Fan Stop Central

With a little help from some of the other experts in the industry, I figured I would put out my seeding and dancing prediction for all to see.

Hottest teams: Missouri State, Arkansas.
Coldest teams: Northern Iowa, Louisville.

ATLANTA REGION

At Greensboro
1. Duke
16. Albany
8. Arizona
9. Syracuse

At Jacksonville
4. George Washington
13. Wisconsin-Milwaukee
5. Michigan State
12. Southern Illinois

At Greensboro
2. Tennessee
15. Pacific
7. George Mason
10. California

At Auburn Hills
3. Pittsburgh
14. Penn
6. Boston College
11. Northern Iowa

OAKLAND REGION

At Dayton
1. Memphis
16. Georgia Southern
8. Arkansas
9. Bucknell

At San Diego
4. Iowa
13. Kent State
5. West Virginia
12. Texas A&M

At Dallas
2. Texas
15. Belmont
7. Nevada
10. Kentucky

At San Diego
3. UCLA
14. Winthrop
6. Georgetown
11. Indiana

WASHINGTON D.C. REGION

At Philadelphia
1. Connecticut
16. F. Dickinson/Southern
8. Michigan
9. Creighton

At Dallas
4. LSU
13. San Diego State
5. Washington
12. UNC-Wilmington

At Salt Lake City
2. Gonzaga
15. Northern Arizona
7. Marquette
10. Alabama

At Auburn Hills
3. Illinois
14. Manhattan
6. North Carolina State
11. UAB

MINNEAPOLIS REGION

At Philadelphia
1. Villanova
16. Delaware State
8. Wisconsin
9. Wichita State

At Salt Lake City
4. Kansas
13. Northwestern State
5. Florida
12. Western Kentucky

At Dayton
2. Ohio State
15. Oral Roberts
7. Missouri State
10. Cincinnati

At Jacksonville
3. North Carolina
14. Murray State
6. Oklahoma
11. Air Force

No statistics were harmed or used to back anything up, just what I feel like after watching college basketball this year.

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from ESPN.com

Normally, there is one event that stands out and defines the Olympics. Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan skating in Lillehammer, Cathy Freeman winning in Sydney, the shot putters crying with joy in the ancient stadium at Olympia in 2004.

But Torino was more of a collection of moments, like the day ESPN.com’s Jim Caple went to seven events in one day. Here is a compilation of our Olympic staff’s top moments.

Kwan withdraws from Games

The first time I saw Michelle Kwan was during a group interview in a back room at the skating rink in Lillehammer, where she was the U.S. alternate. She was gracious then, never complaining that she should be on the team, so not Tonya. She may not have skated her best in the Olympics, but she always represented herself, her sport and her country well. It is sad to see her go. — Jim Caple

Italian hero and goat

While covering the Olympics in Italy, you sometimes have no choice but to watch the Italian broadcast of the Games. That was the case this time around. And while you couldn’t understand exactly what was being said, you still got the message. A perfect example was the men’s 1,500-meter speedskating race. All the pre-race hype was the showdown between Americans Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick (see below), but Italian Enrico Fabris stole the show. After Fabris set the lead time, the Italian announcers screamed each time another skater failed to best the time. “Italia! Italia! Italia!” — Joy Russo

On the other side was The Glare Seen ‘Round The World from Italian ice dancer Barbara Fusar Poli, who gave partner Maurizio Margaglio The Glare after he dropped her with seconds to go in their routine. Like many men, I’ve seen that same look too many times — and it’s never good. They both made up after completing their final skate, only after every local broadcast and newspaper published her famous look. — JC

Jacobellis’ trick gone bad

After leading for most of the snowboardcross final race, Lindsey Jacobellis hot-dogged it near the finish line, attempting a trick, and fell, losing her gold medal. I bet she winds up being more famous and making more money for losing the gold than she ever would have by actually winning it. — JC

