The NFL or NCAA – Who Has It Right?

It is late August, so that means only one thing when your baseball team is out of playoff contention – Football.  This always brings the interesting debate around the country, college or the NFL – what game is better.  Both sports are so different, which is why I love both.  Alright, enough of this intro, let’s get into what you came here for – the actual debate.

History

The NFL has teams such as the 49ers, Cowboys, Steelers and Packers who have tremendous history.  However, they can’t compete with USC, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame.  The first college game took place in 1875, which is almost 50 years before the NFL was founded in 1920.  There are hundreds of college teams to choose from and discover their history as opposed to the 32 in the NFL, which includes numerous expansion teams in recent memory.

Advantage: NCAA.

Stadiums

This point comes down to your preference rather than factual information.  Are you one that loves the history of a stadium or would you rather a corporate municipal type stadium.  The NFL stadiums have more comfortable seats, bigger aisles, HD monitors and are newer.  College stadiums have hard bleachers, skinny aisles and are less fan friendly.  However, the college stadiums are much more unique with tons of history.  You will not see that with NFL stadiums.

Advantage: NFL.  (NCAA would have huge advantage if stadium seats were stripped to be all chair backs).

Play Calling



Do you see this in the NFL?



The NFL is considered to be a copy cat league, while college football is constantly changing its play calling.  In the NFL you see mostly the same thing – an ace backfield, 3 wideouts, a tight end.  Sometimes you see this same variation in a shotgun.  There is absolutely no variation at all.  At the college level and you can see all kinds of variation.  Like running football?  There is the power option at Georgia Tech.  Like a fast paced spread option?  Look at Auburn and Oregon.  Like to see a lot of passing?  Go to Oklahoma St and Texas Tech.  Like an I-formation?  They run that at Alabama.  Like the pistol?  Arkansas runs that.  Like a balanced attack?  That is what Oklahoma runs.  College football is the total opposite of a copy cat league, teams are constantly thinking of new ways to attack.  The NFL is constantly stealing ideas from college – where do you think the Wildcat came from?

Huge Advantage: NCAA.

Fans

Uh oh NFL fans, we have another category here that is favoring the college game.  This one is a landslide.  NFL stadiums are filled with white collar corporate people who are afraid to make noise at a game.  At college games, half the stadium is filled with college students.  There are two, not just one, two stadiums with the nickname with Death Valley.  They have a stadium named for their “12^th Man.”  Kansas City is the only city in the NFL that can come close to this, but there are multiple college stadiums like this.

Huge Advantage: NCAA.

Players

Finally, the NFL has a huge advantage.  The NFL boasts the best football players in the world and it’s pretty deep as there are only 32 teams.  Compare this with the 100+ teams in college football with a high turnover rate, the NFL wins this easily.  The only thing you can say about these future accountants, insurance salesmen, etc is they really play with a passion that is unparalleled in the NFL.

Huge Advantage: NFL.

Rivalries



The Iron Bowl is one of the
top rivalries in Sports



Top rivalries in NFL include Steelers-Ravens (Browns), Cowboys-Redskins.  These games have included some of the best players that have ever played and some of the best games ever played at the NFL level.  However, college boasts Auburn-Alabama (Iron Bowl), Texas-Oklahoma (Red River Rivalry), Florida-Georgia (World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party), etc.  These games not only have the history that the NFL games have, but most of these games are played with a National Championship or major bowl game on the line.  The NFL games never have that level of intensity unless they are in the playoffs.

Advantage: NCAA.

Playoffs

This is one we could look back on in a few years and flip the scripts here.  College football currently has one of the most corrupt and wrong ways to determine a national champion – a “computer”.  The best two teams based on these rankings play for the title game.  This can lead to controversy (see 2005: Auburn going undefeated and being left out).  However, in 2 years they will create a 4 team playoff, which I think eventually gets to be an 8 or 16 team playoff and watch out.  That would be runner up to March Madness in terms of a playoff system.  But anyways, right now the NFL has the best playoff system going.  12 teams make it, single elimination – win and move on.

Huge Advantage: NFL.

TV

Without ordering NFL Sunday ticket you can only watch possibly 4-5 games a week with the NFL.  This is totally not the case with college football.  Not only do you not need to order a special package but there are always 3-4 games on National TV at each time slot on Saturday.  One game is a blowout, no need to worry, just switch to the other.  You don’t have this luxury with the NFL as you are just stuck with whatever game CBS/Fox decides to air for you.  Oh, did I mention college football is literally on ESPN every day of the week besides Sunday and Monday.

