LeBron James and his castle

LeBron James is referred to as King James amongst his fans. Now he can live like one in his new palace in a suburb outside of his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

The size you might ask? A modest 35,440 square feet! If you can't imagine how big that is, it's not much smaller than a Best Buy. It's going to have a barber shop and a two story closet in the first floor master bedroom.

Apparently it's attracting attention as well. You don't say? People are driving by taking photos and blocking the streets of the neighborhood to it's current residents.

People who come to photograph it are disrespectful," said Tom Bader, one of nine immediate next-door neighbors. "They park their car in the middle of the street -- with their doors open! And you're sitting behind them! All I wanna do is go home after a hard day's work."

Considering LeBron bought the property for $2.1 million in 2003 with a house on it. If you aren't from Ohio $2.1 million is a lot of house, like 11 bedrooms worth, which was what the previous house that LeBron had torn down to build this one. The house will be among homes that range from 3,20o and 13,000 square feet. Nice, so pretty much three of the largest houses on the block combined will equal the size of LBJ's crib which will be done in '08.

LeBron's New Palace - Akron Beacon Journal

Final Four is set, finalized with North Carolina choke job

Georgetown coach John Thompson III should send each North Carolina player a thank you card tonight for handing his team a trip to the Final Four for the first time since 1985. The Tarheels finished the game shooting a dismal 1 for 23 from the field in the last 15 minutes of the game.

We're pretty convinced that North Carolina A & T could have shot better than the Tarheels during that span. Hell, a few North Carolina high schools could have probably done better.

The officiating certainly didn't help the Tarheels in the overtime period either. Georgetown's monster center Roy Hibbert, who had four fouls going into the extra period, fouled out at least two times. Somehow the plays were seen as a jumpball and a clean block.

It didn't matter though, once the game went to OT, North Carolina had zero confidence or momentum. North Carolina can chalk themselves up on the list of chokers from this weekend which includes Texas A&M, Tennessee, and USC, all of which had their games all but won.

Georgetown 96, North Carolina 84

It's Friday, what else do you have to do?

It's Friday Night, time to bust out the booze and watch some basketball after a long week on the job, or not. Three of the four games last night were extremely entertaining to say the least.

Tonight here's how we feel it will end up:

Butler (#5) vs. Florida (#1) - 7:10pm - We're all about upsets, but this one just isn't happening. There is total respect for Butler and the season they had. Who wouldn't love to see them win, minus Gator Fans of course. Florida is way to strong for the Bulldogs, if they can keep it close will be the question. - Florida.

Georgetown (#2) vs. Vanderbilt (#6) 7:27pm - Vanderbilt's run goes down the toilet tonight. We're going to have to say that Georgetown is well due for their program to get back to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1995-1996. - Georgetown

Oregon (#3) vs. UNLV #7 - 9:40pm - There's no doubt that the Pac-10 has been stellar in the tournament this year for the most part. However, Oregon has yet to face an opponent that is of the caliber of UNLV in the tournament. Who doesn't like the way UNLV is playing, especially against Wisconsin last weekend. The Rebels' are on a roll and if they can control the game similar to what they did vs. the Badgers, they will advance. - UNLV

North Carolina (#1) vs. USC (#5) - 9:57pm - Everyone's screaming North Carolina in this one. Both teams are young. USC whos is coming off their trouncing of Texas has momentum, but just how much? They are a year a way from O.J. Mayo and he would be a nice addition to have to go against the 'heels. Unfortunately, going to have to go with the majority on this one, but not by much - North Carolina.

Meltdown for Tennessee

One word about the Ohio State-Tennessee game: Meltdown.

What a crazy game. Tennessee up by 20 in the first half looking like they were going to blow the Buckeyes out of the gym. Ohio State going on a 35-15 run in the second half.

You have to give Thad Matta credit for his management of the big men, shuffling them in and out. It paid off in the end having Oden on the floor for the last second rejection swatting Bruce Pearl's dreams of knocking off a #1 seed and going to the Elite Eight into the 15th row.

The Vols came firing out of the box, looking unstoppable, quick and full of energy. They did hit 16 three pointers in the game. Ohio State from the start looking like they just got out of bed.

If anything Bruce Pearl and the Vols should honestly get the meltdown of the year. This was catastrophic, one that he may never recover from. Many may not think so, but that type of loss will get a coach questioning himself constantly.

Ohio State 85, Tennessee 84

Are you kidding Texas A & M?

If you're Texas A&M tonight, they have nothing to cry about after losing to Memphis in the Sweet 16. They did get the old screw job at the end when the clock read 3.1, with the errorant pass that the zebras somehow thought took 1.1 seconds off the clock.

