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NCAA tournament doing well in ratingsAlright, so it’s not just me imagining things about this year being a little bit more exciting than previous years.  The first two days of the NCAA tournament on CBS have generated it’s best ratings since 1997.  Thursday and Friday generated a 5.0 rating with a 12 share, compared to a 4.8 and 11 share last year.  Each overnight rating point represents about 735,000 TV homes, that translates to 3,675,000 TV’s.  This is not even including the multiple people at bars, people watching on the same television.


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Team USA loses to Mexico It’s back to Spring Training for the American players.  Team USA was unable to defeat Mexico last night, and therefore, was eliminated in round two of the World Baseball Classic.  In perhaps Roger Clemens’ last game, the Rocket pitched well, despite taking the 2-1 loss.  The major Achilles was that the Team USA bats were nowhere to be found.  Team USA have only a tainted win over Japan to show for their round 2 performance, and certainly did not deserve to advance.  There are four teams left standing in the WBC whom will face each other in single elimination games on Saturday and the championship game will follow on Monday March 20th.  The semi-final games are the Dominican Republic versus Cuba and Korea facing off against Japan once again, a team they have defeated twice already.


Randy Moss' agent nabbed by policeRandy Moss sure surrounds himself with good role models.  This definitely adds to a continuing questioning of Moss’ character, and guilt by association.  The agent, Dante DiTrapano was arrested in a Florida hotel and was charged of possession of crack cocaine.  DiTrapano’s lawyer has made a statement saying Dante has been battling depression over two tragedies over the past year.  Moss has already admitted to using marijuana in a TV interview on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”.


New England dynasty to end?The Patriots loss of key players finally caught up with them last year, as they lost in a Divisional round play to the Denver Broncos.  Next season they may have to worry about getting into the Playoffs altogether.  WR David Givens signed a $24 million, five-year contract, including an $8 million signing bonus with the Tennessee Titans.  LB Willie McGinest signed a three-year, $12 million contract that includes $6 million in bonuses and guarantees with the Cleveland Browns.  This move reunites McGinest with Browns head coach Romeo Crennel, who was a New England assistant.  It looks like the Patriots may also lose clutch kicker Adam Vinatieri as well.


Duke might get ousted earlier again this yearOut of seven “experts” choosing their picks for the National Champions, and the only two teams that were picked were Duke and Connecticut.  Five predicted that Connecticut would be the champion, and the other two votes went to Duke.  Are these guys forgetting that freshman point guards generally have a tough time in the tournament, particularly versus opponents that put on a full court press?  I wouldn’t be surprised to see freshman PG Greg Paulus struggle in the tournament.  If J.J. Redick helps bring the ball up the court, it will take Duke out of their offense.  UConn is in the weak D.C. bracket, where the only team I see that might give UConn a scare is North Carolina, despite the fact that UConn at times plays down to their competition.


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Jim Nantz and Billy Packer crying over the selection committeeIf you tuned in to Selection Sunday, you must’ve seen Billy Packer and Jim Nantz bashing the selection committee, not allowing chairman Craig Littlepage defend himself.  Nantz was arguing that the Missouri Valley Conference had four teams in their conference make the big dance, the same number as the majors ACC and Big 12.  Nantz tried to point out all these numbers of well the ACC has more wins, and when the mid-majors have gotten into the tournament, they haven’t won.  Well, what do you analysts expect?  Of course the power majors are going to get more wins if they get more bids and higher seeds.  Give the smaller schools a break, what school are you really crying about not getting a bid?  Cincinnati?  Michigan?  Florida State?  What did those teams do to deserve to get in?  My only gripe was the low 8th seed to George Washington and Gonzaga getting a 3 seed rather than a deserved 2 seed.


Read More | Pat Forde


Drew Brees signs with the New Orleans SaintsDrew Brees joins the New Orleans Saints after feeling underappreciated by the San Diego Chargers.  The Chargers brass was eager to let Brees go after his shoulder injury and decided to go ahead and roll the dice with Philip Rivers.  Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith was never in love with Brees, because he wasn’t drafted by him, therefore wasn’t a “Smith guy”.  New Orleans was able to nab Brees with a six-year contract, worth 60 million dollars, plus a 8 million dollar signing bonus.  The Saints no longer have to draft a QB with the #2 pick in this years’ draft, and wait for the project QB to progress.  Brees will give the Saints an immediate impact player.  The Saints can also look to trade down in the draft for multiple picks and address a number of holes to fill.


Dante Culpepper traded to the Miami Dolphins Dante Culpepper doesn’t have to worry about the love-boat scandal, or being on a team that doesn’t support their star player anymore.  Culpepper drastically improves the Miami Dolphins chances into becoming a contender next year.  In exchange for Culpepper, the Vikings will receive a second round pick.  Culpepper was due a $6 million dollar roster bonus on March 20th.  The Dolphins will be able to cut Gus Frerotte and save about $1.4 million in salary cap space.


Carolina Panthers, DeShaun Foster agree to contractThe Carolina Panthers showed DeShaun Foster the money by offering a three-year, $14.5 million contract, that also includes a $4.5 million signing bonus.  Coach John Fox was concerned over team continuity, a trait that seems to be overlooked as a recipe for success in the NFL.  So far as free agent running backs go, the star players are staying with their current teams, Shaun Alexander re-signed with the Seattle Seahawks, and Ahman Green will be in a Green Bay Packer uniform next year.  WR Javon Walker on the other hand is another story entirely.  He feels the organization doesn’t take care of it’s players, here are Walker’s thoughts:

“I just don’t like the way the organization runs itself. They want players to come up there and play hard and work hard, but when it comes time to be compensated, it’s like,‘We forgot what you’ve done.’”


CB Sam Madison signs with the New York GiantsMost New York Giant fans seem to be pleased with this free agent signing, especially in terms of price and Sam Madison’s resume of being a four-time Pro Bowl player.  The smart fans of Big Blue Interactive were all over this topic, and fans hope Madison can return to his Pro Bowl form.  The terms of the deal were four-year contract worth 7.4 million.  While playing with the Miami Dolphins,  Madison and ex-teammate Patrick Surtain formed as one of the premier secondaries in the league in recent years.


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