TheKilo

Ference is pretty awful and is injured a good chunk of every season.

Really? We didn't? Funny, I was under the impression we had a young stud goaltender who is in the top 5 in the league in save % and GAA. This move boggles the mind. At least the Thomas deal could be defended- not well, but it could. This maes no sense, especially with Stuart, Boychuck, and Seidenberg all approaching UFA or RFA status. This marks the end of my support for Chiarelli. His plan doesn't work. The "tough to play against" meme only goes so far. Take that s*** back to Ottawa. He's f***ed with the team's depth and it will cost him unless he can dump Wideman AND Ryder AND Thomas. Christ, when Dojji questions the move, you know it is s*****.

And finally, we go West, with Syracuse as the #1. Dark Horse - UTEP. Like ODU, a team that does everything well. Character, the transfer from Louisville, could be a key difference for this team. I think they beat Butler fairly easily (Butler has no inside game to speak of) and then take care of business against Vanderbilt. Upset Special - UTEP over Butler, Minnesota over Xavier Most Overrated Team - Pittbsurgh as a 3. Pittsburgh is a good team with a great coach who always gets the most out of his players. Thing is, Dixon and Pitt's physical play doesn't always play so well in the tournament, and this Pitt team isn't as talented as the others that have been put on the floor the last few years. And can someone explain how Xavier has a higher seed than Gonzaga? Biggest Trap Game - Vanderbilt/Murray State. Murray State turns their opponents over exceedingly well and if they start to push their tempo onto Vanderbilt, look out. Interesting note, these schools are about 150 miles from each other and are playing their first round game in San Jose. Toughest Game to Pick - Syracuse/Gonzaga in Round 2 BYU/Florida (seriously) Syracuse/Kansas State in the regional final... Region Winner Syracuse. I know they closed the season 4-3, but for the first three months of the basketball season they were unquestionably one of the top 3 teams in the country. I love Boeheim as a coach and this team is so much more likeable without McNamara or Devendorf on it. I know no team has ever won a National Championship after losing their first game of their conference tournament, but like UConn last year, I expect Syracuse to go out West and make it to the Final Four.

Let's go South, where Duke is the #1. Dark Horse - Siena or ODU. ODU is a team that does everything well (I believe they are the leading offensive rebounding team in the country) and Siena is battle-tested with an easier road to the S16. Siena gets a Shell of what the Purdue team could have been and then either Texas A&M or USU in round 2. Upset Special - ODU over Notre Dame and Siena over Purdue. Most Overrated Team - Purdue. Without Hummel, they just don't have anyone that can score consistently. Although I am wary that everyone and their mother is picking Siena here because this Siena team isn't as good as the one that made that run last year.... Biggest Trap Game - Siena/Purdue. That phenomenon where EVERYONE picks an upset and then it doesn't happen? Yeah, serious vibes here. Toughest Game to Pick - Again, I have a few of them here: Texas A&M/Siena in Round 2 Richmond/ St Marys in Round 1 Baylor/Villanova in the Sweet 16 Region Winner - Here's where I go against chalk (not really, they are still a high seed). I just don't expect all #1s to make it this year. And since Duke has problems with athletic teams that can run and shoot, I'm hoping this team shocks the world in their home state in the regional final. Baylor.

Now we'll move to the East, with Kentucky as the #1 seed. Dark Horse - I love Cornell's draw. I think Cornell would have closed the season in the top 25 if it wasn't for the loss to Penn. They are an excellent team who can really shoot the ball. I think they are woefully underseeded (as is Temple, shame this is a 1st round game). If Cornell shoots over 40%, I like them to beat Temple and then they have to beat either Wofford (1st time tourney team) or Wisconsin (overrated as a 4). I think Cornell makes it to the second weekend. Upset Special - Cornell over Temple Most Overrated Team - Wisconsin as the 4. Not quite sure what they did to deserve that seeding, especially over a team like Temple (who would have been my choice as this region's 3 seed, let alone 4). Biggest Trap Game - It seems like everyone I have talked to LOVES Washington over Marquette after Washington won the Pac-10 tournament. Washington may be talented but I do not see where this sudden rush of optimism is coming from. Give me the tested team from the better conference who made a solid run in their own conference tournament. *Disclaimer - I pick Marquette to go to the S16 every f***ing year. I don't know what my issue is. Toughest Game to Pick - I have a few, Missouri/Clemson in Round 1, Marquette/New Mexico in Round 2, and a WVU/UK regional final, which leads me to... Region Winner - Kentucky. Give me the best pro prospects and I'll take my chances. Wall and Cousins spit in the face of "inexperience" to take the 'Cats and Ashley Judd to Indy.

