All right, we know the Big East is the best college basketball conference in the land. There's no denying it. The conference got five teams into the Sweet 16 and has two teams in the Final Four.

But which is the second-best conference? The Big Ten? The Big 12? The ACC? I know, it doesn't really matter. But there aren't any games until Saturday, so it's just a topic to throw around during these off-days.

I've pulled out some numbers on the tournament performances of each of those three conferences.

Big Ten (7 teams in)
Seeds: 2, 5, 5, 8, 10, 10, 12
If all Big Ten teams played to seed, it's record would be: 6-7
The Big Ten's actual record: 8-6

Big 12 (6 teams in)
Seeds: 2, 3, 3, 7, 8, 9
If all Big 12 teams played to seed, it's record would be: 9-6
The Big 12's actual record: 11-6

ACC (7 teams in)
Seeds: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 7, 10
If all the ACC teams played to seed, it's record would be: 12-6
ACC's actual record: 7-6

We're going to go ahead and eliminate the ACC from this discussion. North Carolina might very well win the national championship, but as a whole, the conference has underachieved. The Big Ten has to rate ahead of the ACC, because two Big Ten teams (Michigan and Wisconsin) upset ACC teams (Clemson and Florida State) in the first round.

So, that leaves the Big 12 and the Big Ten. I think the Big Ten had a better regular season than the Big 12 -- it's a deeper conference overall. But the Big 12 had a nice tournament, and that's a good barometer of conference strength.

Here's the arguments for each conference:
For the Big Ten:
1. Michigan State, the Big Ten conference champ, beat Kansas, the Big 12 conference champ, twice. Including once in tournament play.
2. Michigan State also beat Texas and Oklahoma State during the regular season.
3. Illinois clobbered Missouri on a neutral court in December.
4. Iowa, the 10th place team in the Big Ten, beat both Kansas State and Iowa State of the Big 12.
5. The Big Ten's best team, Michigan State (pictured above), is still alive. No Big 12 team made the Final Four.

For the Big 12:
1. All six Big 12 teams to qualify for the tournament won at least one game, while the Big Ten went a mediocre 4-3 in the first round.
2. The Big 12 placed three teams in the Sweet 16, while the Big Ten had only two. While no Big 12 team made the Final Four, two made the Elite 8.
3. Every Big 12 team played to seed in the tournament, while Illinois and Ohio State of the Big Ten bowed out early.
4. Oklahoma beat Purdue in overtime during the regular season.
5. Texas beat Wisconsin during the regular season.

So, there's the case for both conferences. Which is better? You be the judge.

As you probably already know, the Sun-Times Media Group (parent company of The Beacon News) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today.

What will that mean for this blog? Well, hopefully nothing. But the owner of this blog has not been in a particularly good mood today.

To honor the fact that I'm pissed off, please visit angryjournalist.com.

Let's go to the video:

Presenting your 2009 Chicago White Sox. The 25-man roster was set today. Barring injury, those are the guys who will be wearing Silver and Black next Monday when the Sox open at U.S. Cellular Field against the Kansas City Royals.

If there's a surprise on that roster, it would have to be relief pitcher Mike MacDougal (seen at left bobbling a ball during pitchers fielding practice.). MacDougal has been absolutely wretched for the Sox the last couple years. He compiled an ERA of almost 7.00 in 2007, and last year, he threw the ball so poorly at Class AAA Charlotte that he was outrighted off the 40-man roster despite his nearly $3-million-a-year salary.

But MacDougal struck out 19 men in 12 innings this spring, and the Sox are going to give him one more shot on the big club -- much to the horror of Sox fans.

It's no secret that I don't like MacDougal. I've booed him off the mound many, many times. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a pitcher that refuses to throw strikes. I've long since grown tired of his walks and wild pitches and mental meltdowns on the mound.

Now, that I've established that I hate MacDougal's guts, I'm going to play devil's advocate here: MacDougal just might help the Sox this year.

Consider this: MacDougal is in the final year of his contract. He's been awful for two years. This is his LAST SHOT. If he crumbles again and the Sox cut him, his career is over. MacDougal is pitching for his baseball life this year. Maybe he'll respond.

