DeBerry himself had a theory about this: Air Force doesn't have enough black players. His famous quote from last year: ""We were looking at things, like you don't see many minority athletes in our program ... It just seems to be that way, that Afro-American kids can run very, very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me they run extremely well." That was why Air Force had struggled; they just didn't have enough black players.

And, alas, now DeBerry is leaving the game he loves. Thanks a lot, athletic black people. Now look what you did!

DeBerry Resigning From Air Force [ESPN]
Fisher DeBerry: Racist, Or Just Evil Devil Spawn? [Deadspin]

We've heard from several fans with tickets to the "evening" games at Cox Arena in San Diego yesterday not being let into the arena until directly before gametime — and for some, even later.

Afrustrated Illini fan who had tickets sends us this shot, mere seconds before tipoff. Now that's some exciting NCAA action, right there. The fan(s) is going nuts.

Terror Stalks The NCAA Tournament ... Steamy, Delicious Terror [Deadspin]

ILLINOIS

1. Bruce Weber Does Not Do Gay Photography. If you re ever bored, we encourage you to Google "Bruce Weber," the name of the Illini's beloved (and duck-voiced) head coach. You won't be directed to his page on FightingIllini.com; instead, BruceWeber.com is the official Web site of an entirely different Bruce Weber. That Bruce Weber is a New York City-based photographer who "features the beauty of youth in male nude photography." So be not confused: Not the same guy.

2. When Dee Brown Is Done With You, You Won t Be Able To Shit Straight For A Week. The Illini's senior guard very well might be the most popular player in team history; ironically, he has thrived under the coaching of Weber, whose hiring he initially publicly skulked about. But when times are difficult, he turns to ... Bad Santa. After Illinois' lone regular season loss to Ohio State last season, Brown went home with then-roommate, now-Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams to watch the film, which he classifies as one of his favorites. "I had to get all my anger out," he said.

3. The Illini Might Be Responsible For The Dick Vitale We Now Know. In 1987, an Illini team led by Ken Norman and Doug Altenberger received the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and were predicted to reach the Final Four by an up-and-coming broadcaster named Dick Vitale. In the first round, Illinois faced little-known Austin Peay, the champions of the Ohio Valley Conference and most famous for their fans' chant for 1970s player James "Fly" Williams: "The Fly Is Open ... Let s Go Peay!" Back then, early rounds of the NCAA tournament were shown on ESPN, and in the second half, with Peay down to the Illini by only three points, Vitale appeared in ESPN's studio and bellowed, "THERE S NO WAY ILLINOIS LOSES THIS GAME! IF ILLINOIS LOSES, I'LL STAND ON MY HEAD!" Sure enough, Austin Peay pulled off the 68-67 upset, and, months later, Vitale visited the school's Tennessee campus and successfully stood on his head for 10 seconds. The headstand caused an extreme rush of blood to Vitale's brain and reduced his mental acuity to that of a retarded dolphin. — Will Leitch

AIR FORCE

1. Antoine Hood Is Cooler Than You. Not only was the Falcons' starting guard voted to the 2005-2006 Mountain West all-conference first team by leading Air Force in scoring at 14.8 points per game and assists with 78, but he will always be more popular then you. He currently has 1,031 friends at the United States Air Force Academy, and many more friends in over 303 universities listed on his Facebook. He is also a proud member of groups such as,: "Management Majors: The Only Way to Roll" and "You Might Have Seen Me On Facebook, But Shawty You Don't Know Me." So please, after Antoine finishes driving through you like a knife through butter, don t hate him too much. After all, Hood and many more men and women like him are the reason you have the freedom to watch March Madness in the first place.

2. The Falcons Aren t Scared Of Ghosts. One of the most common occurrences in the life of an Air Force Academy cadet? Briefings. They range from leadership skills to the dangers of STD's, and everything in between. The most common building used for these buildings is Arnold Hall, which also serves as a student union building for the cadets, serving food and sponsoring formal dances throughout the year. The thing about Arnold? It's haunted. Over the years, eight cadets have used Arnold Hall to commit suicide, usually deciding to hang themselves off the high rafters above where the cadets sit. If the Falcons can brave eight ghosts on a day-to-day basis, then five angry Texans shouldn't be a problem.

