Upside Down Weekend

A simply amazing weekend of sports highlighted by the NCAA Tournament. The Final Four in Indianapolis is now set and in what has been the most unpredicatable tournament ever (look at my bracket for amusement) the remaining four teams are LSU, UCLA, Florida, and George Mason. No teams from the Big East or Big Ten are still playing (unless you count Michigan and Louisville in the NIT). Who would have thought we would arrive at this point?

While this weekend has quite possibly brought the end to many bracket pools nationwide, it is a highlight of what makes the tournament so great. Miracles still can happen, teams and fans can still dream big. More than any other year, this tournament has allowed fans of all schools to believe in the impossible. Before this season, nobody in their right minds would have had ANY of the teams in the Final Four that are currently sitting there.

So how did they do it? A look at these four unlikely journeys to Indianapolis:

• UCLA: Probably the easiest team to pick for cutting down the nets out of the Oakland region. After winning the PAC-10 Conference and earning the region's second seed, the Bruins made short work of Belmont in the first round. That's where the fun began, as a surprising Alabama team took them to the wire. Outrebounding the Bruins by 11 and making 14 more free throws, but Jordan Farmar's three point shooting proved to be the difference in their 62-59 triumph. Then came Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. The Bulldogs dominated the Bruins early, holding a 13 point lead at halftime, leading by as much as 17 points, and leading by nine with three minutes remaining. Still, the Bruins managed to score the final 11 points, including Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's go ahead basket with 10 seconds left that gave UCLA their first lead of the game. Finally, the Bruins knocked off top seeded Memphis in the lowest scoring regional final ever as both teams combined for 95 points. UCLA physically dominated Memphis throughout the game and won by a score (50-45) that makes the game seem much closer than it was.
• LSU: The regular season SEC champions suffered a setback against Florida in the SEC Conference Tournament and looked less than impressive in a first round win over Iona. The struggle continued in the second round as Texas A&M took a 57-55 lead in the closing seconds and looked like they'd win until Darrel Mitchell drained a clutch three-pointer with 3.9 seconds remaining to give LSU a 58-57 victory. All that was left was to beat the top two seeds in the region as they squared off with Duke in Atlanta. LSU dominated Duke physically in a way I had not seen all season as they held player of the year candidate J.J. Redick to 11 points and ended the game on an 11-2 run to win 62-54. Against Texas, it took 45 minutes for LSU to punch their ticket to the Final Four. The game was close throughout regulation and was tied at 52 going into overtime. It was there when LSU exploded, outscoring the Longhorns 18-8 in the extra frame, key player of this game was Glenn Davis (or Baby Shaq). Davis put in 26 points, including a rare three-pointer in overtime to send the Tigers to Indianapolis.
• Florida: The SEC Conference Tournament champs continued their momentum in the Minneapolis region. The third seeded Gators dominated in wins over Southern Alabama and Wisconsin Milwaukee to reach the Sweet 16. It was there when Florida faced the most physical team they faced all year (including LSU) in Georgetown. The Hoya's led by one late in the game until Corey Brewer's three point play with 27.5 seconds remaining gave Florida the lead. Darrel Owens had a wide open look at a go ahead three, but drew iron with 6.6 seconds remaining, Florida made their free throws and that game was over. The last step was top seeded Villanova, and Florida was riding high. Dominating them inside time and time again as Joakim Noah registered 21 points and 15 rebounds, leading Florida to a 75-62 win and the team's first Final Four appearance since they lost to Michigan State in the 2000 title game.
• George Mason: All the 11th seeded Patriots had to do to reach the Sweet 16 was defeat half of last season's Final Four, including the defending champions. With Tony Skinn suspended against Michigan State, the Patriots shocked the Spartans behind Folarin Campbell's 21 points. The Spartans had no answer in the second half and George Mason scored a big win 75-65. In the second round, defending champion North Carolina jumped out to a 16-2 lead and led by seven at the break. George Mason kept fighting and eventually pulled into a tie with 3:02 to go and outscored the Tar Heels 11-6 to close the game to win 65-60. After defeating two of the big names in the tournament, George Mason faced a hot Wichita State team. The Patriots never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 19 points to cruise to a 63-55 win, sending George Mason to the Elite Eight. It was there that the Patriots faced top seeded UConn in what would be their toughest test yet. After trailing by 9 at the break, Jai Lewis and Will Thomas played great and really outplayed the Huskie's vaunted frontcourt. After Denham Brown's reverse layup dramatically tied the game and force overtime, George Mason looked as though they finally ran out of gas, but they kept fighting in the overtime and rode the play of Thomas and Lewis to take another two point lead late in the game. Denham Brown tried to be the hero twice, but his three pointer went off iron as time expired to send George Mason to an improbable Final Four appearance.

