Don't Miss It!

As a BYU / Mountain West Conference fan in New York City, I have struggled during the past 6 years to consistently watch BYU in action thanks to the MWC television contracts and the mtn (and yes, it deserves to be written in lower-case letters because you can barely see it).  As an alternative, I have become best friends with Greg Wrubell (BYU Football and Basketball radio announcer) while scanning the ESPN.com Gamecast.  So you can imagine that when I have a chance to actually watch a BYU game because it's on national television, you know I'll be watching.

Now that BYU has ascended to a projected #1 seed in both the ESPN and SI.com tournament brackets, March Madness will become a must-watch TV event in our home as well as many of your homes as well.  As an aside, my two-year old turned to me earlier tonight as we were watching the SportsCenter anchors discuss the new projected NCAA tournament brackets and said, "Dada, I na watch BYU! I na watch BYU!".  I hear ya, girl.

For years, CBS has been the sole broadcast channel for the March Madness NCAA tournament.  However, it has still been frustrating at times because in 2007, for example, Syracuse was playing their first-round tournament game at the exact same time that BYU was playing Xavier, so our New York region broke away from the BYU game after only 10 minutes, and I was forced to watch the rest of BYU's close loss to the Musketeers on my 12 inch computer screen.  The internet feed, even in 2007, was pretty archaic and I ended up seeing the word "Buffering..." more than the actual score of the game.  However, just in time for BYU's projected deep run through this year's NCAA tournament, CBS has partnered with Turner Sports in a multi-billion dollar deal in order to give fans everywhere the opportunity to serve as their own TV Guide during March Madness because all of the tournament games will be available live in their entirety across four national networks: CBS, TBS, TNT, and truTV (formerly CourtTV).

Jimmer is excited that no one will be forced
to miss his team's run through the tourney. 

In all, CBS will broadcast 26 games throughout the tournament, TBS will broadcast 16 games, truTV will televise 13 games, and TNT will broadcast 12 games.  With BYU projected to head to the West bracket, it is most likely that the first and second-round games will be on either TBS, TNT or truTV.  You can read more about the programming details here, but one thing is certain - you better make sure you get truTV because I, for one, know what it's like when it's possible that BYU may have to play on a channel with a name in lower-case letters!  I just checked - whew!  I have truTV, so sorry, Greg, I'm going to be able to actually watch the Cougars in the NCAA tournament this year, but I promise I'll listen to the post-game show...

We're #1...But Who Cares?

You've heard it a thousand times: "We're #1! We're #1! We're #1!" When you think about it, this cheer is utterly pointless and even outright wrong most of the time unless your team is actually ranked #1.  But does being highly-ranked or even being ranked #1 really matter in College Basketball?  Absolutely not.

Every week, the Associated Press Top 25 College Basketball Poll is compiled from votes by 64 sportswriters from across the country.  The list of voters (and their latest poll) can be found here.  The ranked teams are then allocated a certain amount of "points" based on where they fall on each individual poll.  The #1 team in each poll is given the most points all the way down to team #25 which is given the least amount of points.  The points from all the 64 voter polls are added up and the team with the most points is the AP #1 team for that week.  As a BYU fan, I find it interesting that 2 voters (John Feinstein & Mark Berman) gave #7-ranked BYU a #1 ranking last week even before BYU beat down #6 SDSU on Saturday.

When the new poll comes out tomorrow, you should expect that BYU will pass SDSU in the overall poll.  BYU may also pass Texas, Pitt, and Duke (who all lost this weekend) on their way to a potential #3 ranking!  Incredible.  But what if the AP sportswriters still rank Texas, Pitt, or Duke ahead of BYU even if they lost this weekend and may all have more losses than BYU?  Who cares?  It doesn't matter.  A team's ranking this week or next week will have zero impact on their upcoming seed in the tournament when the brackets are announced on March 13. Why?  Because the NCAA committee members that determine the championship brackets and each team's "seed" are not among the 64 AP sportswriters that rank the teams from week to week throughout the season!

