Ask a Kentucky Wildcat fan, I am obliged to start this blog by saying, “Whew!”  I thought the Cats were out of luck when Georgia stole a bid.  They probably won’t last long, but I’m glad they are in.

Ok, back to the main body of the blog…

First - the Mid-Majors.  For so many years the mid-majors have been whining about their being overlooked in the NCAA tournament.  All the talking heads jump on the bandwagon after the famous George Mason run to the Final Four, and they start rambling about parity in Division 1 basketball.  It must be having some effect because now we see teams like Butler and Drake ranked in the top 25.  Not even five years ago if either one of these guys were undefeated at this point in the season and they still wouldn’t crack the top 25. 

I’m not saying I agree with teams that dominate a mid-major conference getting a top-25 ranking.  I’m just making the observation.  To me, it takes a lot more than some inexplicably long runs into the tournament to say that teams like Butler and conferences like the Horizon, Missouri Valley and Sun Belt are truly, sustainably as good as major teams and conferences.  I chalk up the George Mason anomoly to the fact that it was bound to happen eventually.  And the fact that the tension and excitement of the Big Dance puts a lot of pressure on favorites.

So Butler comes in to the tournament as a 7-seed and now the whiners and talking heads are complaining they have to play another mid-major in the first round!  Give me a break!  You can’t have your cake and eat it too!  The cake is that Butler has earned some respect, they got the 7-seed.  The eating it too would be to expect the committee to give a darn about who they play in the first round. 

Next topic - expansion of the tournament.  I don’t really understand why this is such a fascination for hoops experts.  Expanding the NCAA tournament would be one of the dumbest moves imaginable.  And I would even say that if Kentucky were playing in the NIT tonight instead of the NCAA tournament on Thursday.

The NCAA tournament is wildly popular because it is pure and simple, it is unforgiving, and it is conclusive.  To get in, it is simple - win games.  If you end up on the bubble, and then you get cut out - too bad, you should have won one more game.  As tournements go, and as a means of deciding a national champion, it is in a word - perfect.  To monkey with it would be beyond stupid.

I love the annual discussion of the automatic bids, the bubble and the snubs.  Expanding the tournament to 128 certainly would end the bubble discussions by making the bubble discussions completely inane.  But not everything that causes anxiety and tension has to be stopped.  The bubble discussions and white knuckled build-up to Selection Sunday is great!  Who would want it to end?

I’m sure the folks who came up with the BCS would love to see the NCAA tournament expanded because then they would no longer be the biggest fools in college sports.

I’m not a big Carolina fan but I believe they are the best team in the country and most likely to win the whole thing.  Second best team is Kansas, who unfortunately find themselves in a position of needing to beat Carolina to get to the final.  We will see!

What’s the world coming to huh? 

What a disgusting display by people who are heroes to America’s youth.  Roger Clemens bumbles and blubbers through his testimony in front of Congress.  His accuser is a former cop turned trainer turned drug dealer.  Andy Pettitte misremembers things about Clemens.  This is months after Barry Bonds is indicted for lying to Congress when he was given a similar chance.

The TRUTH used to be an absolute.  It used to mean a factual account of something that happened, or just is, or an honest account of something a person actually, really, no kidding did or believed.  Now the truth is simply a convenient statement of something which cannot be disproven.  If it suddenly becomes disprovable, just change it to something else, again and again until it comes to rest at something ultimately plausibly deniable. 

I think this abherrant distortion of the TRUTH was popularized by former President Bill Clinton, who argued the meaning of the definition of the word “is” before a grand jury.  But I’m not sure.  I don’t want to give him more credit than he is due.  Either way, that’s about the point in American history where the truth became something less absolute and more relative.

Back in college basketball, Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson faces sanctions for violation of five NCAA rules.  What rules?  One may ask?

The same rules he violated at Oklahoma.  The same rules that put him on NCAA sanctions at Oklahoma. 

Bobby Knight gets forced out of Hoosier country for being an abrasive, beligerent, codger.  But he goes on to win 900 games and certain acceptance in the Hall of Fame.   I wouldn’t go so far as to call Bobby Knight a class act, but he was a great coach, was good for the game, and added color to every game he coached.  And he made the press conferences worth sticking around for after the game.  As a Kentucky Wildcat fan, I have every right to dislike the man.  But I can’t.  Because he was a great coach.  And he wasn’t a cheater. 

What was IU thinking?  Tired of an incorrigible honest winner?  Hire a known cheater?  Yeah I know, there was a coach in between, but he was a wacko, so I’m skipping him to make a point.

So I have to ask myself, at what point does Congress feel the need to get involved in cheating?