Huge Advantage: NCAA.

Overall

I think its pretty clear to me what the better game is – NCAA.  5-3 in favor of the “amateurs”.  The passion, history, uniqueness make the college game a far better game.  See you on Saturday.  War Eagle all Day.

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My Breakdown of The League

So with the controversy that Bob created yesterday with his terrible rankings.  I figured I would give my unbiased rankings soley on stats and my projected points.  These power rankings include only starters in the rankings.  However the pictures below that show all the breakdown of every player's projected points for each team.

First, let's explain.  I have included starters (based on where they were drafted), team, bye week, positional ranking and projected fantasy points.  I then average the positional ranking among starters and total the projected fantasy points.  This leads to the below rankings.  Let the hating begin.

Below is the breakdown of each individual team.  I know you will all have issues with this, but these are totally unbiased rankings and stats.

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Bob's Preseason Rankings Fantasy Football

So I know it has been a while since anyone has blogged.  One of my buddies, Bob recently assessed my current fantasy league I am in giving his unbiased opinion on everyone's team.  Don't take any of this personal, as he didn't make the playoffs in his league last year.  Without further ado, I present Bob's Preseason Rankings.

LANE-O -     

            As a fan of the Pats and winning, I would have to say I love your first pick.  It’s a safe, very high upside pick that will make all Pats games more enjoyable.  However, your 2^nd pick is terrible.  Not only did you pass on the likes of Jamaal Charles or Demarco Murray, but you picked a rookie RB who plays with a 48 year old Rookie QB and their best WR is a rookie out of the Supplemental Draft.  If you think MJD saw stacked boxes last year, you ain’t seen nothing yet.  After that, you followed it up with 2 walking injuries (Matthews and Colston) and then picked the worst RB playing organized football, and that includes high school teams.  Oh wait it gets better, you picked back to back WR on the same team next.  I mean good team but it could have been soo much better.

Draft Grade – C-

Skinny –

            Rodgers, Fitz, and Cruz are all studs and will produce for you every week.  The Lynch pick was wayyy to early though.  I mean do you really trust Marshawn Lynch to keep running for skittles???  Ya, me neither.  He just got paid and can buy as many skittles as he wants now.  I would have picked any RB that was picked in the next 2 rounds over him, except the offensive tackle named Michael Turner but we will get to him later.  And then you added even more risk by taking Beanie and Reggie.  I like to pick running backs on teams that actually know who their starting QB is but that’s just me.  Your best 3 picks were probably your last 3. 

Draft Grade – D-

Mike V -        

            Like this owners draft the most so far.  (Just remember, you are going against a C- and a D- so far)  You have 2 of the top 5 RB’s (AP could play with a prosthetic leg and be top 10).  Andre Johnson is in for a rebound year and your next 4 picks (Jordy, Hernandez, Austin, Peyton) are all solid picks with upside.  Greg Little that late is even a great value.  But you picked a Defense in the 9^th round.  The only way they live up to that draft spot is if they play the Jets every single game.

Draft Grade – B

Orrico –

            Best RB combo out there.  Rice is so dependable and McFadden probably has the highest ceiling of all players.  Frank was too early there considering the talent he has behind him and the miles he has on his tires.  I am a fan of the double dip (Rivers and Gates) but think you could have got a QB that will finish with similar #’s at least 2 or 3 rounds later (Vick round 7 is just 1 example).  Love the WR’s you got so late because they all have the possibility to be #1’s on their teams (Antonio Brown, and Torrey Smith).  Buttttt Plax really?  I want to give you an F just for that 1 pick but will be nice.

Draft Grade – B+

Quinn –

            Quinn Quinn Quinn.  I love the fact that you picked 7 RB’s, great ambition.  The only problem I have is that none are any good.  You picked Bradshaw before Mathews and Mathews would have to miss the first 8 games for me to do that, not just 2.  Then you picked Roy Helu, Law Firm, and Ben Tate all before your best running back Stevan Ridley.  You do have the best TE out there but you only have 3 WR’s.  Roddy will be solid (even if he is the #2 on his own team), Wallace isn’t even playing yet, and Meachem has caught 1 pass so far from Rivers in 2 preseason games.  Not the rapport I would be banking on with only 3 wide outs.  Start thinking about the first pick for next year.

