George Mason Coach Jim Larranaga met with the president of Providence today about the opening with the Friars. Larranaga played at Providence and would be the perfect choice to rebuild his alma mater. If that happens, look for former assistant Bill Courtney to be the leading candidate at George Mason. Courtney was intrumental in the recruitment of the personnel on the Final Four team.

Reach the Sweet Sixteen, get a new job. That’s what Darrin Horn of Western Kentucky did. He will be announced as the new head coach at South Carolina. Look for the Hilltoppers to go the assistant route as they did with Horn. Former assistant and current Texas assistant, Ken McDonald will be involved heavily.

Staying put for the time being. Washington State’s Tony Bennett has rebuffed Indiana out of concern for possible NCAA penalties. Also, look for him to be the leading candidate at Cal. How upside down is college basketball when a coach turns down Indiana for Cal. Are you kidding me? On another note, I was glad to hear that Isiah Thomas said he wasn’t interested in the job. Talk about overinflated opinion of yourself. He bankrupts the ABA then destroys the Knicks. Time to get off scholarship and find another profession.

Rumor has it that Bill Bayno (former UNLV, current Portland trailblazer) is the leading candidate at Loyola Marymount. His connections with the Pump Brothers, who run camps on the Marymount campus, is the main hook is this scenario. However, the other day Bo Kimble came out in the newspaper and said he wanted the job. Makes perfect sense. He’s 41 never coached a day in his life, but he was a great player there. That is an insult to all of the coaches out there who have worked their tails off perfecting their craft.

Also, look for Geno Ford, current Kent assistant, to be bumped up as the head coach to replace Jim Christian. Makes sense since he already has head coaching experience.

The NFL’s annual meetings kick off Monday and the general focus this year is integrity and establishing trust in the league – two things Bill Belichick needs to start focusing on moving forward.

Among some of the topics up for debate this year:

- The disharmony between the NFL owners and the NFLPA
- The length of player’s hair
- Sideline-to-helmet communication device
- Playoff re-seeding (i.e. giving Wild Card teams the chance to play home playoff games if they have a better record than division winners)

It’s going to be interesting to see what the NFL does about the length of player’s hair. Troy Polamalu doesn’t keep his hair that length as a fashion statement – it’s a tribute to his Samoan descent. Unless it’s a safety issue (which the league is sure to claim it is), than it’s kind of hard to tell Polamalu to tuck his hair into his helmet.

I love the idea of re-seeding the playoffs. If a Wild Card team had a better regular season record than a division winner, isn’t it fair to give them a home game? Why reward a team with a home game if they didn’t even have a better record than a Wild Card team?

I did a column for Bullz-Eye.com last year on the top five yearly events in sports and I thought it would be cool to re-visit it.

Opening Day ranks third for me behind the Super Bowl and the opening weekend in college football and the NFL.

3. Baseball’s Opening Day
As previously noted, Opening Day in baseball is great for so many reasons. Even though football has seemingly passed baseball as “America’s Game,” Opening Day still signifies so much. Spring, warm weather and the start of a long journey are all on display during Opening Day. For some reason, on Opening Day and Opening Day alone, it’s easy to forget that your favorite team finished fourth the previous year with only 76 wins. Once you see the ace of the rotation take the hill for the first time in a new season, you think to yourself, ‘Yeah, this is the year we put it all together.’ And when your team wins Opening Day, nothing can ruin it for you. Until they lose the second and third game to drop the opening series and you remember how daunting 162 games really is.

Merry Opening Day to everyone!

You could see it on Stephen Curry’s face when he started the game 0-5. This was going to be a different game for him. Soon as I started to think that Kansas’ defense would put the clamps on him, he proved me and the Jayhawks wrong. He exploded for 10 quick points and was on his way to another big game.

At each TV timeout in the first half Davidson was in the lead or tied until the end of the hald when Kansas went up 2. I kept waiting for Rush or Chalmers or Collins to take over. They never did! Thas is the Jayhawks achilles heel. Too unselfish for their own good. I know I am picking on a team that is 35-3, but that’s what people do in Kansas. Much maligned big man Sasha Kaun came up big going 6-6 fro the field and leading them in scoring. Mark my words he will be a 8-10 year player in the NBA.

