ncaa 2nd round gameday

Good morning from sunny Sacramento, hours ahead of what could potentially be IU's last game of the year. The Hoosiers will do battle with the Bruins of the University of California - Los Angeles. Expect it to be one of the better games of the day for a few key reasons. IU will have to rely on hot outside shooting. UCLA has great defense. Indiana doesn't fall out of games. UCLA won the Pac-10 for a reason.

Both of these schools come out of very, very different leagues in the Pac-10 and Big Ten. They don't hardly ever play each other and the mileage gap creates a lack of knowledge about just how good each team is. Without a doubt, UCLA is the favorite tonight. They have the record, have the talent, and have the ability to get to the Final Four.

But look for IU to be a thorn in their side -- and much more so than Weber State.

I'm expecting a close loss tonight, mainly to avoid being heartbroken that my travels are through with this team. Because, in that case, here comes IU men's baseball and the rowing team.

Come on Hoosiers, do it!

IU falls tonight after a very, very good season for first-year coach Kelvin Sampson.

62-55.

Up next: Just UCLA...

I come to tonight in a state that I haven't been in awhile.

Elated over an Indiana Hoosier basketball victory. In the first game that the Hoosiers have won that I have been a photographer at since they beat Michigan at home on January 27th. That includes losses at Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota, but not forgetting at the Big Ten Tournament last Friday against Illinois. Needless to say, it feels good to leave a game without a sour taste, and for this trip, not have to worry about flying standby back to Indy.


Tonight was a night that saw Roderick Wilmont come back to form in the shooting department, and IU able to maintain a steady lead throughout the contest. Gonzaga, who ousted IU from the tournament last year, saw its fortunes as a national Cinderella-type team come to an abrupt end this year as Wilmont hit 6 of Indiana's 9 threes en route to knocking down 22 points. Now sporting a 21-10 record, the Hoosiers will continue their week in sunny Sacramento by matching up with 2-seed UCLA Saturday at ARCO Arena. The second round game features two of the top three NCAA men's basketball championship-earning schools. UCLA has won 11 and Indiana 5.

The Bulldogs never quite went away in this one tonight until the final minute when they were faced with a double digit deficit and threw in the towel. A D.J. White slam dunk sealed the deal and the Hoosiers celebrated with the crowd yelling "Kel-vin Samp-son!" over and over before the Hoosiers finally heard the buzzer sound with the final score reading 70-57. Gonzaga's leading scorers including Derek Raizio and David Pendergraft each with 12.

The Hoosiers now move on to face a much tougher team in UCLA, as their 2-seed in this tournament could have easily been a 1 if they would have won the Pac-10 conference tournament. They did, however, win the Pac-10 season championship. The Bruins played Weber St. earlier in the day at ARCO, and held the Wildcats to just 42 points. Fighting a sluggish start, UCLA surged to end the first half and kept the momentum after the break. Arron Affalo, who had a miserable game versus California in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, came back strong today with a 22 point and 8 rebound effort. A win Saturday in the West Regional for the Hoosiers would be significant and a definite upset, as the Bruins have played very well this season. Three of UCLA's players have averaged double figures in scoring, including Affalo and Darren Collison who both earned all-conference honors.

However, from now until game time, I've got some definite sightseeing to handle. Old Sac (haha, yeah i laugh too), a happy hour appetizer buffett, and a possible visit to a very, very large (see right for evidence, and click for more) fire that happened along a railroad trussle in Artest-ville today. Maybe a "Governator" t-shirt as well. As for now, it's time to marvel at the fact that Duke is gone from the tournament, and I'm leading one of my competitions. 14 of 16 ain't too shabby, but tomorrow will be the real test.

Over and out.

report for arnold's country.

Good morning, afternoon, or evening, whichever it is for you, because, well, I have no clue. This whole Cali time swing has me all screwed up, but I'm not complaining. Sacramento (where I am) is a lot more than I expected. It's very, very modern, but yet, has an old town feel. And everything is green.

