A - Absolutely Cindy. Look out Rags to Riches, there’s a new filly on the Triple Crown scene. Absolutely Cindy wasn’t well regarded in the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway on Saturday - she went off at 20-1. It will be a long time until she sees a price like that again. She was dead last at the top of the stretch before making one of the more breathtaking moves to beat the field full of boys. Her next move isn’t clear, but it seems likely that she will be given another chance to prove herself against the boys.

B - Brad Richards. The former Tampa Bay Lightning star who had struggled to find his form this year was one of the biggest names to get a new address at the NHL trading deadline when he was traded to Dallas. The Stars are looking ahead to what will be a ridiculously tough playoff run in the Western Conference, and the added scoring will help. The trade paid off handsomely in Richards’ first start - he erupted for five assists.

C - Colonel John. While Absolutely Cindy was owning the East Coast on the road to the Derby, Colonel John staked his claim to the West. He won the Sham Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday, holding off a late charge by the previously undefeated El Gato Malo. It was the first start of the year for the colt, and his next start will be in the Santa Anita Derby. That means that the Kentucky Derby, if he makes it, will be just his third start of the year, and his first on anything besides the ridiculous new surface at Santa Anita.

D - David Carr. I’ve given this guy the benefit of the doubt for a long time, but I may finally have to call the former No. 1 pick a bust. After a disastrous season in Carolina, Carr was cut loose by the Panthers last week. Carr was terrible when called on to start in Carolina, but the league is starved for quarterbacking talent, so it will be very interesting to see if he finds a new team.

E - Edwards, Carl. NASCAR’s back-flipper is off to an impressive start to the season. He won at Las Vegas this weekend. It was the second time in six days that he had grabbed the checkered flag. It’s the kind of start that is great for Roush, and it must be driving Hendrick crazy. There is a dark cloud on the horizon, though - Edwards failed the post-race inspection. Inspectors found that the lid was off his oil tank box. That’s typically worth a penalty of 25 points, and that would cost Edwards his first-ever lead in the standings.

F - Fielder, Prince. What a shock - a star athlete feels that he is underpaid. For once, though, I agree. Fielder isn’t arbitration-eligible yet, so he is pretty much at the mercy of his team. Because of that, the Brewers were able to renew his contract for just $670,000. That’s a ridiculous bargain for a guy who had 50 homers and 119 RBI last year. Hopefully Fielder’s discontent doesn’t spill onto the field - the Brew Crew badly need his bat if they want to improve on last year.

G - Geezers. NBA teams looking for a little extra push down the stretch are looking at old guys to make the difference. 36-year-old Brent Barry was the subject of an unlikely bidding war between Phoenix and the eventual winners, San Antonio. The Spurs traded him to the Sonics 10 days later, so he will have to wait 30 days before he can re-sign. Another old guy playing a waiting game is 38-year-old Sam Cassell. He was bought out by the Clippers and has to clear waivers before reportedly signing with the Celtics.

H - Hossa, Marian. The Pittsburgh Penguins can’t catch a break. Sidney Crosby has been out of action for well over a month, so the Pens made a deadline deal to add some scoring. They picked up Marian Hossa from Atlanta, but the cost was very high - several young prospects. Murphy’s Law was in full effect in Hossa’s first game - he strained his MCL in a collision and will be out of action for a while. The only good news is that they are in very good shape to make the playoffs, so there is time for everyone to heal.

I - Islanders. New York had some terrible luck on Sunday. They played well against Florida and got a great showing from their backup goalie, but they couldn’t solve Panthers’ backup Craig Anderson and lost 1-0. The game was noteworthy because of Anderson. He faced 53 shots, including a franchise record 29 in the second period, and he stopped them all. It was just Anderson’s fourth win of the year.

J - Josh Beckett. The reigning ALCS MVP returned to action with a bang this year. Beckett threw 18 strikes in 25 pitches over two scoreless innings in his first appearance of the spring. There are a couple of reasons to ease up on the excitement a bit, though. First, he wasn’t at all happy with his curve ball. More significantly, though, the game was only against Boston College, and the 24-0 score is an indicator of how tough the outing was for Beckett.

K - Kazmir, Scott. I’m one of those people who is thinking the unthinkable - that the Rays might finally be competitive after years of being truly terrible. You can imagine, then, the sinking feeling in my stomach when I read that Kazmir needed an MRI on a sore elbow. The test turned up nothing, but it’s still bad news. The team would struggle to be their best without Kazmir, so this is far from the ideal start to a big year.

L - Louisville. The Cardinals are on fire. Wins over Notre Dame and Villanova this week put them in control of their own destiny - a win at Georgetown on Saturday and they are the champs of the Big East. They have won nine straight conference games, and they have covered in all but one of those games. I don’t know how Rick Pitino does it, but he always seems to get his team going right around this time of year.

