•It's supposed to count for nothing, but no. 25 Syracuse lost to the Division II Le Moyne Dolphins, and I'd be shocked if voters don't take this into account the next time they do the polls. While the Orange haven't lost to a DII school in modern history, they did lose to Drexel two years ago, which might be worse.

•The brief Edgerrin James era in Seattle has mercifully come to an end. I was going to lead with this story, but I honestly don't think he's touched the ball enough to be photographed in a Seahawks uniform.

•Dave Bing easily won four more years as mayor of Detroit. Though "won" might not be the right word.

•Dan Snyder apologized to fans for the Redskins' terrible season. He had also planned to erect signs around the city to the same effect, but those were unfortunately confiscated.

•The NBA is down to three undefeated teams: the Celtics, Suns and Nuggets, while the Nets, Pacers and Warriors remain winless. Now I know early success isn't necessarily indicative of future performance, but I'm gonna say, yeah, this is pretty much how things are going to go.

•Clippers owner Donald Sterling paid $2.7 million to settle a housing discrimination lawsuit. He had originally offered Marcus Camby's expiring contract to help the victimized homeowners get under the salary cap, but that was rejected.

•Via Outside The Boxscore, we have a creative ad from a San Diego bail bonds company, noting the Raiders were in town:

Pictured is Mikhail Marinovich, current defensive end for Syracuse, younger brother of the perenially-down-on-his-luck former Robo QB, and aspiring male model (site semi-NSFW, with uncomfortable levels of chiseled guys in their underwear). Mikhail is interested in getting into the business because he just "recently discovered that [he] had a gift for it." I'm not sure exactly how that happens, but I bet there's a Ouija Board involved.

If any of you are professional photographers in California, or are just looking for an opportunity to take pictures of a guy wearing nothing more than a winter coat, feel free to drop him a line. And if you're reading, Mikhail, might I be so bold as to make a suggestion?

Mikhail Marinovich Page [Model Mayhem]
Todd Marinovich: The Man Who Never Was [Esquire]

It was one of those rare games when it was perfectly acceptable for the common spectator — OK, me — to switch allegiances on every score, even though I didn't actually care who won. Also, players on both teams wore those uncomfortably large triangles of eye-black. It was college lacrosse at its finest.

Cornell seemed to have the title wrapped up first when it took a late three-goal lead, and again, when it regained possession leading 9-8 with 20 ticks left. Then came one of the best sports sequences of the year — or, as one video dubbed it, the Greatest 20 seconds in Lacrosse History!!

It's Moyer. Twenty seconds left. Nims all over him. Ball on the ground, still loose. Can Syracuse get it? Keough does. Ten seconds left. Here's Abbott, trying to get loose, in front, Nims has it, he scores! He scores! Kenny Nims scores! With four seconds left! Can you believe it? The Orange ties it up! 9-9!

Soon after, Cody Jamieson scored early in the overtime and, of course, Syracuse won. No way Cornell was going to rally after a failed clear, a missed ground ball, a catch in traffic, an over-the-shoulder pass tipped by a defender right into the stick of the game-winning sniper, who still needed to dodge the goalie and sneak in a bouncer.

Amazing rally lifts Syracuse [Post-Standard]
Syracuse wins 2nd straight national title [The Daily Orange]

2) Syracuse has just offered a scholarship to Randy Couture Blake Griffin's first two box scores of the tourney are getting a lot of talk, as well as Ameer Ali's judo-flip of him in round one. But neither thing is really anything new for Griffin this season. That's (at least) the fourth cheap shot Griffin has been hit by this year (crotch shot, leg sweep, punch in the back of the head, about 200 bloody noses) and he's had 13 games where he's put up at least 20 points and 15 boards. Right now he's averaging 30.5 ppg and 15 rpg during the tournament. And Syracuse has had trouble with quality big men this year (Cole Aldrich had 15 and 16 against them and DeJuan Blair 20 and 12). Kristof Ongenaet better start working on his Stone Cold Stunner.

