2009 NCAA March Madness Schedule Underway at Noon today

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The 2009 NCAA March Madness schedule is finally ready to get started today. After weeks of bracketology, March Madness 2009 is here at last. Office workers are now rearranging their schedule so they can catch as many NCAA Tournament games as possible, and root for their office champions. Today, the first portion of the 2009 March Madness schedule begins with the traditional 16 first round Thursday games.

There are three 2009 NCAA Tournament games premiering just after noon today, to start March Madness. The very first NCAA Tournament game starts at 12:20, in the South Region. Eight seeded LSU, the SEC regular season champions, faces a traditional NCAA Tournament spoiler, the ninth seeded Butler Bulldogs.

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Five minutes later at 12:25, the Memphis Tigers begin their run through March Madness against the West's 15'th seed, Cal State Northridge. At 12:30, the West's 8-9 game in Philadelphia has BYU facing Texas A&M for the second year in a row at March Madness.

Four games are on the 2009 March Madness schedule sometime between 2:30 and 3, depending on when the first games end. Two of these games feature top seeds, with North Carolina taking on Radford in the South, and Connecticut going up against Chattanooga in the West region. The two other games in this time slot are in the West region, with Purdue vs. Northern Iowa, and Cal clashing with Maryland.

Afterward, the March Madness schedule has just one game at 5 p.m. The fourth seed Washington Huskies in the West region, take on surprise SEC tournament champ Mississippi State. After that, 2009 March Madness goes into prime time.

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At 7:10, Clemson faces Michigan in the Southern region, while Texas takes on Minnesota in the East. At 7:20, Villanova plays in front of a de facto home crowd in Philadelphia, against American University. At 7:25, Gonzaga takes on Akron.

The final round of March Madness games on day 1 takes place sometime after 9:40. Duke will headline this last grouping, facing NCAA tournament newcomer Binghamton. Oklahoma also begins their tournament run against Morgan State. Finally, UCLA faces VCU, and Illinois up with last year's surprise Sweet 16 player, Western Kentucky.

Among these first batch of games on the March Madness schedule, there are several powerful teams expected to make a run to April and the Final Four. For those in the office pool, the games projected as possible upset picks largely take place tomorrow, unless teams like Northern Iowa, Mississippi State, VCU, or some really shocking team out of nowhere pulls some miracles today.

The 2009 NCAA Tournament is once again, exclusively on CBS. The network will go back and forth between each of the games, depending on where a viewer is watching from. But the CBS website March Madness On Demand allows online viewers to watch each game from a live feed.

2009 NFL Draft Predictions

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We all think that we can play psychic for a day when making predictions for the NFL draft. While the real draft involves a lot of negotiations and trades to find the right player to become the perfect fit for their team, you can also involve yourself with a mock NFL draft, especially if you are involved with Fantasy Football.

If you are not familiar with how the NFL draft works, you need to understand its workings s you can make the predictions and have a little fun..

The first thing is to look at what the basic NFL draft entails:

Teams are grouped into segments from last to first based on their regular season record. No team will move outside of their segment unless they are a winner of a Super Bowl in which time they will have the last selection.
Teams that did not make the playoffs will make a selection before those teams that did, which means, the last place team will have better odds of picking the better players.


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With each round, within each segment, any team that picks first will select last in the next round with each team moving up a spot to make their selection.

These are just the basics to what an NFL draft entails. It soon becomes more complicated and becomes more like a statistical mathematical equation when stats become involved. This includes a tie if two teams have the same record and then a coin toss must be engaged for the team to be chosen, etc. And even if a top player is chosen, there are also the contract negotiations, the details of what the player can offer to the team so a Super Bowl can be won, etc. This decision making process can take quite a while which is why its on for hours on end on TV for one day.

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With the 2009 draft, the team that has had the best chance of getting a good pick has been the Detroit Lions. Why? It's mainly because of their last place record and also other statistics that made them the weakest of any NFL teams. Because of this, they are much more likely to get a pick for the best player so that way they can improve on their own statistics for the new 2009-2010 season. If it just so happens that that player they picked doesn't meet the team's expectations, that top player can be traded to another team who just might need him more.

