Eastern Kentucky is keeping it close against Kentucky. Tubby looks pissed. Expect the 'Cats to run away from EKU early in the second half. Upset Likelihood: Low.

Niagara is finding ways to score against Oklahoma. Problem is, they're not finding ways to defend. The Sooners have been able to score at will against the Purple Eagles. Upset Likelihood: Low-Medium.

First, all users -- not just registered users -- can now post comments in response to particular stories.

Second, registered users can now edit their Diaries.

First place nets $50, second $25 and third $10. If you haven't yet made your picks, do so now!

-- Mark Long of the Associated Press correctly notes Florida is out of excuses. It is (past) time for the Gators to actually win a few games in the NCAA Tournament.

-- Woah.

It was on Alabama's Tuscaloosa campus back in 1981 where [Wisconsin-Milwaukee coach Bruce] Pearl got his first taste of March Madness. For Boston College's opening-round game against Ball State that year, Pearl had to come off the bench - as the school's mascot.

"The Eagle was sick," Pearl, a Jack-of-all-trades for then-Boston College coach Tom Davis said, slightly embarrassed. "I said I'd do anything for him. I had no function on the bench. So I was Eddie the Eagle."

-- The AP is up with a nice read on Nevada's Kevinn Pinkney.A Kevinn with two n's, eh?

-- Steve Sell of the McPherson (KS) Sentinel pens the lead of the day. Heh.

We're probably closer to being a proctologist than a bracketologist, which is the study of NCAA tournament brackets.

-- Boston College needs Jermaine Watson if Al Skinner's club is to avoid getting upset by the Quakers. In other words, this isn't good news for the Eagles.

-- Former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery didn't even watch the Selection Special and has no interest in returning to coach college basketball. Or so writes Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Spander.

-- Wendell "put a" Barnhouse "in your soul" of the South Bend (IN) Tribune authors one of the better "bracketology advice" columns I have seen for this year's tournament.

-- Unless the Gators bring a crowd, Florida is in for a rude awakening against Ohio. The Bobcats have sold out their ticket allotment. (That being said, any school that doesn't sell out its allotment for every single game in which it participates should never again receive an at-large invitation).

-- Only in Kentucky? Nope.

Bars, restaurants, pizza deliveries, party shops, travel agencies, convenience stores, gasoline dealers, clothing stores, hotels, newspapers, garages, bookstores — almost every type of business in Lexington or on the highways between rural Kentucky and Lexington — stands to benefit in some way.

Business people say the economic impact of the NCAA tournament is difficult to measure, but it is as real as sunlight or gravity.

“Sports tourism is very important to the economy,” says Rick Hatcher, president of the Lexington Area Sports Authority. “It’s an economic boon.”

-- A new paper! Dave Moorman of the Ascension (Gonzalez, LA) Citizen suggests John Brady and Louisiana State are optimistic heading into March Madness. Be sure to catch Brandon Bass and Glen Davis on TV. They're a pleasure to watch.

-- At least three-quarters of Larry Vaught's latest article for the Danville (KY) Advocate Messenger is quotes. Must have been a tough piece to put together...

-- The ACC today reprimanded Paul Hewitt for telling it like it was. JJ Redick fouled Jarrett Jack -- not the other way around -- with less than 20 seconds remaining in the ACC tournament championship game.

-- Mike Harrington of the Buffalo (NY) News says Niagara must be perfect if the Purple Eagles are to down the Oklahoma Sooners. Maybe...I really believe Juan Mendez and Alvin Cruz have the chemistry to defeat Kelvin Sampson's club.

-- CSTV is providing a video stream of all of today's press conferences -- for free. Very, very cool. Particularly for us "citizen-journalists." They also kindly offered a $5 discount to bloggers interested in CSTV's all-access, on-demand streaming video of the first 56 NCAA Tournament games (as they are broadcast by CBS Sports) in real time. Again, very, very cool. To save $5 off the $19.99 subscription fee (if you haven't already signed up) click here.

(Full Disclosure: CSTV sent me a free subscription. But they did so independent of any write-up I might provide about their services. I happen to believe the press conferences -- and the blogger discount -- are very cool. And would have written about them without the free subscription).

