Final 4 Game Information

The last chance for a team from Texas to win the 2010 NCAA tournament with Baylor Bear’s loss to the Duke Blue Devils. However that is no reason to fret because there is plenty of great march madness college basketball left with the Final 4 games and the NCAA tournament championship. The Final 4 teams are Michigan State, West Virginia, Butler, and Duke. The Final 4 Games will be played on April 3rd and the match ups will be Michigan State vs Butler and West Virginia vs Duke.

@JerodMSF has some great final four previews over at Midwest Sports Fans for the NCAA Tournament, and below you will find links to all the information you need to know for the Final 4 Games:

• Final Four TV Schedule – Announcers & Spreads
• West Virginia-Duke Preview – Tickets – Tip Time – Poll
• Butler-Michigan State Preview – Tickets – Tip Time – Poll

March Madness 2010 Schedule Guide

March Madness 2010 is here and this year, like every year will be exciting to watch. So check how many sick days you have left and prepare to use them accordingly. Make sure you don’t miss any important 2010 March Madness games, dates, or anything else. With plenty of greatness to watch here are the important 2010 March Madness Schedule dates to know:

March 14: Selection Sunday
March 16: Opening Round Game at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio
March 18th and 19th: First round games of 2010 NCAA Tournament
March 20th and 21st: Second round games of 2010 NCAA Tournament
March 25th and 26th: Sweet 16 games
March 27th and 28th: Elite 8 games
April 3rd: Final Four in Indianapolis
April 5th: NCAA Championship Game (Indianapolis)

Great Tickets are still available to March Madness games:
March Madness Tickets on StubHub.com!

Read more

Baylor Bears vs Sam Houston State Bearkats – March Madness

The great state of Texas will be well represented at 2010 NCAA Tournament, and the Baylor Bears are the highest seeded team from Texas. March Madness 2010 will tip off on Thursday March 18 2010. The 3 seed Baylor Bears will take on the 14 seed Sam Houston State Bearkats. At first glance you would probably expect the Baylor Bears to roll on the Bearkats, but don’t be to sure, Baylor is prone to the upset. The Sam Houston State Bearkats could get an opportunity to move on if Baylor does not start out sharp in this one.

With that said I am going to have to agree with the spread that Vegas put out, and take the Baylor Bears. Yes, I chose the Bears to move on in my bracket, I just don’t think that Sam Houston State has enough to upset them, but you never know.

Lets take a look at the Game Information including: tickets, game time, tv channel, and location. We will also look at the betting information, spreads and over / under.

South Region | Baylor Bears vs Sam Houston State Bearkats Ticket – Game – Betting Information
Location: New Orleans Arena | New Orleans, LA
Game Time: 1:45 Central Time
TV Channel: CBS
Spread: Baylor -12, Sam Houston +12
Tickets:

Baylor Sam Houston State Tickets on StubHub.com!

March Madness: Selection Sunday – NCAA Tournament 2010

March Madness is already here, but the NCAA Tournament doesn’t begin until Selection Sunday. For those of you who don’t know this the day when the participants of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament are announced. TV Coverage will be available on both CBS and ESPN, but the CBS TV Channel will be a few seconds ahead of the ESPN TV coverage because CBS has the rights.

The selections announced on Sunday made up of the 30 teams that automatically qualify by winning their conference tournaments, and the at large teams that the selection committee chooses. After all the teams are selected the selection committee must then be seeded or ranked. This seeding or ranking is done by the selection committee.

March Madness Selection Sunday: TV Channel – Time – Coverage
Selection Sunday TV Channel: CBS
Selection Sunday TV Time: 5:00PM Central Time
Selection Sunday Coverage: CBS & ESPN after the Selection Sunday Broadcast

Experience March Madness live in person with NCAA Tournament Tickets from StubHub!

NCAA Printable Brackets – Online Managers

If you are afflicted with the March Madness disease like most of us, you have no doubt bet on a bracket before. Even though the brackets with the first round pre filled aren’t out yet, and will not be until after Selection Sunday this weekend, I wanted to take a look at some of the places you can find printable and also manage your bracket online.

Cure for March Madness Blue Balls
If you have March Madness blue balls and need to fill out a bracket now, don’t worry you can do that. Here is a blank bracket at ESPN, there are buttons to load it in a GIF or PDF so you can print it. ESPN usually does a better job of keeping these updated then it does keeping it’s anchors under control.

