With March Madness heating up with all of the conference tournament action and the Big Dance less than a week away, I thought I'd throw out some quick predictions. Before you go betting the house on any of the following, consider that the last time I won an NCAA Tournament pool I was 18 years old and Keith Smart and the Indiana Hoosiers were the last ones dancing.  Talking about 1987 for all of you too you to remember.

By the time the 2010 tournament wraps up you'll be certain of the following 10 things:

1. Calling Notre Dame's Luke Harangody "Gody" is so fun it almost makes you forget how goofy he looks.
2. BYU's Jimmer Fredette will be this year's equivalent of Stephen Curry.
3. The last thing you'll want to do is build something together with the fine people at Lowe's.
4. CBS' Gus Johnson is easily excited and tends to overreact.
5. Tennessee will erase several years of underachieving by earning a trip to the Elite 8.
6. That after thinking long and hard about, it's just too soon and you just don't feel comfortable having Enterprise pick you up.
7. That this year's tourney bracket was one of the most difficult to fill out since ... ever.
8. The people at CBS should reconsider bringing Verne Lundquist back in 2011.
9. Texas was one of the most talented teams in the field (assuming they get in) and also one of the most overrated.
10. The start of the football season can't get hear quick enough.

Sleepers (term is subjective): Tennessee, Baylor, Kansas State, Marquette and Montana.

Championship pick: Kentucky 72, Syracuse 64.
 

Lots of things going on in the sports world these days so instead of picking one single topic and writing an expanded column on it, I'll just throw in my two cents on several of them.

NCAA Tournament Expansion:
This debate is a simple one. As it is right now with 65 teams in the mix to start the tourney, I'd say about 20 actually have a chance to win the title and it's likely closer to about 8-10 that have a good chance of winning. If the field is then opened up to 96 teams, those numbers don't change. The list of contenders would remain exactly the same while the list of pretenders would grow. What would the point of adding 31 more teams, all of which, have little-to-no chance of seeing the championship game other than on TV like you and me. I'm a huge fan of the excitement that accompanies the Madness but sometimes less is actual more. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Nothing in the world captures the hearts of sports fans and non-sports fans like the Madness of March. Any sport that can get Betty from Accounting filling out three brackets and screaming her lungs out for a late break-away foul call is doing just fine. 

Ben Roethlisberger: By now, everybody and their brother has heard about Big Ben's latest troubles involving a college girl and alleged sexual assault. Being a life-long Steelers fan, my first reaction was: here we go again. Another gold digger looking to cash in. But while the first woman who claimed Roethlisberger assaulted her had no evidence to help support her claim and the case was quickly thrown out without any criminal charges being pressed, this case seems to be different and not in a sweep-it-under-the-rug kind of way.

Because Big Ben felt the need to hire one of the best defense lawyers money can buy leads me to believe there is actual evidence supporting the woman's claims. As it stands now, no criminal charges have been charged, and despite the media painting a very dark picture regarding Ben's poor judgement of being in that type of situation in the first place, Roethlisberger has yet to be charged of anything.

Unfortunately this isn't the first time we as sports fans have gone through an athlete being accused of similar activities and the history of such cases has proven that no news is not good news for the person being accused. This appears to be the calm before the storm, as the police look to gather evidence against Roethlisberger and actually file charges. Just a gut feeling and I hope that I'm wrong, but this case sure seems to be heading toward a trial and quite possible the beginning of the end of a great NFL career.

NFL Offseason Moves
NFL Free Agency is always an exciting time, as fans' dreams of Pro Bowlers joining their squads dance through their heads. Typically the pick-ups made are nothing more than desperate teams overpaying for guys based on their past performances only to get little moving forward. And this year will likely have some of that as well but I did like the moves that some teams made.

