Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Root for Sweet 16 Upsets

By Dan Shanoff
Today’s Calls: Joe Alexander vs. Drew Lavender, Derrick Low vs. Ty Lawson, Courtney Lee vs. Kevin Love, Rick Pitino vs. Bruce Pearl, A-Rod vs. Jose Canseco, David Wright vs. Johan Santana, KG vs. Kobe, Tanya Thomas vs. Barry Bonds, Marcus Trufant vs. Asante Samuel, Tyreke Evans vs. Terrelle Pryor, Long Hair vs. NFL Squares and More!
The Opening Pitch: The one benefit to having a busted bracket heading into tonight’s Sweet 16 games is the unfettered freedom to root for upsets.
7:10 (7) West Virginia over (3) Xavier: Like Davidson tomorrow, WVU is tonight’s America’s Team, not just for dispatching Duke, but for being fearless in doing it. Rooting FOR Huggins feels weird.
(As for Xavier, teams that usually find Tournament success as an upstart don’t usually end up liking it on the other side.)
7:27 (4) Washington St over (1) UNC: A 4-seed over a 1-seed isn’t exactly an “upset,” but seeing the nation’s most popular pick to win it all go down so early would be the biggest bracket-buster of all.
9:40 (12) Western Kentucky over (1) UCLA: I would happily take my pick for champ going down, if it meant that the Hilltoppers kept going on their miracle double-digit-seed ride.
9:57 (3) Louisville over (2) Tennessee: OK, so 3 over 2 doesn’t qualify as an upset in the least; for this one, fans can simply enjoy the sideline preening of Pitino and Pearl, two masters of the form. Without an upset factor, I will settle for a buzzer-beating finish.
Sure, on my bracket, I have Xavier, UNC, UCLA and Tennessee all winning. And, sure, I would love to see my predictions come to pass... but that’s selfish -- not to mention not much fun.
Unless you are winning your pool, you have no reason not to embrace rooting for the national good (through crazy results) over your need to be right (and predictability).
Distraction Watch: Bruce Pearl to Indiana? It’s a hot rumor, just in time for the Vols’ Sweet 16 game against Xavier.
As good as Pearl’s situation is at Tennessee, Indiana is one of the Top 5 college hoops coaching jobs in the country. (Ooh! Hmm: Want the rest? UCLA, Kentucky, Duke, UNC)
Pearl’s high-octane style would bring recruits and pizzazz to the stodgy Big Ten (not to mention his heated rivalry with Illinois, which will make Illini fans’ treatment of Eric Gordon look mild).
If Indiana asked, I think Pearl would go. He has turned Tennessee into a great job -- but this season might be as good as it will ever get for him there. (Credit HBO’s Real Sports for being the first I heard of to really push the idea of this theory a few weeks ago.)
Davidson has the Best. Dean. Ever.: For any Davidson student who wants to go to Detroit to watch the Wildcats tomorrow night, the school is paying for bus transportation and hotel lodging -- and giving them a game ticket. Davidson applications for the class of 2012 just skyrocketed.
2008 MLB Season Preview, Part 2: NL!
MVP: David Wright
Cy: Johan Santana
Rookie: Geovany Soto
Manager: Willie Randolph
NL East: Mets
NL Central: Brewers
NL West: Rockies
NL Wild Card: Cubs
NL Champ: Mets
Put your own picks in the Comments! Coming tomorrow: Top 5 Storylines and a WS Pick!
Projected NFL Draft pick Heath Benedict, a guard from Newberry College in South Carolina, was found dead in his home last night. Most fans probably had never heard of him, but scouts had him projected as high as a 4th-rounder. Condolences to his family and friends.
NBA Last Night: Full slate last night! Kobe ejected in Lakers loss to Bobcats... Celtics crush Suns behind KG’s 30... With 10 games to go in the regular season, the Sixers and the Hawks are both in the playoffs... Hornets beat Cavs in Cleveland (note to self: stop looking for “affirmation” wins from the Hornets -- they have proven themselves for real!)
Tanya Thomas Trial: So after all the fuss about steroids, does it turn out that the illegal labs are really kind of unsuccessful, because -- in the end -- the athletes don’t really need all that much product? (Oh, and Bonds’ name came up... so he MUST be guilty!)
MLB: What did we learn from the Red Sox-A’s series in Japan? If you drafted Manny Ramirez and Rich Harden in your fantasy leagues, you’ll be doing just fine.
So: Is A-Rod still ignoring Jose Canseco? That’s fine. He can probably succeed with that strategy, but the whispers will keep dogging him. “Not a distraction?“ We’ll see....
NFL Deals: Marcus Trufant gets a 6Y/$50M deal ($20M guaranteed) from the Seahawks. He was the second-best CB on the market this offseason (behind Asante Samuel).
If the NFL Thursday-night Season Opener between the Giants and Redskins ends up starting at 7 p.m. ET, rather than 8:30, will the Republican Party spin it as a bonus for Americans?
The scheduled kick-off would conflict with the final night of the Republican National Convention. ($10 says John McCain makes a joke about the football game during his acceptance speech.)
Prep Hoops: Tyreke Evans was the MVP of the McD’s A-A Game, scoring 21 with 10 rebounds to lead the East to a 107-102 win. Evans hasn’t committed to a college yet, and this should only serve to turn him into the Terrelle Pryor of college hoops. (He is rumored to favor Memphis or Villanova, but I think that he ends up at Memphis is a lock.)
Hot NIT Action: The Final Four is set! Ole Miss and Ohio State join Florida and UMass. (And even if my NCAA picks are in the tank, my pick of Florida to win the NIT is still totally on! No offense to Miss and Mass, but the most intriguing outcome is a 2007 NCAA Title rematch?)
The Last Word: Is the NFL about to have a hair controversy? They are considering a rule that players with long hair should have to tuck it in when they play. Lame.
I think flowing locks adds a little personality to an otherwise faceless on-field product. As long as players with long hair know that opponents will yank on it mercilessly, I say treat them like adults.
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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