Draft Grade – F

Scaf –

            WOW!  Talk about a great draft.  Like having the best RB fall to you at 6^th wasn’t good enough, but Jamaal Charles in the 3^rd.  Are you serious??  Incredible!  Then to lock up 2 proven starting WR’s in Welker and Marshall is just fantastic.  Oh and it gets better.  You should be arrested for getting Vick (who was the unquestioned #1 pick last year) in the 7^th.   That’s Bernie Madoff type stuff.  Decker, Spiller, and Romo just round out a great overall draft.  Well done.

Draft Grade – A+

Mike R –

            You have an OK team, and by OK I mean not that good.  Calvin is, well Calvin but Matt Ice with your 2^nd??  Yikes.  I mean I play in an 18 team league and he lasted until the 3^rd round.  I mean if you could have got Tony Romo in the 11^th, you could have had Matt Forte /Tony Romo instead of Matt Ryan / Mario Manningham.  I would much rather have the first.  Like Murray but HATE HATE HATE Turner.  I think he will either be cut or moved to the O-line at some point this year.  And if one of those guys gets hurt (or cut) you are screwed.  And Reggie Wayne and Boldin are both on the backside cliff of their careers.  Love Lloyd but I also loved Ocho last year.  Best pick on this team was Cutler in the 12^th.

Draft Grade – D-

Dan-o –

              Dan-o the man-o put forth arguably the best draft (sorry but my vote goes the team with McCoy, Forte ANDDDDDD Jamaal Charles….. that just shouldn’t happen unless you are in a 4 man league).  But CJ2K, Old reliable Steven Jackson, and Doug Martin isn’t too bad either.  Add to that you have 2 of my favorite WR’s in Julio (he will be the #2 wr this year behind only Calvin) and Percy “I do everything” Harvin.  Like that you waited on a TE and stole Pettigrew late.  And you waited on a Defense and Kicker til the last 2 rounds.  Great draft.

Draft Grade – A

Matty V –

            I am going to try to be as nice as possible since I’ve heard you are a UNC fan and I have a soft spot.  I am not as big a fantasy fan of Cam Newton as others are.  Listen, I know he is a stud in the making (Lane edit: War Eagle); however his fantasy points were inflated from rushing TD’s that will never be repeated.  Why?  Well if I own the Panthers, and saw the QB play before Newton, I am def not letting him take goal line carries to risk injury and going back to Jimmy Clausen.  Not happening.  Add that he only threw for over 200 yards once in the last 4 games last year and avg only 28 attempts over the last 8 games compared to 36 from the first 8 games.  Well you get my point, rant over.  Gronk is a beast but will never live up to that draft spot with all the other mouths to feed in New England now.  The rest of your guys I like but don’t love any, except Nicks, but with him he is always hurt.  You have a bubble team as of right now, sorry bud.  Go Tarheels tho.

Draft Grade – B-

Jon –

            Hopefully you missed the draft because that would give you an excuse of having such a bad team.  First, MJD isn’t that bad a pick right there, but not backing up him with Rashard Jennings and instead choosing GB defense, Danny Woodhead and Santana Moss is realllly bad.  You could have made up for it by taking a sure thing RB next round but instead you picked a QB that throws 25 interceptions a year and has lost some valuable weapons in his arsenal.  I do like Jennings and Dez, but not enough to call your team good.  Hope that Green Bay defense really holds it down for you. 

Draft Grade - D

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My All-American Teams & Player of the Year

It is that time, The 1^st Annual Prestigious The Truth Boston Blog’s All American and Player of the Year (I guess we can think of a better name at some point).  I had done a midseason All-American team earlier and I think it’s a good time for the end of the year awards.

The Player of the Year Award was the most difficult for me, as I think Thomas Robinson and Anthony Davis both are very deserving for this.  However, I look at overall team success this year and Kentucky was better during the regular season.  In fact, both Kentucky and Kansas played earlier in the season and Kentucky won.  I’ve done a lot of blogging lately, so I am going to be lazy here and just posts stats next to their names.  Feel free to debate in the c-section.