Yes, I'm grasping at straws here, but frankly, there's no other justification for keeping MacDougal on the 25-man roster.

Notice the clever illiteration there?

The Cubs announced Sunday that Kevin Gregg will be their closer this year. Carlos Marmol will remain in the set-up role, where he was effective last season, leading all MLB relievers with 114 strikeouts.

Marmol was disappointed with the decision and let his feelings be known.

"I think they knew what they (wanted) to do before I got here," Marmol told the Sun-Times. "That's why I say there's not a competition."

Despite Marmol's complaints, I think this is a wise choice by manager Lou Piniella. You have to consider the composition of the entire Cubs bullpen. Once you get past Gregg and Marmol, it's not very good.

Neal Cotts, Luis Vizcaino, Aaron Heilman, these are the other guys Piniella has to choose from in late-inning situations. Marmol is the only reliever on the staff who can come into a jam and get a couple key strikeouts to get his team out of trouble. Gregg is more suited to starting an inning.

For those reasons, it's a no-brainer to use Marmol in the 7th/8th inning role and Gregg in the ninth.

Here's a potential scenario for you: Say the Cubs are leading 3-2 in the seventh. The opposition has runners at the corners with one out. How do you think has the best chance to get out of the inning and protect the lead? Gregg? Marmol? Cotts? Vizcaino? Heilman?

I'd go with Marmol. Sometimes the game needs saving in the seventh inning, not the ninth.

Piniella had some amusing comments today in response to Marmol's disappointment. The skipper told the right-hander to "get over it and pitch." Classic Lou.

When the Bulls traded Andres Nocioni to the Sacramento Kings earlier this season, I think some people were sorry to see him go. After all, he had the fire and the passion that Chicagoans love.

But the Bulls got guard John Salmons back in that deal, and boy, has that ever worked out nicely. The seven-year veteran has averaged 20.3 points in 19 games since joining the Bulls, and his presence has taken some of the offensive pressure off teammates Ben Gordon and Derrick Rose.

On Saturday afternoon, the Bulls trailed the Indiana Pacers 102-99 with about three minutes left. Within a span of 45 seconds, Salmons knocked in two contested 3-pointers to give the Bulls the lead and turn the entire game around. He finished with 22 points as the Bulls prevailed 112-106.

With the win, the Bulls are now 13-8 since the All-Star break, good enough for third best in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland (19-2) and Orlando (16-5). Overall, the Bulls are 36-38 and have risen to seventh in the Eastern standings.

The Bulls have little chance of surviving the first round of the playoffs, as they will be matched with Cleveland, Orlando or defending champion Boston. But it is good to see the team playing competitive basketball for the first time this season.

A postseason bid actually seems likely at this point. Since the Blackhawks basically have a playoff spot locked up, it appears the United Center will see BOTH playoff basketball and playoff hockey in the same year for the first time since 1997.

That should make for an exciting April in Chicago.

While the NCAA tournament field was cut to eight teams on Friday, speculation about offseason coaching changes heated up as well as Kentucky canned Billy Gillispie after only two years at the helm.

Gillispie, who once upon a time was an assistant at Illinois under Bill Self, had previous successful head coaching stints at UTEP and Texas A&M. But his hard-ass personality seemed to rub the good ol' boys down in Kentucky the wrong way. A 14-loss season and an NIT appearance this year gave the university the excuse it needed to cut ties with him.

I'm certain Gillispie (left) will find work somewhere next year. He's a good coach. But he may have to take a job somewhere in the Atlantic 10 or Conference USA to restore his reputation.

A bigger question: What's next for UK? Will it be able to lure a top coach? It doesn't sound like Florida's Billy Donovan is interested, and who can blame him? He's got a great gig with the Gators. Thanks to the back-to-back national championships he won in 2006 and 2007, Donovan can go to the NIT and not fear for his job security.

Other names that have been mentioned are John Calipari from Memphis, Travis Ford from Oklahoma State, Tom Izzo from Michigan State and, of course, Rick Pitino from Louisville. Most of the UK fans would probably love to bring Pitino back, but that probably won't happen.

