Players from both teams spent the rain delay on Thursday trying to one up each other in the saddest dance competition since "You Got Served." There were Michael Jackson impersonators, Riverdancers, Soulja Boyz, and believe it or not ... the Macarena which I though had been banned by the Geneva Convention.

I actually feel sorry for the camera operator who had nothing better to do on a weekday afternoon then watch college kids dance around like monkeys, but he captured over 12 minutes of this nonsense, capped off by shirtless scholarship athletes sliding on the wet tarp. There is a reason why college baseball is inferior to its football and basketball counterparts and this is it. May it haunt your Memorial Day dreams for all time.

UConn-USF Dance Off [BIGEAST.TV]

Not that there's much danger of the latter outcome happening. Connecticut is 38-0 and not a single one of those wins came by less than 10 points. (Most were by much, much more.) They already beat tonight's opponent, Louisville, twice this season by a combined margin of 67. Geno Auriemma can talk all day about how dangerous that makes them, but no one is buying it. A win tonight by Louisville would be one of the greatest upsets in sports history and I'm pretty sure he'll never let that happen.

By the way, if they do win by double digits, the Huskies would be the first team ever—men's or women's—to beat every opponent on their schedule by at least 10 points. That's some pretty good firepower for the "greatest of all time" arguments.

Louisville-Connecticut Preview [AP]
Normal Conventions Of Sports Just Don't Apply To UConn Women's Team [The Day]

Here's how ultra-likeable Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma injects some life into his pre-game preparation.

"I know this is going to get played out the wrong way," said Auriemma, "But I'm going to say it anyway. And I know I'm going to get criticized for this. White kids are always looked upon as being soft. So Stanford's got a tremendous amount of really good players who for whatever reason, because they don't look like Tina Charles or Maya Moore, the perception out there is going to be, well, they must be soft.

"Well, I think that's a bunch of bull. I watched them play and nobody goes harder to the boards. Nobody takes more charges. Nobody runs the floor as hard. Those kids are as tough as any of the kids in the country. But people on the sports world like to make judgments on people by how they look. And it's grossly unfair."

First of all ... who says that? The best white kids are always described as "tough" and "gutsy" instead of "silky smooth" or "graceful" or even "athletic." Secondly ... yes, people do make judgments based on looks, but you're the one who brought up race. Did anyone even call Stanford soft besides Geno Auriemma? Finally, why bring something up if you know you're going to get criticized for it? (Which no one has, by the way. This story has barely registered on the news wires.) Is it to give people like me a reason to write about a tournament that's gone completely ignored because your team is so good the sport is not even fun anymore? Well, you win this round, Geno! Your reverse mind games will definitely work on me.

Oh, did I mention the women's Final Four is tonight? UConn-Stanford and Oklahoma-Louisville. The Huskies will win both their games by 30, so don't even bother.

Auriemma Says Perceptions of Stanford Based on Race [NY Times]
Auriemma Video [ESPN]
Jayne Appel, Former UConn Recruit, Now Stands in Huskies' Path [NY Times]

2) Coach Feels Lousy? Good! UConn head coach Jim Calhoun fell mysteriously ill just before the Huskies' first-round win over the Chattanooga Mocs, leaving former Holy Cross head man George Blaney to run the team. You'd think this kind of thing would be a distraction for the team, but not so much. Turns out Calhoun had similar bouts of the 24-hour whoopsies in 1999 and 2004, both years in which UConn won championships. Looks like ol' Jim is leaving nothing to chance this season.

3) Wide Margins We can be forgiven for wondering if anyone plans to show up and take the floor against UConn in Glendale. Lord knows, the first two Husky opponents of the tournament were barely there. The Chattanooga Mocs fell 103-47 (a 56-point margin) and more robust opponent Texas A&M was able to keep the margin of crushing defeat to a respectable 26 points. Add a stiff shot of defense to your next Boilermaker—you're going to need it. — Eric Angevine (Storming The Floor)

PURDUE BOILERMAKERS

1) Big Shot Rob Robbie Hummel was pre-season Big Ten Player of the Year...and as he got healthy late in the regular season (hey, if you haven't heard, he has a stress fracture in his back and wears a plastic brace—CBS even has pictures to prove it!), it became obvious just how valuable he is for Matty Painter's squad. He was the Big Ten Tourney MVP because of his ability to always be near the ball and to make things happen on offense...but he's a dead-eye shooter and that's why he gets so much respect.  He even earned a spot on SI's regional cover prior to the Purdue v. UNI game (the same SI that, in their bracket, referred to "Keady-like defense" when talking about a team Keady hasn't coached in five years)...but Robbie's first two rounds were as quiet as IU's Memorial Stadium on a fall afternoon. (Hey-yo!) So we think he's long overdue. He's averaging 8 points and 9 boards per game in the tournament—he's usually a 12.4/7.

