Once Again…..It’s On

On Thursday when the ball is tossed for the tip off of the first game of this year’s NCAA Tournament, it will mark the beginning of what I believe will be one of the most exciting and surprising tourneys we have witnessed in some time. The field is wide open and full of teams that have legitimate shots at making it to the Final Four and laying claim to the title of “Best Team in the Nation”. This is the best opportunity for fans to finally get acquainted with some of the lesser known stars who will soon be showcasing their talents in the NBA over the next few years like K-State’s Michael Beasley and Stanford’s Brook Lopez and to see future Lottery Picks like UCLA’s Kevin Love, UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough and Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert. This is a chance to see the best of the best go head to head on the game’s biggest stage. Will UCLA get to a third straight Final Four? Will Drake keep it’s dream season alive with a deep run? Will freshman O.J. Mayo lead USC to a National Championship in a sport other than Football? Can Coach Cal lead Memphis to the Promised Land? Will Coach K and Duke surprise everyone? All these questions and so many more will be asked and answered over the next few weeks. Here is a preview of how I think things will shake out over these exciting times:

East Region

Upset Special: (11) St. Josephs over (6) Oklahoma

St. Joe’s is a team that is peaking at exactly the right time. Led by senior Pat Calathes, they have a balanced attack and are one of the most dangerous three point shooting teams in the nation. If St. Joe’s perimeter shooting can offset the inside scoring of the Sooners fab frosh Blake Griffin they just might be able to pull out a close one against a team which is slightly overrated after coming out of a weak Big 12 this season.

Player To Watch

Tyler Hansbrough, University of North Carolina

Hansbrough is the best player on the best team in the nation. A dominant inside force who has stepped up his game to another level in each of his 3 seasons at UNC. He is a relentless scorer and rebounder who can also make the big block on the defensive end. The emotional leader of this squad nicknamed “Psycho T” for his intensity, Hansbrough seems poised to have his biggest impact now that the games have moved into the brightest spotlight.

Cinderella

(7) Butler Bulldogs

Butler lost only 3 games all year and beat major conference opponents Michigan, Virginia Tech, Texas Tech, Ohio State and Florida State by an average of 12 points. They are led by senior guard Mike Green who paced the Bulldogs in scoring and assists as well as rebounding (He’s 6′1!). Over the last two seasons, Butler has amassed a 12-1 record in games played on neutral courts and their only loss was to defending champion Florida in last year’s tourney.

Who Survives?

North Carolina

The Heels will essentially be playing home games in Raleigh and Charlotte. The return of point guard Ty Lawson from an ankle injury gives the Heels another weapon in what should be the easiest road to the Final Four of any of the top seeds this year.

South Region

Upset Special (10) St. Mary’s over (7) Miami, FL

The Gaels have a high octane attacking style that should pose major problems for the Hurricanes who lack the inside scoring punch to keep up with St. Mary’s. If Miami’s high scoring guard Jack McClinton falters the Hurricanes may be in for a long and painful contest.

Player To Watch

Derrick Rose, Memphis University

Rose is the best freshman point guard in the country. He brings superior ball handling skills and his decision making allows him to impact a game without having to dominate. While he doesn’t need to on a nightly basis, Rose can still take over games and is more than capable of leading his team to the Final Four.

Cinderella

(10) St. Mary’s Gaels

St. Mary’s is fueled by sensational point guard Patty Mills, a member of Austrailia’s national team, who leads the Gaels in scoring and rebounding. Center Daniel Kickert is an emerging star and the Gael’s have surprising size in 6-11 Omar Samhan and 6-7 defensive whiz Damioin Simpson. They could cause matchup problems and surprise a few opponents with their athleticism.

Who Survives?

Stanford

The Cardinal have changed their style of play this season and look like a team ready to reap the rewards of their new physical bruising attack. Led by 7 foot twins Brook and Robin Lopez and guard Anthony Goods, Stanford has become a team that will challenge every play at both ends of the floor as witnessed by them pushing top seed UCLA to the brink in two contests late in the season. Brook Lopez is a skilled post performer and teams with brother Robin to give the Cardinal a one-two rebounding punch that will allow them to get second chance opportunities and control the ball late in games.