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But we must not count out the rest of the teams that round out the top 5 for good draft picks. They include St. Louis, Kansas City, Seattle, and Cleveland.

NBA 2010 Free Agency Class Breakdown by position

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For those of you who played NBA Live on your respective gaming system. Remember when you were playing franchise and that season where all the big name players were all free agents and then they all signed to the same team. Then, eventually, that team would be the team that made it to the finals and won everything. Well the 2010 Free Agency Class looks alot like that class. In the year 2010, some of the top notch players in the NBA will be looking for wallet-busting deals and teams are getting for the madness.

 

At every position there are plenty players to choose from, players that will help boost your chances of winning greatly. Now your probably wondering why are all these great players free at the same time? But the players drafted in the 2003 draft, like Chris Bosh, Lebron James and Dwyane Wade are becoming free agents at the same time. This article will breakdown this class and show us the best players at each position.

 

Point Guard

1. Steve Nash- Steve Nash will be 36 when he becomes a free agent. But he is still an effective guard. i honestly don't think that Nash will be re-signing with the Suns.

2. Rajon Rondo- Rajon Rondo is an up and coming point guard. He has already lead a team to the championship and the experience is insurmountable.

3. Derek Fisher- Derek Fisher is a great team leader. He has lead a team to 3 championships. He will probably remain a Laker though.

4. Rafer Alson- Rafer Alston is an experienced veteran player. He has been at the helm of playoff caliber teams. He is a good pick-up for any team.

5. Jordan Farmar- A very good point guard, he lost his starting spot to Derek Fisher. He will be a starter on another team.

 

Shooting Guard

1. Dwyane Wade- Has surged to the NBA's elite, he will be making big money. Rumors say that Dwyane Wade will team up with his good friend, Lebron James. But I don't think that will go through.

2. Brandon Roy- Brandon Roy is the franchise of the Trailblazers, they won't be letting him go anywhere.

3. Joe Johnson- Joe Johnson is a great player and will be a great help to a team trying to get over the hump. He is a dependable and a sure 20-5-5 guy.

4. Ray Allen- Ray Allen is one of the best shooters to ever play the game. He will be a great asset to any team he plays for, but I doubt that he will be living Boston.

5. Michael Redd- Michael Redd is another player, who is a pure scorer but nothing more than that. The Bucks are trying to build around him so he won't be going anywhere.

 

Small Forward

1. Lebron James- Lebron James is the big prize in this free agency. Teams like New York, New Jersey Nets and Detroit Piston have began to clear cap space in order to sign him and another marquee player. He will have alot of money in his pocket.

2. Paul Pierce- Paul "The Truth" Pierce will be a Celtic when the 2010 season starts. I don't think any team will be able to pry him away.

3. Tracy McGrady- Now some of you may be wondering why I have Paul Pierce over Tracy McGrady. Well, Pierce has a championship and has done a better job at staying healthy. McGrady is still a great scorer and will probably not be a Rocket at the end of the day.

4. Richard Jefferson- Richard Jefferson is another great player who will probably be on the move.

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He is a scoring machine and a pretty good rebounder. He would be a nice 2nd option to superstar like Lebron or D-Wade.

5. Josh Howard- Josh Howard has been living in the shadow of Dirk Nowitzki. In the 2010 free agency class, he will probably leave the Mavericks and help another team.

 

Power Forward

1. Chris Bosh- Chris Bosh is one of the best unknown players. He is not recognized mainly because he plays outside the U.S. he will sign with an American team and become as big as his fellow draft classmates; Lebron, D-Wade and Carmelo.

2. Dirk Nowitzki- Dirk Nowitzki is another one of those players that is on the other side of the hill. Nowitzki will not be leaving Mavericks though. As long as they make a move to bring someone in to help him.

3. Amare Stoudemire- Amare Stoudemire could of been on the top of this list. But his inconsistency makes him a liability. So he is not that hot of a commodity anymore.

4. Lamarcus Aldridge- Lamarcus Aldridge has continued to improve for the Trailblazers and formed a good little-man/big-man with Brandon Roy. The Trailblazers will probably keep them together.

