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Here it is, down to North Carolina, who everyone thought would be here, and Michigan State, who fought for respect when they were denied a #1 seed.  Oh, and Big East, where are you?  Making it to the dance's final weekend is nice, especially when all the experts raved how one was as beautiful as the next.  But tonight it will be an ACC or Big Ten team that cuts down the nets.

The nod here has to go to North Carolina.  Too much.  Too much Hansborough, too much Ellington, too much Lawson.  Michigan State was dogged by UNC four months ago, just enough time for someone to get over a rejection.  They don't remember it nor should they.  They have matured tremendously under the tutelege of Coach Izzo and will be fighting to hold the game to a crawl.  Unlike UConn who couldn't hit a free throw, UNC can, and will put the game away at the foul line.  Score it for the ACC.

This past weekend history was made at Madison Square Garden.  No, the Knicks didn't win a game (though that may qualify).  Lincoln High School won its fourth consecutive PSAL title by defeating Kennedy, 78-56.  Blue Chip recruit Lance Stephenson hit for 24 and teammate James Padgett added 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Stephenson is rumored to be going to Kansas, Maryland, St. John's, UCLA and Wake Forest.  Stephenson would virtually save Norm Roberts job as the Red Storm's coach (rumors are swirling he may be let go) but just as importantly, whether Roberts is coach or not, revive the dorment program.  Getting tickets to Johnnie games would once again be harder than Knick games.  Lets hope he chooses to stay local.

So here we are in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA's and no Cinderella's remaining.  It's impossible, regardless of the story behind Arizona and its interim coach to call them Cinderella.  Purdue is the only other non- 1-2-3 seed crashing the party.  If chalk holds out this weekend, we'll have three Big East teams (Louisville, UConn, and Pittsburgh) for the second time in history vying for the championship.

One question floating is with all the seeds hiolding form, is this a dominant year for college ball, or a year of parity?  Its a year of parity.  While Blake Griffen of Oklahoma is a man among boys, there truly is no other dominant player in the NCAA.  Players that have opted out and graduated to the NBA early, like Kevin Durant, OJ Mayo, and the other dominant freshman forces of the past two seasons have robbed the NCAA of great talent and strength of teams.  While the four #1 seeds are strong, they each have glaring holes that can cost each of them a trip to the Elite Eight, let alone to Detroit.  This year may be more of a season of Survivor than of someone actually capturing the trophy.

Additional Trade Deadline comments from D-Mizz regarding the Knick swaps: 

Pretty good deal for the Knicks.  I would have liked them to pull the trigger on the Kenny Thomas for Jared Jeffries and Nate Robinson deal.  Jeffries contract is very tough to move, and we probably won't be able to resign Nate this summer anyway . . . plus we got another 2 guard in Larry Hughes to fill the void.  If we can't move Jeffries or Curry this summer, then probably can't resign Lee . . .  

For more from D Mizz, check out Breaking Down The Game

Well if there's one thing that's been reinforced at the trade deadline, it's that the media will most definitely make everyone lose their mind thinking about extreme possibilities that probably won't happen. There was a ton of talk about how the current economic climate, and the salary cap decreasing, would cause teams to do "Pau Gasol" like deals. Meanwhile, the only lopsided salary-decreasing type deal, is the one that never wound up happening (Chandler to OKC).

Nonetheless, some news did occur, and the New York Knicks found themselves in the middle of it. The Knicks made some noise during the trade deadline, by essentially unloaded 4 unserviceable players (Malik Rose; Anthony Roberson; Jerome James; Tim Thomas), and getting two serviceable players in return. Granted, Larry Hughes has a horrific reputation for not only being a Marbury-like cancer, but just for being a bad teammate on the court. You might have even heard of the website dedicated to his amazing shot selection, called: "heylarryhughespleasestoptakingsomanybadshots.com" Yes, that's for real. But Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni clearly deserve the benefit of the doubt and have proven to get the best out of their players. The other guy is a largely known in my circles as THAT RIDUNKULOUS DUDE FROM UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND (!!!) WHO HELPED BRING A NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP INTO TOWN. Again, he's not exactly known for his shooting touch, but he's cool with me, and I'm excited to see pregame warmups with him and Nate throwing oops to each other.