Without a draft pick inthe first two rounds (thanks Jay Cutler), the Bears made several unexpected splashes by spending mega-millions to land Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor and Brandon Manumalamula. If Chicago can now land a pick for disgruntled TE Greg Olson, this could go down as one of the best offseasons in the team's history. Peppers will help the defensive line get pressure on the QB and ultimately help a suspect secondary, Taylor will team with (and push) Matt Forte to forma potent backfield tandem and Manumalamula will give the Bears an added blocker familiar with Mike Martz's offense who can help keep Cutler off his back and give him more time to find his own receivers instead of opposing d-backs.

Other Free Agency winners appear to be the Jets and quite possibly the Bengals if they can convince Terrell Owens to join Ocho Cinco's party. The two receivers could be the perfect combination of skill, showmanship and each would likely push the other to become better. Carson Palmer says he can handle the two personalities and I believe each receiver has enough in the tank to make this a marriage worth taking a shot on.

History Worth Recognition
While most sports fans don't follow women's basketball closely enough to understand to fully appreciate the magnitude and the difficulty of the UConn women's basketball team's incomprehensible 72-game winning streak, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be recognized and applauded. Winning 72 games of checkers in a row is pretty amazing but notching six dozen victories in a major college conference is downright sick. When you consider that every one of those wins was by double digits makes it just that much more incredible. My hat is off to the Lady Huskies and yours should be, too.

The final week of the NCAA regular season proved to be too much for most of last week's Beat the Blogger contestants but Brandon Pierce had no problem steering clear of the many upsets. Pierce posted a score of 8 to beat the Blogger's total of 7 and defeat the rest of the field to win the prize.

(Blogger's note: Due to a much-needed and long-overdue vacation, there will be no Beat the Blogger contest next week. Enjoy the NCAA Tournament action and we'll jump back into the contest on March 24.)

This week's matchups and the Blogger picks are posted below so be sure you check back and get your picks posted before the start of the first game on Saturday.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

With the number of weekly participants slipping a bit the last few weeks I'm making a call to action to all of our regulars to do some recruiting. While more people means more work for the Blogger and more people for the Blogger to go up against, I welcome the challenge and offer this challenge to you: If each player can recruit 10 new players and we can boost the total to 200 or more, I'll triple the weekly prize. So spread the word about the contest to all your co-workers, family and friends and meet that goal and boost the prize.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

This week's winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field.

While I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week's last game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score will be deemed the winner). I'll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can track down the winners easier.

For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler" and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week's matchups with Blogger's picks in parenthesis
Saturday & Sunday, March 12 & 13
NBA Basketball
Detroit at Atlanta (Atlanta)
Denver at Memphis (Denver)(Doubler)
Toronto at Golden State (Golden State)
Indiana at Milwaukee (Milwaukee)
Boston at Cleveland (Cleveland)
Utah at Oklahoma City (Utah)
NHL
Washington at Chicago (Chicago)
Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay (Pittsburgh
St. Louis at Minnesota (St. LOuis)
Calgary at Vancouver (Calgary)

Tiebreaker: Total goals in Calgary/Vancouver game (4)

The final week of the NCAA regular season proved to be too much for most of last week's Beat the Blogger contestants but Brandon Pierce had no problem steering clear of the many upsets. Pierce posted a score of 8 to beat the Blogger's total of 7 and defeat the rest of the field to win the prize.

This week's matchups and the Blogger picks will be posted soon so be sure you check back and get your picks posted before the start of the first game on Saturday.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

With the number of weekly participants slipping a bit the last few weeks I'm making a call to action to all of our regulars to do some recruiting. While more people means more work for the Blogger and more people for the Blogger to go up against, I welcome the challenge and offer this challenge to you: If each player can recruit 10 new players and we can boost the total to 200 or more, I'll triple the weekly prize. So spread the word about the contest to all your co-workers, family and friends and meet that goal and boost the prize.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

This week's winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field.

While I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week's last game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score will be deemed the winner). I'll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can track down the winners easier.