You can find it here: ESPN Printable Bracket

StubHub still has tickets to all of the March Madness Events. If you are interested in seeing a game click on the logo to the left.

 

Win Stuff with your sweet sweet bracket
CBS Sports has prizes you can win including an Infiniti M car, that would be nice to win. They also usually post their printable bracket after selection Sunday, and update it after each round just like ESPN. ESPN is offering $10,000 straight cash money if you win their Tournament Challenge, which isn’t as cool as a car, but stores don’t take cars as payment so the cash would be nice to have.

You can find it here:
CBS Bracket Challenge
ESPN Tournament Challenge

It’s 2010 time to embrace Technology
If you want to get with the times and embrace technology instead of fear it you can get your friends and/or co-workers to register and fill out brackets online. This is nice because you don’t have to rely on the poor math skills of your friends and/or co-workers.

You can find bracket managers at both ESPN & CBS Sports among other places. ESPN & CBS Sports are definitely not the end all be all so if you find somewhere you like to get a printable bracket or manage your bracket, share with everyone by putting it in the comments.

You can find it here:
CBS Bracket Manager
ESPN Fantasy Games Page

Mountain West Tournament Preview: Bracket, Tickets, TV Schedule & History

With the Mountain West regular season schedule now over the men’s basketball tournament is right around the corner. Find out all you need to know about the Mountain West Conference tournament including the Bracket, Tickets, TV Schedule & Tournament History right here. The participants in the 2010 Mountain West Conference Tournament by seed are:

• 1.) New Mexico
• 2.) BYU
• 3.) UNLV
• 4.) San Diego State
• 5.) Colorado State
• 6.) Utah
• 7.) TCU
• 8.) Wyoming
• 9.) Air Force

The teams to beat will definitely be New Mexico and BYU. New Mexico is the #1 seed of the tournament which is no surprise after the went 28 – 3 this season and 14 – 2 in Mountain West Conference play. BYU also won 28 games, but lost 4 regular season games and went 13-3 in Mountain West Conference play earning them the #2 seed.

The Mountain West Conference tournament will tip off with #8 seed Wyoming playing #9 seed Air Force playing a game to see who will play #1 seed New Mexico the next day ( March 11 2010 ).

Mountain West Tournament 2010 Bracket & Schedule

Get Great Mountain West Tournament Tickets at StubHub.com!

Printable Bracket

Read more

PAC-10 Mens Basketball Tournament Preview: Bracket, TV Schedule, Tickets & History

The 2010 PAC-10 tournament is just around the corner and we have schedule and bracket information for you just in time to help cure your 2010 March Madness. This years PAC-10 Tournament Participants will be:

• University of Arizona – Wildcats
• Arizona State – Sun Devils
• University of California – Bears
• University of Oregon – Ducks
• Oregon State University – Beavers
• Stanford University – Cardinals
• UCLA – Bruins
• University of Washington – Huskies
• Washington State University – Cougars

The 2010 PAC-10 Tournament team to beat will no doubt be the Cal Bears who have the best conference record at 12-5. As with any conference tournament leading up to March Madness 2010 there will be a chance for an upset, but I am going with da Bears.

PAC 10 Tournament Tickets on StubHub.com!
Get Great NCAA Tournament Tickets on StubHub.com!

Read more

The Rev Speaks: Lunacy in Lubbock

Close the confessional door, allegiant acolyte.  It’s high time for The Rev to come clean.  What’s that, devoted disciple?  You say there’s a long line of parishioners standing in the transepts waiting to be heard?  Please tell them I’ll be available for spiritual counseling in a few moments.  (Perhaps they could sing a few bars of “Amazing Grace” in the interim.  That’s always been one of my favorite hymns.)  It has been far too long since The Rev last turned God’s microscope upon himself.  Please accept my ardent apologies, boys and girls, for failing to post a new column lo these many months.  In between changing diapers (or, more accurately, cheering on The Better Half as she does it), watching scores of Elmo and Wonder Pets videos, grading exams, and compiling research for a doctoral dissertation, all journalistic endeavors have lain fallow.