-- Mike Lucas of the Madison (WI) Capital-Times looks back 10 years. A fun exercise.

-- Dick Vitale has picked Duke to beat Duke in the NCAA Finals. Heh.

-- The well-respected Mark Blaudschun of the Boston (MA) Globe notes that Massachusetts may have its eyes on Steve Lavin. Let's hope so. The former UCLA coach would elevate the Minutemen's profile, bring in big-name recruits, and create a new market for hair products in Amherst...Would also be nice to get him off ESPN.

-- Comedian (and baseball blogger!) Scott Long interviews bloggers Ken and Kyle. Enjoy!

-- The New York (NY) Daily News' Dick Weiss suggests Indiana boosters may move to have Mike Davis fired...before next year's talented Hoosiers assure Davis a gig in Bloomington for years to come. Weiss also finds Rick Majerus antsy to get back to coaching and - get this - floats a Mark Cuban conspiracy theory.

There has also been speculation that Mark Cuban, an IU alum who owns the Dallas Mavericks, would love to buy Davis' contract out and maneuver former IU star Randy Wittman into the job.

-- After Notre Dame lost to Holy Cross in the first round of the NIT, Mike Brey told reporters he was not interested in the Virginia job. Good. But why would he be? (And why would the Cavs be interested in Brey?)

-- Kansas State fans will have Jim Wooldridge to (unjustly) kick around for at least one more year. So much for the "No NIT? No Job" school of thought. Jason Whitlock's influence and/or foresight is also now called into question.

-- Put another shrimp on the...Ken and...(Tony) Barbee wants the University of Massachusetts head coaching job...I wonder who Calipari will endorse for the gig. You have to believe his judgment still carries (some) weight at Amherst. Even after "Bruiserball."

-- Advice on betting on the tournament from the Las Vegas (NV) Sun's Jeff Haney.

-- John Thompson yesterday put the smack down on Myles Brand during an ESPN-sponsored debate on play-for-pay.

Thompson might have been the only panelist without a clear opinion on the subject. He made up for that uncertainty later, however, with a blistering attack on NCAA President Myles Brand that ESPN decided to edit out of the show.

In a debate over whether coaches bear responsibility for the academic performance of their players, Thompson crossed the line and became personal with Brand, the former Indiana University president.

Although Brand merely had said it was a "shared responsibility" with deans and faculty members, Thompson screamed at him: "Don't tell me what to do. I'm not Bob Knight and you're not my president. Don't you ever forget that!"

Although some estimate 40 percent of college athletic departments break even or make a profit, Brand said the figure is not even close. "A dozen of our over 1,000 schools make a profit," he said. "Most schools subsidize their athletic departments."

-- Byron Painter of the Marion (IL) Daily Republican is up with his picks. His picture alone makes me distrust his picks.

-- With no Indiana teams in the tournament (!), Paul Siegfierd of the Huntington County (IN) Herald-Press is free (as the birds fly) to make his picks for the NCAA Tournament.

-- The AP: "It's good to be a fan in Iowa."

-- Vaughn McClure's picks for the Albuquerque (NM) Tribune.

-- UNM's Ritchie McKay yesterday got a contract extension...Pete Gillen redux?

-- Sports Illustrated tries to jinx everybody at once.

-- Roy Williams is pissed about Tennessee's firing of Buzz Peterson.

-- Nick Daschel's picks for a paper in Clark County, Washington.

-- A column worthy of your time. Truly.

When the opening bell sounds at the stock and commodities exchanges around the country tomorrow morning, the traders will be buying and selling the usual products -- crude oil, gold, Treasuries, the S&P 500 index. Off the floor, after the close, they'll also be shorting Duke, going long on Kansas, buying back Pitt, and dumping Alabama. When March Madness begins, Longhorns are just another kind of cattle future.

While millions of Americans will be tossing a few dollars into pick-the-winner office pools on the NCAA men's basketball tournament, the traders will be playing a far more sophisticated game with much more intensity for geometrically higher stakes.