Mail me at: cornbacks@mayhem.sportsline.com if you want into My NCAA Pool…

Well, it’s all about the tournament now…here’s a list of links for my favourite online pools both free and otherwise, plus some online resources you have to use…and for posterity, I have placed in the top 10 in a bracket contest in 6 of the last 9 years, coming 3rd in the sandbox.com contest from a pool of around 110,000 players in 2002 to win $1000…in fact, if Kent State had not beaten Alabama and then Pitt, it would have been a perfect bracket and I would have been $100,000 richer…not that I’m biter or any thing…fuc&%^&%ing Kent State…

Free Pools:

https://games.si.cnn.com/signup/signup.asp?secure=true&game_id=114

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/frontpage

http://cbkgame.foxsports.msn.com/

http://mayhem.sportsline.com/splash/mayhem/spln/opc/free

http://www.sportsline.com/contests/pickabox

http://marchmania2006.usatoday.com/signup/mania_login.asp

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/

http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/hoops/college/home.html

http://bracketchallenge.cstv.com/signup/cstv_index.html

http://dailyitem.collegebasketball.upickem.net/collegebasketball/registration/login.asp

http://sportsbuff.com/contbracket.asp?pname=lasvegas

http://contest.blastpromo.com/cgi-bin/osg-hoops06_tg/home.cgi


Not so Free Pools:

http://www.betwwts.com/page.asp?content=promotions/mm/defaultmm.asp

http://www.madduxsports.com/march-madness-picks.html

http://fantasygames.sandboxplus.com/2005/splash/fantasy_basketball/itsmadness.asp

http://www.antsports.com/Basketball/Bracket_Challenge.asp



Resources:

USATODAY.com’s team capsules are the holy grail of information and you no longer have to be at the newsstand at 5:30 am to line up and get a paper copy anymore…there are four links one for each regional…

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/tourney06/atlanta-capsules.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/tourney06/washingtondc-capsules.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/tourney06/minneapolis-capsules.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/tourney06/oakland-capsules.htm

others…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/pete_mcentegart/03/10/ten.spot/index.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney06/columns/story?id=2366110

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney06/columns/story?id=2366045

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney06/columns/story?id=2366100

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney06/columns/story?id=2366152

Hall of Fame Temple coach John Chaney is retiring, a school official told the Associated Press on Monday. A Hall of Famer, Chaney guided Temple to five NCAA regional finals and 17 NCAA Tournament appearances in 24 seasons in North Philadelphia. This season, Temple (17-14) made the NIT for the fifth straight season, a dramatic decline from when it was a tournament regular. Chaney has 741 wins as a college coach, including a 516-252 record at Temple, and has won six Atlantic 10 titles. He was twice named national coach of the year and is a five-time Atlantic 10 coach of the year.

Wow, could the Flip Murray trade be any more one-sided? The Cavs basically gave up their 3rd point guard in Mike Wilks for a starting Shooting guard…

1) Great article by David Waldstein of the Newark Star-Leger on how Jalen Rose still loves Larry Legend:

