Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Duke, Gonzaga & Isaac Bruce

- I don't see the POY candidates Reddick and Morrison getting to the title game of the NCAA tournament and producing the game that the media and television would slobber over. If you shut either of them down then their teams don't have another go to guy. Besides Gonzaga nearly lost in the semi-final of their conference tournament and then should have lost in the finals to a Loyola team that was 12-18 at the time. Only a blown layup prevented the shocker. That is two near losses to San Diego and Loyola Marymount! Now San Diego has won 18 games this year so they are not a gimmee but Gonzaga is ranked in the top 5 of the nation for crying out loud! Too many close games this year to inferior teams. No way Gonzaga makes the Final Four.
I think Duke will be upset as well, although I could see them possibly making the Final Four and then losing in the semi-final game . Sheldon Williams can be awesome at times so he could pick up the slack if Reddick has an off night. But I think Connecticut or Villanova should be the favorite for this tournament. They don't rely as much on one guy and they just seem like better teams.


-On a football note, I have mixed emotions about Rams long-time standout wide receiver Isaac Bruce getting released from the team. He was great for a long time and defined Ram football. He was a good guy and had great hands. He had some clutch catches over the years that can never be forgotten by Ram fans. But the Rams needed the salary cap space and it isn't shocking that Bruce was a casualty of cost-cutting measures. The spectacular play of Torry Holt of the last few years and the emergence of Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald really have made Bruce a luxury but not a necessity. It's a sad move for Ram fans but one that realistically needed to be made.

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