After being panned much during the entirety of Selection Sunday, the Virginia Commonwealth University proved themselves worthy of their selection (and making said prognosticators eat crow), becoming the 2nd team from the Colonial Athletic Association to make it in the Final Four. (George Mason being the other one) Both were 11-seeds in making this accomplishment.
NBA alums: 6. Eric Maynor made a name out of beating Duke in the first round in his sophomore season. Gerald Henderson, Sr won a couple of rings in Boston during the 80s. (He is also the dad of current Charlotte Bobcat Gerald Henderson, Jr, who coincidentally was a freshman at Duke when VCU beat them)
Other famous alums: Patch Adams (Yes, the guy from the movie)
The Butler Bulldogs are the first team since the old-school Runnin' Rebels of UNLV in the early 90s to make back-to-back Final Four appearances coming from a school outside of the members of the BCS Power Six Conferences.
Who is Butler, anyway?
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Head Coach: Brad Stevens
Key Players: Shelvin Mack, Matt Howard, Andrew Smith, Ronald Nored, Shawn Vanzant
NBA alums: 4, but Gordon Hayward is the first one since the NBA-ABA merger.
Other famous alums: Bobby Plump (of "Hoosiers" fame), Thad Matta (men's basketball coach at Ohio State), Jim Jones (cult leader of the People's Temple, whose members committed suicide in Guyana)
I am pretty sure you heard about Manny Pacquiao and his mishandling of Twitter recently. You can find the full story here and here and here and here.
Obviously, there will be some ignorant fools who would be taking advantage of this for their own personal end and agenda, but sometimes, you should look more in depth in things before making hasty generalizations like what he did there.
Sometimes, one needs to act accordingly to what he or she upholds and represents. It is clearly understood that he will be missing congressional sessions due to his training in Baguio City (an 8 to 10-hour drive from Manila) as he is preparing for his fight against Sugar Shane Mosley. Now, he should have realized that in order for his vote to count, he has to be present in the proceedings (not that the vote would have mattered as the proponents already had the necessary numbers to pass the measure). In addition, being a politician, he should be carrying himself in a dignifying manner and not resorting to his tweet responses.
It's disappointing that a boxer used to unleashing mayhem inside the ring cannot handle barbs being thrown at him on the online realm. This is another classic case of "if you cannot handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen" routine. Too bad, because it would be fascinating having him as part of the Tweeps and amidst all the craziness online.
Forget the draws against Burma and Palestine Forget the missed opportunities during those games. Forget Ian Araneta's goal-scoring struggles. Forget the injuries that have struck us. Forget the earthquakes that seem to follow us Forget the saves Neil Etheridge and Ed Sacapano have managed to secure Forget the crosses that James Younghusband and Chieffy Caligdong procure. Forget the presence of Angel Aldeguer Guirado and Jerry Lucena Forget the absence of Phil Younghusband and Chris Greatwich Forget the veteran gamesmanship of Yanti Bersales and Roel Gener Forget the youthful exuberance of David Basa and Yannick Tuason
What matters now is what lies ahead. A crossroad, a fork instead. On a field of green on a land far away The Beautiful Game will be on full display We will be blind on the action Instead, anticipating the Twitter reaction As we wait for the tweets to come in From Cedelf, Craig, Roy and even Dyan And we, the people, will forward them constantly As the 90 minutes (and then some) pass by When the games begin as the clock passes five Nothing else matters It is only winning Pride for flag and country This is what it is all about Nasa ilalim ng iisang araw
Tatlong Bituin, Dilaw, Pula, Puti, Bughaw Sugod, Laban. Huwag uurong. Ang sigaw na dating bulong
The Southwest Regional is going to be played at the Alamodome where the San Antonio Spurs played before the advent of the AT&T Center.
Here are the matchups to determine who goes to the Final Four:
1st Seed Kansas vs 12th Seed Richmond: Kansas felt at home in Tulsa, easily putting away Boston University and Illinois. On the other hand, Richmond upset Vanderbilt and blew out Morehead State in Denver on its way to being the lowest seeded team remaining in the Sweet 16.
10th Seed Florida State vs 11th Seed Virginia Commonwealth: Florida State stamped its class defensively in Chicago, shackling Texas A&M and Notre Dame. The much-maligned Rams became the first play-in (now known as the "new" first round - beating USC in Dayton) team to win in the field of 64 by destroying Georgetown and then Purdue in Chicago.
