If you're a sports fan like I am, then you have to be salivating right now just thinking about tonight's NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game between Ohio State and Florida.
A game that could hold its own on hype alone (Florida is the defending champs, Ohio State the number one team in the country for awhile), it revisits the college football championship game, this time with the odds switched around. While Ohio State was the clear favorite coming into the Fiesta Bowl, the Gators prevailed. What will happen tonight when the favored Gators again do battle with the Buckeyes of Ohio State? Will it be the final stamp on a brilliant two year run by Florida, or will Ohio State exact their revenge on the hardcourt?
SI.com's Stewart Mandel weighs in on the colossal battle tonight, and the favoritism for Florida coming into the game:
On paper, Monday night's game is a matchup of two No. 1 seeds. Of the two, Ohio State is the one ranked No. 1 in the reigning AP and coaches polls. The Buckeyes (35-3) have a better record than the Gators (34-5), and Florida has lost three times since the last time Ohio State did on Jan. 9.
And yet, from my unscientific but highly thorough research, I can tell you the prevailing opinion here is that the Gators are huge, colossal favorites against the Buckeyes. Maybe it has something to do with that whole "defending national champions" thing. Or perhaps some people were mildly swayed by the way Florida so ruthlessly dispatched UCLA here Saturday night. And now that you mention it, the fact the Gators have already beaten Ohio State once this season by, oh, 26 points, may have crept into a few peoples' minds.
This isn't a sentiment shared solely by the writers covering the two teams, either. Try the Buckeyes' own head coach.
"I do feel like we're the underdog," Thad Matta said. "I understand why people would give us no shot in this game on paper."
Man. It's a wonder they're even bothering to play this thing.
In fact, Florida is viewed as being so absurdly superior that one New York reporter practically pounced on Buckeyes guard Ron Lewis during his turn at the podium upon noting that Lewis, unlike his teammates, had referred to the Gators as a "good" team rather than "great." Then, after Lewis declined the opportunity to change his word choice, the reporter made sure to ask Florida's players about his abominable slight.
"Oh my God! He said that?" replied a sarcastic Joakim Noah. "No! What a bad person." [READ FULL STORY]
Related links:
Florida, OSU are playing for it all [Columbus Dispatch]
History for the taking [Gainsville Sun]
Our pick: Mike Conley Jr. and Greg Oden have played brilliantly all season, and despite their youth, this game will be their time to shine. Florida has had to live up to the weight of bringing back another National Championship all season, while Ohio State has been stunning everyone game after game with their ability to win and play mature basketball with a floor full of youngsters. Besides, being from a Big Ten school, we have to root for the Big Ten team...especially when they're the underdog.
Ohio State 76, Florida 73
Photos courtesy of SI.com.
MUSIC
REM to Preview New Album on Tour
DUBLIN, Ireland - R.E.M. plans to give fans a taste of tracks from their upcoming album during a series of gigs in Dublin this summer.
In a statement posted Friday on the R.E.M. Web site, the band said it would hold a five-night "working rehearsal" for the album at Dublin's Olympia Theatre June 30, July 1 and July 3-5.
Singer Michael Stipe said the concerts would provide "the great start we need for our next album's work."
"I intend to hit the ground running," he said.
Stipe and bandmates Peter Buck and Mike Mills are due to begin work on the as-yet-untitled 14th album this spring with producer Jacknife Lee [LINK].
Featured Album: Bright Eyes Cassadaga
I've never really been sure of my feelings towards Conor Oberst aka Bright Eyes. I've always enjoyed listening to him and even have a few of his albums, but I've never been able to wholly buy into the emo-driven Hot Topic fandom that follows with his music. But, I'm a patient music fan and have finally come to grips with the sheer folkloric ambiance of Bright Eyes most recent record, Cassadaga. The comparisons to Dylan are apt, but Dylan is still light years ahead of anywhere Oberst will end up. But in listening to Cassadaga, I'm reminded more of the same emotional repertoire that Elliot Smith brought to his lyrics, albeit in a more hauntingly beautiful way.
Bright Eyes - "Four Winds"
Bright Eyes - "No One Would Riot For Less"
Bright Eyes - "Clairaudients (Kill or Be Killed)"
Two more tracks for download at Idolator.
Saddle Creek page for Cassadaga