Like really green. It's a welcome change from the bland state Indiana is in during this time of the year.


I'm here covering the NCAA First Round Men's Basketball Tournament for IU and the Indiana Daily Student as a photographer. Yesterday, IU had its availability day and a short 40 minute public practice. Basically there were interviews and then a practice that consisted of stretching and shooting. There was no offense work, no harsh words, and Kelvin smiled just about the whole time. And I must say, the Hoosiers were lights out on the rims here. Like, whoa. I think the Hoosiers found the one benefit of ARCO arena -- the shooting background is not deep at all. That's about the best I can say for the place because I'm truly surprised an NBA team could actually play there. The old Market Square Arena put this place to shame. And that place wasn't that special.

Our hotel room is very, very nice. I'm pretty sure Arnold (you know, he's the governator) can see in our room, as the state capitol that was built in the mid 1800s, is right out the window. It's a gorgeous building with beautiful trees all around. The picture is what it's like standing on the balcony.

Today, we don't really have to be over to ARCO until around 5ish, but who knows when we'll get there. The Hoosiers have Gonzaga, and unlike the rest of the world who probably knows better, I really think they'll win it. The Zags are the nation's Cinderella team every year, but this year they'll get knocked out fast. As for UCLA, that's a different story.

That's about it from Sac-town, and tomorrow I'll have an update (hopefully, they charge 9.95 a day for internet!!) about tonight's game (i'd give you a halftime analysis, but ARCO is stupid about their internet policies.) and my adventures to Old Sacramento, around the State Capitol, and potentially the California State Railroad Musuem.

Later, peeps.

Rank 'em: Las Vegas

A quick look at the top ten drivers in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series

1) Jeff Gordon (+1) Gordo makes his first #1 appearance in the history of rank 'em this week. 3 Top-10s to start the year is stellar, and also its the first time he's done it since 1997.
2) Mark Martin (-1) Sure, he's started strong, but he's insisting that he won't run a full schedule. And I'm starting to believe him. Shouldn't you be committed to being #1?
3) Jimmie Johnson (+2) Got his 3rd win in a row at Vegas, and that meant he got to have his eyebrow done for the 3rd time at a posh Vegas salon.
4) Jeff Burton (-3) If he wouldn't have had the mechanical issue late, he would have scored another top 5.
5) Matt Kenseth (-1) A typical Kenseth robot day, stayed really quiet and wound up with a top 5. No circuit board malfunctions this week.
6) Tony Stewart (+1) Tony, your harsh words for LVMS don't mean as much if you get a top 10.
7) Kevin Harvick (-5) Did someone forget to change his tire at California? Did he ever make it to Vegas?
8) Denny Hamlin (+1) The sophomore slump hasn't happened yet. That is, until he finishes 2nd at Pocono. That's when it's time to worry about his performance.
9) Kyle Busch (-1) He wrecked twice this weekend, and both times he managed a Top 10. You don't hear that often.
10) Dale Earnhardt Jr. We welcome this newb to rank 'em mainly because his commercials get better ever year. Except the Chevy Impala one. That's just stupid.

uaw daimler-chrysler 400 race rewind

Ridin' the "razor blade" of handling at Vegas, here's a rundown of Sunday's happenings.

The Story.
Winner: Jimmie Johnson
How it was done: Johnson passed Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton on lap 240 and held in for his 24th career victory.
Top 5: Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamiln, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin
Yellow Flags: 9 cautions for 40 laps, just 1 caution shy of track record
Points Situation: 1. Mark Martin, 2. Jeff Gordon (-6), 3. Jeff Burton (-42)

