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.

Stephen Curry and his teammates did what no other team did to Wisconsin this year. That is beat them by double digits. In winning 73-56 they made the Big 10 Champions look like an imposter. Davidson hit 8 3’s in the first half and made Wisconsin chase them the rest of the night. After the Badgers lost Trevon Hughes early in the first half they seemed discombobulated. They no longer were able to get easy baskets.

If Stephen Curry isn’t an All-american it is only because he plays at Davidson. Curry scored 33 with an array of shots ranging from 3’s to runners. He now has scored over 30 points in three straight games. He had plenty of help from Jason Richards who doled out 13 assists. In the second half the Badgers were so spread out defensively that Davidson was able to get some easy baskets inside. Credit Coach Bob McKillop for keeping his troops focused and not just continuing to launch from behind the arc.

The winner of Kansas and Villanova will play Davidson. It is another opportunity for Curry and his running matre Richards to show that they might just be the best guard tandem in the country. With the nations longest winning streak (25), I not arguing…

Texas, playing in Houston, knocked Stanford out with a combination of running and doubling. DJ Augustin poured in 23 points, but more importantly, led a Texas defense that pestered Brooks Lopez into working overtime to score his 26 points. With one more game at home, I believe the Longhorns will be playing once again in Texas, this time San Antonio.

As promised, the battle for the last few spots in the Western Conference playoffs is really heating up.

Most teams have about 10 or 11 games left, so it’s looking like Dallas, Golden State and Denver are vying for the last two spots in the West. The Nuggets have won four straight and are 7-3 in their last 10. Meanwhile, the Mavs are 6-4 in their last 10, but figure to struggle without their star, who is expected to miss the next two weeks. Dallas and Golden State play twice next week and the Mavs also have to play the Lakers in L.A. The remaining six games feature road games against Phoenix and Portland, as well as home games against Utah and New Orleans. Denver and Golden State clash tomorrow night.

The Suns seem to be above the fray, but they are only three games ahead of the Mavs in the loss column, so if they drop a couple of games, they could find themselves in a precarious position next week. They are wrapping up an Eastern Conference road trip this weekend before a key home-and-home against the Nuggets on Monday and Tuesday.

According to the Bleacher Report (via Adam Schefter of NFL Network), the Cowboys are close to trading for troublesome Titans cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones.

Schefter is reporting the Titans are asking for a 3rd round pick in return, while the Cowboys are offering a 6th round pick. It’s looking as if both teams will agree somewhere in the middle, likely a conditional pick.

There have also been rumors that the Titans want the Cowboys to include a player in the trade. The Titans are trying to get as much compensation as possible for Pacman, who is a former 1st round pick (No. 6 overall in the 2005 draft).

Good luck with that Dallas.

Loudmouth Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun Times wants MLB to investigate the claims that former player Jose Canseco is making in his new book about introducing steroids to Yankees’ third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Tigers’ outfielder Magglio Ordonez.

Call him a sinister, greasy, vindictive, money-grubbing creep, if you’d like. But also acknowledge Canseco has some measure of credibility after calling out Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and Jason Giambi as steroids users in his best-selling book three years ago — and ultimately seeing his claims backed up. So when he writes in his new book, “Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars and the Battle to Save Baseball,'’ that he introduced Alex Rodriguez to a steroids supplier in the late 1990s, you definitely listen. And when he tells a tale about injecting Magglio Ordonez with steroids in the White Sox clubhouse in 2001, you have no reason to summarily dismiss it as a lie and every reason to ask again why Jerry Reinsdorf and Ken Williams signed Canseco when everyone knew he was a steroids freak.

Ah, but it’s not over, A-Rod. If baseball has any chance of minimizing the disproportionate power numbers of the Steroids Era, he must obliterate the 762 homers of Bonds in the bigger context of a steroids-free career. He is a man who can save baseball from the syringe binge, but also a man who could do much more harm if he hasn’t been pure. More than anything else, including the folly of staging Opening Day on foreign soil, baseball needs Rodriguez to be the anti-Bonds. And now, we have Canseco suggesting he isn’t.

I think Mariotti makes a good point in that second paragraph. Fans want to forget Barry Bonds because he supposedly cheated in order to capture one of the most sacred records in all of sports. A-Rod could help us forget Bonds, although obviously not if he cheated too. Mariotti is right – baseball needs to go after these guys and either put Canseco’s claims to rest or punish those who cheat. Baseball needs to step up for once, but I realize that’s asking a lot.

Darren Everson of the Wall Street Journal wonders aloud if former Yankees’ skipper Joe Torre is worth the money in Los Angeles.

In close games, in which a manager’s decisions in baserunning, pitching and substitutions tend to make the most difference, Mr. Torre’s teams have struggled in recent years. Over the past three seasons, his record in games tied after the sixth inning is 23-31 — a .426 winning percentage, compared with .588 in all games. Several of his peers, including Ron Gardenhire of the Minnesota Twins and Willie Randolph of the New York Mets, have performed better in close games.

There’s also some evidence that Mr. Torre negatively impacts the performance of his players. Last fall, David Gassko, a former major-league consultant and a contributor to the Hardball Times Web site, did a study of major-league managers through 2006, determining how many additional games a manager won or lost for his team per season. Of the 422 managers he studied, Mr. Torre’s score was the sixth-worst. The best manager ever, according to Mr. Gassko’s study, is Bobby Cox, the current manager of the Atlanta Braves.

Everson brings up some pretty interesting points, although he has to take into account how bad the chemistry is in L.A. For years the Dodgers have had the talent to win, but the harmony in the clubhouse hasn’t allowed them to reach their potential. Who knows if Torre is worth the big contract, but he’s well respected and will get the attention of every player in that clubhouse. He might not be that great of a game manager, but he should dramatically improve the team’s chemistry.

