NFL Draft Fun

The NFL Draft kicks off in New York City on April 28 and extends through April 30 on ESPN and the NFL Network.  Who will be picked first?  Which quarterback has the fastest 40-yard dash time?  Who will be a "bust" and fail to meet his draft day expectations?  Not to mention, how can they even hold a Draft when the NFL is in the middle of a lockout?  I saw a headline today in New York that said: "Football is back!"  Well, kind of.

No one will strap on a helmet or shoulder pads at the NFL Draft, and the lockout will continue to hang over the league into the foreseeable future until there is a resolution reached between the owners and the players association (The NFL was ordered by a federal judge to resume football activities because its lockout was deemed to be illegal), so why is the Draft a prime-time event on ESPN and why does it get hours of coverage every day from the end of the college season?  Well, because no one knows if you, the "experts", or even the teams making the draft selections are right or wrong.  It's impossible during these three days to know whether Cam Newton or Andy Dalton will be a better NFL quarterback?  Even a year from now, it will be difficult to determine if a draft pick is successful.  198 players were drafted before Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft only to become one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all-time.  By the time the Draft actually takes place in late April, any sports fan will have seen more highlights of a star player's college games than during the actual season, and any sports fan will have an opinion as to whether the player will help their favorite NFL team or not.  On draft day, everyone is an "expert".

Tom Brady has used his low draft pick status
to motivate him to be one of the best NFL QBs.

The NFL Draft has grown in popularity as reality TV, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media have overtaken our society and put these players and their game highlights in our homes.  But can you imagine if fans could text who their favorite team should pick...just like American Idol?  Now we're getting somewhere.  That would be some must-see TV!  A player's fate would not rest in the hands of a greedy owner ready to potentially lock him out in the coming years, or in a General Manager who happened to watch the player work out on a good (or a bad) day.  In fact, General Managers would probably do well for themselves and their job security if they turned the Draft decisions over to their fans because there would be no second-guessers if the player flopped, and the fans would take on an unprecedented level of pride if the player was successful.  Wouldn't it be awesome to see 6-foot, 300-pound lineman waving at the camera and flashing fingers to all their fans at home?

Simon Cowell - future NFL General Manager?  I'd vote for that.

Is Real Salt Lake For Real?

For the first time since the World Cup last Summer I plan on watching a live soccer game on TV on Wednesday night!  That's right, I'll pass up the NBA Playoffs, a Yankees game, and even the NHL Playoffs (ok, maybe that's not too hard) to watch Real Salt Lake take on the four-time Mexican League champion, Monterrey, in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Finals (CONCACAF is the soccer group of all professional teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean).  Real Salt Lake and Monterrey tied 2-2 last week in Monterrey, which means that Real Salt Lake needs a win or at worst a 0-0 or 1-1 tie in order to advance to the FIFA Club World Cup.  If Real Salt Lake advances, it will become the first Major League Soccer team to qualify and advance to the FIFA Club World Cup, where it would go up against the champions from the other major soccer confederations from all over the world in December.

Real Salt Lake's Javier Morales (left) scored the game-tying goal in the
89th minute versus Monterrey last week to give RSL the advantage
heading into Wednesday's second leg of the Championship Final.

"We haven't had that Lake Placid moment for U.S. soccer," Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerway said, referring to the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" for the U.S. Olympic hockey team.  "That's the opportunity we have in front of us.  We have an event to put the world on notice that American soccer has taken another step forward."

The comparison would not be as outlandish as it sounds on the surface.  Real Salt Lake has one of the lowest payrolls in the MLS ($2.6 million for all 26 players) and will faceoff against a Monterrey team that has multiple millionaires and national team members.  The Mexican team will feel like they are playing on ice after leaving the warm-weather environment in Monterrey to head up north to Salt Lake to play at night in the lovely Utah winter April weather.  Whether it has been cold or warm, however, Real Salt Lake has been playing exceptional soccer at home currently riding a 37-game winning streak at Rio Tinto Stadium.  All American soccer fans are hoping that Real Salt Lake can bring the heat and send the MLS Champion to take on the world.