Other deals that went down...

*The Magic got their Jameer Nelson replacement, and its a certified point guard, NYC Streeball Legend, and legit NBA player: Rafer, Skip to my lou, Alston. Great trade for the Magic, who basically gave up only Brian Cook, who went to the Grizzlies. The Rockets wound up with defensive specialist Kyle Lowry, who will be fighting with Aaron Brooks for the starting role sooner than later. For more on that trade, click here.

*One of the biggest stories of the day was the trade that didn't happen, The Big Cactus, Shaq, going to Cleveland to join LeBron James on his quest for a chip. I'm still not sure this is BS or not, considering I just don't' believe the trade deadline hype from the media. I assume they had to make up some stories for this day not to be a total bust....right?

For more on that story, and also a nice ESPN breakdown of the entire day as it unfolded, click here.

*In other news, All-Star Danny Granger is going to be out for a while, after hearing a "pop" in his foot. With both Granger and Mike Dunleavy out, you should make sure Marquis Daniels isn't on the waiver wire.

*The big winner in the fantasy world was owners of Aaron Brooks and Spencer Hawes, who are both in line for starters minutes and have produced good stats when given that opportunity in the past. The big loser was DJ Augustin, who will have to stay stuck on the bench, with the Bobcats staying with Raymond Felton, at least until the end of the season when he becomes a restricted free agent.

Did I miss anything? Drop your thoughts below. In the meantime, Chris Wilcox to NYC!!

*Either BDTG reader Dave's hatred for Bill Simmons is rubbing off on me, or 'The Sports Guy' is just really stretching to find good material. In an article about how he doesn't hate Kobe Bryant, he goes on saying that unlike Kobe, LeBron dominated his game at the Garden. Mr. Simmons obviously did not watch the game. See yesterday's post for details on this. I lose faith in Simmons material more everyday, since his stupid banter is more teeny gossip and Lost than sports discussion.

*The trade talks are heating up, but today's most exciting news comes in the form of a multi-player swap featuring the Bobcats' Raymond Felton and the Pacers' Jamal Tinsley. Since the Cats' are even considering getting rid of Raymond Felton, make sure DJ Augustin is not available in your fantasy leagues.

*A true sign of real consistency and commitment...Coach E Muss talks about Loyola Marymount and their horrific losing streak, yet, they never stop competing. Exact opposite of last year's Knicks team, which I still haven't been able to erase from my memory. I've said it a hundred times, great to see the Knicks competing on a nightly basis, and great to see the city get into Knickerbocker basketball.

*The Bulls, actually, I'm going with John Paxson here, has passed on opportunities to use all of this "assets" to land a big name player. This is what happens when you don't take any risks. Low risk, low return. They passed up on KG, Gasol, and I think Bulls fans would go crazy if they pass up on Amare at this point. Years later, he's left with depreciated assets, and just looks like an ass who waited too long to pull the trigger.

*Staying with SLAM, Mike D'Antoni admits they made a big mistake not fouling with 4 seconds to go and a foul to give. He also is not happy with comments made by Jeff Van Gundy relating to David Lee's motivation. Dude has 37 double doubles, second to Dwight Howard (by 1). That's not a lazy player...so watch yo mouf JVG!

*Adding HORSE to All-Star weekend has been a dream of many people for years. Finally, it's happening, with the help and marketing genius of GEICO. You guessed it...its no longer HORSE, but players will have to spell GEICO instead. The 3-player contest includes Kevin Durant, OJ Mayo, and Joe Johnson.

*What happened to T-Mac? This is awful....and if he doesn't step his G up, people will be calling him T-Wack sooner than later.

*Lil' Penny is back! Also from Nicekicks, your 2009 All-Star kicks.

*Finally the Cavs whining is paying off. Mo Williams got the nod over David Lee for the injured Chris Bosh in the All-Star Game. Considering David Lee plays a similar position, it would have been nice to see him there, but after all the talk from the Cavs about feeling disrespected, I don't think even David Stern had the balls to deny them of a second All-Star, after the C's and Magic had 3 each.