WHAT'S IN A NICKNAME?

Time to breakdown the NCAA Tournament, in a way only I can, by team nicknames of course. Now I could waste your time analyzing Ty Lawson's toe (just one thought on the toe: why is it such a big deal for him to miss the 1^st Round game anyway? I mean why not just rest him? I know the Tar Heels aren't as good without him, but is anyone now picking Radford to advance? Well?) or UCONN's #1 seeding, yada, yada, yada, but that's nothing you haven't read about furiously over the last three days or so. So, we're going in a slightly different direction, Bon appetite!

In the field of 65, 34 schools have animal nicknames, while 21 have human nicknames

Nine teams have feline nicknames, seven have aviary or bird nicknames, and five have dog nicknames.

The most popular nickname in this year's tourney? That would be Eagles and Tigers with four.

There are three Bulldog squads and two each of Panther, Wildcat, Husky, Golden Bear, Aggie and Viking.

But, there can only be one Highlander squad and that would be Radford.

Unfortunately Cincinnati is not in the field of 65, so there will be only one team of Bearcats. That of course being Binghamton.

And no Bucknell, means North Dakota State will be the only Bison roaming the fields of 65.

Out West.....

It'll be a dog fight in Portland when the Huskies of Washington grapple with the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

If the top four seeds in the West advance to the Sweet Sixteen, we'll be treated to Huskies (UCONN) vs. Huskies (Washington) and Tigers (Missouri) vs Tigers (Memphis). Bet that had something to do with the committee's seeding.

Best team name in the region? Cal St.-Northridge Matadors. Unfortunately neither Buffalo nor South Florida made the tourney, preventing the Bull vs. Matador matchup from happening. The Matadors are probably in for an early exit, as Tigers can accelerate a bit faster than Bulls.

Meanwhile on the other coast....

The Volunteers will fight with the Cowboys', probably over land or something, when Oklahoma State squares off with Tennessee.

While the Musketeers of Xavier will try and fens off the raid of the Portland State Vikings.

The Buccaneers of East Tennessee State will lock up with the Pittsburgh Panthers and a good old-fashioned NFC South battle, plus...

The winner of that game could end up meeting the Cowboys in the second round, and if some huge upsets occur, the Vikings in the Sweet Sixteen and either the Rams or Eagles in the Elite Eight!

Now the Rams and Eagles could be headed for a second round skirmish, if American and Virginia Commonwealth can both pull off first round upsets. Not likely, but you never know, that's why its called March Madness and not March Everything Goes According to Plan.

Yes, an American University athlete is an American Eagle, just like the clothing store.

And of course the matchup, we'd love to see in nature, Gophers vs. Badgers.

And then there's the outside chance of a Cowboys-Indians (Seminole to be precise) if Oklahoma State and Florida State make it to the Sweet 16.

Southern comfort....

While it is far from likely, if 7^th seeded Clemson and 8^th seeded LSU get to the Elite 8, we would have some Tiger on Tiger action, plus if things get really crazy they could possibly meet a Tiger team (Memphis or Mizzouu) in the Championship game.

Of course the best 1^st round matchup is the Zips vs. Zags, which will be the first ever tournament game between two teams with three letter nicknames starting with “z”. Now I know, Gonzaga is actually the Bulldogs, but they have unis with “Zags” on them, which is good enough for me. Having said that....

If Gonzaga advances to the Sweet Sixteen, there's a small possibility they could meet Butler for a Bulldogfight.

Favorite nickname: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

Midwest

Biggest first round game of name interest is Kansas versus North Dakota State. “Why”, you may ask? Well not only does Kansas hold the NCAA record for being upset by teams with “B” nicknames. The Bradley Braves and Bucknell Bison being the most recent, but they have not beaten a Bison team this century in the tournament! Yes North Dakota State is, in fact, the Bison. A Kansas loss would, quite possibly give them the record for most 1^st round losses to Bison in the NCAA Tournament.

The 2^nd Round could feature the Spartans going at it with the Trojans. Talk about Greek style!

A possible Sweet Sixteen matchup could feature the Demonic Deacons of Wake Forest versus the Saints of Siena, in a battle of good versus evil.

There could be a Regional Final for the birds, as the Cardinals of Louisville could meet either the Eagles of Boston College or the Jayhawks of Kansas.

Other nuggets:

The last time two teams with the same nickname meant in the final would be 1997, when the Arizona Wildcats defeated the Kentucky Wildcats.

Odds of that happening this year: Not good.

The Eagles are seeded 6, 7, 13 and 16

The Tigers are seeded 1, 3, 7, and 8 and the one and three seeds are in the same region.

The Bulldogs are seeded 4, 9 and 13.

Both Viking teams are seeded 13^th, which could mean something.

The Bears are 6, 7 and 15.

Wildcats are 3 and 12.

Aggies are 9 and 11, and if that weren't enough og a long shot, they are in the same region!

Same for the Huskies, seeded 1 and 4 in the same region.

And the Panthers are 1 and 12 seeds.

So there ya have it, enjoy the games!

FANTASYLAND

With baseball season being almost upon us, it of course also means, fantasy baseball season is also almost upon us. And many of you fanatics are probably poring through stat after stat, fantasy magazine after fantasy magazine, looking to find a certain edge. But, you see, I am sort of, what they call a fantasy baseball guru, and a good sportsman, so here today I am going to offer fantasy advice for those of you, who are playing against me in fantasy baseball, and only those playing against me in fantasy baseball. If you are not going to be in a league with me (well, few are in my league, really), than you may read on if you will, but this advice is meant only to help my opponents, so just know that. Anyway, away we go with fantasy baseball advice for my fantasy baseball opponents:

• Get closers and catchers early. Most people will tell you not to, so you can get a jump on the competition. Premium closers and relievers are scarce, get 'em while you can, so you don't end up with the next Greg Olson or Gregg Olson.
  
• Homers are facist! Get some guys that steal bases early. Like a Willy Taveras.
  
• Age over beauty. Much like in actual baseball, you're gonna want plenty of veteran leadership on your fantasy squad. Young guys are unproven, try and grab guys over 35 years old. The older the better. Randy Johnson, Scot Rolen, Tim Wakefield, Jamie Moyer, Moises Alou, the list of elder stars could go on for minutes.
• If you really do want youth, really go for youth. 22 and under. So really stay away from those players in the 23-35 range as much as possible.
• Stay away from guys whose names end in "ez", There's no telling how old they really are, and that spells trouble.
• Stay away from guys who have been injury free. All that staying off the DL in the past means is that they are due for a major injury. You know, your Lance Berkmans, Roy Halladays, CC Sabathias, and Miguel Cabreras.
  
• The reverse is true as well. Pick guys who are often injured. They are due to make it through a season safe and sound. Its the law of averages, it just makes sense. Think Hank Blalock, Howie Kendrick, Troy Glaus
  
• The same can be said for the "big" stat guys. Guys who continually put up "big" numbers are due for a drop. I think it was Dick Van Patten who said, "What goes up must come down." So avoid big names like Pujols, Wright, and Beltran. And....
  
• Those who have faired poorly for a number of years are due to break out. On draft day, look for guys like Bobby Crosby, Nate Robertson, Kenji Johjima, and Richie Sexson.
  

So there are just a few draft day tips for my fantasy opponents. Hope this helps and good luck out there.