One For The Road
Posted March 30, 2008, 8:51 PM ET

San Antonio is loaded.

All four number one seeds will be arriving in the Lone Star state later this week, in search of the national championship. The NCAA Tournament has mostly been devoid of great games...thank goodness for Davidson, but the storylines that await in Texas are fabulous.

Before we get to the April match-ups, there has to be a word about the play, effort and class of Davidson College. Regardless of who cuts down the nets next Monday night in Texas, the most interesting tidbit in March surrounds a small liberal arts school in Davidson, North Carolina.

Bob McKillop's guys gave not only the Tar Heel state chills, but they also captured the entire nation with their daring play. I still believe the gesture by the Davidson Board of Trustees to offer every student the chance to witness March Madness in Detroit was one of the coolest, most gracious acts I've ever seen in all of sports. In this day and age when money and television controlling everything in sports, the play and actions of Davidson College were a welcome sign that going above and beyond the call of duty are alive and well.

Now, back to San Antonio....

Since the seeding process has been put in place, this is the first time ever that all four #1 seeds have advanced to the Final Four. Even though I have found the tourney to be lacking in drama, what awaits us this Saturday should be awesome. There is no doubt that the four best teams in college basketball have made their way to the ultimate showdown.

I picked three of the four in my bracket....the only team that let me down was Texas, and I thought Rick Barnes and the homecourt advantage in Houston would have been the key to moving on to San Antonio. I have been pleasantly surprised with Memphis. I just didn't trust their iffy free throw percentage and their ability to toughen it out against a quality opponent. After watching them destroy the Longhorns and totally dismantle Michigan State of the inept the Big Ten, I am a believer.

Does it mean that they will simply run UCLA out of the dome on Saturday? Nope.

In fact, this Final Four is so equal, so balanced, that I don't know if there is a favorite. How can you actually pick a winner in either Semifinal game?

UCLA plays incredible defense and has the experience of playing their third consecutive Final Four.

Memphis can attack you in so many ways and freshman guard Derrick Rose is a superstar.

Kansas might be the most balanced team in America, and Bill Self has finally placed his Jayhawks in the Final Four against the team that their fans want to beat the most.....Roy Williams and North Carolina.

The Heels have been nothing short of spectacular for the entire month of March. Behind All-World Tyler Hansbrough and the healthy Ty Lawson, nobody has been close to slowing down UNC.

Both games on Saturday have great storylines and sidebar stories. But the best story surrounds UNC and Kansas. These two programs have been virtually tied to the hip from day one.....from Dean Smith now onto Roy Williams.

There is no doubt that Roy Williams will field tons of questions from the press all week about his ties to both schools. There is no question that CBS will focus in on the Roy Williams / Bill Self combo, too. Kansas fans are still miffed by how Roy left them high and dry to go back to North Carolina. This is going to be a fun week of hype, not to mention a great day of hoops on Saturday.

The funny thing about this tournament, no matter who wins the title in San Antonio, I will still remember those Davidson Wildcats. They were simply the big winners in the entire deal.

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The Major League Baseball season is officially underway.

I know we had those lame Japanese appearances by the Red Sox and Oakland A's last week, but this week it's officially underway on the diamond.

It's funny to hear all these "baseball experts" picking the Chicago Cubs to win it all. Hell, it's only been 99 years and counting since they won their last title. Even my Executive Producer, Tony "The Hitman" DiGiacomo, a Cub fanatic, believes they are going to win over 100 games in the regular season and be the team to beat.

Excuse me while I take a deep breath and yawn. You see, as a fan of the San Francisco Giants, I have prepared myself for a year of complete disgust. It's possible that my guys could have the worst record not only in the National League, but in all of baseball.

So what, if Barry Bonds is no longer on the Giants' roster, or any baseball roster, for that matter? For me, this season is over before the first pitch is thrown.

Last year, after the first week of the season, I came up with a stupid idea to list nine teams that had no chance of making the playoffs. I called the list my "Packman 9". I was correct on eight of the nine selections....the only team I missed was the Colorado Rockies. Of course, those jackasses had to win 22 of their last 23 games (or something along those lines) to make it to the postseason, and eventually had the audacity to go all the way to the World Series before being swept by the Red Sox.

I ended up doing the same thing during the opening week of the NFL preseason. My "Packman 9" in the NFL also was right on the money, with eight of the nine selections. Of course, the team I missed....the New York Giants...won the Super Bowl.

So, drum roll, please.....I present to you my "Packman 9" for the 2008 Major league Baseball season. And keep in mind that, given my track record, one of these teams will play out of their ass and make it to the postseason:

1. San Francisco Giants....Simply awful.
2. Baltimore Orioles....The AL version of my beloved Giants.
3. Pittsburgh Pirates....They haven't seen a winning season since the early 90's.
4. Kansas City Royals....They are getting better, which means they'll lose 85 games, not 100.
5. Washington Nationals....New ballpark, same old lousy team.
6. Florida Marlins....The NL East is too good for these bums.
7. Tampa Bay Rays....You can't be serious?
8. Minnesota Twins....Without Santana, how do they finish in front of Cleveland and Detroit in the AL Central?
9. Texas Rangers....Have they ever been worth a damn?

There you have it...the 2008 "Packman 9" for the Major League Baseball season, and keep in mind that I picked at least one team from every division. Plus, don't be surprised to see one of these dogs play out of their minds and get ready for meaningful baseball in October.