Both number 1 ranked Kansas and number 2 ranked Kentucky lost yesterday which not only shakes up the brackets, but adds a bit of intrigue to the final week of the NCAA regular season. The door is wide open for Syracuse to be the top ranked team in the country and go into the tournament with the easiest road. You also have to feel for Purdue, who just lost their best player, Robbie Hummel for the rest of the season. Its hard to see them capitalizing on their opportunity without Hummel in the lineup. Beyond the new look Top 25, there is quite a bit of irony and interest that Kansas (KU) and Kentucky (UK) both lost on the same day.

Kansas and Kentucky have been linked together for some time, both are predominate basketball schools, that year in year out have permanent homes in the Top 25. This season not only were KU and UK ranked 1 and 2, but with the exception of 2 weeks one or the other has been the top ranked team this entire season (mainly KU). Kansas has never been ranked lower than 3rd at any point this year, and Kentucky has always been in the top 5 as well. Now both are teetering in that range again, and could see their number 1 seeds slip away if they stumble again before the year is out or have an early exit in their conference tournament. Both KU and UK have lost to one ranked opponent and one unranked opponent. And for both of them that ranked opponent was the Tennessee Volunteers.

While these losses are a body blow to each team, I wouldn’t worry too much. Kansas has a tough matchup with K-State, but if they get past them they should be fine. I expect both teams to be number 1 seeds, and it wouldn’t shock me in the least to see either one cutting down the nets in early April.

No. 8 Villanova will play at No. 4 Syracuse tonight for a marquee Big East game that could play a major role in determining who wins the regular season conference title. The Wildcats are one game behind the Orangemen for the outright conference lead. This is the first time these teams have met this season, and they currently share six losses combined on the season. West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Georgetown are each within four games of first place, and they round out five total teams in the Big East that are ranked in the top 16. The Big East has been brutally competitive this year, and the winner at the Carrier Dome tonight might very well punch their ticket not only as conference champions but also as a number one seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Orangemen have been dominant this season with their overall record at 26-2. Wesley Johnson has led his team with nearly 16 points and 9 boards per contest, and he has been a fairly large surprise to the entire country. Johnson spent his first to years of college basketball at Iowa State. He transferred after his sophomore year, and he sat out last season. Before this season, Johnson was virtually unknown. Today he is considered at top-three NBA draft prospect. Syracuse also boasts four other starters averaging in double figures, and they are arguably one of the deepest teams in the country.

Villanova has been ranked as high as No. 2 overall this season, but they have stumbled as of late. They have currently lost three of six games after starting the season 20-1. Senior point guard Scottie Reynolds, who averages 19 points per game, leads the Wildcats. Reynolds, a favorite for the All-American list, nearly left for the NBA last off-season, and without Reynolds, the Wildcats would likely be no where near the team they are today. That is not to say the Wildcats lack overall talent, but Reynolds carries a surprising amount of the load for a top-ten team.

It is hard to pick against the Orangemen in this match up with ESPN projecting a record, sell-out crowd at the Carrier Dome. Not to mention, the Orangemen have only lost twice this season. More importantly, though, the Orange has a more balanced team with five solid contributors every night. Villanova will have trouble keeping up with the better team that will be backed behind a record crowd. Final score: Syracuse 78 Villanova 69.

Here are my predictions for some of the early college basketball games today:

Kentucky will win a close one on the road at Tennessee 67-64

West Virginia will blow out Cincinnati at home 72-60

Georgetown squeaks by upstart Notre Dame at home 62-59

Vanderbilt knocks off Arkansas on the road 71-63

Texas outlasts Texas A&M on the road 66-61

Pittsburgh has no trouble at St. John’s 65-53

For football fans especially those from Cleveland check out my guest blog at Ohio Press Pass, where I tackle what the Browns should do with their first round pick.