What the Aggies should be thinking is: why can't we get a defensive rebound?

How many times can you let the opposing team get an offensive rebound with less than 30 seconds left? There had to be at least four putbacks by Memphis at the end until the foul, which shouldn't have even happened. It was as if they were intentionally trying to make it closer or even lose the game, which they obviously succeeded at.

Nothing but sloppy play at the end from Texas A&M is to blame for that big fat L. Memphis steals their 25th straight victory and goes on to play the Ohio State-Tennessee winner.

Memphis 65, Texas A&M 64

Steve Alford and Tubby Smith take steps back

Tubby Smith and Steve Alford have both decided take their careers in another direction. Smith resigns from Kentucky to go to Minnesota. Alford resigns from Iowa to go to New Mexico. Hmm....No idea.

Who knew Minnesota and New Mexico were better opportunities than Kentucky and Iowa?

At least Kentucky fans will finally get their wish today. How many UK fans out there raged over Tubby Smith for the past 5 season, or since he was hired for that matter?

It doesn't appear that Alford will be missed much in Iowa either. Many fans and even the administration couldn't have been happy with him. He only took Iowa to the NCAA Tourney 3 out of 8 seasons.

"He wanted to get his family out of this negative environment," center Seth Gorney said.

We're guessing we won't see either Smith or Alford sniffing another big time job after these moves, but they got their wishes if they were looking for less pressure to win. Smith is even getting a cool $2.5 mil/year at Minnesota.

Smith leaves Kentucky, takes job at Minnesota - USA Today
Alford tells hawkeyes he's leaving - SI.com

LaRussa suspected of DUI

It's Probably not a good idea to tell your team to avoid distractions before the MLB season begins and then get busted for boozin' and cruisin' yourself. That's what happened to St. Louis Cardinals Skipper Tony LaRussa early this morning.

La Russa was found asleep and slumped over inside his stalled dark blue Ford SUV at Frederick Small Blvd. and Military Trail, the release from Jupiter police said. La Russa’s foot was on the vehicle’s brake pedal.

This was his first offense, and he will probably not be fired, nor should he be. The Cards organization has pretty much told him to should proceed with the legal process. He could do jail time, but will probably just be paying some fines and be done with it.

La Russa apologizes to Cardinals and fans - St. Louis Post Dispatch

The Madness Continues

Tonight it all begins again, get out the chips, beers and party hats to watch the NCAA Tourney on the tele. Here's what we think the outcomes will be:

Kansas (1) vs. Southern-Illinois (4) (7:10 pm) - Many say SIU doesn't get much respect, well they are going to earn any tonight. Kansas flat-out has better athleticism and comes from a lot tougher league where they only lost 2 Big 12 games. Anything can happen yes, but not tonight for the Salukis. Got to go with Kansas.


Pittsburgh (3)vs. UCLA (2) (9:40 pm) - Battle of Ben Howland vs. Jamie Dixon. As we both know Howland used to coach the Panthers and they still run the same system that was employed by Howland during his tenure at Pitt. Plus the game is in San Jose, a hell of a lot closer to L.A. than Pittsburgh. It will be pretty much a home game for the Bruins in that regard. UCLA prevails.


Texas A&M (3) vs. Memphis (2) (7:27 pm) Winning 24 straight games is nothing to turn your nose to for Memphis. However, like UCLA, Texas A&M will be in front of a favorable crowd in San Antonio a two and a half hour ride from the Aggie campus. Memphis ran the table in a week C-USA. Four of A&M's six losses this season came from teams that made the NCAA Tournament (Texas Tech (2), UCLA, and Texas), Memphis has won 10 straight games in the state of Texas and Calipari has the Tigers on all cylinders. On the other hand, Texas A&M just came off a victory over Louisville who was playing as good of ball as anyone in the country. This is the toughest call of the four games. The choice....A&M.


Tennessee (5) vs. Ohio State (1)(9:57 pm) If Oden gets in foul trouble again it's gonna be a long night for the Matta and Bucks. They met earlier in the season in Columbus with Ohio State winning by 2. This one is going to be close, but unless the Ohio State feeds the beast in middle, Oden, rather than relying on the three, Tennessee will walk away with it. We think Ohio State after and emotional victory on St. Patty's Day over Xavier will advance.

Ron Artest adds to his image

Ron Artest just added another item to his already impressive resume, which
Just ask the man with the "squeaky clean" image, he will be facing four misdemeanor charges stemming from an altercation with his wife back on March 5th. If he is convicted and we stress the word IF, he could get up to four years in the pen.