Midwest Region

Upset Special (11) Kansas State over (6) USC

While the Trojans have incredibly talented super freshman O.J. Mayo and gifted sophomore forward Taj Gibson, they have gone through some rough stretches this season and have a tendency to be very sloppy at times. Kansas State and their super frosh Michael Beasley (who could be the No.1 pick should he declare) will take advantage of the sloppy play and dominate inside to give the Wildcats a surprising opening round upset victory.

Players To Watch

Michael Beasley, Kansas State University

Roy Hibbert, Georgetown University

Beasley is a player to watch for two reasons. First, he is capable of a dominant performance each time he takes the floor as evidenced by his 26.5 ppg average, 26 double-doubles and 11 30 point games during the regular season. Second, he is a one and done talent and will assuredly declare for the draft and leave college basketball after this tournament so catch his show while you still can at this level. Roy Hibbert is the anti-Beasley. Not flashy or exciting, Hibbert changes games with his commitment to defense and rebounding. If he would have left school after last season, Hibbert would have been a top 5 pick but he decided to return and try to lead Georgetown back to the Final Four. He may just get his wish.

Cinderella

(10) Davidson Wildcats

The Wildcats come into the tournament riding the nation’s longest winning streak at 22 straight games. They are led by Southern Conference Player of the Year Stephen Curry ( son of former NBA player Dell Curry) and are playing their games only two hours from campus in Raleigh.

Who Survives?

Georgetown

The Hoyas return four starters from the squad that reached the Final Four last season so their great chemistry is a huge plus. With dominant center Roy Hibbert and incredibly smart PG Jonathan Wallace, Georgetown boasts an inside-outside combo most other teams can’t match. This is a team where no one is afraid to have the ball in their hands come crunch time and have been rewarded time and time again for their mixture of smart play in a sophisticated system and bravado once that system breaks down.

West Region

Upset Special (14) Georgia over (3) Xavier

Do you want to tell Georgia they can’t win this game? After wind damage forced postponement, The Bulldogs won three games in two days, including an unheard of two games in the same day, to win the SEC. Nobody is riding the wave of momentum that Georgia is right now and I’m willing to bet they can carry it for at least one more big game.

Player To Watch

Kevin Love, UCLA

What more can be said about the amazing freshman center of the Bruins? The 6-10 force has led the Bruins to another Pac-10 title and a No.1 seed with his combination of aggressive inside play, soft touch around the basket, great passing instincts and late season three point accuracy. Love will almost certainly exit after one season but he has the rare attributes and leadership qualities to carry this team to a Final Four berth and beyond.

Cinderella

(12) Western Kentucky

The Hilltoppers used a renewed commitment to defense to post a 27-6 record and outstanding play by Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Courtney Lee (20.4 PPG) to beat teams in it’s league by an average of 11.5 points per game. Their full court pressure and intense man-to-man coverage could cause some matchup problems and could lead to some early round upsets.

Who Survives?

UCLA

Ben Howland will finally prove that he deserves to be mentioned whenever the discussion of “best coaches in the country” arises. Love and PG Darren Collison will guide UCLA through a very tough bracket and a third straight Final Four appearance.

FINAL FOUR

North Carolina, Stanford, Georgetown, UCLA

National Championship

UCLA over GEORGETOWN

I believe when it is all said and done, UCLA will emerge as the national champion. Their transition defense and the clutch shooting of Darren Collison and Josh Shipp will be enough to overcome the inside play of Roy Hibbert.

No matter who comes out on top, this promises to be one of the best tourneys in recent memory so sit back, relax and enjoy the games.

Thank You No.4

When Brett Favre announced his retirement two days ago, most of Packer Nation was in shock. Why would the franchise’s greatest player walk away from the game after one of the best seasons of his illustrious career? Why would the team’s unquestioned leader leave when the Pack looks to be so close to returning to the Super Bowl? Why wouldn’t he sign on for a chance to possibly write that storybook ending and go out on top? Favre’s retirement left his fans, his teammates, his peers and the media asking all these questions and yesterday at his press conference he provided them with the answer: It was the right time.