In Part I we looked at the misconceptions that winning teams need elite quarterbacks, and that they can only be found in the first round. We also broke down the 31 quarterbacks taken in the first round since Peyton Manning went 1st overall in 1998. Well the numbers are in and they aren’t pretty. Of those 31 one quarterbacks only four could be considered ‘elite’, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Rivers, and Eli Manning. Another two should be in the very good category, as both Palmer and McNabb lose some points do to consistency and injuries. I’d say there are another two in the above average category, Campbell and Cutler, with both 2008 QB’s (Ryan and Flacco) just about there and likely to move up.

Beyond those 10, I think at best you can call Pennington an average quarterback, and say its too early to tell on Vince Young and Matt Leinart. Even in the best case scenario Young and Leinart join Cambell and Cutler in the above average category and Ryan and Flacco ascend to the level of elite quarterbacks.

Now you’ll notice I didn’t add the ‘too early to tell’ on any of the three rookie quarterbacks from last season. I don’t think its fair yet to judge them or fully label them in any category yet. Right now though I do feel they are all shading towards the ‘bust’ label, given just how bad their rookie numbers were. None of their rookie numbers compare too favorably with any of the names above, giving one pause. Now I doubt all three will end up being bad picks, but I also don’t believe all three will be successful first rounders either. And I really have a hard time believing any of these guys will one day end up in the ‘elite’ class.

So by ignoring the three rookies we are down to 28 quarterbacks of those, in our most optimistic perception we have 13 successful draft picks. That’s less than half, and only the top 6 (potentially 8 if Ryan and Flacco keep developing) are true ‘franchise’ changers. So that means less than a third of the quarterbacks drafted over the 10 year period 1999-2008 in the first round, became the top-notch quarterbacks that everyone is looking for. That is an awful percentage, especially since when you miss on a ‘franchise’ quarterback you miss badly (see Akili Smith, Joey Harrington etc.).

So what makes one quarterback successful and another a cautionary tale (or at least should be one)? The honest answer is there isn’t much in common among the successful quarterbacks in the league, some are pure pocket passers, others are good on their feet, some have big arms, others are more limited. Some are tall strong quarterbacks, others barely break 6 feet. The one thing that they do somewhat have in common, is that they have been developed over time.

Going into the 2008 draft, only two of the quarterbacks listed above in the success category, started more than half their teams games their rookie season, Ben Roethlisberger and Vince Young. And Roethlisberger is the only one to have sustained success, after starting his rookie year. Young struggled his first two years, before getting benched for over a year. He too had technically had to ‘develop’ into a starting quarterback, and the jury is still very much out on him. What’s even more impressive is that pretty much every successful quarterback with the exception of Peyton Manning had to spend at least a year maturing into being a starting quarterback. Guys like Favre, Brees, and Brady were back-ups their first season’s  in the League. Yet despite this track record of quarterbacks needing time to develop, the 5 first round quarterbacks since 2008 all started at least 9 games their rookie year. While it looks like Ryan and Flacco will be fine, its quite possible that the Lions, Jets and Bucs all slowed down or stunted the growth of their rookie quarterbacks. Now this is not to say that benching a quarterback for a year or two will automatically make a quarterback a success story, as their are plenty of failed quarterbacks who barely saw the field their first season, but it is telling that so many of those quarterbacks who did start their rookie seasons are now out of the league.

I don’t believe that you should never draft a quarterback in the first round, but I do feel teams need to be smart when doing so. Teams need to have talent around them on offense, as well as allowing them ample time to develop. When teams force the issue with a young quarterback and throw him in the fire too soon, they are the ones getting burned. If you draft a quarterback and your team isn’t ready, or able to hold him on the bench for a couple of seasons it will set your team back for years. Franchise quarterbacks don’t grow on trees, but they also aren’t found just by ‘drafting them in the first round’.

Every year multiple NFL teams face a tough decision, to draft or not to draft a quarterback in the first round. The general consensus (aka just about everyone else but me) believes that more and more the NFL is a quarterback driven league, and a ‘franchise’ quarterback is needed to succeed. It is also the belief that ‘franchise’ quarterbacks are found by drafting them in the first round.