Rose still singing Bird's praises

As Jalen Rose took the court for the opening tipoff Tuesday in Indianapolis he turned toward a man sitting five rows from courtside and bowed respectfully to him. The man is a legend, a Hall of Fame player, the owner of three NBA championships and three MVP awards. For Rose, the bow was an expression of respect and appreciation for one of the most influential people in his career, the man who just let him play ball. "Larry Bird is a basketball god to me for what he's done for my career," Rose said Tuesday, after leading the Knicks to a 107-92 victory with a game-high 21 points. "Yeah, I saw it" chuckled Bird, who is now the Pacers president of basketball operations. "And then he goes out and kills us. He's nuts." Rose played for Bird for three years in Indiana, and the two developed a close relationship that culminated in an Eastern Conference title in 2000, the same year Rose finally broke out as a regular double-digit scorer and was named the league's Most Improved Player. To some on the outside, it was an odd relationship. "Larry Bird was the Hick from French Lick (Ind.), and I was the Bad Boy from Detroit," Rose said. "A lot of people thought our worlds would collide. People were waiting for that, especially after my last season with Larry Brown. But once Bird came in, he allowed me to play basketball. Being around him and learning his demeanor and things about shooting the ball, that was huge for my career. I can never repay him." Bird first saw Rose play at the University of Michigan when Bird was scouting for the Celtics, and he expected Boston to draft him. That didn't happen, but the two eventually united in Indiana, and their worlds didn't collide so much as blend perfectly. Bird worked hard with Rose, rebounding for him after many morning shoot-arounds and teaching him the finer points of shooting (if you think Rose has a funny shot now, check the film before Bird came along). When Rose would get out of control on the court, Bird would summon him into his office and the two would talk it over amiably. "He was always real receptive to coaching," Bird said. "I always felt he's a very underrated all-around player. He's one of my all-time favorites, if not the favorite." Bird came along at the perfect time for Rose, right after Brown left the club following the 1997 season. Rose struggled under Brown in their first go-round in Indiana, nine years before they were reunited on the Knicks this year. Rose wanted to play point guard, while Brown wanted him to be a small forward, if he played at all. In Rose's only year under Brown he had 15 DNPs (Did Not Play) and averaged a career-low 7.3 points per game. Then Brown left for Philadelphia. Enter Bird, and for Rose, not a moment too soon. "For him to be my coach," Rose said, "and to let the world know that regardless of what happened here before with Larry Brown with me having a career-worst season, he let the world know he was going to let me play and get the most out of me." Over the next three seasons under Bird, Rose's role and numbers steadily increased. He played in all 82 games in Bird's first season, and the next season he averaged 11.1 points per game, his career best to that point. In his third season, the most successful of Rose's career, he averaged 18.2 points, 4.0 assists and 4.8 rebounds to earn most improved player honors. In the playoffs he was even better. He averaged 20.8 points in the Pacers' push to the Finals, and on that highest stage, a stage Bird understands as well as anyone, Rose averaged 23 points -- highlighted by a 30-point effort in Game 1 and 32 in Game 5. "Larry Bird gave me a sense of confidence," Rose said, "and he validated me to the world. The world always knew me as a brash, trash-talking kid from the Fab Five, with the big shorts and the big mouth. But here's this great player and coach. Larry Bird showed the world that, yes, I could really play."

2) Jack MacCallum of Si.com with his 5 best role players in the NBA:

Under the radar - Role players offering big boosts to playoff hopefuls

My SI.com colleague Marty Burns recently took on the subject of the NBA's MVP race, which is one of the most wide-open in recent memory. So I'm going to take a different route and talk about a few players not even remotely in the MVP race -- in fact, they may not even be on your radar screen -- but who are having a huge impact on their respective teams. Since it's getting near playoff time, I've excluded players who probably won't be around come spring, such as Trenton Hassell of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who has turned into an outstanding all-around player after being known primarily as a defensive stopper. By the time Minnesota gets done remaking its team in the offseason, Hassell and, of course, Kevin Garnett might be the only part of the nucleus that remains intact. Since it's hard finding true off-the-radar players -- I'd love to include Caron Butler of the Washington Wizards, for example, but his profile is too high -- I'm going to leave this as a five-pack for the entire league. Here goes:

5. Kevin Martin, Sacramento Kings - It may be presumptuous to include a King, since Sacramento is still fighting just to get into the playoffs. But I'm almost positive the Kings are going to make it and probably climb as high as seventh. Martin is one of the reasons why. A second-year player out of Western Carolina, he is a lightning-quick all-purpose guard who can shoot (he's close to 50 percent from the field and goes about 85 percent from the line) and defend. Rookie swingman Francisco Garcia is another relatively unknown King, but Martin has been GM Geoff Petrie's real find.

