(Photo Courtesy: USA Today Sports)

Yesterday, I started a column on Louisville’s Final Four run by saying the following:

To appreciate the significance of Louisville’s 85-63 Elite Eight beat down of Duke on Sunday, you’ve first got to appreciate just how this program came to get to that exact moment.

A day later, it only seems appropriate to start a column on another column, on another huge college basketball story the same way:

To understand why Andy Enfield was a grand slam, can’t miss, zero downside hire for USC, you first have to understand the dynamics behind the program he inherited, and where it ranks in the Los Angeles sports pecking order.

And essentially, USC basketball is low in that pecking order. Very low. Like “you need a microscope, a compass and a couple good friends to find it,” kind of low.

And while I’ll spare everyone the time (and in some cases anger) of ranking the Los Angeles sports fan-bases, just know that after living in this city for nearly a year, I can tell you that there a number of teams people care about significantly more than USC’s hoops squad. That includes the Lakers and Dodgers yes, but also teams like the Los Angeles Galaxy (from some league “called Major League Soccer”) and doesn’t include non-traditional random sports which pop up all year long (think, beach volleyball, or the random international soccer match which might end up at the Rose Bowl). Not to mention all the non-sports stuff that comes up too.

(Photo Courtesy: USA Today Sports)

To appreciate the significance of Louisville’s 85-63 Elite Eight beat down of Duke on Sunday, you’ve first got to appreciate just how this program came to get to that exact moment. For the Cardinals, it hasn’t been a yellow brick road on the path to college basketball glory, but instead a long, winding one, which cast doubt on these players, their coach and the future of this program overall.  

To be honest, I’m not totally sure when the Louisville Cardinals turned into, well... this (in essence the 2013 National Championship favorite), but what I can tell you is that I was able to witness first-hand when they were at the opposite end of this college basketball paradigm. It came in my one and only trip to Kentucky last January, and was at a time when Louisville’s hoops’ program was something worse than bad. They were irrelevant. Irrelevant to the rest of the college basketball world, and overshadowed in their own state by the Big Blue monolith known as Kentucky basketball.

And it was also at that moment when this whole thing hit its tipping point, and Louisville’s basketball program reached its own personal rock-bottom. It was January 19, 2012, and I was in town to cover Kentucky’s game with Alabama that weekend. Meanwhile, Louisville was coming off a double-digit loss to Marquette the night before. In the process they’d fallen to 14-5 overall and to the fringe of the Top 25.

Yet for Louisville fans the real concern didn’t come from that game, or frankly anything that their program wasn’t doing. Instead the real concern came from roughly 80 miles away and everything that John Calipari was doing at Kentucky.

For Louisville fans, it was a confluence of events which really did provide a worst case scenario.

(Photo Courtesy: USA Today Sports)

After picking a grand total of two of the four Thursday night games correctly (I’m batting .500!!) I’m back, with take a stab at how Friday night’s Midwest and South Regional semifinal games will play out.

No, my track record isn’t sparkling, and yes, you should totally take them with a grain of salt. At the same time, don’t ever forget the adage that I choose to live my life by: Even a broken clock is right twice a day...meaning, there’s at least a tiny chance I won’t look like a total idiot by the end of the night.

Now, let’s get to the games. As always, you're more than welcome to tell me why I'm right (or more likely wrong) either in the comments section below, or over on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.

(Photo Courtesy: USA Today Sports)

The NCAA Tournament is back on Thursday, and admit it... your bracket is on life support. It’s ok, welcome to the club; mine is too. Things actually got so bad I decided to bring in a priest to give my bracket Last Right’s over the weekend, and my family and I have spent the last three days picking out burial plot and head stone options at a local funeral home. Talk about the Ides of March, huh?

Still, just because all my pre-tournament predictions have gone up in smoke doesn’t mean that I can’t totally start from scratch, and totally revise them, right? After all, this is America, the land of opportunity, and a place where everyone gets second chances. In the case of Jeff Bzdelik, you may even get fourth, fifth and sixth chances too!

