Simply the Best.

About eight months ago, I was at the beach. The sun was hot, the water was warm and I was sitting inside watching one of the greatest athletes ever, do what he does best. It was a Sunday and Tiger Woods was on TV. Normally I would choose a day at the beach over a televised golf tournament, but something about this tournament intrigued me. On what was thought to be the final day of the US Open, Tiger Woods entered the 18th hole one stroke behind a 45-year-old veteran named Rocco Mediate. Rocco was an average golfer at best. Little did he know this hole would be the defining moment of his entire golfing career. After Rocco parred the 18th, Tiger followed up with a 12-foot birdie putt to send the two men into an 18-hole playoff the very next day.

Monday came, the sun was still out, and I was still inside. Glued to my TV, I watched as Rocco and Tiger battled it out for hours on a sunny California golf course. But it wasn’t so much a battle between the two men as it was a battle between Tiger and himself. The 32-year-old pro athlete was dealing with an excruciatingly painful left knee that desperately needed surgery. He was barely able to stand-up. With every follow-through, pain sliced across Tiger’s face, and rolled down his lower body. His whole physique would compress towards the turf as his shot soared through the air. It was painful to watch, and it got worse as the day went on. Again, Tiger’s birdie and Rocco’s par left the two tied at the end of an 18-hole playoff, forcing sudden death. Tiger’s mental toughness allowed him to remain focused on winning, as he let everything else fall by the wayside, including Rocco. After 91 holes of mastery, Tiger won the tournament, hoisted the trophy and bid the game of golf a temporary adieu.

Today I was at work. Gus Johnson was calling a thriller between Michigan State and Louisville, while Blake Griffin was gearing up against Ty Lawson and the Tar Heels, and I was watching one of the greatest athletes ever, do what he does best. Today wasn’t the US Open. But to an average golf fan it was something special. It was the Arnold Palmer Invitational, with the legend himself in attendance. Now I say average golf fan because in the absence of Tiger, I’ve seen maybe 3 holes of golf all season. The average golf fan watches to see Tiger, and that’s about it. And today, with Tiger 5 strokes behind the leader, you were either a skeptic hoping for a repeat miracle, or a pessimist ready to change the channel. Not many fans were willing to re-open their hearts to a phenomenon who left us wanting more. After all, the whimsical nature in which golf fans were magically won back over into the sport was briskly swept away after a storybook ending. We hibernated our golf fandom and we weren’t ready to come out for spring in the event Tiger would fall short of our monumental expectations. We needed to be re-caught up in the suspense, and Tiger’s determination would be the bait.

His back-nine rally today led him and his fans to a familiar place, the 18th hole in need of a birdie putt, but this time, to win. In complete Tiger fashion, all eyes were now glued to the TV as the 14-major champion surveyed the 15-foot uphill putt. And in complete Tiger fashion, the ball found the bottom of the cup. Game over. No playoffs. No sudden death. Hand him the trophy and hand over our hearts because for just the second time in eight months, Tiger’s focus and skill have single-handedly revived the game of golf and our belief in the strength of the human spirit. Now fans can come out of hibernation and continue to believe in the greatest their ever was, ever is, and ever will be.

Let the Madness Begin...

These are my picks based on what I know.
Bonus: Chick Picks... cause not everyone is basing their brackets on skill.



MIDWEST
Play in Game - Alabama State over Morehead - ASU won 13 of their last 14 games.. and their 7 foot center "Chief" blocks shots left and right. Chick Pick: Morehead. What a ridiculous name for a school.

#1 Louisville over #16 ASU- Big East regular season title/Tournament Champs.. nuff said. Chick Pick: Cardinals cause Kurt Warner is a cardinal and hes hot so there ya go.

#8 Ohio State over #9 Siena... Ohio State beat #7 Mich St in the Big Ten Tournament. Siena has no big out of conference wins and even their wins in conference are unimpressive. Chick Pick: Siena since it shares its name with Siena Miller and shes pretty sexy.