It seems as if The Rev picked the wrong time to enjoy a little sabbatical.  These past ten weeks have provided enough examples of athletes behaving badly to keep bloggers and talk shows busy for an eternity.  At first I thought about discussing Tiger’s seemingly endless parade of prurient paramours, or the wholesale redemption of Dirk’s character and basketball career.  It is certainly telling to compare and contrast the two superstars, especially how their choice of girlfriends played a direct role in their respective athletic prowess and reputations.  While Dirk is unmarried, and therefore technically free to fraternize with any vile assortment of lounge lizards, his game away from the court nearly sabotaged his game upon it.  Ever since he wisely jettisoned the Keitha-like Cristal Taylor—only after being thoroughly mocked and humiliated—Dirk’s stats have never been better.  He is putting up some of the best numbers of his career, now that he is finally liberated from paternal and financial worry.  Tiger, on the other hand, is buried deep.  As Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News wisely reminds us, the only way Tiger won’t win more than 18 majors is if he develops a bad back and/or a bad marriage.  In this writer’s humble opinion, the Golden Bear can now sleep peacefully at night.  Tiger will find the going very tough if and when he returns to the PGA Tour.  It’s got to be hard to concentrate on golf when a scorned Swedish model/nanny is nearby, angrily clutching a nine-iron.

The Rev is just not that eager to listen to confessions from either Tiger or Dirk (especially because they have already been punished enough by the relentlessly harsh klieg light of public opinion).  Besides, the Apostle Paul emphatically states that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3.23).  Therefore, I will spare the dead horse from yet another beating.  It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that no mere human words can trump the enduring truth of Scripture.

No, brothers and sisters, let us instead turn our attention to the vast West Texas plains.  Lubbock to be precise, where the once-impervious pirate ship is rapidly foundering.  Wednesday morning Chief Pirate Mike Leach was hastily forced to walk the plank.  Yes, dear readers, this website is indeed entitled Dallas Sports Fans, but since the Metroplex is filled with passionate Red Raiders, it behooves us all to devote a few paragraphs to Guns Up Nation.  Much has already been written, and much will continue to be written, about this developing situation.  As a result, The Rev isn’t really breaking any news here.  I readily admit to having no inside information about this fiasco (although both my father and older brother at one time walked the bucolic campus of Texas Tech University; I also attended a school whose colors are black and red), so I will try to offer a unique perspective.  Since I am a relative dilettante in all matters Red Raider, I will not concern myself with whether or not Leach actually locked Adam James in an equipment shed; or whether or not James was routinely castigated for lack of effort and a poor attitude; or whether or not Leach’s arrogant refusal to reconcile with the University hastened his departure; or how James’ teammates feel about their former coach; or even how high-powered alums react to this fascinating coup d’etat.   Mistreating a “student athlete,” especially one dealing with the lingering hazardous effects of a concussion, is always unacceptable.  But is this a fire-able offense?  (Yes, I know that Kansas fired Mark “Happy Meal” Mangino for considerably less, but still.  What is it with those Big 12 coaches?)  The Rev can’t help but wonder, however, what would have happened if the player in question had been John Smith from San Marcos, son of a humble electrician.  Would this divisive issue have been handled differently?  Is it not tenable to posit that Mother Mouse Ears (ESPN) coerced AD Gerald Myers’ usually forgiving hand?  Remember, this is the same man who extended a lengthy olive branch to the always-cantankerous and controversial Bob Knight.  More than eight years ago, The General—also, like The Pirate, a proven winner who ran a clean program and graduated his players—was the equivalent of swine flu, cast off by Indiana and regarded as a pariah.  Yet there was Myers, who displayed tremendous audacity in hiring Knight, in the process giving him a second (and third) chance.  Knight, of course, rapidly reincarnated and reinvigorated the then-moribund Tech Basketball program.  Why, then, was Myers so quick to throw Leach overboard, even before hearing all sides of the story?  Did Myers act upon purely speculative information, or is he privy to facts that the rest of are not?  Could Leach’s alleged abuse of a player be viewed in the same way as Knight’s verbal assault of the Tech chancellor in February 2004?  Knight’s testy encounter with Dr. David Smith in the produce section of a Lubbock grocery store was also an explosive event which was plastered on the front page of myriad newspapers across the country.  After days of deliberation, and after Knight was allowed to apologize before the Board of Regents, Myers labeled the incident a “misunderstanding” and fully reinstated Knight.  The General then coached for three-and-a-half more largely successful years afterwards.  Again, I am not one to judge.  If I so much as skin my knee while chasing after my daughter I moan and whine interminably like Peter Griffin.  If I were in James’ shoes I, too, would have seriously questioned Leach’s bellicose actions.