M - Mavericks. Though it is too early to say for sure, this week gave us a good indication that the addition of Jason Kidd isn’t enough to put Dallas over the top. They played the Lakers and San Antonio this week, and weren’t good enough to beat either of them. It would be virtually impossible for Dallas to win it all without beating at least one of those teams, and the Mavs definitely look like they are a step behind.

N - North Carolina. The Tar Heels keep winning, but they aren’t inspiring a lot of confidence as they do it. They got a 10-point win against Boston College on Saturday, but it wasn’t pretty. They were down by 18 early in the second half before rallying. They will keep getting better as Ty Lawson gets healthier and more comfortable, but they need to tighten up on defense - Tyrese Rice scored 34 points in the first half.

O - Oscar De La Hoya. The Golden Boy announced last week that he will be finished after three more fights. After crushing former reality TV star Steve Forbes, De La Hoya will likely fight new wrestling icon Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September, followed by a career finale. I understand why he would want to pursue the money and the limelight, but you could make a pretty good argument that he looked like he was done three fights ago.

P - PGA. This week’s winner was very familiar, but he hadn’t won in a while. Ernie Els earned his first PGA victory since 2004 at the Honda Classic. Though Els hasn’t been winning as much as he used to, this win still moves him up to No. 3 in the world rankings. There is the standard asterisk beside the win, of course - Tiger decided to stay home and give the rest of the golfers in the world a chance.

Q - Quit. It seems like coaches and players retire soon after they reach a major milestone. It seems like too much to hope for, though, that Mike Krzyzewski would pack it in now that he has reached 800 wins. As a Duke hater, nothing would make me happier than the departure of Coach K, but I strongly suspect that we are going to be stuck with him for a couple 100 more wins.

R - Rob McKiver. You might not recognize the name of the guard for the Houston Cougars, but you wouldn’t forget him once you saw him play - the guy is a scoring machine. He exploded for a Division I season-high 52 points on Wednesday against Southern Mississippi. Unfortunately, his 29 on Sunday weren’t enough to avoid a big upset at East Carolina that is a huge blow to the Cougars’ tournament hopes.

S - Spartans. Michigan State continues to be one of the more perplexing teams in the country. They looked terrible on Thursday when they lost to Wisconsin by 15. That lackluster performance made what happened on Sunday seem truly unlikely. They were very uncharitable hosts to Indiana, beating them by 29. The 103 points they scored was by far the most they have scored all year, and a stunning 61 points more than they had against Wisconsin.

T - Texas Tech. Turns out that the Red Raiders don’t miss Coach Knight at all. The new Coach Knight is doing a heck of a job with his new team. Texas Tech has won three of four, capped by a huge upset of Texas on the weekend. That win has to give people a ton of hope for the future, but there is still work to do - the one loss was a stunningly ugly 44-point loss to Texas A&M. Still, the fact that they bounced back the next game to beat Texas is a great sign.

U - UFC 82. Anderson Silva yet again showed the world just how nasty he is on Saturday in Columbus. He had a chance to be UFC’s first unified champion when he put his UFC middleweight title on the line against Dan Henderson, the Pride middleweight champ, and he made the most of it. Silva dominated throughout before getting a submission late in the second round. Silva is unquestionably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world in my mind.

V - Volunteers. Tennessee. Some teams really come into themselves and grow and bloom after a big accomplishment like hitting No. 1 in the rankings. Tennessee is apparently not one of those teams. They were only at No. 1 for one day before they lost to Vanderbilt by three. If that wasn’t bad enough, they came out against a Kentucky team crippled by the loss of Patrick Patterson and almost lost again. Either this is a serious wake-up call, or this team is going to be a serious disappointment.

W - What? I know that NFL free agency is supposed to be crazy, but there were some truly bizarre moves this year. Everything Oakland did was insane, and I think the Eagles overpaid for Asante Samuel. The one I really don’t get, though, is Michael Turner to Atlanta. The Falcons paid him $35 million over six years. I don’t get why they would pay that much for a guy who is unproven as a starter and who has amassed his admittedly impressive stats behind a ridiculously good offensive line in San Diego. He may work out, but the Falcons have lots of needs, they have a decent back in Jerious Norwood, and they could easily add a decent second back from the very deep draft, so I don’t see why they overstretched for Turner.

X - Xavier. The mascots of this column are a ridiculously easy team to write about this year. They just keep winning and winning. Their lone game this week was a win over George Washington, That was their 11th-straight conference win, and their 17th victory in 18 games. They have totally run away from the conference, and are a very legitimate contender heading into the tournament.

Y - Yao Ming. The incredibly hot Houston Rockets suffered a major blow this week when they lost their star center for the rest of the season. The cause of the giant’s absence was a stress fracture in his left foot. Dikembe Mutumbo has stepped into the starting lineup in Yao’s place, and so far they have not missed a beat - they have won three times to stretch their winning streak to 15, and they covered each time. The team is now 12-1 ATS in their last 13.

