We run hot and cold on Dick Vitale. At times we just groove on his
passion. But like everyone else, at times, he annoys us. Take his
latest column for USA Today: he's
plugging the Big East for any number of spots in the NCAA Tournament.
But Dick, come on: DePaul is 8-8. Do you even read the standings
anymore?
And while Rutgers is, yes, 12-4, look at who they've played: Austin Peay,
Delaware State, Kent State, St. Mary's, UMES, lost to Buffalo, St.
Thomas, Maine, and S.C. State. That's eight crap games, frankly.
They did play Illinois, and lost, and beat Temple, and lost to
Charlotte. The also played Princeton, but the old Tiger rag, it ain't what
it used to be. We hate to say this, because we admire Princeton immensely,
but reality check: they suck. So make it nine crap games out of sixteen.
So on the basis of beating Temple and maybe almost beating Charlotte, they're
in? After losing to Buffalo? Look, they're a MAC team, and we love the
MAC, it's in all seriousness a great, great conference, full of nifty teams,
dangerous as hell during the tournament - but Buffalo? This is the Really
Big East?
And don't get us started on DePaul, who Rutgers, by the way, plays once, and
won that one, and it could just possibly go under the crap category if DePaul
can't get past .500.
Despite the stupid schedule the Big East has to play, with a tremendous
imbalance, DePaul is 1-4 in the conference. Come on, Dick.
And even Rick Pitino is mystified by where Louisville is ranked, saying his
team is young and callow. But Pitt, having, in the Big East
tradition, played a schedule full of nobodies, with the exceptions of
Auburn, South Carolina, and Wisconsin - and let's bear in mind the relatively
weak condition of the SEC here - South Carolina is 9-7, and Auburn is 8-6.
Look, the NCAA Tournament will sort out a lot, but given the bizarre schedule
the Big East must use, and the conference-wide tradition of scheduling
absolutely no threats outside of the conference if it is at all avoidable (bear
in mind the Big East wimped out on the ACC-Big East challenge), we'll wait for
results, thank you very much. And we don't mean bids