For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler" and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week's matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Saturday & Sunday, March 6 & 7
NCAA Basketball
Syracuse vs. Louisville (Louisville)
North Carolina vs. Duke (Duke)
West Virginia vs. Villanova (West Virginia)
South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt (S. Carolina)
Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma (Texas A&M)
Florida vs. Kentucky (Kentucky)
Wisconsin vs. Illinois (Wisconsin)
NBA
Philadelphia vs. Toronto (Philadelphia)
Oklahoma City vs. Sacramento (Oklahoma City)
Portland vs. Denver (Denver)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Portland/Denver game (224)

Let me preface the following by saying I don't normally comment on the hobby's legal matters because quite frankly, I don't feel qualified to do so. Much of the legalese that peppers the press releases often leaves me more confused than I am after watching an episode of "Lost." And I'm talking about those recap episodes where they try and clear up any confusion with the "Lost for Dummies" subtitles running along the bottom of the screen.

But after reviewing all the facts (well, at least the facts that we have access to) in the MLB-Upper Deck trademark infringement battle that came to an abrupt ending March 3 with an out-of-court settlement that left MLB grinning and UD and all their fans out there scratching their heads, I'm scratching my head as well.

To recap, the suit, in which Major League Baseball Properties alleged Upper Deck had broken trademark infringement laws by producing three unlicensed baseball card products released early this year, was settled out of court for an unspecified amount (UD was forced to pay the $2.4 million debt it owed MLB from 2009 plus a substantial amount in damages for 2010 violations). The suit ends with UD being allowed to continue sales of the three Upper Deck baseball card products, 2009 Signatures Stars, 2009 Ultimate Collection and 2010 Series 1 Baseball, but will be prohibited from producing any other baseball brands moving forward.

Despite the fact that the case never made it to its scheduled April 19 court date, we definitely got a clear-cut winner. MLB Properties got exactly what it wanted and wrapped things up prior to Opening Day which was likely just a bonus from their perspective.

It didn't appear to be a fair fight from the outset, and as it turned out, it wasn't. From where I'm sitting, it appears Upper Deck put on its best poker face and went all in with a pair of deuces with MLB calling the bluff while sitting on a pair of aces. But the strangest part of the whole thing was because UD had gone down a similar road in the past and is well aware of the hobby's history of challenging exclusivity/licensing laws, but they still pushed all their chips into the middle of the table.

To be honest, when the battle first became public and the details of the case were sorted out, I defended UD saying "there's no way they challenge the system like they are if they don't have a loophole up their sleeve that will legally get them around the trademark issues." My thought process was: no company in its right mind, especially one coming fresh off a lost lawsuit (Konami) in which they reportedly forked over millions), would take on MLB without an ace in the hole. I initially thought the mysterious "loophole" would be a significant one and could ultimately change the landscape of the hobby as well as shakeup the licensing laws throughout the sports world. But after the quick ruling and subsequent settlement, those predictions were about as accurate as those who cried wolf over the Y2K scare.

But now that the dust has cleared and the settlement has been resolved with Upper Deck basically agreeing as part of the settlement to not produce anything resembling a regular-issue baseball card in the forseable future, I'm back to scratching my nugget.

The agreement prohibits UD from going the air-brushing route as well, so unless your a fan of seeing baseball players in their street clothes don't expect much out of the UD camp as far as baseball products moving forward. And for some, that will be fine. But it definitely makes you wonder what UD officials were thinking when they decided to produce three different sets of the unlicensed baseball cards and take on the mighty MLB boys doesn't it? When I come up with that ace in the hole I referred to earlier I'll pass it along to you. Until then, we'll just have to assume the company might have seen the end of the road coming and went all in with empty pockets, no gameplan and what appears to be a very limited shelf life remaining in the hobby. I hope that's not the case but their actions are very questionable as of late.

In a week full of upsets it was Ethan Cahn who scored a 7 last week to Beat the Blogger's score of 5 and beat the field to win this week's Beat the Blogger contest. Last week's results are below.

This week's matchups and the Blogger picks are now posted below so be sure you get your picks posted before the start of the first game on Saturday.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

With the number of weekly participants slipping a bit the last few weeks I'm making a call to action to all of our regulars to do some recruiting. While more people means more work for the Blogger and more people for the Blogger to go up against, I welcome the challenge and offer this challenge to you: If each player can recruit 10 new players and we can boost the total to 200 or more, I'll triple the weekly prize. So spread the word about the contest to all your co-workers, family and friends and meet that goal and boost the prize.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

This week's winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field.

