Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Selection Sunday Preview

By Dan Shanoff
Today’s Calls: Locks vs. Bubbles, Amare vs. Baron, Caron vs. LeBron, Rockets vs. Lakers, Curt Schilling vs. Billy Crystal, Bristol vs. Goodyear, Kevin Jones vs. Trent Dilfer and More!
The Opening Pitch: Go with your gut.
When the 2008 NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed on Sunday night, your instant intuition about each pairing will be your best.
I’m not saying that should be your final decision: Sure, you can do your own research or wait for the Monday-morning conventional wisdom. (Preview: Drake is the new Butler, Butler is the new Gonzaga and Xavier is the new Xavier.)
But keep track of your gut reactions, because when it comes down to those handful of matchups that you find yourself stuck on -- or, worse, waffling -- your gut is better than any so-called “expert.”
Some fans build their bracket from the ground up. I take the opposite approach: I finalize my champ pick BEFORE the brackets come out, then work backward.
(A year ago, with Florida, that worked out great. Needless to say, the Gators ain’t gonna be my pick this year... unless it’s for NIT champ.)
This year, I think it is UCLA’s time, after back-to-back trips to the Final Four and their best team of the last three years. The Bruins will be a popular pick, but hey: That was my gut feeling back in November. And how can you deny your gut?
Madness you may have missed last night:
Pac-10: No disputing UCLA’s win over Cal this time... But another game, another Pac-10 officiating controversy at the end of USC’s win over Arizona State, bursting the Sun Devils’ Bubble... More Bubble Trouble: Oregon.
Big East: OK, Georgetown: 17 3s?!?!... Pitt’s W over Louisville is one of those that might convince you to take Pitt a little further than usual on your bracket... Surprise of the Day: West Virginia over UConn... Bubble Trouble: Nova.
SEC: The day’s best buzzer-beater: Georgia over Ole Miss, giving the Rebels the SEC’s biggest Bubble Trouble... Confirmation: Florida’s NCAA Tournament “dynast-ish” is over. Well, there’s always the NIT title....
More Bubble Trouble: Baylor? Lost to weakling Colorado in 2OT... Dayton? Needed a win over Xavier they didn’t get... Maryland? Chokers... Let’s hope the Selection Committee gives those last few all-things-equal invites at the margins to mid-majors, not power-conference disappointments.
Today’s Top 5 Games:
1. USC vs. UCLA
2. St. Joe’s vs. Xavier
3. Vandy vs. Arkansas
4. Washington St vs. Stanford
5. Colgate vs. American (Patriot title game!)
Must-See TV This Weekend: “Black Magic,” a two-night documentary on ESPN running Sunday and Monday night about the storied (yet woefully underreported) history of college basketball at historically black universities. Running it without ads is a worthy touch.
NBA Last Night: Suns top Warriors, in a playoff-intense game featuring two stand-out performances -- Amare had 36 and 11 (with 4 blocks), and Baron Davis had 38, with 9 rebounds and 8 assists. Golden State won’t sneak up on anyone in the playoffs this year, but I still wouldn’t want to play ‘em.
Welcome back, Caron Butler: The Wizards star and leader had a team-high 19 points leading 7 Wizards in double-figures in a win over the quasi-rival Cavs. (LeBron: 25/7/7... with 7 turnovers.)
Rockets Watch: With a win over the Bobcats tonight, Houston can own the 2nd-longest winning streak in NBA history (21). The real test is Sunday, when they play the West-leading Lakers on national TV. If the Rockets win, their streak signals playoff legitimacy; if the Rockets lose, well, the history-making is a nice consolation prize.
Greg Oden practices with the Blazers: If they are in 10th in the West without him, Portland should have high expectations next season, when Oden should be a lock for Rookie of the Year.
MLB Spring Training: Curt Schilling goes on the 60-day DL. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. (I certainly hope no one in your fantasy league draft has been selecting him. By the way, if you were following my fantasy dilemmas yesterday afternoon at DanShanoff.com, with the 4th overall pick in my 16-team league, I ended up going David Wright, Lance Berkman and Victor Martinez with my first 3 picks. So-so overall.)
NASCAR This Weekend: The circus comes to Bristol. After Tony Stewart’s outburst this week, keep your eyes on the tires.
NFL Cuts: Lions cut RB Kevin Jones, never quite the fantasy RB that you hope him to be... 49ers cut Trent Dilfer: Some team with a young QB is going to want to bring him in as a mentor. (Oakland?)
The Last Word: If you had one dream at-bat in an exhibition playing for your favorite team, would you rather swing and strike out or avoid the humiliation of a K by taking a walk?
Billy Crystal was up 3-1 in the count in his fantasy-turned-reality at-bat for his Yankees. He could have left the bat on his shoulder and taken his chances (Consider the lifetime OBP implications!)
Instead, he swung twice -- missing twice, badly -- and Mighty Billy had struck out. (As Olbermann pointed out: Against the Pirates!)
In the end, as much as I am for the moral victory of reaching base, I I think the remote chance of the once-in-a-lifetime glory of contact against a real-live MLB pitcher out-weighs the humiliation of the K.
Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.
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