Z - Zito, Barry. After a rough initial season in San Francisco, the highly paid pitcher says that he is ready to turn it around this year. That may be true, but the first game of the year didn’t give us much confidence that he will pull it off. He gave up eight runs and seven hits against Oakland, and he only managed two outs before getting the hook. Ouch.

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Harvard (+7) at Columbia - I like Columbia here for several reasons:

1. They beat Harvard by nine on the road two weeks ago.
2. They are an impressive 10-4 ATS, and 6-2 ATS in the last eight.
3. John Baumann, the Columbia forward who is the only real scoring threat on either team, is in fine form recently and he will be able to feast on the truly pathetic Harvard D.
4. I hate Tommy Amaker, blame him for ruining my beloved Michigan basketball program, and want to see him suffer as much as possible.
5. Neither team has anything left to play for, so the home crowd (such as it will be) will make a big difference.

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I could care less about this game, obviously. It just means that we are only a month away from the regular season of baseball. As a sports bettor, I love baseball. It goes on every day, there are a full range of options every day, and it forces you to have a patient, long term view. It’s not the most exciting sport to bet on, but it replaces adrenaline with intellectual challenge more than any other endeavor. I can’t wait.

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1. Yao Ming’s season ending injury. My first reaction - wow, that sucks. My second reaction - with Rick Adelman at the helm, the team isn’t going to struggle as much as people think. That should create some value as the public over-reacts.

2. Scott Kazmir needed an MRI on his elbow. Ouch. I am relatively bullish on the Rays, and I think that there is very big value in playing the over on their season total. A lot of that value would evaporate if Kazmir isn’t okay. Thankfully, the MRI didn’t turn up anything.

3. Barry Bonds. The word is that no one seems interested in him, but I don’t buy that for a second. The guy is scum, but his OPS was 1.065 last year. That’s ridiculously good. Sooner or later some team is going to admit that they are interested, they are going to bring himin, and, sadly, they are going to be significantly better for it.

4. Tennessee. You finally get to number one, and then you let it all slip away with a lackluster effort and a loss at Vanderbilt? Oops.

5. NHL trading day. I love what Dallas did in adding Brad Richards. The West is going to be very tough. Pittsburgh took a huge gamble by trading away a ton of young talent for Marian Hossa, but I like the gamble, and I think it will comedown to them and New Jersey in the East.

6. Ottawa Senators. They fired coach John Paddock today. Wow. Remember at the start of the year when they couldn’t lose if they tried? What a wasted opportunity it looks like this season is going to be.

7. Jamaal Magloire signed with Dallas as a free agent. he hasn’t been anywhere near his former All-Star caliber recently, but he’s only 29 and he needs a better situation. This could be it. This makes Dallas significantly better in my eyes. Just what we needed - a Western conference that is even tougher.

8. Drake lost to Missouri State. The Bulldogs are a great story, but this game is an example of why I am going to find it hard to trust in the postseason.

9. Derrick Rose. Memphis’ stud frosh point guard missed practice on Monday with the flu, and is listed as questionable tonight against Tulsa. I will be filing away if and how he plays as an indicator of his heart and grit. Further, I’ll be looking to see how Rose’s whole team bounces back from a disheartening setback. Bettertha Tennessee bounced back from the win, I hope.

10. Congress is after Clemens again. What would it take to make this whole ugly, depressing thing just go away?

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A - Again. For the second time in just over half a season, Gerald Green has a new home. Minnesota traded him to Houston for Kirk Snyder. The only place Green has shone in his brief career is the slam dunk contest. Beyond that, the athletic freak who was drafted out of high school has been disappointing. He’s from Houston, so maybe the change of scenery will be just what he needs. If not, though, this could be the end of the line. He’s not a bust yet, but the fat lady is warming up her voice.

B - Bibby, Mike. Bibby’s first game for Atlanta was a successful debut, just not for him. Pau Gasol won his first game in his new home arena as his Lakers rolled over the Hawks by 29. Bibby only had five points and three assists, but he only played 16 minutes so not much more could have been expected. Thankfully for Atlanta fans, Bibby has been much better while playing more minutes in his three games since that ominous start.

C - Crown of Thorns. This impressive colt jumped into the heart of the Triple Crown trail with an impressive victory in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 2. A couple weeks later he showed us just what an emotional roller coaster being a horse racing fan can be. A stress fracture in his left front shin will keep him off the track for several months, and makes the Derby an impossibility. He’s the first major contender to fall to the side, but sadly he sure won’t be the last.