In unrelated soccer news, this link shows you to one of the nastiest broken leg injuries I have ever seen.  Disclaimer: Do not watch or listen to it if you have eaten within the last 30 minutes.

Quick Hits #5

Chicks Dig the Long Ball:   The New York Yankees have set a club record with 27 home runs in their first 14 games.  They have 6 different players that have at least 4 home runs each. That's an impressive achievement given the storied history of the club - their nickname is not the Bronx Bombers for nothing!

Jorge Posada has contributed to the Yankees record start by
slugging 4 home runs from the DH slot.

The 2011 version of the Bombers is on pace to hit 310-315 home runs this year.  Somewhere the Feds who worked on the Barry Bonds steroids perjury case are gathering evidence and conducting depositions.  Come on, everyone deserves a second chance.

Sixth Man of the Year - An E! True Hollywood Story:  Lamar Odom, who is married to reality-TV "star" Khloe Kardashian, was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year on Tuesday, which is the award given to the best player who is not quite good enough to be one of the 150 starters in the league.  The only requirement to win the award is that a player must come in off the bench as a reserve more games than he starts.  Odom started 35 games and entered off the bench in 47 games.  I've never understood the reason why the NBA has this award.  In my opinion, Odom should have won this award last year when he finished sixth in the voting for the Sixth Man of the Year Award.

Lamar Odom and Khloe Kardashian are taking Hollywood and the NBA by storm.
Odom's "unbreakable" season earned him the honor as the NBA 6th Man.

But Lamar Kardashian is enjoying yet another moment in the spotlight...when asked what he planned to get for his teammates as a thank you gift after Bryant handed out expensive watches to the team following his MVP award, he responded, "Maybe I'll get them a bottle of me and Khloe's fragrance ("Unbreakable")."  I have two observations from Lamar's comments: 1) Apparently correct English not a requirement for winning the award and 2) What he really should do is give watches to just the Laker starters for being better than him so he could be considered for the award to begin with.


Imagine the April Awesomeness?!:  Can you imagine if the NBA playoffs was a little bit more like March Madness?!  Like I wrote about here, the NBA playoffs just don't have the same excitement level that other playoff formats do.  If the NBA playoffs were like the NCAA tournament, then these would be the second round games based upon the results of the first game of each series:  Chicago vs. Atlanta, Miami vs. Boston, Memphis vs. Oklahoma City, and New Orleans vs. Dallas.  The Lakers, Spurs, and Magic would all be out!  The Memphis Grizzlies would have a huge fan following, insane media coverage, and Zach Randolph jerseys would be flying off the shelves!  Don't worry, they'll lose to the Spurs in 5.  Sorry, Memphis, but the only basketball team that has a shot to play for a Championship anytime soon is the University of Memphis.


Put it on the Calendar:  In one of the biggest demonstrations of optimism we have seen in a long time, the NFL released its 2011 schedule today as if one of the ugliest and dirtiest lockouts in recent history was not well into its second month.  The marquee games of the opening weekend, which will fall on Sunday, September 11, will feature the New York Giants visiting the Washington Redskins, two teams from the two cities that were most significantly impacted by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011.

September 11, 2011 could be a memorable day for the USA and the NFL if
the owners and the players can end the lockout so the NFL season can start on time.

The New York Jets will host the Dallas Cowboys on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 at home in New York (New Jersey).  The always outspoken Jets head coach, Rex Ryan, said this of the significance of opening the season at home on 9/11: "The stadium is going to be full of emotion, not only the people from the area but in the entire country.  The fact that it's the 10th anniversary of 9/11, that's where the focus should be."  Well put, Coach.  Let's just hope your players and owners can put aside their greed and hatred towards one another in order for it to actually happen and let the nation enjoy it.