Which is why today I am completely revising my bracket, with a second edition of “Breaking down the Brackets,” that if we’re being technical is really the first. Traditionally I spend the Wednesday before the NCAA Tournament sharing my selections with my readership, but because of time commitments this year I was unable to. Well now I am, and eager to share my thoughts on this weekend’s games.

Let’s start with tonight’s match-ups in the East (Indiana-Syracuse and Miami-Marquette) and West Regions (Ohio State-Arizona and LaSalle-Wichita State) and tomorrow, we’ll come back and do the Midwest and South.

The NCAA Tournament is back, and it’s time to make some (retroactive) picks!

So it’s NCAA Tournament time (in case you hadn’t hearrrrrd) and one of the voices you’re going to get to know well over the coming weeks is Clark Kellogg’s. For the fifth year in a row Kellogg will join Jim Nantz for this year’s Final Four and National Championship Game.

Anyway, on Tuesday Clark was nice enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to do a Google chat with some writers from various parts of the country in the lead-up to the announcement of the Naismith Trophy for Men’s College Player of the Year presented by AT&T in the coming weeks.

Now, in the interest of full-disclosure, I was invited to be part of this group, but unfortunately technical difficulties kept me from attending (As a matter of fact, if you watch early on, that’s me in the bottom left-hand corner, wearing a hat and looking like an idiot trying to get things figured out on my computer).

Still, Clark dropped a lot of good knowledge, and with a full 36 hours until the games tip-off again in the tournament I figured this might be something interesting to pass the time.

Here is what Clark talked about in the chat:

- His opinion on the National Player of the Year race favorites Trey Burke, Victor Oladipo and others.

- Whether players like Doug McDermott- with less immediate help around them- should be considered for the award.

- His take on the best tournament teams from his career covering the event, beginning in the early 1990’s.

- Who will UCLA hire as their new head coach, and what his stance is on guys like Shaka Smart, Brad Stevens and others staying at the jobs they’re at rather than pursuing ‘bigger’ ones.

- And finally, he answers the question America is dying to know: Does Jim Nantz rehearse his signature ‘catch-phrase’ at the end of every tournament?

Enjoy, and as always you’re more than welcome to provide your feedback in the comments section below, on Twitter or on the new Aaron Torres Sports Facebook page!

Until next time....
 

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a sportswriter (and to be blunt, I can’t imagine you have) today is your lucky day, because I’m thinking about sharing a bit of insight with you. With us writer types, it isn’t so much about finding great players, coaches and teams, as it is about finding great stories. Great players, coaches and teams come and go. Great stories live on for much longer.

To give an example, let me ask you a simple question: What makes Johnny Manziel so damn interesting? I mean after all, other quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy, you know, without the internet exploding every time their name is mentioned. With Manziel, is it just that he took home the award? Or that he did it by running over, around and through SEC defenses, despite being built more like an accountant than football star? With Manziel’s it’s not the stats, but how he put them up. It’s about his story.

It’s the same across all sports. What’s fascinating about Michael Jordan isn’t that he’s the greatest basketball player of all-time, but that he was cut from his high school team in the process of getting there. Magic Johnson and Tiger Woods wouldn’t be nearly as interesting if they’d stuck with “Earvin” and “Eldrick” their whole lives. And if the Williams sisters were from Sheboygan, Wisconsin instead of Compton, California? Yeah, I doubt we’d care as much.

Puff Daddy once said “It’s all about the Benjamins.” In sports, “It’s all about the stories.”

At the same time, a very interesting question is being asked by sports writers across America this morning: What if a story comes along that is quite literally too good to be true? What happens if a story is so far-fetched, so straight out of the skies that describing it as a “bad sports movie,” is factually incorrect, since no sports movie that unrealistic would ever get made?

That’s the exact scenario writers are dealing with when it comes to the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. They are college basketball’s indescribable team.

Well, the opening day of the 2013 NCAA Tournament is officially in the books, and like I did during Championship Week, I decided to commemorate it all with an audio/video podcast recapping all the action. For those of you who aren’t so tech savvy (and believe me, I’m with you), you can either listen to the podcast by click on the green box below or by downloading in iTunes, or you can watch the video on this website or on YouTube.