2) Miles to go before they sleep. Purdue's team decided to forego returning to West Lafayette for two days following their win over Washington in Portland, Oregon, and instead decided to go directly to Arizona to prepare for the round of 16 in Glendale. UConn, conversely, slept in their own beds until Tuesday when they headed west. We'll see if the time change/environmental change has any effect on the favored Huskies. The dry air in Arizona takes some getting used to. If UConn struggles with cramps while the Boilers don't on Thursday, Matty will look like even more of an evil genius...Hopefully this tactic doesn't prompt the Boilers to spend too many nights in Detroit if they should move on to the Final Four.

3) For our next trick, we'll make our offense disappear. If you've watched any Purdue basketball this year, you know a few things. First, Matty Painter is a handsome devil. Second, Purdue's offense has the Copperfield-like ability to disappear, without any warning, at any time. And finally, defense makes this team go. It's been said that a 10-point lead for Purdue is like a 20-point lead for many other teams. We saw just how important the defense was versus Washington as Purdue's JaJuan Johnson altered an estimated seven Huskies shots in the final three minutes and had two outright blocks in the closing seconds of Purdue's win last round. On an unrelated note, JaJuan doesn't like it when dogs stick their tongues out at him. — Boiled Sports

As in all recruiting stories, the situation is quite complicated, but the crux of the matter is this: Josh Nochimson, a former student manager turned player agent, provided "lodging, transportation, restaurant meals and representation" to Miles during his recruitment by the Huskies. Since Nochimson is a UConn alum and former member of the basketball program he technically "represents the athletic interests" of his old school (i.e., he's a booster) and by rule he cannot "make any contact, including telephone calls and letters, to a prospect or the prospect's family, on or off campus," which records show he clearly did. Even worse—Connecticut coaches allegedly knew about the relationship and did nothing to stop it. In fact, they more than likely encouraged it. Plus, the program may also have violated several other rules by contacting Miles more than was allowed.

The relationship and UConn's knowledge of the situation are potential major NCAA violations. The findings are part of Yahoo! Sports' ongoing look into the changing role of agents and their impact on college basketball. Agents aren't just recruiting players from college programs, they are recruiting players for them, according to an NCAA official.

The UConn basketball staff was in constant contact with Nochimson during a nearly two-year period up to and after Miles' recruitment. Five different UConn coaches traded at least 1,565 phone and text communications with Nochimson, including 16 from head coach Jim Calhoun.

Nochimson became an agent after Richard Hamilton left UConn for the NBA in 1999. He became Hamilton's business manager and representative, and eventually signed with other pro players, but he was decertified as an agent last year, when Hamilton discovered that Nochimson had stolen over a million dollars from him. (When confronted, Nochimson confessed to the whole thing.) Shocking, I know.

This all sounds very bad for the Huskies and it probably should be, but Jim Calhoun haters should probably not get their hopes up. The NCAA hasn't been keen on busting major D-I programs with any serious punishments and as the organization itself admits, this is how it's done now. Agents deliver players to schools and the schools deliver them right back to the agents when they "graduate." If they ever do. Miles—who attended five different high schools in four-and-a-half years and only played one full season of prep ball—was expelled from the university a month into his first semester, after he violated a restraining order placed on him by another student. He never played a game for the Huskies, but—even after the expulsion and the incident with Hamilton—their coaches continue to be in contact with Nochimson.

Probe: UConn violated NCAA rules [Yahoo]

First up at 3:20, we've got a surprising Maryland squad going up against Memphis in Kansas City. As you may remember, Maryland beat Cal in the first round to win the opportunity to run into John Calipari's well-oiled hair team. Considering no one thought Maryland would a) make the tournament and b) win their first round matchup, making a bold prediction seems like a silly proposition here. Memphis had a tough time with their first round opponent Cal State-Northridge, but let's be honest — they were probably all half asleep.

At 3:35, Connecticut takes on Texas A&M in Philadelphia. This one could be more painful than one of those Texas A&M pretend soldiers squeezing his nuts at a football game. Jim Calhoun's back on the sidelines for UConn and Mark Turgeon is still on the sidelines for Texas A&M. I feel bad for people who actually spent money on tickets for today's session in Philly.

Enjoy the games. I'm having some internet hiccups so bear with the light posting.

*A man can dream, folks. A man can dream.

*****

Hello Deadspin, I'm here to continue the second half of the afternoon session with Connecticut and Chattanooga (who, for my typing sanity, will henceforth be referred to as ‘UTC'). If you're paying any attention to this game it probably means that you're 1) from Connecticut, 2) from the greater Chattanooga area, if one exists (if you're in the northern reaches of Alabama, welcome to the internet! Don't worry, I'll type slow for you), or 3) you really think this is the year that a 16 seed beats a 1, and uh, good for you.