D - Drake. I’ve written about the Bulldogs quite a bit this year, but I am still unsure what to think of them. Their loss at home against Bradley on Tuesday was their second loss in three games. That’s a bit of a concern. Or it would be if they hadn’t come out and beat Butler soundly in their BracketBuster on Saturday. That game alone would have you believe that they are very much for real. In the end, I guess I just have to keep holding off before taking a real stand on this team.

E - End of a streak. Duke hadn’t lost to Miami since 1962. That’s a long time. The streak came to an end this week when the Hurricanes shocked the Blue Devils in Miami, winning by a single point. It was a huge win for a Miami team that is suddenly hot, and suddenly could make the tournament. For Duke the loss sound alarms - it was their second setback in four days. They righted the ship with a big win on Saturday, but it was it was only against St. John’s, so it doesn’t tell us anything about how the team is really doing.

F - Fountain of Youth. This prep race for the Florida Derby at Gulfstream on Sunday was by far the biggest and best collection of youngsters we have seen in one place this year. All 12 horses had something interesting to offer. In the end it was Nick Zito’s Cool Coal Man who came out on top. The 7/1 fourth choice got pretty much a perfect trip to secure the first stakes victory of his career. Monba, the Todd Pletcher trained favorite making his season debut, never fired and finished last.

G - Garnett, Kevin. KG finally returned to action for the Celtics after a longer-than-expected absence. Unfortunately, and somewhat surprisingly, his return didn’t light a fire under his team - they lost his first three back before finally beating Portland on Sunday. That’s certainly not what you would have expected, and it is especially confounding since Boston had won five in a row before Garnett returned.

H - Habs. The Montreal Canadiens have more history than any team in hockey - they are the Yankees on skates. Given all of their accomplishments, it seems surprising whenever they do something they have never done before. That’s just what they did this week, though, when they came back from a five-goal deficit to win, 6-5, in a shootout against the Rangers. The story would be even better if the streaky Canadiens hadn’t lost their next two after the heroic comeback.

I - Indianapolis. All of the eyes in the football world are trained on Indianapolis this week for the Combine. As I write, the offensive players have made their way through the annual meat market. As always, some players have been very impressive - Jake Long looked like a man among a bunch of offensive linemen boys, Darren McFadden ran like a rocket and proved why most think he is the top back prospect, Joe Flacco threw well and rocketed up draft boards, and Appalachian State’s Dexter Jackson was ridiculously fast and made himself a lot of money.

J - James, LeBron. That sound you hear is the world’s loudest sigh of relief. King LeBron finally has players to play with. The Cavs went out and added Ben Wallace and Wally Szczerbiak. To do it they had to ship away a big part of their starting lineup. That would be a big concern if the starting lineup wasn’t so lousy. The debut of the new lineup was a success - both new additions played well and the Cavs won by 20. It was only against Memphis, but a big win is a big win. This move makes the East’s playoff picture even muddier than it already was.

K - Klitschko, Wladimir. Did you know that there is still a heavyweight division? Neither did I. Klitschko beat Sultan Ibragimov on Saturday in one of the most boring decisions in boxing history. With the win, Klitschko now has two of the four major heavyweight titles. In theory he will continue to collect belts in a bid to unify the belts. Boxing desperately needs that. In reality, though, it is more likely that some bizarre, ridiculous development will lead to him forfeiting the belts so that guys we have never heard of can win them. That’s the kind of thing we have come to expect from boxing.

L - Lasorda, Tommy. The great manager is coming back to manage a few games, but unlike the return of Eddie Sutton, another ancient legend, this return doesn’t make you cringe. Lasorda will be managing a Dodgers split squad for eight games while the main team heads to China for two exhibition games. It’s a great tribute to a great Dodger. It’s also a series of games that I will be watching instead of betting on. I love gimmicks, but not as a bettor.

M - Maria Sharapova. The Russian tennis princess won the WTA event in Qatar this weekend to take home the biggest prize of the year outside of the majors. She improved to a perfect 14-0 on the season. Incredibly attractive, and a consistently profitable bet to boot. If I weren’t already married I’d fly over to Russia and propose to her - she’s the perfect woman for a sports bettor.

N - New man. The Calgary Flames are unquestionably the streakiest team in the NHL. When they are reeling off the wins they look unbeatable. When they are losing they look as bad as any team can look. What they have lacked this year compared to previous seasons is the stellar goaltending they have gotten used to from Miika Kiprusoff. This week, though, Kipper appears to have recaptured that familiar form. He has allowed just one goal on 79 shots in his last two games against division leaders Detroit and Minnesota. If he continues to play as only he can the Flames are a serious contender down the stretch.

O - Ouch. Brad Lidge is clearly cursed. It was not that long ago that he was the nastiest closer in baseball, but then Albert Pujols crushed his fastball out of the park in the NLCS and he has never been the same. A trade to Philadelphia in the offseason gave him the fresh start he desperately needed. The next part is almost enough to make you cry - on his very first pitch of spring training, Lidge injured his knee and will likely be out at least until the start of the season. Some guys can’t get a break.

