Man in the Hat media

How many of you picked Kansas to win it all? I did, and now my bracket is busted...thanks a lot Northern Iowa. Also, I made the foolish choice of picking Texas to beat Wake Forest, and then top Kentucky on their way to the Final Four...thanks to the Deacs, that won't happen either. And I couldn't be happier. These upsets prove that the tournament doesn't need an expansion with would give the top seeds a bye week, and let the lower ranked teams play the UNI's and St. Mary's and Temple's and Cornell's of the world. What makes the tournament exciting are those first round, seemingly insurmountable games that feature an all-world one or two seed, against some mid-major school that no one has heard of (I didn't even know there was a school in northern Iowa, much less that they played basketball out there). There is the argument that more teams means more upsets, but that isn't true. As stated, the top teams would get a bye, and the lower seeds would just...

I l o ve history. It is one of my favorite subjects in school. I just find it interesting to look back in the past and draw parallels to today. Of course to do this, the history text must be accurate, and give all sides of an issue. But I guess the Texas school board has decided that giving all sides isn't needed anymore. According to the New York Times story published March 12, the Texas School board, which is an elected body, decided it would be a good idea to inject a more "conservative" view of American history, science and economics textbooks. Why does this matter to you? Texas is one of the largest buyers of textbooks, and what they decide is appropriate in a book is what is used by schools across the country. Here are some of the amendments the board made that was deemed appropriate: Teaching how the Venona papers "legitimized" McCarthy's claim of communist infiltration. The "unintended consequences" of Title IX, affirmative action and the ...

I love baseball. In my opinion, it is the greatest game played here in the states, and is slowly become the worlds number two game, behind soccer of course. But just because I love the sport doesn't mean I think it is perfect. In fact, I think MLB could use a few changes to make things more interesting. I'll skip how the TV deals favor the Yankees and Red Sox, and get to the main point of this piece. I think that MLB needs to do a realignment to not only make the divisions more geographically friendly for travel, but to also level the playing field. The best example of this unfairness is the NL Central and the AL West. In the current NL Central there are six teams, compared to the four in the AL West. To me, all divisions should have the same amount of teams, giving each team the same chance of making the playoffs. In my realigned MLB, there will still be six divisions. and we can keep the American League-National League rivalry, though I would like for the designated hitter ar...

It seems just like yesterday we were watching the Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas Longhorns play for the National Title in the Rose Bowl. Or maybe it was like yesterday National Signing Day and top prospects gave new light into a programs future. College football has become a year-long sport, and the next big event is the start of spring practice, followed by teams annual spring games. This is the time of year when teams get a chance to look at younger, unproven guys and see what they can do, to implement new schemes, or help settle position battles. This goes the same for both the South Carolina Gamecocks and Clemson Tigers. This edition of the Lake Report, we will focus on objectives for the spring, and a projected post-Spring ball roster. Keep in mind, this report will only include players enrolled for the spring semester. Another report will come out in the fall including all incoming players. Clemson The Tigers will have an interesting spring to say the least. They will have to pre...

Signing Day has come and gone, only to mark the next recruiting cycle that will take place for 2011. But before we get ahead of ourselves and look at the next class of high school seniors, I want to take a look at the signed guys for both Clemson and South Carolina, give a grade to each school and give a projection for the state of South Carolina's top 15 prospects for 2011. Also, I'll give my rating of where the two SC schools rank in their conferences. Clemson The Tigers signed a very small class in 2009, which led many to believe they would sign a monster-sized class for 2010. And the Tigers made good on that expectation, signing 23 players, and this class addresses some needs and and has some pretty highly rated guys. But the one word I'd use to describe this class is fast. According to Rivals, Clemson signed seven guys that ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds or faster. They also addressed what I believe is the biggest need in defensive backs with the losses of many s...

We can put a wrap on the 2009-2010 season for both teams from South Carolina. Both teams showed signs of improvement, and showed areas for improvement. I'll take a look at both schools, give a grade to their seasons, areas of improvement, and outlook for 2010-11. Clemson Tigers The Tigers did well under first year coach Dabo Swinney. They did something they never did under Bowden, punch a ticket for the ACC Title game. They also featured an electric duo in CJ Spiller and Jacoby Ford. Looking at the season, they beat almost all the teams they were suppose to, but the loss to Maryland is a glaring black mark on the record. The two losses to Georgia Tech also hurt, because one cost them the ACC title and a shot at the Orange Bowl. In fact, if Clemson could've beat South Carolina, this might have been considered one of the best seasons in Clemson history. Also, QB Kyle Parker improved throughout the year using the weapons he had. The defense was good as well, led by DE Ricky Sapp, ...

It is that time. Time for the bowl season to kick into gear. Though I would love nothing more than a playoff like D1AA, D2, and D3 college football, the BCS is the system we are stuck with. So, let's make the best of things and pick some games. For the final week, I'll look at the National Title game, the Papajohn's.com Bowl and the Music City Bowl. National Title Game (Jan. 7 @ 8 pm) 1 Alabama (13 -0) vs 2 Texas (1 3-0) For the first time, we may have a legit number 1 vs number 2 for the national title. Alabama made a statement last week when they dethroned the defending national champion Florida Gators in the SEC title game 32-13. Texas didn't have quite of an easy road last week in the Big 12 title game against Nebraska. Whether you think the Cornhuskers got robbed (which they did) Texas won the game on a last second field goal 13-12. But none of what happens matters. All that matters is what they bring to the table that day. Three to Watch Longhorns Colt McCoy (Qua...