CanadianChris

Wildly inconsistent? His numbers over the past 4 seasons: 2004 368 carries, 1736 yards, 4.7 ypc, 16 TDs 2003 326 carries, 1435 yards, 4.4 ypc, 14 TDs 2002 295 carries, 1175 yards, 4.0 ypc, 16 TDs 2001 309 carries, 1318 yards, 4.3 ypc, 14 TDs If that's wildly inconsistent I'd hate to see what consistent is. As far as Seattle making out like bandits in the deal, I fail to see how aquiring one of the best running backs in football is such a bad thing. Cedric Benson or whomever Seattle would end up drafting might end up being great, but Alexander already is. I'll take as close to a sure thing as you can get over the crap shoot of the draft any day. I rather have a player who WANTS to be on my team. Maybe. Doesn't mean you got the better end of the deal. Seattle already has a bunch of receivers who can't catch; now they're taking a huge hit at running back. They'll be lucky to get to .500 this year. Of course, that's probably good enough for the first wild-card spot in the NFC anyway.

Two more teams with sub-.500 records could get in tonight... Northeast: (2) Fairleigh Dickinson vs. (6) Wagner, 7:00 ET Big Sky: (3) Montana vs. (5) Weber State, 9:00 ET

To Seahawks fans: Welcome to Nowheresville. Population: You.

You know, we should just have a daily "Kofi Annan says something stupid" thread.

Looks applicable to me. Considering that the death penalty is legal --- then, no, it is not valid. They are making laws, rather than reviewing them. -=Mike How is reviewing the definition of "cruel and unusual punishment" making new law? This definition is reviewed constantly. It's why there aren't any more hangings. Completely right, and stupid of me to mention. That's why I deleted it from my post.

They specifically cited int'l opinion. And they did it in 2002 as well. Even MENTIONING int'l opinion when discussing the American Constitution is ridiculous and shows the Supreme Court is resorting to fishing expeditions to defend decisions that the Constitution does not defend. -=Mike The constitution defends execution before the age of 18? Where? The Constitution forbids it where? -=Mike ...If they had precedent or legitimate reasoning to go on --- they wouldn't have used int'l opinion at all... It doesn't which renders the constitution null and void in this arguement. It doesn't speak to either side, so it can't be used as a determining factor. All that is left is who can make a more conviencing argument. No. If the Constitution doesn't forbid it --- then the Supreme Court can't forbid it. The states can choose to do so --- the Supreme Court cannot. There is no justification based on the 8th Amendment. They, as they did with abortion, are INVENTING new laws. -=Mike Let's see... Looks applicable to me.

They specifically cited int'l opinion. And they did it in 2002 as well. The dissenters did. The majority did not, from what the story says.

Wins over Maryland and Georgia Tech don't mean near as much now as we thought they might have at the start of the season. And for every win like that, there's a loss to a VMI, to a Western Michigan, and to a St. John's. I think the ACC is only sending four teams, barring an unlikely conference tournament run by one of the also-rans. There's just such a clear division between the top 3 teams and everyone else. The ACC as a whole is not that great a conference.

The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns are making their second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, defeating Denver 88-69 to win the Sun Belt championship. The Cajuns enter the tournament with a record of 20-10, finishing second to Denver in the Sun Belt West division during the regular season with an 11-4 conference mark. They are ranked 76th in the RPI, with a strength of schedule of 117. Their biggest win came back on January 5 against Southern Illinois.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee won the Horizon League championship, defeating Detroit 59-58. A Detroit win would have put a second team with a losing record in the NCAA tournament. The Panthers were another team that had built an at-lagre case if they had lost in the conference tournament, going 24-5, winning the Horizon League with a 14-2 record, and winning 17 of their last 18 games. With an RPI of 74 and a SOS in the bottom quarter of the country, however, they likely would have fallen short.

On a side note, as an impartial oberver, I could name ten pitchers currently not taken that I would pick over Nolan Ryan. In fact, there's one pitcher I can't believe hasn't been selected yet.

Low cost of living is normally directly related to low average income. Oklahoma City is quite a bit below the national average in average wages.

T-H-E-I-R. There's a big difference between a 3 and a 4, in that a 4 has to play a 1 in the round of 16. As for not trying in the conference tournament, that's a great way to foster a competitive attitude. I'd really want to go into the NCAAs coming off a crappy effort in my last game.