OK, we're going to change it up a bit this year. I'm going to go through round by round and pick one of the following categories: Dark Horse - Seed lower than #5 most likely to make the S16 Upset Special (1st Rd) Most Overrated Team - Must be a 4 or higher Biggest Trap Game Toughest Game to Pick Region Winner I've added a few categories not only to liven the discussion a little more but to also help a brother out with some of these picks. With UConn sucking wind this season it was really tough for me to get thrown into the college basketball season (not to mention all of the other stuff I had going on this winter). So if other people want to throw up their own opinions on these categories, please do. We'll start with the #1 overall seed and the Midwest Region, for Kansas: Dark Horse - I have two for this region. Watch Georgia Tech, who just came off a deep run in the ACC tournament. They have more talent than a 10 seed but have been inconsistent this season. I like the way their bracket sets up if they can get by Oklahoma State in the 1st round. I think Ohio State is beatable even though they may have the best player in the tournament right now in Evan Turner. The second team to keep an eye on is SDSU...I don't think Tennessee is a very talented team and could be ripe for the picking, and then if they win that game they'll get Georgetown in the 2nd round. Georgetown is a good team but they turn the ball over quite a bit. SDSU might be able to take advantage of that. Upset Special (1st Round) - I'll take SDSU over Tennessee for the reasons mentioned above. Most Overrated Team - I think the committee overall did a very good job with the seeding in this region. I'm not sure if I completely buy Georgetown as a 3, their run the the BET notwithstanding. I had them pegged as a 4 so it wasn't that big of a deal. Biggest Trap Game - Watch the 4/13 game. I'm VERY skeptical of Maryland because if Vasquez has an off night they could be in a lot of trouble. Houston had their improbable run in their conference tournament but they have an excellent coach and if they can find some way to slow Vasquez, Houston has a shot. Toughest Game to Pick - I think this comes in the second round, where I have Michigan State meeting Maryland. I think Maryland will do enough to beat Houston but Michigan State is very dangerous, and they might have the best NCAA tournament coach in the field. As of now, I like Lucas and Izzo to beat Zasquez and Williams, but am going back and forth on this one. Very tough game. Region Winner - Kansas. I don't see how Kansas doesn't make it to Indy, in all honesty. People have been saying Duke has the easiest road but I think it's Kansas. I think KU beats Georgetown in the E8 after Georgetown beats Evan Turner and Ohio State.

I think the committee actually did a very, very good job this year. And while I can certainly sympathize with MSU not getting in, them being left out of the field is in no way shape or form any kind of egregious snub. Illinois has even less of a dog in this fight, especially with the waxing Minnesota put on Purdue over the weekend. There was no chance of them getting in after that. Super-long epic post with predictions to come.

I haven't had a chance to look at the bracket in any kind of depth yet. Will make one of my epic, long winded posts once I do. I know you're all psyched.

I'm also with J_E, Peppers and Taylor don't solve the real problems, the Oline and the secondary. Will be fun to see another 20 INT season from Cutler.

Aces. I'd be interested to see how many "Favorite Red Sox" threads are on this board. To answer the question, all time would be Pedro, Nomar, and Manny. Current are JD Drew and Clay Buchholz.

And while that is indeed impressive, I can pick far less impressive talents that have equivalent or superior stats on an 0-0 count. Bill Hall, tOPS+ of 160 in that situation Jeremy Hermida, tOPS+ of 169 in that situation Adrian Beltre, tOPS+ of 129 in that situation And so on, and so forth. Please don't take this as a knock against Nomar, just that this stat is quite misleading.

There's two possible outcomes. Either the Yankees pay Jeter a ridiculous contract into years where he is no longer a capable ballplayer, let alone SS, or they decide that it is time to move on from him after this offseason and risk pissing off their fanbase to a level unheard of. Either way, it will be a good outcome for Sox fans. NWIH do they sign a mutually benefical deal to short years.

And lay off Jackson. He jus doesn't have a clue what Nomar meant to this town, this city, and the conflictng emotions everyone felt when he left. Nomar WAS the Red Sox. Yeah Pedro and Manny were better players during his time here but there's never been anyone like Nomar for Sox fans. He was an absolutely electric ballplayer, and he was IT in the late 90s and early 00s. Jackson will have to remember what he said after the Yanks and Jeter have their messy divorce following this season.

Very misleading stat, since you cannot strike out on the first pitch. Lots of guys have great slash stats on an 0-0 count.

Time to go, Jim.

Team is a bunch of gutless pussies.

I will not have the same TT v Rask argument again. However I cannot agree with the laissez-faire atitude about the NTC s. Chiarelli loves to give them out to mediocre talent (thomas, Morris) and it killed him at the deadline when he got stuck with Thomas and got raped in the Morris deal. As for the team this season, I'm not sure how you can say no one has underachieved. By my count, Chara, Ryder, Krejci, Hunwick, Ference, Wideman, Lucic, Savard, and Thomas have all underperformed. I actually think Wheeler's overall game has improved (moreso than atthis point last yr). Sure, he could put the puck in the net more but you can say that about everyone except Sturm.

lol, really? The same guy who led them to four straight wins before the break, something that Thomas hasn't done all year? Give me a break. Chiarelli has f***ed this team for this season. I just hope he doesn't f*** them during the draft. The Thomas contract is an abomination and the only silver lining I can see from it is that he'll finally stop handing out NTCs and NMCs like candy.

Was in the league. Sorry guys, I have to bow out. I won"t be able to focus with all I have going on this spring.

Today's game is much different and I don't put too much stock in two seasons.