My Original Bracket: Kansas vs Louisville. Purdue vs Notre Dame. Kansas earns Final Four berth beating Purdue.
Revised Bracket: Kansas over Richmond. Virginia Commonwealth over Florida State. Kansas beats VCU to sweep both schools based in Richmond, VA.
Player/s to Watch: Joey Rodriguez. NCAA Tournaments have always been keyed by guard play. He's the main cog of VCU in proving the prognosticators wrong as they keep moving on.
The Western Regional will be played at the Honda Center in Anaheim (more well known as the Pond). Yes, that might also be the future home of the Sacramento Kings, if all things hold serve.
1st Seed Duke vs 5th Seed Arizona: Duke felt at home in Charlotte, easily dispatching Hampton and then barely fending off a game Michigan squad. Arizona swatted its way past Memphis and took advantage of a 5-second inbound call against Texas in Tulsa.
2nd Seed San Diego State vs 3rd Seed Connecticut: In Tucson, The Aztecs made short work of Northern Colorado, but was taken to double overtime by Temple. UConn got past Bucknell and Cincinnati in DC.
My Original Bracket: Duke vs Arizona. UConn vs SDSU. With the Elite Eight being San Diego State beats Duke.
Revised Bracket: Still sticking with my prediction. Home court advantage comes in handy with the Aztecs.
Player/s to Watch: Kyrie Irving. Only played in 8 games prior to the tournament. Looks like he is just fine. And the further Duke goes, the better he becomes.
The Southeastern Regional is going to be played at the New Orleans Arena (home of the NBA-owned New Orleans Hornets). They were hoping that they can help improve the economy. Then they realized that BYU is one of the teams.
2nd Seed Florida vs 3rd Seed Brigham Young University: Florida took care of things in Tampa, easily beating Cal-Santa Barbara then pulling away against UCLA. Denver was all about the Jimmer, as BYU Jimmer'd Wofford and Gonzaga.
4th Seed Wisconsin vs 8th Seed Butler: Wisconsin made amends in Tucson by beating Belmont and Kansas State, putting to bed bad notions of their atrocious 33pt performance against Penn State. Butler epitomized the nature of survival in the Tournament, relying on a buzzer-beater against Old Dominion and then on a bailout free throw against Pitt in Washington, DC.
My Original Bracket: Butler over Utah State. St. John's over Michigan State. St. John's wins the regional.
Revised Bracket: BYU over Florida. Butler over Wisconsin. Butler over BYU to make their return to the Final Four.
Player/s to Watch: Jimmer Fredette. Because he truly is the show in Provo.
The Eastern Regional is going to be played at the Prudential Center (Pru for short) in Newark. Yes, that is where the Nets are temporarily based until the Barclays gets built in Brooklyn.
1st Seed Ohio State vs 4th Seed Kentucky. Ohio State showed why they are the top overall seed in the tournament, blowing out Texas-San Antonio and then George Mason in Cleveland. Kentucky fended off Princeton and West Virginia down in Tampa.
2nd Seed North Carolina vs 11th Seed Marquette. In Charlotte, North Carolina easily dispatched Long Island and followed that up by barely escaping from a game Washington team. Marquette, on the other hand, handcuffed Xavier and upset their Big East rival Syracuse in Cleveland.
My Original Bracket: George Mason vs Kentucky. Syracuse vs North Carolina. With the Elite Eight being Syracuse beats Kentucky.
Revised Bracket: Ohio State over Kentucky. North Carolina over Marquette. Ohio State wins Newark Regional.
Player/s to Watch: The Buckeye shooters. Jon Diebler, David Lighty, William Buford and Aaron Craft have been scintillating in their sniping, especially in their evisceration of the Patriots. They keep the pressure off superfrosh Jared Sullinger.
The NFL just approved some new changes for the upcoming season. Whether that would be this year or next remains to be seen, but here are some of them.
1. The Boise Rule. Any changes on the color of the field must meet league approval. In other words, it may be a while before someone in the league goes for the blue turf.
2. Kickoffs. Kickers will be doing their kickoffs at the 35 instead of the 30. However, touchbacks will still remain at the 20-yd line. For teams that rely on their special teams *cough*Bears*cough* for their offense, this makes it more challenging. For a free agent returner like a Brad Smith, the possible windfall for him might not be as large as he hoped.
