The Writing was on the Wall...

If you listened to the CBS announcers calling this afternoon's Elite 8 bout between Kentucky and West Virginia, you might be wondering when Jay Bilas plans to pop the question to Wildcat freshmen John Wall; alright, at least you would be confused as to who had actually won the game.

The sound of wedding bells might be a bit ridiculous, but it was a love fest from start to finish, as you could hear the agony in both Bilas and Dick Enberg's voices, as they watched Kentucky goon multiple three-point attempts, and brick free-throw after free-throw.

Every time West Virginia made a good play or took advantage of a Kentucky mistake, you received the impression from the announcers commentary that it was only through charity that the Mountaineers were beating the sports medias' darlings of the 2010 season. West Virginia's team may as well have been made up of nameless, faceless characters with the exception of maybe De'Sean Butler, as compared to the adoration given to the Wildcat's Demarcus Cousins and John Wall, who wanked and flailed their arms over every call that didn't go their way.

However, the love affair didn't begin in March, it gained steam over the course of the season when John Calipari made headlines when he left Memphis to take on the head coaching position at Kentucky. Promising young talent in both Cousins and Wall also lit up the blogosphere, positioning Kentucky as a worthy SEC opponent, something they've lacked in the past few seasons.

On the other hand, it didn't seem to dissuade the media too much when controversy erupted over John Wall's controversial comments criticized John Calipari's coaching earlier last year. You would think that the media would be disapproving of comments dished from a cocky freshmen to a seasoned coach, but still Vitale and the rest of the sports' aristocracy were intent on blowing this kid up, despite his bad attitude. Lucky for Wall and his squad, they were actually able to live up to most of the hype this season, as I watched them steam roll over most of the teams they faced, including the match ups during the tournament.

Today however, it was obvious that Bobby Huggin's team wasn't paying attention Bilas and Enberg''s gushing -- they were too busy smashing the Wildcats. The most satisfying feeling was at the end of the game when no amount of wanking or three pointers could save Kentucky from going home, and you saw Wall and Cousins, fouled out, watching their chances of final four action going up in flames from the bench in West Virginia's 73-66 victory.

I'm interested to see if Wall or Cousins will return next year, or take their chances on the NBA draft. If they decide the latter, Kentucky will look like a completely different team; a team that I doubt we will see making it to next year's Elite 8. Maybe by then at least the media will have found a new darling -- one from the East Coast most likely. In the meantime Bilas, get a room!

Cornell on the Cobb

I can't predict what the rest of their tournament is going to look like, but Cornell is no joke -- these scholars aren't just interested in graduating suma cum laud, they want to win. Not only did they snag a "W" today, they creamed a talented Wisconsin team.

Led by Louis Dale who scored 26 points and Ryan Wittman who added 24, the Big Red ended the Ivy League Tournament drought that has lingered for the last 30 years.

Looks like Badger fans will be getting an early start in preparation for the upcoming Packer's season!

Cornell is set to play top seeded Kentucky next Thursday. I hope the Wildcats have done their homework, because Cornell's basketball GPA keeps getter better.

Hoyas, Wildcats, and Blue jays, Oh My!

If you were able to pull the covers off and get out of bed after the tearful loss of the U.S. men's and women's curling teams, there was plenty of excitement to be had, as another busy Saturday in Men's NCAA basketball came and went and showed the crazy potential for the March tournament.

Conference titles on the line, no. 1 seeds in jeopardy of losing undefeated status, and teams desperately trying to convince the judges of their worthiness to be included in the big tournament, inspired me to remain in my pajamas all day, forgo the makeup, and procrastinate even further on the Mt. Everest-like stack of homework piling up on my desk. That's what Sunday night is for anyway.

Luke Harangody was back in the lineup for Notre Dame as they upset the Hoyas 78-64, despite Georgetown's Greg Monroe's 15 point effort. The Fighting Irish reclaimed it's mighty three, uniting Harangody, Abromaitis, and Tory Jackson, (not to mention stellar play by Ben Hansbrough), for a Big East victory. The Irish are a distinctively different team when they are Gody-less. They are set to play West Virginia and Cincinnati before closing up the season.

The SEC added to the list of upsets, when #2Kentucky fell to #19Tennessee. The always animated Bruce Pearl, who typically looks as if his face is taking on the bright color of his orange blazer, was all smiles, as he saw his senior leader J.P. Prince put on a clinic in the last 90 seconds of the game. Much to Ashley Judd's dismay, John Wall and the rest of her beloved Wildcats were only able to muster a disappointing 35 pct field goal percentage, which inevitably contributed to their first loss since their game against South Carolina.

The arena was ear drum shattering in Oklahoma, when Kansas standouts Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich weren't able to sustain their team's undefeated prowess in the Big 12, as they trailed the entire game in an 85-77 loss to Oklahoma St. The match up provided for the Cowboy's first road win over a top-ten ranked opponent in nearly 52 years. It also highlighted the talent of James Anderson, Oklahoma State's best player, 6th in the country in Division 1 scoring, whose name for some reason doesn't find its way to the headlines like many of his peers. Why, I'm not quite sure? Maybe the press has something against Cowboys?