Meal for Mr. Packer?

[Winder/aka Dan Holmes]

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[DomeRanger Posse]

C'mon Winder...you gotta let 'em pluck it first.

Just remember, revenge is a dish best served cold. Perhaps with nice red wine, a little bread...something tasteful, but not too over the top.

[Matt Trump]

[Hime_Peterson]

Give him some fudge

[SteinPizza]

On WGN a minute ago, one of the hosts told a story about interviewing Billy Packer a few years ago. He said they had to hang up on him on the air due to Billy being such a jerk and obviously not wanting to do the interview he agreed to. That's classic, I've never heard of something like that before. I'm sure it shocks all of us to hear that. The host then went on the say that he hopes the MVC destroys their competition just to stick it to Billy.

[Chitown Panther]

On WGN a minute ago, one of the hosts told a story about interviewing Billy Packer a few years ago. He said they had to hang up on him on the air due to Billy being such a jerk and obviously not wanting to do the interview he agreed to. That's classic, I've never heard of something like that before. I'm sure it shocks all of us to hear that. The host then went on the say that he hopes the MVC destroys their competition just to stick it to Billy.

Sounds like he's a smuck without friends.....

[DWadle1983]

Article that takes a couple jabs at Nantz and Packer

Redefining Cinderella

Stewart Mandel, SI.com






Cinderella. The term has become as synonymous with the month of March as St. Patty's Day, Purim and MTV Spring Break. Each year brings the promise of another Coppin State, Bucknell or Butler and overnight fame for another Mouse McFadden, Bryce Drew or Harold Arceneaux.

Unfortunately, Cinderella is becoming something of an endangered species. It's not that upsets aren't still occurring in the NCAA tournament. It's just that these days, everyone already knows about most of the potential giant killers.

Over the past few years, there has sprouted an unprecedented awareness for college basketball's so-called "mid-majors." Membership in the ACC or Big Ten is no longer a prerequisite for seeing your name in lights well before Selection Sunday. Web sites and blogs have arisen for the sole purpose of tracking the nation's less glamorous programs. ESPN has made an annual tradition out of its Bracket Busters event in mid-February. This Web site features a weekly mid-major column, and Sports Illustrated devoted a feature last month to the Missouri Valley Conference, a league which, presuming you weren't living in a cave this season (as CBS' Jim Nantz and Billy Packer apparently were), you've now heard more about than you ever cared to know.You can blame the whole thing on Gonzaga. Once upon a time, not so long ago, the 'Zags were the definitive Cinderella, rising from obscurity to reach the Elite Eight in 1999. Today, they're a perennial top-10 team and ESPN fixture, featuring one of the nation's most recognizable players. Their phenomenal success has spawned countless aspiring imitators across the country and left those of us who cover the sport perpetually on the lookout for the next one of their kind.



However, it's no secret that the NCAA tournament brings out a whole slew of hangers-on who don't necessarily follow the sport as closely. Over the next week or so, you can expect to hear no shortage of unwarranted Cinderella usages bandied about by commentators and writers. And so, as a preemptive strike, I feel it is my duty to spell out the rules for qualifying as a Cinderella as they specifically apply to this year's bracket.

1. First and foremost, a Cinderella should be able to pass the basic fan litmus test, which is not having the slightest idea where the school is located.

2. A team cannot be considered a Cinderella if it's reached the Elite Eight (No. 12 Kent State, No. 14 Xavier) or Sweet 16 (No. 5 Nevada, No. 11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee) within the past few years.

3. A team cannot be considered a Cinderella if it comes from a conference that's produced a recent Final Four team (No. 11 San Diego State and No. 13 Air Force of the Mountain West, Utah's conference).

4. A team cannot be considered a Cinderella if it was seeded in the upper half of the bracket just last year (No. 13 Pacific).

5. Finally, it goes without saying that no team from the Missouri Valley (No. 7 Wichita State, No. 10 Northern Iowa, No. 11 Southern Illinois and No. 13 Bradley) can be considered a Cinderella, seeing as the league was rated higher than the Pac-10 this season. (This, of course, does not apply to Nantz and Packer, who apparently consider anyone outside of the big-six to be in Division III).
Unfortunately, as you can probably deduce by now, these rules greatly limit the potential Cinderella pool, especially since you can rule out the entire row of No. 16 seeds. If you're looking to cheer on a potential Cinderella this weekend, here are your most logical choices:

No. 9 Bucknell: The Bison nearly merited a special rule of their own, considering they beat Kansas in last year's tournament and cracked the Top 25 earlier this season, but the fact is, beating top-seed Memphis in the second round would still be very Cinderella worthy -- not to mention most people still don't have a clue where Bucknell is located.

No. 11 George Mason: The Patriots pass a different fan litmus test, which is, not having the slightest idea who George Mason was.

No. 12 Montana: This time last year, the Grizzlies were a No. 16 seed, and they haven't won a tourney game since 1975. They qualify.

No. 12 Utah State: The Aggies boast the best-named coach (Stew Morrill) in the entire tournament.

No. 13 Iona: Please, just once, let the Gaels pull off a tourney win so we can see someone try to lift Bunyan-esque coach Jeff Ruland in celebration.

No. 14 Northwestern State: You've heard of directional schools; here's a school whose direction doesn't specify a particular state.

No. 14 Murray State: These guys are no stranger to the Dance, having gone 10 times since 1988, and yet there's no getting over the fact their school appears to be named after someone's uncle.

No. 14 South Alabama: In 1989, the Jaguars, then an 11th seed, knocked off big brother Alabama in the first round. The Tide were so embarrassed, they postponed spring football practice for a whole 45 minutes.

No. 15 Penn: Nothing says "pulling for the little guy" quite like rooting for a bunch of future CEOs, investment bankers and hedge-fund managers.

No. 15 Davidson: Located just outside of Charlotte, the Wildcats know the role of underdog very well, having to play second-fiddle to Duke, UNC, N.C. State, Wake Forest, Charlotte, the Panthers, the Hornets, NASCAR ...

No. 15 Belmont: To paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, you know you're a Cinderella when USA Today decides to devote its annual, front-page "little guy makes it to the Big Dance" story to you.

No. 15 Winthrop: Gregg Marshall's team has reached the tournament six of the past eight years, and yet you can't help but think it will be considered for Cinderella status for as long as it's name is still "Winthrop."

The Madness begins in earnest just after noon EST on Thursday. Here's hoping the slipper fits someone this year -- and no, 12th-seed Texas A&M doesn't count.

[B.True]

where is ORU on that list.......expect a miracle today