The two-man wedge still remains legal as a tradeoff for the kickoff alterations to push through. Then again, Billy Cundiff set a NFL record for kickoff touchbacks, so this pretty much makes it more challenging to get return plays. It's disappointing that it had to happen, but apparently, the logic of this is to reduce injuries during these kind of situations.
3. Reviewable scoring plays. Probably as a favor for coaches who seem to bumble in using their red flags, all scoring plays are now going to be reviewed.
4. Dead ball fouls at end of half. For consistency purposes, the half will not be extended if you committed such a penalty. I have no idea what this meant, but this probably is a time-saving method.
The remaining issue is the update on fines regarding hits. Obviously, this being a sensitive matter, there needs to be further fine-tuning with the language, so this has been tabled for future meetings.
As I was writing this, there was a slight earthquake that struck the Motherland. Reports say it was of 5.7 magnitude. Unfortunately, I did not feel it. I presume we all are tired and exhausted from the bracket monitoring we have been doing.
We learned about the Nantz's Fabricated Five, Pitt's continued bad breaks. John Henson's brain farts. And yes, the BEast possibly being a bit overrated.
I presume we will have further discussion on this soon, so I'll leave it at that.
Hereforth are the links:
England denied a shot of perfection. (c/i Irish Independent)
Jon "Bones" Jones had a very eventful day. (c/o 5th Round)
Jalen Rose fires back. (c/o Wall Street Journal). Hope this is the end-all and be all...
Roger Goodell trying to sell us fans on the arguments on the current situation. (c/o Silver & Black Pride) NFLPA seems unconvinced, though. (c/o New York Daily News)
The NCAA Tournament really starts tonight (12am here in Manila), because who really took the play-ins that seriously. Then again, this is March Madness, so... Here we go for today's games
Tampa (Announcing Team: Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel / David Aldridge)
6:50 pm - Florida vs UC-Santa Barbara (2 vs 15): Gauchos in Gator territory. They ain't roping them reptiles. My pick: Florida
UCLA vs Michigan State (7 vs 10): Pac-10 has been down the past few years, and the Spartans have been totally atrocious and hard to look sometimes. But all those tough losses that Izzo deals with early are designed to pay off come this time of the year. My pick: Michigan State
Washington DC (Announcing Team: Tim Brando / Mike Gminski / Lewis Johnson)
7:20 pm - Connecticut vs Bucknell (3 vs 14): The Bison shocked the world by upsetting the Jayhawks as a 14 before. They'll give the Huskies a tough time before they exit. My pick: UConn
Cincinnati vs Missouri (6 vs 11): Cincy chowed on their lightweight non-conference before their BEast diet. Mizzou gonna press them all night long and give them fits. Another chic upset special. My Pick: Mizzou
7:15 pm - BYU vs Wofford (3 vs 14): The Terriers is a feisty unit that gave scares last year (and might just do it again this year), but it's all about the Jimmer. My Pick: BYU
St. John's vs Gonzaga (6 vs 11): The Bulldogs of Spokane have been the Cinderella for years. But the story of St. John's and their revival makes a better story. 10 seniors, too. My pick: St. John's
Tucson (Announcing Team: Kevin Harlan / Reggie Miller / Dan Bonner / Sam Ryan)
7:27 pm - Wisconsin vs Belmont (4 vs 13): Badgers scored a total of 33 pts in a loss during the B1G tournament. I think we can't have a team like that advance. Belmont is a 30-win squad. My pick: Belmont
Kansas State vs Utah State (5 vs 12): Kansas State, along with Michigan State, have been the biggest disappointments this season. Maddeningly inconsistent, led by the bearded Jacob Pullen face a fundamentally skilled 30-win Aggies squad. My pick: Utah State
The NCAA Tournament really starts tonight (12am here in Manila), because who really took the play-ins that seriously. Then again, this is March Madness, so... Here we go for today's games
Tampa (Announcing Team: Ian Eagle / Jim Spanarkel / David Aldridge)
1215pm: West Virginia vs Clemson - (5-12): The Tigers just came out of their play-in game against UAB, a team who did not really showed anything that dissuaded the talking heads from blasting the Committee for their inclusion. Besides, the 'eers are more physical and mean. My pick: West Virginia
Kentucky vs Princeton (4-13). Sydney Johnson, the captain of the 1996 Princeton team who upset then-defending champs UCLA in the RCA Dome, is coaching this latest incarnation of the Tigers. Calipari and his new recruits, led by Terrence Jones, are too athletic. Then again, UCLA were athletic at the time, too in 1996. My pick: Kentucky (only because it's too surreal if they do it again).
