MY "TEMPTING 10" IN THE "SWEET SIXTEEN"!

After a very rocky start, I still have ten teams left in the Sweet 16 on my *5 minute NCAA hoop bracket and 
my Final 4 is still in tact. 

My remaining teams are:

Florida

Michigan St

Iowa St. 

UConn

Arizona

San Diego St.

Wisconsin

Kentucky

Louisville

Michigan

My Final 4

Florida

UConn

Arizona

Kentucky

(Gators def Kentucky for NCAA title) 
--

* I fill out only one bracket and do it in 5 minutes or less! 
**

A LOOK AT THE LIFE OF LEBRON!

Everybody seems to have their eyes on the college hoop scene, this week, so let's shift gears and take a look at a 

superstar who skipped college altogether. 

When you click the link below, you will see me and my small part in a very interesting mini doc from bio.com.

 It is all about Lebron James!

http://www.biography.com/people/lebron-james-399748

**

HAIL TO THE HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS!

I've worked in sports broadcasting for a lot of years, 

but there always seem to be new challenges.

Last Saturday, I called play-by-play for Time Warner Cable Sportsnet on the CIF High School Regional Basketball Finals.

 These were big games. 

The winners would advance to play for the state championships, next Saturday in Sacramento. The challenging part was getting to call four games in a row, back to back to back to back.

 I had never done that before. 

I got in the announce chair and put on the headset just before 2pm and, except for a couple of bathroom breaks, worked straight through until the final trophies were handed out after 10pm on Saturday night.

I called the Girls' Division I and Girls' Open Division games with my L.A. Sparks' broadcast partner, Tracy Warren. 

We got to see Canyon Springs and Long Beach Poly move on for a

 shot at state titles.

It was fun working with Tracy again and great to call the Boys' Division I and Boys' Open Division games with former UCLA head coach, Jim Harrick. 

I've known Jim for a long time, but this was the first time that we got to work together and we saw two exciting games.

 Centennial High School pulled out a win and so did Mater Dei in a back and forth battle with a very resilient Westchester High. That game featured two of California's top players, 

Stanley Johnson for the Matadors and Elijah Stewart of the Westchester Comets.

It was a treat being back on the high school beat, working with good people, and staring down another challenge. 
Many thanks to our ProAngle/ TWC crew for a job very well done

 on a very long day.

**

HOOPIN IT UP ON A CIF SATURDAY!

Busy Saturday! I'll be calling four CIF Regional Finals basketball games on Time Warner Cable SportsNet. 

The games begin at 10 AM (pt) at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario and my day gets going at 2pm. 

2pm- Girls Divison I -  Canyon Springs v Alemany

4pm- Boys Division I - Chino Hills v Corona Centennial

6pm- Girls Open Division- Etiwanda v Long Beach Poly

8pm- Boys Open Division- Westchester v Mater Dei

I'll be working with Jim Harrick and Tracy Warren 

so tune in if you can!

**

BRACKETS- SHMRACKETS!

Submitted for your approval- or NOT!

I have FLORIDA- UCONN- ARIZONA- KENTUCKY 

in my Final Four bracket.

Florida and Kentucky meet in the national title game and

the GATORS WIN the NCAA Basketball championship. 

*Disclaimer- I swear that I took less than 5 minutes to complete my brackets and 

freely admit that I have never won anything with my picks.  LOL

Good luck with yours!

**

ZEN MASTER ON BROADWAY!!

It is official!

 Phil Jackson is the new 

President of Basketball Operations for the NY Knicks. 

The Knickerbockers haven't won an NBA championship since Jackson played for the team in 1973 and the "Zen Master" has a lot of work in front of him on the big Broadway stage. 

I worked on the Lakers' broadcasts for many years and hosted Phil's radio show as well. He has never worked as an NBA executive and he told me several times that he had no desire to be an NBA general manager. 

