March Madness

It's time for one of my favorite sporting events: The NCAA tournament. It's time to find out who is the best basketball team in the nation. This year will be slightly different. instead of 64 teams we now have 68 teams that make the bracket. I took the liberty of publishing my prediction for the NCAA tournament. Here it is.

Now I apologize if this is hard to read (HTML was not cooperating). I have Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, and San Diego State as my final four. Here's why.

Ohio State: Ohio State has looked good all year and is the number one overall seed in the bracket. They are extremely talented and well coached. I also believe they have the next great player in Jared Sullinger, and what impresses me most is that they move the ball around and get other players involved in the offense besides Sullinger. Look for Ohio State to make a deep run in the bracket.

Kansas: It's pretty hard to make a bracket without including Kansas somewhere. Kansas is a perennial power that looks very good again this year. I expect a deep run from Kansas as they eye another title.

Pittsburgh: The Lions have a sensational basketball team this year. Any time that wins the Big East regular season title must be great. They have a lot of great play makers and are extremely well coached. They should have no trouble getting to the final four.

San Diego State: No I am not kidding. I think the Aztecs will upset Duke and get to the final four. I like what Steve Fischer has done with the program there and I believe they are an excellent team. The Aztec's only losses on the year have come to BYU, a extremely talented top tier program. I look for the Aztec's to ride their Cinderella story to the final four.

Final Four Games:
Ohio State def. SDSU

As much as I love SDSU, I have to go with the Buckeyes. Ohio State is just too talented to be stopped by the Aztecs.

Kansas def. Pitt

I feel this will be a close game but I give Kansas a slight edge. Kansas has a better offense and defense and more quality wins. Pitt will fight hard, but Kansas will prevail in the end


CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
Ohio State VS Kansas

Although I like Kansas, I have to pick Ohio State. Ohio State, though not as impressive on the offensive side of the ball as Kansas has a very stout defense. I'm really impressed by the team and think they can shut down Kansas long enough to pull out the championship


Those are my predictions. I'd love to hear what you have to say. Leave a comment.

The Honor Code

One story of major interest is BYU's Brandon Davies' dismissal from BYU. For those of you who are unaware. Davies, a star basketball player of BYU's cinderella team, was dismissed from the team on March 1 for taking part in pre-martial sex with his girlfriend. Now this would seem like a minor offense and would most definitely not result in dismissal from the basketball team and potentially the school itself, but at BYU the rules are a little different. At BYU, students are held to a strict honor code which they all must agree to prior to entrance into the university. In this honor code, it states students must "Live a chaste and virtuous life" (in other words, don't have sex and don't do bad things).

By all technicalities, Davies did in fact deserve his dismissal and would deserve expulsion if he receives it. There are some such as Amare Stoudamire who think otherwise. Amare tweeted

"Don't ever go to BYU, they kick a Young Educated (Black)Brother OUT OF SCHOOL. The kid had premarital sex. Not suspended, Not Release. Wow!"

Now everyone has there opinion about this, but here is mine. I think the university made the correct decision. What Davies needs to hold himself to a higher standard, especially when you are in the public spotlight. If you sign a contract, you MUST obey it. Otherwise, your word means nothing. Also, if the university makes an exception for a "special" student, then it sets a double standard and is unjust compared to those who have been dismissed or expelled for similar behavior. All students are equals and thereby deserve the same just punishments and therefore the University's actions are justifiable.

What Davies needs to do now is take this as a learning experience. He learned why he should never break a contract he signs anywhere in life. I believe he will move on from this and have a great future.