3. Dan Nwaelele Will Make You Cry. You may not have heard his name, but once he starts dropping treys like it was nobody's business, you can be sure that "Nwaelele" will be locked in your memory for the whole offseason as the man who knocked off your beloved team. (Editor's Note: Great.) For the Falcons to advance, they will have to rely on the three, and no one has been better this year then Dan. He currently is shooting 48.4 percent from behind the arc, 5 percentage points better then that other guy playing for that OTHER blue team. He also is shooting a team high 90 percent from the free-throw line and has scored in double figures in 12 of the Falcons' 16 conference games. And next year, he will be back leading the Falcons to the big dance on a 24-5 squad that will be starting five seniors. Scary —Kyle D. Sellner

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2. The Falcons Aren t Scared Of Ghosts. One of the most common occurrences in the life of an Air Force Academy cadet? Briefings. They range from leadership skills to the dangers of STD's, and everything in between. The most common building used for these buildings is Arnold Hall, which also serves as a student union building for the cadets, serving food and sponsoring formal dances throughout the year. The thing about Arnold? It's haunted. Over the years, eight cadets have used Arnold Hall to commit suicide, usually deciding to hang themselves off the high rafters above where the cadets sit. If the Falcons can brave eight ghosts on a day-to-day basis, then five angry Texans shouldn't be a problem.

3. Dan Nwaelele Will Make You Cry. You may not have heard his name, but once he starts dropping treys like it was nobody's business, you can be sure that "Nwaelele" will be locked in your memory for the whole offseason as the man who knocked off your beloved team. (Editor's Note: Great.) For the Falcons to advance, they will have to rely on the three, and no one has been better this year then Dan. He currently is shooting 48.4 percent from behind the arc, 5 percentage points better then that other guy playing for that OTHER blue team. He also is shooting a team high 90 percent from the free-throw line and has scored in double figures in 12 of the Falcons' 16 conference games. And next year, he will be back leading the Falcons to the big dance on a 24-5 squad that will be starting five seniors. Scary —Kyle D. Sellner

Brigham Young 62, Air Force 41.

We know DeBerry is under a lot of fire at his school right now — and we'd make the argument that it probably has as much to do (if not more so) with the struggles of his team than his recent "remarks" — but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt: If there's one team that has more luck than Air Force at recruiting the type of athletes DeBerry was talking about ... it's totally Brigham Young.

Brigham Young 62, Air Force 41 [Salt Lake Tribune]
Fisher DeBerry: Racist, Or Just Evil Devil Spawn? [Deadspin]

It would be far more logical to be blasting the Houston Astros and Major League Baseball for the absence of any African Americans being on the Houston roster, and so few on all the other MLB teams ... than slamming Air Force head coach Fisher Berry (sic)for literally begging for more African American players for his Air Force Team. And guess what .... DeBerry was just forced to apologize while Bud Selig does nothing.

The column goes on to say the real reason Air Force can't recruit black players is because they don't want to give up "just as good an education or better (if they want one) at other major universities begging them to attend and then go on to very attractive NFL careers rather than wanting to graduate from the Air Force Academy so they can go directly to flight school before the Bush Administration then ships them out to Iraq." It's a riveting read, agree or disagree.

Air Force And Astros Share Same Problem [Black Athlete Sports Network]

(Update: A reader corrects us: "Elston Howard played for the 1956 Yankees. He homered in the World Series. He also played in the 1955 World Series. So the last WS team not to have an African-American was the 1953 Yankees." So there you go.)

All that said ... uh ... does anyone — really, now — disagree with what he said? He was asked a question about recruiting, and he said his team doesn't have very many black players (we wonder why, hmm), and since other teams have more black players, and black players tend to be faster than white players, the other teams are faster. Sorry to ruin a good story here, but, well, is anyone out there willing to argue that, on the whole, white players are faster than black players? (Operators are standing by.) Yes, yes, every player is different, and many players — particularly black quarterbacks — have suffered from decades of instituitional bias stemming from that very fact. But come on. Who are we trying to kid here? You know?

Air Force Looking Into DeBerry Comments [Rocky Mountain News]
DeBerry Press Conference [9 News] (via The Wizard Of Odds)