Dustin Harris, one of our Web editors here at Fox Valley Publications, is a UK grad. His first choice is Mark Few from Gonzaga, although Dustin acknowledged he doesn't think that will happen. Few has basically a bye into the NCAA tournament every year at Gonzaga. Would he give that up for the UK pressure-cooker? Unlikely.

Likewise, Izzo would be insane to give up his gig at Michigan State. Ford, who did a fine job of leading an undersized Oklahoma State team into the second round of the tournament this year, would be a logical choice. He played at UK. He knows the fan culture there. The one problem -- he's only been at Okie State for one year. He doesn't have much big conference experience.

There is one other top-notch job open this year: Arizona. The Wildcats were soundly beaten by Pitino's Louisville squad in the NCAA tournament tonight.

Everyone knows interim coach Russ Pennell is just keeping the seat warm at U of A. Whoever takes that job faces a major rebuilding, as an entire recruiting class jumped ship when Lute Olson retired. Arizona will lose its top two players, Jordan Hill and Chase Budinger, to the NBA.

Olson figures to cast a shadow over the Arizona program as long as he remains alive. It will be interesting to see who wants to take that challenge on. And it will be interesting to see whether UK can coax a top-flight coach to come on board.

As we speak, the tears are flowing in the Duke locker room. When Greg Paulus was a freshman, I predicted Duke would never get to the Final Four as long as Paulus was on the team.

Well, Paulus is done at Duke. Four years, no Final Fours. Tonight was probably the highlight of the NCAA tournament so far for me, seeing Leader K, Paulus and the rest of the gang get punked 77-54 by Villanova in the East Regional semifinal.

It looks like Paulus went out with a bang: 3 points, 1 assist, no rebounds, 4 fouls. Someone is going to have to comfort Paulus-loving ESPN announcer Mike Patrick after that performance.

Little Jonny Scheyer didn't shoot too well either, 3-for-17 from the floor, 2-for-9 on 3s. Not very good. But this night is about Paulus. And we don't want Greg to leave us without giving him a proper tribute.

Thanks for the memories, Greg. We'll miss you. After all, Duke might become good again now that you're gone. To the video:

My prediction for the Cubs this year: They'll go 120-42 in the regular season, dominating the weak sauce N.L. Central, clobbering the Pirates ruthlessly throughout the year. Then, they'll get swept out of the first-round of the playoffs by some 85-win juggernaut from the N.L. West.

The title of this blog is a phrase that hasn't been uttered in Chicago too much over the last 10 years. Barring an epic collapse, the Blackhawks are going to the playoffs this year.

Hopefully, a couple of those home games will be on nights where I don't have to work. Hawks playoff tickets go on sale to the general public next Tuesday. As a partial "season-reservation holder," I exercised my right to participate in a pre-sale that took place today.

I've got tickets to home games A and B for the first round, and home game A for the second round. Since demand is high, it's a win-win for me. If I'm not working, I get to go to a playoff game. If I am working, I'll have no trouble selling the tickets and getting my money back.

Hopefully, the Hawks are starting to come out of the little late-season funk they've been in. Andrew Ladd (left) scored two goals to lead the team to a 6-5 shootout win over San Jose Wednesday at the UC.

The Hawks are 2-0-2 in their last four games and currently hold a two-point lead over Vancouver in the race for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. The Canucks are playing at St. Louis now. Update to come later.

UPDATE: Vancouver loses 4-2 in St. Louis. The Hawks maintain their two-point lead over the Canucks. They now have a game in hand, with Eastern Conference power New Jersey coming into the United Center Friday night.

All right, Sox fans! Here's a trip down memory lane! Can you name the Sox first-round bust pictured at left? Sad to say, but if you can, you don't win any special prize. Sorry. But I will be impressed with your knowledge of the team.

Today has been a rainy, cruddy day in Aurora. There isn't much going on in sports, and for whatever reason, we got to talking about bad draft picks here in the newsroom. The Sox have had their share over the last 20 years.