So why did the powers-that-be at Tech move so quickly (blindly?) to dismiss Leach.  Could it perhaps be the fact that the domineering specter of ESPN was looming overhead?  How soon we all forget last year, when Leach guided the Red Raiders to an astonishing 11-1 record, a Top 10 ranking, and, were it not for a hideously inept sixty minutes against Zero U, a BCS Bowl bid.  This time last year The Pirate was widely hailed as an eccentric genius.  Yet now, at 8-4 and headed to the mediocrity that is the Alamo Bowl, Leach’s impression of Captain Jack Sparrow is viewed as both dangerous and embarrassing.  (Thanks to fellow St. Mark’s grad Scott Tinkham for this insightful HSO.  Looks like he really did learn something at Jersey Shore Duke.)  Every parent who sent their son to play basketball at Texas Tech knew the risks involved with playing for the always-unpredictable Knight.  With Leach, however, the circumstances are quite different since, after all, he had no priors of misbehavior.  However, even the most oblivious parent surely understands the likelihood that egocentric college football coaches might berate and bully their sons on occasion.  Is it far-fetched to assume that Florida’s retired-for-now Urban Meyer or Nick Saban at Alabama (both known to be extremely demanding coaches, yet each wearing rings to prove the method in their madness) never once doubted their players’ manhood or stretched them way beyond their physical threshold?  Granted, if Leach indeed forced James to sit in a sweltering shed, that is a far worse offense than ordering a few extra wind sprints.  Nonetheless, I ask once again: is this truly a fire-able offense for a coach with a heretofore clean ledger?  Is it also a fatuous assumption that had James’ father been a media personality with, say, Versus or Fox Sports Panhandle, that Leach would still be the head ball coach at Texas Tech?  Besides, what does any Division I school crave more than winning games?  Visibility and money.  Playing on ESPN assures both in spades for the Red Raiders.  Unfortunately, now that Tech has fired Leach, their most marketable personality has suddenly vanished.  (No disrespect to Ruffin McNeill, but a betting man would guess that Tech will lose out on many prized recruits without Leach’s intoxicating bottle of rum.  Playing for Tech will now seem like joining The Goonies only after One-Eyed Willie’s mysterious loot has been found.)  Will the Game Day crew be as excited next season to set up shop in Lubbock when the Red Raiders are a boring 1-1 heading into their clash with the Longhorns?

For those too young to remember (myself included), here’s a refresher: Craig James was one of the main reasons (along with the other half of the Pony Express, Eric Dickerson) SMU football was even talked about in the early 80s.  Although James himself was not accused of any wrongdoing when the Mustangs were receiving large sums of money from delusional school boosters, James was a key member of a team (along with WFAA’s intrepid sports reporter Dale Hansen, who isn’t half the reporter that KARK’s Pete Thompson is) that led to the school’s historic Death Penalty (not to be confused with President Obama’s ruinous Death Panel).  And now, here’s James, nearly 30 years later, behind another major football scandal that very well may lead to a death penalty of sorts at Texas Tech.  Without its widely-revered and unabashedly-rarified pirate leader, things may deteriorate for Red Raider football before they improve.  Mutiny on the bounty, indeed.

By the way, for those still doubting the Dallas connection within this column, consider the following hypothetical.  Jerry Jones, in need of a new offensive assistant/QC coach once Wes Phillips is sent packing along with his buttermilk-loving father, reaches out to an innovative Pirate.  Keep in mind, Jerry has always had a soft spot for inveterate swashbuckling svengalis.  Even more intriguing high comedy would be watching Leach “coach up” the massively underachieving orangeblood Roy Williams.  Or perhaps diva Tim Crabtree will demand a trade out of San Francisco to be reunited with his former beloved college coach.  The Dallas Cowboys are never ones to shy away from a soap opera.  Maybe while he’s at it, Leach can even find a unique way to motivate Barbie “Morning Seagull” Carpenter.  Nah, even Jack Sparrow himself would be rendered speechless with that paradox.