The humanitarian

It was a change of pace to see Joey Cheek donating his $45,000 medal bonuses to “Right to Play” and then challenging corporations to match it (enough have as he’s raised nearly $400,000 so far). Cheek is one of my favorite athletes, fast, funny and very wise. “What I do is great fun,” he told reporters of skating compared to the charity. “It’s a great job. I’ve traveled the world and made great friends. But it’s pretty ridiculous — I skate around the ice in tights. And I’ve trained my whole life for this.” — JC

Hockey history

We’ll always remember the moments after the Swedish women’s team defeated the American women in a shootout to advance to the gold medal game against Canada. Forget the big-picture stuff about the changing face of women’s hockey; all true, but this was about the stark, perhaps even stunning, contrast between the Swedish players who accomplished something they thought might never be possible and the American women who lost something they never thought they would lose. No doubt, it was a moment none of the players on the ice will ever forget. — Scott Burnside

Bode busts

After much pre-Olympics hype, Bode Miller went 0-for-5 in these Games. Miller’s job is to ski fast, something he didn’t do here at the Games. Still, in the same way I would never want to see Bode coming down a course holding himself back just to finish, I would loathe to see him being untrue to himself just to be safe with reporters. His performance was dismal, his reputation is in tatters. Nobody is happy. For Miller and for us, the only way the magic is going to kick up again is if we let it. Miller has to believe that he can be the person he wants to be, both on and off the slopes. — Carrie Sheinberg

The Flying Tomato

It’s been hard to find a face of the Olympics, but one that comes to mind is Shaun White. From the get-go, White was pumped to be in Torino. We can still remember seeing his beaming face during the Opening Ceremony.

In the five American snowboard Grand Prix events leading up to the Olympics, “The Flying Tomato” always qualified first. Then he would do the overall first run with a score so untouchable that, by the second run, he was free to add whatever icing he wanted. After predicting an American medal sweep, White let his jitters get the better of him in the halfpipe event. He dropped in the pipe looking at the stands, the mountains, everything but the pipe … and he hit the lip. “I wasn’t really that nervous, but just before I was about to drop in, my heart kind of fell,” White said. “Then I remembered that this is what I do and I just did my thing.” After that, things got very familiar as White went out and made a run to gold. — Lindsay Berra

Shani-Chad-gate

It’s amazing and sad how two wrongs can make a right. Davis and Hedrick embarrassed themselves, and each other, in a frigid and nasty post-1,500 news conference (one of the more bizarre we’ve seen) — and made their sport more interesting than ever. They both lost to Fabris (Davis finished second, Hedrick third) and then had a wonderful opportunity to shake hands, apologize, hug, exchange pins, whatever. That did not happen. They sat at the same table, a bit more than an arm’s length from each other, and ignored each other’s answers for the better part of a half-hour. Davis downplayed the rivalry, as did Hedrick. Both seemed to blame the media for the melodrama. But Americans likely took sides: Half chose Hedrick, and the other half chose Davis. The soap opera actually helped speedskating. A sport that no one cared about at the start of the Games was now the source of the most fascinating Olympics topic since the Nancy and Tonya fiasco. — Eric Adelson

The ice dancers

It was a special night at the ice dance finals. There was no judging controversy. The Americans took home a medal. And best of all, the world’s favorite Italian couple kissed and made up. Russia won its third figure skating gold in as many finals here when Tatyana Navka and Roman Kostomarov won the ice dance with a stirring Carmen routine in Monday’s free program. But the real news was Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto breaking a 30-year American drought in the event. They didn’t skate flawlessly — she wobbled on one turn — but they were plenty good enough to win the silver, the country’s first ice dancing medal since 1976. — JC

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JUPITER, Fla. — You look at the St. Louis Cardinals doing their spring work, and what do you see? You see 95 victories. And you may be seeing a conservative estimate.

The Cardinals, after all, won 205 games over the last two years. They were the best regular season team in baseball in each of those seasons.

True, they have lost some very valuable people from last season. But they lost some very valuable people after the 2004 season, too, and they were not seriously damaged. This is the way it is in contemporary baseball. Unless you are the Yankees, financial considerations will prevent you from keeping everybody that you want to keep. The Cardinals are exceptional on the field, but in this regard, they are human.