POY – Anthony Davis

1^st Team:

G: Kendall Marshall                8.2 pts, 9.8 asts, 2.6 rbs

G: Damian Lillard                   24.5 pts, 4 asts, 5 rbs, 1.5 stls

F: Draymond Green                16.2 pts, 10.2 rbs, 1.5 stls

F: Thomas Robinson               17.9 pts, 11.8 rbs, 1 blk

F: Anthony Davis                   14.3 pts, 10.1 rbs, 4.6 blks, 1.3 stls

2^nd Team:

G: Isaiah Canaan                     19.2 pts, 3.3 rbs, 3.7 asts. 1.4 stls

F: Doug McDermott               23.2 pts, 8.2 rbs, 49% 3pt                  

F: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist       12.0 pts, 7.6 rbs, 2 asts

F: Jared Sullinger                    17.6 pts, 9.3 rbs

C: Tyler Zeller                         16.5 pts, 9.3 rbs, 1.3 blks

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My Take on Harrison Barnes

It is the Final Four, but with Harrison Barnes, John Henson, and Kendall Marshall all declaring for the draft I thought I would give my opinion on Barnes.  First let me say as an anti-UNC fan I love that he is going pro, but as a college basketball and NBA fan, I am disappointed.  Barnes is one of the most talented guys in college basketball, hence why Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him going in the top 10 of every mock draft he does.  But to me there is so much more than that.

Harrison Barnes is a guy who to me suffers from the same thing LeBron James does, except for that whole destroying a city on national TV thing.  As a fan, we see these guys and all their talent and think, man I wish they played with more passion and desire.  You then look at someone like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and can’t help but imagine Barnes playing like him, with the passion, desire to win, and just to play the game with a reckless abandon.  But some guys aren’t wired like that; it’s just unfortunate they aren’t.

Part of me wonders whether the hype of him coming into college had something to do with it.  If college basketball writers didn’t name him a preseason First Team All-American as a freshman, would he be in a better position than he is now?  Who knows, really?  I remember when he was in high school and he had a typical signing day for an elite athlete (that is if you consider a typical signing day to include being on national TV), but then he wanted to be a little different, a little unique, so he Skyped in Coach Roy Williams to declare he would play for UNC.  As I would later learn, this was probably based on bad advice, because watching Barnes in college I realized he’s just a guy who seems like he just wants to fit in, rather than stand out.

You look at Barnes’ numbers this year and you see 17.1 points a game, 5.2 rebounds a game on a team that went 32-6.  You see that and you think wow, this kid is special.  Which is true, he is special, which is why I demand even more out of him.  In the game against Kansas in the Elite 8, the Tar Heels' offense went cold against the zone in the final 5 minutes, making two of their final 13 shots, including eight straight misses to end the game.  If you are truly that special, you take over the game and you don’t allow that kind of thing  to happen, Barnes went 0-3 from the floor in those final minutes and scored 1 point.  That is what kills me, because he has the ability to demand the ball, get to the rim, get fouled and take control of the game, but he just doesn’t. 

By all accounts, he is a great kid that works really hard, but maybe that is also his downfall, he’s too nice.  Maybe he will figure this out in the NBA.  But a lasting image of LeBron passing out of late game shots always comes back to me as a comparison for Barnes.  I hope I’m wrong.

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The State of Your Boston Bruins

Hello, Hello, Hello. Been awhile, I know. I could blame it on a few things but let's just go with I was in an end of the winter slumber just like our Boston Bruins, as my excuse.

As we speak the B's are doing just fine, they have picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and are holding strong as the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference with the playoffs a week and a half away. But let's be honest it hasn't been an easy road..

From February 1st thru March 15th the Bruins went a pathetic 8-14, along the way they lost Rich Peverly to a knee injury (just returned 2 games ago), they lost Tuukka to a groin/abdominal pull (50-50 shot he returns for playoffs), Bergeron was banged up, Thornton had the flu for what seemed to be 2 weeks and Joe Corvo played like he was hurt but unfortunately he just sucks. Injuries are not to blame though, the Bruin's lost their focus, the only way this team can be successful is if they stick to coach Claude Julien's style, it's how they are built, they cannot rely on skill alone because they simply don't have enough. They are built to be a TEAM and if they don't play like a TEAM they will fall faster than an Iona 25 point lead in the NCAA tournament (sorry V, I had to). Now that we are on the topic of team I would like to quickly point out I still believe the Bruins lost their way when Tim Thomas went on his political campaign but for the sake of not repeating myself I will not go on another rant about it.

So what's to come..

