FILE - In this March 18, 2015, file photo, the NCAA logo is at center court as work continues at The Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, for the NCAA college basketball second and third round games. A federal judge in Chicago gave preliminary approval Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016, to a reworked head-injury settlement between thousands of former college athletes and the NCAA that includes a $70 million fund to test for brain trauma. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File) Weekend winners
NCAA tournament craziness. Wow, we talked about the unsettled nature of college basketball this year and how that would make March Madness even more mad. Well, mission accomplished. Led by MTSU's stunning (and bracket-wrecking) upset of No. 2-seed Michigan State, there 10 double-digit seeds in the second round and two - Syracuse and Gonzaga (and it really should have been three considering the meltdown that Northern Iowa endured) - in the Sweet 16. Counting the three No. 9 wins, 13 of the 32 first-round games were won by the higher seed.
The ACC. A record six teams from the basketball-proud conference are in the Sweet 16. That's unbelievable, and unbelievably profitable. According to ESPN, the league and its teams will make about $30 million from the tournament. And that number could grow, since none of the six ACC schools still alive play each other this weekend. So yes, it's possible that there could be six ACC teams in the Elite Eight. (If that happens, it would mean there would be for sure two ACC Final Four teams and potentially all four. And that's not even counting old-school Maryland, which is still alive, or the fact that ACC member Louisville may have been the most tournament-ready team at the end of the year but the Cardinals are not in the draw because Rick Pitino's a scumbag.)
Jason Day. OK, for your regulars here, you are probably not going to be shocked by our pre-Masters favorite nod going to the supremely talented Aussie. (Yes, we're picking him the Masters, and yes, we'll have a Masters contest for some Masters swag.) But considering the way Day finished Sunday - a birdie on the 225-yard par 3 17th and a par 4 from the greenside bunker on 18 for a one-shot win - dude is mighty worthy of pre-Augusta buzz.
Jared Goff. Goff's pro day was stellar, as he completed 61-of-69 passes and had two dropped. Also, apparently his hands have grown since the combine, which seems somewhat strange. Still, being the top quarterback on the board would mean being no worse than a top-two pick and millions of bucks. Also, it would likely would mean going to Cleveland. (So maybe he's on the wrong list.)
Jimmie Johnson. OK, this could also be filed under Weekend Lucky-iers, if a) that was a category and b) that was a word. Johnson was cruising around in the back half of the top 10 as Kevin Harvick was well on his way to a dominating NASCAR win. Harvick had led the most laps and was more than 2 seconds clear of second place with two laps to go. That's when Kyle Busch lost a tire and the caution came out. On the restart and overtime finish, Johnson ran his fastest lap of the race to secure his third win in the last eight races. It also was his 77th career win, which moved the six-time points champion past Dale Earnhardt Sr. into seventh place all time.
Bonus pick: Holly Warlick. The Lady Vols have had an awful season by their standards, but there they are right in the middle of the Sweet Sixteen.
Less than 48 hours after experiencing the high of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson and his team experienced a major low when Texas A&M made a tremendous comeback at the end of the fourth quarter Sunday to tie the game at the end of regulation, then win in double overtime.Weekend losers
NCAA seeding. OK, the craziness was amplified by the unpredictability, but simple facts show the selection committee did a poor job of seeding this event after No. 1 seeds.
Northern Iowa. Now that was an epic collapse. In fact, that's going to be the example every coach uses in his in-game huddle speech when his team is down double-digits with less than a minute to play. Because, yes, that's what happened to UNI as Texas A&M came back to force overtime and won in the second extra session.
The Pac-12. Yes we could have the SEC here. But the fact that the Pac-12 and the SEC have the same number of teams in the Sweet 16 is painful for each, but a little more troubling for the Pac-12, since it had seven tournament teams.
Georgia AD Greg McGarity. Yes, every team is allowed to shape the transfer policy however they seem fit. (Back story: Georgia under Mark Richt never denied a player transferring anywhere. Now Kirby Smart wants to change that, and that's his prerogative. Mark Richt was the outlier here as almost all other schools and coaches have clear restrictions on transfers.) But, McGarity, who has done a fantastic job for the most part, less than two years ago, is forced to carry the water after being quoted two years by a slew of media athletes saying this about a Georgia Tech basketball player who the Jackets denied the chance to even speak to Georgia about transferring. "The University of Georgia doesn't restrict a student-athlete from any school that is seeking a transfer," he said then. "The student-athlete's best interest is at the forefront of our program. If they're not happy here we're not going to dictate where they can and can't go."
Gawker.com. Believing it was protected by the First Amendment, Gawker.com posted a sex tape of Hulk Hogan. The Hulkster ran wild on the website, and sued. He won $115 million Friday and could get more punitive damages today. Gawker.com of course will appeal, but man, that's a heavy price tag - one that could potentially shut down the site.
NFL owners meetings
The NFL owners meet this week, and there are more than a dozen prospective rule changes on the table.
Let's review them, shall we? (Kudos to CBSsports.com for the list.)