While I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week's last game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score will be deemed the winner). I'll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can track down the winners easier.

For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler" and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week's matchups with Blogger's picks in parenthesis
Saturday & Sunday, March 6 & 7
NCAA Basketball
Syracuse vs. Louisville (Syracuse)
North Carolina vs. Duke (Duke (Doubler)
West Virginia vs. Villanova (West Virginia)
South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt (Vanderbilt)
Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma (Texas A&M)
Florida vs. Kentucky (Kentucky)
Wisconsin vs. Illinois (Illinois)
NBA
Philadelphia vs. Toronto (Toronto)
Oklahoma City vs. Sacramento (Oklahoma City)
Portland vs. Denver (Denver)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Portland/Denver game (219)

During the course of the last two weeks I became a hockey fan. Never really watched the game other than the last few minutes of some meaningful playoff games, but upon further review, hockey's not so bad after all.

Unfortunately I'm not sure how long this new infatuation will last. You have to remember the game that tugged at my heart in Vancouver is not the same product as an NHL game. In fact, it's far from it, and that's the problem. While I realize it was the flag-waving type of patriotism that always accompanies the Olympic Games that pulled me in in the first place, but once I was there, I still had to be entertained and Olympic-style hockey did just that. The wide-open, back-and-forth, no-clinching play is different from the start-stop, low-flow style that is the NHL. And while I didn't see any players drop the gloves and go at it like I might on any given night watching NHL play, I'll gladly trade an exciting fluid, up-tempo game for one filled with one-on-one rock'em, sock'em robot battle after another at center ice.

Now, for the million-dollar question: how does the NHL find a way to keep me, the borderline, casual fan in the fold for good? NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman would likely pay closer to a billion dollars if someone could provide him with that winning formula because the excitement generated by the USA-Canada Gold Medal game is something NHL executives simply can't relate to. Never has a Stanley Cup Final game created the stir and captivated a continent like Sunday afternoon's matchup did. More than 80 percent of all Canadiens witnessed the game and while the numbers weren't that high here in the U.S., they were higher than the final game of last year's World Series and blew away the yearly totals of the NBA Finals.

But where does the NHL go from here and how do they capitalize? If I had the answer to that one I would have been on the phone with Bettman before the last line of Oh Canada was sung. But one thing I do know that would improve NHL popularity is creating a brand of hockey similar to that played in the Olympics. Easier said than done I realize, but much like when an NFL team enjoys success running out of the Wildcat formation and the following week every team has copied it, why not copy the format and style of play used in the Olympics and implement it on a nightly basis in NHL play?

Here's some suggestions: Create rule changes that encourage more offense and less stoppages in play. Retract several of the teams struggling in the attendance department and improve the depth and overall play of each of the remaining teams. Increase the rink size to encourage more of an up-tempo, fast-paced game. They should also consider a reduction in the pad size of the goalie equipment to increase scoring.

But equally important in any NHL renovation would start and end in the marketing department. Let's face it, there's something seriously wrong with your sport when more people in the U.S. know who got the ring on "The Bachelor" than what team Sid The Kid plays for. And the reason behind the NHL's invisibility factor among most of us in America is poor marketing. When was the last time you saw a Gatorade commercial featuring either one of the game's top two players, Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby? The answer is the day before never. How many times have you seen an NHL star strolling down the red carpet at some fancy Hollywood event? Sitting next to Letterman? Guest starring on a sitcom?

I realize that to effectively market a person or sport you must create a buzz and a demand. For the NHL to capitize on the new-found popularity created by an exciting Olympic run, NHL stars need to be marketed properly and marketed immediately while the iron is still hot. If they don't react quickly enough they'll be forced to hope for another epic battle that gets the flags waving again. And with the next Winter Olympics being played in Russia, the odds of that type of stir being recreated are as low as the temperatures there. C'mon NHL, strike while the iron is hot and go out and spend some money making the changes necessary to keep a fringe fan like me in the fold.