For those of you who are still mourning Conan O'Brien's move to the west coast, NBC inexplicably replaced Conan with Jimmy Fallon, that guy who spearheaded the worst years in SNL history and couldn't get through any of his lines without laughing. Well, it turns out he's been talking about UTC all week...and will be "rooting" for them today. He even had coach John Schulman and the pep band on last night. Schulman asked him to come sit on the end of the bench. Why would Schulman do that? I'll go ahead and out myself as a Red Sox fan…UTC, please take him.

Notable basketball alumni:
UConn: Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, Emeka Okafor and um…Travis Knight
UTC: Dennis Haskins. That's right, Mr. Belding everybody! And yes, he really played for them, but only made the squad because he was hopped up on caffeine pills.

Commentator-wise we have young'un Carter Blackburn teaming with Jay Bilas who in turn, if ESPN's coverage last Sunday is indicative of anything, is probably teeming with anger. Okay let's watch some basketball.

*****

5:15 - It's finally over. UConn wins 103-47. On the bright side, if UTC was playing a Big Ten team they probably would've won with 47 points. If you're on the east coast, your local news is next. Be sure to tip your Deadspin editor on the way out.

5:13 - Under a minute! Gus Johnson is on standby in case they need him to call a miraculous finish.

5:10 - UConn breaks the century mark. We're all (/I'm) tortured with another TV timeout.

5:06 - If I stop liveblogging now will Suss track me down, rig a car accident, and tie me up while threatening me with an ax until I finish? Under 4 minutes. 94-47.

5:04 - There's the Mocs pep band. They apparently borrowed their t-shirts from the Wake Forest student section.

5:03 - We have a reference to Obama's bracket and Ty Lawson's toe within a sentence of each other. UCT hits a three to break 40 points and it's 84-42.

4:59 - Stanley Robinson is shooting jumpers and it's now...82-36. Bilas suggests that Nicchaeus Doaks will "fight anybody." May I suggest Kimbo Slice as a warm up? And my goodness Carter Blackburn just said it was fitting that in Philadelphia "Adrien" is putting away UTC. I never realized the Adrian fought anyone in Rocky, never mind putting them away.

4:56 - Now Blackburn not only mentions that someone is from Red Bank, NJ, but that it is 45 minutes from Philadelphia. He must have Google Earth up at all times.

4:55 - Keyron Sheard has fouled out for UTC. He leaves as the team's second leading scorer with 2 points.

4:53 - We're finally under 10 minutes to go. 73-34 UConn. Isn't this why they invented the word for euthanasia?

4:50 - I called my dad to see if he's watching the game. He asked me why I was calling him from across the room, then he told me to get a real job and move out already. So yeah, I guess I'm done with this experiment.

4:48 - I'm pretty sure I'm the only person still watching this game. In the spirit of "Rick Rielly," would anyone stop me if I started liveblogging this game like "Bill Simmins"? I'll only refer to five things: the Shawshank Redemption, Swingers, the levels of losing, my L.A. Clippers season tickets, and calling my dad.

4:45 - Furthermore, Bilas ominously predicts that someone will "tear some ligaments" before the end of this one.

4:43 - Jay Bilas was totally right when he said UTC isn't a typical 16 seed an hour or so ago. Back to a comfortable 40 point lead for UConn. Only 13 more minutes of misery.

4:41 - Carter Blackburn must have majored in geography. Now he tells us how Villanova is its own municipality. Cool. Meanwhile, it's 65-27 and not only is UTC no longer tripled over, but they're not even down 40 anymore.

4:36 - Thabeet needs to get stronger and "improve his base" according to Jay Bilas. Not so much to improve his game, but more to keep him from getting bodyslammed by DeJuan Blair again.

4:34 - 16:50 left in the game as UConn extends the lead to 40 points. 60-20. They've tripled them over. How often does that happen in the second half in a game involving anyone over the age of 8?

4:30 - Is it wrong to want one of the UConn players to get injured for the tournament for still being in this game?

4:27 - Bilas: "Stanley Robinson ought to start wearing a helmet." But then clarifies, "because his head gets so close to the rim." I was thinking it was for a totally different reason.

4:24 - The second half is underway. And the teams trade baskets. 50-20.

4:22 - The Wachovia Center appears to have emptied out a little bit. I can only assume they're trying to make it to happy hour on time. Here's to hoping Marvin Harrison isn't out roaming the streets. No wait, I hope he is out roaming the streets. This is Philadelphia we're talking about.

4:17 - The winner of this game gets Texas A&M, who toyed with the Mormons throughout their game earlier this afternoon. The halftime anchor gets ahead of himself and says Texas A&M has to get to the line against UConn. Hold your horses! This puppy isn't over halftime anchor. There's a reason why they play the game, right? Right?

