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2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament 2nd round- March 20th

This post will remain at the top of the blog for the rest of today. To see newer posts, scroll down.

As results come in today, I will update this post. I’ll also include any related tournament news here.

St. Mary’s defeats Villanova 75-68
Tennessee beats Ohio 83-68
Butler beats Murray State 54-52
Stunner- Northern Iowa beats Kansas 69-67
Baylor beats Old Dominion 76-68
Kentucky beat Wake Forest 90-60
Kansas State beats BYU 84-72
Washington beats New Mexico 82-64

 

2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament- March 18th

This post will remain at the top of the blog for the rest of today. To see newer posts, scroll down.

As results come in today, I will update this post. I’ll also include any related tournament news here.

1st result- Old Dominion defeats Notre Dame 51-50
1st overtime game- BYU beats Florida 99-92 in double OT
Close call- #2 seed Villanova beats Robert Morris 73-70 in overtime.
First big upset- #13 Murray State beats Vanderbilt 66-65
Baylor beats Sam Houston St. 68-59
Kansas State beats North Texas State 82-62
St. Mary’s beats Richmond 80-71
Butler beats UTEP 77-59
Kentucky beats East Tennessee St. 100-71
Ohio beats Georgetown 97-83
Washington beats Marquette 80-78
Northern Iowa beats UNLV 69-66
#1 Kansas beats Lehigh 90-74
New Mexico beats Montana 62-57
Wake Forest beats Texas 81-80

 

2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball predictions

Here are my selections-

2010 predictions1

2010 predictions2

So you heard it here first. Duke and Ohio State in the finals.

Note- Starting tomorrow I will have a sticky post at the top of the blog featuring that day’s results. Feel free to make your own predictions in the comment.

 

2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket

Well here it is-

2010 bracket

I don’t have to say. Later in the week, I’ll take a shot at predicting the outcome.

 

Navy runs by Wake Forest 13-10

Navy did not throw a single pass in the rain drenched game.

Backup quarterback Kriss Proctor ran 40 yards for a third-quarter touchdown, and Navy beat Wake Forest 13-10 in a driving rain Saturday for its fifth straight victory.

Subbing for injured Ricky Dobbs (left knee), Proctor carried 23 times for 89 yards in his first college start. Coming in, Proctor’s lone experience over two seasons was playing the mop-up role in a 63-14 win over Rice.

The Midshipmen (6-2) did not throw a pass. Last year, against SMU in similar conditions, Navy became the first FBS team since Ohio in 1997 not to attempt a single throw.

Fullback Vince Murray ran for a career-high 175 yards – his second straight 100-yard game – and Joe Buckley kicked two field goals for the Midshipmen, whose winning streak is their longest since a 5-0 start in 2004.

Wake Forest and Navy played in last year’s Eaglebank Bowl. The only 2008-09 colleage bowl game I watched the whole way through. I served in the Navy from 79-89.

It is difficult to pass in bad weather, but I always thought a football team needs to mix it up. A defense will otherwise always key on the run.

 

NFL Draft 2009 – Round 1 #4 – Seattle Seahawks- OLB Aaron Curry

He was the universally proclaimed the best linebacker in the draft.

ESPN writes- This is a great value at the fourth overall pick. Curry and Jason Smith graded out higher than any prospect in this year?s draft, and when you watch Curry on film you can see why. There’s not much he can?t do. Curry is an instinctive run defender with the quickness to disrupt plays in the backfield and sideline-to-sideline range. He can also match up in coverage and rush the passer. That’s not all, either. Curry has the work ethic, dedication and tenacity teams covet in their first-round picks. He’?s the complete package.

 

Indianapolis Colts name Jim Caldwell head coach

He replaces Tony Dungy who announced his retirement yesterday. From ESPN-

Jim Caldwell wants to build on Tony Dungy’s success, not be a carbon copy of his former boss.

Caldwell, 53, was introduced Tuesday by the Colts as Dungy’s replacement.

The move was not a surprise: The Colts announced their succession plan last year when Caldwell was elevated to associate head coach.

Caldwell has a four-year deal, but team owner Jim Irsay would not disclose the financial details other than to say it was competitive for a first-time NFL head coach.

Caldwell’s only prior head coaching experience came at Wake Forest, where he went 26-63 in eight seasons.

The Wake Forest record reminds me of another highly touted NFL assistant who coached college ball. How did Cam Cameron work out in Miami? We’ll have to see if Caldwell can beat that coach’s dismal rookie season as a coach.A year ago another NFL team hired a highly touted Offensive Coordinator to be head coach. Like Caldwell the coordinator had a unsuccessful stint as a College head coach. Who am I talking about? Cam Cameron who lasted one year at the helm of the Miami Dolphins.

Having a Peyton Manning or Dree Brees at QB can make a coach look extraordinary. We’ll have to see how Caldwell works out in Indianapolis.

 

Are you ready for some bowling?

No I’m not talking about some middle aged man propelling a ball at some objects at the end of a lane, but the games that climax every college football season. Bowl season officially starts this Saturday, here are the matchups for all the college football fanatics out there.

