There was a point in the second half of last night’s NCAA men’s basketball championship game that I found myself wondering, “Hey self, is this game on track to become what most people on the Twitters will call one of the worst national championship games in recent history?” Thankfully, the Kansas Jayhawks made one of their trademark late runs to chop a 16-point Kentucky Wildcats lead down to 5, making it a slightly above average title game.

And that’s about all there is to it, because terrible ball-handling by the Jayhawks in the last three minutes allowed the Wildcats to win their first title since 1998 and the 8th in program history, according to the really lame “GR8NESS” thing all the fans were doing. But congrats to Kentucky fans, unless they keep setting their cities on fire, in which case you guys are setting a poor example for the students of schools with terrible basketball programs.

As for the star of this game, UK’s Anthony Davis, he probably had the most amazing 6-point effort we’ll ever hear about, because his 16 rebounds and 6 blocks show just how amazing he might possibly one day be, depending on whether he stays at Kentucky or becomes the guy that Michael Jordan passes on as the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.

Read the rest of this entry »

That’s not a guy in a spandex bodysuit, it’s a robot. I promise.

Sports

The Best and Worst of ACW Queen of Queens - I try to keep pro wrestling coverage on With Leather mainstream and infrequent, so in case you’re the type who wants to read more, head over to TH’s The Wrestling Blog and read my extremely, extremely truncated Best and Worst of this weekend’s awesome Anarchy San Antonio show. [The Wrestling Blog]

Hermes Franca’s Statement From Jail - Hopefully his statement is “I look like Hermes from Futurama in a wig”. Maybe he committed sexual assault with a limbo? Regardless, he reads like MMA’s Sammy Sosa, and that’s always fun. [Cage Potato]

John Calipari: College Basketball’s Frank Abagnale - “The people of Kentucky have embraced our family as one of their own and we love being here and there is no other place we’d rather be.” Kentucky embracing your family can only lead to horrible things, just so you know. [Pineriders]

Minor League Team Wears Twitter-Themed Jerseys - The IronPigs are the team that accidentally line-drived the Phillie Phanatic in his neck, so of COURSE they’re the team that mocks up and wears Twitter jerseys. I hope one of the players had to play an entire double-header with @HOTBOY69Z on his back. [SBN]

Not Sports

The Chick from Doctor Who Likes to Party - Man, who knew a drop dead gorgeous, famous actress would like to get plastered and f**k around without consequences? I hope we get a “Hipster Doctor Who Loves Looking Like Frisky Dingo” follow-up story. [Warming Glow]

Warner Still Planning Green Lantern Sequel - Of course they are. I’m the nerd who waited in line for a midnight showing of all three Spider-Man movies and even I’m sick of all these comic book things. Give me an Inhumans movie (preferably written by me) and maybe something about the Silver Surfer that doesn’t involve Jessica Alba, then stop making them forever. [Film Drunk]

8-Bit Fashion - I think Ufford said it best when he wrote “Want to look stupid?” after this link. I would add “Want to get stomped by an Italian day-laborer? Wear these clothes, hold a turtle, and walk around in the sewers”. [Gamma Squad]

The Best Celebrity Twitter Reactions to New York’s Gay Marriage Bill - New York Giants receiver David Tyree was forced to give back his Super Bowl victory and the East Coast of the United States has plunged into a Hellish anarchy, but check out what celebrities on Twitter thought about human beings being treated like humans in real life. [Uproxx]

The world is waiting for LeBron James to decide where he will choke in the playoffs next year, but the wild speculations as to where he will sign have already started. The Chicago Tribune cited an ‘anonymous league source’ (aka a snitch who would rather not be fired) that NBA wheeler-and-dealer William Wesley is selling the idea of a package deal with LeBron and Coach Cal.

League sources said Sunday that noted NBA power broker William Wesley continues to work back channels to sell John Calipari and James as a package deal to franchises such as the Bulls, Nets and Clippers with coaching vacancies and salary cap room.

Coach Cal has already tweeted about the subject, but he’s a scumbag with a record as clean as a Willie Nelson drug test.

Obviously, the chances of this happening anywhere are slim, and Cleveland should still be regarded as LeBron’s home for next season. A package deal in LA, New Jersey, or Chicago is not going to happen. Read the rest of this entry »

UPDATE: ESPN confirmed it; Calipari is heading to Lexington.

With college basketball’s Final Four finally fortified, attention shifts to the other 343 programs in NCAA Division I, many of which have already begun waiting ’til next year. One program not satisfied with simply waiting was Kentucky, who could barely get Billy Gillispie out the door before putting together a plan to make a home-run hire. Specifically, that plan was a large sack of cash. They called Florida’s Billy Donovan and wafted the smell of old, sweaty money through the phone. Donovan, who already is believed to be the highest-paid coach in the college game, said no.

Memphis’ John Calipari was something of a media darling heading into this tournament–he’s such a great recruiter, he’s really put that program on the map, Memphis would have been a 1-seed had they played in the Big East–such that it almost seemed that ESPN was putting together a pitch for Calipari for anyone who was listening. Kentucky was listening, and their pile of money has seemingly found a home. How much money it actually is depends on who you ask, but it’s assumed that whatever Calipari receives will supplant Donovan as the best earner in his sport.

From CollegeHoopsJournal:

Update, 3:43 p.m. ET: News is now starting to permeate that Memphis has asked permission to speak with Missouri’s Mike Anderson. That’s as much of a surrender outside of a direct quote from anyone that you could ask for right now.

Update: 6:35 p.m. ET: WHAS has reported that Calipari has accepted the job at Kentucky. WLEX has confirmed that report. It’s all over but the press conference.

Press conferences are easier to win, anyway. It’s too bad that you have to blow ass for a few seasons before you can actually have one.