4. Quentin Ross, Los Angeles Clippers - He scores only about five points a game, but he's a stopper who can defend against guards and forwards. He hits the boards, doesn't take shots he shouldn't take and plays hard. In other words, he's the kind of guy the Clippers have had far too few of over the last, oh, 20 years.

3. Fred Jones, Indiana Pacers - Rick Carlisle is known for having one of the league's most conservative offenses. But when Jones is on the floor -- and watch his minutes go up as the season goes on -- he's an almost unstoppable one-on-one player. My guess is that Indiana isn't going too far in the postseason, even if Jermaine O'Neal comes back. But when they figure out how to integrate O'Neal's postups, Peja Stojakovic's jumpers, rookie Danny Granger's all-around brilliance and Jones' hot-pepper offense, they have a chance to get back near the top of the East.

2. Adrian Griffin, Dallas Mavericks - The Mavs have a tradition of starting an anonymous "fifth" guy; Griffin has been that man during two stints with the Mavs, during the 2001-02 and '02-03 seasons and the current one. Teams often forget about him, but he is a formidable, wide-body postup player, a reliable short-range shooter and a tough defender, a perfect fit for Dallas' new muscular team personality.

1. Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix Suns - Just when you got finished learning the name of the Suns' French-born center-forward-guard Boris Diaw, you have to bone up on this Brazilian-born combo guard. All Barbosa is doing is leading the league in three-point percentage and blitzing up and down the court in the Suns' high-octane offense. Probably no one in the league is quicker with the ball, including Allen Iverson, than the Brazilian Blur. The Suns still worry when Steve Nash isn't on the floor, but Barbosa has made it easier.

3) Chad Ford of ESPN.com with his weekly Draft update:

Draft watch: A new No. 1?

Each week we update the Top 100 and highlight a few of the best and worst from the week. The NCAA tournament is a week away and the draft landscape continues to change almost weekly. Who's No. 1? Last week we profiled three players, Adam Morrison, LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay, as the potential No. 1 pick in the draft. But after Andrea Bargnani's 19-point outburst against Olimpija last week in the Euroleague, the wide circulation of this Bargnani highlight reel on the Internet and the recent strong play of Darko Milicic in Orlando, some have wondered why I left Bargnani out of the conversation. The question I'm getting is this: If Bargnani is the next Dirk Nowitzki, doesn't his upside trump that of Gay, Morrison and Aldridge? Good question. Bargnani, like a lot of other Euros, has suffered from the Darko backlash. NBA GMs and scouts are wary of declaring an international player "the next big thing" after several of those prospects have struggled the past two years. However, Bargnani has a few things going for him that many Euros don't. First, unlike some of the Euros that scouts (and Insider) fell for in Europe in previous years, Bargnani is more than just a workout wonder. He's playing serious minutes and putting up very good numbers on one of the best teams in Europe.
Second, scouts have been looking closely at Bargnani for the past three years. By now, they have him scouted just about as well as an American player. Third, it appears, given the competition he's facing, he might be ready to come in and contribute right now. The kid can light it up from the outside, put the ball on the floor and dunk in traffic. Don't believe me? Watch the video.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6131822744621417810&q=bargnani

