The Final Four

Well, this years NCAA Men's Tournament has been surprising, to say the least. I mean, who would have expected the VCU, an 11 seed would be in the final four, I don't think anyone did. Also, I am shocked that there are now no number one seeds in the final four, especially when two of those number one teams teams were Ohio State (who I picked to win the whole tournament) and Kansas. But now we have two interesting matchups: VCU vs. Butler and Kentucky vs. Connecticut. These are my picks for the Final Four winners and the National Champion team. First, in the VCU-Butler game, I have to take the underdog VCU. They have showed so much heart and dominance in this tournament and have taken down some of the best teams in the nation that I don't think Butler will be a problem for them. Next, in the Kentucky- Connecticut game, I'm going with Connecticut to win the game here. They are a team that finished 9th in the Big East division and somehow managed to win the Big East Tournament and now have made it to the Final Four led by their superstar Kemba Walker. I don't think it will be an easy matchup for UCONN but I think that they will be headed to the National Championship game. Then in the Championship game between UCONN and VCU, I have to pick UCONN as the National Champion. Sometimes, heart and dominance only get you so far, and I think this is where VCU will meet their match. I think that the leadership of Kemba Walker and the team chemistry that UCONN has will ultimately lead them to a National Championship

It's going to be a fun year for the Mets....

Ken Griffey Jr. and His Retirement

from ESPN.com

Ken Griffey Jr. issued a prepared statement when he suddenly retired from baseball last June -- and didn't say another word about it.

Finally, at spring training Wednesday with the Seattle Mariners, Griffey discussed his reasons for leaving the game and the way he did it, insisting it will be the only time he addresses it.

"I just felt that it was more important for me to retire and instead of being a distraction, it no longer became the Seattle Mariners, it became, 'When is Ken doing this? When is Ken doing that?' and that's something I didn't want to have my teammates, who I truly cared about, having to answer these types of questions day in and day out," Griffey said in Peoria, Ariz.

“

There are a lot of people that are friends of mine that would have tried to talk me out of it. And I just felt that it was best for me and the organization to retire.

”-- Ken Griffey Jr.

Griffey reminded reporters that he previously had said when it came time to walk away, he would do it quickly and quietly.

"You want me to apologize for something that I felt was right? I had to do what I thought was right for me," he said.

Griffey was batting .184 with no home runs and seven RBIs when, on June 2, he issued a retirement statement through the Mariners, got in his car and drove home to Orlando, Fla., abruptly ending a 22-season career.

Griffey said Wednesday that he previously had told the Mariners' front office "that if I become a distraction or feel that I would be a distraction, then I would retire, because that's the one thing that I didn't want," according to the Seattle Times.

"Second, I gave myself a little bit of a head start. There are a lot of people that are friends of mine that would have tried to talk me out of it. And I just felt that it was best for me and the organization to retire. Through no fault of its own. Things happen. I'm not upset," he told reporters. "I think people thought I was upset about certain things, but that's not the case."

Griffey, who was drafted No. 1 overall by the Mariners in 1987 and played 13 of his 22 seasons with Seattle, said he was happy to be back with the team as a special consultant. He reported to camp Wednesday after fulfilling earlier commitments and said he will be working with the club's minor league prospects and make an occasional appearance in the TV booth.

"I'm happy to be back. I'm glad the Mariners gave me an opportunity to be part of the future," Griffey said. "This is the organization I grew up in. If there was going to be an opportunity for me to be in baseball, it was going to be here."

He said his message to the team's prospects will be: "Hard work doesn't start during the game. Hard work starts the night before," according to the Seattle Times.

Amid Griffey's struggles last season before he retired -- and a report that he had fallen asleep in the clubhouse during a game in May -- he also had a strained relationship with manager Don Wakamatsu, who was fired two months after Griffey left. Griffey said they haven't spoken.

"My phone rings," Griffey said. "That's just the way it is."

He ended his career with 630 home runs -- fifth all-time -- as well as 2,781 hits and a .284 career batting average. His 1,836 RBIs are 14th all-time and led all active players when he retired.

Many believe Griffey would have challenged Henry Aaron's 755 home runs -- a record since surpassed by Barry Bonds -- had he not been dogged by numerous injuries late in his career.

A 13-time All-Star, Griffey was American League MVP in 1997, led the AL in home runs four times and earned 10 Gold Gloves.

... When I heard about Griffey Jr.'s retirement last year, I was STUNNED to say the least. All I could think about was my childhood days when Ken Griffey Jr. graced the cover of Nintendo 64's "Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr." and dominated the MLB. Even though his career dwindled towards the end of his career there is no doubt in my mind that Griffey Jr. is a Hall of Famer. He was the face of baseball in the early-mid 90's and the numbers he put up were absolutely incredible. I wish that more players would be more like him and retire when there time is up instead of becoming a distraction to their teams and prolonging the inevitable. Ken Griffey Jr. was one of the best players to play the game in the early 90's and will always have a place in baseball. 

President Obama's Pick for the NCAA Champion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqIvp4RxMD8

It's March Madness Time!

It's that time of year again! The time of year when every college basketball fan in the country fills out multiple tournament brackets to see if they can pick the winner of the National Championship. Personally, I find it very hard to keep track of every college basketball team so I just wait for March Madness to begin and make my picks from there or just watch the highlights on ESPN and gauge who is good and who isn't from there. This year, I have to pick Ohio State win the National Championship. Even though they did look shaky at some points during the season, I think they have the talent to win the National Championship in Houston.

Bad Calls Give the Johnnies a win over Rutgers

With only 1:30 left in the fourth quarter, St. Johns was up one point over Rutgers in the first round of the Big East Tournament. As the game started to wind down and get closer and closer, the refs really started to miss calls for both sides. They missed three crucial foul calls that would have given Rutgers the ball back and a chance to win the game. With just four seconds left in the game, Rutgers inbounded the ball and threw it across the court were the player from Rutgers was clearly fouled and the ball was turned over to St. Johns. But following this missed call, the refs missed yet another crucial call when the St. Johns player traveled, stepped out of bounds, and threw the ball into the stands all with 1.7 seconds left on the clock. The refs didn't even acknowledge this happened and ended the game with St. Johns winning by two points.

The refs clearly blew this game for Rutgers. With all of the blown calls, I could have seen Rutgers winning by at least four points. Once again, St. Johns pulled off another close win and will go up against Syracuse on the next round.