Weekend Wrap up: Peyton's decision, what's left of everyone's bracket, and what's left of Kendall Marshall's wrist

"Hey... I just took your job"

          Alright so we have a lot to discus so I'll try to get to the point. Decision 2012 has come to a conclusion, Peyton Manning has joined John Elway in Denver and simultaneously stomped out Tim Tebow's dreams. The NCAA tournament has been beyond insane as usual and there are ZERO perfect brackets remaining on ESPN, and Wrist Watch 2012 has begun in Chapel Hill.
          Peyton Manning lands in the mile high city. If anyone has read my last post, I didn't really see this as a fit. And I'm still not sure it is. Apparently no one in the league wants to play in Miami, one of my reasons for Manning potentially landing there, Brandon Marshall, got out of town as soon as he could. Manning wanted no part of that. I actually saw San Francisco being a good fit. Great defense, decent wide receiving corps with the very dangerous Vernon Davis and hopefully up and coming Michael Crabtree (not to mention the 50/50 chance that Randy Moss is still fast enough to burn defenses) and a great running back in Frank Gore. But alas he has chosen the blue and orange. I think this team is missing the offensive weapons that we are used to seeing on Peyton Manning teams of old. Decker and Thomas are far from the Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne that we are used to seeing line up beside Manning in the past. I think that he will find a few of his old teammates joining him in Denver, specifically Dallas Clark his old tight end and one of his favorite targets. Also another ex-teammate of Manning's is Brandon Stokley. Stokley was a Bronco for a while and could be a valuable fourth option as a possession receiver should the Broncos give him a call. There's also a chance that Jeff Saturday, Manning's long time center, could join him in Denver as well. There are definitely some moves left to be made, but if Peyton Manning is even 80% of what he used to be, Denver is easily the favorite to win the AFC West, (a division that has long been sub par at best) and a team that no one wants to see at any point during the season. Also there's a regular season matchup against the Patriots and my beloved Panthers. It should be fun to watch.
          Now where will Tebow end up? I heard an analyst say earlier today that no one really wants him on their team, and I couldn't agree more. Everyone in the league has seen that he does not have the skill set to lead an NFL style offense. There really isn't a team in the league that wants to baby him by making their offense as simple as the Broncos made theirs last season. Now what I have heard is this, owners will take a shot at him. They want to bring the circus to town to drive ticket and jersey sales. My first thought is Jacksonville. Shad Kahn the new owner of the Jaguars has gone on record saying that he would have drafted Tebow if he had the choice, now let's see if he'll put his money where his mouth is. Then there's Miami. No one wants to play in Miami, which makes it the perfect spot for Tebow. but honestly no one is going to give up much for a quarterback who can't complete 50% of his passes. Then there's a wild card. The New England Patriots. I've heard multiple times today that Tebow is a "Belichick type of guy" and he could come in and run some plays as an H-back or a tight end. That would shock me, because we have no idea whether the kid can catch a football or run a route. His days as a quarterback in the NFL may be running short right now, he needs a lot of luck to get another chance.

Gee, 0 is the same number of wins Duke got in the tournament this year too

          And then there were Sixteen. If your bracket isn't busted by now, you probably let a 3-year-old pick your winners in crayon. It had been 11 years since a 15 seed had upset a 2 seed, and within 3 hours on Friday it had happened twice. The Missouri loss KILLED me, I had them in the Final Four, but the Duke loss made me forget all about my bracket. I loved watching the Blue Devils from down the road flounder at the hands of C.J. McCollum and the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Truly a thing of beauty. Quick rundown of the Sweet Sixteen: Kentucky is on course to be in the national title game no sweat, and now they get a rematch against Indiana. The Baylor highlighters get a matchup against Xavier. Ohio State is playing great basketball and they're matched up against a very physical Cincinnati team. Syracuse is surviving without their center Fab Melo (hopefully he's home studying), but now must face a tough Wisconsin team. Kansas survived a very tough Purdue team and an offensive show from Robbie Hummel and will now face a very hot NC State team that still feels it has something to prove. Marquette gets Florida and Louisville will meet Michigan State. Last but not least, UNC will face upset minded Ohio. I'm not making any predictions anymore, because we all saw how that ended up (Thanks a lot Missouri and Florida State).

          Kendall Marshall's wrist has become the instant talk of the nation. He fractured the scaphoid bone in his right (non-shooting) hand with 10:56 to go in the game against Creighton. He played through the pain, but was rushed to the x-ray machine after the game. The entire team was instantly downtrodden, and Marshall and Williams had to choke back tears when they delivered the news to the media. Marshall underwent surgery Monday morning, with the slim chance that he could heal and be ready by Friday's game. Tarheel nation can only hope and pray that we can have our engine back. My dad told me during the ACC tournament that Marshall was the leader of our team. At that point I wasn't so sure that was true. Tyler Zeller had just been named the ACC Player of the Year, and he had lead us through so many tough games that I was sure it was Zeller. They say sometimes you don't know what you've got until it's gone, and I think that may be the case here. His new found scoring has definitely been a valuable addition to our offensive juggernaut. And now he may be gone. He is truly the one player on our team that can't be replaced. I said last night that if I could I would give my right wrist to Kendall Marshall, my left wrist to John Henson, my right ACL to Dexter Strickland, and my left ACL to Leslie Macdonald. That was truly the sentiment all around campus today. The rain this morning was really a reflection of how we felt after we heard our point guard had gone down. But we remain hopeful, this tournament is far from over, and while we may be down right now we are certainly not out. We all just wish Kendall a speedy recovery.
          Well that's that for now, so until the weekend comes around and college basketball commences again take this time to catch your breath and prepare for the next installment of March Madness!