Back to today. In the second half Curry made shots and kept the Wildcats close. Just when Kansas started to pull away he got a little help from Bryant Barr who knocked down three three’s to keep them in it and give Curry a chance to regroup for the final push. Kansas had a couple of opportunities to put the game away, but Collins and Rush couldn’t deliver. Curry did hitting a 3 and cutting the Jayhawk lead to 2.

On the final possession Kansas played four guards and won it on the defensive end. They forced Curry to give it up and escaped a missed three point shot by Richards at the buzzer. They say defense wins championships. On this day it did for the Jayhawks.

Now that Bill Self has gotten the gorilla off his back (first final four), he has an opportunity to get the little monkey (Roy Williams) off his back. Here’s hoping that Self can quiet all the Kansas fans who wanted Roy back forever.

All tournament long Coach John Calipari has been saying his team is the underdog because they play in Conference USA. I know it’s a coaching ploy, but come on Cal, do you really expect anyone to believe you. Of course Cal can sell ice to eskimoes. How else could he get a roster loaded with NBA talent to come to a depleted Conference USA. As I said before he has a chance to do what Tark did at UNLV. I just hope he stays out of the NCAA’s cross hairs.

Derrick Rose showed why he is the top point guard in the country. No disrespect to DJ Augustin, but Rose dominated this game on both ends of the floor. Rose almost finished with a triple double (21 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds). Chris Douglas Roberts looked like a man amongst boys. And this was a Texas team that was 31-6.

As long the Tigers can keep the game moving at high pace they can win it all. Joey Dorsey seems focused and out of the night clubs. He had 12 rebounds and could have easily had 20. This team reminds me of the Houston Phi Slamma Jamma team. The only difference is that Coach Cal won’t slow them down when they get a lead. He will just have them step on the gas even more.

Their matchup with UCLA will be a sight to see. You have two talented teams that like to get after it. My only question is can Memphis make free throws in the clutch. Today they made 30-36, but then again, the game wasn’t tight enough to tell if they can do it under pressure. However, if these underdogs keep jumping to double digit lead will never find out.

Coach Rick Pitino said before the game that it would come down to who makes fewer mistakes (tunrovers). He was right. Unfortunately, for him his Louisville team commited 19 turnovers to 14 by North Carolina. After taking a 12 point lead at halftime, the Cardinals came roaring back to tie the game, but never could get over the hump.

A big three by Ty Lawson with under 4:00 to go and then two jump shots by Tyler Hansborough gave the Tarheels the cushion they needed. Hansborough was fantastic in the second half as he finished with 28 points. All year long I have been thinking who does he remind me of. It finally came to me. He is Dave Cowens. His ability to battle every possession and come away with rebounds in a pack while sending other players sprawling is what will make him a solid NBA player. The fact that he comes out playing aggressive and fouling from the opening tip (just like Cowens) prevents him from getting in foul trouble (officials let him get away with more bumps and whacks than any other college player) and putting up great numbers. I know I may sound like a Louisville fan, but honestly, I am complimenting Hansborough’s rugged style of play.

I can hardly wait for a match-up of North Carolina and Kansas. That could make ol Roy cry before the game. First, Kansas must stop Stephen Curry and Davidson from becoming this year’s George Mason.

For the third year in a row the UCLA Bruins have advanced to the Final Four. A feat that has been accomplished since John Wooden did it (with a little help from Sam Gilbert) in the early 70′s. Ben Howland Bruins are one of the toughest defensive teams in the country and Xavier felt the full brunt of it. They are relentless on the defensive end. Tonight they held Xavier to 36% shooting that included 4-19 from behind the line.

I have talked about Michael Beasley being the best player all year in comparison with Tyler Hansborough. I am dead wrong. I should have been comparing him to Kevin Love. Love’s ability to change the game on both ends of the floor might make him the best player in college basketball. Not only does he score in the post and rebound (19 & 10), but he is a presence whenever someone comes inside on the defensive end. His overall play tonight was spectacular. He made three’s, doled out assists, rebounded and would have sold popcorn during timeouts if he was allowed.

The Bruins are healthy and for the first time in three years are a real threat to win it all. With Love, they are a more complete team than the previous two squads. Teams must be strong down the middle to win in any sport. Think about it. Good catcher, pitcher, centerfielder. Quarterback, linebacker, safety. In basketball, with Love in the middle and Collison at the point the Bruins win every match-up. It will take a tremendous effort to derail the Bruins.

