NCAA Tourney Pics: Columbus

As the 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament enters its final weekend, I thought I'd share a few of my photos from the Brothers Keiper trip to Buckeye country, Columbus, Ohio.

Sitting in the Illinois student section during the game vs. Virginia Tech. Great atmosphere. Wrong outcome.

Getting ready for tip-off

Our seats for session 1. Right behind Coach Leitao and the UVA bench.

The best ice cream ever created. Only UDF, only in Ohio. (I think)

The Arena District in downtown Columbus. Lots of great bars, restaurants, and the immaculate Nationwide Arena.

Texans Turn to Schaub after Carr Wreck

With the first pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Houston Texans select Mario Williams, Defensive End, NC State. It was a phrase that made every Texan fan shudder.

While Williams is a defensive stud, fans knew if their team was to win anytime soon, they needed to corral a quarterback.

Current QB David Carr was looking more like Dave Krieg -at age 40 of course- getting sacked 249 times.

There were QB's o'plenty in 2006 NFL Draft for Texans owner Bob McNair and first year coach Gary Kubiak to choose from. Matt Leinart, Jay Culter, and hometown phenom Vince Young each could have suited up in the blue and red.

Finally, after another dismal season (6-10) with a legitimate first round bust behind center, the Texans had seen enough of Carr, a five-year starter with a record of 22-53.

Yesterday, the door opened for former Virginia Cavalier standout Matt Schaub and closed today with a six-year, $48 million paycheck from the Texans.

With only two career NFL starts under his belt , Schaub is unproven, but full of potential. As a third round choice by the Atlanta Falcons in 2004, Schaub donned a headset instead of a helmet while playing second fiddle to starter Michael Vick.

Many wondered how long Schaub would stay a Falcon, considering Vick's susceptibility to injury. But the deal was too good for first year head coach Bobby Petrino to pass up.

In exchange for Schaub, the Falcons will exchange spots with Houston in the first round next month's draft. Atlanta will move up two spots, from No. 10 to No. 8, in the opening round. And the Texans will also send the Falcons second-round choices in 2007 and 2008.

The question that Houstontonians want the answer to is if Schaub can resurrect a franchise that has never won more than seven games in any of its first five seasons.

While Carr had some speed, at 6-5 240 lbs, Schaub is bigger and has a stronger arm. But will Schaub have time to use his cannon? One reason for Carr hitting the ground so often is the fact that the Texans offensive line is a big mess Everything is bigger in Texas, remember.

The move could spell disater for Schaub, only time will tell. At least now he gets his shot.

UVA, VCU, VT & ODU....When do they come home?

Four solid basketaball teams from the Commonwealth are represented in the 2007 NCAA Tournament this year, UVA, VCU, VT & ODU. How far do you think they'll go?

Here's my prediction for Virginia's "Final Four":


The Hoos have a great shot at making the Sweet Sixteen. Like all season, it depends on the guard play of Reynolds and Singletary. If they don't show up, a loss to Albany is highly possible. After that, Dave Leitao's squad would have to handle a sharp-shooting Tennessee team. A Sweet Sixteen match up would most likely involve Greg Oden and Ohio State. It will be a block and dunk fest for the freshman phenom. UVA gets blasted by the Buckeyes.


When I saw the Rams were playing Duke, I thought about Eric Mayor and B.A. Walker running all over Greg Paulus and McBob in the middle. Duke is not Duke. They are down. VCU will still need to play an almost flawless game. The 1-13 three point outing against George Mason won't get it done in Buffalo tomorrow night. If the Rams are able to pull off possibly the biggest win in school history, the team will be heading back to Richmond on Sunday after a loss to Pittsburgh.

The Hokies are very similar to their ACC rivals Virginia Cavaliers. They have two outstanding guards in Dowdell and Gordon. If they can get help from Coleman Collins inside, the Hokies could make a nice run. A 5-12 match up with Illinois won't be easy. Either will a 5-4 match up versus Southern Illinois. What Hokie team will show up? The one that swept UNC, or the one that got swept by NC State. The Hokies lose in the second round to Southern Illinois.

And then there's ODU. This should be a Drexel Dragon logo. But they're not from the Commonwealth. I digress. The Monarchs are paired against Butler in an intriguing 5-12 game. Many "experts" have this game as an upset alert. ODU's leader is Senior guard Drew Williamson. After a great run in the NIT last year, the Monarchs are happy to be in the dance. They probably won't pull a George Mason, but have a chance at being the yearly 5-12 upset. ODU sends Butler packing, but loses to Maryland in the second round.

Columbus Bound

It's approximately 72 hours until the trek to Columbus, OH begins. The journey, although long, hopefully will end with tickets to the First Round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament at Nationwide Arena.

As long as we make it by the 12:15 tip off on Friday between the Virginia Cavaliers and Albany Great Danes, all in the world will be fine.

Hopefully, traffic and weather won't be problems. Even though it is the capital of Ohio, I don't forsee gridlock on the streets of Columbus.

We already have one issue, what to do about the VCU game on Thursday night. (7:10 Tip) Duke, always getting the primetime games. What a shock.

I'm having my bracket busted for the very first time. This will be my first NCAA Tournament experience. Since I'm a big college basketball fan, it should be a fun weekend, win or lose. Ok, maybe not lose.

Lots of driving over the next few days. And with any luck, some winning along the way.

The Countdown is on...

...until the start of Daylight Savings Time. Or as some call it, DST.



I heart DST.


It's only a few hours now until we spring forward early this year. I could care less if my cell phone or computer does it. I will. More sunlight, warmer temperatures (60's and 70's next week) and the ability to enjoy the outdoors before and after work.

Goodbye Winter.

Former R-MC Assistant Soaring High at Winthrop

The Big South Conference has a big time men's basketball coach, ready for the big stage.

It's Winthrop University's Gregg Marshall.

Marshall has turned the Eagles basketball team into a mid-major powerhouse.

I'm particularly interested in Marshall because of his connection to Randolph-Macon College, my alma mater. A 1985 graduate, Marshall played for the Yellow Jackets and then was an assistant under the legendary Hal Nunnally from 1985 to 1987.

While R-MC layed the foundation for his coaching career, it's what Marshall has accomplished in his nine seasons at the helm at Winthrop that's turned heads.

Marshall has a given the people of Rock Hill, South Carolina good reason to pack the Winthrop Coliseum, leading his squad to seven NCAA tournament appearances. Before his arrival, Winthrop had never made the Big Dance.

The Eagles will be dancing once again, but for other reasons as well. This week Winthrop cracked the all-important national polls for the first time. Eagles are ranked 22nd in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 24th in the AP Top 25 poll which was released on Monday.

Add in the nations second longest winning streak (18) and a record of 28-4, and it's easy to see why Marshall's name will be sure to come up in the off-season coaching carousel.

VCU Rams NCAA Tournament Bound

No at-large bid needed. The VCU Rams are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004 after beating George Mason 65-59 at the sold out Richmond Coliseum tonight. After going 16-2 during the regular season, the top seeded Rams defeated Georgia State, Drexel, and now George Mason to complete a magical run in the CAA. Congrats to Coach Anthony Grant and the CAA Champion VCU Rams. Now the wait for a date begins...

(AP Photo/Steve Helber)