The 2008 Game Over Classic  will be held June 20 - 22 in New York City.  Age groups for the Classic are:

10 and Under; 11 and Under; 12 and Under; 13 and Under; 14 and Under; 15 and Under; 16 and Under; and 17 and Under.

The Entry fee is $425.00 per Team.  Money Orders and Bank Checks accepted (no Personal Checks).  Please make checks payable to GO Sports, Inc.

Registration Deadline is Friday, June 10, 2008

For additional information, please contact:

Dana Dingle - 646-773-4878 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Shandue McNeill - 516-924-9921 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Darryl Jones - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Eric Jones - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Be sure to check out all the Game Over Classic action at www.gameovernyc.com.  Click on the Game On tab and then the Game Over Classic button OR http://www.gameovernyc.com/basketball/go-classic/ 

Thursday Bracket of Games will show the chalk, that is, all the higher seeds will win, except for one.  Of course it's easy to say so for the two #1's playing this evening, UNC and UCLA.  But we also like Tennessee to eke out one more victory over Big East rep Lousiville.  We like Pitino as a coaching genius, especially with five days to prepare.  However the Vols have just too much talent.  If Tennessee does get tripped up, look no further than the action at the point guard position.  Its hard to have a player (Prince) start his first game all year in the second round of the NCAA's.  What that tells us in the loss in faith of how the team has been run down the stretch.

The one upset, if it is that, comes from another Big East team, West Virginia.  We like them to beat out Xavier.  Bobby Huggins has got Joe Alexander and crew operating like the squads he had in Cincy.  Wait till he has a chance to recruit!  Now it all comes down to execution and we like the way West Virginia has been doing so during the tourney, especially in their upset of Duke.

We'll shout at you tomorrow regarding Friday's games.  Game Over

There is no question that from some at Game Over World Headquarters that this is the happiest time of the year (with all deference to X-mas).  Are there any better four days of basketball than the four days /48 games of the first two rounds of the Men's NCAA Championship?  It's a basketball junkies fix.  The only thing, its over too fast.

You get in your comfortable chair or couch, spread out your bracket sheets, check on the profiles from USA Today (Monday edition when the barckets are announced), make sure the 'frig is filled with goodies, and have the phone with caller ID close by so you can fake a cough when the boss calls.  Then opening tip comes and you see some blow-outs, some you knew-would-happens, AND THEN the buzzer-beaters, AND FINALLY the bracket-busters.

We almost saw one in Duke-Belmont.  Who didn't think of (for those of us old enough you will smile, for the rest of you, we're sure it can be found on the internet somewhere) Danny Ainge of BYU driving the length of the court, through 5 defenders (yes, all five could have stopped him), down the middle for A LAY UP!, to beat Notre Dame coached by Digger Phelps (yes kiddies, before he was the talking mouth on ESPN Digger was actually a coach).  Gerald Henderson (son of the former Knick of the same name did the same) did the same to stop Belmont's upset bid.

But then Friday happened.  And there were numbers we were not used to, such as 12.  In fact, two number 12's beat their respective #5 opponents (Western Kentucky beat Drake and Villanova over Clemson).  Siena, for those in the know, and apparently there are a lot of you out there, as a 13 seed beat #4 Vanderbilt.  Best story of the day was Stephen Curry leading Davidson over perrenial Cinderella Gonzaga.  But the biggest upset happened early, to make all the late editions on the East coast.  Little known (to the East Coast media) San Diego shocked (well, shocked is too light a word), STUNNED Big East powerhouse UConn in overtime.  And there was, as always, the ever classy Jim Calhoun, telling in public what should have been left in the lockerroom - his motivation speech.  "Don't let them think they can play with you" he says he told his team prior to coming out for the game.  Hey Jim, I think thats what was said in the the San Diego lockerroom.  Only they listened to their coach.

The weekend saw more upsets.  First UCLA, Stanford, and Tennessee advanced after scares.  UNC scored back-to-back 100 point games.  But Georgetown apparently watch UConn from Friday and gave up a double-digit lead to lose to Davidson.

