My Blog Experience

My blog experience was a fun one. It was interesting to write about a topic that I really enjoyed and I didn't have to adhere to many guidelines. Most of the time in journalism you have to stay within strict perimeters. Here I could use my opinions and thoughts as much as I used my facts. I could sway an article the way I wanted to and wouldn't have to think about the repercussions because, well there really isn't any. I would have liked to have some more readers and maybe some that would argue with me because I think that would have been fun. The only thing people really argue about in journalism class are things going on in the news, and personally I find the news very boring. I would have liked to argue with someone about sports for the sake of journalism for once. Blogging is fun to do because it is so current and as soon as something happens you can write about it. It was nice to experience blogging first hand and it was nice to deal with this new form of journalism. Go Georgetown.

Who's Staying and Who's Going

The question that is asked after every college season concludes is who will stay and who will go pro. Well this year the draft is going to see plenty of talent. A kid from Texas who stole the spotlight early will be the unanimous number one in April. His name is Kevin Durant. Teams would be stupid to pass him up. His size, work ethic and basketball knowledge just doesn't come around all that often. Greg Oden of The Ohio State University is still deciding whether to take Rock and Roll History 2 or get paid big bucks to eat Boston Beans and Chowdah. The Florida 04's have all declared and will all be first rounders. Horford, Brewer, Noah and Green will all make an immediate impact on whatever team they are on and one may have a shot at a title if he slips down far enough. The Big Easy's Glen "Big Baby" Davis is ditching his final year at LSU in hope to make an impact as big as Shaq's. Hibbert and Green of Georgetown probably have the toughest decision to make. If they stay they will be on a team that will run with UNC all year long to the Final Four. If they go they are both top 10 picks, meaning top 10 money. The draft will be interesting, a lack of foreign talent and no more high schoolers will make teams bid for a dominate big man with somewhat of a college education. Only time will tell.

What a season

This year was one of the most exciting season's in college basketball history. Florida, Ohio State, UCLA, UNC, Kansas and Wisconsin all were called number one at some point during the season. A revamped Buckeye, Georgetown and Kansas led to one of the most exciting finishes in years, a repeat National Champion. Duke for the first time in years was viewed as an underdog in many of it's games because they just couldn't cope for the loss of J.J. Reddick and Sheldon Williams. We saw school spirit at it's finest when Bruce Pearl, the men's coach at Tennessee painted his torso orange to support the Lady Vols in their pursuit of yet another Title. Pat Summitt returned the favor when the men took on the Gators and won, as she dressed as a cheerleader and sung "Rocky Mountain Top" which could have helped the Vols to victory. We say another freshman, no not Oden rise to the challenge. Kevin Durant of the Texas Longhorns averaged a double-double each game and made himself apart of history as all freshmen will now be compared to this young superstar. Acie Law IV took a struggling Texas A&M team to the tourney a became one of the most clutch players in years, nailing every key three whenever his team needed him too. Three revamped teams, two dominate freshmen, a repeat national champion made for one heck of a great year. And next year O.J. Mayo comes to Southern Cal, it's going to be fun.

For All the Marbles

Florida becomes the first team in 15 years to repeat as National Champions as they cruise past the Buckeyes 84-75. The Florida Gators simply wanted to be included in the conversation of the best of all time. Now the 04's have yet another decision to make, do they come back for one more. They most likely won't unless Coach Billy Donovan stays and their bench drastically improves. They will be graduating three of their best role players and Donovan could be jumping ship to Kentucky for the big bucks. Al Horford was the most dominate player on the Gator side with 18 points and 12 rebounds. But the Tournaments Most Outstanding Player Corey Brewer hit a lucky thirteen and added two key steals to seal the repeat. Greg Oden may not be walking away with a championship but he can hold his head high, he dominated this Gator team, but he didn't get any help. He had 25 points and 12 boards and stayed out of foul trouble, something that plagued him last game and got Noah this one. For the second time in a row, a national championship pitted the Florida Gators against The Ohio State University, and for the second straight time, the Gators took a bite out of the Hoyas.

Rematch/Revenge

The UCLA Bruins have had to watch all the coverage of the repeating National Champions. They have had to watch the '04s relish in the spotlight and get asked all the questions like, "are you coming back or going pro?" and "what's it like to try and repeat?" Many people forget that the Bruins were in the championship game too, and for a long while they were number one in the country when the Gators struggled. Did they get the attention? No. Did they get the respect? No. Well on March 31, 2007 they had a chance to gain it all back. But they failed. The 04's dominated once again and Lee Humphfrey added 14 as the Gator's cut down yet another set of nets. It was only a 10 point difference in the end but the Bruins were playing catchup the entire game. Corey Brewer who flew under the radar in some of Florida's latest victories nailed 19 to lead the Gators back the the promised land. The win sets up a repeat of the BCS National Championship game where the Gators crushed the Buckeyes.

