Bracket Trashed

I'm out.

Oklahoma State, who I picked to win the Dance, lost last night to Arizona when Salim Stoudamire sank a beautiful jumper with 2.8 ticks left. This is what makes the Dance so great. And it's the reason why I should never enter a tournament pool.

The good thing is that now I can put my full support behind Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals, who whipped Washington and are now one game away from Pitino taking his third college program to the Final Four. Pitino's a brilliant coach. He should never have left Kentucky for the Celtics, as he now admits. But when a storied franchise like Boston hands you the keys to its Brinks truck and says "save us," that's gotta be nearly impossible to reject. No matter. Pitino's back, and look for Louisville to be in the Top 10 mix for years to come.

And while it's extremely negative on my part to take pleasure in Bob Knight's loss to Cinderella West Virginia, I simply can't help it. The fucker practically asks for it. Yeah, he's a hoops genius, a Hall of Famer, etc. But he is one of the pettiest, nastiest individuals I've ever seen in American sports. What he did this year with Texas Tech is a great story. Problem is, Knight sullies it by throwing shit at Indiana and its coach Mike Davis, who had the unenviable task to replace Knight in Bloomington. Davis's struggle should be enough for Knight, who gives schadenfreude a deeper meaning. But no. Knight has to pile on. His nature. Zen General he's not.

So, go Louisville! West Virginia's had an inspired run, but it ends Saturday -- or not. Such is the beauty and drama of the Dance.