The Daily Grind - Thursday

The 2006 Maui brackets have been announced! One more step closer to the new season basketball friends :) UCLA gets the overall #1 seed as they face Chaminade, and then the winner of Kentucky-DePaul. DePaul may be a big surprise this season :) The other side features Memphis-Oklahoma (Memphis lost two early to the NBA, while the Sooners lost three super-recruits because of Kelvin Sampson). The winner of that faces Purdue-GeorgiaTech. This will be an exciting Georgia Tech team with Dwight Howard's HS point-guard Javaris Critterton and Thaddeus Young joining the current group of athletic players. I am guessing a UCLA-Kentucky semifinal is what ESPN wanted :) And for those planning ahead, the 2007 Maui Invitational field includes Duke, Arizona State, Illinois, LSU, Marquette, Oklahoma State, Princeton and Chaminade. I am sure the organizers will place Herb Sendek in the same bracket as Duke for obvious reasons :)

The Iowa State troubles continue. Euro-center Jiri Hubulek will sit out the first 6 games because he received improper benefits. He received food (Majerus was not involved), a pair of pants (was it Walmart-generic or Armani?) and the use of a car (Yugo or Escalade?)

The Jim O'Brien vs Ohio State drama continues as a judge awards him with over $2 million. Ohio State plans to appeal. It even made the rotation of news on ESPN News (TV channel) yesterday. But Ohio State fans are probably more worried about the injury of Greg Oden.

If you must read only one college basketball website daily in the summer, InsiderHoops is my favorite. They have good coverage of the daily happenings. In today's edition, you will learn about Gonzo getting his 7th commit since taking over at Seton Hall (Gonzo has been wanting that big NY/NJ gig for years, so he better make the most of it), Spencer Hawes and the all-of-a-sudden big frontline at Washington, the Croatian invasion continues at Northwestern, lots of pub on the new coach at Nebraska, and a new diet craze sweeping the Kansas State basketball program.

Today's 2006-07 preview at CHN is Kent State, which becomes even more relevant as their coach (Jim Christian) is frequently mentioned as a candidate for the Nebraska opening.