Washington DC (Announcing Team: Tim Brando / Mike Gminski / Lewis Johnson)
1240pm: Butler vs Old Dominon (8-9) The Bulldogs, who were a Gordon Hayward heave away from the national title, get a feisty Monarchs squad who some have pegged as a chic pick to break some brackets. I still believe in the Butler magic to get them somewhere. My pick: Butler
Pittsburgh vs UNC-Asheville (1-16) Pitt has virtually seen every kind of Tournament choke job. But nope, the 16-over-1 is too illogical to happen. My pick: Pitt
140pm: Louisville vs Morehead State (4-13). Insert you own Pitino joke here. But seriously, Peyton Siva might be the next Kemba Walker for 2011-12. On the other hand, Kenneth Faried will be a true NBA contributor to someone. Still, there is too much talent for the Cardinals not to advance. My pick: Louisville.
Vanderbilt vs Richmond (5-12) Some have pegged Richmond as a chic team to upset brackets, but there is too much buzz for my own liking. My pick: Vanderbilt
Tucson (Announcing Team: Kevin Harlan / Reggie Miller / Dan Bonner / Sam Ryan)
210pm: Temple vs Penn State (7-10). The Nittany Lions won their game against Wisconsin 36-33. Yes. they scored less points than minutes in a game. Can't pick a team who does things like that. My pick: Temple
San Diego St. vs Northern Colorado (2-15). The Aztecs have never ever won a game in the NCAA Tournament. This will change. My pick: San Diego State
I started writing this post on 3am, the day before the Philippine Men's Football Team will be taking the pitch in the frozen tundra of Ulan Bator. The nation is awash with giddiness of the game that is coming. We have a 2-goal advantage, but certain key elements will be missing, namely the goalkeeper, for starters. The weather will be crazy cold. But it does not matter. Everything does not matter, what goes on off the field or how we got there.
But what matters is that they represent our country well as they play their sport on the pitch. That they fight and play hard and all out for 90 minutes (and any additional time). That they bring pride and glory sa ating bayan.
Isang bayang nasa ilalim ng Iisang Araw. Tatlong Bituin. Dilaw. Pula. Puti. Bughaw.
Greetings! Welcome to the latest edition of The Victory Formation.
I am sure everyone was surprised with what transpired on this end of the Pacific. If you were living under a rock, Japan just experienced their worst earthquake in centuries. I did not really feel it, but it surely affected my work as apparently, we rely on undersea cables that are routed to the US via Japan, thus rending my Friday as unproductive due to the quake. You have probably seen the different images and videos of the carnage brought about by the earthquake and the tsunami that followed. A very jarring thought, indeed.
How can you help? Here is a simple way of doing so.
Meanwhile, Philippine Football will be facing off against Mongolia for their 2nd leg of the AFC Challenge Cup on March 15, 12nn local time. To prepare for the frozen tundra, (Because after all, we are a tropical paradise) they trained in Japan. So, they were in the area where the quake happened. Fortunately, they are all fine and are already in Mongolia to train for the big game. I'm already plotting whether to go watch the game in a bar with fellow football fans.
Hereforth are the links: (Don't expect bracket talk because it is assumed we will discuss this later on today.
Who knew that the Ivy League could have produced a fantastic finish like this? (c/o Quickish)
England is one win away from beating everyone. (c/o London Telegraph)
There can be only one overlord in the MMA scene. (c/o FightHype)
Now we know who will be going to Wembley for the FA Cup: Manchester United (c/o will face Manchester City (c/o Daily Mail) on one side. The other will have Bolton (c/o Guardian) against Stoke (c/o Yahoo!).
Welcome to today's edition of The Victory Formation.
I knew the importance of the game between the Bulls and the Heat and its significance. The Bulls needed a win to sweep the Heat, and the Heat are fresh from the embarrassment of that comeback the Magic pulled off and then the evisceration they got from San Antonio, so I watched the game live at 2am in the morning.