Big Man against Big Man

Hoyas/Buckeyes. One of the most anticipating match ups of the year will be seen as the Roy Hibbert and Greg Oden will tangle in the National spotlight to try and settle who is the biggest of them all.The Hoyas big man will meet the "other freshman" Greg Oden in a battle of the two brightest stars in the College Basketball sky. Oden got in trouble early, looking like a kid sent to the principals office, the Buckeyes center was forced to sit just three minutes in for the entire first half because of two quick fouls. But just a few minutes later Hibbert joined Oden on his bench because he too was in foul trouble. Enter Mike Conely Jr. The Buckeyes hottest shooter rose to the challenge once again and dominated. Nailing down 15 points and added six assists to give the Buckeyes their first title appearance since 1962. Hibbert scored 19 to win the big man battle and Jeff Green added 12 rebounds to go along with his 9 points in the Hoyas loss. Oden still pulled down 9 boards in one of his most disappointing games of the years.

Elite Eight

Well we are down to eight. The Florida Gators and the Oregon Ducks, the Georgetown Hoyas and the North Carolina Tar Heels, The Ohio State University and Memphis Tigers, and the Kansas Jayhawks and the UCLA Bruins. The Gators handled the best three point shooting team in the tournament with a long range sniper of their own, named Lee Humphfrey. Ohio State beat up on Memphis to send them to their first Final Four since 2001. UCLA proved that experience is the difference maker as they beat the Jayhawks by 12 and held them to one of their lowest scoring performances of the season with only 55 points. But the game of weekend was between the Hoyas and Heels. It went to Overtime where North Carolina couldn't even hit a shot. The Hoyas were led by Jeff Green who scored 22 and got 11 rebounds from Roy Hibbert. Tyler Hansbourough also got 11 boards to add to his 26 points. The Hoyas are in their first Final Four in 15 years and the most enticing match up of the year will be seen as Greg Oden will tangle with Roy Hibbert.

Sweet 16

Well the regional sites were packed to the rafters as 16 teams tried for College Basketball immortality. Acie Law IV and the Texas A&M Aggies were knocked out by Memphis sending him to the draft and upsetting many brackets. The Aggies were a very dangerous three and in the Final Four in numerous brackets. UCLA took another step towards their second straight Final Four with a great win over Big East powerhouse Pittsburgh. Kansas squeaked by Southern Illinois by three, and Ohio State freshmen Greg Oden saved their season when he blocked Tennessee's JaJuan Smith's last second effort to send the Buckeye's to the Elite Eight. Day two of the Sweet 16 saw two favorites battle down to the wire and barely get by with wins. Georgetown beat Vanderbilt by one in a great defensive effort and Oregon's Tajuan Porter hit eight three's to send the Ducks to the Elite Eight. Florida and North Carolina both cruised into the next round with their wins. Now each team is only one win away from the Final Four.

Thirty Two Up-Thirty Two Down

One of the best freshmen to ever play the game might be hanging up his Texas uniform for good, as he most likely will go pro after his season was ended by USC in day four of the tournament. Kevin Durant will most likely be the number one pick of Aprils draft, as teams like Boston and Memphis are purposely tanking to try and get him. Vanderbilt, Butler, Tennessee and UNLV pulled the upsets of the round as the tourney got more exciting. Xavier and Ohio State tangled in the craziest game so far with it going down to the wire. Mike Connelly Jr. hit a three with two seconds left to help the Buckeyes tie a game that looked to be all Xavier's from the start. Think about how many brackets that would have messed up. Kansas, North Carolina, Florida and Georgetown all cruised into the Sweet 16. Kansas won it's 13th in a row as it beat up on Kentucky, which also helped send Tubby Smith packing to Minnesota. St. Patrick's Day saw it's share of memories this year, and it will be a day that will live forever in both Ohio school's history forever.

First Round Highlights

Well I never thought I would say this but this years first round was extremely boring. No big upsets, a lot of blowouts, and no games that were really worth watching. Not one 12-5 upset, an almost lock every other year. No George Mason in sight, because the Mid Majors either lost or they play a 1 or 2 next round. Durant and Texas looked good, so did Oden and The Ohio State University. Duke was knocked out in the first round for the first time in ten years by Virgina Commonwealth. Hansbourough and North Carolina cruised into the second round and hopefully will set up a Texas-UNC showdown in the Sweet 16. Georgetown became the first team in NCAA history to have two different Father-Son relationships win a game in the tournament. John Thompson II took Patrick Ewing Sr. to the title game in 1984 and 85, and this year both their respective sons did it again. Louisville, Notre Dame, Georgetown and Pitt all won while Marquette was the only Beast to lose.

How Fun the First Day Is

The First day of March Madness is one of my favorite days of the year. Sitting through classes or work is unbearable once noon hits because you know the first tipoff is about to happen. It's really the only time in the tournament that everyone has a chance because teams are still trying to find themselves at this point. ESPN predicts that this is the most called out sick day of the year for men ages 18-40, the second is the release day of Madden. It should almost be a national holiday because no one pays attention to what they are doing because they are constantly checking scores on their Blackberry or computer. They are constantly reaching into their pockets to pull out their bracket and seeing what scenarios are unfolding and what happens if this team wins and if this one loses. The guy in charge of it all is checking everything scores, brackets and he has to deal with all the morons texting and calling him seeing where they are at. Someone needs to petition that Thursday and Friday of March Madness have to be at least half days if not off days all together. There is no other day in sports like this, and it deserves its respect.