>Ex-Mastodon shines in Madness

In the vast Madness that is college basketball in March, one ex-IPFW Mastodon used 2008 as another year to stand out.

Let us all reminisce and remember Pete Campbell, a guy we in Fort Wayne all once knew as 'Soup.'

Hearing or reading his name on ESPN or in Sports Illustrated has been really cool over the last year. But nothing was as good as watching three-pointer after three-pointer swish through the net in an opening round victory over South Alabama.

Campbell, who spent two years at IPFW (only one playing),was the Independent Newcomer of the Year in 2005. He left shortly after the hiring of Dane Fife, citing that he wanted a guaranteed chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.

And Pete made the right choice.

He has been there twice in his two years as a Butler Bulldog, going to the Sweet 16 in 2007. He scored a big 26 points last Friday in a first round win. Though the Bulldogs lost on Sunday to Tennessee, his 8-for-10 shooting clinic from three-point range in round one was definitely his shining moment.

In his five tournament games, Pete averaged 14/game, hitting a massive 21 three-pointers along the way.

Kudos to Campbell for making a decision for the right reason and sticking to it despite losing a season of eligibility. As much as I have missed Pete Campbell at IPFW, his five game NCAA Tournament career was well worth the move that he made.

(This column originally appeared in the IPFW Communicator on March 26)

>College basketball's BIG tease

If NCAA Basketball can have its 'Cinderella', then it certainly can have its 'Star Wars: Episode 1' as well. AKA, a big buildup and great back story, only to be a massive disapointment.

I am pretty sure that Drake has just etched out its spot as the biggest tease in tournament history. And I thought Duke's performance last night left me wanting to stone myself to death.

In my mind, the Drake Bulldogs were Division I's greatest story this season and one of the best stories in sports period. And then, they lost to Western Kentucky. And then, suddenly Drake didn't matter anymore- back to old times I guess.

This isn't about messing up brackets, because they sure did that everywhere I am sure (so much for my Sweet 16 hopes). This is about proving that you really weren't that good to begin with. While better teams with (for some reason) less hype and relegated to lower seeds, here Drake is at a number-5 and losing in round one. It proves that while Coach Keno Davis did a masterful job taking a team ripe with ex-walkons and powering through the MVC, they just didn't have the stamina to hold up in the end.

Welcome to the NCAA Tournament Drake; welcome to sports.

A great season means nothing if you can't finish. And sadly, you guys never really even got started.

So what will Drake 2008 go down as? Simply a disapointment.

>Yay! It's Play-In Day!

The NCAA Tournament is officially hours away from starting, bringing in weeks of solid and almost non-stop basketball action (thank you CBS).

However, the first stop is brought to us by the wonderful people at ESPN when Mount Saint Marys do battle with Coppin State. And, if for no other reason, we should all watch this game to enjoy one of the best nicknames in college basketball.



I pray that The Mount not only beat Coppin State (that's my pick anyway), but that they also exterminate UNC in the first 16-over-1 upset ever. Because I hate UNC? Well, yeah. But also because there is simply nothing cooler than The Mount.

And while on some final pre-tournament business, I have to make note of what may be my favorite or least favorite recruiting news of all time. Coach K has decided to sign a player with a least pronounceable last name. Yeah, it is actually possibly.

World, meet Olek Czyz:



I don't even know how to pronounce this name. I'm guessing something like "Szzziz," but really have no idea. Our buddy Olek is a lean 6'7'' forward from Reno, Nevada and a 3-star recruit according to most scouting services.

And since when did Duke recruit guys that weren't McDonald's All-Americans? This is either going to make my next four years or wish that Greg Paulus had a younger brother. And if its the second one, then God help us all.

>I hate to Burst your Bubble

It's going to be a long NIT Tournament for VCU, Virginia Tech, Florida, Syracuse, Maryland and Ohio State, among others.

That is because their bubbles, hard or soft, were burst in their conference tournament.

Or the selection committee was just stupid. Guess which one I am going for?

Now, not all of those teams deserved a spot in the tournament, but some of them did. Here is who should be in and who really needs to be out:

Arizona State replaces Arizona: The Sun Devils were probably the most bitch-jacked team in college basketball. Not only did they beat Arizona twice, they beat four other tournament teams, including a 3-seeded Stanford and an Oregon that also doesn't deserve to be in the field of 65.

Dayton replaces Oregon: While we are talking about the Ducks, lets get them out of there. Dayton beat Louisville and Big East champions Pitt. Their RPI is the highest of any team not making the tournament. And while the Flyers probably wouldn't have stayed around long, they at least deserved a ticket.

