Winthrop Gone Like a Freight Train

Winthrop's desired Cinderella run came to an abrupt end in Spokane, Washington today. The Ducks of Oregon defeated them handily, 75-61. Oregon (and is it pronounced Or-e-GON' or Or'e-gen?) figured out what Notre Dame could not - force Winthrop to play an inside game. Winthrop, on the other hand, decided to shut down its shooting and miss most of its shots.

What does this mean for Winthrop? It probably means that Gregg Marshall proved that he can play the big games and will have interviews with Utah and Michigan. Michigan began this off season what any respectable team would do when they won 22 games - they fired Tommy Amaker.

Why did Notre Dame not figure out how to beat Winthrop? Supposedly the Big 10 is a good conference, at least that's what ESPN keeps trying to tell us year after year. But Notre Dame is in Indiana. These people are Midwesterners. These are the people that got kicked out of Ohio and Illinois. This is the same state that gave us Vice President Dan Quayle and porn star Dick Lugar. Oh, wait, my assistant just informed me that Dick Lugar is, in fact, a U.S. Senator. Well, perhaps given the likes of Gary Condit and the Kennedy's, there really isn't much of a difference.

Anyway, the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 has been determined. This year's Sweet 16 teams give us very little to cheer for. Last year's champion, Florida, will play Butler. Everyone expects Butler to get creamed. And Butler's from Indiana, just like Senatorial porn stars. UNLV will be taking on Oregon. Here's an actual situation where we are the losers. Kansas will be playing Southern Illinois. I'll give Southern Illinois their dues. They are the token directional state college (e.g. Southwest Missouri State, Eastern Michigan, South Florida, etc...). Pittsburgh finally decided to play to the hype. They will be facing UCLA, who many expect will win their 400th NCAA D-I title this year.

The ACC disappointed this year. How many ACC teams made the tournament? 7? How many are left? One? Come on now. You're making it really difficult for me to argue that the ACC is the toughest conference to play in. I would give the Big East and the SEC kudos for second. But when Duke gets their New Jersey drivers' licenses handed to them by VCU, you are really embarrassing your advocates.

So North Carolina will take on the Trojans of Southern California, not to be confused with the Trojans of Representative Gary Condit who represented Southern California. Vanderbilt will be slugging it out against Patrick Ewing and coach John Thompson of Georgetown. You've heard those names before? Yeah, you know you're getting old when their kids are getting the headlines.

The over-hyped Ohio State will be hosting Tennessee. Hopefully, Tennessee can score another 121 points and give black eyes to the Buckeyes. Finally, Memphis, the team with the nation's longest winning streak, will be battling Texas A&M, the team from the state with the longest embarrassment streak. You know what I'm talking about. "Oh, this is Texas' year. Oh, this is Texas A&M's year. Oh, this is Texas Tech's year." We all know the results of that.

So where do I fall? I guess I'll be cheering on North Carolina for 2 reasons. I have to cheer on the ACC, as I am still convinced that they are the toughest conference, regardless of how much Duke sucked this year. And secondly, my wife graduated from UNC, so she's kind of holding that against me.

Fortunately, we a have a few days before the games begin again. Hopefully I can recover from 4 days of drinking all day and get some work down around the house.