1. Touchbacks on kickoffs move the ball to the 25. (Punts and turnovers would mean the ball goes to the 20.)
Our view. We're OK with that, but wonder if it will be confusing for some folks.
2. Make the extra point rule permanent.
Our view: Indifference, but remember, the Super Bowl champion was decided in no small part because of this change after New England missed an extra point in the AFC title game that ended with the pats missing a two-point try to tie against the eventual champion Broncos.
3. Automatic ejection for two personal fouls penalties in the same game.
Our view: This one is getting a lot of beef, especially from players, and understandably so. We'd support this rule change if you take the targeting calls out of the equation. There's two many variables of players moving and colliding in a vast majority of the targeting decision.
4. Make personal foul calls reviewable.
Our view: We're all for accuracy, but we think the NFL review policy is terrible across all platforms. The calls are not consisted - have you noticed that when the TV folks bring in 'experts' they hit on about 60 percent of the reviews, which screams about the differences in perspective and view - and they take too long. We don't need more reviews, we need better reviews. That said, if you pass 3, you have to pass 4.
5. Make all chop blocks illegal.
Our view. You bet.
6. Each team gets three challenges per game.
Our view. Read No. 4.
6-B. All plays are reviewable.
Our view: What's next, are we going to be able to challenge a challenge? Can't you see Belichick trying to appeal a reversed call with a challenge of his own to challenge the original challenge? Are there Miranda rights to a challenge? Think the final two minutes of a half or game are slow now, let every play be reviewable.
7. The Peyton Manning rule.
Our view: It's crazy to think that after such a great career, the rule legacies of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning may be the Tuck Rule and this proposal, which is looking to make a quarterback in the pocket who goes to the ground untouched can no long pass the ball, like Manning did in the playoffs against Pittsburgh. The answer here is no.
8. The Ravens' still butt-hurt proposal to make all eligible receivers (players given numbers 1-49 and 80-89) lining up in a non-eligible receiver position must where a pullover with a lineman's number.
Our view: Quit your whining Baltimore.
9. Eliminate overtime in preseason games.
Our view: Absolutely.
10. Expand the intentional grounding rule.
Our view: According to the CBSsports.com article, the Panthers are suggesting this and want the change to be "If a passer is facing an imminent loss of yardage because of pressure from the defense chooses to throw a a forward pass without a realistic chance of completion." This would be a huge change and in truth, we don't see this one happening. Quarterbacks are far too valuable to owners.
11. Add penalty yards to the distance needed for first downs.
Our view: It's an interesting idea, but it's far too confusing and against what we are expecting as fans. Think of the fans, for once, will you?
12. Increase the active number of gameday players from 46 to 48.
Our view: You bet, and it could be/should be more. (And will be before the next collective bargaining agreement.)
13. Eliminate one of the cut days.
Our view: Right now teams go from around 90 to 75 midway through camp and from 75 to 53 before the season. This rule would go from whatever to 53 on one final cut day. Not sure how we feel on that. Tough to be a player and hit the free market with 1,200 (almost 40 cuts per the 32 teams) on a massive flood of talent.
14. Allow coaches and players to watch sideline video.
Our view: No. Technology is everywhere, but there has to be reward for preparation and in-game adjustment without using a smart phone or tablet, right.
Heck, vote no on this can call it the Real Peyton Manning rule. Since the NFL Rain Man has all that video in his personal, old-school memory bank.
Of course there was no mention about the catch rule.
This and that
- Not really sure if this falls into a winner or a loser category for each side but thereports of what Chip Kelly offered the Titans last year for the No. 2 overall pick and a shot at Marcus Mariota is crazy huge. The report says it was 2015 first- and second-round picks, a 2016 first-round pick, any offensive player on the Philadelphia roster and any defensive player. Mariota has the look of being the Titans franchise quarterback and that's invaluable, but image the Titans discussing Jared Goff or Carson Wentz right now (if the Titans got the No. 1 overall pick with Mariota they certainly could expect to have it without him too). Then add potential a Shaq Thompson or Byron Jones - two standout defensive rookies who were on the board when the Eagles picked in round 1 last year - and a Randy Gregory in round 2 last year. Also add Pro Bowl offensive lineman Jason Peters and Pro Bowl defensive end Fetcher Cox. That's a load of pieces there.
- Congrats to Brainerd for making it to the state championship basketball game. The Panthers lost to Knox Fulton, a high-flying bunch who dedicated the win to Zaevion Dobson, who was the Knox Fulton student and linebacker who protected three girls from a gunman's bullets and died last December.
- Happy 10th birthday Twitter. Here's a commitment of great support from Darren Rovel, one of Twitter's most active users.
- One more NCAA stat that will make your head spin: In Texas A&M's comeback in regulation, the Aggies had six baskets in the final 33 seconds; the Aggies had six baskets in the entire first half of that game.
Today's question
Who won the weekend? Who lost it?
How's your bracket doing and does that alter how much you will watch the tournament from this point forward?