Gert T

My guess, setting up who is gonna be the downfall of the "Tony Soprano era".

Except Alf, and I am a diehard Utah fan, that they haven't won in San Antonio since about 2001. (So I am rooting for the Suns). I think GS is not out of the series, but Utah is in the drivers seat. Boozer is just playing in another stratosphere right now.

To echo on Coffin Surfer's thoughts: Symbolism or Drunken 3 am ramblings, Tony's first glimpse into "The Biz" was somebody losing a thumb. AJ's first involved somebody losing a big toe.

I'd like to think Locke is dead only if it plays the theme of how his life played out on the series, he ALWAYS gets f'ed over by someone. He gets convinced he is doing the right thing, and then pays for his mistakes. (Daddy, Blowing up the Hatch). I also would like to see his character still alive, but have no real qualms if he is dead. If anything, the lack of multiple gunshots will keep us speculating for about 8 months!

Look, I really like CJ, and I think he will be a great asset to whomever picks him up, but I do not think I would trade up for him. First as said earlier, you would have to pay a king's ransom for him and WR is the deepest position in the draft and if you pick in the 2nd round between 33-45 I certainly would sit on my picks and grab a decent 2nd rounder.

Yeah, someone will, I think it would be later though. Henson got a 6th round pick, but that was for a QB, I tend to think the demand for Samardzjia would not be as high being a WR, but I think it could happen.

So lets spend the next couple days talking about team needs and who you want your team to draft. The Bengals draft 18th, and I'm pretty sure CJ or AD are the only guys on offense the Bengals would take ahead of D. They WILL draft defense. While their greatest need is at LB, I would love to see them draft Darrelle Revis, but he is rising fast. I am thinking the Bengals draft Jon Beason, LB Miami (FL)

So from all of the teases can we assume the 3rd to last episode of the season is when that character meets his demise?

Thanks AK, wish Time Warner would pick this up.

What was the card for the Boston 88 event?

Thanks brother, on Spring Break and need to probably have a drinking binge, so why not with my boy McNulty?! I think the HBO shows are so pricey due to the production costs per episode (I thought I heard around 1 Million per ep.) Between this and hearing Dexter got re-upped I am happy with the premium channel news lately.

If Billy Donovan is a good coach (and I think he is), he posts up Horford or Noah and they touch the ball every possession. Butler's "bigs" will not be able to man them so they should be able to hit cutters or the other big man underneath for an easy dunk. If Florida is motivated I see them shooting a very high FG % because they should get good looks.

I do love this Tennessee team (their potential), but what worries me is their road-neutral site record. Plus Long Beach has the Big West POTY (Nixon?) who had a great game in the tournament final, so I am worried about him going off.

I won't throw out the 'T' word that people did against Andy Murray in Cincinnati last year, but Federer was probably surprised that Canas would not roll over. And Leena, I'm glad my prediction about Monfils was a slam dunk!!!

Unreal, Doug Penno banks a 3 at the buzzer. Miami's in, NIT for Akron. Unreal.

UNLV-BYU game is pretty good. I missed the first five minutes because I didn't know it was on VS. Miami (OH)-Akron is like a bowling shoe as JR would say. I'll root for Miami here in the last four minutes since we have Miami posters on here.

Coming from Shatner, that's really saying something.

Drexel, Old Dominion & Missouri State can't be thrilled with the runs OK State & Arkansas are making. That and the previously mentioned Xavier & Nevada losses. Durant is sick, like we didn't already know.

Here's my men's Round of 16 picks Top half: Federer-Hewitt (Srichaphan had a good run here last year, but I'll stick with Hewitt) Djokovic-Monfils (I'll go with a dark horse pick here as Blake isn't playing well recently, damn Prince racquets! Knowing my luck since I picked him Gael will lose in the first round.) Davydenko-Murray (I like Querrery to make a run, and I think Safin could give Murray a good match, but I'll stick to the higher seeds.) Haas-Gonzalez (Aussie re-match, pretty weak side of the field.) Bottom half: Ljubicic-Fat Dave (The Ljubicic-Becker second round match will be exciting) Niemmenen-Roddick (Gasquet could make a run to this spot too.) Robredo-Berdych (Baghdatis-Berdych will be a good match) Youzhny-Nadal (Want to go with Verdasco here, but I'll give you Nadal the benefit)

Interesting draw on the mens side, I'll post my quarterfinal picks later today. Interesting potential 2nd round match-up with Davydenko & the Great American Hope, Sam Querrery.

I'm a Jazz fan, but the Blazers are really fun to watch play. I am still shocked Charlotte went with Roy instead of Adam Morrison. Oh well their loss is Portland's gain. If Randolph can get motivated we'll be looking at a dangerous frontline in a couple years. Of course as a Jazz fan, I will not be looking forward to it.

Wright State tied for the Horizon League Title at 13-3. They didn't lose any conference games at home. Their non-conference schedule was bad and I believe they went 4-6 before league play, 5-6 if you count BracketBusters against Cal-State Fullerton. Much of that was learning Coach Brownell's new offense, this team probably wins 4 of the 6 games they lost out of conference if they played them now. They had the conference player of the year in DaShaun Wood whose somewhere around 35th-40th in the nation in scoring. However, he doesn't shoot too much and makes the whole team better. Their front line will be slightly undersized against good teams, and I anticipate they will be a 13 or 14 seed. They could give teams trouble, especially if teams do not have a quick, long guard who can cover Wood, because he WILL be the fastest player on the floor. Prognosis: Upset could be likely unless they meet up with a Texas or a Pittsburgh, who have a dominant big man.

If it comes down to ODU & Drexel the committee is going to have a tough time selecting. ODU swept Drexel twice, finished ahead of them, but lost to the #6 team in the conference tournament. Drexel has more quality and road wins, but finished fourth in the conference. They lost to a better team in the tourney, but were essentially eliminated in a lateral move.

Yeah that should be a great game and good for the HL if they got two teams, but Butler probably wants revenge since they lost at Nutter back in February. It'll be a great environment though, that February Butler game was the first sellout in the arenas 15 year history for men's basketball. I anticipate ODU as an 11 seed, as they'll probably be one of the "last four in" and they usually seed accordingly for at-larges. You usually see the final at-larges around 11 & 12 depending on how high the Creighton/Gonzaga/Winthrop go. I believe ODU's RPI was 37 as of today but I could be wrong. I'll be making a list of possible bubble teams and their specs later tonight.

VCU looks like they have this game locked up. And the major bubble teams breath a sign of relief. They can go to sleep tonight and root for Butler to win on the road against Wright State tomorrow (Go Raiders!) I would have no problem with 3 CAA teams getting in but it will be tough.