COME ON ZEBRAS by Steve Tannen

I do not believe referees or umpires decide who wins or loses.  They don't fail to hit the cutoff man.  Never turn their head on defense, miss a tackle or run the wrong route.  I do think we've seen some horrific officiating in college basketball this post season.  The jump ball called with 6 seconds remaining in the Louisville victory versus Wichita State was obscene.  Refs certainly panic and choke like players.  This was a perfect case.  Why the quick whistle?  Again, the zebras didn't blow the Shocker double digit lead in the second half.  They also didn't go 26 minutes without a turnover before coming unglued and coughing it up 5 times during a critical 3 minute period late in the game.  I don't believe they had much to do with Wichita State point guard Malcolm Armstead hitting 1 of 10 shots.  They just stunk it up at a highly visible moment.  Awful.
I like Michigan to win it this evening.  For the most part on Saturday Louisville was not able to apply the pressure that sent shivers down the spines of so many fallen opponents this season.  When Kevin Ware suffered that gruesome broken leg it was early in the Duke game and the Cardinals were able to ride the emotions and overwhelm the Blue Devils without their fallen teammate.  Once that situation settled down the reality he was not in the rotation and the Rick Pitino bench was shorter and less dangerous, the Shockers almost knocked them off.  I think the Wolverines are better suited with more firepower and multiple options to handle UL.  I see a grinder with Michigan taking their first natty since 1989.
A year ago the Trailblazers pretty much mailed it in down the stretch losing their final 7 games and 9 of the last 10.  They had to deal with the official end of Brandon Roy and Greg Oden with the franchise and the dismissal of Nate McMillan as coach.  Then it appeared owner Paul Allen pulled his head out and cleaned house.  New GM, coach and point guard.  There were times this season when fans got a nice glimpse into a bright new future.  With their youth, bad spells did surface, a roller coaster ride if you will.  Right now they are playing as poorly as anyone in the Association.  They've barely been competitive during this 8 game losing streak.  Last night's loss to Dallas was the 1st that was less than double digits and Portland needed a furious 30-15 4th quarter rally to make a game of it.  Perhaps it's for the best as they simply accumulate more ping pong balls for the lottery.  Perhaps it's just step one of a long rebuilding process.  The bottom line is this extends the streak to 13 years without winning a playoff series.  The remaining schedule is no day at the beach with each opponent very much with a lot to play for.  Home games this Wed & Fri against the Lakers & Thunder followed by trips to Denver and the Clippers before wrapping at the Rose Garden against the Warriors.  Will they win another game?

The Final Weekend, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. With only four teams remaining, tomorrow will decide who will be playing for the National Championship. In Saturday's first match up, it will be a battle between the Cinderella story and the overall #1 seed with an extra incentive to win. The Wichita State Shockers have shocked everybody on their way to the Final Four by defeating the first and second seed in their region. However, they are matched up against a very talented Louisville team who are playing excellent basketball at the moment. And if that isn't already a tough task at hand for the Shockers, the Cardinals are playing with extra passion after the gruesome injury to Kevin Ware in the Elite Eight. If you haven't seen that injury to Ware's leg yet, consider yourself a lucky human being. I just feel fortunate that they didn't show a super close up like they did to Joe Theismann, but I still couldn't stand to watch the replay later that night.
Although it would be great to see another Butler in the National Championship Game, I don't think Wichita State will be able to hang with Louisville for an entire game. But hey, next to no one thought they would even make it this far, so anything could happen.
On  the other side of the bracket, a pair of four seeds take each other on for a shot at playing on Monday. Both Michigan and Syracuse beat their region's #1 seed to get to this point. The Wolverines' Trey Burke put the team on his back against Kansas, and was able to rally Michigan to their first Final Four appearance since the Fab Five days. Burke was named the Wooden Award winner for being the most outstanding player in College Basketball. If I had a vote, I would have had him second behind Indiana's Victor Oladipo, but Burke deserves the award just as much as anybody in the country. The Syracuse Orange are going to have to keep a close eye on Burke if they want to win this game and have a chance at the championship.
I hope to see two very tough games tomorrow evening, and a set up for another great National Championship Game.

A TEACHING MOMENT by Steve Tannen

This whole car wreck of a situation at Rutgers University is certainly disturbing and despicable.  Considering no one was seriously injured or died, it also might qualify as a blessing in disguise.  For openers, let's remember these are kids.  They might be 6'5, 225 with the ability to bench press the rack or jump out of the gym, but at age 21 and under, they are too young to grasp what their idiot coach is doing and how far over the line he is stepping.  Parents should take their young ones, show them the video and leave no doubt should a coach, teacher or anyone else in a position of authority get overly physical or verbally abusive with them, do one thing.  Tell mom and dad.  Or auntie or grandma or whoever is raising you.  The second a situation like this surfaces, tell.  TELL....TELL....TELL....drill it into their heads.  This is unacceptable.  Never stop reminding them.  As always with a negative circumstance, a main goal is future prevention. 
Here are some of the things I'm thinking about.
-My wife and I have to go back and watch the last episode of Mad Men because this hiatus has been so freaking long I forgot what is happening.
-It's not about Oregon being out or my bracket getting a Chernobyl like nuking, but something is NOT grabbing me about this weekend's Final 4.  I'm guessing once Wichita and Louisville tip it off the temp will rise again and I am curious to see how that Syracuse zone will work against those great Michigan guards.
-Out of the gate I'm loving the Tigers in the American League.  Certainly in the division.  Don't buy Cleveland and the White Sox can be anemic at times with the lumber.  Toronto is testing history by throwing money at their issues and that blew up in the faces of Miami a year ago.  Free Agents are a great supplement, but not the be all end all solution.  Still like the Rays in the East.  I'm rooting against the Angels is the West cause I think Josh Hamilton is a self-righteous hypocrite.  The Rangers rescued his career and maybe his life with a personal assistant to make sure he didn't go on one of his booze/drug binges and he showed them very little appreciation.  Texas can rake and if the back end of the rotation becomes stable they're the team to beat in the West.  California has rotation issues and their closer, Ernesto Frieri had one decent year.  Let's see him do it again.  I think New York and Boston are in for long seasons and could run next to last and last in the East.

