Wrestlemania 26 picks

The Grandaddy of the WWE is here for the 26th time. This time from the desert in Arizona at Univ of Phoenix Stadium. A decent card but Wrestlemania has probably had better ones too. That being said here are my picks.

Diva Tag Team Match...I'll take Mickie James team since they don't have a champion on their team, but who really cares?

Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk...I'll take Rey just because I don't see Rey joining the straight edge society. I don't think that's how the WWE will want to market him.

Orton vs Dibiase vs Rhodes...Either will be a platform from Dibiase to jump up a notch or for Orton to go more face. I think it will be Dibiase getting the win, and start and Orton-Dibiase only feud.

Sheamus vs HHH...Would be better if this had the belt on the line, I think if Sheamus loses he falls fast on the main event spotlight, so I'll take him to win.

ShoMiz vs Morrison/RTruth...There isn't a good tag team anymore, and I dont see Morrison/RTruth as one either, so I'll take ShowMiz.

Money in the Bank...I see only 2 of the 10 as players for the title this coming year, Kofi and Christian. I'll take Kofi.

Streak vs Career...easy, taker goes to 18-0.

Bret vs Vince...Bret gets the W

Batista(C) vs Cena...I think Cena comes out on top, but the feud doesn't end.

Jericho(C) vs Edge...The WWE would be smart to keep it on Jericho for 2 more months, but they wont, Edge walks out champion.

Tickets? Who needs tickets?

Anyone else notice the empty seats in all the tournament games yesterday? New Orleans hardly had anyone on the upper bowl. Oklahoma City had a lot of empties. How many times have cities hosted the first round that keep getting bids from the NCAA? It's almost like the Braves fans who don't show up for 1st round games after 15 straight playoff appearances. Then there's cities like Omaha that sell it out. Why does the NCAA have to be so snobby about what towns get bids? Give it to some fresh blood. Des Moines has a great facility in Wells Fargo Arena, that would sell out for a 1st Round NCAA tourney site and a Wrestling National Championships easy. C'mon, NCAA, pull your head...or do you need to see more pictures like the one above?

Lickliter era ends....what's next?

The worst kept secret was let out of the bag (by Phil Haddy) when Gary Barta met the media today at 230 in Iowa City. The Butler way of Hawkeye basketball under Todd Lickliter is over. The fans hated the way the system. The fans didn't show up to watch the games. The players sometimes it seemed didn't either. Was their a mutiny over the last few games and weeks? Black & gold bleeder Matt Gatens was rumored to want to transfer. The kid is a life time Hawk. If he was going to leave, there was a problem that needed attended too.

So 2.4 million later Iowa is at a point with no basketball coach again for the 2nd time in 3 years. When I was younger (I really don't remember Lute or George) I grew up with one football coach and one basketball coach. Coach Fry and Dr. Tom. My first memories of Hawkeye basketball are of Dr. Tom's first years. Roy Marble, BJ and Ed Horton. Alford then came in and gave the Hawks a couple Big Ten Tournament titles and well the most heart breaking loss since UNLV in the elite 8. Then left the cupboard bare and Lickliter was the recipient.

So what now, what does Iowa need. The "Bob Stoops" of the names thrown out is Bruce Pearl. As much as I want that, I don't see Iowa paying its top 2 coaches 7 million a year.

Who does Iowa need? A recruiter. Someone who can connect with the players. Someone who is young and fiery. Someone who will revitalize the fan base.

Bruce Pearl is probably that, but he has a great thing in Knoxville.

Who will it be? I don't know. My top 5 would be:

1-Bruce Pearl - Give him a blank check. Give Kirk Ferentz half a mil more then.
2-Keno Davis - I think he would bring a lot of fans back and he is a kin to the past.
3-Scott Drew - He's brought Baylor back for unholy depths to a 3 seed.
4-Craig Robinson - He has connections to Chicago, not a bad place to recruit.
5-Chris Collins/Steve Wojo - Only one can succeed Coach K. Why not take the other.

NCAA Tournament Picks

Ok....Madness is here. 65 teams are ready to tip it off. Thursday and Friday are quite possibly the 2 best days in a sports fans life. And then in 3 weeks we'll have our National Champion. March Madness and the brackets are so big and popular that last year even President Obama got in on the act. Web sites from ESPN to Yahoo to CBS all have the games on their site.

So I've have made my first (initial picks-subj to change) and here is my Final Four.

Out of the Midwest I have Kansas. Out of the East I have Kentucky. From the South I have Baylor and from the West I have Syracuse.

From there I have Kansas beating Kentucky for the 2010 National Championship.

MLB Predictions

My 2010 MLB predictions....The teams at the top of each league I think are strong enough to repeat, but this time the Phillies get the edge on the Yankees for the 2nd title in 3 years.

AL East – New York Yankees
AL Central – Detroit Tigers
AL West – Seattle Mariners
AL WildCard – Tampa Bay Rays

AL MVP – Evan Longoria
AL Cy Young – Cliff Lee

NL East – Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central – Chicago Cubs
NL West – San Francisco Giants
NL Wild Card – LA Dodgers

NL MVP – Chase Utley
NL Cy Young – Roy Halliday

NLCS – Phillies over Cubs
ALCS – NY Yankees over Rays

World Series – Phillies over NY Yankees