Dec 20
Eaglebank Bowl- Wake Forest vs Navy
New Mexico Bowl- Colorado State vs Fresno St
MAGICJACK ST. PETERSBURG BOWL- Memphis vs. South Florida
PIONEER LAS VEGAS BOWL- Brigham Young vs Arizona
Dec 21
R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL- Southern Miss vs. Troy
Dec 23
SAN DIEGO COUNTY CREDIT UNION POINSETTIA BOWL- Boise St vs TCU
Dec 24
SHERATON HAWAII BOWL- Hawaii vs Notre Dame
Dec 26
MOTOR CITY BOWL- Florida Atlantic vs. Central Michigan
Saturday, December 27
MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL- West Virginia vs. North Carolina
Champs Sports Bowl- Wisconsin vs. Florida State
Emerald Bowl- Miami (FL) vs. California
December 28
Independence Bowl- Northern Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech
PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL- North Carolina State vs. Rutgers
Valero Alamo Bowl- Missouri vs. No. 23 Northwestern
Tuesday, December 30
ROADY’S HUMANITARIAN BOWL- Maryland vs. Nevada
PACIFIC LIFE HOLIDAY BOWL- Oklahoma State vs. No. 17 Oregon
Texas Bowl- Western Michigan vs. Rice
Wednesday, December 31
BELL HELICOPTER ARMED FORCES BOWL- Houston vs. Air Force
Sun Bowl- Oregon State vs. Pittsburgh
GAYLORD HOTELS MUSIC CITY BOWL- Boston College vs. Vanderbilt
Insight Bowl- Kansas vs. Minnesota
CHICK-FIL-A BOWL- LSU vs. Georgia Tech
Thursday, January 1
OUTBACK BOWL- South Carolina vs. Iowa
CAPITAL ONE BOWL- Georgia vs. Michigan State
Gator Bowl- Nebraska vs. Clemson
Rose Bowl- Penn State vs. USC
Fedex Orange Bowl- Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech
Friday, January 2
Cotton Bowl- Mississippi vs. Texas Tech
AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL- Kentucky vs. East Carolina
ALLSTATE SUGAR BOWL- Utah vs. Alabama
January 3
INTERNATIONAL BOWL- Buffalo vs. Connecticut
January 5
TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL- Ohio State vs. Texas
January 6
GMAC Bowl- Ball State vs. Tulsa*
January 8
FEDEX BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME- Florida vs. Oklahoma

That’s 34 games, 68 schools spread over a period of 20 days for those of you keeping score at home. An ample supply of college football for any fanatics out there.

A few notes

*- There are a few bowl games remaining without corporate names in their title. Gator, Sun, Texas, Independence. Were these games unable to find sponsors?
*- Will Oklahoma St. and Oregon combine for 70 pts or more in the Holiday Bowl? This annually has been of the most high scoring affairs.
*- Oh how has the Orange Bowl dropped. A game that featured early triumphs of Joe Paterno led Penn State, Nebraska and Oklahoma in their glory days, the first major bowl appearance of Florida State, and the all time classic 84 battle between Nebraska and Miami, has Cincinnati and Virginia Tech playing this year. I’m sure they are talented football teams, but how many people are drooling to see them play in a prime-time network slot?
*- Arizona and BYU meet in a bowl 30 years after the former left the WAC conference for the higher profile Pac Eight(Now Ten, Arizona State joined also)
*- Vanderbilt makes a rare bowl appearance. Congratulations to Commodore fans, but this is a sign of how bowls are grown way out of proportion. 6-6 college teams get bids. When I was growing up I could remember Florida State going without a bowl in 1978 even though they finished the season 8-3.

It is my humble opinion that bowl season has gotten out of hand. Someone may say what’s the big deal? If someone wants to start a bowl game and there are two schools willing to play in it, does their records matter. A good football isn’t only a contest between stars at big name schools.

All true, but how much public money is spent on these affairs? Many of the teams are state universities who get funded by taxpayers. Then there is the game itself where police have to be taken from other tasks to work the day or night of the game or paid over-time.

With the economic downturn right now, you have to wonder if there will be less bowls in the near future. That would depend on how long a deal a corporate sponsor signed on for. I wonder how many fans of some schools plan to make a bowl trip. Are there 1,000 or more FAU Owls willing to journey from Florida to Michigan in December to watch the team play? Even if I were a Owl fan and had money, I’d stay home.

Enjoy the games.

 

Wake’s Jim Grobe 2006 Coach of the Year

Wake Forest’s Jim Grobe easily outpaced Rutgers’ Greg Schiano for AP coach of the year honors.

In his sixth season at Wake Forest, Grobe took the Demon Deacons (11-2) from worst to first in the Atlantic Coast Conference without their starting quarterback and top tailback. Wake Forest set a school record for victories and won the ACC for the first time in 36 years.

[...]

The 54-year-old Grobe beat out a strong group of contenders for coach of the year, receiving 39 of 65 votes from the AP Top 25 voters.

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, who took the once-laughable Scarlet Knights within a victory of the Bowl Championship Series, finished second with 12 votes.

I should note that both are high on the list of candidates in the prolonged search to replace Mike Shula at Alabama. Either of them would be an outstanding choice, as would Navy’s Paul Johnson. Instead, the Capstone Brain Trust is holding out hope of luring Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban away from the NFL into the most thankless job in college sports.

 

Jim Clack, Former Steelers and Giants Lineman, Dies at 58

Jim Clack, a star offensive guard in the 1970s, has died at age 58.

Jim Clack, a guard on two Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers teams in the 1970s, died Friday of heart failure. He was 58. Clack had fought neck and throat cancer for about four years before his death at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, his wife, Susan, said.

Clack, who helped the Steelers win Super Bowls after the 1974 and 1975 seasons, played in 146 NFL games between 1971 and 1981. He played for Pittsburgh for seven season before joining the New York Giants in 1978 and playing for four more years.

Born in Rocky Mount, Clack attended Wake Forest and entered the school’s hall of fame in 1991. He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He returned to North Carolina after his football career, developing commercial and residential real estate and owning a restaurant. He started a sales training business and worked as a motivational speaker.

 
 


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