FIRST UPSET: #12 Arizona over #5 Utah - Zona has 3 top-25 wins over the Zags, Kansas and Washington... plus the Pac-10 is a much better conference than Mt West Chick Pick: Wildcats cause a wildcat will mess up a Ute.. whatever that is

#4 Wake Forest over #13 Cleveland St - After choking to the Terps... look out for the Demon Decs to make a run deep in the tourney. Chick Pick: WFU cause Dino Gaudio is Wake's coach and hes such a cool dude.

#6 West Virginia over #11 Dayton - West Virginia got screwed by Syracuse in the Big East Tournament with a late no-call on Devendorf, who's trailer-park trash anyway.. vengeance will fuel the Mountaineers, at least out of the first round. Chick Pick: Dayton cause they sleep with their relatives in West Virginia.

#3 Kansas over #14 North Dakota State - Defending Champs got this one. Chick Pick: N. Dakota State cause face it Toto... were not in Kansas anymore.

SECOND UPSET: #10 Southern Cal over #7 Boston College - I regrettably hate choosing a Pac-10 team over an ACC team.. but USC had back-to-back wins over No. 17 UCLA and No. 19 ASU to win the Pac-10 Championship... BC's only hot wins late this season were No. 5 Duke and No. 16 FSU but they then lost to Duke in the ACC tourney... It will be a close game, but USC takes it. Chick Pick: Trojans.. need I say more?

#2 Michigan State over #15 Robert Morris - The Colonials should be happy with the Northeast Conf Title and keep it moving.

WEST
#1 UConn over #16 Chattanooga - 7 foot 3 Hasheem Thebeet and the Huskies will go far this year and then hopefully the Wizards will scoop him in the draft. Fingers crossed, Wiz Kids.

THIRD UPSET: #9 Texas A&M over #8 BYU - This is a repeat from last years tourney and will have the same outcome. A&M has too many big guys and BYU can't finish. This game will be close, but ultimately the Aggies prevail. Chick Pick: If you're a cougar in the making, BYU's your team.

#5 Purdue over #12 Northern Iowa - The Big Ten Champs have been battle-tested. Northern Iowa, not so much. The Panthers have gotten themselves in the tourney for the past several years but thats about it. Chick Pick: "Make it four Boilermakers."

#4 Washington #12 Mississippi State - Washington has a "home advantage" in this match-up. If you watched Miss St win the SEC title you know they didnt earn it, Tennessee basically laid down.

#6 Marquette over #11 Utah State - The Big East prevails over a weak conference champion... Marquette has seen the 3 #1 seeds from the Big East (UConn, Louisville and Pitt) in their last games of the season.. and while losing to all three, they hung in there and will go far this year.

#3 Missouri over #14 Cornell - This isn't even a real basketball game. The Ivy League shouldn't be allowed in the tournament.

FOURTH UPSET: #10 Maryland over #7 California - Terps did exactly what they needed to do to get here and they won't back down now. Expect high emotions and a Maryland W in the first round.

#2 Memphis over #15 CS Northridge - Grizzlies are going far after being snubbed for the #1 seed.

EAST
#1 Pittsburgh over # 16 East Tenn. St - DaJuan Blair and the Panthers are locks for this region. Duke doesnt stand a chance.

#8 Oklahoma State over #9 Tennessee - The Volunteers gave up against Miss St and dont deserve to step out of the first round.

#5 Florida St over #12 Wisconsin - Tony Douglas is strong enough to pick up the W here but the Badgers aren't far behind. Beating UNC in the ACC tourney and getting crushed by Duke basically put FSU back to square one. Plus Big Ten basketball is soooo sloowww.

#4 Xavier over #13 Portland State - Xavier will run over the Vikings because Portland State forgets how to play basketball against anyone good.

FIFTH UPSET: #11 VCU over #6 UCLA - I've watched Anthony Grant and Senior guard Eric Maynor a lot this season and this kid is the real deal. This is going to be the upset not many will see because they haven't watched this kid do what he can do. Trust me, he's fire. Chick Pick: UCLA, I wish they all could be California girls.