Well the Bruins should wrap up the 2 seed shorty and if the season ended today they would be facing the Ottawa Senators in the first round. This is a great match up for our Bruins. Thomas has played in 16 of the last 17 games, so look for him to get a breather over the next couple weeks (assuming they don't start another losing streak), you may see Marty Turco get a few games or Khudobin from Providence and maybe even Tuukka before the season is out. Depending on how quickly the B's can wrap up the 2 seed I wouldn't be surprised to see Bergeron, Chara, Seidenberg, Ference etc. get a "maintenance" day or two.. Other than that we just wait, so until then.. strap on your seat belt, pull on your helmets, put on your foil, ready the troops, dust off your bear claws, if you are a bandwagon fan (Lane-o) hop on the bandwagon, hold onto your _____, and get ready to have your world rocked because it's almost NHL PLAYOFF TIME!!

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The Best Final Four Ever?

Could we have a better Final Four than the one we have this weekend?  This is going to be awesome!  Not only is my favorite team (Kansas) in it, but we have 4 of the top ten programs of all time in it.  There is no mid major this year, which is fitting because New Orleans does everything big.  Big rivalries, big men, big games, everything is big.

Most everyone is talking about the Kentucky-Louisville game, and rightfully so.  You don’t get bigger rivalries than those two.  There have already been fights among the fans and I would expect a lot more.  These guys literally hate each other.  You also have two of the biggest coaching personalities out there with Rick Pitino and John Calipari.  Both coaches have have strong connections at UMass, both have tried (and failed) at the NBA, and both have coached at Kentucky. 

So getting into the game itself, Kentucky should win handily based on talent alone, with Unibrow (Anthony Davis), MKG, Terrance Jones, and 3-4 other NBA players they can role out there.  However, this is a rivalry game and Louisville is as hot as any team in the country (see UConn last year).  Their matchup 2-3 zone (a Ralph Willard – Holy Cross staple) has given teams fits this year.  They are finally healthy and Peyton Siva is making a ton of plays.  But when it

comes down to it, I can’t pick against Kentucky (mostly because of the Unibrow) in this game.  My pick: Kentucky 78-65.

  Now let’s get to the game that I am really more concerned about, Kansas and Ohio State.  These teams played back in December with Kansas taking it 78-67, but all you will hear about that game is that Jared Sullinger did not suit up for it (was he ducking it to avoid Thomas Robinson?)  But people forget that Tyshawn Taylor has surgery the next day for a torn MCL and meniscus, and he still had 13 assists in that game.  Jeff Withey wasn’t nearly the player he is now and don’t even get me started on Elijah Johnson.  EJ is currently playing the best basketball for the Jayhawks, who is going to defend him?  William No-Show Buford?  The funny thing about this game is that both teams were actually better last year and didn’t make it this far, its weird sometimes how March works.  The key to this matchup will be foul trouble and who matches up on who.  Both teams have zero depth, especially for the bigs.  If Withey is matched up against Sullinger and Deshawn Thomas is matched up with Robinson, I will take Kansas every single time.  If T-Rob and Sullinger are matched up against each other down low, it could be a toss up because both guys could get in foul trouble.  This will be a tight one, but I will go with Kansas 72-63.

Now if you have been reading this blog for a while now, you will remember I predicted this back on February 13.  I think a Kansas-Kentucky final would be everything a college basketball fan could want.  Two of the biggest fan bases, storied histories, elite coaches, and exceptional talent.  This is going to be a fun ride in New Orleans and it begins Saturday night.  The best playoff could possibly have the best ending ever, let’s just hope the Superdome is ready.

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Jayhawks Prevail Over Former Coach (Again)

Anyone who knows me knows this weekend was about as good as it gets from a basketball perspective for me.  The other two bloggers on this site happen to be UNC fans, yeah I know – I am not sure why or how, but I happen to be a big Kansas fan and yesterday my Jayhawks whooped the Tarheels.  To give you a little background, in case you don’t know, Roy Williams was the coach of Kansas until 2003 where he left to go coach UNC.  Well to say us Jayhawk fans were upset would be an understatement, we are in the top 3 winningest program in the country, so we don’t consider our program to be a stepping stone for anyone.  But then maybe the best thing could have happened; Kansas hired an up and coming star in Coach Bill Self.  In their very first matchup against each other, Coach Self and Former Coach Roy Williams matched up in the Final Four in 2008, Kansas ended up winning that (this will become a pattern) en route to a Championship that year.