P - Perfect. Memphis lost to Tennessee on Saturday thanks to some monumentally cold shooting down the stretch. It’s a setback for the Tigers, and it elevates the Volunteers to the top of the heap for now. So much for perfection in college basketball this year. Or not quite - New Jersey Institute of Technology finished their second Division I season with an unblemished record - they lost all 29 games they played. Needless to say, they are already in the market for a new coach.

Q - Quite bizarre. Rex Grossman did everything in his power last year to prove that he was not a long-term solution for the Bears at quarterback. Most of the time, in fact, he looked like he was trying to prove he wasn’t a quarterback. With his contract mercifully over, what did the Bears do about their woeful QB situation? They re-signed Grossman. It’s just a one-year contract, but it’s among the more unexpected and inexplicable developments of the offseason. On the other hand, if Eli Manning can suddenly figure out how to play, there is hope for Grossman.

R - Reunited. After many false starts, IRL and Champ have ended their divorce and merged back into one league. From a spectators’ perspective, there is a huge advantage to the new arrangement - now there is just one North American open wheel league that we only care about one week per year instead of two. That’s half the effort for the same level of satisfaction. Somehow, I don’t think NASCAR is too worried about this development.

S - Shaq. I am optimistic that the giant one will be a good addition to the Suns, but apparently it will take a while. The Suns have won just one of the three games since Shaq started playing. The first loss, against the Lakers, showed that defense could be a bit of a problem without Marion - the Suns scored 124 in regulation and lost by six. They beat Boston, but then lost to Detroit by 30 on Sunday. That’s the biggest loss of the year for the team, and a clear sign that there is a lot of work left to do.

T - Tiger. Tiger Woods goes out every single week and makes the rest of the golf world his bitches. For a brief moment it look like J.B. Holmes might beat him. That didn’t last long, and it was the only point during the entire Match Play that he looked vulnerable. The final against Stewart Cink was an absolute joke - he won 8-and-7, and it wasn’t that close. Tiger is making a mockery of the sport, and draining all the fun out of betting on golf.

U - Ugly. Kelvin Sampson disgusts me. Indiana had no choice but to fire him and send the program into turmoil after Sampson had committed at least five major NCAA violations. The sad part is that it’s the kids, and not Sampson, who have to endure the chaos. The post-Sampson era didn’t get off to a flying start. Six players boycotted a practice, and then the team only barely squeaked past lowly Northwestern. Here’s hoping that an impressive season isn’t wasted because the school made the mistake of hiring a total waste of oxygen.

V - Villanova. The Wildcats are not a team that I can figure out. A month ago they embarked on a disastrous five-game losing streak, and it seemed as if their season was over. Since then, they have won four of five. The most recent win was impressive - they ended UConn’s 10-game winning streak. They’ve turned it around from a betting perspective, too - they have covered four in a row after previously paying off just once in 13 games. With the win over the Huskies they are now back in the hunt for a tournament bid.

W - War Pass. You can never be sure how the two-year old champion is going to look when he returns to the track as a three-year-old. There was no need to worry with War Pass. He came off a four-month layoff to win a one-mile allowance at Gulfstream by more than seven lengths. It was against a field of nobodies, but it was still a comfortingly impressive win that re-asserts his prominent place on the road to the Derby.

X - Xavier. Another week, another series of accomplishments for the mascots of this column. There were three games for the team, and three impressive covers. They beat Rhode Island on Monday, blew out Duquesne on Thursday, and clinched at least a share of the A-10 title with a win over Dayton on Sunday. That’s 10 wins in a row, and 16 of 17. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, but I love the way this team is heading into the postseason.

Y - Yikes. I want so badly to believe in Kansas State because Michael Beasley and Bill Walker are so darned good. They showed on Saturday that believing in them might not be a good long-term plan. Beasley unleashed 44 points and 13 rebounds against Baylor, and Walker added 31. The sad part is that that wasn’t enough - the Wildcats lost to Baylor by six. The two freshman are brilliant, but they can’t do it alone. The rest of the roster combined for just 11 points. That’s almost unbelievably bad, and it is a recipe for a quick exit in March.

Z - Zzzzzz. It is going to be a truly unwatchable year for baseball fans in Miami. The Marlins have traded away pretty much every asset they have, and they stand a good chance of making that other pitiful team in their state look decent by comparison. As proof of just how out of touch the team’s management is, they have come up with the worst idea in the history of ideas in a desperate attempt to entertain fans - they are holding auditions for the Manatees, an all-male, plus sized cheerleading group. Maybe it’s time for contraction again.

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The problem this year is that, for people who have been following things closely, there is very little suspense with the show this year. With the exception of Best Supporting Actress all of the major categories have a heavy favorite, and any other result would be a serious upset. That means that you have to content yourself with a little bit of relatively secure return instead of a lot of potential profit with high risk.