To the first point about the only way to succeed is with an elite quarterback, I feel like there is some selective memories going on around the league. I guess someone forgot about the great Steelers and Ravens teams of the past decade with pretty average quarterback play (Roethlisberger has become an elite QB, but he wasn’t one when they won in 2005). Or the fact when the Patriots won their first two titles, Tom Brady’s numbers were pretty pedestrian. And if those trips down memory lane don’t blow holes in the “elite QB=success” argument, then just look at this past season when Mark Sanchez, who was one of the statistically worst quarterbacks in the league, was under center for the most dangerous team this postseason.

When it comes to the second point, that elite quarterbacks are found primarily in the first round, its hard to see where that argument even begins to hold water. The top ten quarterbacks this past season in terms of quarterback rating were as follows:

1. Drew Brees
2. Brett Favre
3. Phillip Rivers
4. Aaron Rodgers
5. Ben Roethlisberger
6. Peyton Manning
7. Matt Schaub
8. Tony Romo
9. Tom Brady
10. Kurt Warner

Now this might not be the exact order of top quarterbacks in the league, but all of these guys are in the top 10, and are elite signal callers. Of this list of the 10 best passers from last season, only FOUR are former first round picks (Rivers, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, and Manning). The only quarterback not on this list that deserves mention in the ‘elite’ status among quarterbacks is Eli Manning another first round pick. Even with Eli included, less than 50% of the quarterbacks we consider ‘elite’ or ‘franchise’ were first round draft picks. Yet for some reason, the prevailing logic in the league is that you must grab a quarterback in the first round to be a successful franchise, and if you pass up your chance in the first round, you will never find that top notch signal caller.

Look, I get why teams want the next Peyton Manning or Ben Roethlisberger, but the odds are stacked against them and you can’t force it upon players. They either have it or they don’t, and trying to create a ‘franchise’ quarterback will only lead to heartbreak, for the team and its fans. Here is a look at all the quarterbacks drafted in the first round between 1999-2009.

The reason I choose to start looking at 1st round quarterbacks, is because of the 1998 draft and the impact of Peyton Manning on the rest of the league. I also chose to begin looking after the ’98 draft, because THAT draft is the perfect dichotomy of RISK (Ryan Leaf) vs. REWARD (Peyton Manning) in drafting a franchise quarterback. Since Manning was drafted, 31 quarterbacks have been selected in the first round and there has been at least one quarterback selected in the top stanza in each of the 11 years, which is the longest such streak since the NFL merger in 1970.

1999:

1. Tim Couch – Browns – 1st pick
2. Donovan McNabb - Eagles - 2nd pick
3. Akili Smith – Bengals - 3rd pick
4. Daunte Culpepper – Vikings - 11th pick
5. Cade McNown – Bears – 12th pick

The allure to find the next Manning was quite prevalent in the first draft after his arrival. Couch, Smith and McNown were all busts and big time washouts in the league. Couch maybe had somewhat of an excuse because he was on an expansion team, but the same can’t be said for Smith or McNown. Culpepper had a couple of great seasons, but all in all ended up being a below average quarterback and not worth the money or draft pick. McNabb is the silver lining among this bunch. He maybe never achieved truly ‘elite’ status, but he has been a very good quarterback for a long time making him well worth the 2nd pick in the draft.

2000:

1. Chad Pennington Jets 18th pick

Pennington was a solid selection for the Jets. He has had his share of injury issues, which knock down his overall value, but has been a good starter when healthy.

2001:

1. Micheal Vick Falcons 1st pick

Even if you can ignore all his legal troubles (which did have a major effect on his on the field value), Micheal Vick has not even come close to being worthy of the top selection in the draft. Even in his prime, Vick was an electrifying player, but a bad quarterback. When you factor in his legal issues and time away from the game, Vick is a major bust. Especially when you figure the 2nd best quarterback in this class was Drew Brees (2nd round), ouch!

