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Final
Statement You can follow me for free on Twitter. Go to twitter.com/MarkPacker. If you don't see the Southern Fried Football™ logo, you signed up with the wrong "Mark Packer". Monday night, it's all about the Tar Heels and the Spartans. ACC vs. Big Ten. The Big East need not apply. After dominating the NCAA Tourney for the first three weeks, the Big East will once again head home without any hardware. The last time the conference cut down the nets and claimed a national title was back in 2004 with UConn. Despite 3 #1 seeds, half the field in the Elite 8 and an overall record of 17-7 in the entire tournament, the Big East will be home on the couch watching Roy and Izzo match wits. It should be pointed out that in the last four years of the NCAA Tournament, the Big East has placed 15 teams in the Sweet 16, but not a single one of them has figured out a way to win the title. Now that Ty Lawson has a healthy toe and bank account thanks to his venture into a nearby Motown casino, the Heels are rolling. They really haven't been challenged in their first five tournament games, with an exception of a second-half run by LSU weeks ago in Greensboro. UNC has the talent advantage, but Michigan State has some things working in their favor, too. The first one is the home court advantge. The vast majority of the 70,000+ at Ford Field will be rooting for their home state heroes. It needs to be pointed out that Duke is the last team to play a national title game in its home state. They lost to Arkansas in 1994, when the Final Four was held in Charlotte. I know some of you believe that Duke's real home state is New Jersey. The second intangible is the fact that these two teams hooked up in the embarrassing ACC-Big Ten Challenge, back in December. The game was played at the same site, and the Heels won by 35 points. This game will be different. Michigan State is healthy and playing their best ball of the year. They have elimnated a pair of #1 seeds in Louisville and UConn, not to mention the defending champs in Kansas, too. Tom Izzo is making his fifth appearance in the Final Four in the last 11 years, and he will feel the pressure of playing in front of the home crowd. UNC and Roy Williams have become the only ACC team that matters. They are carrying the pride and reputation of the entire conference. I've mentioned this stat a few times on my radio show, but in the last five years, the Heels are now 19-3 in the NCAA Tourney....the rest of the ACC is 20-22. It's not as pathetic as Memphis and the rest of CUSA, but it's bad enough. I still think UNC has the best team in the country when Ty Lawson is healthy...and that shouldn't change on Monday night. But Tom Izzo's guys are tough and well coached. Plus, the Spartans don't want to become the fourth different Big Ten team to lose in the title game this decade. I like the Heels in a tight game. Once we finish up with the Final Four, we pack our bags and follow Jim Nantz to Augusta National. This is really a cool week of sports: Final Four, The Masters and the start of the Major League Baseball season. While all eyes will be on Tiger Woods this week, especially after his thrilling win at Bay Hill two weeks ago, it should be noted that Padraig Harrington will looking for his third consecutive major championship. Keep in mind that he has won three of the last six, with or without Tiger in the field. I'm not sure how you pick against Tiger this week, but one guy that seems to have the perfect game for Augusta National is Australian Geoff Ogilvy. The guy has a couple of wins already this year, he has the length to cope with the course, and he's also the best putter statistically on the Tour. The media will make a big deal out of Greg Norman's return to Augusta, but keep your eye on Ogilvy. Jeff Gordon is back in the winner's circle. Deep in the heart of Texas, Gordon snapped his 47-race winless streak. In the process, he also added to his lead in the points standings, too. Gordon looks like he is focused for another serious run at the championship. While he continues to impress this year, teammate Jimmie Johnson looks like he's getting his act together, too. His second place finish in Texas followed a win at Martinsville. One Hendrick driver that continues to amaze is Dale, Jr. Once again, he struggled on and off the track. Despite missing his pit stall again (how and why this happens is beyond me), Junior had the lead with 76 laps to go, only to watch Kyle Busch lose control and punt him out of the lead. It only got worse for Earnhardt after that run-in. I can only imagine what the outcry from Junior Nation will be this week. Either Kyle Busch will be the scapegoat, crew chief Tony Eury Jr. screwed up, the pit stall is too small, or the "sun got in my eyes" will be the leading candidates. The Cup guys have the week off, but it was announced that the season-ending NASCAR Awards will shift from New York to Las Vegas. I think that's a great idea. I've never understood why NASCAR thought the folks in the Big Apple give a rat's ass about their sport or their award ceremony. The Charlotte Bobcats made it fun for a while. But the three straight losses to Boston, Miami and Sunday's loss to Detroit all but eliminated the Cats from the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Despite coming up short, the team does get the benefit of another quality first round draft pick, and the expectations of the playoffs for the 2009-10 season. The pro franchise in Raleigh isn't waiting for next year. The Carolina Hurricanes are smoking hot at the right time. They are also locked for the NHL post season for the first time since winning it all, back in 2006. The Canes have won eight straight and eleven consecutive home games at the RBC. The last time they lost at home was back in the middle of February. This week, they have home games with the Islanders and Buffalo before closing out the regular season at New Jersey. The Canes still have a chance to finish up in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and I need to get my rear end up to the RBC for a playoff game. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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