You may well know that UConn hoops coach Jim Calhoun recorded his 800th career win last night in a game versus Marquette.  But what you might not know is that Calhoun achieved another - and we think more impressive - milestone today.

In Jason Whitlock’s column on Fox Sports online today about Calhoun’s tirade on Sunday, he described the coach using the words “arrogant and delusional.”  And with this comment by Whitlock, we have now reached the 100,000th time a journalist has used words other than “asshole” to describe Jim Calhoun as an asshole.

Congrats, Jim.  Keep on keepin’ on.

We was looking over Joe Lunardi’s picks for the NCAA Tournament, and he has the ACC with 8 and Big East with 7 teams getting in right now.  In looking further into a theory we have about the Big East, we came up with this breakdown.

–UConn - lost to Georgetown and Pitt.  Could be a big win for Georgetown, but it was many weeks ago and they have been awful since.
–Pitt - lost to Villanova and Louisville.  Both of these teams are in the tourney anyway.
–Marquette - lost to USF and Villanova.  Nova is in and USF has no chance.
–Louisville - lost to UConn and Notre Dame.  This win by ND could help.
–Villanova - lost to Marquette, Louisville, UConn, and West Virginia.  Only WVU needed any help.

Then you look at Providence, Cincinnati, and Syracuse - they have no “big” conference wins.  None of them had that game where people went, “Wow, they just beat [blank].”  The teams at the top did not give them the big win they needed.  But then look to the ACC.

UNC - lost to BC, Wake, and Maryland.  BC and Maryland may get in due to beating the acclaimed Heels.
Clemson - lost to UNC, Wake, FSU, Virginia.  Feather in the cap of FSU to have this win at Clemson.
Duke - lost to Wake, Clemson, UNC, BC.  BC helped by this win as well (added to forgetting about Harvard).

Look at the middle-of-the-road teams in the ACC.  You have Maryland, who just beat UNC for their marquee win.  BC has beaten Duke and UNC.  Va Tech, who still plays Clemson, Duke, and UNC - has a win at Wake Forest.  Combine all that with Ga Tech pulling in a 1-12 record and UVa at 3-9 - and you have the ACC with 8 teams potentially in the tourney.  The middle teams beat the bad teams and have managed to squeak out at least one big win.

That’s why we think the ACC teams in the middle look more appealing.  For the Big East, teams like Providence and Cincinnati get lost in the shuffle since they are never on TV and have no marquee wins.  Plus, with so many teams in the league, there’s always a Marquette-Louisville type game going on that more appealing for a network than Cincinnati-Pitt game.  So even if one of those teams gets that big win, you may only see the highlights.

We think 8 is a bit much for the ACC, but there’s a great opportunity out there for teams like Maryland, Va Tech, and Boston College to cement their places.  Meanwhile, if Providence ends up at 10-8 in the Big East, will anyone know?

Tonight -

It’s North Carolina…

________________________________________________________

vs. Duke…

Or check here.

What’s D?

It’s wearing a Duke hat to cheer on your hometown Villanova Wildcats.

We have just learned that Michael Phelps will shortly release the following statement:

“THANK YOU A-ROD!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.”

We posted the preview of the post last night.  And now for the actual post (we just couldn’t wait until Monday).  The final is now in…

NJIT broke its 51-game losing streak by beating Bryant by 10 on January 21st.   Bryant recorded one of its 5 wins on the season by defeating Yale by 11 on January 2nd.  Yale blew out Harvard on Friday by a count of 87-68.  Harvard, of course, downed Boston College 82-70 on January 7th.  And to finish it all off, BC took down North Carolina at the Dean Dome 85-78 on January 4th.

So, in just 5 easy games, we can get from NJIT’s 1 win of the season to one of UNC’s 2 losses on the season.  You have to love college basketball!!!

Way to go Highlanders - we feel like you guys could at least take the Tar Heels to overtime if you got the chance.

While things may look tough for Michael Phelps now after this “marijuana incident,” we always believe that when one door closes, another opens.

Case in point: our inside source as told us that though Kellog has dropped Phelps and Subway is also considering that same move, Taco Bell has contacted Phelps’ agent about a major deal with the fast food chain.   Fourth meal is great, man.

In light of what went down at Clemson last night, we’re cheering even harder now for Yale in Friday’s game than we were previously.  Why?  Bitterness mainly.  But also -

Because it will open up a glorious (and ridiculous) connection.  For a preview, here’s the post you will see on Monday if Yale beats Harvard.

On January 4th, Boston College beat North Carolina by an 85-78 count in Chapel Hill.  Then, on the following Wednesday, Boston College fell to Ivy power Harvard by 12.

On a side note, NJIT broke its 51-game losing streak by beating Bryant by 10 on January 21st.   Bryant recorded one of its 5 wins on the season by defeating Yale by 11 on January 2nd.

Soooooooo, if Yale, which lost to Bryant which lost to NJIT, can beat Harvard who beat Boston College who beat UNC…

Well, ya know.