4:14 - Yet another Sonic commercial. You're wasting your money Sonic. I don't know where the closest Sonic is but I assume it's at least a six hour drive away.

4:12 - And I apologize for mixing up the Mocs nickname. Apparently it used to stand for Moccasins back in the day, but they changed its meaning to Mockingbirds ten years ago. I'll be sure to update my mascot database.

4:09 - In out of town scores, UNC leads Radford by 20, Maryland is up 3 over Cal at the half, and Purdue is doing their best to try and blow this game against N. Iowa. 50-44 Purdue with 5 minutes left, so if you're reading this, don't go over to that game.

4:06 - MMOD has some kid broadcasting the halftime show from the corner of his mother's basement. So at least it's not Greg Gumbel.

4:03 - 31-5 run to end the half for UConn, it's 48-20 as they head to the tunnels.

4:00 - Under a minute in the half and it's 48-18 UConn.

3:59 - Blackburn has a propensity for mentioning each player's hometown over and over again. Stanley Robinson, who "is an incredible leaper" comes up with a block on one end and finishes, disappointing with only a layup, at the other end.

3:57 - I'm glad CBS gave us a boring commentator duo for this boring game. Carter Blackburn mentions 16 seed W. Carolina almost beating Purdue back when he was 6.

3:55 - Thabeet already has 10 points and 8 rebounds and Austrie extends the lead to 20 with free throws.

3:51 - The only remaining question is if John Schulman will wait until the second half to put in Jimmy Fallon. Thabeet comes up with a block and we have a technical foul on UTC coach John Schulman. More commercials, which are probably more exciting at this point anyway.

3:48 - From here on out it appears it will be a Bilas praise-fest of UConn, but in a quiet, emotionless voice.

3:45 - Thabeet gets an easy dunk off the in-bounds pass. On their next possession UConn makes a dozen passes. Clearly Blaney is instituting the coaching mercy rule of "you have to pass the ball 10 times before you can shoot."

3:40 - UTC travels for the second or third time. Bilas reminds us that this is the part of the game "where it can get away" from UTC. The Mocs respond with a layup. What resilience! The Huskies head into another TV timeout up 14.

3:38 - They cut away to Maryland-Cal, presumably for good. Here we go MMOD.

3:35 - UTC responds with a bunch of Belding-esque missed layups, and suddenly A.J. Price has blown this one open with three straight threes, and the rout is on! 28-15.

3:33 - Stanley Robinson may have just broken his tailbone...oh no he's fine. And he'll go to the line to shoot a one and one. Yup, that's the 9th team foul, with 11 minutes left in the half. Hope you plan to be here until 6. He hits 2 and it's 19-15.

3:30 - Which reminds me, UTC's mascot is the "Mocs" which is officially a shoe (not a snake) but their logo is a train and their mascot is a bird dressed up like a train conductor. And there it is, Blackburn says a 16 has never beaten a 1. Of course UTC isn't a typical 16 seed says Jay Bilas, of course they aren't.

3:28 - I said UConn didn't look back right? Gavin Edwards commits an offensive foul off the ball and we head into a Geico commercial with UConn up 17-15. The Mocs are back in this.

3:26 - UTC ends the run by missing and then making a layup. 16-10 UConn! Correction, UTC passed it to the man who hit that three and it's 16-13!

3:24 - Bilas tells us that no other team has a 7 foot shot blocker. What about Chief Kickingstalliongasms?

3:22 - The half-assed press from UConn results in a needless foul. And we have our first Jerome Dyson sighting. That took entirely too long.

3:19 - Suddenly it's 8-8 and UConn is looking to take their first lead of the game (I assume it's their first lead, Gumbel was showing me Cal). Thabeet throws it down to make it 10-8 and UConn never looks back.

3:16 - Gumbel cuts to the UNC game, where it appears that they are also struggling with their 16 seed. That would just about make my week.

3:14 - We head into our first commercial break with our first Rocky reference! 6-4 UTC. I blame Jerome Dyson.

3:11 - Doaks is fouled (look I learned a name!). Heads to the line to give UTC a 5-4, no wait, 6-4 lead.

3:08 - UConn is the bigger team according to Bilas, so they've got that going for them (which is nice?).

3:07 - 2-0 Mocs! Bear with me if I start calling UTC offensive sets like that Ball St. broadcaster. I don't know who these people are.

3:03, Pregame - We're still waiting on this one to tip, so if you haven't seen it, did you know that Gus Johnson walks around wearing t-shirts that say "Rise and Fire"? /shamelessly plugs own article

2:59, Pregame - We have a little bit of time to kill so I'm going to go ahead and use the transitive property to predict the blowout margin of this game. Let's see…UTC lost to USC by 27 who lost to Seton Hall by 2, who lost to Louisville by 17 who lost to UConn by 17. It looks as though we're clearly looking at a 63-point spread by the end of this one, but the folks from Vegas and your local Native American reservation have this one billed at UConn -21, so whatever.

