leitch-old Page 34 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Gonzaga Bulldogs
1. More Than A Few. Since he took over at Gonzaga in 1999, Mark Few is among the winningest coaches in the county. In a nine-year career that includes nine 20 win seasons and nine NCAA tournament berths, Few has an overall record of 204 wins, 53 losses. Gonzaga's West Coast Conference record during ...

Rhode Island Rams
1. Crazy Eights. The Rams jumped out to one of their best starts in team history this season, starting 19-3 and reaching the 20-win plateau faster than any team in school history. Their other best years? 1977-78, 1987-88, and 1997-98. URI reached the big dance in each of those seasons, having the mo...

Southern California Trojans
1. At Guard, Super Dave Osborne. One of the keys to last season's surprising Sweet Sixteen run was then-freshman Daniel Hackett's aggressive tournament play: He was all over the place, grabbing boards, causing turnovers, ending Kevin Durant's college career earlier than expected. The dude doesn't kn...

Indiana Hoosiers
1. Dan Dakich is a savvy fellow. The Hoosiers' interim head coach is part of a new trend for interim coaches: Being vastly overqualified. (Kevin O'Neill at Arizona also qualifies here.) Dakich was formerly the coach at Bowling Green before serving as West Virginia coach for one week. He left because...

Cal State Fullerton Titans
1. Remember the Titans. Thirty years ago the Titans advanced to the elite eight only to be bounced out of the 1978 field by the famed "triplets" of Arkansas (guards Sidney Moncrief , Marvin Delph and Ron Brewer) who were coached by Eddie Sutton (some 628 wins ago). Speaking of legends former CSF bas...

Louisville Cardinals
1. Remember, Remember, The Ninth Of February. Barring a run that ends with the third national title in program history, Louisville's 2007-2008 season is likely to be best remembered for the events of Feb. 9. Acting in accordance with a "white out" theme, Rick Pitino walked onto the floor for the Car...

Butler Bulldogs
1. If your erection lasts for more than four hours, Brad Stevens may know how to help. Prior to becoming a college basketball coach, Butler coach Brad Stevens worked for Indianapolis-based drug company Eli Lilly, makers of Cialis. That Stevens worked for Eli Lilly was no surprise, given that he play...

Kentucky Wildcats
1. Billy G Is Not My Lover. Many fans wanted Tubby Smith out for a long, long time in the Commonwealth, so with that exodus they got Billy Gillespie. The Wildcats had a 6-7 record following a loss to now-hated Rick Pitino, and everyone thought that ol' Billy Boy might not be the guy after all. Panic...

Austin Peay Governors
1. Name to know. Drake Reed: Austin Peay's best player is an Academic All-American and was the Ohio Valley Conference player of the year as a sophomore in 2007. Averaging about 15-5 for the second year in a row, Reed has a good chance to go pro. And by that I mean "play basketball in Turkey."...

Pittsburgh Panthers
1. No one recruits NY like Pitt. Pitt coaches regularly take trips to New York and hand out the majority of their scholarships to the best players they can find. On this year's team, five players are from the NYC area, including starters Levance Fields, Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin. No wonder Pit...

North Carolina Tar Heels
1. Look Out.North Carolina enters the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and prohibitive favorite. Their path to the Final Four would start in Raleigh and move all the way to Charlotte. (Jim Boeheim on PTI Monday: "Does Carolina even need to get out of bed to advance?") They are peaking at the rig...

American Eagles
1. Curse-Breakers. Have you ever played Mario Kart and, just when it looks like you're going to win, the computer defies physics and sends Wario out to give you some competition? And then, thanks to a freaking green shell, Wario ends up winning? That's pretty much the relationship between AU and Hol...

Virginia Commonwealth Rams
1. The Straw(s) That Stir(s) The Drink. Everyone learned in short order who Eric Maynor was last year when he took over the CAA championship game against George Mason, hit the jump shot with 1.8 seconds left to beat Duke in the opening round of NCAA tournament and then led a 19-point comeback in the...

California Golden Bears
1. The Bears would dominate the Big East. I no longer live in California, so my chances to watch Pac 10 ball are few. However, living in DC has exposed me to a large number of Big East games, and I have come to the conclusion that the Bears' formula of allowing their opponent to run up a huge lead, ...

Belmont Bruins
1. Wait... The Atlantic Sun is Perhaps Not A Powerhouse Conference? Belmont has ranked in the top 10 nationally in three-point field goals per game seven of the last 10 years. The Bruins are fourth this year at 10.6 three-pointers per game. HOWEVUH, when it mattered (in their NCAA appearances the la...

The Final Hours Before Selection Sunday
• A grand anniversary. • Tommy Bowden, not always so nice. • Welcome back, Battlebots. • When sleds attack. • Mark Cuban has all kinds of confusing rules. • Man, Felix Pie. • Hey, UNC beat Duke. • Enjoying Billy Crystal. For once. • Daulerio returns. (With Bill Conlin!) • Oh, Bob, Bob, Bob....


Gus Johnson Doesn't Get Quite Enough Love
OK, now do you guys think it would be safe to say that few television personalities not named Erin Andrews are more popular among these here Intertubes than Gus Johnson? We're the ones pumping the guy, dammit! James Brown? Play-by-play? Over Gus Johnson? Come on! He's loved around here. So why, then...

Welcome To Isiah Thomas Stadium
Did you know that there was a Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball Club? They're the Iowan Class A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (man that's a lot of prepositions), and their nickname is the Kernels. Which means there's only one logical corporate sponsor. Ladies and gentlepeople, welcome t...