Wake Me Up In June

It's that time of year again.  No, I'm not talking about Spring, random April snow showers, Spring Break, or even Baseball.  That's right, it's time for the first round of the NBA playoffs!!!  In case you didn't catch my sarcasm in that first sentence, then please be sure to wake me up in late-May / early-June.  Okay, I am a HUGE basketball fan.  It is easily my favorite sport to watch, play, etc., but that is exactly why I hate the first (and even a lot of the second) round in the NBA playoffs.  Why, you ask?  First of all, the NBA allows more than half of its teams to get into the playoffs (16 out of 30), allowing below-average teams such as the 37-45 Indiana Pacers to play a couple of extra games in the first round every year.  The NBA then had the bright idea in 2003 to switch the first round playoff format from best-of-5 games to best-of-7 games in 2003, thus eliminating almost any possibility of a first round upset by a lower-seeded team.  A best-of-7 series guarantees one thing:  the better team usually wins.  Only once since 2003 has a #8 seed beat a #1 seed (Golden State over Dallas).

Will there be an upset in the NBA playoffs like
Morehead State over Louisville?  Not in a 7-game series.

An NBA best-of-7 series does exactly what the NBA wants it to do: it creates Conference Final and NBA Final matchups with the better teams and the better players.  Do you really think the NBA commissioner was sad to see Lebron James and Chris Bosh leave their smaller basketball-market NBA teams (Cleveland and Toronto, respectively) to join Dwayne Wade in one of the larger NBA markets (Miami) this year?  Did the league allow for the most uneven trade in NBA history to take place with Pau Gasol ending up with the Los Angeles Lakers (The Lakers have not missed the NBA Finals since Pau joined the Lakers in 2008)?  The lowest-rated, least-watched NBA Finals took place in 2007 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers.  Even though two of the best players (Lebron James and Tim Duncan) were involved in the series, its ratings suffered from two of the smaller-market teams getting to the league's showcase event.  Is it any coincidence that the Pau Gasol trade took place the very next season?  I'm just sayin'...

NBA Commissioner David Stern would love
to see a Kobe-Lebron NBA Finals matchup.

The only advantage of the current format of the NBA playoffs is that there is rarely any argument which team is the best team in the league, unlike when Connecticut won the NCAA tournament this year like I wrote about here.  Meanwhile, the NCAA Tournament and the NFL playoff format create for much more exciting games because they are a "one-and-done" playoff system.  If even the "best" NFL or NCAA team has an off-night or makes an unusual amount of mistakes in a playoff game, then they may not have the advantage of letting the better talent or the better coaching between the two teams take over and avoid losing three more times.  Does an NBA team from Indiana (the Pacers) have the same chance to make the Finals as an NCAA team from Indiana (Butler)?  No way!  Will a small-market team like the Memphis Grizzlies have a chance to mimic the success of the much smaller-market team of the NFL (Green Bay Packers) in winning the championship this year?  Not unless they plan on signing Aaron Rodgers for the playoff run...or unless the NBA switches to a "one-and-done" playoff format.  As my brother-in-law put it a couple of weeks ago, there is a definite tradeoff between an exciting playoff format and the best team winning all the time.

Neither Kobe and Lebron has ever had the pressure
of a "one-and-done" playoff format having both skipped
to the NBA directly out of high school.

Don't get me wrong, I was one of the 4 people who actually watched the 2007 NBA Finals between the Cavaliers and the Spurs.  I love watching the NBA playoffs once we see matchups like the Lakers vs. Spurs or the Celtics vs. Heat, or what the NBA commissioner really wants to see this year the Lakers vs. the Heat (By the way, if want to see who the NBA wants to see in the NBA Finals, then just pay attention to which teams are scheduled to play on Christmas Day, which is probably the most-watched regular season games all year).  Unfortunately, the current playoff format elicits boring first and second rounds and a month-long wait for the best teams to be left standing.

Has anyone asked you if you have filled out your NBA bracket yet?  Me neither.

The DVR Dilemma

Do you remember that Seinfeld where Kramer bolts into Jerry Seinfeld's apartment as Jerry was watching a Mets game he had recorded from earlier that night?  Jerry had spent so much effort earlier that night trying to avoid any news or updates about the game so he could watch it on his recorded video tape.  Kramer takes one look at Jerry's TV and blurts outs:  "Boy, the Mets really blew it tonight, huh?!"  To Jerry's dismay, all his effort was foiled and watching the rest of the game was now pointless.

