Rankings, Irrelevant Comments & More (Take 12)

Below is my current set of Rankings & Irrelevant Comments. Below that are some even more irrelevant comments from other folks. And below that is some very relevant info on how to join my FREE pool for the NCAA Tourney.

RANKINGS
1. UCONN (26-2)
Best Wins: at Gonzaga, West Virginia, Villanova, at Louisville, SU, at Marquette
Losses: Georgetown, Pitt

My Irrelevant Comment:
This past week Coach Calhoun was asked how much of his $1.6 million salary he’d be willing to return given that Connecticut is facing a $2 billion dollar crisis. He responded, “Not a dime.” Note to self: cross Calhoun off list of possible donors to my free NCAA pool.

2. PITT (25-3)
Best wins: at Florida State, Syracuse, ND, WV, at UConn
Loss: at Louisville, at Villanova, at Providence

My Irrelevant Comment:
You know how twins sometimes pull a swithcheroo to confuse their friends and family? I wonder if Jamie Dixon and Jermaine Dixon ever do that. I’m guessing they don’t. Jamie’s not much of a joker. Well, there’s also the fact that he and Jermaine aren’t really twins. Or the same height. Or the same race.

3. NORTH CAROLINA (24-3)
Best wins: Michigan State, Notre Dame, Clemson, at Duke
Loss: Boston College, Wake Forest, at Maryland

My Irrelevant Comment:
On Saturday UNC lost to the Maryland Terrapins. I’ve always wondered why that school didn’t just go with “The Turtles.” Then Maryland’s Arena would have perpetually blasted the tune “Happy Together.” Hmm. Thank God they went with the Terrapins.

4. LOUISVILLE (21-5)
Best Wins: at Villanova, Kentucky, Pitt, ND, at SU
Losses: Western Kentucky, UNLV, Minnesota, at ND, UConn

My Irrelevant Comment:
Louisville’s star Freshman is Samardo Samuels. Yup, first part of his first name is Sam. And the first part of his last name is Sam. Which explains his nickname – Ardo Uels.

5. OKLAHOMA (25-3)
Best Wins: Purdue, Davidson, Utah, Texas
Loss: at Arkansas, at Texas, Kansas

My Irrelevant Comment:
On Saturday Blake Griffin got nipped in the nose and inexplicably suffered a concussion. Now he’s a little afraid to get back on the court. Not that he might get another concussion, but that he’ll get nipped in the stomach and suffer hemorrhoids.

6. MEMPHIS (24-3)
Best wins: at Gonzaga, Cincinnati, Tennessee
Losses: Xavier, Georgetown, SU

My Irrelevant Comment
My wife and I were playing some game where she had to try to guess the name of a famous person based on facts that I was rattling off. (The joys of married life.) So I say “Moved to Memphis, almost always in the Top 10, rose to fame when he was young and dapper, but then became a fat slob.” Her guess: Elvis. Are you kidding me? I was clearly talking about John Calipari.

7. DUKE (23-5)
Best Wins: Michigan, Purdue, Xavier, Georgetown, Wake Forest
Losses: at Michigan, at Wake Forest, at Clemson, UNC, at BC

My Irrelevant Comment:
Day before a big game the Duke students will set up tents to camp out in the freezing cold just to get tickets. They call it Krzyzewskiville. I’d call it something entirely different: Stupid.

8. MISSOURI (24-4)
Best Wins: USC, Cal, at Texas, KU
Losses” At Xavier, Illinois, at Nebraska, at Kansas St.

My Irrelevant Comment:
Missouri is currently ranked in the Top 10 in both polls, but has had almost no nationally televised games. The State of Missouri might want to re-think its slogan of the “Show Me State.” Seems like it should be altered to “The Hose Me State.”

9. MICHIGAN STATE (21-5)
Bet wins, Texas, Minn., KU, Ohio St., Michigan
Losses: Maryland, UNC, Northwestern, Penn St., at Purdue

My Irrelevant Comment:
Michigan State’s star player, Raymar Morgan, has had the Flu, Pneumonia, Mono, and a respiratory virus. Yet the Spartans are 21-5 and have a decent shot at the Final 4. How many times do you think the following thought has gone through Coach Izzo’s mind? “If he could just come down with tuberculosis we could win it all.”

10. MARQUETTE (23-5)
Best Wins: Wisconsin, Villanova, WV, at ND
Losses: Dayton, Tennessee, at USF, at Villanova, UConn

My Irrelevant Comment:
Fact: There are 62,000 people in the city of Milwaukee. Fact: Marquette’s 18,850 seat area has not been filled to capacity for every game this year. Unanswerable Question: How can so many people possibly find anything else to do in Milwaukee?

OTHER OPINIONS

Ken Robbins: George Mason – My alma mater, George Mason, has elected a drag queen at it’s home coming queen.

Harold Barend (I): Duke - I believe Duke will be in the Final Four this year. Understandably, Duke has a problem with the lack of an agile big man. What team in college basketball can start four forwards who can rebound, drill the three and go hard to the basket. At the beginning of the season, Duke seemed to have more intensity on defense--that could be their Achilles heel in the tournament.

Pete Frey: Providence – Friars’ win over Pitt was their biggest win in 12 years.

Scott DeTraglia: Dave’s Free NCAA Pool - You have two choices of where to put your money: The stock market (and watch it decline every day) or The Dave Barend pool (where you have a chance to win). The Dave Barend pool in '09 - your best investment -

Harold Barend (II): The Big East - I think the Big East should get 10 teams. Most of the losses the Big East teams have incurred are within their own division. When Big East teams competed outside their conference they usually win. Syracuse and Notre Dame are the two big question marks for the tournament. I believe Syracuse is in the Big Show but how far will they go? Betting on Syracuse is a real shot in the dark. One game they look like the kid who walked out of the crapper in Slumdog Millionaire the next game they look like they could play with any team in college basketball. Only alumni can love this team. All the hype and build up for Notre Dame has resulted in a premature climax. Notre Dame was at their best halfway through the season and now they must fight like hell to even get a place in the NCAA tournament. It is really a shame if they are left out. The positives of putting them in the tournament: they bring a huge gate, they are fun to watch, (not many tattoos), and they will be competitive. Pittsburg will probably get a very high seed. They are physical, and ugly to watch.

STEPS TO JOIN MY FREE NCAA POOL
1.Email me at davebarend@yahoo.com and say “I’m up for the pool.”

2. There is no Step 2 – once you email me you are in. I’ll then get you all the info & passwords for my basic bracket format pool that will be run on Yahoo sites.

3. Optional Step – Donate to the pot of the pool (currently over $500) via the PayPal link at the top of this site above Gabe Kaplan.

Take it easy,
Dave Barend

(Next Rant coming Monday.)