2002:

1. David Carr – Texans - 1st pick
2. Joey Harrington – Lions - 3rd pick
3. Patrick Ramsey – Redskins – 32nd pick

Carr and Harrington were two more top 5 busts. Neither ever showed any ability to be a quality starter, much less a franchise quarterback. Ramsey didn’t fare much better at the end of the first round, getting pushed out of DC by another future first round quarterback, Jason Campbell. 20o2 was not the ‘year of the quarterback’, with three picked and three busts to show for it.

2003:

1. Carson Palmer – Bengals – 1st pick
2. Byron Leftwich – Jaguars - 7th pick
3. Kyle Boller – Ravens – 19th pick
4. Rex Grossman – Bears – 22nd pick

’03 wasn’t much better of a quarterback year, Leftwich, Boller and Grossman all washed out with their respective teams (though they do remain in the league as backups). Palmer initially showed flashes of being an elite franchise quarterback, but had a really down year this past season. Palmer might never be a great quarterback, but could end up with a similar career path of McNabb, which makes him worthy of the top selection.

2004:

1. Eli Manning – Giants (t/Chargers) – 1st pick
2. Phillip Rivers – Chargers (t/Giants) – 4th pick
3. Ben Roethlisberger - Steelers – 11th pick
4. J.P. Losman – Bills – 22nd pick

Now 2004 was a fantastic year for quarterbacks, with 3 elite starters coming out of round one (not to mention Schuab was drafted in the 3rd round). A 75% success rate is unheard of for the first round, what’s even more impressive is how successful these quarterbacks have been. All three are top notch, and so far look to be true ‘franchise’ quarterbacks.

2005:

1. Alex Smith – 49ers - 1st pick
2. Aaron Rodgers - Packers – 24th pick
3. Jason Campbell - Redskins – 25th pick

Smith so far has been a major disappointment, though he did have some good starts down the stretch this season for the 49ers. Rodgers had trouble seeing the field his first three seasons, but since then has worked his way up to ‘elite’ quarterback status. Campbell has been solid and a quality starter, but is by no means a ‘franchise’ quarterback.

2006:

1. Vince Young – Titans – 3rd pick
2. Matt Leinart – Cardinals – 10th pick
3. Jay Cutler - Broncos – 11th pick

This draft class was supposed to produce 3 franchise quarterbacks, but so far that hasn’t been the case. Young got off to a great start in his rookie season, but came crashing down to earth in year two. He has started getting his career back on track, but it remains to be seen if he can be a good starting quarterback in the NFL. Leinart lost his job to Kurt Warner, and hasn’t shown too much in spot duty these last couple of years. He will now have the reins of the team with Warner’s retirement, and 2010 will be a make or break year for him. Cutler has been called a ‘franchise’ quarterback plenty. And the Bears even thought enough of him to give up multiple first round picks, additional selections and Kyle Orton before last season, but he has failed to show he is worthy of the ‘franchise’ label. While its too early to say any of these picks were a outright bust, its fair to say that their teams have all been disappointed with their investment (except for what the Broncos got in return for Cutler).

2007:

1. JaMarcus Russell – Raiders – 1st pick
2. Brady Quinn – Browns – 22nd pick

There is not much to pin your hopes on in this draft class. Russell has been downright awful so far, and Quinn hasn’t fared much better. Russell hasn’t shown that he grasps the nuances of the position yet. As for Quinn, the glimmer of hope isn’t completely gone, as part of his problem has been the fact the Browns coaches have inexplicably not allowed Quinn to see the field.

2008:

1. Matt Ryan - Falcons – 3rd pick
2. Joe Flacco – Ravens – 18th pick

So far, so good from this draft class. Ryan had a very impressive rookie season, though had a bit of a sophomore slump. I’d expect him to rebound and potentially put himself in the ‘franchise’ class within the next year or two. Flacco had an average rookie year, but really began to come into his own this past season. If he continues to develop, he shouldn’t be too far behind Ryan in joining the ranks of elite quarterbacks.

