Here comes Santa Claus!

Santa Claus sent Derrick Caracter home early this year. As expected by all, the Derrick Caracter soap opera at Louisville would have its reality TV twists and turns. In the latest installment Rick Pitino sent Derrick Caracter (often misspelled as Derek Character) home so he can get his act together (paraphrasing what was reported). This is some form of a suspension, so perhaps if Caracter does what Louisville expects him, he may be back? After all, he did lose all the weight that was expected of him! We all hope that Caracter gets his act together and work towards realizing his potential both off and on the basketball court. Some interesting Caracter links from the present and the past:
* Louisville Carrier Journal story #1, Eric Crawford commentary, a Brian Bennett take and Rick Bozich takes a more critical look at the shaky recruiting practices of Rick Pitino (not just Caracter, but gambling on Telfair over Lofton or Rondo), and a few more...
* Multi-color fishwrap story, a Jim Rome term :-)
* Virginia Student paper

How can Jon Stewart manage two demanding jobs? Not only he is the host of the Daily Shw on Comedy Central, but he is also the men's basketball coach of Dayton :-)

Dean Smith's recent interview on Sportscenter with Jay Bilas on Bob Knight breaking his record was interesting indeed. Dean said he was happy someone else has to carry the burden of the record, and he was complimentary of Knight, despite their different approaches to winning and dealing with players, media and the like.

Wild Prediction Alert!: Mike Montgomerry to coach Michigan??? While the other Dookie Mike Brey has managed to make Notre Dame basketball competitive this year, Michigan, a team with senior starters, continues to drift sideways, the big loss at UCLA a haunting experience for the Blue Maze. Even the most pro-Amaker people will lose confidence in him unless he turns it around quickly. So how about Mike Montgomerry? Although he is a west-coast guy (montana, stanford, golden state warriors), Ann Arbor has quite a few similaries with Palo Alto. Oregon is no longer a possibility unless the Ducks have a complete meltdown. Berkeley seems to be happy with Ben Braun regardless of wins and losses. Again, this is a wild prediction, with absolutely no insider information!

Great news! I am happy to reveal that my new basketball training DVD is going to be released on April 1, 2007. The DVD will have major emphasis on defense. The title of the DVD: "Matador Defense".

Facial Resemblance segment: Spencer Hawes vs swimmer Michael Phelps

This is specifically for Big 12 fans: Would you like your coach to win the press conferences and media events (Bill Self) or win the games (Sean Sutton)?

Josh McRobert's mom has become a cult icon in college basketball. Apparently Rick Majerus is not the only one who has a not-so-secret-crush on her!

Coach K and Mark Few are thankful for the exact same thing: Oklahoma State and Pittsburgh going into double over-time. The double over-time pre-empted the first half of the Gonzaga vs Duke game at Madison Square Garden, which was one of the ugliest halves in basketball. Recruits and fans were spared...

Bob Knight made an interesting comment: Why not keep track of doctor's records?

ESPN has so many channels and outlets, so many hours of programming, yet there isn't even a weekly show about college basketball! Come on ESPN :-)

Their performance against LSU should serve as an introduction to the basketball world: "Meet the New Washington Huskies", no Nate Robinson, no Brandon Roy, no krafty Jamaal Williams, but there is Spencer Hawes, Q Poindexter (no relation to Showtime's Dexter), Phil Nelson (no relation to 80s singer Phyllis Nelson), and Adrian Oliver. The team is still without injured wing Joel Smith and a couple of forwards