Sunday 02/22 (Very) Quickie

Great day in college hoops yesterday, wasn't it?

Maryland stunned UNC (Greivis Vasquez with the triple-double and one of the great performances in MD history -- made me think of Len Bias vs. UNC back in '84.)

Texas beat Oklahoma -- poised to hit No. 1 -- after Blake Griffin's concussion led to 2 points and 3 rebounds in 11 minutes. Needless to say: Without Griffin, Oklahoma isn't a top team.

So who's No. 1? Has to be Pitt, which KO'ed UConn to start the week and hasn't looked back.

I've been a Marquette doubter all season long, but I've also thought that Georgetown would eventually turn it around -- a win vs. Marquette would have helped a lot. Then, Marquette beats G'town; I still don't buy Marquette, but G'town has basically sealed its NIT fate.

It'll help the "UCLA is overrated" bandwagon that they couldn't beat Wazzu in L.A.

Bracket Buster: What we learned? Davidson isn't ready for prime-time, but Butler shook off whatever was bothering them the past week or so to get the biggest win of B-B Saturday... Even without Patrick Mills, St. Mary's handled Utah St.... They might not be a Tournament sleeper pick after winning their 1st-round game last year, but Siena looks very tough.

(Oh, and Jim Calhoun's post-game press conference is a must-see: Is he overpaid in a time when the state budget is in shambles? Or does he create so much new revenue for the school system (and the state) that the ROI is more than worth the cost? My favorite part was when the journalist in question said, referring to the beat reporters, "If you guys did your jobs..." and the reporters all scoffed. Tough room. I suspect they're all under the thumb of Calhoun anyway.)

NFL Combine: Andre Smith...is out? So much for him being the No. 1 overall pick. I prefer my massive investments in massive players to be accompanied by massive commitment from said player. Give me the OTs from UVA or Baylor at the top.

Oh, and Michael Crabtree not only has a stress fracture in his foot, but he is 2 inches shorter than he was listed at all season -- why do colleges DO that? Don't they realize that the truth comes out eventually? Who do they think they're fooling?

KG out 2-3 weeks with a knee strain? Hmm...keep an eye on that this spring, too.

I didn't post yesterday, but I think with Amare's injury, we've seen the last of the 140-point splurges from Phoenix, unfortunately.

Last night: I know the Warriors ran over the Thunder, but how can you not love the Thunder's Young Three of Durant (36 pts, 6 reb), Jeff Green (27 pts, 15 reb, 6 ast) and Russell Westbrook (31 pts, 11 ast)... and that's with another Lottery pick coming in June. How sick would Blake Griffin look with this group?

So about this trainer from the D.R. who seems to be in the middle of both steroids and A-Rod? He also worked with David Ortiz, who always seems to avoid PED scrutiny, yet seemed to find his power at precisely the apex of the PED problem in MLB.

(One more knock against MLB in all this: If they were so "concerned" about the trainer, going back years, why didn't they do anything about it? Think the NFL wouldn't have done something about it? At least the NFL is smart about keeping their rampant PED use on the down low.)

You won't have Emmitt Smith to kick around as an NFL analyst anymore. ESPN isn't renewing his contract -- two years was more than enough to figure out that he's a good guy, but a lousy, malaprop-laden analyst.

-- D.S.