Well now that March is here and the brackets are in, who are the favorites, who are the upset teams and who is going to be the biggest fluke. I am guessing the overall favorites this year would have to be Duke and U-conn respectively. Some upsets that could happen today, Winthrop over #2 seed Tennessee, or how about UW Milwaukee over Oklahoma. UW Milwaukee made a nice run later in the tournament making it all the way to the sweet 16. How about the biggest flops, could it be Gonazaga at the #3 spot in the Oakland bracket or how about Memphis as the #1 seed coming out of the very week Conference USA. There are a lot of things going on this weekend with St. Patty’s celebrations and basketball, I am sure there will be some upsets as well as green beer this weekend. Columbia has a great party going on and there will be a lot of old faces enjoying the festivity.

Insiders: My finail four
Oakland- UCLA
Washington DC- U-Conn
Minneapolis- Ohio State
Atlanta- Duke

Overall champs- U-Conn

I guess we will have to wait and see

Spring is in the air.....

The azaleas are blooming, the temperatures are rising, and USC's men's basketball team is preparing for the NIT (again). And the USC Football team has started practice!!!

10 Things to take notice over these next 15 days of Spring Practice....

1. Blake Mitchell, finally gaining weight and is at 203 on that 6 foot 3 inch frame, has a year under his belt but is it enough to hold off Cade and Company??? Will he lose the job???
2. Where will Cory Boyd fit into all of this and can he 'step up'? He is a great player but what will his role be?? The WR ranks and RB ranks are filled up with talent...
3. Can the O-line learn the offense quickly and produce results?? Big shoes to fill up front on both sides of the ball.....
4. Syvelle Newton....will he be ready for the 2006 season??? What will his role be now that Boyd is back, we got some great WRs and RBs ready to play....
5. Cade Thompson,QB -The Maryville, Tenn., native was redshirted as a freshman , but was on the travel squad for every road game and had a chance to absorb the offense. The 6-foot-2, 181-pounder will get to show what he learned as he tries to push starter Blake Mitchell for playing time.
6. O.J. Murdock, WR -While Sidney Rice broke out as the SEC's top receiver and freshman Kenny McKinley locked down a starting spot, Murdock was redshirted in 2005. But there is always room for another receiver in Steve Spurrier's offense, particularly one with the breakaway speed that Murdock has to unload.
7. Jared Cook,TE -Among USC's younger players, the 6-foot-5 freshman from Georgia was the star of several intrasquad scrimmages. Cook moves from a crowded receiving corps to tight end, where he gives the Gamecocks a big target in the passing game.
8. Carlos Thomas, CB-Thomas played mostly receiver as a freshman while dabbling on defense as a man-coverage specialist. Now a full-time cornerback, Thomas could emerge as a playmaker in a secondary that lost three starters, including two potential NFL first-rounders.
9. Jasper Brinkley,LB -USC fans will be forgiven for confusing linebackers Jasper and Casper Brinkley, twin brothers who signed with the Gamecocks out of Georgia Military College. But until Casper arrives this summer, the 6-2, 250-pound Jasper will have the spotlight and first crack at the starting middle linebacker spot - to himself.
10. Can the USC coaching staff begin to start putting on the together? A running game with a air attack?? Defense that plays to win not plays to hold a lead and which of the recruits will step up for 2006?

Not enough at the end....

It was a great run and would have made for a great story line but it was not the ending of USC’s improbable run that grabbed coach Dave Odom’s attention. It was that the Gamecocks, who were one loss from finishing in last place in the SEC East, made it all the way to the SEC Championship Game. “They did an extraordinary thing. They answered the bell every day,” he said. “They fell 2 points short of the championship, but they measured up in every other way.” USC, however, also fell slightly short of an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Gamecocks, whose only chance to make the field of 65 was to earn the league’s automatic bid, will return to the NIT for the second consecutive year. They will play Western Kentucky at home in the first round on Wednesday, and let's all hope that they can make a nice run to the NIT Finals like last year.