN!!!!!!!!! THIS TIME BY VILLANOVA!!!!!!! WHAT NOW, DUKE, WHAT NOW!?!?!?! WOOTWOOT!!!!! GO VILLANOVA!!!!!! DUKE SUCKS!!!!!!!!

YYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is all.

Bring It On, You North Carolina Snobs!

And it's on! Villanova vs. Duke! Losses hurt, but let me tell you what, if Villanova loses, there is a good chance that I may jump off a cliff. I cannot stand Duke! Worse so than North Carolina!

Go Villanova!!! Go Wildcats!!! Do not, I repeat, DO NOT let Duke beat you! And besides, that picture is the board we have on the front of our door (personally decorated by me). I'm putting that you there for everyone to see! Villanova better win this!

ACC Referees Absolutely <3 Duke!

Not sure how many of you saw the end of the Duke-Va. Tech game today on ABC, but there was quite a bit of controversy, to say the least. Watch as Jon Scheyer of Duke travels not once, not twice, BUT THREE TIMES in a period of 5 seconds, and not get called for any of them.



Traveling calls are apparently optional when it comes to Duke. Why, you ask? Because Duke + referees = true love forever. Oh, and you can throw in a lacrosse team and a strip club as well. Now we're talking party!

But in all seriousness, if you're a referee and you don't want your Duke bias to be found out by America, do yourself a favor, and CALL TRAVELING!