Columnist Ron Kantowski: Go West, young man …. to Pittsburgh
Tuesday, March 12, 2002 | 10:21 a.m.
Ron Kantowski's insider notes column appears Tuesday and his Page One column appears Thursday. He can be reached at ron@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4088.
When Horace Greeley advised that young man to "Go West," I don't think he had Pittsburgh in mind.
Or for that matter, when you lookaway to Dixie, it's not very often the smokestacks of the Iron City appear in your line of vision.
Yet, my NCAA bracket tells me that Pittsburgh is in the West and the South, at least for the first and second rounds of the Big Dance.
Who drew up this bracket? Mister Magoo? It certainly wasn't Rand or McNally.
In an effort to keep its 64 teams closer to home (and thus fill the empty seats that were prevalent during the early rounds of last year's tourney), the NCAA Tournament Committee decided to ... heck, I'm not sure what it decided to do, except befuddle me more than a Dennis Miller monologue.
According to the bracket hanging on my refrigerator, Sacramento is in the South and the Midwest -- but not the West. Similarly, both Chicago and St. Louis will host games in the Midwest and East.
They complain about all those sociology majors at Duke, but Coach K should be glad that none of his players is learning geography from the tournament committee.
Of course, there is a simple solution to the problem that doesn't require rocket science or even a road atlas. Instead of naming the regions by geography, simply label them generically, such as 1,2,3 and 4 or A,B,C and D. Or perhaps you could pay tribute to some of the greats of the game by naming the regions after them.
Hence, Utah could be facing Indiana in a Wooden Region first-round game, or Duke might square off against Winthrop in a Rupp Region lid-lifter.
It's either that, or invest in a new compass.
Tailoring his game plan to his personnel, Spoonhour and the Rebels were fun to watch this year and more often than not, the Rebels played like UNLV of yesteryear, rather than Princeton of today.
In fact, heading into tonight's NIT first-rounder against Arizona State at the Thomas & Mack Center, the Rebels and their opponents have surpassed the "over" total in over-under wagering in 14 straight outings.
archive
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- The pull of a drug, a push to the brink
- Was there an ulterior motive in parking the stripper-mobile?
- CityCenter hotel welcomes new employees with gala
- Forrest Griffin writes his own ending at UFC 106
- Notebook: The Shark and LJ circle
- Police arrest 2 more in fatal shooting of Metro officer
- Harry Reid’s hopes hitched to health care reform bill
- What might result from a national airing of Ensign’s dirty laundry
- Politicians waste no time spinning latest jobless numbers
- Illness theory gaining ground for gambling addiction
Blogs
Robin Leach's Las Vegas Celebrity Watch
DWTS Finale: Top three couples perform three dances
High School Sports Scene
How Gorman saved the school district thousands
Politics: Ralston's Flash
GOP consultants Rogich, Ernaut back Democratic AG's re-election (2 Comments)
Audio: Ex-Gov. Bob List accuses Harry Reid of "abuse of power" on health care (1 Comment)
Now and Then
Michael Schumacher takes 7th in go-kart race at Rio
The Kats Report
Monday List: 20 at 20, a quick look at The Mirage on a landmark birthday (1 Comment)
Robin Leach's Las Vegas Celebrity Watch
Photo Gallery: Donny’s correct prediction of Osmond vs. Osbourne
Calendar »
- 24 Tue
- 25 Wed
- 26 Thu
- 27 Fri
- 28 Sat
-
Thanks-Spinning with Z-Trip at Moon
Moon Nightclub | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Food Drive at Coyote Ugly
Coyote Ugly | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Surfer Blood with ACoSA at Beauty Bar
Beauty Bar | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
-
Lipz and the Bunkhouse Blues Band
Bunkhouse Saloon Bar & Grill | 10 p.m.
-
Ladies night at Feelgoods
Feelgoods
-
Canned food drive at Pure
PURE | 10 p.m. to 11:59 p.m.
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
Technorati