In a week full of upsets it was Ethan Cahn who scored a 7 last week to Beat the Blogger's score of 5 and beat the field to win this week's Beat the Blogger contest. Last week's results are below.

This week's matchups and the Blogger picks will be posted soon so be sure you get your picks posted before the start of the first game on Saturday.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

With the number of weekly participants slipping a bit the last few weeks I'm making a call to action to all of our regulars to do some recruiting. While more people means more work for the Blogger and more people for the Blogger to go up against, I welcome the challenge and offer this challenge to you: If each player can recruit 10 new players and we can boost the total to 200 or more, I'll triple the weekly prize. So spread the word about the contest to all your co-workers, family and friends and meet that goal and boost the prize.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

This week's winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field.

While I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week's last game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score will be deemed the winner). I'll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can track down the winners easier.

For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler" and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week's matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Saturday & Sunday, Feb. 27-28
NCAA Basketball
Kansas at Oklahoma State (Oklahoma State)
Kentucky at Tennessee (Tennessee)
Villanova at Syracuse (Syracuse)
New Mexico at BYU (New Mexico)
North Carolina at Wake Forest (North Carolina)
Michigan State at Purdue (Michigan State)
NBA
Milwaukee at Miami (Milwaukee)
Houston at Utah (Utah)
Detroit at Golden State (Golden State)
Phoenix at San Antonio (San Antonio)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Phoenix/San Antonio game  (223 )

For the second straight week congratulations go out to Michael Molinaro who scored a 10 last week to Beat the Blogger's to beat the field to win this week's Beat the Blogger contest. Last week's results are below.

This week's matchups and the Blogger picks are now posted below so make sure you get your picks posted before the start of the first game on Saturday.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

With the number of weekly participants slipping a bit the last few weeks I'm making a call to action to all of our regulars to do some recruiting. While more people means more work for the Blogger and more people for the Blogger to go up against, I welcome the challenge and offer this challenge to you: If each player can recruit 10 new players and we can boost the total to 200 or more, I'll triple the weekly prize. So spread the word about the contest to all your co-workers, family and friends and meet that goal and boost the prize.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

This week's winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field.

While I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week's last game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score will be deemed the winner). I'll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can track down the winners easier.

For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler" and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week's matchups with Blogger picks in parenthesis
Saturday & Sunday, Feb. 27-28
NCAA Basketball
Kansas at Oklahoma State (Kansas)
Kentucky at Tennessee (Kentucky)
Villanova at Syracuse (Syracuse)
New Mexico at BYU (New Mexico)
North Carolina at Wake Forest (Wake Forest)
Michigan State at Purdue (Michigan State)
NBA
Milwaukee at Miami (Milwaukee)
Houston at Utah (Houston)
Detroit at Golden State (Detroit)(Doubler)
Phoenix at San Antonio (San Antonio)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Phoenix/San Antonio game  (205 )

I've been waiting for almost a full decade to get him and this year is the year. I can feel it. And although he might be a shadow of his former self, I still think he's got a little somin, somin left in the tank and one lucky NFL team will be happy to get him as well.

The player I covet is LaDainian Tomlinson. I've always been a big fan, but only from a distance. And while it won't be necessary to spend the top overall pick in my Fantasy Football Draft on him as has been the case for most of the last nine seasons, he will be taking up a roster spot on my squad come September.

After posting HOF-caliber production in eight of his nine seasons in the NFL, the San Diego Chargers officially severed ties with Tomlinson earlier this week, assuming Tomlinson's 3.3 yard average is an indication of things to come for the veteran back. While I don't see LT reverting back to MVP-level of play of the past, I'm not ready to toss him in the scrap heap where guys like Shaun Alexander and Edgerrin James went to die after running all the tread off their respective tires.