WHY IS EVERYTHING A DEBATE? by Steve Tannen

Back to blogging after several months.  The switch to CBS Radio is complete and it's time to get rolling again.  An issue that annoys the heck out of me in this country whether it's political, social or in sports is no one accepts the obvious.  It's always an argument.  The logic that conceding you are WRONG is a weakness is destructive.  It's the opposite, it's a sign of strength.  It's okay to make an honest mistake.  Admit and move on.  The Rutgers situation is unreal.  An athletic director knows his basketball coach is humiliating his players.  Physical and verbal abuse.  The imbecile(AD Tim Pernetti) is aware it's all being captured on film.  He doles out a minimal punishment based on some kind of rehabilitation.  Only when the video is released does he finally take action and can the piece of garbage(now former coach Mike Rice).  Aside from the obvious(murderers, rapists, ect), nothing worse than a bully.  Rice was a spoiled brat who threw a hissy fit when things didn't go his way.  He is no different than the child in aisle 2 of the supermarket throwing a temper tantrum cause mom or dad wouldn't buy the bag of candy.  Pernetti should be canned by days end and Rice should never be allowed near young men again.  Let him try and pull that in the real workplace and countdown from 10 and see how far you get before someone throws him out a window.  Bullies are abusers.  In the cases of coaches like this, nothing more than a pathetic insecure D-bag who can't feel good about their wit, intelligence, or accomplishments so they have to belittle others to feel better about themselves.  Good riddence.
Look for my National League preview and on Friday we hit the AL.  Liking the Nats, Giants, Reds and Tigers.  Not enamored about anyone else!

The Last Push, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. After two tough losses to end the regular season, the Duck's impressive win over Washington is keeping them alive in the PAC 12. With a trip to the semifinals on the line, Arsalan Kazemi scored 11 points in overtime to lead the Ducks to the victory. Up next, Oregon tries to redeem their loss to Utah after the Utes shocked Cal in the quarterfinals. Of the four teams left in the tourny, three of them are going to make the Big Dance regardless the outcome of a Conference tournament. With our recent struggles, I think it's important to head into the NCAA Tournament with momentum on your side.
The Western Conference is usually pretty tight this time of year, but the race for the final playoff spot is nearing the home stretch. The disappointment of the Laker's season isn't a lost cause just yet after taking over the eight spot for the time being. The difference between the six and nine seed isn't but only 3.5 games. Golden State, the sixth best in the west, are 7 games back of the red-hot Nuggets for the fifth spot. Not looking like any of these teams will be seeded higher than six, potentially five teams are scratching and clawing for postseason basketball.

The Lake Show, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. If you were to say the Lakers season has been a disappointment, that would be quite the understatement. Despite all the adversity, they sit at 26-29 and 3.5 games out of the last Playoff spot behind the Rockets. I don't think many people would say LA is a sure fire Playoff team, but Kobe Bryant isn't like many people. Kobe not only thinks they have a chance at the postseason, he says "It's not a question of if we make the playoffs. We will." And once they get there, Bryant isn't afraid of any team in a best of seven series. He's been criticized for his guarantee, but I think it was a good thing for the Lakers. It shows that the mere thought of missing out on the Playoffs isn't an option for Kobe and the city of Los Angeles.
The Ducks return to PK Park for their home opener, to face the Lions of Loyola Marymount today at 6. After sweeping the four game set over Hawaii, the Ducks have moved up to #5 in the NCBWA College Baseball rankings. First baseman Ryon Healy had a great start to the season, being named PAC 12 player of the week. He went 8 for 15 and batted in four runs in the first series of the year. Still a lot of ball to be played, but the Ducks are starting this season off the right way.

Ducks' Downslope, by Casey Mitchell

This is Casey Mitchell guest blogging for ST today. Twenty straight wins at home for the ducks ended with a disappointing loss to Colorado last night. Throughout the game, it seemed like the Ducks were going to put an end to its recent struggles on the court. They lead the entire game up to 29 seconds in the second half, when the Buffalo's 8-0 run ended with Andre Roberson hitting the game winner to give Oregon their third straight loss. The Ducks now sit at 18-5 overall and 7-3 in the PAC-12, looking like they will drop out of the top 25 polls.
Over the past few seasons the PAC-12 has been the laughing stock of the college basketball world, but 10 of the 12 teams in the conference are above .500 and five teams have 15 wins or more. So the strength of schedule should help the Ducks more than recent seasons where it could be the difference between the big dance or the NIT. The Ducks face off with Utah at home tomorrow, and will try to get back to their winning ways. The Utes are one of the two teams under the .500 mark, so this is a game that Oregon should win, especially at home.
Although they have been struggling as of late, it is great to see how Dana Altman has put this team back on the map. He took this program from irrelevant to contender in two seasons.