Manager Tony La Russa always has the right answer when people ask him about the departures. “I felt last year just like I do now,” La Russa said Thursday. “Look at who’s left.”

Before we look at the impressive group of Cardinals who are in that category … Continue article »

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from WorldBaseballClassic.com

Tournament ambassador Tommy Lasorda does the honors in San Juan, Puerto Rico

The Championship Trophy for the inaugural World Baseball Classic was unveiled for the first time today at a press conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The trophy, which will be presented to the winner of the World Baseball Classic after the tournament’s Final at PETCO Park in San Diego, California on Monday, March 20, was created by Tiffany & Co.

World Baseball Classic Tournament Ambassador Tommy Lasorda displayed the trophy in San Juan, the only city with the distinction of hosting two rounds of tournament pool play.

“I am pleased to unveil this award for the first time in such a great international baseball city like San Juan,” said Lasorda, who has helped to spread awareness and promote the tournament globally. “I am anxious to see which team will take home this fine piece of hardware and very excited to get the World Baseball Classic started in Tokyo next week.”

The sterling silver trophy stands 25-inches tall and weighs thirty pounds. It took Tiffany & Co. master artisans more than 200 hours to create the piece. The design, inspired by the World Baseball Classic logo, features a ‘global baseball,’ with longitude and latitude lines and vermeil stitching of a baseball, as its centerpiece. The ball grows from a four-tiered diamond-shaped base, representing the four rounds of the tournament, and broadens into the signature logo collar, comprised of four separate elements, representing the four pools made up of the 16 teams participating in the inaugural event.

Tiffany & Co. also has the distinction of creating the Commissioner’s Trophy (given annually to the World Series Champion), the World Series MVP Trophy, the All-Star Home Run Derby Trophy, and the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award.

THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC
The World Baseball Classic, a 16-team tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), will run from March 3* – 20. The inaugural event will feature many of the best players in the world competing for their home countries and territories for the first time ever. The 16 teams invited to participate have been divided into four pools of four teams for the first round of play. The four Round 1 pools will be play in a round robin format at venues in Japan (Tokyo Dome – Tokyo), Puerto Rico (Hiram Bithorn Stadium – San Juan) and the United States (Chase Field – Phoenix, Arizona; Scottsdale Stadium – Scottsdale, Arizona; The Ballpark at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex – Orlando, Florida). Round 2 will feature two pools of four teams in a round robin format and is scheduled to be played in San Juan, Puerto Rico (Hiram Bithorn Stadium) and Anaheim, California (Angel Stadium). The Semi-Finals and Final will be played at PETCO Park in San Diego, California on March 18 and 20, respectively.

The World Baseball Classic will feature a bracket-style format with the 16 teams competing in four groups: Pool A – China, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Korea; Pool B – Canada, Mexico, South Africa and United States; Pool C – Cuba, Netherlands, Panama and Puerto Rico; Pool D – Australia, Dominican Republic, Italy and Venezuela.

World Baseball Classic, Inc. is a company created at the direction of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to operate the World Baseball Classic tournament. The tournament, which is sanctioned by the International BAseball Federation (IBAF), is supported by MLB, the MLBPA , Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), their respective players associations and other leagues and players from around the world.

*Tournament begins at 11:30 AM (local time) in Tokyo, Japan on Friday, March 3.

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From ESPN’s John Clayton

Forgive NFL general mangers for being a little distracted right now. They have a good excuse.

Aside from getting ready to interview, test and pick apart the top college prospects for the April draft, NFL general managers and coaches are converging on Indianapolis for a scouting combine like no other. In the background are negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement that could determine the future of the NFL as we know it.

If the NFL doesn’t get a CBA extension by March 3, the start of free agency, it could be on the way to not having a draft in 2008. The NFL players’ association has said that if it doesn’t get a labor agreement, it will decertify after the CBA expires in 2008, and if it does that, the antitrust laws will apply. The NFLPA believes the NFL won’t have the ability to draft players. NFLPA executive director Gene Upshaw reminded everyone at the Super Bowl that there is a clause in the current CBA that says the draft is done after the CBA expires.