"Kramers" have been ruining sports moments for "Jerrys"
everywhere since the dawn of the DVR.

Like Jerry, I have often tried to tiptoe around certain televised games during the past 5 years of the "DVR era" of my life.  I have tried to avoid any updates or fan comments about a particular game so I could take advantage of the ease and efficiency of technology while also not having to plan my life around a scheduled game.  Have I had a "Jerry" moment where my plan was ruined by another overanxious sports fan?  Absolutely.  Have I also had a couple of "Kramer" moments where I drew the ire of other DVR-loving sports fans?  Undoubtedly.  But in this day of blogs, facebook, twitter, text messaging, and cell phones, it can be virtually impossible to not have any DVR disappointments.  Since I have been on both sides of what I call The DVR Dilemma, I cautiously try to walk the fine line between respecting people's wishes to experience the games "live" while also wanting to share in the fun of discussing exciting games, players, strategies, and incredible plays.  To help us all avoid our own "Jerry" and "Kramer" moments the best we can, here are some solutions to the DVR Dilemma (please feel free to share your own below):

Always text with caution.  Phone calls can be ignored, emails can go unopened, but text messages are virtually unavoidable.  You can either resort to turning off your phone until you've watched the game, give your phone to a close friend or family member whose day will not be ruined by a surprising message, or my favorite: send a preventative text message to all those who "might" text you during the game to tell them to leave you alone until tomorrow.

Be a receptionist, if necessary.  If you are not live with the actual game, then answer a phone call with "If you're calling to talk about the game, I am in the middle of the 1st quarter and the score is 19-11."  You know, just to be safe.

You're NEVER safe.  Not even at 35,000 feet.  Delta and JetBlue are two of the airlines that have ESPN and other sports channels that provide mid-game updates.  Also beware of the excitable pilot or steward(ess) who will use the PA system from time to time to give you untimely and unwelcome score updates.

This Kings fan must be excited about something
other than her team or being on Pacific Time.

The West Side is not always the Best Side.  West Coasters are at a serious DVR disadvantage.  Especially if your team is on the East Coast.  When I lived in California for a couple of years, I remember leaving work on a normal day and a Yankee game or another "prime time" sporting event on the East Coast is either in its closing stages or already over.  At least West Coasters still have the sunshine and their own teams to satisfy their sports cravings.  Of course, unless the Sacramento Kings are your team.

Beware of the Ticker.  Be careful when watching other games during the game you really want to watch.  Almost every game has a live sports ticker at the bottom of the screen showing the mid-game and final scores of other games going on or that were recently finished.  If you're planning to watch TV while you wait to start your DVR'd game, then be sure to watch Seinfeld or something.

Live by the Headline Rule.  You can't expect the rest of the world to wait for you to watch the game.  If you are going to DVR a game and watch it the next day or even later, then you are setting yourself up for some serious disappointment.  If the results of your game can be part of a headline on a newspaper, then you can't hold anyone responsible for being a "Kramer".

Don't be annoying.  If you know that someone else is trying to not find out the score or outcome of a game, then please don't utter words like these: "Just be sure to watch the last 5 minutes..." or "Don't waste your time!" or even "You've GOT to watch that game."  Just be cool and enjoy your "Flux-Capacitor" moment as you pay a  visit to your friend...from the future.  Time traveling is even cooler than the DVR, so don't be annoying.

Quick Hits #4

Manny Being Manny:  Manny Ramirez retired from baseball on Friday as he faced a 100-game suspension for a positive drug test.  Manny had already been suspended for 50 games in 2009 for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and he apparently would have rather retired instead of serving a suspension that would have extended 2/3 into the 2011 season.

Manny Ramirez retired last week after a 19-year
playing career and 555 career home runs.