I'm pretty sure their 2008 pick, Gordon Beckham, is going to have a good big-league career. I have hopes for 2007 pick Aaron Poreda, too. But the 1990s were a bleak time for Sox first-round draft choices.

From 1987-1990, the Sox had an incredible run. Those were the four years they selected Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, Frank Thomas and Alex Fernandez. That worked out pretty well, as those players formed the core of winning Sox teams in the early 1990s.

But from 1991-2000, the Sox selected Scott Ruffcorn, Eddie Pearson, Scott Christman, Mark Johnson, Jeff Liefer, Bobby Seay, Jason Dellaero, Robert Wells, Jason Stumm, Matt Ginter and Joe Borchard.

Wow, what a terrible list. Seven of those guys did make the big leagues, including six who played for the Sox. But not a single one became a regular player. You would think just by dumb luck one of those guys would have panned out.

Since 2001, the Sox have chosen Kris Honel, Royce Ring, Brian Anderson, Josh Fields, Lance Broadway, Kyle McCulloch, Poreda and Beckham. A couple of those guys are busts. A couple of them are mediocre, and the jury is still out on most.

For a list of Sox picks since 1970, click here. Ron Karkovice is included!

In my NCAA tournament pool, I'm in 88th place or something like that.

That's what I get for trying to pick some upsets. My logic has always been this: There will be upsets, so I'll take a shot at picking some of them. That philosophy has blown up in my face this March.

Anybody who picked chalk is thriving in this year's office pools. All four No. 1 seeds survived the first weekend. So did all the No. 2 seeds. So did all the No. 3 seeds. Heck, two of the No. 4 seeds (Gonzaga, Xavier) survived too. The only "surprise" teams are No. 5 seed Purdue and No. 12 seed Arizona.

The mid-majors are basically out, unless you think of Gonzaga as a mid-major. Since Gonzaga is ranked in the Top 20 every year, it is hardly a lovable underdog.

For all the talk of parity, there really isn't much in this tournament. The power conferences are taking over. Davidson advanced to the Elite Eight last year. There won't be a good small-school story like that this season.

When the brackets were announced, there was a lot of screaming about the mid-majors getting a raw deal. I disagree with that.

Twenty-six of the 65 teams in the field were low- or mid-majors. That's 40 percent of the participants, a pretty decent number. After the first two rounds, only Gonzaga remains.

That shows that this was a down year for the small and mid-major conferences. Sure, Siena (left), Western Kentucky and Cleveland State got through the first round. But we're used to seeing one of those type of teams break through into the second weekend. Didn't happen.

Mid-majors only got four at-large bids this year. We can now see why. I felt Creighton should have been selected for the tournament instead of Arizona. Given that Arizona made the Sweet 16, I don't have much of an argument there anymore.

It's too bad all the little guys got knocked out early. Once your team is eliminated, it's fun to root for the underdog. Who is the underdog this year? I'm not sure. All these teams are from power conferences.

So, I'm rooting for the teams from my favorite power conference: The Big Ten. Michigan State was the best team in the Big Ten all year. I hope the Spartans carry the flag for the conference and take it all the way. I'll be rooting for Purdue to upset Connecticut in the next round, too. Why not?

Maybe some of the ESPN talking heads who hate the Big Ten will shut up if both Michigan State and Purdue keep advancing.

The Bears will be opening on Sunday Night Football for the second consecutive year. The Mediocrities of the Midway play at Green Bay on Sept. 13.

Sounds like 0-1 to me.

The rest of the schedule will be released sometime in April. The Bears have 2009 home games against Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit, Arizona, St. Louis, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

In addition to the road opener against the Pack, the Bears have road games against Detroit, Minnesota, San Francisco, Seattle, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Atlanta.

Second baseman Brian Roberts (left) led off Sunday night's World Baseball Classic semifinal game with a home run off Japan pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Unfortunately, that was the high point for Team USA. The Japanese team eventually pulled away for a 9-4 victory and will meet Korea tonight for the championship of the tournament.

It's not a coincidence that those two Asian teams are the last ones standing. Those guys are playing to win. The Americans? Not so much.