2009:

1. Matt Stafford - Lions – 1st pick
2. Mark Sanchez – Jets – 5th pick
3. Josh Freeman – Buccaneers – 17th pick

The early returns on the 2009 draft class aren’t pretty. While few rookie quarterbacks find any or much success, the numbers this trio put up were particularly awful. While hopefully one or two of these guys can be good starters in the NFL, they all have a long way to go. In fairness its too early to begin to proclaim any of these guys as a bust after one season, but some of the warning signs are there.

Later we will take a more indepth look at drafting quarterbacks in the first round and what teams can do to make their investment successful.

The NFL Scouting Combine starts today and for a couple hundred college athletes, this is one of the biggest weeks of their lives. Everything they do over the next few days will analyzed and criticized by hundreds of scouts and coaches, and if those decision makers like what they see, it can be worth millions of dollars to the players. Here is a list of this year’s invitees to Indianapolis. There are four main areas that a player can impress the scouts and coaches in. The weigh-in, intelligence and interview portion, basic drills, and position drills.

The Weigh-in:  The weigh-in sometimes gets overlooked because fans believe it’s just looking a what a player weighs, but its much more important than that. Not only is it a look at what a player weighs, but also how he looks. Is his weight all muscle and is it in the right areas, for instance upper body strength is more important for some positions than others. The weigh-in also compares a players current weight to a rough estimate of what he weighed during the season. Has a player lost/gained weight since the season, and will that impact his speed and strength in later drills. In addition to the actual weigh-in, measures of height, wingspan and hand size are just as important to a player. The weigh-in is also the time where they give the player a physical and can find any birth defects, as well as review any medical issues involving a player.

Intelligence and Interview:  While football sometimes is viewed as barbaric and not a ‘thinking man’s’ sport, it probably has more to do with intelligence than any other sport. All sports have split second decisions to be made, but in football you are making them while literally being engaged with an opponent. All the strength and speed in the world don’t matter if you don’t have what it takes between the ears. A player’s attitude in the interview portion and the way he can respond to questions can make or break a player. While teams love talent, they want to draft a player they like. Since they are investing millions of dollars into these players, they want to draft someone who will not get in trouble with the law. As for intelligence, we’ve all heard of the aptitude test, the Wonderlic, that is given to players each year. While the ability to do well on it is important, what’s really important is the timed aspect of the test. How much were you able to get done correctly in that time period. You don’t have to be book smart in the NFL, but you have got to be street smart and understand the X’s and O’s.

Basic Drills:  The basic drills are probably the most hyped at the Combine, because these include the basics to football, speed and strength. The 40-yard dash and the bench press are two of the most important drills (as well as the most popular). The 40-yard dash isn’t just based on how fast you are in 40 yards (though speed doesn’t hurt), explosion and power are also measured in the drill. Not to mention they are timed at 10 and 20 yard intervals as well, which are more important times for linemen and linebackers. As for the bench press, as much as a strength drill its an endurance drill. If you can bench 500 or 600 pounds once that’s great, but how many times can you bench 225 is the real key. In addition to those drills are the jumping drills, high and broad. Both of these drills measure lower body strength and the explosion a player has. The last two drills, 3-cone and shuttle drill, measure lateral speed and change of direction.

Position Drills:  Every position has drills based on skills needed at that position, but a common misconception among those watching at home is that the drills are pass/fail based on the outcomes of events, completed passes, blocking the rusher, etc. What’s really being judged in each event are things like footwork, reaction time, speed, and strength. Basically the look and feel of these “game situations”. A quarterback could not complete a single ball (though I wouldn’t recommend it) and still have a successful drill, if his footwork, arm strength and zip on his throws are all impressive. While position drills are highly important, its critical to remember what exactly they are testing to decide whether or not a player did well.

Pats Franchise DT Vince Wilfork:  Despite Wilfork not wanting the tag, the Patriots didn’t really have a choice here. Wilfork would have been one of the top players on the open market, and likely signed elsewhere if allowed. New England had to keep Wilfork, easily their best defensive player. The Pats defense might not be on the level it was during their Super Bowl runs, but its still pretty good and Wilfork is the key piece of the unit.