This brings us to this past weekend where those same two coaches matched up again, only one player remains from that original match up, former walk-on redshirt senior Connor Teahan.  The first half was like a great boxing match, Kansas would go on a quick strike for 6 unanswered points, then UNC would answer back with a 8-0 run of their own.  The first half was played at such a high level, it was no wonder there were so many NBA scouts in attendance.  After 20 minutes, they were knotted up at 47 all.

Surprisingly I was confident going into the half tied up, because I was extremely happy with the offense I saw the Jayhawks display and I knew Kansas would start to clamp down on defense (something I felt UNC couldn’t do).  Well, this didn’t happen soon enough for me as both teams continued to exchange little 4 or 6 point runs and the score stayed even for much of the second half.  But then, Coach Self went back to their rarely used Triangle and Two defense, the same one that eventually slowed down Robbie Hummel and Purdue in the round of 32.

Once this defense was installed, UNC had no answer.  Kansas collapsed into to the paint, allowing no penetration or scoring by the Tar Heel big men.  UNC then settled for 3 pointers (11% for the game) and mid range jump shots (22% in 2nd half) and Kansas finished the game on a 13-0 run.  Even though I almost had a heart attack, that Kansas defense finally showed up.

This Kansas team is led by All American Thomas Robinson and streaky point guard Tyshawn Taylor and those two were the reasons that Kansas is moving on to the Big Easy for a chance to cut down the nets once again.  Robinson had a typical T-Rob day, with 18 points and 9 rebounds, while TT had 22 points.  No one would have expected this at the beginning of the season when the Jayhawks only returned one starter and depended heavily on a guy who only played 14 minutes a game last year.  Everyone else barely even cracked the rotation last year.  Bill Self probably said it best after the game, “This would have been a year, if we got to the second weekend (of the tournament), most Kansas fans would be happy. But that's not how those guys think.  They think this is their year, and I'm certainly not going to tell them anything different.” 

Now my Jayhawks are only 2 wins away from doing the improbable.  It will be a very tough road as they have to go through Ohio State, who just dismantled a very good Syracuse squad and likely a Kentucky team that may have 7 pros on its team.  But, this is March so anything could happen, who would have expected them to get this far.  Why not us?

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Family Over Everything

#RockChalkJayhawk

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Kansas-UNC: The Battle of Two Unique Styles

So I know it has been a while since I last blogged, and I know you missed it.  Well I am back by popular demand.  So I am going to preview one of the best days that a college basketball fan can have.  As you may or may not know, I am a huge Kansas fan and today my Jayhawks go up against some team that a few of my friends support, North Carolina.  Now not only is this is a big day for me, because I just despise the Tar Heels, but it is a big day for all Jayhawk fans because Roy Williams is going up against his old team.

In 2008, Kansas went through UNC and Roy in the final 4, this year they are playing for a trip to the final 4.  2008 was also the year Kansas brought the title back to Lawrence, maybe it is only fitting that they have to go through UNC again this year?  Does that mean another title in my future?  I sure hope so.

The only negative thing about this game is that All-American point guard Kendall Marshall has a fractured wrist for the Tar Heels; I can already hear the excuses coming from their fans.  Who is to say Kansas wouldn’t win even with Kendall?  Yes, I get that Kendall is important to the Heels, is that because he is that good, or just because they didn’t recruit another point guard?  If Tyshawn Taylor went down for Kansas, EJ would just slide over to the point guard spot and Connor Teahan would move into the starting lineup.  That would be ok with me.  If Thomas Robinson went down (arguably the most important player in college bball) then the Jayhawks would just slide in Kevin Young.  I wouldn’t make the excuse, I would just tip my cap.  The Heels have plenty of talent with Barnes, Henson, Zeller, Bullock and McAdoo, if they really are the better team we will find out today.

This matchup will be one of my all-time favorites because it displays two very unique styles, the Jayhawks play very physical defense, while the Tar Heels are all offense (and Henson).  We have already seen in last night’s games, physical defenses (see – Louisville & Ohio St) have advanced to the Final Four.  Today, Kansas and Kentucky play very physical defense, while Baylor and UNC don’t and rely more on their athleticism, which is why I am picking the two K schools to advance.  I can’t wait for today and I hope you are excited too.

I will leave you with this video to get you excited for today:

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