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Tag: 2012 NCAA Tournament

  • March Madness Tips Off With Murray State/Colorado State

    And Murray State’s Ed Daniel’s awesome afro is here, too. The game is available online for free at CBS’ March Madness On Demand service. While there’s some confusion about paying for the service–something the NCAA implemented earlier this year–games that are shown on CBS are available, for free, on CBSSports.com.

    The payment aspect for MMOD comes when you want the “total experience,” or, online access to all games on all channels, including the Turner Network of channels, which operates subscription-based cable television model. Considering the fact that all the games were available for free last year, this can only be seen as a step backwards. Furthermore, the fact that the pay service is being hosted at NCAA’s website gives us an idea of which entity was behind the pay-for-play alteration.

    Long live the student-athlete indeed.

    Twitter is, of course, ready for the Big Dance with two active trends discussing the early action. Good luck to you and your brackets:

    (image)@TheMWC
    Mountain West    “Colorado St. ” is No. 8 on the @Twitter worldwide trending list – keep it up #MWBB fans!(image) 4 minutes ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@Jumpman23
    Jordan    Let the madness begin. #LoveTheGame(image) 21 minutes ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Considering all the teams wearing Jordans, I have no doubt about that last tweet, but I digress:

    (image)@ShooterMcGavin_
    Shooter McGavin    The NCAA tournament is officially underway…LET THE MADNESS BEGIN BABAY!!(image) 6 minutes ago via Tweetbot for iOS ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@hopesolo
    Hope Solo    Let the Madness Begin(image) 22 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@msubasketball
    MSU Basketball    Let the madness begin on this beautiful day in March.(image) 1 hour ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@douglaskatiee
    Katie Douglas    GREATEST TIME OF THE YEAR. Let the madness begin(image) 2 minutes ago via Twitter for Android ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    And that’s the truth.

  • March Madness: Top Selling College Basketball Jerseys

    Yes, the opening round games are considered the start of the college basketball tournament, but the real fun starts tomorrow at 12:15 EST. This is when the field of 64 begins their collective run at a National Championship. With that in mind, make sure your brackets are done tonight.

    To help get you ready for all overload of college basketball, Darren Rovell of MSNBC put together a top ten list of the best-selling jerseys in college basketball. As Rovell points out, the players don’t get a dime from these jersey sales–wait until you’re a pro, fellas–and the player’s last name does not appear on the back of these college jerseys, but:

    …every year, schools give manufacturers specific numbers that correlate to the best players on their team. So we went to the folks at Fanatics, the leading retailer of college merchandise online, and asked them what schools with what numbers sold best this season.

    With that in mind, here’s the list, starting from 10 to 1.

    10. Mason Plumlee, Duke Blue Devils:

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    9. Kenny Boynton, Florida Gators:

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    8. Kendall Marshall, North Carolina Tar Heels:

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    7. Tyler Zeller, North Carolina Tar Heels:

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    6. Scoop Jardine, Syracuse Orange:

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    5. Draymond Green, Michigan State Spartans:

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    4. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky Wildcats:

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    3. Seth Curry, Duke Blue Devils

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    2. Anthony Davis, Kentucky Wildcats:

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    1. Harrison Barnes, North Carolina:

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  • Fab Melo Continues To Be A Twitter Trend

    Fab Melo Continues To Be A Twitter Trend

    The news about Syracuse’s decision to bench seven-footer Fab Melo due to academic issues is the topic of much conversation as we head into the (real) Big Dance. No offense to the opening round/play-in games, but the real action starts tomorrow, and the buzz around Syracuse has taken a hit because of Melo’s suspension.

    The experts have already offered their opinion on how the lack of Fab Melo to anchor the Orange’s 2-3 zone will impact Syracuse’s tournament chances, but the chatter surrounding Melo did not end after the experts tweeted.

    The fans continue to weigh in on Melo’s suspension, and let’s just say, if Twitter could shape the future of upcoming sporting events, I’m not sure Syracuse would make it out of the first round:

    (image)@marcjames
    MARC JAMES    After much deliberation, I have to Drop Syracuse as 1 of My Final 4 Picks because of the loss of Fab Melo. #Syracuse #FabMelo #MarchMadness(image) 29 minutes ago via web ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@PSBasketball
    Syracuse Basketball    Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy on Fab Melo: “I don’t know who he is. I don’t watch college basketball. I watch Law & Order.” Unreal. MW(image) 48 minutes ago via HootSuite ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Considering Eustachy is also a college basketball coach, and could potentially face Syracuse in the second third round of the tournament, his comment is disingenuous at best and an outright lie at the worst.

    (image)@kevdonahue
    Kevin Donahue    I had ‘Cuse losing to Wisconsin even before this Melo news. http://t.co/eD0KEuAf(image) 52 minutes ago via Buffer ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Does that mean you have them losing earlier now?

    (image)@NO_TATS_B
    SUCK MY DICK    JAVALE MCGEE AND FAB MELO GOT TO BE THE 2 DUMBEST ACTIVE ATHLETES IN ANY SPORT(image) 10 hours ago via TweetDeck ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    He could be on to something here.

    (image)@JDurant52
    Justin Durant    Fab Melo would approve RT @Doug_hogue: Dont understand Women it’s really mind bottling smh(image) 12 hours ago via Tweetlogix ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    I’ll just leave that there. Do with it what you will.