Jim Christian will become the new head coach at TCU. Christian recorded 6 straight 20 win seasons at Kent State. He did a terrific job of keeping the ball rolling after Gary Waters and Stan Heath used the job as a springboard. It is still a springboard as Christian will double his salary at TCU. His new paycheck will be over $500,000.

Also, Tony Bennet appears to be the top candidate at Indiana. His performance with Washington State has been remarkable. However, with his three core players all graduating now might be the best opportunity to move. History shows that a program like Washington State is next to impossible to maintain at the current success level. There are not enough players close by to draw from. At Indiana you have a very fertile recruiting ground.

Indiana officials say they will have a coach in place by the final four.

Also, Jaimie Dixon, Pittsburgh, has said no to Cal.

Oh that crazy Hideki Matsui is such a prankster.

Hideki Matsui chuckled Thursday while recounting his big week. Yes, the Yankees slugger really did get married and win a bet with teammates Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu at the same time.

Matsui made the wager at the start of spring training about who would wed first, then flew to New York on his off day Wednesday to get married.

Matsui said Jeter, who claimed not to have a girlfriend, has one year to get married to win the bet. Yankees outfielder Bobby Abreu, who said he has a girlfriend, has six months to win the bet.

Since Matsui said he knew six months ago he was going to get married, he was able to pull a fast one on his teammates, who both said Thursday they would play off their losses immediately.

That wasn’t anywhere near as funny as Brett Myers’ prank on teammate Kyle Kendrick earlier this spring, but the fact that it was done by Hideki Matsui is pretty hilarious.

Kansas’ three guard attack proved to be more explosive than Villanova’s as the Jayhawks jumped to a 19 point halftime lead and coasted home 72-57. Mario Chalmers, who was cut by Villanova coach Jay Wright this summer when trying out for one of the ABA-USA teams, showed him what he missed out on as he scored 14 points and was perfect 6-6 from the line.

The Jayhawks defense shut down the Wildcats and held them to 36% from the field and only 3-17 from behind the arc. If Kansas can shut down Stephen Curry and Jason Richards like they shut down Scottie Reynolds nad Dante Cuningham, then Bill Self will be making his first trip to the final four. I know Kansas fans are already dreaming about a rematch with former coach Roy Williams.

With all of the talk about how poorly Memphis shoots free throws, it might not matter if they keep jumping to leads and showing the great depth like tonight as they dismantled Michigan State. I don’t kow if I have ever seen a Tom Izzo coached team look so out of whack in the tournament. In a game in which I thought the Spartans would foul the Tigers into submission, it never materialized. They just couldn’t catch them.

Memphis was able to keep it fast paced from the opening tip. Calipari likes to talk about his new offense “Dribble Drive Motion.” On paper it is simply drive and kick. On the court with five future NBA players who have bought in and are unselfish it is devastating. Michigan State had no answer as they fell behind 50-20 at halftime. With leads like the Tigers have had, free throw shooting won’t be an issue. Oh and by the way, all you naysayers who say they can’t win because of poor free throw shooting, they shot 26-35 from the line. Not too bad.

John Calipari has created a potential monster at Memphis. This is the third year in a row they have reached the Elite Eight. Now to really earn his money they need to get to the Final Four. If they can do that, they can become what UNLV was in the Tark era. A team that is above the level of their league. (Quick, name me three other teams in Conference USA. That’s my point.)

My money is on Memphis against Texas. Although, the Longhorns have athletes to contend with Memphis and a home court advantage. Those two things should keep the game close for a while.

Sidenote: I said at the beginning of the tournament that it was teams that made a large number of threes or late threes will prosper the most. Xavier and Davidson are two examples of that theory.

NAIA note: Oklahoma City won it’s second consecutive national championship in Kansas City this week. What is even more amazing is that head coach Ray Harper has been to the national championship game (NAIA and NCAA Division II) 9 out of his 12 years as a head coach. He now has multiple national championships at two different schools. He is the only coach who can make that claim. And if you don’t believe how good of a coach he is, just ask Bruce Pearl. When Pearl was at Southern Indiana, Harper’s Kentucky Wesleyan teams owned them.