Check with us Thursday for our picks on Thursday's games.  Game Over

Day 1 of the best time of the year just concluede with little or no fanfare.  No great upsets occurred, but then again with such partiy in College Basketball, would any of us truly been surprised if Belmont beat Duke?  Don't get us wrong, we would have loved to seen this bracket-buster for all those reading this while they should be at work, but then Gerald Henderson (yes the son of former Knick of the same name) pulled of a Danny Ainge and went coast-to-coast with Belmont offering no defense in fear of commiting a foul.  Note to self, if faced in similar situations in the future, have speedy guard go down middle cause in matador defense will allow the basket.  How many times does this have to happen?  Do coaches not learn from previous events?  Now we are not suggesting fouling Henderson, but how about diverting him as he comes streaking down the middle?

Second note to self.  even after the basket was scored, Belmont had chances to win.  Why is it that coaches don't pound the ball inside (no different in concept of going down the middle for a lay-up or foul) and do the same?  Win it at the foul line.  Survive and advance.  Jimmy Valvano was right, that is all that is asked of any team, to survive and advance, not how preety you win.  Jump shots and timing plays have too much downside, as we just evidence.  Put the ball inside and win at the line.  Instead Belmont is saying "What if" and Duke is getting ready for West Virginia.

Without disclosing top secret info, we can tell you that we remember when the Milwaukee Bucks and then the Los Angeles Lakers  made their respective winning streaks of 20 and 33.  There wasn't ESPN and most of the Laker games were played onthe west coast so news didn't come our way until the morning as we were prepping for school.  It was a ritual to here if or when the Lakers would ever lose another game.  It was curiosity, fascination, and also concern.  Concern for our Knicks (yes, they were once good).  The season was winding down and the Knicks were locked in a battle in the East with the Celtics and the Bullets (now Wizards).  How could anyone beat the Lakers of Chamberlin and West?

There isn't that same trepidation with the Houston Rockets.  They are heading into a five game stretch that includs the Celtics, Lakers, and Hornets.  It is highly unlikely they will come out unscathed.  They have accomplished a minor miracle of extending their streak to 21 without Yao Ming the past 8 games and are to be applauded.  However, they still, unlike the Lakers with Chamberlin, the team to be feared in their own conference.  The Hronets, Lakers, Spurs, and Jazz are still considered the class of the West and would be the likely winners in a playoff series with the Rockets.

We don't take away the Rockets accomplishment.  We admire it and revel in what they have accomplished.  However, it will all mean nothing come playoff time if they can't win 4 out of 7 in a series.  That's where a streak really counts.  And without Yao, that will take a miracle.

The 2008 Game Over Classic  will be held June 20 - 22 in New York City.  Age groups for the Classic are:

10 and Under; 11 and Under; 12 and Under; 13 and Under; 14 and Under; 15 and Under; 16 and Under; and 17 and Under.

The Entry fee is $425.00 per Team.  Money Orders and Bank Checks accepted (no Personal Checks).  Please make checks payable to GO Sports, Inc.

Registration Deadline is Friday, June 10, 2008

For additional information, please contact:

Dana Dingle - 646-773-4878 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Shandue McNeill - 516-924-9921 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Darryl Jones - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Eric Jones - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Be sure to check out all the Game Over Classic action at www.gameovernyc.com.  Click on the Game On tab and then the Game Over Classic button OR http://www.gameovernyc.com/basketball/go-classic/ 

Our NBA correspondent A. Katz (not that A. Katz from ESPN) reports: 

Watching the Sixers play the last few weeks has been a lot of fun.  They play hard, they push the ball and they have fun.  They exemplify what are both worst and best in the NBA.  Why the best?  That's pretty obvious:  well-executed fast breaks, hard nose defense, good team basketball and consistent improvement.  Why the worst? Because despite all the good stuff, they are actually moving further away from a chance to contend for an NBA title. Improved or not, they still can't compete with teams that have bona fide Superstars.  By trying and caring a little too much, the Sixers continue to play themselves to a lower spot in the first round of the draft where there are no franchise saviors to be had.  Their young players put up better stats in the short term thereby making them harder or more expensive to re-sign (even with Billy King gone) and making it less likely the team will spend money on incoming free agents.   On their current trajectory, the Sixers slow growth will ultimately hit a low ceiling with a first round playoff win (within the next couple of years) and then start on a slow decline.  They won't be in the NBA finals for another ten years.  Compare this situation to the Miami Heat whose postage budget for mailing in games this year is almost as high as their salary cap.  They still have Wade and Marion (or a high priced replacement) and will own a top 5 lottery pick this year.  They will likely be back in the Conference Finals within 2-3 years.  There's something very wrong with a system that rewards the binge and purgers and punishes the teams trying to win the right way. 

- A. Katz, Philadelphia, PA