3) Going downtown, like the Petula Clark song Coming in to the tournament, the Sooners had been in a bit of a slump and a lot of the reason for that was poor outside shooting. Teams were packing the paint to handle Griffin and the OU guards weren't hitting from three. But against Michigan, some of that sweet outside shooting that helped bump the Sooners to the top five for most of the year returned. Austin Johnson went 3-4 from downtown and Willie Warren went 3-6 as the team hit six moneyballs total. In OU's previous two losses, the Sooners hit a total of seven threes with Johnson going 2-9 from three and Warren 3-12. And as we all know, three-point shooting and guard play is going to kind of be a key for OU against Syracuse. No sign from Tony Crocker though who is 0-6 from three so far in the tournament. — Royce Young (Daily Thunder)

SYRACUSE ORANGE

1) Devolutionary War When he's not busy creating new strains of cancer and enslaving small African nations, Eric Devendrof plays basketball for Syracuse University. Okay, maybe he doesn't actually do those things but you'd never know it from the vitriolic reaction his name inspires. From The Big Lead to Slate to Sports Illustrated, Devendorf has been named the most hated player in college basketball. Aside from the alleged punching incident earlier this year (which, for what's it worth, he was cleared of actually doing), it's his trash-talking, cockiness and post-shot celebrations that usually set people off. Unfortunately for them, since he continues to hit big shots when it matters most, they're only going to get angrier.

2) Big 12 Champs The last time Syracuse played Oklahoma in the NCAA Tournament was 2003 when the Orange defeated the Sooners 63-47 in the Elite 8, en route to their first and only National Title. Oklahoma was just one of four Big 12 teams that Syracuse played in the tournament that year, including Oklahoma State in the 2nd round, Texas in the Final Four and Kansas in the Championship game. The Orange have yet to receive their 2003 Big 12 Champions banner.

3) Walking In Memphis...Again It might come as a surprise to some to know that the Orange actually left the state of New York in November and December this season. The big knock against SU is always their soft OOC schedule and that's what many pointed to the last couple years when the Orange were on the wrong side of the bubble. This year the Orange logged some decent frequent flyer miles before conference play, beating Florida and Kansas in "neutral" Kansas City. They also traveled to Memphis to take on, and beat, the Tigers. At the time the win meant a lot to the Orange's RPI. Little did they know the experience of playing in the FedEx Forum would come in handy as well. — Sean (Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician)

2) They're Free, So You Better Make 'Em On paper, Syracuse is an awful free-throw shooting team (63.9%), ranked 303rd in the nation. But to be fair, we're actually a decent free-throw shooting team that also happens to allow center Arinze Onuaku to shoot, and miss, free-throws from time to time. Onuaku is awful from the charity stripe. How awful is he? He's shooting 30% for the season (36 of 120). Jim Boeheim actually said "[Arinze] literally can not make a foul shot now, so he has to come out of the game" in regards to Onuaku's late-game liabilities. Take AO out of the equation and Syracuse shoots 70% from the line, good for middle-of-the-road. We'll take it.

3) Familiarity Breeds Fast Breaks When Syracuse teammates Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris take the floor together, you get the feeling they know each other's tendencies as well as they know their own. They should...the two played together at Niagara Falls High School. Harris transferred to Notre Dame Prep (Mass) for his final year but the two remained friends en route to their Orange reunion. However, they're not the only set of high school teammates on the roster. Sophomores Rick Jackson and Antonio "Scoop" Jardine both hail from Neumann-Goretti High School in Philadelphia. While Jardine was considered the better prospect, Jackson has emerged as a solid presence for the Orange this season. — Sean (Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician)

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LUMBERJACKS

1) Be Gentle, It's Their First Time The Lumberjacks have never been to the NCAA tournament before. Since this is their first time, let's get to know the school a bit. SFA was founded in 1923 as a teacher's college in
Nacogdoches, TX. Notable alumni of the school include former NFL fullback Larry Centers and current NFL linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, as well as Bum Phillips, Don Henley, and a member of Earth, Wind and Fire. Man, ain't Wikipedia grand?

2) He Ended the Season With Zero Blocks SFA starts a 5'3" Junior guard by the name of Eric Bell, who may be the shortest player in D1 this year. He averages just 3.6 points per game, but takes care of the ball and gets it where it needs to go. In the Southland championship game, Eric the Half a Bee dropped nine dimes on the evening, which is a terrible waste of ninety cents. Hasn't Eric Bell heard there's a recession on?