Manny is one of the most talented, I mean, tainted hitters to ever play the game.  His career 555 home runs and .312 batting average over 19 season stand out as Hall of Fame numbers, but Manny should not be expecting an invitation from the Baseball Hall of Fame anytime soon.  Two other players linked to using performance-enhancing drugs during their careers, Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire, have come no where near the requisite amount of votes to obtain entrance to the Hall.  Still, Manny is planning to stay off the grid just in case the Hall wants to contact him.  Manny released a statement shortly after his retirement that included the following:  "I'm at ease.  God knows what's best (for me).  I'm now an officially retired baseball player.  I'll be going on a trip to Spain with my old man."  Once again proving there will never be another Manny Ramirez.


Minnesota Du-who?:  David met Goliath for the NCAA Hockey Championship in the Frozen Four on Saturday night.  Minnesota Duluth, who had never won a national championship, went skate-to-skate with  Michigan, who had won more hockey championships than any other program in the country (9).  The Bulldogs beat the Wolverines on a sudden-death goal only 3:22 into the overtime.  It was an historic win for Minnesota Duluth as winger Kyle Schmidt netted the winning goal and put the Bulldogs ahead 3-2.  What a great way to win their first national championship!

The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs dismissed
Michigan with a game-winning goal only 3:22
into overtime for its first hockey national championship.

But more devastatingly, what a way to lose!  The Wolverines went from being positioned to win the national championship in one moment and to having it pulled out from underneath them the next.  Although it actually might be a better way to lose than to do what Butler did last week and watch the championship slip away brick after brick after brick.  Best line from a SportsCenter anchor covering the highlights of the championship game:  "Duluth, Duluth, Duluth is on fire!"


Jimmer Does It Again:  Jimmer Fredette won the Wooden Award on Friday night in Los Angeles and completed a sweep of this year's college basketball national player of the year awards.  Jimmer is the first BYU player to win the Wooden Award since Danny Ainge in 1981.  The Wooden Award voters include nearly 1,000 members of the college basketball media who each selected and ranked 10 players.  Fredette had 3,761 points, followed by Connecticut's Kemba Walker with 3,356; Ohio State's Jared Sullinger with 2,637; Duke's Nolan Smith with 2,371; and Arizona's Derrick Williams with 1,913.  Jimmer's focus now turns to preparing for the NBA Draft and his future career.  Jimmer has not commented on whether he will be going on a trip to Spain between now and then with his old man.

Another day, another national player of the year award for Jimmer Fredette. I
wonder if he will end up donating any of them to Deseret Industries at
some point because he has no place to store them all?

The Glory Days Are Over, Coach: A football coach who coaches 9, 10 and 11 year-old kids in Chula Vista, California was arrested after a confrontation with a parent that included a dispute over the recruitment of a "top" player away from the coach's team to another competing team.  The parent was reportedly punched, kicked and knocked unconscious by the coach.  Are you kidding me?!  And here we thought the recruiting environment in college football was passionate, scandalous and dangerous.  Apparently Chula Vista takes its Pee Wee Football even more seriously.  Can you imagine what Gene Chizik (Auburn's Head Football Coach) would have done to Cam Newton's Dad had he heard about Newton's offer to Mississippi State to "buy" his son's commitment to play football there.  Let's just be glad Chizik didn't grow up and learn how to coach in Chula Vista.

Saving The Worst For Last?

Connecticut is #1?
In what was easily the WORST NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game I have ever seen, Connecticut snuck by Butler 53-41.  Connecticut's size intimidated Butler into only making 3 out of their 31 2-point attempts by blocking 10 shots, distracting numerous more, and dominating the boards, 51-40.  It was just UGLY.  Butler played just a little better than a Church basketball team would have played.

All Butler Coach Brad Stevens wanted was for his team
to make more than 12 shots.

But before we pour it all on Butler, Connecticut didn't exactly win in style.  The Huskies turned the ball over 11 times, only scored 19 points in the first half, and went 1-11 from three-point range.  But give the Huskies credit, they stormed through the Big East and the NCAA Tournament with an 11-0 record, and they are the Champs for the third time, having won the title previously in 1999 and 2004.

Kemba Walker and the Huskies were just good enough
to defeat the Butler Bulldogs in the Championship Game.