In the battle to get to the Elite Eight, it was the Louisville Cardinals who were the most surprising. No, not the fact that they won, but how easy they made it look. In a game of runs, it was the Cardinals who had the most and longest ones. Their defense was overpowering. Holding Tennessee to 34% shooting was a combination of changing defenses and just flat out hustle and execution. Pitino likes to talk about game slippage. Well, there was none tonight. Earl Clark recorded a double double (17 & 12) while three other players scored in double figures to lead a balanced offensive attack.

I said it before and I will say it again. The Cards are healthy for the first time all year. Which means they have depth (Pitino doesn’t have to depend on the eratic Derrick Character) and they are talented. With Pitino calling the shots it negates North Carolina’s home court advantage in the next round.

I am not sure what more I can say about North Carolina’s performance. I guess Washington State did a good job. The Tar Heels only scored 68 points. Let’s be honest - they were up 15 at half and never looked back. Through three games they look like men amongst boys. Tyler Hansborough is a great player (not the player of the year), but when you have Danny Green coming off the bench (he could start for all 63 other teams in the field) you are as deep as you can be. I lost count of how many future NBA players they have on their roster.

The matchup on Saturday with Louisville will be a battle of systems. I like the Cards due to the man on the bench and his ability to adapt and overcome. Should be a great game.

UCLA opened up a big lead and was up by 21, but Western Kenucky didn’t get this far by rolling over and playing dead. Behind the calculated moves of Darrin Horn, they battled their way back to cut it to under 10 with 5 minutes to go. However, in the end it was too much Kevin Love. He finished with 29 and left me wondering what he could do for an encore. I will give Ben Howland credit. He has mixed in this talented freshman with upperclassman and kept them from imploding. Now they face Xavier to get back to the Final Four.

Xavier blew the lead. Xavier had a chance to win in regulation. Xavier fell behind by 4 in OT. Xavier won. Not exactly how you would plan it, but in the end it didn’t matter that Bob Huggins was now at West Virginia instead of Cincinnati. He still can’t beat Xavier. Truth be told they played a helluva game and then gave it away.

After falling behind they battled like junkyard dogs only to cost themselves the game by missing 3-4 free throws while being up four. Meanwhile, Xavier unloaded a 3-point barrage in the closing stretch. Drew Lavender hit the first and then BJ Raymond drained back to back threes to seal the game. Give both teams credit as they battled their hearts out. Both coaches did an excellent job when their stars fouled out (Anderson for X and Alexander for WVU).

My money is on Xavier to upset UCLA and breakthrough to the Final Four for the first time in school history. Then Sean Miller will turn down the Indiana job.

COACHING NEWS:

Look for Ben Braun to be in play at Toledo. Mike Montgomery and Jaimie Dixon at Cal. Tom Crean is still my pick for Indiana.

March Madness is starting to heat up as it enters week two of action.

Here is the action for Thursday and Friday night:

Thursday 7:10pm: West Virginia vs. Xavier (West Region)
Thursday 7:25pm: Washington State vs. North Carolina (East Region)
Thursday 9:40pm: W Kentucky vs. UCLA (West Region)
Thursday 9:55pm: Louisville vs. Tennessee (East Region)

Friday 7:10pm: Davidson vs. Wisconsin (Midwest Region)
Friday 7:25pm: Stanford vs. Texas (South Region)
Friday 9:40pm: Villanova vs. Kansas (Midwest Region)
Friday 9:55pm: Michigan State vs. Memphis (South Region)

Is this the weekend the top-seeded teams start to fall? Which top seed is the most likely to bite the dust? I’ve got a hunch it might be Memphis with the way Michigan State easily disposed of Pitt. Also, is Tennessee finally exposed tonight?

Instead of falling victim to early rumors that crop up after the Super Bowl, I waited a while before constructing my first NFL Mock Draft. But with the draft now just a month away, I couldn’t wait any longer. My NFL Mock Draft 1.0 is complete with team needs and, of course, full projections…which are likely to be changed many times while leading up to the weekend of April 26.

Watching the Kansas-UNLV game I wondered if I was the only one who thought the officiating was bad. I know I am biased as an ex-coach, but come on. Then I saw Dennis Dodd’s column and I knew I wasn’t alone.

Also, how could the NCAA clear Tim Higgins and Jim Burr to ref in the NIT, but not the NCAA? Or why is it that Curtis Shaw has thrown out 5 coaches this year, including Trent Johnson (Stanford) this weekend? Could it be he works too many games? He does and it is.

Getting and keeping everyone healthy this time of year can determine whether you make a Final Four or even win a national championship. Teams like Louisville and North Carolina went through key injuries early in the year, but now have everyone playing at 100%. Kansas struggled while Brandon Rush came back from ACL surgery and Sherron Collins worked to get his foot healed. Now they are ready to go and so are the Jayhawks.

UCLA starters Josh Shipp (strep throat) and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (went for an MRI on his ankle) are both less than 100%. The Bruins will need them healed by this weekend if they want to get to San Antonio. Villanova lost a key insider in Casiem Drummond in the Siena game and is done for the year. Every team is given one rally game when an injury occurrs. The only question is will it be Kansas or was it the Siena game. Chris Lofton is playing with a banged up leg. The Vols need him badly to get by Louisville.

Coaching Note: Lute Olsen met with Kevin O’Neill today about the future of the two coaching together. Judging by some previous remarks about his not liking how things were being run in his absence, I find it hard to believe that these two will be able to share the bench next year.