2:55, Pregame - If you overslept or something, Jim Calhoun checked into a hospital earlier today and one of his assistants, George Blaney, will be at the helm for UConn. Here's to hoping Calhoun feels better soon, and no, he still won't be giving any of his salary back.

"Coach Calhoun has not been feeling well for the past several days and it is best that he not coach the team today for precautionary reasons," said UConn Director of Sports Medicine Dr. Jeff Anderson.

Officials are not being any more specific than that at this point, but Calhoun was treated for cancer last year and missed a game earlier this season with health issues. More info if we get it, but he will definitely not be coaching the Huskies' first round game. Associate Head Coach George Blaney will be in charge.

UConn Coach Jim Calhoun To Miss NCAA Opener [Hartford Courant]

2) Thabeet Goes On Center Hasheem Thabeet has a 7-foot, 9-inch wingspan. Considering that he is 7-foot, 3-inches tall, that makes Thabeet significantly wider than he is tall. In case you were wondering, an average albatross has an 11.8-foot wingspan, so Thabeet still has some growing to do.

3) The Redemptive Power of Basketball Safe to say that guard A.J. Price didn't get off to a smooth start at UConn. Before he even arrived on campus, Price suffered a brain hemorrhage caused by a birth defect in his brain. He would miss his entire rookie season to deal with the condition. Then as a sophomore, police arrested Price and former teammate Marcus Williams for trying to sell stolen laptops, which were later found in Price's room. But Price has overcome the adversity and developed into the best guard in the Big East. Yeah, I said it. Check out this YouTube clip of Price breaking Jerel McNeal's ankles and tell me I'm wrong. — Jacob E. Osterhout (Storming The Floor/Examiner.com)

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA MOCS

1) What's in a name? The official name of the school is quite unwieldy, which probably explains why they are so fond of abbreviations. Generally referred to as UT-Chattanooga or just Chattanooga, locals simply call it UTC and sports fans root for the Mocs. Not the Moccasins. The name originally derived from the shoe, not the deadly pit viper, but concern over racial tolerance led to a change in mascots, from an anthropomorphized slipper (how did that work?) to "an anthropomorphized mockingbird named 'Scrappy' dressed as a railroad engineer." Obviously.

2) Not them again The Mocs have been to the NCAA tourney nine times before, but this is only their second appearance since 1997, the year they made it to the Sweet 16 by beating Georgia and Illinois. They met UConn in a 2/15 matchup in 1995 and ... let's see ... yes, they were trounced, 100-71.

3) Larry "Bud" Melman would be proud Jimmy Fallon—who apparently wandered into Conan O'Brien's old studio and was handed a TV show—has adopted Chattanooga, in the much the same way Deadspin adopts wayward cheerleaders. The Mocs have been featured this week as Late Night's favorite underdog, presumably in a cynical attempt to boost the show's ratings in several key southern counties. The school's pep band and cheer squad will appear on the show Wednesday evening, in what I'm sure will be a non-threatening, yet boyishly charming manner. — Dashiell

Join the Deadspin Pants Party Group Pool [ESPN]
Download the Deadspin Bracket [PDF or JPG]

Some Syracuse-based outfit called Holy Shirt! was printing up commemorative T-shirtsmere hours after the buzzer sounded Friday morning, which was probably inevitable and relatively inoffensive, as these things go. But then the university had to go and throw up a framed box score on its web site, presumably for people without access to a printer, which can be yours for the low, low price of $69 (already marked down from $79!). Or get one autographed by Jim Boeheim His Own Ruddy Self for only $99! Congrats to Syracuse, then, both on the school's two OT wins and the speed with it turned a classic into just another crappy framed trinket being hawked on a web site.

A Little More Drama For Syracuse, A Lot Less Overtime [NYT]

It was a not-so-subtle reminder that it was too late to be up watching basketball. Yet, for everybody involved it was also too late to turn back. Yes, both teams would likely be going to the NCAA Tournament no matter the outcome and the victor would probably have little energy or interest in playing two more games to try to win the Big East tournament, but they kept playing anyway and I kept watching and it may not have meant anything but it meant everything. There may be better games before this college basketball season is over, but few will be quite as memorable.

And to think it all could have ended in regulation if Eric Devendorf's fingers were just a touch shorter. (Or if Arinze Onuaku wasn't the worst free throw shooter on the planet.) Even if it had ended that way it still would have gone down as a legendary finish. But it couldn't end that way. It had to keep going. Every missed free throw, every player who fouled out after playing an extra half of basketball, even every one of Paul Harris' misadventures near the rim had to happen for that game to become what it was. I just hope your body and your cable box held out long enough to see it.

