College Basketball

Final four weekend in Indianapolis has officially arrived with last night's Slam Dunk and 3 Point Contests. It was nice to see a bunch of standout seniors agree to participate, but there was not too much excitement. Steve Novak of Marquette won the men's 3 point shootout, looking very impressive in his final round against Chris Quinn of Notre Dame. At 6'10'' with such a sweet outside stroke he should be a decent NBA player. The dunk contest is the main event, but outside of a few spectacular dunks it was not too impressive. Rodney Carney, Memphis' freakishly athletic small forward who will definitely be a lottery pick in the upcoming draft, disappointed by failing to make the finals. David Noel of UNC ended up winning, but his only noteworthy dunk came from an impressive gymnastic display prior to a rather routine dunk. James White of Cincinnati stole the show by finishing a couple of tough dunks taking off at the free throw line.
The game's start tomorrow at 6:07 with 11th seeded George Mason taking on Florida. The late game features UCLA and LSU. While it's been exciting that no number one seeds made the final four, it may be shaping up to be a bit of a disappointment. Tomorrow I will give a preview of each game and attempt to make some predictions. Florida is playing the hottest basketball right now and I see them cutting down the nets, but this tournament has been very tough to predict. On a brighter note, Florida stars Al Horford, Corey Brewer, and Joakim Noah are reportedly returning to school. I could see this changing if they go on to win it all.
Free Agency continues to be in a low spot right now with rumors being reported by many Giants fans bloggers concerning the whereabouts of Lavar Arrington. The Giants are also reportedly interested in Packers Offensive Lineman Corey Ruegamer and Panthers WR Rickey Proehl. In a recent interview with Ernie Accorsi published in a Giants fan newsletter, he discussed his keys to building a team. Accorsi said the order of importance is quarterback, pass rushers, and corners. This was made apparent in his strong move to make Eli Manning his franchise quarterback, and as I've discussed previously, in his dealings with DE Osi Umenyiora. This offseason he has splurged on defensive backs, hoping to upgrade last year's biggest shortcoming. With that in mind, and some rumors have floated, that the Giants are considering Raiders CB Charles Woodson. Especially if they are making a serious run at Lavar Arrington, I would find this very doubtful. However, he is still young and potentially a big time playmaker. He will probably carry an astronomical price tag and he's had plenty of issues in his NFL career.