The Patriots did use the ‘nonexclusive’ franchise tag, meaning another team could sign Wilfork and give up two first round picks. Given the excessive price tag it should be safe to say Wilfork will be with New England next season. Now the question is will the Patriots be able to keep Wilfork beyond next season. Wilfork has made it very clear that he either wants to be in New England long term or move on to another team. The Patriots can’t ignore this situation, because the last thing New England needs is for their star defensive player to be unhappy and wanting to play elsewhere.

Chargers Release LT:  Monday the San Diego Chargers released their all-time leader in rushing yards, LaDainian Tomlinson, in a cost cutting move. It was not too long ago that Tomlinson was considered the best running back in the league. In just 9 seasons he already ranks 8th on the all-time rushing list with just under 12,500 yards. Tomlinson led the NFL in rushing in both 2006 and 2007, winning MVP honors in ’06. Tomlinson has fallen on hard times since then, and managed just 730 yards on a 3.3 yards per carry average.

This doesn’t mean the door is fully closed on LT’s career. He might have lost a step, and will no longer be a top running back, but he’s not done yet. The good news for Tomlinson is his game wasn’t completely predicated on speed. Tomlinson was always known for his vision and powerful legs, that should help him continue his career. If he can find the right situation and can stay fully healthy, then there is no reason he can’t be an effective ball carrier for a few more seasons.

As for the Chargers, they were in a tough spot here. They didn’t want to see Tomlinson go, but they couldn’t justify paying him millions of dollars for the production he was giving them. Now San Diego will not only have to watch one of their icons leave, a player who as much as anyone is responsible for the success they’ve had over the last 6 seasons. But now they have to find a new feature running back. Its not a great free agent market for running backs, so unless they can find a back in a trade, San Diego will likely draft Tomlinson’s replacement in April.

No one gave the USA Men’s Hockey team a chance in this Olympics, and rightfully so. They lacked the offensive star power of their Canadian and Russian counterparts, and finished in 8th place in the 2006 Olympic Games. It was believed that they might have a chance to capture Bronze, and if everything went their way they could grab Silver. But Gold was unattainable, because no one was going to beat the Canadian team on their home ice with a roster full of All-Stars. Well apparently no one told that to Goalie Ryan Miller and the rest of the USA hockey team, because as we enter the medal round, it is the United States with the first seed after they defeated the Canadians last night 5-3.

“Defeat” doesn’t do the game justice, as USA was in control of that game from the opening minute until the clock read 0:00. Now looking at the stat sheet one would think that Canada controlled the tempo of the game, because they out shot the United States 45-23. But if you watched the game you would have seen the dominance of the USA team. Their shots might have been limited, but they made the most out of them and really got some good looks on the net, and goalie Martin Brodeur. Although defensively the USA team allowed a number of shots on goal, it didn’t really matter because Miller was an absolute wall in between the posts.

Ironically its Brodeur who is considered the top goalie in the NHL and best in recent memory, but Miller surpassed him last night. For awhile Miller had been knocking on the door of best goalie in the world, well last night he left no doubt. His performance was simply incredible. He stopped 42 shots against one of the best hockey teams ever assembled. This wasn’t stopping shots against some NHL team’s 3rd and 4th lines, Miller was stonewalling the likes of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Sidney Crosby and Rick Nash (and the list goes on and on). These are the best sharpshooters in the league. And its not as though they didn’t get plenty of good looks. The number of open or 2nd chance shots that he stopped was unbelievable.  Against any other goalie Canada puts up 6-7 goals easily.

Miller wasn’t the only USA player that deserves credit for yesterday’s stunning win, (though surviving that onslaught  was a big key). The USA forwards played a brilliant game as well. Their shots on goal might have been limited, but they made the most out of them. Not only did they score 5 goals, but a number of their other shots were really good looks, that seemed to force Canada to play a more defensive minded game, especially in the 2nd period. They put significant pressure on their Canadian counterparts, and really got them out of rhythm.