Syracuse and UConn put on a show for the ages [ESPN]
'Cuse, UConn stage instant classic [Fox Sports]
A Final Tally (and Exhale) After 6 OTs [New York Times]
UConn gets deep-sixed [Boston Globe]
Syracuse Orange/Connecticut Huskies Box Score [Yahoo]

The dispute arose when "freelance journalist" Ken Krayeske opened Calhoun's post-game press conference on Saturday by asking the coach about his rather large salary and how it might relate to Connecticut's rather large budget deficit. However, Krayeske is freelance journalist in the way that Rush Limbaugh is guy who likes to talk about politics. Most of his writing is done for his own progressive political website and he actually ran the 2006 gubernatorial campaign for the state's Green Party candidate. He was even arrested for disturbing the peace at Rell's inauguration parade in 2007. In other words, he's a professional rabble rouser. I hate rabble rousers.

So does Jim Calhoun, apparently, because he was anticipating where the line of questioning was going and angrily insisted that he would not give back a dime of his $1.6 million salary—he actually make way more than that, so thanks for asking—because he's a rainmaker and the guy asking him questions is a stupidhead. He was rude, condescending, and responded to a legitimate question with shouts and insults. How much revenue did that little hissy fit generate for the university, Jim?

Then again, maybe a post-game press conference isn't the best place to discuss state budget policy. It also isn't cool to disparage every other reporter in the room, by implying they are obedient sheep who don't know how to do their jobs. (They're sports writers, dude, not war correspondents.) UConn basketball does make a lot of money and even if you don't want to admit it, having the No. 1 basketball team in the country does keep lacrosse players in dry socks and makes having to live in Danbury slightly more tolerable. So does that First Amendment you keep shouting about also allow me to say that I think you should shut your pie hole?

On the other hand, the basketball coach at the state college makes 10 times more than the Governor? I don't think that $12 million he single-handedly brings in will quite cover the $944 million budget gap, so maybe when the Governor asks that all state employees make sacrifices in a time of crisis it doesn't help to have the highest paid employee of all griping about how he needs every one of his million dollars that didn't come from his shoe contract for his retirement plans. You know who else wanted to retire someday? The accounting secretary down at the Sanitation Department, but she's only got four weeks left on her unemployment insurance, so you know ... fuck you, Coach.

This is one of those public fights where you can kind of see both sides of the argument, but you can't bring yourself to back either of the incredibly obnoxious sides.

Krayeske vs Calhoun Revisited : Boston Score [Boston Score]
Jim Calhoun Vs. Ken Krayeske Over UConn Salary [Capitol Watch]
Coach Calhoun Yells, Refuses to Discuss Comcast Contract [The 40-Year Plan]
Jim Calhoun Is Not Amused By Your Questions [Deadspin]

1 UCLA vs. 16 Mississippi Valley State (Anaheim)
If the 16 over 1 is ever going to happen this would be the most shocking one possible as the Delta Devils boast a 17-15 overall record and five 30-plus point losses to teams that either reached the dance or just missed. That includes a 71-26 point drubbing in Pullman to Washington State, a team the Bruins beat twice this season in the Pac-10.
The Pick: UCLA

8 BYU vs. 9 Texas A&M (Anaheim)
The player to see here is BYU big man Trent Plaisted. He's shown this year he can get the job done against prime competition, averaging a double-double against this year's field (MSU, L'Ville, and UNC). On the other side it's a bit of a tossup as the Aggies still lack the go-to threat they lost when Acie Law graduated after last season. Donald Sloan tries to fill the role, but his inability to do so has been a big part of the Aggies' inconsistency as a whole. If he's not hitting from the perimeter, the Cougar defense will key inside and make it almost impossible for A&M to win.
The Pick: BYU

5 Drake vs. 12 Western Kentucky (Tampa)
The Hilltoppers can play with anyone. Courtney Lee is one of the nation's top seniors and he can do it all, be it shoot from outside, rebound, or break down the defense off the dribble and get to the rim. The team as a whole can score in bunches, but it's that all-too-necessary defense that seems to get in the way. I think most people know what Drake can do at this point. They're one of the country's best three-point shooting squads, yet their most valuable player - Adam Emmenecker - attempted only two all season (he missed them both). He's a bit of a poor man's Steve Nash, as he makes the engine go while Josh Young and Jonathan Cox light up the scoreboard. WKU can certainly beat Drake if their shots aren't falling, but I think the Bulldogs will be ready to play.
The Pick: Drake