Steve Mills has that job in New York and I see Jackson relying heavily on Mills for the leg work while Phil's role plays out more as a supervising consultant who owns ultimate decision making powers for as long as James Dolan allows.

The Knicks don't have much talent and they have no wiggle room in the salary cap. They do have Carmello Anthony (blessing or curse?) Anthony is one of the most explosive offensive players in the game. He makes the Knicks exciting, but he does not make them a better team. 

Anthony says he is willing to"adjust" his game, but the only time he was seen as a "team player"was in the Olympics when he was surrounded by amazingly talented players. 

That is not going to happen in NY for some time.

If Anthony feels that he is the best player on the squad, he will stick to his individual game, 

put the brakes on the offense, 

and do it his way. 

Phil Jackson will make a difference in New York. As a coach, he was a basketball guru who knew how to bring out the best in individuals and get them to play hard for the good of the team. It remains to be seen if Jackson can make that happen from the front office.

I know this, Phil loves a challenge and he loves New York. Turning the Knicks around quickly will take a near miracle, but his signing has already triggered positive buzz in the Big Apple and around the NBA. It has also got Lakers' fans scratching their heads again.

Jackson had tremendous success with the Lakers and he is engaged to Jeannie Buss, the team's V.P. of Business Operations, yet the organization has rejected him twice in the past six months. 

I thought Phil left the door open when he asked for a week to consider the Knicks' offer, but the Lakers' brass never knocked or negotiated. Egos prevailed and now 

New York's gain is the Lakers' loss!

It will not be easy for Jackson to carry on a love affair with New York and with his west coast fiancé, at the same time. 

They are "kissing rivals" now and it did not have to be that way. The Lakers need as much help as the Knicks right now and Jackson would have been a great addition to L.A.'s front office, but the season of disenchantment continues for Lakers' fans who have to be wondering

 if the organization has any direction at all right now.

**

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!

I woke up to a Shamrock Shake in So Cal - 

a 4.4 earthquake at 6:25 AM(pt). 

 My Irish friends must have started partying early.

Have fun today, but remember what Pat O'Brien once told me, 

" St Patrick's Day is for amateurs, so stay off the roads!"

Take a look at how they "do it up green" in Chicago.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/chicago-river-goes-green-st-100702185.html

**

CRYSTAL CLEAR! IT'S BILLY'S BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my favorite comedians, 

Billy Crystal.

 I wish he would do more stand-up work, but I am glad that B.C. gave us so many great moments at SNL, the movies and the Oscars. He turns 66 today and if you haven't read his book or heard his CD "STILL FOOLING 'EM" 

you are missing something special. 

In the book, Billy chronicles his first 65 years in a humorous, yet touching, way. He discusses his family, his love of baseball, his successes and his failures and he gives us an inside look at his career & many of the celebrities he has met along the way.

( Jack Palance, Robin Williams, Meg Ryan, 

Rob Reiner, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, etc) 

The best part about the multi-disk CD set is that Crystal is the author and the narrator. He brings his personality to the project and also reads several of the chapters in front of a live audience which gives the read an extra added boost.

 If you Billy Crystal, or comedy, or show biz or family, or all of the above, you will love "Still Fooling 'Em". It is packed with a ton of laughs and a few tears as well, especially if you are over 40. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILLY!

**

SPORTS TALK AT THE NBS/AERho CONVENTION!

I had a great time talking "sports broadcasting" at the National Broadcasting Society/ AERho Convention in Burbank, CA. 
There was a good crowd of prospective sportscasters at our panel discussion and I told them to:

1. Find your passion in the business & make that your primary goal

2. Get experience wherever you can. 
   A cell phone can be your personal hand-held production studio

3. Network! A lot of times it really is "who you know"

4. Be willing to start out in a small market & work your way up

5. Take job interviews! Even if you do not get the job, the practice  
    will prepare you for your next interview.

The most enjoyable part of the morning was meeting with several conventioneers after the panel discussion. They were all anxious to find ways to get into the very competitive business of sports broadcasting. I hope my suggestions help. Sportscasting can be a great way to make a living, but I also told today's group.