3) You Play to Win the Game You may remember the college hoops world was all a-twitter when North Dakota State's Ben Woodside scored 60 points in a single game. Lost in all the folderol was the fact that their
opponent, Stephen F. Austin, actually won the game. It was a 112-111 defensive slugfest in which our new pal Eric Bell scored eight whole points. — Eric Angevine (Storming The Floor)

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]

Syracuse University's Judicial Review Board (which is made up of students) has recommended that redshirt junior Eric Devendorf be suspended from school for the rest of the academic year, because of an incident involving a female student. The student—who knows most of the members of the basketball team—came upon a group of people walking down the street on Halloween night, while she was driving. She claims they surrounded her car and started kicking it. When she recognized some of the players in the group and got out to confront them, that's when Devendorf got all up ons and either hit or shoved her.

So why didn't the team do something about this before the school did? Coach Jim Boeheim seems to think that Devendorf was railroaded. He says three whole witnesses testified that there were no punches thrown, but "there was a push to the chest." Fair enough. Of course, those witnesses are also members of the basketball team and one of them claims to be the woman's ex-boyfriend. Jimmy B is also upset that Devendorf was suspended when other students have done far worse and received just a slap on the wrist—like fellow Orangeman Scoop Jardine. All he did was steal some food and maybe assault someone and he didn't get thrown out of school. See? Totally unfair.

On the other hand, Devendorf was already on probation for hitting some else in the spring semester. So clearly he has boundary issues.

Syracuse University coach Jim Boeheim responds to suspension of Eric Devendorf [Syracuse.com]
Eric Devendorf punished for punching woman, but not by the law [The Dagger]

• Not one, but TWO players tore their ACL. Sharp shooter Andy Rautins tore his ACL in August while playing for his dad, former NBA journeyman Leo Rautins, and Team Canada in the FIBA Americas Championship (and just what the hell was Rautins doing guarding Leandro Barbosa there DAD!).
  
• Then, Eric Devendorf tore his ACL in a otherwise enjoyable 125-75 win over East Tennessee St in December. These injuries left Syracuse with absolutely no outside shooters. Not to mention, we really miss ESPN announcers scolding Devendorf for his constant trash talking.
  
• The team's only senior, Josh Wright, left the team due to "personal issues" which included being upset he lost his starting job to highly-touted freshman Jonny Flynn and the fact he thought classes at Syracuse were "optional". The high irony on this one is Wright left the team on the exact same day as Devendorf's injury. Had Wright stuck around, he would have gotten some serious playing time due to Devendorf's injury.
  
• Freshman Antonio "Scoop" Jardine was suspended for a few games in January due to an incident on campus where his 40-year old cousin and two girls stole another student's meal card, which they found at a local Denny's, and used it to charge over $100 of food and have it delivered to Scoop's apartment. Yes, you just read that right.
  
• On March 1, while fighting for their collective NCAA Tournament lives, Syracuse held an 11-point lead over Pittsburgh with 3:49 to go in the game. Because this is Deadspin and because I'm highlighting this, you can probably guess what happened next. Yep...Syracuse pissed away the lead and lost.
  
• Throw in a missed buzzer beater at Georgetown, some other close-but-no-cigar games, that Syracuse has the only tall, white, European player that can't shoot (Kristof Ongenaet), and the fact that the Syracuse Women's Basketball team is better than the men for the first time...well ever...and let's just say this season has been one giant kick to the head for Orange fans.

  2. Syracuse and Sportscasters go together like lamb and tuna fish. Maybe you like spaghetti and meatball? You more comfortable with that analogy? No matter what game you are watching during the tournament, chances are good the guy doing the play-by-play went to the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University. It is a virtual factory of sportscasters that has produced the likes of Bob Costas, Marv Albert, Sean McDonough, Mike Tirico, Len Berman, Ian Eagle, and many many more. Not only have all those sportscasters come out of SU, but several Orange alumni are bigwig executives and heavy behind-the-scenes types at ESPN and various networks. So if you have ever desired to work in broadcasting, you better get out your Orange pom-pom buddy.