Artest allegedly grabbed a woman whom he later identified at a news conference as his wife, and pushed her down, then slapped her face during an argument, according to a Placer County sheriff's deputy's report.

ESPN.com put together a laundry list of what they call the Ron Artest Timeline, detailing his entire downfall, it's quite lengthy, so we hope you've got a minute.

Thoughts were that this was all going to blow over. Looks like many experts thoughts were dead wrong. Our guess is that this will be plead down and he will face some hefty fines because he's a star. He may have to go through some marriage counseling of some sort just as "standard" procedure" We just hope he can still produce albums, who cares if he ever steps foot on the court again.

Artest charged with 4 misdemeanors - Houston Chronicle

O.J. Mayo already owns USC

There has been a ton of talk about O.J. Mayo and the final dunk of his high school career, in which he grabbed the ball and threw it 20 rows up into the seats and was ejected, all while the crowd ate right out of his hand like a lost, starving puppy.

Remember Mayo has been ejected from three games this season, and the dude is a gypsy, he played his high school ball in West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and then West Virginia again.

There is also the altercation with the police a week back, where one of the guys riding in the car with him takes the rap for possession of marijuana, after cops found grass on the driver and in a pair of shoes in the car they were riding in. Oh and don't forget the referee bumping incident early in the season.

By the looks of all of this Mayo is the sheriff in town. His actions and words seems to be golden because he's just THAT good. The second coming, or the next man to walk on water! The article in the N.Y. Times this morning gives a brief overview on why O.J. Mayo wanted to play at USC:

Mayo: “I want to be different, I want to leave a mark.”

Mayo: “How many scholarships do we have for next year?” he asked.

Floyd:. “After this,” he said, “I guess we have three.”

Mayo: “Don’t worry about recruiting, I’ll take care of it.”

Before Floyd hung up, he asked one more time for Mayo’s cellphone number. “No,” Mayo said. “I’ll call you.”

Mayo and his circus are going to take their show on the road to Los Angeles, until the 2008 NBA draft, where unless he's in a wheelchair, everyone knows he will make himself eligible.

High School Star O.J. Mayo Boosts U.S.C. Before He Arrives - N.Y. Times

Long Beach State knows how to reward success

You would think as a D-I basketball coach if you take your team to a 24-2 record (12-2) in the conference, win the conference tournament and gain a birth to the NCAA Tournament, you'd say you had a good year. Also, most coaches would be rewarded with a new contract, not if your Larry Reynolds at Long Beach State he was shown the door today.

Apparently the university "didn't see a foundation to ensure long term success." And what might that be at Long Beach? Unbeaten record and a get the the Sweet 16 every year? It's Long Beach State! Its not Duke, UCLA, Kansas, North Carolina, Indiana or Kentucky. Schools that have long traditions of success and are expected to compete for a title every year.

They play in the Big West Conference, which doesn't exactly have the NCAA committee beating down their door to get more than the conference tournament winner in the big dance. On the other hand this years' team did have a lineup full of seniors which is probably why they felt there was "no future". But seriously, what are the expectations for winning at this institution? Can someone tell us, cause apparently 24-8 just don't cut it.

Long Beach State will allow coach's contract to expire despite tournament trip - Yahoo Sports

Diabetic David Wells

Today Padres' pitcher David Wells told the San Diego Tribune that he was diagnosed with Type-2 Diabetes two weeks ago.

Boomer said he's made lifestyle changes in the past few weeks the day he found out his diagnosis:

“From the time I found out, I made changes. No more starches and sugar. No more rice, pasta, potatoes and white bread. No more fast food. I've cut out alcohol.”

The funny thing is, should we really be all that surprised by this, he hasn't exactly a model of health. Wells, has obviously been overweight most, if not his entire career and has battled "The Rich Man's Disease" - Gout like ten times during his lengthy career.

It could only been a matter of time, with the amount of beers, pasta and pizzas that it appeared Wells was packin' in his midsection, you had to wonder if it was going catch up with him. If you look at most people (not all) who develop type-2 diabetes they eat poorly, are fat and don't exercise.

Now we will probably see David do a few disease awareness commercials or one of the many pharmaceutical drug commercials that treat his condition.

Wells has new ailment: diabetes - San Diego Tribune

If Greg Oden wants to turn pro his agent is waiting.

With all the talk today about Texas star Kevin Durant and whether he will enter the NBA draft after the NCAA Tournament is concluded, there has been an interesting development on the Greg Oden front.

