Indiana to Be One of Last Teams to Lose in First Round

The Hoosiers will be losing to Arkansas in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, but the good news for IU fans is that they will get to watch almost the entire first round before watching their team lose, as their game starts at 640p (Vegas time). Your Humble Correspondent will be in Vegas, and is looking forward to betting against his alma mater, especially in the first half. We notice that Indiana started out a 2 point favorite, and it is now down to one. By the time we get out there, the will be getting points.


Disclaimer: if IU happens to win their first game, they will come close, but lose to North Carolina.

Indiana's 2009 Post-Season Destination

Get ready for the College Basketball Invitational. Having a bad season, even below .500? Doesn’t matter. Have a big name that will provide good ratings for their Television partner, Fox College Sports? Perfect.

From the organizers of the College Hoops Classic, the O'Reilly Auto Parts Classic, and other pre-season tournaments comes this rival to the NIT. While the 32-team NCAA-owned NIT now has a rule about being .500 or better, and gives automatic bids to teams that win their regular season but lose the automatic bid in their conference tournament, the CBI is all about the money.

Organizers of the CBI are trying to lure teams away form the NIT with promises of more money, home games (meaning more money), and guaranteed exposure on Fox Regional Sports affiliates. Compelling to your humble correspondent is the idea that the last two teams will play a best-two-out-of-three final.

It is also wise enough not to schedule any of its games opposite the NCAAs. All-in-all, if crappy teams can go to bowl games and sell t-shirts., then crappy basketball teams should be allowed to hang a CBI banner.

The Daily Herald is reporting that one such team is the Illinois-Chicago Flames, they of the 18-15 record. the school has signed a contract with the College Basketball Invitational.
The contract doesn't guarantee the Flames will be in the field that will be announced Sunday, but it gets them in the mix.

If UIC gets in, it requires a not insignificant investment on the school's part. The Flames must guarantee $60,000 to the tournament, with that money being recouped with ticket sales, etc. Sounds like a losing proposition to me. Missouri agrees. On the other hand, Rhode Island wants a bid. Washington is ready to be convinced.

Shithead Convention

A drunk who enables steroid users and dead pitchers, a boorish coach who calls media people whores, and then becomes one himself, and the father of a guy who starts brawls in Spring Training games.

Sean Marshall's Wife Redefines "TV Personality"

The Cubs were on WGN today, and as background noise, it was just fine. Len and Bob had a whole bunch of guests saying the same things they have said in the papers the past week, until Alexis Marshall, wife of Cub lefty (and Brian Roberts trade bait) Sean Marshall. She was flogging some food drive at Spring Training in Mesa. I suppose they were counting on the Superstation to reach the Arizona fans.

Anyway, they are newlyweds. Brenly asked if she knew "what she was getting herself into" by marrying a "major league pitcher." She wondered if he knew what he was getting by being with a "television personality." A whaaat, I thought? Never heard of her.

After a modicum of research, I found she is Alexis of Ron, Rick and Alexis on the Fox affiliate in Phoenix' morning show. Television personality? I suppose. She does not cop to the identity of her husband, but does refer to her dog, "Cubby."

What I found really compelling was her blog. She talks about everything, yet nothing at all. She reminded me of Suzanne Stone.

On American Idol: Melinda Doolittle was on set with us this morning! ...she was also such a sweetheart! She said that she’s been SUPER busy since American Idol, but loves her schedule and all the cool things she gets to do.

On Chicago (and coming to the Cubs Convention): I am going to Chicago this weekend and boy is it going to be so cold there. The high on Saturday is supposed to be 9 degrees. BRRRRR! Even though I would choose warm weather over cold weather any day, I am looking forward to a nice chilly weekend. Once in a while it’s fun to bundle up in your warmest sweater and drink hot chocolate. The good news is, I’m only going for a weekend, so if I can’t handle the Chicago weather…I’ll be back to sunny, mild Arizona on Monday.

www.firerickgreenspan.com

It appears that Coach Sampson is gone. Dan Dakich (a good guy) will be the interim guy and likely have no chance short of a Steve Fisher situation of keeping the job. Well, after the dust has settled on Sampson, can we also take out the person that put this fine university into this situation? Rick Greenspan knew that Sampson had baggage when he hired him, and now must also be removed for his inability to control him.

It would be epically disproportional for Sampson to be fired (and effectively blackballed inthe profession) while Greenspan would keep his job.

All I know is that if Greenspan keeps his job, the new basketball coach better be a guy who will win, and win big, and not come close to Knight-like misanthropy or Sampson-era violations.

If Sampson Goes, Greenspan Must Follow

So, it looks like Indiana University is going to fire its coach. Why? For overzealous recruitment of players. What he did not do was choke his players, put tampons in their lockers, headbutt them, throw chairs in response to bad referee calls, and generally act like a bully.

The person that hired this coach, the athletic director, is taking all of seven days to report back to the president, and make a recommendation.