But would a GM have the guts to take Bargnani No. 1 overall? I can't see that happening. As much as I like him as a project, GMs will look at him as a guy who could get them fired if they're wrong. And his cause isn't helped when he lays an egg like the one on Wednesday night -- 12 minutes, no points. High riser: The year-long search for a decent center in the draft finally might be coming to fruition. NBA scouts have been abuzz the past few weeks about the play of Florida big man Joakim Noah. Noah, the son of Yannick Noah, the former tennis star from France, has been on fire the second half of the season. After his 37-point performance against Georgia last week, a number of scouts talked about Noah as a possible lottery pick. What scouts love about Noah is his combination of size, athleticism and skill with a crazy motor that just doesn't stop running. Scouts know that his body still needs work and that his game needs polish, but it's rare to see a big man who likes to play so relentlessly. Given the steep learning curve he's experienced this year, scouts think there might be plenty more upside left in his game. While the early word out of Gainesville is that Noah is leaning toward returning for his junior year at Florida, he might not be able to turn down a guaranteed place in the lottery. That is a possibility if he has a big NCAA tourney. Three weeks ago, we thought we might be stretching it a bit when we put him at No. 20 on our Top 100. This week he's moved himself up to No. 10 and could go even higher if he shines at the Big Dance. College kids: Despite J.J. Redick's brilliance this season, it's still impossible to get a great read on where he'll go in the draft. One talent evaluator told Insider on Tuesday that he'd select Redick as the No. 1 pick in the draft if it were up to him. Another team executive put his range at 12 to 18. More and more scouts are watching Redick closely after a string of tough games had him shooting just 28 percent from the field and 22 percent from 3-point country in his last four games. Redick was awful in last year's tournament. Another bad finish to the season could hurt his stock. However, if he continues to dominate the way he did most of the season, it's tough to see him slipping past Utah in the draft. Washington guard Brandon Roy continues to get love from NBA scouts. Several scouts told me that he's ranked in the lottery on their boards and one went so far as putting him ahead of Arkansas' Ronnie Brewer. The gist of what I'm hearing from some scouts is this: "What does Brewer do better? Roy's a better shooter, a better ballhandler and a better defender, and he has a better feel for the game." With point guard prospects such as Rajon Rondo continuing to falter, I've heard an increasing number of scouts mention Randy Foye and "point guard" in the same sentence. Several lottery teams need point guards, and Foye's name keeps coming up. One scout said, "I don't think he's a pure point guard, but I think he has a lot more skills in that department than people give him credit for." If that becomes the consensus on draft night, Foye's likely to land in the top 10. North Carolina freshman Tyler Hansbrough's dominating performance against Duke has created an interesting question, because Hansbrough's stock might never be higher than it is right now. So, should Hansbrough come out?
He's not getting any taller, his arms aren't growing any longer and he's probably not getting much more athletic either. Those are the knocks. His heart and skill around the basket are already top-notch. He could find himself in the mid-first round on draft night. If he waits, will he be able to improve his stock much from there? We keep hearing that Duke's Josh McRoberts is planning to test the draft waters. That could be a mistake. While McRoberts is a likely late lottery pick if he declares, one more year at Duke (this time running the show) could land him in the top three next year. His game needs more work and his stock could benefit from it -- so this might be a kid who really benefits from staying in school one more year. International men of mystery: The numerous Israeli fans who subscribe to Insider finally might be getting their wish of an Israeli player in the NBA next season. In fact, not one but two Israelis could be taken in this year's draft. First, Yotam Halperin, a 6-4 combo guard who has been spending a lot of time running the point for Olimpija in Slovenia, is drawing rave reviews from international scouts. They love his decision-making skills, shooting stroke and athleticism. We said earlier in the year that he might be a second-round pick. After a strong Euroleague performance this season (13.8 ppg, 3.5 apg, 52 percent shooting), he's now getting some consideration as a candidate for the late first round. The other sleeper is Lior Eliyahu, a player we first featured in our coverage of the Reebok Eurocamp last season. Eliyahu, a 6-8 small forward with a strong all-around game (he's averaging 19.2 ppg and 6.3 rpg for Galil Elyon), is thinking seriously about putting his name in the draft. Right now he's a second-round pick, but could move into the late first with strong workouts. He's fallen … can he get up? What happened to Rondo? He started Kentucky's season ranked as the top point guard in the draft, got off to a scintillating start and has fallen apart the second half of the season. Rondo's lack of a consistent outside jumper has killed him. Rondo thrived by using his quickness to take defenders off the dribble. Now they lay back and force him to shoot. When he does, it's usually pretty ugly. Rondo has not only lost his starting job, but also has to play some two guard now. While enough scouts love him to keep him in the mix in the late lottery, he might have to play another year at Kentucky to rehab his stock completely.