Overall it was a wonderful performance by USA hockey, but now they aren’t the underdog’s any more and no one will take them for granted. The bar is now set, for either Gold or Bust. If they can continue to play like they did last night (and Ryan Miller stays in net) it won’t matter what their expectations are, or how their opponents view them, because they won’t be stopped.

Top 20 Teams Survive Scares:  With the exception of (19) Vanderbilt who lost to (2) Kentucky, every top 20 team that was playing yesterday put another win on their resume. As for the rest of the top 25, (22) Baylor and (25) ranked Wake Forrest both lost to unranked opponents likely knocking them out of the poll. While the top 20 teams won, many of them had some tough scares, highlighted by Vanderbilt almost knocking off Kentucky. (4) Purdue, (8) WVU and (18) Tennessee had much closer games than they should have. And 15th ranked New Mexico almost lost to the worst team in their conference, Air Force. (17) Texas survived a close rivalry game against Texas Tech as well. Overall the top 25 won’t look much different based on yesterday’s games, but at a time when teams need to play their best basketball there were some pretty underwhelming performances.

Grizzlies Suffer A Big Loss:  Just 12 minutes into his Memphis Grizzlies career, Ronnie Brewer went down with torn hamstring. Brewer was acquired by the Grizzlies from the Utah Jazz on Thursday afternoon, in the hopes of bolstering their playoff chances. This injury is a major setback for the Grizzlies, one of the more young and exciting teams in the NBA. Brewer is expected to miss between 3-4 weeks with the injury, and his absence could put a major dent in the Grizzlies playoff hopes.

Jamison Struggles In Debut With Cavs:  One of the biggest named players to be moved at the deadline was the Wizards Antawn Jamison, who was traded to the Cavs. Jamison’s first game for Cleveland was one that I’m sure he will wish to forget. Not only did the Cavs lose by 17 points, but Jamison went 0-12 from the field and scored just 2 points. Overall one game doesn’t mean much, as the deal was a steal for Cleveland. But the pressure will remain on Jamison, until he assimilates into the roster.

McGrady Puts On A Show For First Game In 2010:  Tracy McGrady put up 26 points and almost got the Knicks a victory in his first game since the 3-team trade that brought him to New York. McGrady, who hadn’t been playing with the Rockets, due to a team dispute had only played in 7 games prior to last night this season, and none in the New Year. It was an impressive performance for McGrady and somewhat hopeful for Knicks fans, who watched New York give up a lot of talent to bring McGrady and his expiring contract to the team.

By Fanspeak Contributing Writer Geoff Nelowet

The second-ranked Kentucky Wildcats will head to Memorial Gym today to take on SEC rival and nationally ranked Vanderbilt (19).  Earlier this season, Kentucky defeated Vandy by 13 at home. Kentucky is now 25-1 on the season, and Vanderbilt comes in at a respectable 20-5.

Vanderbilt is 13-0 at home this year, and they are facing by far their biggest home test of the season. Previous to this game, the Commodores’ only win over a ranked opponent came against a volatile Tennessee Volunteers team that has been up and down all year. Vanderbilt needs this win to cement an NCAA birth and a higher seed.

If Vandy wants to pull the upset, their high-scoring offense will have bring its best performance of the year, and their defense will have to show up with some degree of consistency. A.J. Oglivy, Jeffery Taylor and Jermaine Beal each average around 14 points per game, and those impressive scoring averages will not be enough against the Wildcats who not only play better defense, but score even more points per contest.

Kentucky averages 81 points per game – compared to Vanderbilt’s 79 – and more importantly, they play tougher defense, which justifies their 25 victories to only one loss. No one in the country has been able to consistently stop Kentucky’s John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins. Wall and Cousins, two one-year rentals before they undoubtedly jump to the NBA, are shoe-ins for All-American lists, and it seems unlikely that anyone on Vanderbilt’s roster will be able to slow them down.

Vanderbilt’s perfect home record will be given a blemish today, as Kentucky is simply too physical for Vandy’s finesse, jump-shooting style. Expect Vanderbilt to keep it close for at least the first half before Kentucky pulls away. Final score: Kentucky 85 Vanderbilt 74.