Thursday, January 18, 2007

Thursday's Quick Hitters

Plenty of quick hits. Before I delve into the bits and pieces of news that are affectionately referred to as "Quick Hits", I invite you to check out the "Comparing the Projected Seeds" page. Basically, it's all of the NCAA Tournament prognostication rolled into one page, which shows averages, outliers and biases of the Sultans of Selection.

So often, the mainstream media gets lost in the championship games. In this case, ESPN is stuck in the aftermath of the Pats-Chargers game, much like they were stuck up TO's anal cavity all season, dating back to the day he signed with Dallas. One of the next biggest stories is Sammy Sosa being invited to spring training by the Texas Rangers. Accountability needs to exist, even at the global sports leader.

Let's go to the college hardwood where the conference season is in full force. Out west, Air Force and New Mexico State had their double-digit winning streaks ended by teams with losing records. The Zags lost a conference game for the time in eons. Clemson is a realistic 17-2 after back-to-back losses at Maryland and versus North Carolina.

Staying in the ACC, the most shocking news is undoubtedly Boston College's dismissal of shot-blocking sensation Sean Williams and Akida McLain. Multiple sources report that both players had been suspended twice before this final discretionary action. The ramifications are steep for BC, who must be once again considered a bubble team, while they are even steeper for the troubled Williams who is a NBA prospect.

From one shot blocker to the next, Dikembe Mutombo is tired of the jokes about his age coming from commentators. The 40-year old Mutombo plans to seek out a solution during the All-Star break by speaking with Commissioner David Stern.

And finally, to the epicenter of American sports media - the pigskin. The Chargers use their collective brain and decide to bring back Marty Schottenheimer, who reportedly refused a one-year extension - a common practice used by management to avoid the stigma within the locker room of a lame-duck coach. I laud this decision because there's no one better for the job right now moving forward. No one.

In less good news, Michael Vick, who was once the darling of the NFL, is starting to see it all crumble. This morning, TSA screeners at Miami International Airport called police after Vick left a bottle with a secret compartment that smelled of marijuana. Police are testing the substance found within the compartment. Check out the incident report here.

Startling Statistic of the Night: Notre Dame gives up 102 to Villanova. This definitely caught my eye because Villanova no longer has Foye, Ray, or Lowry.

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