So there you have it, Saturday will see LSU against UCLA in one contest, with George Mason and Florida in the other. So many unlikely heroes and stories in this tournament. Watch these games, if they are ANYTHING like the games last weekend were, you're in for a show.

Tournament Resuming

• If you're bracket was anything like mine, you've lost roughly half of your Elite Eight teams going into this weekend and winning your money pool is a distant memory. Now if you're a mid major fluffer and actually had Wichita State, George Mason, AND Bradley all reaching the Sweet Sixteen then you're making a killing. Anyway, the madness resumes tonight with the Atlanta region, putting Duke against LSU with Texas playing West Virginia in the nightcap. Also tonight is the Oakland region with top seeded Memphis taking on Bradley and the nightcap features UCLA against Gonzaga. Tomorrow, the Minneapolis region has Villanova against popular sleeper Boston College and Georgetown takes on Florida. In the weird Washington D.C. region, UConn takes on Washington and the sweet 16 game I know everyone had, Wichita State and George Mason. Amidst the chaos of opening weekend, I somehow only lost one Final Four team (Pittsburgh) so my only change will come out of the Oakland bracket. Here is my revised Final Four: Duke, UCLA, UConn, and Boston College. We'll see how this one goes.

Joey's Out, Will the New Era Be Different?

Well, a noteworthy move by the Detroit Lions as head coach Rod Marinelli said today that Joey Harrington is "no longer with the team". Nobody is quite sure exactly what that comment means, there is no word of whether or not the former 3rd overall pick has been officially released. All that is confirmed is that Harrington will be throwing passes elsewhere next season.

What interests me is what will become of the Lions quarterback position. In the past month, Detroit has hired a highly respected offensive mind in Mike Martz as offensive coordinator, signed 34-year-old weak armed journeyman Jon Kitna to a four year contract, and followed that up by bringing in 26-year-old project Josh McCown to a two year deal.

The common position among those in my circle feels that Jon Kitna is going to be the man to lead this Lions offense. I disagree. Jon Kitna has little to no arm strength, hardly any mobility, questionable accuracy, and is one of the worst decision makers in the league. He has had exactly one good season as a full time starter which was three years ago. Add in the fact that he is eight years older and making less money than McCown and the answer becomes clear. The Lions offense should (for better or worse) be led by McCown. McCown showed signs of grasping Arizona's offense when he played in place of Kurt Warner, is flat out a better overall athlete than Kitna, and has room to grow. This is not to say that McCown is the Lions next franchise quarterback. As I said earlier, he is a project. However, this project is playing under a two year deal to be able to break the bank and establish himself as a solid starter while Jon Kitna could very well be on his last NFL contract.

Will this new regime of Rod Marinelli and Mike Martz work? I don't see why not, but I will definitely wait and see. There is a lot of roster tweaking that has to be done between now and training camp. Rod Marinelli and Mike Martz have both been immensely successful in their previous stops as coordinators with each of them winning a Super Bowl in the shadows of Jon Gruden and Dick Vermeil respectively. Time will tell as it always does. The hiring of Steve Mariucci was supposed to make the Lions playoff contenders. Three seasons later, the team went 16-32 and is starting over again. When you consider Mariucci's immediate firing after Thanksgiving, ponder how Matt Millen is still team president after he put together a team that's 21-59 over the past five seasons, easily the worst mark in the NFL.