The way I am going to try to make some money with this mythical bankroll is something I would never do with my own hard earned cash - I am putting it all in one place. The best combination of a (relatively) sure win and a (relatively) decent price is with best director. The Coen brothers are going to win, and you can get 1/5 for it. That’s a pitiful 20 percent return, but, sadly, I think that that is pretty good for this event. You could get a better return for No Country for Old Men as best picture (1/3 vs. 1/5), but I am a bit more wary of an upset there than in the director. That’s it, then - $1000 on the Coen brothers to win best director.

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Davidson (-3) at Winthrop - Off the top I’ll say that I like Davidson here. The Wildcats are playing well, especially on the road, and they match up well. Winthrop is at the top of the Big South, but that doesn’t mean too much. Of course, Davidson has faced only marginally better competition in the Southern conference. It comes down, then, to three things;

1) Non-conference competition - Winthrop has played a few decent teams, and they have a win over Miami that looks better after the Hurricanes stunned Duke. They haven’t played nearly the level of competition that Davidson has, though. The non-conference schedule holds more importance in my mind when the teams don’t play regularly, and these two programs have never met.

2) Stephen Curry - He’s one of the best players in the country, and the Davidson guard could be the difference here. Winthrop can’t score at all, but Davidson’s defense is only average, so the Wildcats won’t be able to exploit that edge as much as they could. Winthrop plays solid defense, but they haven’t seen an offense as strong as Davidson’s, or a player as good as Curry. I’m not confident that Winthrop is ready for the step up in class.

3) ATS records - It’s not Winthrop’s fault that they have only played three games with a spread, but it makes it difficult to know how they perform when bettors’ money is on the line. It also means that it is harder for the books to set an accurate line. On the other hand, Davidson, at 15-9 ATS, is a proven performer that has been decently consistent for bettors.

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The other way that you can know that this is a huge game is that the line came out on Wednesday night for a Saturday night game. That has happened, well, once this year that I am aware of. Memphis, the home team, has been installed as six point favorites.

Before I spend any time looking at this game I should be honest - I am a huge Memphis fan, and I have had a problem with Tennessee ever since Peyton Manning played there, so my objectivity isn’t all that it could be. That being said, I have to say that I was a little bit surprised to see Memphis favored by that much. I was expecting something more in the range of three or four points. I would lean towards taking Memphis, and the image that sticks in my mind is of how they dismantled Georgetown in the second half. I also don’t think that Tennessee will be able to play zone defense effectively enough to shut down the Memphis offense. I would certainly understand the opinion that the spread is a bit too big, though. I would anticipate that it will shrink a bit, and I would be inclined to wait a bit to see how it moves before I made a bet.

The one thing that excites me most about this game is how both teams came in. They played games on Wednesday night against lesser opponents - Tulane for Memphis, and Auburn for Tennessee. It would have been understandable to see the teams look beyond the easy games and put in a sub-par effort. Instead, both teams played well, won easily, and covered the large spreads. The focus isn’t that surprising given that both teams are exceptionally well coached, but it is still exciting to think that both teams are heading into the big game in top form. I’ll be counting the seconds until this one tips off.

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For those that missed it, Indiana has been in turmoil for more than a week now. It basically boils down to this - head coach Kelvin Sampson is a total moron. He left Oklahoma before he got fired, but not before he caused that school to have to suffer sanctions for his recruiting violations. He somehow managed to get the job at Indiana despite being a total slime bucket. Proving that a snake is always a snake, he did the exact same things at Indiana that he was doing at Oklahoma, got caught, and will now lose his job as well as probably bringing sanctions to another proud and undeserving program. Or I suppose that the programs are deserving, because they were both dumb enough to hire Sampson in the first place.

Anyway, Indiana has been playing great, but they have shown some betting vulnerability recently. It would make sense given the distractions of the implosion of their program that they may not be at there best. This was an especially tempting train of thought because they had two straight rough games - Michigan State and Purdue, and because they were coming off a loss to a Wisconsin team that seems to be a step behind both the Spartans and the Boilermakers. A bet against Indiana in those games would have been too tempting to avoid.

Hopefully you did avoid the temptation. Indiana won both games easily, and covered in both cases. The Michigan State game was ridiculous - they won by 19 as four point favorites. The lesson? It is almost impossible to determine the motivation level of college athletes, and trying too hard to do so is a quick road to poverty.

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A - Adios. Now is the time every year when we see just how ruthless the NFL can be - it’s the time when formerly valued players get tossed aside by their teams to clear up cap space. There have been some impressive names given a pink slip so far - Trent Green, Zach Thomas, Byron Leftwich, Alge Crumpler. That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and a reminder to every current Pro Bowler that that recognition guarantees nothing down the road.