Everyone knows the story of Brett Favre, the fun loving country boy who handed off more than he threw in high school, was recruited by only one D-I college and signed there as a defensive back, was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons and had his name mispronounced on Draft Day, partied too hard and languished on the bench in Atlanta until Ron Wolf brought him to Green Bay and gave him a shot. It was almost as if his life before becoming a member of the NFL’s most storied franchise was the script for a hollywood movie about the underdog everyman who rises from modest beginnings and overcomes hardships to live out his childhood dreams but not even the best screenwriter could imagine what came next.

When Favre finally got his chance to show everyone what he could do on the field, he seized that opportunity and 16 seasons, 275 consecutive games, 160 wins, 442 touchdowns, 61,655 passing yards, 9 pro-bowls, 3 MVP Awards and 1 Super Bowl Championship later, he has become not only one of the greatest players to ever play professional football but a national icon. The leadership, talent, toughness and fortitude he displayed over those 16 years while playing the game with a genuine happiness and fun that you don’t often see in such a physical and demanding game made him a hero to millions of fans all over the world and made him the face of the Green Bay Packers and the NFL.

We all remember watching him as he played week after week with injuries that would have kept most players on the sideline. We all remember watching him battle his addiction to painkillers and his struggles with alcohol. We all remember the heartbreaking stories of family tragedies and loss he had to deal with while still trying to lead his on field family to victory on sunday afternoon. No one who watched him play that monday night in Oakland only hours after learning about the death of his father and lifelong coach Irvin, will ever forget him playing the game of his life with tears in his eyes all the while. No one who watched him lead the Packers to victory in Super Bowl XXXI will ever forget the sight of him running around the field with the smile of a child on Christmas morning after hitting Andre Rison with a perfect touchdown strike. No one who ever watched him play period, will ever forget the way he brought a sense of joy to the game like no other player before him. This is his true legacy as a player and as a person, the memories he supplied to everyone else.

Brett Favre had become bigger than just a football player. He had become bigger than what he truly is, just a regular person who happened to have extroardinary talent inside the lines on sunday. He had become a legend, a giant, a hero and in the eyes of packers fans,a savior and with every passing day his shadow over the game was growing larger and it was becoming harder for this simple country boy from Mississippi to fill.

Brett Favre holds every major passing record, he has set the standard for durability with his incredible ironman streak at QB, he is the NFL’s only 3 time MVP and has a championship ring, so the only question left is what more does he have left to prove? The answer is Nothing. That is what brings us to today, the first day of the official post-Favre era. He has fulfilled and i’m sure far surpassed every dream that he has had for himself in the game, he has conquered every challenge thrown his way by not only football but by life, he has brought the Green Bay Packers back to prominence amongst the league’s elite teams after years of ineptitude had cast a shadow over the once proud franchise and he has helped to raise the popularity of the NFL to an all-time high during his tenure. What more can we ask him to do when he has already done everything and more.

Brett Favre could have come back for one more season. He could probably play for five more seasons and nobody would complain. He could’ve gone through the meetings and the practices and the motions and went out on sundays and lined up behind center just like has every sunday for 16 glorious years. He might have even been able to bring another title to Green Bay but it wouldn’t have been the same. The smile would have been gone. The little boy playing a man’s game would have been a distant memory. The reason everyone connected with No.4 would have been missing. Brett Favre is an icon because he truly loved the game of football and it showed so brightly every time he stepped onto the field. Brett Favre is a hero because he inspired an entire generation young and old to believe in your dreams and work hard to make them come true. Brett Favre is a legend because he reached the pinnacle of his sport while never once forgetting where he came from and where his incredible journey began. Brett Favre is all of these things but more than any of these things he is a father and a husband and a son and a person. Sometimes we want to be selfish when it comes to our heroes and forget that they have lives and families outside the game and that there comes a time in the life of even the greatest athletes when real life takes precedent over sport. Brett Favre has given each of us 17 years to watch, to root, to imagine, to cheer, to celebrate, to cry and to dream and now it is time to thank him for all the wonderful memories and congratulate him as he moves on to the next successful phase of his life. Why did Brett Favre retire yesterday? Because it was the right time.