  3. A 30 percent less whiny Jim Boeheim. Syracuse did not make the NCAA Tournament last season despite a 10-win campaign in the Big East and a ridiculously better resume than some teams that got in to the tournament (*cough* Arkansas *cough*). You remember this because Jim Boeheim was EVERYWHERE the next day telling us about Syracuse's snub. There wasn't a radio station or TV station to be had that didn't have Boeheim on that day. PTI, The Jim Rome Show, Mike and Mike, ESPN Radio, Fox Sports Radio, you name it. I think he even made an appearance on Al Jazeera to complain about the RPI. Syracuse getting in makes for a happier week of NCAA tournament related radio and television experiences. Plus, it means more crowd shots of the lovely Juli Boeheim! — Brent Axe

Andrew Robinson threw a career-high 423 yards and four touchdowns as Syracuse stunned No. 18 Louisville 38-35 today. The victory was the Orange's first road conference win and first victory over a ranked team since beating BC at the end of the 2004 season. The loss snapped the Cardinals' 20-game home winning streak.

Brian Brohm completed 45-of-65 passes for a career-high 555 yards (!) for Louisville, but the Cardinals' defense allowed Syracuse — which entered the game one of the worst offensive teams in the country — to rack up 465 yards. It was basically the college game equivalent of that Bengals-Browns game from last weekend.

Anyway, congrats to the 'Cuse faithful. From what I can tell, this type of Saturday doesn't happen too often.

And players will go to rather desperate measures to make sure they hang onto their scholarships. Witness Syracuse women's basketball starting forward Fantasia Goodwin, who hid her pregnancy the entire second half of last year. She finally gave birth last week.

Goodwin said no one on the team or the coaching or training staff knew about her pregnancy. She said head coach Quentin Hillsman was the first person she told, on Feb. 25, the night before the final game of the season at Cincinnati. She said Hillsman immediately told her to go see the team doctor and not play.

"Everyone found out the same time," Goodwin said. "I was playing pregnant, yes, and no one knew about it. And when they found out, that's why I didn't play (the last game)."

If a school doesn't have a policy about pregnant athletes — Syracuse doesn't — they could, conceivably, have their scholarship pulled, which is why Goodwin didn't tell anyone. Goodwin just mysteriously missed the final game — which was only two months ago — and suddenly, we have a greater understanding of J.D. Drew and Mark Prior.

Is That A Basketball Under Your Jersey Or Are You Just Glad To See Me? [The Feed]

And, not for nothing, but Syracuse isn't the top seed in NIT either; they didn't even get one of the top four seeds. (Those went to Mississippi State, Air Force, Clemson and West Virginia.) The tournament brackets are almost too information to absorb when we first receive them, and it's only natural to poke the bracket for leaks when it is presented to us. But — and apologies to Syracuse, Drexel, K-State, so on — the snub effect inherently can't last long. When the Oscar nominations come out, everyone complains that so-and-so didn't get nominated, and then everyone just moves on and focuses on who is actually in play. And the NCAA Tournament is damned sure a helluva lot more fun than the Oscars.

So, one last moment to hang our heads for the Orange, and the Wildcats, and the Dragons. Sorry, guys; it's probably not fair, but hey, it happens. We feel your pain. Now, let's move on.

Orange Shocked By Snub [Syracuse.com]
NIT Brackets Released [New York Times]

These, friends, are the future of college basketball uniforms, and that future is: SPANDEX! OK, not quite Spandex, but there's certainly a skin-tight vibe going on for the four teams who will supposedly try out the new duds during their conference championships this week: Ohio State, Syracuse, Florida and Arizona. They say the shirts are "10 inches tighter," and boy, are we happy they didn't have these things when Robert Traylor was playing.

By the way, someone's gonna trip on those shorts.

Fashion Forwards [Style.com]

But we come here not to bury walk-on junior Max Meisel, but to praise him. As it turns out, Meisel — who was famously carried off the field in the spring game, and not on a stretcher either — won a contest two years ago on The Howard Stern Show to bring an adult film star to his prom. Unfortunately for him, the principal at his Connecticut high school put the kibosh on the plan.

Weston High Principal Mary Kolek says a date with a porn star violates the school's prom guidelines. Kolek said Max would be allowed to attend - with a more appropriate date.