B - Boilermakers. This is the second straight week I’ve written about Purdue basketball. Those who regularly read this column will know that that brings the grand total of times I have written about them to two. They deserve the new attention, though. They had a huge win over Michigan State on Tuesday to tighten their improbable hold on the Big Ten. The most impressive thing with this team is that with three freshmen and two sophomores starting they are only going to get better.

C - Cleveland. There was a fascinating sports betting case study on Monday. The Cavs got beat badly on Sunday night in Denver, and then they had plane troubles and couldn’t leave town. They had to play the next night in Orlando, and didn’t arrive until well into the afternoon for a 7:00 game. Bettors reacted strongly, pumping the Magic up from 4-point favorites to 9.5 points because of the disruption to the Cavs’ schedule. Cleveland won by seven. Just when you thought that maybe this sports betting game was easy.

D - Demon Deacons. It wouldn’t have been a total surprise to see Wake Forest cover against Duke on Sunday. After all, they have covered eight of their last nine games. It’s far more surprising, though, that they crushed Duke by 13. The Blue Devils were one of the elite teams that had looked truly dominating lately, so this complete no-show is totally unexpected and wildly frustrating, I’m sure, for a large number of sports bettors.

E - End. All good things have to come to and end. Just ask New England. Drake is the most recent team to see an incredible string of success end. After 21-straight wins they finally lost to Southern Illinois on Wednesday. They bounced back nicely on the weekend, though. By beating Northern Iowa they clinched the Missouri Valley Conference title. No conference winner this season will have been less predictable at the beginning of the season than Drake.

F - Fierce Wind. This colt was the winner of the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday. That race wouldn’t be particularly remarkable for any reason besides being the only major prep race of the weekend if it weren’t for the fact that Street Sense went on to much bigger and better things after winning it last year. That being said, I would be willing to bet quite a lot that Fierce Wind won’t make it two straight Derby wins coming from this race.

G - Gibson, Daniel. Gibson might not be good enough to start for the Cavs, but he is good enough to beat up on a bunch of rookies. Gibson potted a staggering 11 three pointers on Friday night to lead the sophomores to victory over the rookies as part of the All-Star festivities in New Orleans. Gibson only had 33 points, but you don’t need to shoot from anywhere else if your threes are draining like that.

H - Howard, Dwight. Wow. That’s really all that there is to say. The giant from Orlando unleashed four dunks in the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday, and each one was almost totally unbelievable. His Superman impression took my breath away, but that was nothing compared the dunk scored off of his own rebound off the back board. The dunk contest spent a lot of years sucking, but that has certainly changed.

I - Insanity. There was a lot of silliness in the sports world this week. There was that total farce in Congress when two guys told lies and left us to decide which one was closer to the ugly truth. Then there was the bitter, washed up former St. Louis Ram who is suing the Patriots for $100 million because he claims the Pats filmed his team before they met in the Super Bowl. Add in an arrest or two for current NFL players this week, and it’s all enough to make us long for the days when sports were only about the games played on the field.

J - Jason Kidd. All it takes is a little whining to get what you want. The Mavericks kept up with the Joneses, or at least the Lakers and the Suns, by acquiring the veteran point guard for the stretch run. Like the Lakers, Dallas didn’t have to rip apart their lineup to add the vet, but they did have to give up Devin Harris, their continuously improving young point guard. The Western conference playoff race just keeps getting more interesting and harder to handicap.

K - Kobe Bryant. After all that whining Kobe finally got the help he wanted, and now he might not be able to enjoy it for a while. He is sporting an injured pinky finger, and that tiny digit could be enough to sideline him, or at least to limit his effectiveness. Doctors are suggesting surgery, but for now he hopes to be able to play through it. His teammates likely hope that he is right.

L - Liverpool. The major English soccer powerhouse suffered an upset of historic proportions on the weekend. The seven-time FA Cup champs lost to Barnsley in FA Cup action. Barnsley is in the second-tier domestic league, and they aren’t even at the top of the standings. For a comparison, the loss by Liverpoll was the equivalent of a loss by the Yankees to the Durham Bulls. You can imagine just how thrilled all those soccer hooligans must be.

M - Michigan. I’d find a way to write about the Wolverines regardless, but it’s much easier to do so when there is actually something worth writing about. They beat Ohio State on Sunday, which was their first win over their hated rivals since 2004. That was also their third-straight conference win. They haven’t done that for an amount of time that is embarrassing to me and every other fan of the team. Things are getting better, and only partly because they couldn’t have gotten much worse.

N - Newman, Ryan. Newman only led one lap at the Daytona 500, but it was the one that mattered. Owner Roger Penske got his first win at Daytona after 14 wins in the Indy 500, but it was by the narrowest of margins. Newman was able to get past leader Tony Stewart only because he was bumped from behind by teammate Kurt Busch. Stewart made a tactical decision that backfired on the last lap and gave Newman the win, which was his first anywhere in over two years.