4 Connecticut vs. 13 San Diego (Tampa)
If you're searching hard for that upset special out west this may be the one. The Toreros' Brandon Johnson is a do-it-all guard who handles the ball at all times and possesses a smooth stroke from all over the court. The problem is a lack of consistent help as Freshmen Rob Jones and Trumaine Johnson aren't ready for prime time just yet, a fact that makes their WCC Tourney win that much more impressive. UConn has an enormous defensive presence in supreme shot blocker Hasheem Thabeet alongside Jeff Adrien. A.J. Price has been fantastic running the point. Add to that a continuously improving Stanley Robinson and San Diego looks like a real long shot. But hey, it's a shot.
The Pick: UConn

6 Purdue vs. 11 Baylor (Washington D.C.)
Despite their success this year in the sloth-styled Big Ten, many don't seem to think Purdue is a real threat to make some noise this year. Part of that is the four freshmen they rely heavily on to get the job done. In addition, none of their players jump out at you defensively. They're a polar opposite to their opponent across the board. While certainly not tourney experienced, the Bears (last appeared in 1988) start four juniors including work horse guard Curtis Jerrells. Jerrells can score with the best guards in the country and he's got super frosh LaceDarius Dunn to help out off the bench. Factor in the pair of seven-footers the Bears rotate and the defense starts to look good as well. It's a very balanced squad that goes 10 deep and relies heavily on upperclassmen. Hmm... smells like an upset doesn't it?
The Pick: Baylor

3 Xavier vs. 14 Georgia (Washington D.C.)
As fun as Georgia's run through the SEC tourney was to watch, I'm not sure it'll translate to the big dance with Xavier sitting on the other bench. The Musketeers are loaded and just about everyone can shoot the three and play in your face defense. The big question is the teams engine Drew Lavender, who's been slowed by injury recently. Leading to a pair of losses to St. Joe's over the last week, but all indications point to the semifinal tourney loss being a good thing, as it gave him time to rest. If he's good to go I have little reservation about Xavier reaching the Elite 8. Remember this team gave Ohio State their toughest test of the tournament last season and they're even better this year. Stanley Burrell, the teams best defender, should give Georgia's top player Sundiata Gaines fits all day and with Gaines' tendency to force shots it doesn't look good. All that said I think this could be a tougher game for Xavier than the possible Duke match up, despite Georgia's 4 SEC regular season wins.
The Pick: Xavier

7 West Virginia vs. 10 Arizona (Washington D.C.)
While Arizona's final profile doesn't look overly spectacular they can get the job done on both ends of the floor. In large part due to the defensive emphasis interim coach Kevin O'Neil has brought to the team. Their also tested as they played the nations 2nd toughest schedule. Nearly knocking off UCLA, Memphis and Kansas (in Lawrence) this season. The biggest of their offensive cogs is freshman Jerryd Bayless who may finally get the national recognition he deserves if the 'Cats can advance. He's dropped thirty multiple times this season and looks a lot like Arizona alums Gilbert Arenas and Mike Bibby (more Bibby). With West Virginia it all starts and ends with Joe Alexander. If he gets hot their may not be anyone in the country who can slow down the versatile big man. If he can't get going though it could be a long afternoon for West Virginia as they lack a second option as strong as Arizona's Chase Budinger. All in all it looks like the definition of a pick 'em.
The Pick: Arizona

2 Duke vs. 15 Belmont (Washington D.C.)
Belmont does one thing well and that's shoot, but so Duke and they have a solid frontcourt that Belmont can't compete with. If Belmont to pull the upset they'll need a shoot day for the ages and with Duke's defense I just don't think it happens. But expect Duke to have all kinds of trouble with teams like Xavier and Arizona should they advance as the Blue Devils struggle quite a bit against athletic point guards.
The Pick: Duke

Some West Region Superlatives...

Dark Horse for Final Four: Xavier
Dark Horse for Sweet 16: Arizona
Best First Round Upset: Baylor over Purdue
Best Opening Round Game: Arizona-West Virginia
Best Potential Game: UCLA-Xavier
Round of 32: UCLA over BYU, Drake over UCONN, Xavier over Baylor, Duke over Arizona
Sweet 16: UCLA over Drake, Xavier over Duke
Elite Eight: UCLA over Xavier
Regional Champ: UCLA

