Normally when you head to these destination sporting events, the weather and atmosphere are great, but game always seems to end up sucking balls. With the beautiful weather and atmosphere are already in place in San Antonio, the instant classic championship between Kansas and Memphis basically played out like bonus to a neutral fan like myself. Below are just a small sampling of pictures from the weekend that was at the Final Four.

Beginning the trip to the Final Four on the actual, physical road to the Final Four.

Possibly my favorite picture of the weekend: Duke fans, still in an utter state of disbelief that they didn't make it to the Final Four, decided to just show up anyway.

One of 14,000 advertisements for Coke Zero in San Antonio. The only thing that outnumbered the massive amounts of "The Road Ends Here" signs was the number of Coke Zero ads. Continuing with their domination of college basketball over the weekend, Coke Zero even put up four kids in an RV for a month VIP style and let them blog about it (Will, I'm still waiting for the reimbursement check).

In actual basketball action, the streamers begin to fall as Jayhawks claim their first championship since 1988. As you can tell by my seats, I never got that press credential from the NCAA.

General madness on the court as Jayhawk fans remain stunned that they actual pulled off a nine-point comeback in two minutes.

Kansas fans on the Riverwalk following the victory, just taking a moment to soak in the fact they not only won the National Championship, but they can also play with themselves afterward.

Finally, the best way to cap off an amazing trip: Buying a Memphis National Championship t-shirt that was accidentally put on sale. That's one less t-shirt for you, Mali.

We're not gonna live blog this game, because, sheesh, it's on TV, you can watch it, but we'll pop back in postgame to congratulate the winner. Yes, even if it's Bill Self. Enjoy.

Whether you loved this all-top-seeded Final Four or hated it, you have Larry Brown to thank. The king of the basketball gypsies played his college ball at North Carolina and went to the Final Four with UCLA in 1980. He also coached at Kansas, taking them to their most recent Championship in 1988 before bolting for the Clippers.

So what's his connection to Memphis? Brown mentored John Calipari, taking him on as an assistant at Kansas in the late 80's. But wait, that's not all! He did the same with Bill Self, at around the same time. Cal went out on his own in 1985, the same year Self was hired. That Brown guy has quite an eye for coaching talent, eh?

Looking at the programs, they seem very different. The University of Kansas was founded in 1865, and still had cows roaming the campus around the time James Naismith assembled the first-ever Jayhawk team in 1899. Naismith, who had a losing record at Kansas, begat Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, a man who provided nearly 50 years of stability and helped forge the reliable foundation that has led to legendary status for coach and program alike.

Memphis has been an urban campus all along, fielding their first squad in 1920. Under the name Memphis State, coach Gene Bartow and player Larry Finch took the 1973 Tigers to the Championship game, where they became one in a long line of victims of UCLA's dominance of the era. Bartow went on to succeed John Wooden at UCLA two years later, and the Memphis State/University of Memphis program continued to be very, very good, if not yet great. The Pyramid helped recruiting fortunes, but it was the hiring of former UMass coach Calipari in 2000 that signaled the beginning of the current rise of the program.

As it stands right now, however, this is a matchup of two blue-chip squads, each of them hungry to finish dominant seasons with the ultimate - an NCAA championship.

Memphis relies heavily on two superstars. Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose are clearly the top scoring options in the innovative Dribble-Drive Motion offense. For Kansas, Brandon Rush is the most talented player on the floor, but when he goes through a scoring drought (which has happened often in this tournament), he has three more guys averaging double figures to back him up. The emergence of freshman big man Cole Aldrich in the UNC game gives Bill Self another big body to throw in the mix.

I'll be accused of being a homer, but the tale of the tape is all I have to go with right now.

Storming the Floor's Predicted NCAA Champion: KANSAS

Kansas, of course, is one of the top four jobs in the country, but Self is from Oklahoma — remember, his first job, from back when he had his real hair, was at Oral Roberts — and Oklahoma State, led by eccentric multimillionaire T. Boone Pickens, might offer him $40 million for 10 years. Win or lose tonight.

After what he's accomplished at Kansas, it's time to make Bill Self one of the highest-paid coaches in college basketball. If Kansas doesn't, then Oklahoma State certainly will.

The numbers may be far-fetched, but the buzz circulating throughout the Final Four is that Oklahoma State is prepared to offer Self a 10-year, $40 million deal that would include a $10 million bonus if Self remains in Stillwater throughout the contract's entirety. Most of that money would come from oil tycoon and prominent Cowboys booster Boone Pickens, who during the past five years has donated more than $230 million to the school for matters relating to both athletics and academics.

Sheesh: Honestly, poor Kansas. Every time they make the national title game, there's a chance their coach is lured away. Though we honestly can't imagine Self, after a Kansas loss tonight, saying, "you know, I could give a shit about Oklahoma State right now."

Tourney Talk, Then Contact Talk [Yahoo Sports]