All the new news: From Peyton Manning to the NCAA Tournament

 

         
          The greatest free agent the NFL has ever seen. Peyton Manning is on the market. Words that a year ago I thought I would never speak. Denver, Miami and Arizona are all likely suitors for one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. I see Miami being the best choice, for a few reasons. First, he will have a big time receiver who will actually try hard if he is there, Brandon Marshall. Marshall may not be the worlds hardest worker, but the kid has talent, and I think Manning would whip him into shape real fast. Second, the weather. Manning has made his living in a dome, so heading for pleasant weather would be a plus. Third, Reggie Wayne already said he would follow Manning to Miami if he went, and he may not be the only one (Dallas Clark is another name that comes to mind). Why wouldn't Manning jump at the opportunity to play with two of his greatest teammates? Now I understand that Arizona has a dome, and has arguably a top 3 receiver in Larry Fitzgerald, but for some reason I have them sitting behind Miami in the Manning sweepstakes. Denver is the other team that analysts have suddenly all but confirmed as the frontrunner. I doubt Manning goes to cold weather, and let's play a game, name a Denver Bronco receiver! Don't worry, I'll wait. They have NO big name receiver that Manning can make his instant favorite target. Yes, they have a great defense and I'd love to see Tebow get shipped out of town in the blink of an eye, I just don't see this being a match. Anyway, who wouldn't want to see Brady vs. Manning twice a year IN THE SAME DIVISION! I pray to the football gods that I may get my wish.
          Now If I remember correctly, UNC recently beat Duke up and down the floor, on Miles Plumlee's senior night, AND he got a faceful of John Henson's lower half. THAT my friends was a beautiful day. Then, we had the good fortune of running into NC State in the ACC Tournament. "Oh my god, the refs cheated us out of that game!" no NC State, your coach blew it when he left your best player in with four fouls and over 8 minutes to go. "Yeah, but all the calls went UNC's way!" I assure you that if calls went our way, Zeller wouldn't have watched the final minute of the game. And lastly, yeah Kendall dropped his shoulder, but your team blew the game when they turned the ball over TWICE in the last minute. We won, you lost, for the 13th time in a row I believe. With all due respect, I am glad that you made the tournament, you were seconds away from beating both us and Duke this year, and certainly were well deserving of a spot in the big dance, congratulations.

This will NEVER get old

          On that point, The Tarheels are a #1 seed, and the sun is shining. In my honest opinion, Syracuse and Kentucky both have tougher brackets than we do, and I'm not saying that because Duke is in that bracket. And honestly where does Michigan State come from?!?! Every single year they come from nowhere to be a high seed in the Tournament. Tom Izzo is literally a basketball genius. He took a team that got manhandled early this season by UNC and Duke, and turned them into a #1 seed. Unbelievable. I don't think they deserved the #1 seed though, I believe Missouri is a much better team that will make a deep run in the tournament, and I think they should have been the fourth #1. But seeding makes little difference really because it's all about execution.

          My Final Four could be called a little bit biased, but I feel like it has some credibility. I have Missouri, Kentucky, Florida State and UNC (Surprise!). Obviously this is a very primitive selection, that is likely to get completely dismantled by the end of the first weekend, but who knows. Kentucky: do I even need to explain this one? Davis and his unibrow is the frontrunner for player of the year and he deserves it. Kentucky should make it out of their bracket without many bumps, even as tough as it is. Missouri: as I said before, I think they should have been the last #1 seed, and I think they will prove it by making their way to the final four. Kim English, the Pressey brothers, and Ratliffe inside drive this team to the Final Four. Florida State: probably the team with the most momentum in the country right now, after beating Duke and UNC twice this year, and coming off back to back wins against them to win the ACC tournament, they are on fire. Very tough defensively, Snaer is a great player and probably was snubbed from the All-ACC team, and they shoot the three well. They will be a tough team to beat, and I think they make it to the Final Four. UNC: well this is as much of a pick with my head as any of the others I assure you. Kendall Marshall is the best point guard in the country, and now he's scoring the basketball too. Harrison Barnes has played well, not great, but I think he steps up in the tournament as a big game performer. Hopefully John Henson returns to the lineup by next Sunday, and is still the defensive wall that he was before he reinjured his wrist. Reggie bullock has surprised everyone by being a terrific defender in Strickland's absence, can't say enough about his effort. And last but certainly not least, Tyler Zeller. If you could have scripted the perfect senior season for Zeller, I don't think it would be much different than this one. He has been absolutely the best player on our team, the most reliable in all but a few moments, and at times he's an unstoppable force in the paint. I can't wait for the day I see his jersey hang in the rafters of the Dean Dome.

          So there you have it, my Final Four picks, with a little reasoning behind each one (a little more reasoning behind UNC, but that's me). Feel free to disagree, then we can all laugh together when a mid major busts everyone's brackets like always. Until then, everyone enjoy the greatest month in sports, welcome to March Madness!