The 2006 combine is a combination of stress, frustration and panic. Fifteen teams are over the cap as of Feb. 22, and they have nine days to get under the cap with the toughest challenge so far. Starting March 3, rules will change if the CBA isn’t extended, making it even harder for those teams to get under the cap.

Because 2006 could be a transition year to no cap in 2007, the rules will change slightly, taking a lot of money out of the free agency pool. Teams will lose between $2.5 million and $5 million of cap room because of the transition. Because there would be no cap in 2007, teams would have to take hits on the 2006 cap for players who are released from multi-year contracts. With no cap in 2007, teams wouldn’t be able to use the traditional June 1 cut day to release players with high cap numbers and push the cap hit off to the next season. With no cap in 2007, all incentives would count immediately. They would eat up cap room, making it extremely difficult for teams to figure out how much they can spend this year in free agency.

Owners are conferring with other and meeting with the union in Indianapolis. Agents are meeting with the union to seek guidance on how to do deals in an uncertain time.

It should be a wild stretch, and here are 10 things to watch from Indianapolis, not all of them draft related:

1. Labor negotiations: By Friday, a date Upshaw has set as a deadline for getting a deal done, everyone should have a good idea of whether the NFL is heading for labor problems or labor peace. First, owners have to settle among themselves on a revenue sharing plan. Once that happens, the NFL and the NFLPA can settle on a percentage of total gross revenues that will go to the players. Upshaw has been reluctant to extend the start of free agency past March 3, so everything comes down to the next couple of days. On Friday, Upshaw conducts his biggest agent seminar. He holds a seminar at every combine and agents must attend one of the national seminars to stay certified. By Friday, Upshaw will tell agents what rules to work under for 2006. If there is an extension, the cap could jump from the scheduled $92 million to $102 million. If not, dollars will be tight and negotiations will be tough. Big deals are hard to structure because of a 30-percent rule that would apply if there is no cap in 2007. Any contract that extends into an uncapped year limits the increase of a player’s base salary to 30 percent a year. That kills the teams over the cap because they can’t negotiate simple replacement deals in which they replace base salary with signing bonuses. The base salaries can increase only 30 percent a year, so teams would have to negotiate two or three years of reductions. It will be harder for teams to free up money under the cap because of that.
2. The Cutler push: Yes, there is a draft this year, so teams looking for quarterbacks will be studying the workout of Jay Cutler. Matt Leinart and Vince Young are expected to delay their workouts until next month because they are expected to go in the top three to five selections. Cutler is trying to sell his strong, powerful arm, so he has more incentive to work out. If he puts on a show, it’s not out of the question for him to be a consideration for the Jets at No. 4. More teams will be watching Cutler, who went into the offseason as a mid- first-round pick but is seeing his stock rise. Quarterbacks such as Drew Brees (Chargers), Daunte Culpepper (Vikings), Kerry Collins (Raiders), Chad Pennington (Jets), Brian Griese (Buccaneers), Joey Harrington (Lions), Aaron Brooks (Saints) and Patrick Ramsey (Redskins) could be on the move. Some of those teams will be looking for young replacements. Cutler’s arm could be one of the most exciting things to come out of the combine.
3. Running back scramble: There are four first-round running back prospects: Reggie Bush and LenDale White of USC, DeAngelo Williams of Memphis and Laurence Maroney of Minnesota. In free agency, Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James, DeShaun Foster, Ahman Green and Chester Taylor are available, and a team willing to give up a good draft choice could get T.J. Duckett out of Atlanta. Does a team want a big back or a little back? The NFL seems to be excited about smaller backs, thanks to the success of Tiki Barber, Brian Westbrook and others. Bush, Williams and Maroney are 210 pounds or less. White and Lewis are the biggest backs available. Teams will study the four first-round prospects for the backfield and compare them with the cost of the top free agents.