4) Chris Sheriden of ESPN.com rates the rookies:

Rookie report and the race for ROY runner-

Trivia time: Only two players ever have won the Rookie of the Year award in a unanimous vote. Who were they? A hint: Both unanimous winners were big men, but neither was named Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq pulled in 98 percent of the vote in 1992-93, outpolling Alonzo Mourning 96-2. Another hint: Both played their rookie seasons in Texas. That question has become relevant again as Chris Paul of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets has dominated the competition. In this season's Rookie of the Year race, the only compelling question remaining is: Who's No. 2? "Chris Paul has been the guy for months now, but people want to see who's that second or third guy," said Toronto's Charlie Villanueva, who just might be that runner-up. "I think Chris Paul, he deserves it. But I think I have a shot at being runner-up if I keep doing what I've been doing." The NBA expects to mail more than 120 ballots to writers and broadcasters for Rookie of the Year voting, and Paul stands a better-than-decent chance of becoming the third unanimous winner. The others were David Robinson of San Antonio in 1989-90 (92 of 92 votes) and Ralph Sampson of Houston in 1983-84 (76 of 76 votes). Paul leads all rookies in points, assists, steals and minutes, with commanding leads in those first three categories. He has led the surprising Hornets into the thick of the Western Conference playoff race as the new floor general for a relocated franchise coming off an abysmal 18-64 season. In other words, case closed as far as who deserves everyone's Rookie of the Year vote.
With that out of the way, let's look at some key questions about the rest of the rookie class: So who is No. 2? Since moving into the starting lineup Feb. 3, Villanueva has averaged 15.8 points and 7.9 rebounds in those 15 games. Few believed he would post such numbers when the Raptors made the University of Connecticut forward the seventh overall pick of last June's draft. The pick was criticized widely since the Raptors already had a top-tier power forward in Chris Bosh, but Toronto has turned Villanueva into an oversized small forward whom they believe has the quickness and agility to defend opposing 3s. Villanueva honed his shooting skills by putting up more than 1,000 3-pointers per day in the weeks leading up to the draft, a pace he hasn't been able to keep up due to the rigors of the NBA season, although he's trying. "A couple hundred a day," Villanueva said. After attempting only a dozen 3-pointers (making six) during his final season at Connecticut, Villanueva is 48-for-141 (34 percent) through the Raptors' first 59 games. Only five rookies -- all of them guards -- have made more 3s than Villanueva. "When we brought Charlie in for his workouts, we knew he could shoot the basketball," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. "I just laugh at people, because this kid would have been a late first-round pick out of high school, and for people to think he couldn't be a high first-round pick after going through a program like Connecticut, winning a national championship and playing under a coach like Jim Calhoun, maybe I'm just stupid, but I thought all those things were positives." Villanueva rated Channing Frye and Andrew Bogut his top competition in the race to be runner-up to Paul. Frye has not been the consistent performer he was earlier in the season for the New York Knicks, although that's not entirely his fault. With his minutes and role fluctuating wildly under the whimsical leadership of Larry Brown, Frye has failed to score in double figures in 13 of his last 25 games after doing it in 23 of his previous 25. Bogut, the No. 1 overall pick, hasn't had a 20-point game since Dec. 10, his production dropping significantly over the past five weeks as the Bucks have lost 10 of 16. What about the actual No. 2 guy? Atlanta's Marvin Williams, the No. 2 pick, has shown recent signs of blossoming (14 points, 10 rebounds, three steals Tuesday vs. Golden State). Plenty of personnel people and analysts still insist the 19-year-old is a can't-miss superstud in the making, but