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box above
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here

Regardless, a lot of exciting things happened on Day 1, and I covered it all here, including conversation about the following topics:

- New Mexico’s stunning loss to Harvard. Reflecting back, what was most surprising wasn’t that Harvard won, but that honestly they controlled the game in every aspect. Also, what happened to the New Mexico team that ripped through the Mountain West this past season?

- Conversation about the impressive performances by VCU, Michigan, Syracuse, and the Pac-12 as a whole, as well as disappointing efforts from Missouri and UNLV. Also, with losses by both the Rebels and New Mexico, does this now mean the Mountain West was overrated during the regular season?

- Looking at the No. 1 seeds, why Louisville’s win further validated them as the favorite in this tournament, and why Gonzaga’s close call against Southern isn’t as big a deal as many think.

- Finally, after another disappointing effort for Pitt, has Jamie Dixon run his course with the Panthers? More importantly, might it be time for him to consider looking for another job, say with USC?

As always, you can download the podcast straight from iTunes just by searching for “The Aaron Torres Sports Podcast” and you can also subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports podcast by clicking here. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel (which I plan on amping up in the coming weeks) by following this link.

And as always I encourage you to share your thoughts either by commenting below or hitting me up on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
 

Follow Aaron on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.

The NCAA Tournament is here, and admit it you need help filling out your bracket, don’t you? Thankfully Rob Dauster of NBC Sports’ College Basketball Talk was nice enough to stop by the podcast yesterday and answer all my questions, about all of college basketball’s best teams.

To listen to the podcast on this website, click the green box above
To download the podcast straight from iTunes, please click here
To subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast, please click here
To listen to the podcast on your iPhone or Android please click here

Rob is a wealth of college basketball knowledge and on Monday he dropped it all, sharing thoughts on the following:

- Starting in the West bracket, why he thinks Gonzaga actually has the toughest road of any No. 1 seed. Also, why he thinks the Zags, Ohio State and New Mexico are all in play to win the region, why Wisconsin should surprise, and why Rob actually likes Belmont to upset Arizona in Round 1.

- Moving to the Midwest, Rob shares his thoughts on the “bracket of death.” He also explains why he likes St. Louis to upset Louisville in the Sweet 16 and why Duke-Michigan State could hinge on the Spartans’ Keith Appling.

- Heading over to the South, Rob explains why unlike most of the rest of the national media, he actually likes UCLA to beat Minnesota in Round 1. He also shares thoughts on why VCU will wreak “havoc” on Akron, why Michigan could get upset in Round 1 and why Kansas might get upset by North Carolina in the second round.

- Finally we head to the East Region, where both of us agree that Indiana is the team to beat. Additionally we wonder what to expect from Syracuse and Miami, and if Butler can make another run to the Sweet 16 or beyond.

Folks, it is that time of year... time to fill out your brackets! And there is no man who’s opinion I value more throughout this process than Rob’s. So if you have any questions about any team, go ahead and listen to the show. Rob is a college basketball encyclopedia and I’m honored to have had him on the show.

To access the show you can always download it straight from iTunes by clicking here or by searching for the “Aaron Torres Sports Podcast.” You can also subscribe to the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast by clicking here.

Also for updates on the show, my writing and much more, be sure to follow on Twitter @Aaron_Torres and my newly created Facebook page. And for weekly updates on all my podcasts, articles, giveaways and more you can now sign up for the Aaron Torres Sports weekly newsletter, just by entering your e-mail where it says “Aaron Torres Sports Mailing List” or e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Finally I want to thank Rob for his time, and encourage you to follow him on Twitter @RobDauster. And of course, I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to the show.   

Until next time..
 

Need a reason to get excited for the NCAA Tournament? How about 68 reasons instead?

One of my favorite annual columns: 68 Reasons to be Excited for the NCAA Tournament, the 2013 Edition!

1. Office Pools Everywhere: I say it every year, and will keep saying it until the day or die (or more likely, until ya’ll start tuning me out for good): Guys, the best way to get your girl to sit down and watch sports with you is to have her fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket.