Don't get me wrong: The guys on Team USA gave their all, but the bottom line is there were other agendas for the Americans besides winning the tournament. Namely, all the players on the U.S. roster were trying to get their work in as they prepare for the upcoming Major League season.

Manager Davey Johnson basically had to manage as if he were in charge of a Little League team, making sure everyone got a chance to play. How else can you explain some of the curious moves Johnson made?

He alternated catchers and shortstops the whole tournament. One day, it's Brian McCann behind the plate. Next game, it's Chris Iannetta. Jimmy Rollins plays the first five innings at shortstop. Then, Derek Jeter takes over.

If the only agenda is to win, you'd put the best player on the field and not worry about anyone's feelings. That isn't what took place here.

During last night's semifinal game, there were several unusual moves. For example, Jeter started at shortstop, while Rollins was the DH. Anyone with half a brain knows Rollins is the superior defensive player. If I'm trying to win this game at all costs, Rollins is my guy at short.

Instead, Jeter played, and he made an error that opened the door for a three-run ninth inning for the Japanese. The miscue sealed Team USA's fate. Speaking of that ninth inning, what the hell was Joel Hanrahan doing on the mound?

The U.S. had just scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the Japan lead to 6-4. A shutdown inning was needed in the top half of the ninth. Who does Johnson call on to pitch? Hanrahan. Yikes. There was no one else available?

Of course, Hanrahan walked the leadoff man. Jeter made an untimely error and the rest is history. I assume Hanrahan was in there because he needed an inning of work. That's how Johnson has to manage, and that's why Team USA loses.

Japan played last night's game like Game 7 of the World Series. Team USA played it like it was Little League. The result should not be a surprise to any of us.

With the stressful prep basketball season winding to its conclusion, I'm taking a little break. Thus, this blog will be taking a vacation as well.

Being a financially-challenged journalist, I won't be leaving town while I'm on vacation. I've got my fantasy baseball draft and a lot of college basketball watching ahead of me. I'm planning on catching the Hawks-Kings game at the UC on March 22. Gotta meet with my buddy to divide up our White Sox season tickets, too.

I'm calling this my spring break.

This blog will resume on March 23. Talk to you then.

JB

It doesn't look good for Illinois guard Chester Frazier. He's not playing tonight against Michigan, and the guess here is he is done for the season after having surgery on his broken right hand Thursday.

Herb Gould's sources are indicating that Frazier's college career is over.

If so, that's a shame. Frazier has had a nice year. He's given his all to the Illinois program for four years, and I would have liked to see him have the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament as a senior.

Unfortunately, much like Marquette's Dominic James, he's an assistant coach for the remainder of the year. The Illini will have to figure out a new way to win quickly, if they hope to advance in the NCAA tournament. Frazier is an important part of their defensive scheme.

Coming into the conference tournaments, I figured the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament would be North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and ?????.

Well, North Carolina hasn't blown it yet. Of course, the Tar Heels haven't played their first game in the ACC tournament just yet.

For Pittsburgh, though, Thursday night was a catastrophe. Star player DeJuan Blair got in foul trouble, and the Panthers lost 74-60 to West Virginia. I've been tempted to pick Pitt as my national champion for this year, but things really go south for that team when Blair goes to the bench.

UConn is really struggling tonight, too. As of 11:15 p.m. Thursday, the Huskies were in a triple-overtime battle with Syracuse. If UConn loses this one, bye-bye No. 1 seed. Even if it wins this one, it will be awful tired in tomorrow's Big East semifinal round when it plays West Virginia.

I'd say Louisville, the regular season champ in the Big East, is poised to take Pittsburgh's spot. If the Cardinals beat Villanova tomorrow and reach the Big East title game, they have it.

But who else can get a No. 1 seed? Oklahoma was the Big 12's best bet, but it lost to Oklahoma State today. Regular-season Big 12 champ Kansas also lost.

I'd say the door is open for Memphis, Duke and Michigan State. Although, Memphis was very fortunate to squeak by a subpar Tulane squad in the C-USA quarters.