Duke was #1 in 2010 after beating
Butler in the Championship game

Take 2010 for example, Butler was ranked #11 in the AP poll just before the tournament, but when the brackets came out Butler was given a #5 seed in the West bracket, which means that the NCAA committee felt that there were at least 16 teams better than Butler (4 brackets x 4 seeds = 16 teams).  BYU was ranked #17 in the same AP poll when Butler was ranked #11, so BYU should get a #5 seed, right?  Nope - BYU was given a #7 seed.  The committee felt that there were at least 24 teams better than BYU.  Were the lower seeds a sign of disrespect to Butler and BYU?  Doesn't matter if it was or wasn't.  The tournament for the NCAA Championship is a playoff and not a Championship awarded by rankings (such as College Football).  Each team has the opportunity to win each game and advance in the tournament - just as Butler did all the way to the National Championship game last year.  By the way, do you remember who was the #1 team last year going into the tournament?  Kansas.  Where did that #1 ranking get Kansas?  Only to the second round when they lost to Northern Iowa.

So, whether BYU is ranked #3, #10, or even #1 in this week's AP poll, just tell yourself:  "It doesn't matter...when do the brackets come out?"

At Least You're Not Baron Davis...

If you know me, you'd think that on a day when BYU decisively beats San Diego State on the road in the biggest regular season game in either school's basketball history that I would want to talk all about Jimmer Fredette and how BYU deserves to have a #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament (and not just because I'm a huge BYU fan).  I'll save that argument for another day, but today, I am glad that at least I'm not Baron Davis.

Baron is excited to go to Cleveland

Amidst all the "Melo"-drama, the surprise blockbuster trade of Deron Williams to the Nets, and the Celtics apparently not wanting to win NBA championships anymore, Baron Davis was traded from the lottery-bound, yet exciting, Los Angeles Clippers to the lowly, record-setting, Cleveland Cavaliers.  Now put yourself in Baron Davis' shoes: You were born in Los Angeles, an all-world high school player from Santa Monica, a Pac-10 Freshman of the Year at UCLA, you have a production company in LA with one of your best friends from high school, you're a member of the Screen Actors Guild (I wonder if they have a SAG chapter in Cleveland?), and in 2008 after 10 up-and-down years of playing for NBA teams in Charlotte, New Orleans, and Oakland, you sign a 5-year $65 million deal to come home and play for your hometown team so you can be close to family and run your production company.  Better yet, the Clippers drafted Blake Griffin, the best NBA rookie since LeBron James, to whom you have been throwing alley-oops all year on fast breaks, off backboards, and even out of the moon roof of a Kia during last week's Slam Dunk contest - in LA.

Now can you imagine the conversation that must have taken place on Wednesday night or Thursday morning between Baron and Clippers' management?

"Ummm, Baron?  You've been traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  You know, the 11-47 Cavs who just set the NBA record for the longest losing streak ever at 26 games and who are coached by the guy you publicly feuded with while you were with the Hornets.  Oh, and they also traded 2 of their best players for you and a first-round pick (really for the first-round pick), and you know they don't have LeBron anymore, right?"

But wait, the following was posted on Baron's Facebook page subsequent to the trade:

“I can’t wait to join my new team, bring good energy and help us win games. I’m ready to call The Q (Quicken Loans Arena) home and bring some excitement!!! See you soon Ohio! The Beard is on its way!"

Am I missing something here?!  I'll chalk up Baron's reaction to the "honeymoon" stage that comes when you look for a fresh start after playing for the under-performing Clippers, an owner who has publicly trashed you while sitting courtside at games, and realize that you're now going to play in front of the Cleveland fans and you remember how nice they have been to LeBron since he left (they burned his jersey in the streets!  Of course you're going to want to make nice before you go there).

However, the "honeymoon" will soon be over, Baron will get into arguments with his coach, and will most likely retire after this season (if he makes it that far) so he can get out of the 2 more years on his deal with the Cavs, and go back 2,000+ miles to Los Angeles so he can pursue his family and entertainment interests - which, come on, is the only reason someone would want to go play for the Clippers in the first place.