As the old saying goes, “The couple who picks South Dakota State to pull an upset in Round 1 together, stays together.”

(And while we’re on the subject, do yourself a favor and sign up for MY office pool by clicking here, for the chance to win books, gift cards and much, much more. Invite your lady to sign up as well.)

2. Charles Barkley: Who kicked off year three of his NCAA Tournament coverage by calling the Big Ten overrated (comparing them to an ugly prom queen in the process) and saying that the Pac-12 and Mountain West were the two best conferences in the country, and doing it all within his first 10 seconds on-air.

I guess what I’m trying to say is: It’s good to have Charles Barkley back this March.

Well folks, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for...

No I’m not talk about the new season of Kourtney and Kim Take Miami (although admittedly I know some of you actually have been waiting for that moment... although that’s another story for another day).  

Nope, I’m talking about the Aaron Torres Sports Bracket Challenge!

That’s right the ATS Bracket Challenge is back for the fourth straight year, and with it, you once again have the opportunity to have some fun picking this year’s college basketball National Champion.  In the process you can also win some great prizes along the way (including books, gift cards and more), and maybe even better, you get the chance to compete against me, and prove to the world just how little I actually know about sports!  

Good times! Well, until I finish in last place in my own pool, that is.

Anyway, enough of the small talk and let’s get to the details!

First off, you can go ahead and get signed up for the pool by clicking here.

Before we begin, the most important note is that as always, the challenge is completely, 100 percent free. There is no sign-up fee, no money down, and unlike years past I won’t even require a blood sample or retinal scan to enter either (You know, because we’re friends like that) So basically by signing up, you've got nothing to lose. Well except for you dignity of course. Which we both know went out the window long ago.

As for the pool itself, it will be run like any other pool you’ve ever entered: You’ll be rewarded points for each game you pick correctly, with more points being rewarded the deeper we get into the tournament. The most points at the end of the tournament wins the pool. It’s really that simple.

A few notes: When you do fill out your bracket, please make sure and select a final point total for this year’s championship game. That will serve as a tiebreaker, so it is imperative that you fill that out. Also please note that all submissions have to be in by Thursday at noon EST before the first games. Got that?

Now, let’s get to the good stuff…. Yup, that’s right, the prizes, which I think you’ll enjoy.

This year those prizes include a $50 Amazon.com gift card, a $20 Amazon.com gift card, and copies of Jay Bilas’ new book “Toughness” as well as multiple copies of the Bobby Knight’s new book “The Power of Negative Thinking,” which I’ve actually already read and is pretty darn good (even if “The Power of Negative Thinking” might be the most Bobby Knight title to any book anyone could ever imagine).

Anyway, here is how the prize structure will work, with prizes being awarded at virtually every stop of the tournament.

1) Person with the most total points after Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament gets a copy of Bobby Knight’s new book “The Power of Negative Thinking.”
2) Person with the most points after the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament (aka heading into the Final Four) gets a copy of Bobby Knight’s new book “The Power of Negative Thinking.”
3) Person who finishes with the third most total points at the end of the tournament wins a copy of Jay Bilas’ new book “Toughness.”
4) Person who finishes with the second most total points at the end of the tournament wins a $20 Amazon.com gift card
5) Person who finishes with the most total points at the end of the tournament wins a $50 Amazon.com gift card.

Oh, and because I’m awesome, I’d like to add this: Whoever I determine to have the best “team name” in the bracket will also receive a free copy of Bobby Knight’s “The Power of Negative Thinking.” So have fun when picking your name...just go ahead and make sure it's a name your mom would approve of, ok?

All in all, that doesn’t sound like a terrible deal to me, huh?

So with that, go ahead and click here to sign-up.

As always, if you’ve got any questions, you’re welcome to reach out by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , in the comments section below or on Twitter @Aaron_Torres. Feel free to drop me a line there, and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can.

Anyway, I want to thank you all again for signing up for the Aaron Torres Sports NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge, and I look forward to having fun and competing against you all March long.

Oh, and one more thing: Don’t make me look too bad this month? Ok?