4. Wide receivers: This will be an important combine for the wide receivers. At the Senior Bowl, receivers dropped about as many balls as they caught, and there are some teams that wonder whether there is a first-round wide receiver. The best of the crop are Santonio Holmes of Ohio State and Sinorice Moss of Miami, brother of Redskins star Santana Moss. Both receivers are fast and they catch the ball well, but they aren’t very big. Holmes is 5-foot-11, 190 pounds. Moss is 5-8, 183. The free agency crop of wide receivers isn’t thrilling, so teams will be studying them even closer than usual this week. With Reggie Wayne expected to be franchised, the top free agent receivers are Antwaan Randle El of the Steelers, Antonio Bryant of the Browns and David Givens of the Patriots. Some teams may question whether to pay them $4 million a year, but a thin class of top wide receiver prospects in the draft may keep their price up.
5. Finding the second-best tackle: D’Brickashaw Ferguson established himself during the Virginia season and the all-star games as the best left tackle since Robert Gallery. Recent drafts have been skimpy for tackles taken in the first round. This is a good crop, but there is a decent battle to see who is the No. 2 tackle. Among the candidates are Winston Justice of USC, Marcus McNeill of Auburn, Eric Winston of Miami and Jonathan Scott of Texas. Justice is trying to lock himself into being a top-10 choice. Winston has to show that he has fully healed after an ACL tear in 2004 that affected him in 2005. Scott is a left tackle with great athletic skills and comes from an NFL family. His father, Ray, played defensive end for the Jets. McNeill is 6-8, 335 pounds.
6. Run or not run?: That’s always the debate at the combine. More players ran last year, and there were plenty of lessons learned from those who lost value by not running. Agents tend to talk their players into waiting until the individual workouts to run. The problem with that is that a bad day can kill their draft stock. Those who run in Indianapolis tend to get better grades, and they have a chance to recover if they don’t run well. The classic story is Nathan Vasher, cornerback of the Bears. Vasher didn’t run at Indy and had a bad time on the indoor track at Texas. His stock went from second round to fourth round. Clearly, he was a second-rounder, if not better. He went to the Pro Bowl last season, but not with the salary he might have made, if he had run in Indy.
7. Cap relief renegotiations: Every hotel lobby and restaurant in downtown Indy will be filled with agents meeting with teams over renegotiations. The teams that will have the toughest time getting under the cap without a CBA extension are the Redskins and the Chiefs. The Redskins are $25 million over. The Chiefs are $20 million over. Most of the other teams that are over the cap have players whose releases create a lot of cap room. The 30-percent rule makes it harder for teams to do cap relief deals and may force them to cut more players to get under the cap. The reason the 30-percent rule is tough is because a player who takes a salary cap reduction will also have to reduce his future pay to fit the 30-percent increases. This will force more teams to do creative deals with voids that could result in their losing the player in 2007 just to get under the cap.
8. Franchise and transition tags: By Thursday, teams have to designate franchise and transition players. The Jets franchised defensive end John Abraham Tuesday. Among the other possible franchise players are Bills cornerback Nate Clements, Seahawks guard Steve Hutchinson, Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne and Lions left tackle Jeff Backus. The Ravens are still debating whether to franchise halfback Jamal Lewis. The Saints are leaning against franchising center LeCharles Bentley. The Chargers decided not to franchise Brees, and the 49ers won’t franchise linebacker Julian Peterson. The threat of the franchise tag often leads to some deals, so a couple of top free agents could get new deals before Thursday evening.
9. Trade market: The foundation of offseason trades often begins at the combine. The Redskins need to find a home for Ramsey. The Vikings are trying to trade Culpepper. More names may be available because teams may cut more players to get under the cap. The Randy Moss trade was finalized as everyone arrived at the combine last year, so everyone will be on their toes for other big deals this year.
10. Terrell Owens watch: No NFL function would be official unless Terrell Owens is involved in the conversation. The Eagles are expected to release Owens before the start of free agency, so his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, will be working the lobbies this week trying to find a new home for his client. The Broncos are the only team that brought Owens in for a visit, and they definitely are players in the Owens sweepstakes. It’s considered a weak draft for wide receivers and free agency isn’t much better. That should help give Owens some momentum. Regardless of the problems Owens causes in the locker room, he’s an impact player who can catch between 80 and 100 passes in a season.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

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