March Madness

The 2013 Monkies Tourney Pick 'Em group is available now at Yahoo. The group ID is 1416 and you all know the password.

UPDATE: You should also be able to sign up by clicking here.

Why play?

Greenly brought up a great question last week about comments and a story on Jadeveon Clowney. There is also a great article here. What motivation does Clowney have to play his Junior year at South Carolina? He's already a #1 pick if he could enter the draft. He can do nothing more to improve his draft status. All he can do is hurt it or himself. So...why not sit out and train? In the words of T.O., he has 20 million reasons not to play. What would his boy Lattimer have to say?

The rule is you have to be 3 years removed from HS. I understand the physical differences between the NFL and NCAA. Florida playing CMU is not the same as playing the Patriots. But, the government thinks at 18 years old you are mature enough to fight ( and possibly die) for our country. In the NBA, you have to be 1 year removed from HS. What does that do for the argument about fighting for your country right out of HS?

The argument against Clowney sitting out is that "football players play" and that would hurt his character.

I also realize...how often are we talking about guys entering their junior year with the potential of being a top 5 pick? Not very often. So I'd not be in favor of opening up an issue for just 5 guys each year.

Realignment

In the Detroit News Bob Wojnowski had an article yesterday about Big Ten realignment following the addition of Maryland and Rutgers. As the conference has said geography will play a major factor in determining the alignment, here are Wojo's proposed divisions:

East: Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, Rutgers, Maryland
West: Michigan State, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Northwestern

If you're feeling a little fuzzy on the geography, yes, both Indiana schools are to the west of MSU. Not that it necessarily matters, but it's probably worth noting. Here are the current divisions if, like me, you can't keep them straight:

Legends: Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State  
Leaders: Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois

A few thoughts:

-Is there a legitimate need to have UM and OSU separated?
-Will teams in the hypothetical East have a recruiting advantage due to increased exposure?
-How much do you worry about competitive balance, if at all?
-Will they keep the names Legends and Leaders?
-Will there be 16 teams by the time the moves are made?