O - One more time. The first time Kelly Pavlik beat Jermain Taylor it was a surprise to many. It had to be much less of a surprise on Saturday when he did it again. Pavlik won a unanimous decision in a fight that saw both fighters seizing the edge at different points. It was the first time Pavlik had ever gone 12 rounds, and the fight wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the first one, but it was still an impressive display by Pavlik.

P - Phil Mickelson. There seems to be a simple formula that Phil can follow to pile up as many wins as he wants - play in California or Arizona in tournaments that Tiger skips. Mickelson won at Riviera this weekend, and it was his 16th win in the two western states. It was a nice way to bounce back from missing the cut at Pebble Beach last week - A million bucks will make a six over par 11 seem like it never happened.

Q - Qualifier. James Blake probably thought he had it made on Sunday. He was the top seed at the International Tennis Championships in Delray Beach, Florida, and he had drawn unknown qualifier Kei Nishikori in the final. Oops. Nishikori, who is just 18 and ranked 244th in the world, won 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. He is the first Japanese man to win a tournament since 1992.

R - Red Wings, Detroit. Stop me if you have heard this before - a team full of veteran stars looks totally unbeatable for much of the season, but start to fade and look vulnerable as their age catches up to them as the season progresses. It’s not the Patriots, it the Wings. After piling up 86 points in just 55 games, the Wings have dropped six straight. They suddenly can’t score or stop the other team from doing so almost at will. Things will come around for the team - they are too talented to struggle forever - but the rest of the teams have to be breathing a sigh of relief as the playoffs draw nearer now that there is a chink in the armor.

S - Samson, Kelvin. This guy is quite possibly the slimiest coach in the history of coaches. He’s almost certain to lose his job this week after racking up an impressive list of NCAA violations. Indiana is the second program in three years that he has tried to destroy with his total lack of ethics. The players are the victims in this mess, but at first glance they don’t seem too immediately bothered - they beat Michigan State by 19 on Saturday.

T - Texas. There was a showdown for Big 12 supremacy on Monday night, and the result was a bit surprising. The Longhorns hosted the Jayhawks and ended up with a three-point win. The impressive part of the performance was that Texas was thoroughly unimpressive with their shooting, so they instead relied on their defense to get it done. That versatility is a big part of the reason why the Longhorns are 8-2 in their conference, and why they keep winning impressively.

U - Unbelievable. The Michael Beasley legend just keeps growing. If you have been under a rock all year, here’s the summary - Kansas State has a rookie who is stunningly good. Most recently, Beasley scored a career-high matching 40 points, and added 17 rebounds for good measure, as his Wildcats blew past Missouri by 37. It would have been an even more impressive week if K-State hadn’t given Pat Knight his first career win on Wednesday night.

V - Villanova. There was a robbery this week, and ‘Nova was the victim. They were tied with Georgetown and headed to overtime. With 0.1 seconds left Georgetown had the ball and was a solid 80 feet from the Villanova basket. A Villanova defender brushed the ball carrier with about as much force as a butterfly exerts on a leaf when he lands on it. The ref called one of the worst fouls in the history of sports, and Georgetown accepted the gift by sinking the winning free throw. Truly and utterly terrible.

W - Wildcats. Remember all of those signs that indicated that maybe Kentucky had turned the corner and got their act together after a terrible start? Premature, at best. In perhaps the most pathetic performance by any team all year, Kentucky traveled to Vanderbilt as four-point favorites and proceeded to lose by 41. You really have to work hard to be that bad. They bounced back with a win over LSU, but that doesn’t erase even a fraction of the shame.

X - Xavier. It was a relatively light week for the mascots of the column. They had just one game. It was a win against Charlotte, but it could have gone better - they only won by two. Things get much more difficult on Monday against Rhode Island. A win there would put them even closer to their seemingly inevitable conference title. A lacking performance like they had against Charlotte, though, and that win may not happen.

Y - Yikes. Memphis maintained their claim as the only undefeated team in college basketball, but it wasn’t pretty. They were down by seven with less than a minute and a half to go at UAB, but they were able to unleash a furious 9-1 rush down the stretch to eke out the win. Chris Douglas-Roberts was the hero with six of the nine points. The margin of victory doesn’t build a lot of confidence in the Tigers, but you have to be particularly impressed with the heart they showed in the win.

Z - Zzzzzz. We finally got to see Kimbo Slice make his official MMA debut. If you can call it that. He fought Tank Abbott at an Elite XC event on Saturday night, and it couldn’t have been more of a joke. Abbott looked far more washed up than I expected, and I expected him to look pretty terrible. The match went about a minute before Slice scored a knockout, and it would have ended sooner if the ref hadn’t stepped to break the fighters up once.

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