Quick hit

It’s the week leading up toward the final four – in which notable media outlets are ecstatic that four Goliaths have returned toward the center stage – and we, actually, couldn’t be less interested. To wit, it’s not as though college basketball was so rife with upsets that only casual fans tuned in during the last four or five years. Sure, we’ve had a smattering of 4- and 5-seeds advancing to the Final Four – but there’s typically nothing wrong with that. And just because this tourney features the highest overall seeds in the Four since 1999 or even 1993 – that doesn’t mean we’re returning to some halcyon days of college basketball past.

It just means the media’s in a better mood because their chalk picks have worked out. That’s all. Three and four No. 1 seeds in play during Elite Eight weekend is the anomaly, not an LSU, Michigan State, Florida, or Syracuse run from years’ past. So, sure, the games should be competitive, but this isn’t the return to major school supremacy that will last a lifetime. It’s just another, different, year.

(No, since you asked, I’m not bitter that I only selected one Final Four team correctly.)

But, since you asked, here’s where I missed on all three other teams:

1. UCLA – Just because I liken Ben Howland’s style to watching paint dry, that doesn’t mean he’s not a good coach. I missed on UCLA because I thought Kansas was too talented. I still think they are – and am a little befuddled how two teams completely slowed down the games and flummoxed them completely. Credit the Bruins, they played some sick D.

2. Ohio State – Mike Conley Jr. and Ron Lewis have arrived. That’s it. Greg Oden is very good, but Conley and Lewis weren’t exactly wonders in the Big Ten this year. Against the field, they’ve shined. I missed on these guys (not by much), true.

3. Georgetown – All year I’ve been ragging on inconsistent guards, and I’m not the only one. But Jon Wallace and Jessie Sapp played beautifully down the stretch against North Carolina, and indeed, the entire Hoyas’ team plays supremely confident – as if they have knowledge a huge spurt is forthcoming, as it did against UNC.

So there. Four good teams, four compelling matchups, blah blah blah, you know it’s college basketball, so you know I’ll watch, but I’m actually a little bored with the whole thing. I guess I’d like to see UCLA win, but also, I don’t really care.

I do care, however, about one annoying late-game strategy that I’ve mentioned before – the coach’s timeout with 14 seconds left. With 15 seconds left, or perhaps 20 or so, during North Carolina’s epic meltdown, Roy Williams called a timeout. What happened? Crappy shot by some point guard named Ellington. Same thing happened in the Louisville-A&M game – crappy shot by some point guard. Bill Self also used the strategy against Southern Illinois – some joker got fouled and missed two throws.

Now, I’m no coach, but there’s a major difference between sprinting up the court and calling an immediate timeout, than between pounding a few dribbles, running the clock down to desperation times, and heaving up a throw. Teams practice all year to pass and look for the best shot within 35 seconds – how does it help to remove that entirely from their arsenal, and force them to stand, and then frantically run some bizarre play from the sideline?

It lessens the team’s options, strengthens the defense, and too often, results in a play breaking down and a point-guard hoisting up a prayer of a shot. Look, inside a minute of a game, you need to be able to break down the defense, search for the best shot, hit it, and then play defense, foul, or hit free throws of your own. And when a coach fractures that strategy and sabotages the normal rhythm of his offense – well, how can you expect to succeed in that instance?

It’s ludicrous, ridiculous, and detracts from the drama and urgency of late-game situations. And it’s conventional wisdom, and we don’t know when (or who) exactly started it. (Perhaps it began when teams were allowed 87 timeouts within a game. When did all this happen?) More power to the coaches who refute this conventional wisdom, however.

One more note, and then we’re shut down for the week (and sorry, we don’t have time to fill in the appropriate Bill Simmons, Big Lead, Joe Posnanski, or CBS links to support our postulates) -

ESPN, perhaps somewhat seeing the light, has replaced Joe Theismann with Ron Jaworski on Monday Night Football. Hallelujah.

Now, you know that MFG detests the corporate Mike Tirico, and is hopelessly devoted to crackpot curmudgeon Tony Kornheiser. So we’ve got those biases. However, this move is not only a banner one for the Worldwide Leader – it’s an acknowledgement that football seamheads are a viable portion of the audience.

Perhaps ESPN watched its own telecasts and groaned, as the three Musketeers barely varied from two or three main talking points. Perhaps they knew there is more to the game than simply fellating each and every player or coach you met the night before.

Perhaps there’s a bit more room for statistical or theoretical analysis (Jaws) combined with an outsider’s take on the inanity of certain rules or conventional wisdom (Tony). That interplay should work much better than Theismann’s constant attempts to (1) be profound, (2) be right, even if it resulted in Joe changing opinions mid-sentence, (3) protect some “old guard” of football players, or (4) exhort only conventional wisdom and only analyze plays with a cursory glance.

ESPN, to its credit, has realized there’s much more to gain from a broadcast that features insight coupled with sarcasm, than with public relations spin that barely cracks the surface, or an old boy NFL star continuing to push the NFL’s product, no questions asked. In fairness to ESPN – in a space in which we rarely allow it – kudos to them. Instantly the broadcast has improved, and we’ll see if our man Tony K can succeed at this or not.

Now at least he has the chance.

Wish us luck, talk to you Monday.