    (image)@NotBillWalton
    The Bill Walton Trip    Fab Melo is ineligible for failing some classes. This wouldnt happen at Kentucky, they never attend classes to fail them in the first place.(image) 17 hours ago via Echofon ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Twitter is perhaps the best conduit ever for haters of all shapes and sizes, even those who try to blame John Calipari for everything. Another example of Twitter hating:

    (image)@UCONNblonde
    Kerry Lynne    Fab Melo’s tourney intelligibility is undoubtedly the best news I’ve heard this month #LaterCuse(image) 12 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@FauxPelini
    Fake Bo Pelini    “Orange Center Fab Melo” sounds like a failed Appleby’s dessert(image) 15 hours ago via UberSocial for BlackBerry ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    While it may sound like an Applebee’s menu failure, the truth is, it’s a failure on Fab Melo’s part. I mean, is it really that hard to maintain a “C” average, especially when you’re enrolled in Syracuse’s College of Arts and Sciences? Perhaps that drug policy does need to be revisited.

    What about you? How does the news of Melo’s suspension alter your picks?

  • President Obama At The NCAA Tournament Opening Round

    Now that his Final Four picks have been made, it’s time for President Obama to see if his picks will make good or not. What better way than to take advantage of his position as leader of the free world and score choice tickets to the NCAA Tournament’s opening round game between Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State?

    At least Obama and his guest, British Prime Minister David Cameron, were treated to an exciting finish to the game they were watching, as Western Kentucky stormed back from a 16-point deficit with about five minutes left in the game. It’s a good thing the dramatic comeback was included, because before the Hilltoppers showed signs of life, the game was a little underwhelming.

    And that’s why they play 40 minute games. These contests aren’t over at the 35-minute mark.

    During the halftime break, President Obama and his guest were interviewed by Clark Kellogg. While the portion simply confirmed Obama’s position as an informed basketball fan, it was interesting to see the President be dwarfed by the person interviewing him. For those keeping score at home, Kellogg comes in as a 6-7 giant who used to dominate the paint while he played for Ohio State. Obama, according to Google, is 6-1, and the six-inch difference was quite noticeable.

    It’s safe to say Kellogg is probably the tallest person to interview President Obama, maybe ever. As for Obama’s appearance at the tournament’s opening game, unfortunately, some can’t seem to separate politics from sports, something the comments of this particular YouTube video–also from the WKY/MSVS basketball game–demonstrate quite well:

    @nicnini1 i agree that is something i would never do typically, but he was provoked! that’s the only reason i made my comment. did you hear obama at halftime? he had the audacity during an interview at halftime to criticize the shot selection and the offensive scheme. obama is not the coach and he should keep his opinions to himself. i dont blame the kid for staring him down and thinking to himself, “what do you think of THAT shot, pres?” i would have done the EXACT SAME THING.

    Apparently, for some, the only way Obama can win is to not say or do anything.

  • NCAA Basketball Tournament Brackets 2012, Who’s In Your Final Four?

    It’s in the air, you can feel it growing. If you live in Lexington, KY like I do, you can’t help but feel the craziness of March Madness. Even if you’re a loner living hermit up on a hill, when you come down to pick up supplies, someone will undoubtedly get you wrapped up in it. It’s time for the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. As the week progresses, millions of brackets will be filled out all across the internet. Most likely a co-worker has come up to you today to share some hidden knowledge of who to pick this year.

    Here’s a hint – Kentucky looks really good (and I’m saying that as a UNC fan).

    Something which has evolved in recent years is bracket challenges appearing online. If you’re smart/lucky, you can bring in quite a haul if you want to take the time to fill out brackets. I’ve done a small bit of research to find some of the better challenges out there – below is what I found, and the prizes you can expect if you win.

    Fox Sports
    Grand Prize: $1,000,000

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    Coke Zero Bracket Challenge
    Grand Prize: Trip for 2 to the 2012 NCAA Mens Final Four

    NBCSports Bracket Challenge
    Grand Prize: $2,000

    CBSSports.com
    Grand Prize: Trip for 4 to 2013 NCAA Final Four

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    ESPN Tournament Challenge
    Grand Prize: $10,000 Best Buy gift card

    If you’re looking for help in choosing your Final Four and tournament champion, you can find all sorts of information in the links I’ve provide above. Honestly though, no one has any idea what they’re really talking about. Ask any of the experts you find if they had Butler in the final game from the past two years.

    Since I can’t help myself, here are some key upsets to look out for at various points during the tourney…

    – Long Beach St. (12) upsetting New Mexico (5) — First Round

    – Texas (11) upsetting Cincinnati (6) — First Round

    – NC State (11) upsetting San Diego St. (6) — First Round

    – Murray St. (6) upsetting Marquette (3) — Second Round

    – UNLV (6) upsetting Baylor (3) — Second Round

    – Wisconsin (4) or Vanderbilt (5) upsetting Syracuse (1) — Sweet Sixteen

    – Florida St (3) upsetting Ohio St. (2) — Sweet Sixteen

    When all is said and done, your Final Four should look like this – Kentucky, Michigan St., Florida St., and North Carolina

    Trust me, I’m an expert.