Virginia Commonwealth replaces Baylor: While the Bears' story is appealing, this isn't the daytime emmys. VCU was shocked by William & Mary in their conference tournament semis but looking only at that ignores a great season for the Rams. They didn't have the greatest RPI or strength of schedule, but they were one of Division I's most consistent teams over the course of the year.

Who didn't make the cut and for good reason:

Much love to Virginia Tech. They had UNC on the ropes before they forgot to block out in the ACC Semi-Finals. But, they really needed to beat UNC to have a shot at the tournament. In the tough conference, they beat the bottom teams and split with the slightly more mediocre. Even though they played strong late, they weren't that great this year.

No repeat finalists thanks to Ohio State and Florida. And while the Gators really weren't so close, the Buckeyes supposedly were. 19-13 with nine conference losses doesn't do it in my book, hence why Oregon should be out. OSU was 2-10 against top 50 RPI teams and thankfully the committee did not put them in just on name alone (can we say Arizona?).

And while I will be looking forward to some NIT games too (thanks to the brilliance of the selection committee), below is my NCAA Tournament bracket (which will be updated daily following my hits and misses).

My Final Four? North Carolina, Kansas, Pittsburgh and Duke.



Kansas and Pitt have the best line of sight to get there, while Duke will need to play bold in a region that could go to them, UCLA or West Virginia depending on who is playing the best.

North Carolina has the toughest road with Notre Dame, Louisville, Butler and Tennessee.

Not a big upsetting year if you ask me. But, I think Saint Joseph's will get through a couple of rounds with San Diego, Winthrop and Siena poised to pull round one upsets. I also like Drake, while a 5-seed, to get past Western Kentucky and UConn to head to the Sweet 16.

And the game of round one? Kansas State and USC. Beasley and Mayo may be the best one-on-one match that the tournament could hope to produce. Can we say ratings? Can we say bye-bye O.J, have fun in the NBA?

>Selection Stupid

The NCAA Tournament field is set and the Butler Bulldogs have shown us all one major thing:

We need to form a selection committee to choose the NCAA selection committee.

A 7-seed? Like really? So the ninth best team in the nation has 24 teams that are better than them? That sure makes sense.

Even worse is that this great committee decided to reward the Horizon League's top team by giving them a game against South Alabama in Birmingham....Birmingham, Alabama.

Sometimes, I think that you have to be a complete idiot to work for the NCAA.

>All hail #80

So the great debate (and complaint) is on about new San Francisco 49er Issac Bruce wanting to wear number 80.

Yes, 80 in San Francisco means Rice.

No, not Uncle Ben- just Jerry.

Yes, Dancing with the Stars Jerry Rice.

But didn't Issac Bruce wear number 80 his entire, historic career? Wasn't it his number 80 scoring SuperBowl touchdowns more recently than Rice?

This is basically these jackasses in the NFL telling Issac Bruce "well Jerry Rice is more legend...ish than you. So there!"

Oh grow up! Jerry Rice is one of the best ever, without a doubt. But the world will not cave in, Rice's legacy will not be tainted and San Francisco will not fall into the ocean if Issac Bruce wears number 80. It is simply a number. Whatever happened to the old saying that "the name of the front of a jersey is more important than the name on the back"? Shouldn't that go with numbers too?

If Peyton Manning wanted to come to the 49ers but said that he only would if he wore number 8, would the Steve Young fanatics outrage? Or would they welcome Captain Hickboy with open arms?

At least Jerry Rice has given his OK on the jersey wearing. Well thanks Jerry, I'm not sure when the NFL put you in charge of that, but if LaDainian Tomlinson decides to sign with the Cowboys, just check with Emmitt Smith before you give a "yay or nay" to the people in Big D.

I think the 49er fans should probably just shut up and be grateful that their pitiful program landed a Hall of Fame player. Especially a receiver in a land that no receiver should want to go. (Note that Alex Smith was statistically the worst QB in the land last year.)

So grow up San Francisco. Just be happy, it may be a while until you get thrown another bone like this.

>I do care about IPFW

Dear Readers, I'm sorry for being right.

I am sorry that I wrote a column in the March 5 edition of the IPFW Communicator that said that Oral Roberts would eliminate both the men and women basketball teams from the Summit League Tournament. I am sorry that both the men and women basketball teams were eliminated by Oral Roberts in the Summit League Tournament. I am sorry that I exercised my right to pen a column expressing my opinion.

In all seriousness, I do apologize if I offended Dane Fife, Chris Paul and/or any of their players. That was not my intention.