The reason that everyone thinks that Coach Kelvin Sampson is gone is because he is repeating the same mistakes (or violations) that he did while at Oklahoma. He is being fired for being a repeat offender. So, why is the person that hired Sampson, Rick Greenspan, not getting fired himself? He brought this mess to the university that is so bent on not being tainted by a cheater.

Will this satisfy the Knight fans? Getting rid of a guy who violated NCAA rules but never was an ass like Knight. Do they want Knight and his by-gone system back? Will they mind a .500 team if that means 100% graduation and not even a sniff of scandal?

Yes, I realize that you can win and be clean, but dumping Sampson and not the guy who hired him? Wouldn’t make sense.

OK, hire Tom Crean, Bo Ryan, Sean Miller, or maybe even Kevin Stallings.

All I know is the new guy better win.

Am I Confused, or is this Hypocrisy?

As I will find out in person tonight, the Orange Krush section and all lame-brained Crying Illini fans are all upset over Eric Gordon committing to Illinois, then signing with Indiana.

But now, from today’s Chicago Tribune story about College Football Signing Day, we get this:

Illinois benefited from the decommitment craze. Corey Lewis, a 6-6, 278-pound offensive tackle from East Stroudsburg, Pa., switched from Virginia recently.Earlier, Illinois picked up Ford and Homewood-Flossmoor linebacker Russell Ellington, both of whom had committed to Iowa, and Cahokia tight end London Davis, who had committted to Missouri.

So, it’s OK in football?

Then there is the fecal matter coming from this nimrod columnist at the Daily Illini.

Nice comments from a school that gave away Chevy Blazers during the Henson/Collins era and has had multiple NCAA violations (i.e. Mike White). Illinois, lest you forget, went before the NCAA Infractions Committee three times for violations in Men's Basketball and Football.

Let's not forget last year's car wreck involving illini players. Was Jamar Smith punished? He was red-shirted so the story would die down.

Why Bobby Knight Retired Now

Sure, he could wait, he could do a "victory lap," and gather a bunch of rocking chairs and golf clubs, and he could be made to make gracious remarks all around a conference where he landed after being ignominiously shitcanned eight years ago.

But the real reason he quit now, in the middle of the season, is a simple one: Nepotism. Bob Knight (or someone in his circle) announced at least a few years ago that his son Pat, would take over once the Classic Bully quit. The story then was that Pat's recruiting was so bad that his dad would have to renege on scholarship offers.

But by quitting so abruptly in the middle of the season, he can command the continuity of his son in this major conference program. Even if he stinks.

If he quit effective at the end of the season, the athlectic director, et.al. could do a search for a real coach. Now, Little Knight will get the half season, then demand his own chance, not just 10-odd games.

The same thing is done all over American coaching, business, and politics. It still stinks, and hopefully Texas Tech will have the guts to make Pat the Passer earn his job.

The Always Classy Illini Fans

So, last night, while watching the latest Illinois loss (I was watching simply as an exercise in scouting), Erin Andrews reported that Illinois players were complaining that the wonderful Illinois student section, the "Orange Crush," (or is it Krush) was booing Chester Frazier, though Frazier is apparently injured.

I don't remember those wacky Dukie-wannabes booing Jamar Smith for leaving his teammate Brian Carwell for dead last February.

I guess when you lose to Miami of Ohio, Tennessee State, Ohio State and Penn State at home, huh?

Also, loved hearing Brent Musberger quoting Harry Caray's great "Can't be fun at the old ballpark, friends" line after telling Steve Lavin to stop "yapping" about the current BCS setup that the Big Ten favors while broadcasting a Big Ten game.

IU will beat these losers by 20 Sunday night.

An Illini Double Standard when it comes to Oral Committments

As you must know, all Illinois fans are pouting about Eric Gordon coming off his oral commitment to Illinois to go to Indiana, a move that was made after Indiana got rid of Mike Davis to go to his home state team. Apparently when Illini Nation points a finger, it forgets that it points four back at themselves.

From the Chicago Sun Times:

Homewood-Flossmoor's Russell Ellington, who had given oral commitments to Iowa State and later to Iowa, now has given an oral commitment to Illinois coach Ron Zook.

The 6-3, 205-pounder, who is projected to play linebacker, has played wide receiver as well as on defense. He was moved to quarterback, where he sparked the Vikings' surprising run to the Class 8A semifinals.

"Things with Iowa just haven't felt good for the last few weeks in particular," Ellington told Tim O'Halloran of EdgyTim.com. "My family in particular just didn't feel comfortable with some of the things they were hearing about me from Iowa. I really don't want to get into the details, but I told the Iowa coaches a few weeks ago that I was going to reopen my recruiting. I decided this past weekend that I was ready to give Illinois and coach Ron Zook my verbal commitment."

Ellington will join friend and H-F football and basketball teammate Supo Sanni.

"They recruited us as individuals and sold us both on the positives of Illinois," Ellington said. "Sure, Supo and I are already talking about being roommates at Illinois and all of that, but that was never the big plan or anything like that. It just worked out that way, and I'm pretty happy.