No not the hard foul Oden committed that the entire media is all over like flies on shit. If the "no call" were called, it would have surely sealed a long bus trip from Lexington back to Columbus ending their season. But we all know what happened instead, a missed Xavier free throw, a clutch three pointer, The Mike Conley, Jr show in OT, and an Ohio State win.

This news comes from Indianapolis, Oden's hometown, where Mike Conley, Sr. has decided to start his own firm Mac Management Group, and by the sounds of it is planning on representing Oden and his son Mike Conley, Jr. if and when they enter themselves in the NBA Draft. He's known Oden since he was in sixth grade and coached him in AAU basketball in Indy.

“I just need to start putting things in place, not knowing what any of the guys are going to do,” Conley Sr. said today. “They’re definitely going to do something this year or next, so if I’m going to do it, I need to put myself in the position to be ready when the time comes.”

Regardless if Ohio State advances any further in the NCAA Tournament, it appears that Conley, Sr. is making sure that he's the guy to represent both the OSU stars, when that day comes. However it should be noted that apparently he didn't start this firm to suggest that Oden is going pro. What on earth would make us think that?

Greg Oden's ex-coach could be his future agent - Indianapolis Star
Oden got away with one

UNLV could be the only surprise in the NCAA Tourney

The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is now in the books, this year hasn't had quite the upsets, in fact the lowest seed this year to make the Sweet 16 is #7 UNLV.

No one could have expected the Rebels to still be alive, including us who had Georgia Tech beating them in the first round, except UNLV. Even if you had them advancing past day one, the chances that your bracket had UNLV getting past the Badgers were slim to none, if so we want to see it. They hadn't won an NCAA tournament game before Friday since 1991 and hadn't been to the Big Dance since 2000.

It might not be surprising if they get to the Elite Eight either. They play Oregon next, who has faced #14 Miami (OH), and #11 Winthrop, neither of which games were close. So far this would be Oregon's toughest game in this years' tourney and if UNLV can keep it close towards the end it ought to be interesting to see if the untested Ducks' will fold.

UNLV ousts Wisconsin - Yahoo Sports
Updated Bracket

Double Whammy for Durant

It wasn't a good day for Texas forward Kevin Durant. First off, his Texas Longhorns get owned by USC 87-68, despite him scoring 30 and ripping down 9 boards. In another sick performance this season, most likely his final one as a Longhorn.

It's been well publicized that the Boston Celtics' have had a horrible season, at one point losing 18 straight games last month. Well now, they get busted for excessively contacting Durant's family before he declares himself for the draft, nice. GM Danny Ainge decided it might be a good idea to sit next to Durant's mom during the Big 12 tournament, which overstepped the bounds of "minimal contact".

The punishment for Ainge and the Celts' is a $30,000 fine. No one knows what was said between the two parties, however, we're pretty sure that Ainge had to have mentioned the fact that he would love him to be a Celtic next year.

We wonder if it's a violation if Danny talks to his son, Austin Ainge, who plays for Brigham Young, would anyone care, he's not going to make the league anyway.


Ainge Fined for Contact with Durant's Mother - NBA.com

March Madness

Well there are another full slate of games today for all of the people out there neglecting their spouse, significant other or even the family dog during the past three days.

What a great day to nurse the hangover accumulated from too many Irish Car Bombs and green beers.

Hopefully there are some games that can equal the action we saw yesterday, three games that went to the extra period, Ohio State/Xavier, Pittsburgh/VCU, Vanderbilt/Washington State. Also, Butler with a close win over Maryland.

It ought to be interesting to see if there will be as much excitement today as there was yesterday. At least it's safe to say that Tennessee will not put up 100 on Virginia, at least at this point, but it could be a distinct possibility that Florida could do so against Purdue.


Live Scoreboard - ESPN.com

March Madness Office Pools

Well it's that time again, when the office pools come out of the woodwork and we all decide to throw down $20 for that $5 per bracket pool run by the gambler in the office. Knowing all along that the woman who fills out only one bracket will rake in about $300. She will make her picks based on the prettiest uniforms, mascot, or the sheer fact that she thinks that a player or coach is attractive.

Why do year in and year out throw do we throw our money down the crapper on this tournament knowing that it's just that unpredictable. It's not because a #16 seed will knock off a #1, there's like a 1% chance that will ever happen. Unless you think Central Connecticut State has a fighting chance?

So double think your picks this year and don't make your picks on what you saw during the regular season, that's out the window as of tomorrow night. Make sure you use the furthest thing from logic to make, pick a few upsets, and keep your eyes glued like you do every year hoping to get your payday.

Calculating Tournament Odds - What are the chances a 16 seed will win it all?