But any implication, true or not, that I do not support IPFW athletics is a joke. I have been covering IPFW sports for the past six years in some way or another for four different publications. I attend every home men's volleyball game, I have written about every sport during that time and I have attended more basketball games (men and women) then probably 97 percent of the student body at IPFW over that time. Oh yeah, I have also been trying to convince players I have coached (on the high school basketball level) to play at IPFW.

I value IPFW and what the department has accomplished probably as much as anyone who really doesn't have anything to do with the department first hand.

So if anybody thinks that I believe IPFW is a joke. You are wrong.

But I was honest when I said that the chances for IPFW basketball, either gender, to get by Oral Roberts were not good. I thought the chances were low and yes, both teams lost to the Golden Eagles. Does that mean I was cheering against the Mastodons?

I am sorry for any offense taken. But I will not apologize for expressing my personal, professional and educated opinion of what events would transpire. So understand, when I say "better luck next year IPFW," it is not out of cynical spite. I mean it and I always stand by the Mastodons.

So don't second guess me.

>Bynum to change the NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers have plenty of things. They have more than enough star power (see Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol). They have plenty of ego (check Kobe again and the possibility of adding Gilbert Arenas in off season free agency). They have friendly-faced veterans (Derek Fisher is beloved pretty much everywhere). But they also have a man, who while injured, may be on his way to revolutionizing the National Basketball Association.

His name is Andrew Bynum.

Big men once ruled this league. From Robert Parrish to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, from Bill Russell to Hakeem Olajuwon; this was once the land of the giants. Lately, the only giant thing about the big men of the NBA has been disappointment.

Of anyone currently in the league, Bynum has the best chance to anyone to change that stigma.

I am sick of seeing mediocre basketball talents cashing in on big pay days because they are 7-foot tall. Let's face simple facts: Shaq is old, Yao is really just tall and Gasol really is not a big man. It pains me to know that soon the NBA will exploit UNC-Asheville's 7'8'' man beast Kenny George just because he can dunk without jumping, even though he can barely run without tripping.

Bynum was not really a Draft day steal or anything like that. Like most of the really best long term NBA players, he was just another draft pick to help a team down the line. But for all of the things the Lakers have done wrong, they made some right choices with him.

And he has made some good choices too. He is down to earth, intelligent with his status and eager to learn from players who have more experience. 90 percent of the players in the league don't have those qualities. With the right motivation and staying in that rare 10 percent, Bynum may be the best humanitarian in the NBA soon. As far as being one of the best players (or big men), Bynum has the most talent by far in the league. His skill set allows him to go old school playing hard around the rim but also move around like a new age post is expected to do.

I do think that Andrew Bynum may be able to flourish more somewhere else with less cocky and ball hogging players around him, but L.A. will do for now. As it is, he at least knows he can rebound extremely well with the 30 shots Kobe is putting up a night. His likely return in early-April before the playoffs will be the best thing for a Laker team hoping for some postseason wins.

Mark my words: Andrew Bynum will change this game with time.

>Boo-Hoo Brett

OK Brett, you have everyone's attention now, congratulations.

A Superbowl crown, a couple of MVP awards, some NFL records. Those don't matter, do they? Good for you Brett, people are paying attention to you- again. And again, I am not so sure why.

In case you have been dead to the world in the last 24 hours, Brett Favre announced his retirement from the Green Bay Packers. Oh boo-hoo. I spent 90 percent of my television viewing time in the last 24 hours hearing about Brett Favre. And you would have thought that there was an election somewhere or something.

I mean, let's be serious. He basically retires EVERY YEAR.

So why do we continue to pay so much attention to an overpaid, has-been, who also happens to be a recovering drug addict? The Favre legacy, if you can call it that, is pretty much a joke. He was the league MVP at a time when the league was in the decline. Viewership, talent; they were all at a modern-era low. And yeah, he probably was the NFL's top quarterback during that time. But, it was also a time between Montana and Brady, when even the best throwers in the league were either old or a flash-in-the-pan (can anyone say Kurt Warner?).

The press conference itself was boring. Brett Favre comes on television, takes up valuable time, all to tell the world that he is tired and ready to go (aka: The Packers didn't land Randy Moss in free agency, so I am going to take my ball and go home). And he wants the world to hang on his every word while I am praying that one person in the room will just stand up and say "hey dude, you're not that good."

I was more saddened by the retirement of Warren Sapp, who for note, owned Brett Favre whenever they matched up over the last 11 years.

So Brett, give us all a break. You cried, you got your attention. Now, be a good little boy, take a vicodin and ride off into the sunset because nobody other than the cheeseheads is even going to know that you are gone.