I was not alone in watching this game. Lots of people in the Motherland were up as well, not just because of the magnitude (lots of Lebron and Wade fans, as well as Bulls fans), but also the game that followed it had a team with a decent following here (Lakers)
My concern has been the endgame situations, where the ABC graphic showed they were 1/14 (now 1/16). Sometimes, one has to man up and admit that there is something wrong. Lebron already acknowledged his woes, saying he'll try to be better. Stats show a shard of the truth, and the 1/16 in clutch situations is a major concern.
The other concern... The Heat are currently in the midst of brutal run of teams. They lost to the Knicks, the Magic, the Spurs and the Bulls. They still have to face the Blazers, the Lakers, the Grizzlies, the Spurs, the Thunder, the Hawks and the Nuggets before the reach the oasis that is the Detroit Pistons on March 23 (24 in the Motherland). Their last win against a .500 or better team was Orlando on February 3. They better find 3 wins from that stretch, and especially the game against Portland is a must-win, if only to diffuse the increasing tension on South Beach.
Before I finish, I missed listening to the SpartaCast, so someone participated in one with a few of his friends. Please support him. It's a discussion of basketball.
Off to the links, then:
How many T's will Dwight Howard cross? Portland gets a break. (c/o Orlando Sentinel)
Bulls also get a break, because they should be are holding CP3 out. (c/o New Orleans Times-Picayune)
Either the Lakers flexed their muscles, or the Spurs lulling them into a state of false security. (c/o Houston Chronicle)
Mark Cuban must be smelling Tigerblood. (c/o Forbes)
And the beat goes on for the Love Machine... (c/o Kevin Love)
The NBA was actually in London. Who knew. (c/o BallinEurope)
If there is a team that Alabama should not face after the Toomer debacle, it would be the Indiana State Sycamores. (c/o Alton Telegraph)
Congrats to the first batch of autobid winners: Belmont (c/o Jacksonville Observer), UNC-Asheville (c/o Searching for Billy Edelin) and Morehead State (c/o Lexington Herald-Leader).
Speaking of bids, Harvard might be dancing (c/o Harvard Crimson). Whether Princeton will allow the to get away scot-free is another. (c/o Philadelphia Inquirer)
George Mason might have just shrunk the bubble bids. (c/o Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Vols get felled by the Wildcats (c/o The Tennessee Journalist). It spoiled a ceremony honoring Allan Houston. (c/o TriCities Sports)
Sparty gets swept by the Wolverines. (c/o Detroit Free Press)
Yes, we were deprived of what-could-have-been a Gus Johnson moment. (c/o Kansas City Star)
Will he make it in time? Remains to be seen. (c/o Sporting News)
Buckeyes avenge their defeat in smashing fashion. (c/o Washington Post)
Purdue collapses (c/o The Sports Bank). But if you want to talk collapse, what the hell happened with Louisville (c/o Opposing Views)?
It is hard to imagine one can score only 30 pts (c/o The Herald Journal) or 107 pts (c/o Rochester Democrat & Chronicle) in 40 minutes.
Pitt (c/o Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) and North Carolina (c/o The Independent Weekly) are your regular season conference champs in their own little way.
Let's see if David Haye will push through with this fight (c/o BBC). Meanwhile, both the young Saul Alvarez (c/o Bozing Dispatch) and the old Zab Judah (c/o Newark Star-Ledger) grabbed belts.
Manchester United got shellacked, with a FA Cup match against Arsenal looming in the horizon. (c/o Liverpool Daily Post)
Now if Liverpool did not make John Henry feel good, well this would definitely would have made him do backflips. (c/o Charlotte Observer)
Iowa State enters the race for the Fulmer Cup (c/o Ames Tribune).
30 goals in 10 straight seasons. You must be good. (c/o Ottawa Citizen)
The Rangers really put it on the Flyers. (c/o The Faster Times)
Major concerns hounding the Philly bats. (c/o The Olympian)
Bart Scott apparently not only knows how to wrestle (c/o The Fifth Down), but also how to trademark (c/o Shutdown Corner).
Tebow and Amar'e give moral support to the BYU kid. (c/o NESN)
I still think that there is hope that the season is still salvageable, so make sure the extension you gave yourselves to discuss is squeezed like heck. (c/o Real GM)
The Chris Webber timeout stands the test of time, apparently. (c/o Ballin' is a Habit)
It's nice to go out in style like this. (c/o The Ledger Independent, video c/o Fark)
This guy went out in a blaze of glory. Really. (c/o Holland Sentinel)
Someone inspired me to go old school with the parting shot today. Hope you enjoy it as we delve into the madness.