#3 Villanova over # 14 American - This is basically a home game for Nova. American keeps making the tournament and I keep hoping they will go away. Chick Pick: Nova cause Jay Wright, Villanovas head coach, is sexy as hell.

#7 Texas over #10 Minnesota - Hopefully Tubby Smith will come through for Minnesota. This will be a great defensive and coaching match-up. Chick Pick: Long Horns.

#2 Duke over #15 Binghamton - Duke will win this one and Tony Kornheiser will cry in his green-sleeved Binghamton t-shirt.

SOUTH
#1 UNC over #16 Radford - I would only pick this as an upset because UNC is a weak #1 but the Tar Heels live up to the madness in March and this is Radford's first invite to the dance. Carolina will only win because they play in Greensboro, albeit they have the easiest road to the finals, but could easily be stopped by the Zags.

#8 LSU over #9 Butler - The SEC isnt a great conference but the Tigers shouldn't be overlooked. They will take this game easily.

SIXTH UPSET: #12 Western Kentucky over #5 Illinois - WKU's Chester Frazier has a broken hand and we all know what injuries mean in the postseason.

#4 Gonzaga over #13 Akron - The Zags are underrated this season. Their stellar defense and flashy point guards will breeze by Akron and could go further than expected.

#6 Arizona St over #11 Temple - Temple's Dionte Christmas scored 29 pts to win the A-10 Title. But this is as far as they come. Chick Pick: Temple, cause the owls will show you their hooters.

#3 Syracuse over #14 S. F. Austin - The Orange's Jonny Flynn is a beast of a point guard playing 147 out of 155 possible minutes in the Big East Tournament. Cuse deserves to go far in this tournament and have the heart if they so choose. Chick Pick: S.F. Austin because sweaty lumberjacks are oh so fun.

#7 Clemson over #10 Michigan - Trevor Booker is a human highlight reel and if he plays to his full potential, it will make you forget the Wolverines beat Duke earlier this season. Chick Pick: Clemson Tigers.. grr baby.

#2 Oklahoma over #15 Morgan State - Blake Griffin will dominate this match up and continue to outperform everyone else in the tournament. Syracuse-Oklahoma will be very interesting.

Viva Venezuela.

He’s 2nd in the ACC in assists. He’s the leading Junior in minutes played in his conference. He owns his school's first triple-double in over two decades... And he’s a total menace on the basketball court. I'll admit it, I didn’t like him at first either. He was a showoff in the worst way, with little or no stats to back it up. He was a talker, a distraction, and I wanted him off my team. But then something strange happened. This annoying showboat started to score. He hit 3-3's to become the 7th ranked MD 3-point field goal shooter vs VT, scored the first 16 pts on his way to a triple-double against then-ranked #3 UNC and put up a game-high 33 pts on the road vs the Wolfpack. I started to realize that Greivis Vasquez was not only a headcase, he was a talent, and one the Terps couldn’t turn their backs on. Quite the opposite. He's taken this young group of athletes and put them on his shoulders, carrying them through conference fire and back and has never once mentioned their lack of effort. When Gary Williams' job was in question, Vasquez turned the attention on himself, and instead wrote the theme of the story the way it should have been written all along; Maryland is still a contender, and Gary Williams had helped lead them there. Vasquez's passion for the game is exhibited through his emotional tirades. In reality, coach and player are one in the same. When the Terps screw up, Gary turns to his bench and gives them an earful. When Vasquez hits a three, he turns to the opposing bench and does the same. In a decade where we say that stats have become meaningless, scoring celebrations excessive, press conferences humorous, and heroes corrupt, who are we to tell a 22-year-old kid with NBA dreams that his intensity is too intense, his emotions too raw, and his self-esteem too cocky? When today's definition of success has an asterisk next to it, those who have become successful, even in the smallest of arenas, should be allowed to walk through life with a conceited swagger that screams, "Look at me. I'm who you want to be." Because when it comes down to it, it’s not the fact that you hate Greivis Vasquez, you hate the fact that he doesn't play for your team.

MY First Blog

Well hello there internet world. Never done this before but im giving it a shot!