Calipari to Kentucky?

In a story that should suprise no one, Memphis Men's Basketball coach John Calipari is rumored to be interested in the head coaching vacancy at the University of Kentucky.

UK fired Billy Gillespie after a couple of mediocre seasons. He was never really their guy.

Calipari has a good thing going at Memphis, even though the Tigers play in a mid-major conference (Conference-USA). While it would be tough to leave, he can't pass this up. Too much money and too big of a stage.

UK fans should be happy too. Calipari is the next best thing to Rick Pitino.

Enjoy the Final Four.

TMD's NCAA March Madness Bracket Picks and More!

First of all, Happy St. Patrick's Day to all the Irish people that read this.

You love it.

Now that that is out of the way, we need to have one of those really cool articles on March Madness and who we recommend you pick.

But first...



Denver Broncos QB Jay Cutler wants to be traded. I can't think of a better team for him than the Tennessee Titans. He could go home. Jeff Fisher would keep Cutler in line.

Also in the NFL, the Jacksonville Jaguars released wide receiver Matt Jones less than a week after his latest arrest. This guy is a mess right now. I'm sure he'll catch on somewhere, but he needs to get it together if he wants to stay in the NFL.



On to hockey, where New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur faces the Chicago Blackhawks tonight with a chance to break Patrick Roy's career wins record as an NHL netminder. Brodeur will go down as the greatest goalie of all-time, no doubt about it.

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue their record 8-game homestand tonight against an Atlanta Thrashers team that has won 6 straight. The Thrashers are all but officially eliminated from the NHL's Eastern Conference playoff race, and they are on fire in the 'spoiler' role. The Pens can't afford to blow another 3rd period lead or they won't be in the 5th spot for long.

I would comment on the World Baseball Classic, but I honestly don't know if anyone cares about it. Hey, that last sentence was a comment. Allright.

Finally! On to the March Madness picks...



I like #1 Louisville in the Midwest. They are pretty darn good and they have a pretty easy path to the Elite Eight. My Midwest sleeper is 10th seeded USC. The Trojans are fresh off the Pac-10 tournament title and are as hot as anyone right now.

I'm going with #1 UConn in the West bracket. I just can't envision any of the other teams out West beating the Huskies. It might happen, but I would be shocked. #12 Northern Iowa is my upset special in this region. Kurt Warner's alma mater over #5 Purdue. Wooooooooo! #9 Tennessee is solid too.

#3 Villanova out of the East. #12 Wisconsin is my sleeper. Get it.

Look for #2 Oklahoma to survive the South region, although #3 Syracuse showed a lot last week in the Big East conference tournament. I was going to pick #1 North Carolina as a sleeper, but decided to go with #9 Butler. The Bulldogs program has developed nicely and is experienced. They could give the Tar Heels a nightmare.

Uhhhhhh...Oklahoma to win it all. Sooners rather than later...I'm turning into my father. Oh god.

Oh yeah, and if you were betting on the play-in game I would recommend Morehead State. My high school advisor went to school there. Yes, that is my reasoning.

Thank you and goodnight!

Penguins Are A Second Half Team

For all of you Pittsburgh Penguins fans out there (including myself) who have been freaking out all season long about your team's plight, remember that the Penguins are clutch in the second half of the season.

What? Examples you say? Of course. TMD: Sports wouldn't print this without examples.

Remember the 2006-07 season, when Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal were rookies? Thru 41 games that season the Pens had a 18-16-7 record for a pedestrian 43 points. The Penguins went on a tear through the end of the regular season that year however, going 29-8-4 (62 pts.) the rest of the way for a 19 point improvement (over the team's record during the first half of the season).

Last season (2007-08) they improved to 48 points at the midpoint of the season by going 23-16-2. The Pens improved via trades and Sidney Crosby's return and it showed in the standings. They went 24-11-6 (54 pts.) through the final 41 games of the season en route to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Through the first 41 games of this season Pittsburgh was 20-17-4 for 44 points. The 27 games since have seen the Penguins sport a record of 16-9-2 (34 pts.). They are currently ripping things up again, having won seven straight and nine out of ten. The scariest stat about this year's team is that they haven't scored more than one power play goal in a game since the midway point of the season, a January 6, 2009 win against Atlanta. That will have to change if this team has any delusions of grandeur.

What does all this mean? Well, it lets us know that Pittsburgh doesn't exactly tear it up in the first half of the season. They start out rather slow and are motivated by the trade deadline and the playoff push.

Thank god for the law of averages.

A-Rod Out Until May

In a stunning announcement that somehow overshadowed the Dallas Cowboys' release of WR Terrell Owens, the New York Yankees revealed that controversial third baseman Alex Rodriguez will be out of action for 10 weeks because of a torn labrum and a cyst on his right hip.

From our standpoint, the only other person that could have caused ESPN to relatively ignore the Owens situation would have been Tiger Woods.

Maybe tomorrow he will carjack Fuzzy Zoeller in a golf cart.

Only if we're lucky, right ESPN?