Williams' long-term role with the Hawks undoubtedly will be affected by Atlanta's decision over the upcoming summer whether to keep Al Harrington after he becomes an unrestricted free agent. How's the rest of the lottery looking? In Utah, it'll be a long time before the Jazz stop second-guessing their decision to give three No. 1s to Portland for the right to pass over Paul in favor of Deron Williams, despite Williams' double-figure scoring output in Utah's last eight games. Paul was the No. 4 pick, right before Raymond Felton (Charlotte) and Martell Webster (Portland) were chosen ahead of Villanueva and Frye. Felton's role has increased significantly, and he averaged nearly 16.0 points per game last month for the Bobcats, while Webster has made nine starts but is averaging less than 5.0 points per game for the Blazers. Picks 9 and 10 have had little impact, Andrew Bynum (No. 10) providing less to the Lakers than Ike Diogu (No. 9) has to the Warriors. Pick No. 11 was Fran Vazquez, who shocked the Magic by choosing to play in Spain, and No. 12 was 18-year-old Russian teenager Yaroslav Korolev, who has reached double figures in minutes only three times while scoring 25 points in 22 games for the Clippers. No. 13 Sean May hasn't played for the Bobcats since mid-December after having cartilage cleaned out of his knee, but he could return this month. No. 14 Rashad McCants has become a 20-minutes per night contributor for Minnesota over the last month. What about the guys after the lottery?
Of the players selected ninth through 30th, only Danny Granger of Indiana (No. 17), Francisco Garcia of Sacramento (No. 23), Luther Head of Houston (No. 24) are averaging 20 minutes or more of playing time, though Hakim Warrick (No. 19, Memphis) is moving toward that type of a role and Jarrett Jack (No. 22 Portland) has been a steady backup point guard in Portland. Nate Robinson (No. 21, New York) won the dunk contest at All-Star Weekend but has been buried on Brown's inactive list ever since. Antoine Wright (No. 15, New Jersey), Joey Graham (No. 16, Toronto), Julius Hodge (No. 20, Denver), Jason Maxiell (No. 26, Detroit), Linas Kleiza (No. 27, Denver), Wayne Simien (No. 29 Miami) and David Lee (No. 30, New York) have done next to nothing, though Graham, Kleiza and Lee have had some moments. Ian Mahinmi, selected 28th by San Antonio, is averaging nearly 11 points and shooting almost 60 percent for Le Havre of the Franch A League. Who's the international rookie of the year? Among the older international rookies, 30-year-old Sarunas Jasikevicius of Indiana has made 15 starts and logged 23 minutes per night, although his shooting (.417 overall, .377 from 3-point range) has not been as good as the Pacers had hoped. Jose Calderon, 24, has been mediocre as the backup to Mike James in Toronto, while Fabricio Oberto, nearly 31, had been a nonfactor as the third-string center behind Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic in San Antonio. Johan Petro (No. 25) has been in and out of the starting lineup at center for Seattle, reaching double figures in rebounds only three times in 49 games. Which second-rounders are making the best case to have been taken earlier? For much of the season, the best-looking second-round pick was the player who went at the top of that round, Salim Stoudemire of Atlanta. His 76 3-pointers are second among all rookies behind Head's 83, and Stoudemire's 9.6 scoring average is sixth. But take a look at what Boston's Ryan Gomes has been doing over the past nine games, including back-to-back outputs of 27 points and nine rebounds Tuesday against Washington and 29 points and 11 rebounds the next night against Philadelphia. If he keeps up that pace, Gomes might just pull a vote or two away from Paul. Who's the Rookie Dud of the Year? The lowest-impact rookie of them all (aside from Vazquez)? It was Deng Gai of Fairfield, who failed to record a single statistic in five minutes of playing time in two early-season appearances for Philadelphia before the Sixers cut him. The runner-up to Gai is Cleveland's Martynas Andriuskevicius, who has not yet scored (0-for-1 from the field with four rebounds, two steals and a personal foul) in six appearances for the Cavs.