5. Udonis Haslem- Don't be surprised that Udonis Haslem is upon this list. No experience can compare to championship experiece. Haslem has that and a nice jumper.

 

Center

1. Yao Ming- Yao Ming will also be a free agent. The big guy will probably not from Houston unless there is a better deal in a bigger city. I highly doubt it though.

2. Shaquille O'neal- The Diesel will also be a key free agent. If he teams up with any of the big players like Dwyane Wade(again) or Lebron James. They can become a force to be reckoned with.

3. Marcus Camby- Everybody know that to win a championship you need a big man. Marcus Camby is a great pick up for any team. He is great defender and rebounder.

4. Tyson Chandler- Tyson Chandler has alot to prove before he can receive a big contract. Chandler is not that big of a presence on the offensive side of the court but can rebound and defend. He'll probably stay in New Orleans because Chris Paul makes him look good.

5. Brad Miller- Brad Miller has a rare combo of rebounding and passing. He can be a great asset to any team he plays for.

As you can see the 2010 free agent class is loaded with great players who can alter the NBA drastically. It will be fun to watch!

NCAA Basketball Contenders with the Most to Prove

The NCAA Tournament will have several of the usual suspects there, trying to get March glory. Some of them have already had their success in past years, with little else to prove. But several other NCAA Tournament teams, and national championship contenders, have a lot to prove. They have some painful March history that they have to overcome, or are just struggling to take that next step to greater heights. Here are the NCAA Tournament teams that have the most to prove in March Madness this year, to make up for mistakes of the past.

 

UCLA Bruins

The Bruins have gotten to the final weekend three straight years, falling short each time. The UCLA senior class is going back to the tournament once again, with one last chance to finally get into immortality. However, the chances of doing that are a long shot.




UCLA and most of the Pac-10 are down this season, with the Bruins not on many people's national championship list, unlike the last three years. But perhaps now that few people expect the Bruins to go far, they might have better luck. Could the end be any more painful than the last three years was?

 

Gonzaga Bulldogs

Once upon a time, Gonzaga was the Cinderella to end all Cinderellas. Year after year, they got far into the NCAA Tournament against all odds. At least that's how it was when Gonzaga first began their rise to power. But in the last several years, Gonzaga has consistently fell apart when they were a high seed in the tournament. The closest Gonzaga came to matching their old standards was their Sweet 16 collapse against UCLA a few years back. With Gonzaga a top 15 teams again this year, the Bulldogs will again have high hopes to finally get to Elite 8/Final 4 territory. But maybe Gonzaga can only get that far as a double digit seed.

 

Duke Blue Devils

Since when did Duke have a problem in the NCAA Tournament? Since the last several years, apparently. Ever since winning it all in 2001, Duke has flamed out with upset losses in the tournament, except for their Final Four year in 2004. Other than that, Duke has been met with upset defeats in the first round, second round and Sweet 16. The Blue Devils start fast every year and then fall apart, until it doesn't become so shocking for them to lose early in the NCAA's. Will this year be any different at Duke?

 

North Carolina Tar Heels

The Tar Heels have hardly gone without success in the NCAA Tournament, having reached the Final Four last year.

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But the North Carolina senior class, led by Tyler Hansborough, was so hyped up and acclaimed, that they should have won two national championships already. Instead, North Carolina collapsed in the 2007 Elite Eight, and were blitzed by Kansas in last year's Final Four. This is the last chance for many Tar Heels to claim a national championship that they should have had by now. Once again, North Carolina will be favored to get it. But that favored status has not worked well for the Tar Heels before.

 

Pittsburgh Panthers

The Pitt Panthers may very well be labeled the number 1 seed of the entire NCAA Tournament when it begins. But this is a lot of pressure to put on Pittsburgh, when the Panthers haven't even gotten over the Sweet 16 hump. Since becoming a traditional Big East power to start the decade, Pittsburgh has only gotten as far as the Sweet 16 on four occasions. For all of the winning done by the Panthers, they have never gotten close to getting over the hump to elite status. This year is probably their best chance by far to do it. Is this finally the year that the Panthers become a national power? Or will Pitt again fail to take that step?