CONNECTICUT HUSKIES

1. Our Little Baby's All Growns Up! Since the Huskies won their second national championship in 2004, UConn fans haven't had that much to cheer about. In 2004-05, the Huskies couldn't rebound from the loss of Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon, sleepwalked through the season and got knocked out by NC State in the second round of the NCAAs. In the 2005-06 Elite Eight, despite a rotation featuring five future NBA draft picks, UConn played the role of Michigan to George Mason's Appalachian State. Last season, after a mass exodus to the NBA, UConn was the youngest team in the country (its roster included five sophomores, eight freshmen and zero upperclassmen), and it showed; the team lost 11 out of its last 15 games and didn't even garner an NIT bid despite winning 17 games. Without any significant changes to the roster, fans were not optimistic that this season would be much different, and this skepticism appeared to be justified by several close early-season losses to ranked teams. But following a loss to Providence on January 17, the young Huskies matured overnight, and proceeded to knock off 10 straight opponents, often in dramatic fashion. Interestingly, eight of those wins came after the program suspended guards Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins. (Dyson, who led the team in scoring — and apparently was a big fan of Funyuns and the movie Friday — at the time of his suspension, has struggled since returning in late February.) The team has benefited from the major improvement of 6'2" point guard AJ Price, whose career did not begin until last season after being initially delayed by a brain hemorrhage and then a brain fart (he was involved in a laptop theft). Price has raised his game this year, averaging 15 points and six assists per game. Other standouts include 6'6" junior bruiser Jeff Adrien (15 points and nine rebounds per game) and the Tanzanian Devil, 7'3" sophomore center Hasheem Thabeet (10 points, 8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game). Price and Adrien were named to the All-Big East First Team and Thabeet was voted the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.

2. Ain't No Party Like A Block Party. Thanks to Thabeet (as well as Adrien and mercurial 6'9" forward Stanley Robinson), UConn leads the nation in blocks per game (8.8), which the team has now done for seven consecutive seasons. UConn's shot-blocking prowess began with the arrival of Okafor in 2001. In Okafor's three seasons as a Husky, UConn averaged 6.9 blocks in 2001-02, 7.5 in 2002-03, and 8.1 in 2003-04. With an increased emphasis on shot-blocking, the team actually swatted more shots without Okafor, averaging 8.9 blocks in 2004-05 (led by Boone, Gay, Villanueva and Armstrong) and 8.8 in 2005-06 (same crew minus Villanueva). Last season, Thabeet's first as a Husky, UConn averaged 8.6 blocks per game. Due in no small part to its shot-blocking, UConn is holding opponents to 38 percent shooting.

3. You're not the run-of-the-mill kind of asshole, are you, Jimmy? You're a special kind of asshole. UConn's Hall-of-Fame coach Jim Calhoun speaks with a Masshole accent thicker than clam chowder, swears like Bunk Moreland after a long night at Kavanaugh's and has a quicker hook with his players than the clown at the Apollo on Amateur Night. A Lady Byng Trophy winner he's not. But there's one thing he does better than any other college coach in America: develop NBA players. Indeed, UConn has thirteen graduates...er...former players in the NBA — more than any other college program. It's an impressive list: Ray Allen (Celtics), Hilton Armstrong (Hornets), Josh Boone (Nets), Caron Butler (Wizards), Rudy Gay (Grizzlies), Ben Gordon (Bulls), Richard Hamilton (Pistons), Donyell Marshall (Sonics), Emeka Okafor (Bobcats), Kevin Ollie (Sixers), Charlie Villanueva (Bucks), Jake Voskuhl (Bucks), and Marcus Williams (Nets). Calhoun also happens to be a perfect 4-0 in Final Four games and, by virtue of out-coaching Mike Krzyzewski twice in those four games and thus denying Duke two additional national titles, on his deathbed will receive total consciousness. So he's got that going for him, which is nice. — Josh Blosveren

SAN DIEGO TOREROS

1. Taming The Bulldogs. The Toreros may be the least likely team to make the tournament, until you factor in their coach. The big reason is that few expected them to be able to get past Gonzaga in the conference tournament; the Bulldogs having beaten them 13 times in a row. But San Diego is coached by Bill Grier, in his first year with the Toreros after having spent the previous 16 seasons as an assistant at Gonzaga. The Toreros, a No. 13 seed, will meet No. 4 seed UConn in the West Regional; the first time ever that the schools have played each other.

2. Kirstie Alley Approves. The Toreros play in Jenny Craig Pavilion, named for the weight-loss magnate who donated $7 million to build the facility in 1996. It was dedicated in Oct., 2000, and is known to students as the Slim Gym. Jenny Craig Inc. is based in nearby La Jolla, CA. Ironically, the university is also home to the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, named for the wife of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, who has foiled many diets.

3. Seeing Red. No one is going to be able to push around the Toreros; they have one of the heaviest rosters in the tournament. They have six players who weigh in excess of 220 pounds, including freshmen Rob Jones and Josh Miller (both 230), junior forward Gyno Pomare (240) and 6-foot-10 freshman center Nathan Lozeau (280) ... Jones played at Archbishop Riordan in San Francisco, whose league nemesis is Serra High, which produced Tom Brady, Lynn Swann and Barry Bonds ... a Torero is a bullfighter; not exactly a politically correct nickname for a university these days. — Rick Chandler

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