First off, we'd like to see the specific Weston High School statute that disallows taking porn stars to prom. And secondly ... we absolutely cannot wait to follow Meisel's career with the Orange. The guy is 5-4, won a contest on Howard Stern and was carried off the field of a spring game. And he's not even in school yet! We shall be watching, Mr. Meisel, we guarantee you.

Realest Of The Week [The Realests]

(UPDATE: Here's the story of why he was carried off the field.)

SYRACUSE

1. The Real Slim Shady. Tattooed Orange frosh Eric Devendorf was born in Bay City, Mich., about 115 miles north of Detroit. He guards the perimeter in Syracuse's standard 2-3 while talking trash, which draws comparisons to some other white guy from Motown. Growing up, players labeled the 6-foot-4 combo guard with the killer left hand as "Roundball Eminem," and after arriving at Syracuse students began calling Devendorf "8 Mile." Devendorf played prep ball at hoops factory Oak Hill Academy in Virginia and could have played at the Carrier Dome with fellow Oak Hill graduate Carmelo Anthony, had 'Melo elected to graduate.

2. Orange-Tainted Bias. If you thought Fox News Channel is guilty of media bias, think about the Orange-tainted media. Syracuse's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications churns out a plethora of sports journalists. Marv Albert? YES! Bob Costas won't give you tidbits about various countries during the Olympics broadcasts, but he doesn t have a problem with chatting about his time at the 'Cuse. Sean McDonough, Mike Tirico even Graham Bensinger - the teenage student mastermind behind the infamous T.O. interview - are among those who bleed Orange. And that's only the on-air "talent."

3. "I Think 'D.C.' Means 'Disturbed Child.'" That's what Charles Barkley said of former Syracuse star Derrick Coleman. Booze may have prevented D.C. from fulfilling his potential in the NBA, as the No. 1 draft by the Nets in 1990, but the retired Coleman has gone on to start a hip hop label called OnPoint Recordings. Coleman wore the fabled No. 44, only reserved for select Syracuse athletes, including legendary running backs Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and more recently John Wallace, who led the then-Orangemen to the Final Four in 1996. — Ashok Selvam

TEXAS A&M

1. Texas A&M Has No Cheerleaders. The Aggie Dictionary will inform you that the school has no cheerleaders, but they do have a dance team, none of whom are particularly good looking.

2. The Coach Is Dull. Head coach Billy Gillispie has his own Web site, where you can learn such things as "Billy Gillispie's website is the most boring, useless place on Earth."

3. The Elephant Walk. By consulting the Aggie Dictionary again, we learned that graduating A&M seniors do something called The Elephant Walk:

"Marks the transition of the graduating senior class handing down its role as leaders to the incoming senior class. The seniors wander through campus like old elephants that leave the herd to die. The seniors usefulness to the student body "dies" the day of Elephant Walk."

At Ohio State, where we went, people just got drunk. But then, we only made it to second quarter of freshman year, and our biggest accomplishment was throwing a mattress off the roof of our fraternity house. — The Cavalier

Deadspin Printable Bracket (PDF) (JPG version)
Join The Deadspin Pool!
NCAA Tournament First Round Schedule [Deadspin]
Complete Deadspin First Round Matchup Previews [Deadspin]

2. Orange-Tainted Bias. If you thought Fox News Channel is guilty of media bias, think about the Orange-tainted media. Syracuse's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications churns out a plethora of sports journalists. Marv Albert? YES! Bob Costas won't give you tidbits about various countries during the Olympics broadcasts, but he doesn t have a problem with chatting about his time at the 'Cuse. Sean McDonough, Mike Tirico even Graham Bensinger - the teenage student mastermind behind the infamous T.O. interview - are among those who bleed Orange. And that's only the on-air "talent."

3. "I Think 'D.C.' Means 'Disturbed Child.'" That's what Charles Barkley said of former Syracuse star Derrick Coleman. Booze may have prevented D.C. from fulfilling his potential in the NBA, as the No. 1 draft by the Nets in 1990, but the retired Coleman has gone on to start a hip hop label called OnPoint Recordings. Coleman wore the fabled No. 44, only reserved for select Syracuse athletes, including legendary running backs Jim Brown, Ernie Davis and more recently John Wallace, who led the then-Orangemen to the Final Four in 1996. — Ashok Selvam