Congress has made a lot of noise over Spygate, but to date they are not hauling in NFL coaches to testify before Congress.  I doubt they will.  The cheating in the NFL is sickening too, but apparently not as sickening as the pervasive meds cheating in MLB.  Congressmen are up to their necks in medicinal cheating in baseball.  But why?  Are they just sore about Barry Bonds lying to them and they want to poke him in the eye?

Is it because it is America’s pastime and they feel some need to show some sense of ownership of it?

Or is it that they get involved once the cheating and illegal drug use threatens to taint the sport to the point that legitimately talented athletes are being displaced by cheaters because they can’t compete using just their God given talents?  That would set well with me.  But if it is true, Congress’ arrival on the scene of horse racing is long overdue.  

Regardless, I am absolutely sick of it.  I’m tired of seeing sports heroes backpedal and plead the fifth and trample the truth.   To be quite honest, I’m tired of seeing sports figures testifying before Congress.  Doesn’t Congress have something better to do?  Isn’t there some lower court that could handle it?  It is quite clear by now that if anyone thought that the power and authority of the Congress would extract the truth from these “heroes” they were wrong.  It won’t.  All the more reason to let someone else deal with it and let Congress make laws and deal with matters that ALL Americans have some concern about, like health care and social security and the war in Iraq.

Slow times in horse racing and I’m due for a rant.  Here goes…

What a Superbowl!  Good to see another Ole Miss grad do well!  Go Eli!  Hopefully he won’t start making commercials.

Pro Football… Tony Romo didn’t start losing because he was distracted by Jessica Simpson.  He lost because he’s not a very good quarterback.  Terrell Owens could make anybody look like a good quarterback.  I think if my Dad were quarterback they could make the playoffs as long as T.O. was healthy.  He’s just that good.  So when T.O. went out with an injury, Romo’s true colors showed. 

College Basketball… Drake?  Butler?  I said it last year and I’ll say it again… why do these teams make the top 25 every year?  Just because a team has only one loss, or two, does not make them one of the best 25 teams in the country.  If Drake were playing any team in the ACC on Drake’s home court they would be a 15 point underdog.  I’m not saying they are not a good team.  I’m just saying they don’t belong in the top 25.  Someday maybe I’ll be a sports writer and I’ll get a vote.  Memphis is overrated too.  UNC is the best team in the land.  Playing in the ACC all season long should make playing in the NCAA tournament look pretty easy.

ESPN says it is Rivalry week! 

• Duke vs UNC this coming Wednesday.  I’ll take UNC, even with Lawson injured. 
• Florida vs Tennessee.  I’ll take Tennessee.  But is this really a rivalry?
• Butler at Wisc GB.  I’ll take Wisc GB. 

Memphis should not lose a game this year, but they are not the best team in the country.  I’m not sure they are in the top five.  I’ll be picking them to exit the tourney early this year. 

It’s tough being a Kentucky fan this year.  Their chances at an NCAA tourney bid are slim.  Billie Gillespie may not survive the year if he doesn’t turn it around.  They are not even listed as a bubble team.  Yeesh.  Humility is a bitter pill for UK fans. 

Bobby Knight resigns - love him or hate him, he was good for the game.  I wouldn’t exactly call him a classy guy, but he added color to the sport and he knew how to coach.  Believe it or not, here’s a Kentucky Wildcat fan saying I hate to see him go. 

Horseracing….

Curlin Horse of the Year - I was a big Street Sense fan, and called for him to win the Derby and break the so-called Juvenile curse.  To me, the Derby proved he was the best horse in the land and still head and shoulders above his peers.  And to me, the Derby proved that Curlin was not the freak that many said he was.  I was wrong.  Street Sense was already second best to Curlin when the gates opened on the first Saturday in May.  But Street Sense got the ride and Curlin got a miserable trip.  Just like Afleet Alex was the best three year old when he ran his Derby - also finishing third, due to a poorly timed bid by his jockey.  Just goes to show - it isn’t just the horse.  It’s the horse and the trip.  That’s why winning the Triple Crown is so hard.  The Breeders Cup left no doubt that Curlin is truly a special horse.

I still won’t bet lightly raced horses in the Derby.  Hasn’t hurt me yet.

Cheating - Good to see the Bloodhorse start to speak out on the topic of meds cheating in horse racing.  In a recent editorial it was even suggested that owners would have their horses suspended if the trainer is caught cheating (something I suggested in this blog many months ago, but I’m not saying he got it from me).  Maybe if enough light is shed on the rampant problem we might see some change soon.  The Bloodhorse is a well respected publication and to my knowledge this is the first time I’ve seen them take a strong stand.  It’s time.