Best wishes for a blessed 2010.  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea . . . He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’  Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’ (Revelation 21.1, 5).

Here ends the lesson.  And all of God’s people say . . . “Amen!”

Big 12 College Football Schedule – Week 5

The Big 12 will play 6 games this week 5 of the games are non conference, and the lone conference game will take place between Iowa State and Kansas State. This game will take place at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Aggies will square off against the Razorbacks at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This should be a great matchup between Texas A&M and Nebraska, the spread is currently 0. The Big 12 Matchup of the week is between #8 Oklahoma and #21 Miami. The Sooners are favored to win by a touchdown even though they will face the Hurricanes at Landshark Stadium in Miami, FL. Please see below for complete conference TV listings, odds, standings, and Tickets.

Current Big 12 Teams in the National Rankings

Team	AP	Coaches	BCS
Texas	2	2	-
Oklahoma State	15	13	-
Kansas	16	15	-
Oklahoma	19	21	-
Nebraska	21	22	-
Missouri	24	18	-

Read more

SMU holding ceremony to honor 1989 Football Team

SMU will honor the football team that brought the sport back to their campus after the NCAA imposed death penalty was placed on the SMU Football program. The 1989 team was responsible for the “Miracle on Mockingbird” which ranks number 8 on the top 90 SMU football moments of all time.

When SMU returned to the football field in 1989, critics claimed that it was going to take a miracle for Forrest Gregg to win a game. SMU had started the season with a 35-6 loss to Southwest Conference rival Rice on September 2nd. Two weeks later, on September 16th, the Connecticut Huskies were in town to take on the Mustangs in just their second game since the end of the 1986 season. With five minutes to play in the game it seemed that SMU was headed for certain defeat. When it appeared that there was no hope, SMU got its miracle. The Miracle on Mockingbird takes its rightful place as one of the 90 Greatest Moments in SMU Football History.

The Mustangs had scored 17 points in the final five minutes of the game to win the game. That first victory that many predicted might take as many as five years to achieve took just two games and was quickly dubbed the “Miracle on Mockingbird.”

*All 90 moments can be found on the SMU Official Athletic Site

Dallas Sports Fans had the pleasure of speaking with a member of the 1989 Football Team, WR Dave McCreary, he gave us his insight on the team, the coach, and the miracle.

The Team
The team was made up of mostly freshman and walk on players, the original 13 walk ons were called the “dirty dozen plus 1″ by their head coach Forrest Gregg. The players on the 1989 football team wanted to be part of rebuilding the football program under coach Gregg, and most of these players were undersized and might not have had a chance to play college football elsewhere.

The Coach
Dave spoke very highly of the Mustang’s former head coach Forrest Gregg, who received his football education from Vince Lombardi. McCreary described Gregg as approachable, warm, and humble even though he held such great stature. He also recalled doing “Green Bays” for the coach in the Texas heat when the team kept missing counts during practice.

The Miracle on Mockingbird
The crowd was so excited after the Mustangs comeback win that they rushed the field and headed for the goal posts immediately after the game ended.

The SMU Letterman’s Association will honor the 1989 SMU Football team and the 1999 Women’s Basketball team at their annual Letterman Reunion BBQ. The Letterman Reunion Barbecue will take place on September 4th, 2009 starting at 7:00PM and the program will begin at 8:00PM.
Walkup Tickets for the BBQ are still available at Gerald J. Ford Stadium – Gate 1
-Adults tickets are $15, kids are free.

The 2009 Reunion dinner & program will honor the following:
-1989 SMU Football Team
-1999 Women’s Basketball Team
-Honorary Letter Awards to:
-Two faithful supporters and former SMU Cheerleaders.
-Paul Layne, diehard fan that has attended every football game, home and away, for the past 37 years!
-Richard Ware, Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, SMU Trustee, and longtime supporter of SMU Athletics.

On Saturday – September 5th, 2009 both the 1989 Football team and the 1999 Women’s Basketball team will be honored during the 2009 SMU Mustang Football home opener at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. The teams will be recognized at the beginning of halftime, the Mustangs will face Stephen F. Austin in their first game of the season.

Many Thanks to Dave McCreary

**Sources: SMU Official Athletic Website and the SMU school website