News/Notes/Ramblings.
It was all yellow. With 3 cautions early in the race, it looked like this one was going to be as bad as Kevin Harvick ("This race is gonna suck.") and Tony Stewart said it would be. And for all intents and purposes, the race did lack any real excitement. Cars couldn't run side by side easily because the tire was simply too hard. For the third race in 2 years, the drivers have complained and complained about a new pavement job at a speedway, and nothing has been done to fix the problem. It's true, in this day and age, the drivers should be able to race, not skate around for 400 miles.
Stupid Move. Robby Gordon might have shown Sunday just why he didn't have a sponsor on the race car this weekend. Early in the race, he decided that making a late dive into turn one under not 1, but 2 cars was a great idea. Racing side-by-side into the corner were Ward Burton and Casey Mears, and Robby made it three-wide, bottomed out on the apron on corner entrance and went up and slammed into Ward Burton, who made contact with Casey Mears. The only car to make it through the wreck? Robby Gordon. Just when you think that Robby Gordon might have decided to become a smart driver, he makes a move like this. Geez.
What happened?After Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Burton both overtook Jeff Gordon, it looked as if that would be the way they would finish. Instead, Burton started to fall off big time before the last caution. He ended up pitting under caution and wound up 15th, despite leading 4 laps sunday. Was it a tire issue?

Rank 'em will come later tonight

pick 'em round 3 champ: geoffrey miller

the standings.

after round 3 of 36 (UAW Daimler Chrysler 400, Las Vegas)

1. 25 points - trevor sager (1 pick 'em win)
2. 20 points - geoffrey miller (2 - Top 5s)
2. 10 points - drew owen (1 - Top 5, 1 - Top 10)

Well, your rough clarity host took his first overall victory in the NASCAR pick 'em contest with Jeff Gordon's 2nd place finish Sunday at Las Vegas. I took the 24 car for the second straight week, and the bet paid off, as Gordon had his 3rd top-ten finish of the year, placing him 2nd in points, 6 behind Mark Martin. As for the rest of the pick 'em contenders, Trevor had a a good day at the beginning, but Kurt Busch really faltered late and wound up 26th. Drew would have taken the 5 points from Trev, but Kasey Kahne wrecked his second race car of the weekend with less than 30 laps to go, leaving Drew with second goose egg.

Next week: The NNS visits Atlanta for a 500 mile event. Eat a peach.

welcome to the wreckfest.

just a quick race update with 237 to go.

1) Robby Gordon is a moron.
what was he thinking? three-wide into turn one early in the race? mor-on.

2) We've had 3 cautions in the first 20 laps. 3.
yep, the tire issue isn't gonna matter today. we have a caution before the tires ever get hot.

and now, we just our fourth caution. aric almirola spun it on the frontstretch.

this race could be over by 10pm est. if we're lucky.

UAW Daimler-Chrysler 400 pick 'em

After a week off for a visit south of the border by the Busch Series, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series roars back to life this weekend in what can best be described as a crapshoot -- and no pun intended. Sure, the race is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but luck will definitely play into determining who makes the trip to Victory Lane. The track has been completely reconfigured with more banking, the pit road entry has drastically changed, and the tires -- in the mind of the drivers -- are horrendous. So what's that mean for this week's pick 'em? We'll be extremely lucky to come up with a driver that doesn't end up in the wall.

trevor sager (20 points) - kurt busch.
pick 'em leader sager goes with the hometown boy this weekend at Vegas, as he expects the #2 Miller Lite Dodge to be near the front. Busch starts 10th on Sunday.

drew owen (10 points) - kasey kahne.
drew hopes to get back in the points this weekend by picking Kasey Kahne, Sunday's polesitter for the 400. it would be a fitting pick, have a daimler-chrysler company vehicle take home the trophy.

geoffrey miller (10 points) - jeff gordon.
"Cliche or not, I'm gonna stick with my driver for the second-straight week. Last year, this would have been a different story due to the 24's struggles on the 1.5 milers, but I see a new consistency in this team during the first two races. It's going to pay off again on Sunday -- with quite a bit of luck, obviously."

the standings.

after round 2 of 36

1. 20 points - trevor sager (1 pick 'em win)
2. 10 points - drew owen* (1 - Top 5, 1 - Top 10)
3. 10 points - geoffrey miller* (1 - Top 5)

* = standings were decided by tiebreaker rule.