Not a chance. I hated high school. High school was just something to be experienced, so you can look back on it and say, "Well, at least my life's not THAT bad."

They're clearly not a loser if they can make their way through an entire tournament without a loss. Here's a suggestion to all those bubble teams...WIN YOUR DAMN GAMES AND YOU'LL GET IN.

Holy shit... Oakland is headed for Dayton and the play-in game a week from tonight, as they shocked top-seeded Oral Roberts 61-60 to win the Mid-Continent conference tournament. The Golden Grizzlies, at 12-18 (7-9 MCC, T-5th), are (at least in my memory) the worst team ever to make the tournament. The team is in only its eighth season in Division I. For the record, they have an RPI of 216...right behind Baylor. Oral Roberts, despite a 25-7 record and the regular-season conference title, looks to be headed for the NIT.

Tonight's games: Mid-Continent: (1) Oral Roberts vs. (7) Oakland, 7:00 ET Horizon: (1) Wisconsin-Milwaukee vs. (3) Detroit, 9:00 ET Sun Belt: Denver vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 9:00 ET

Gonzaga (No. 11 AP, No. 12 ESPN/USA Today) won their second straight West Coast conference tournament, defeating St. Mary's 80-67. The Bulldogs (25-4, 12-2 WCC) will enter this year's tournament as a high seed, although not as high as last year when they were ranked as high as fourth in the country en route to a 2 seed. Gonzaga owns high-profile wins over Washington, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma State, and is 16th in the RPI. Despite the loss, St. Mary's (25-8, 11-3 WCC, RPI 37) is widely expected to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament.

Most of the small schools go one-and-done, although plenty of upsets have happened before. North Carolina (Weber State- Big Sky), Iowa State (Hampton - MEAC), South Carolina (Coppin State - MEAC), Arizona (Santa Clara - West Coast before Gonzaga), Syracuse (Richmond - Colonial) and UCLA (Princeton - Ivy) have all lost first round games as top-4 seeds to small conference teams.

Actually I was seeing how you thought OSU would end up. I still have a feeling Kansas will get that 2 seed. Langford's leg isn't broken or fractured. They're just saying that it's a bad sprain. But if he isn't ready I can see Kansas taking an early exit from the Big XII tourney and the NCAA tourney. Ah. Oklahoma State is pretty much a 3 seed at most, no matter what happens. If they go out early, they could drop. If they win, I see them getting placed in the region with the weakest 2 seed (as the 9th best team in the tournament).

Creighton won the Missouri Valley tournament, defeating Southwest Missouri State 75-57 in the final. The Blue Jays finished another strong season at 23-10 (11-7 MVC), making a case for themselves as an at-large with an RPI of 46 and a strength of schedule in the top 100. Both teams who finished ahead of them in the regular season, Southern Illinois and Wichita State, are either considered locks or strong candidates for inclusion in this year's NCAA tournament. Creighton's wins include ones over major-conference teams Missouri, Ohio State, and Nebraska, as well as defending Atlantic 10 tournament champion Xavier.

Niagara defeated Rider 81-59 to win their first ever MAAC championship. The Purple Eagles (20-9, 13-5 MAAC) were co-champions in the regular season with Rider, and have an RPI of 137. Niagara makes its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1970 as a member of the old East Coast Athletic Conference, led by senior (and future Hall of Famer) Calvin Murphy.

The Jays have the potential for 80-85 wins if everything breaks right. They certainly deserve that, given that everything broke so horribly wrong for them last season.

The WCC final is at midnight ET. As for Oklahoma not going to Oklahoma City...I have no idea how the cities are seeded anymore, since they switched to the pod system. They only thing I do know is that top seeds are given the highest consideration. They have no chance to get a 1 seed, even if they win the Big XII tournament. They could still get a 2 seed if they win it and other teams lose before their tourney final, though, which would shuffle the brackets and possibly put them in Oklahoma City. Any prediction is a guess at this point, though.

Old Dominion clinched an NCAA tournament berth with a 73-66 overtime win over Virginia Commonwealth in the CAA tournament final. The Monarchs would have presented the selection committee with a tough decision if they had lost, as they had made a case for themselves as an at-large selection. The Monarchs enter the NCAAs with a 28-5 record (15-3 in conference play) and an RPI of 40, despite a strength of schedule in the bottom third of Division I. Their most impressive win came in a December contest against defending Atlantic 10 champion and 2004 Elite 8 team Saint Joseph's.