A. Get your vision checked!
     You need to come into this business with your eyes wide open.

B. Eat as much as possible & get a big, fat butt, because someday 
     you just might need something to fall back on.

Thanks for the invitation NBS/AERho.
 I hope everyone enjoyed the morning as much as I did.

**

TALKING SPORTS!

Thursday, March 13th, I will be participating in a 

"SPORTS BROADCASTING" panel discussion at the 

National Broadcasting Society/ AERho convention. 

The chat starts at 10AM (pt) at the Burbank Airport Marriott.

**

SWIMMING WITH THE SHARK!

GREAT STORY!

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/nature/post/great-white-shark-named-lydia-becomes-first-known-white-shark-to-cross-atlantic/

**

LENT-ILL SOUP!

What did the Lakers give up for Lent?

1. 142 points to the Clippers on the night after Ash Wednesday

    2. 132 points the next night in Denver.

Just when it looked as though the Lakers were 

"giving up" the season" for Lent, 

they went out Sunday and beat the OKC Thunder behind 42 points from Jodie Meeks. 

The "meek may inherit the earth" but these Lakers cannot inherit, or even buy, their way into the NBA playoffs, this year. 

I appreciate their fighting spirit, but the organization would be better served if this team "gave up the ghost" and got more ping-pong balls for the NBA draft.

**

TBT with ALI!

Throwback Thursday to the 1990's and a chance to visit with Muhammad Ali. I've been fortunate to meet with "the Greatest" on several occasions and he was always as dynamic, personable and intriguing as advertised. One night, I even saw him "levitate". 

Maybe I'll tell you that story sometime. 

This meeting was at a celebrity/charity event in Los Angeles. 

The name tag on the seat between the "champ" and me was for former USC & NFL star, Mike Garrett. If you look closely behind that chair, you will see the name tag for jockey, Chris McCarron.

 Quite night and quite a thrill!

**

REMEMBERING ROBERTO CLEMENTE

Roberto Clemente once said,

 " I am convinced that God wanted me to be a baseball player.

 I was born to play baseball."

If you ever saw him play, you would probably agree and Clemente was great off of the baseball field as well! 

I was happy to be included in this bio.com 

mini-documentary on Roberto Clemente. 

Please take a look.

http://www.biography.com/people/roberto-clemente-9250805

**

THE NBA's MASKED MAN!

Lebron James breaks his nose and has to wear a protective mask. These masks actually work as shock absorbers, so if an athlete takes a hit to the face the full force/ energy does not go directly on the nose, but is distributed through out the mask. So, Lebron chooses a black mask instead of the usual transparent one. 

Good look! Part Green Hornet and part Hannibal Lecter. Villainous! Very fashionable, but the NBA said "NO". So, LBJ had to switch to the traditional mask.

It has NO flare and looks as though it was cut from the plastic pad you put under your desk chair to protect the carpet. I don't mean to stick my nose into this but hey, Lebron has a teammate who looks like this…

and the NBA is worried about a Zorro mask on its biggest star? 

I don't get it! What is the big deal? The NBA should take a page from the NHL and encourage more flamboyance in its mask department. 

Now, that is a mask!

 Put that on Lebron and see if people don't take notice. Even non- NBA fans would tune in and the league could build on the theme. Lebron should have flames on the mask that he wears for "Heat" home games and a Mardi Gras mask when Miami plays New Orleans!

  

The possibilities are endless!

It is time for the NBA to get out of the dark ages of maskdom and the league will have a great opportunity to change its ways on March 12th when the Heat plays at Chicago for "Latin Night."  Come on Adam Silver! Think outside the "plastic box" and let King James wear a Rey Mysterio mask that night!

Now, that would be something to see!

**