From everything I've heard or read about the former TCU star, he's a hard-working, determined individual who would cherish a chance to flip off his former team and find a new home where he can recreate some of his old magic. One of those guys you never want to bet against, ya know? If you consider that it was just three seasons ago when LT was the NFL's best back, rushing for more than 1,800 yards and 28 touchdowns, you'd have to assume that LT still has more to offer. His numbers dropped off severely in 2010 when his attempts fell to 229 after averaging more than 300 in every season prior. Couple that with the fact that the Chargers offensive line woefully underachieved last season and his paltry 3.3 average and 730 rushing yards are far more understandable. Let's also not forget that since Phillip Rivers has emerged as a top-10 quarterback, the focus of the Chargers running game has gone from run-heavy to more of an afterthought.

I'm well aware that the number of carries and hits LT has endured over the past nine seasons will eventually catch up with him, I just don't see that time being right now. Not sure which team Tomlinson will end up with in 2010, but whoever signs him will likely get an instant upgrade in the backfield. As for me, I'll be the guy saying "remember how LT was always the automatic No. 1 pick" at my Fantasy Draft and following it up with "oh how the mighty have fallen, right?" Then I'll scoop him up with my 9th-round pick and giggle all the way to the league title with LT anchoring my squad just like I've always wanted.

For the second straight week congratulations go out to Michael Molinaro who scored a 10 last week to Beat the Blogger's to beat the field to win this week's Beat the Blogger contest. Last week's results are below.

This week's matchups are now posted below so make sure you get your picks posted before the start of the first game on Saturday.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

With the number of weekly participants slipping a bit the last few weeks I'm making a call to action to all of our regulars to do some recruiting. While more people means more work for the Blogger and more people for the Blogger to go up against, I welcome the challenge and offer this challenge to you: If each player can recruit 10 new players and we can boost the total to 200 or more, I'll triple the weekly prize. So spread the word about the contest to all your co-workers, family and friends and meet that goal and boost the prize.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

This week's winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field.

While I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week's last game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score will be deemed the winner). I'll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can track down the winners easier.

For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler" and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week's matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Saturday & Sunday, Feb. 27-28
NCAA Basketball
Kansas at Oklahoma State
Kentucky at Tennessee
Villanova at Syracuse
New Mexico at BYU
North Carolina at Wake Forest
Michigan State at Purdue
NBA
Milwaukee at Miami
Houston at Utah
Detroit at Golden State
Phoenix at San Antonio

Tiebreaker: Total points in Phoenix/San Antonio game  ( )

For the second straight week congratulations go out to Michael Molinaro who scored a 10 last week to Beat the Blogger's to beat the field to win this week's Beat the Blogger contest. Last week's results are below.

This week's matchups are now posted so make sure you get your picks posted before the start of the first game on Saturday.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

With the number of weekly participants slipping a bit the last few weeks I'm making a call to action to all of our regulars to do some recruiting. While more people means more work for the Blogger and more people for the Blogger to go up against, I welcome the challenge and offer this challenge to you: If each player can recruit 10 new players and we can boost the total to 200 or more, I'll triple the weekly prize. So spread the word about the contest to all your co-workers, family and friends and meet that goal and boost the prize.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

This week's winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field.

While I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week's last game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score will be deemed the winner). I'll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can track down the winners easier.

For those unfamiliar with the Beat the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the "Comment" section below the post with the matchups and then select their own 10 winners. You can also designate one of your picks as a "Doubler" and you will receive an extra point if you're correct so don't forget to designate your "Doubler" pick and increase your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger's total and post the high score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week's matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Saturday & Sunday, Feb. 20-21
NCAA Basketball
Illinois at Purdue (Purdue)
Siena at Butler (Butler)
Kentucky at Vanderbilt (Kentucky)
Villanova at Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)
Ohio State at Michigan State (Ohio State)
NBA
Cleveland at Orlando (Orlando)
Boston at Denver (Denver)
Miami at Dallas (Dallas)
Utah at Portland (Utah)
Olympic Men's Hockey
Canada vs. USA (USA)
Tiebreaker: Total points in Utah/Portland game  (182)