So Connecticut's the #1 team, right?  Well, the UGLY National Championship win by Connecticut did not convince everyone that they are the Champs.  According to the final ESPN/USA Today Coach's Poll, there is one coach out there who thinks that Ohio State is the #1 team in the country.  Since the final poll of the season remains anonymous, we may never know which of the 31 voters put OSU as the #1 team instead of the 30 other voters that voted for the winner of the Championship game.  By the way, Ohio State lost in the Sweet 16 round...it's not like they reached the Championship game or even Final Four!  Ohio State was ranked #1 for the majority of the year, was the #1-ranked team by the selection committee when the brackets were put together, and were picked by many experts to win the tournament, but they lost when it mattered most!  This is like saying that the New England Patriots were the Super Bowl Champions even though Green Bay actually won the Super Bowl.
I'm thinking there are  a few reasons why a voter might do this (feel free to add your own):

1) He coaches Ohio State
2) His team was upset by a lower seed in the NCAA Tournament and currently hates the "one-and-done" tournament format so he voted for the best "team"
3) He runs the BCS Football Championship where the champion is largely determined by voting
4) He had a "hanging chad" on his ballot
5) He thought he was voting for the team with the most hypocritical football coach

Whoever it was should have to at least be accountable for his vote because it makes a mockery out of College Basketball, the NCAA Tournament, and Connecticut.  Step up and explain, sir!

Jimmer is #1!
While Connecticut may have left doubt in some people's minds about which team is #1, there appears to be little doubt who was the #1 basketball player this year:  Jimmer Fredette.

Jimmer has rolled through the Awards season as easily
as he split double-teams this season.

There may not be another BYU player or even another college basketball player like Jimmer for a long time.  Jimmer will have a chance to add the last of the college basketball awards, the Wooden Award, to his trophy case on Friday, but for now he can enjoy this long list of post-season awards and accomplishments:

Naismith Award
Oscar Robertson Trophy
Adolph Rupp Award
Associated Press NPOY
Sporting News NPOY
Basketball Times NPOY
SI.com NPOY
CBSSports.com NPOY
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award

Jimmer is also a consensus first team All-American, named to teams honored by the USBWA, NABC, AP, Wooden, Sporting News, Basketball Times and many other media outlets.

So, what did you do during your Senior year in college?

This One Is For the Dogs

For the first time in this year's NCAA tournament it appears that I actually got one right (two, actually).  The putrid bracket that I completed prior to the tournament currently sits in the 9.7 percentile on ESPN.com, which means that 90.3% of all men, children, and cheerleaders may actually know more about college basketball than I do, so please excuse me as I pat myself on the back and note that I correctly predicted the outcomes in the two Final Four games on Saturday.  In my previous post, I discussed the keys to each game as well as the predicted winner.  Butler was able to keep VCU from going crazy beyond the three-point line as they held the Rams to 8-22 from the line, and Connecticut was able to pull ahead of Kentucky led by Kemba Walker who scored 18 points and dished out 7 assists to squeak past the Wildcats 56-55.

Walker (15) and Mack (1) will lead their respective
teams in the championship game on Monday night.

The Butler Bulldogs and the Connecticut Huskies face off on Monday night to see who will be the Top Dog in the NCAA (sorry - I couldn't resist).  It will no doubt be a great game no matter who comes out on top.  Both teams have shown the ability to pull out close games throughout the entire tournament.  Neither team will let the other get too far ahead as both teams are talented and mentally-tough.  They have both shown an innate ability to prevent any opponent from making a run by being extremely tough on the defensive end as well as on the boards.

Butler will be celebrating one year
later than they hoped, but they will
get it done in 2011 against UConn.

Butler is the first team since the 2006-07 Florida Gators to appear in back-to-back championship games, and Connecticut is looking to win its third national championship (1999, 2004).  Butler fell to Duke 61-59 in the 2010 championship game as Gordon Heyward's half-court prayer rimmed off at the buzzer.  Many experts had expected the more talented and more experienced Duke team to run away from the Bulldogs and dominate the championship game; however, the Bulldogs, behind their whiz kid 33 year-old coach, Brad Stevens, kept pace with the Blue Devils and showed that they were not going to back down from the big-time, East Coast school.  They won't back down on Monday night, either.  The key to the game will be the rebounding battle. Both teams are willing to play strong defense, be opportunistic on offense, and rely on their big-time guards (Butler-Shelvin Mack, Connecticut-Kemba Walker).  It will all come down to who will be able to control the number of possessions and give their guards chances to make game-defining plays by controlling the glass.  The team with the most rebounds will be the team with the title.  I think Butler will get the most rebounds as well as the celebration they almost had last year, 62-61.

Final Four Fun

From the First Four to the Final Four, this NCAA tournament has been one of the most exciting and unpredictable tournaments in recent memory.  There have been upsets, blowouts, and buzzer-beaters, and VCU has been there all along the way.  All the fun begins to wind down as the Final Four kicks off Saturday night and ends on Monday night with the National Championship Game.  Only 2 brackets out of 5.9 million on ESPN.com correctly predicted the Final Four teams: VCU, Butler, Connecticut (UConn) and Kentucky.  The teams combined to have the highest average seed of Final Four teams in NCAA history: 6.5.  To put it into context, the average seed for all the Final Four teams throughout the years is 2.3 and there has only been one other Final Four with 0 #1 seeds.  But who will come out on top and play for a chance to cut down the nets on Monday?  Here you go:

VCU and Butler continue their Cinderella stories in the Final Four tonight.

VCU vs. Butler
This Cinderella story features the highest sum of seeds (11+8=19) in Final Four history.  Butler brings a coach and a host of players back to the Final Four after a National Championship game loss to Duke last year.  VCU comes with a coach and a team with no fear and sky-high confidence after becoming the first team win 5 straight games and go from the First Four to the Final Four - which is highly unlikely to ever be done again.  Both teams believe they can win and have demonstrated they can win close games in this tournament.  I think the key factor will be VCU's ability to shoot and make the three-point shot.  VCU has shot a Jimmer-like 895 threes as a team this year (almost 30 per game), and if they can shoot 30 against Butler and make at least 12 they will be playing for the National Championship on Monday night.  But I think that will be too difficult of a feat to accomplish against a tough and stingy Butler defense who took the three-point shot out of Florida's arsenal last week in their win against the Gators in the Elite Eight.  I like Butler here - 63-59.

Kemba Walker lifted UConn over Kentucky in November.

Kentucky vs. UConn
Cats versus Dogs.  The Wildcats versus the Huskies.  UConn beat Kentucky way back in November, 84-67, thanks to 29 points by Kemba Walker.  Two legendary, yet highly-controversial, coaches bring their teams and their most recent allegations (John Calipari / Jim Calhoun) into this Final Four.  Calipari, who according to NCAA records, has never technically coached in a Final Four after his 1996 UMass and 2008 Memphis teams both forfeited their games and Final Four appearances after recruiting and eligibility violations were later discovered by the NCAA.  However, his Kentucky team comes in hot after beating the #1 seed Ohio State Buckeyes and #2 seed North Carolina Tar Heels to win the East bracket.  After losing 5 players to the NBA draft in 2010, Kentucky will bring a fantastic point guard in Brandon Knight head-to-head with many experts' national player of the year, UConn's Kemba Walker.  Kentucky used tough defense and big plays down-low to run by the Buckeyes and the Tar Heels, but didn't have to deal with a do-everything player like Kemba Walker.  If Kemba can drive to the basket and create opportunities for his teammates, while still being a potent threat from outside, it will be a long night and a short stay in the Final Four for Kentucky.  If the Wildcats can contain Kemba by holding him to less than 15 points and 5 assists, then the Wildcats should be able to win (let's just hope it stays on the record books this time).  I'm still expecting the Calipari Curse to continue as the Huskies run away from Kentucky in Coach Calipari's "first" appearance in a Final Four - 77-63.

Check in on Monday morning to see the preview of the National Championship game...enjoy the games!