We've seen it all year: There really aren't any dominant teams in college basketball this season. There might be anywhere from 12-15 teams capable of winning the national championship this year. Certainly, none of the prime contenders distinguished themselves on Thursday.

UPDATE: At 11:51 p.m., UConn and Syracuse went to a fifth overtime. The game was tied 104-104. Almost all the key players have fouled out. I'm going home.

Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon is one of those guys I enjoy rooting against. Well, actually, I enjoy rooting against all the Boston players, except when they play the Twins or the Indians.

But Papelbon (left), or "Paps" as my colleague Mike Knapp and I derisively call him, is basically a buffoon. He's a really good relief pitcher, but when he wins, he acts as if he has never won before.

That, of course, makes it more satisfying whenever your team beats him. I remember taunting every Red Sox fan in sight during the summer of 2006 when Jermaine Dye hit a game-tying homer off Paps with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The Boston fans were in disbelief. They could not believe their beloved Paps had failed them.

But I digress.

Right now, Paps is in hot water because he compared former teammate Manny Ramirez to cancer in an interview with Esquire Magazine.

This should be rich. I'm looking forward to seeing how much shelf life ESPN can give this "controversy." Too bad there is no Interleague contest between the Red Sox and Dodgers this year. In a confrontation between Paps and Manny, I'll take Manny.

Illinois guard Chester Frazier is listed as doubtful for Friday night's Big Ten tournament quarterfinal game against Michigan.

Frazier suffered a severely bruised hand in practice on Wednesday. The senior, who is clearly Illinois' best defensive player, has built a reputation of playing through injury during his collegiate career. If Frazier can dribble, he'll play. But the reports I'm hearing don't sound good.

If Frazier cannot play, who will guard Michigan's Manny Harris? Harris scored 18 points in the Wolverines' 75-43 win over Iowa today, and he is clearly Michigan's best offensive threat and one of the better guards in the Big Ten.

This might be sophomore Jeff Jordan's big opportunity to show that he can fill Frazier's shoes at the Illini's defensive stopper on the perimeter next season.

You can stop cutting your own wrists now, Blackhawk fans. They won tonight.

Kris Versteeg (left) scored one goal in regulation and the game-winner in the shootout to lift the Blackhawks to an exciting 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center.

Thank goodness the Hawks won because the angst was starting to rise to unreasonable levels. Following Sunday's lackluster loss to the Avalanche, Rick Telander warned that "fading at this time of year is not a good thing."

An article in the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday morning fretted about the Vancouver Canucks pulling within five points of the Hawks for the coveted No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.

Enough already.

The Blackhawks are 3-4-1 in their last eight games. Is that so bad? I don't think so, especially since the best goaltender (Nikolai Khabibulin) on the team and the best goal-scorer (Patrick Sharp) on the roster have been sidelined for the last month. It's just a little slump.

Those injured guys will come back soon. Samuel Pahlsson will join the lineup, and the Hawks will be fine. They've got a six-point lead on the Canucks with a game in hand now. Eleven of the remaining 17 Blackhawk games will be played at the United Center.

There's no reason to have anything but confidence. I still fully expect the Blackhawks to secure the No. 4 seed and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

After DePaul's surprising win over Cincinnati in the opening round of the Big East tournament Tuesday, we started joking in the newsroom about the possibility of the Blue Demons winning five games in five days and earning an automatic bid to the NCAAs.

Well, those dreams were dashed in today's second round. DePaul trailed by just a point at halftime (32-31) against Providence, but it was back to reality in the second half as the Friars pulled away for a 83-74 win.

DePaul finishes the season 9-24. Back 2 Life, Back 2 Reality:

So, what was your favorite memory of the Linton Johnson Era? C'mon! You remember the 6-8 swingman who played for the Bulls during the 2003-04 season, don't you?

That was such a memorable Bulls team after all. They finished 23-59!

Well, the Linton Johnson Era, Part II began today. The Bulls signed the Chicago native to a 10-day contract.

Welcome back, Linton Johnson.

Back in November when we sat down as a sports staff to plan the boys basketball preview edition, I stated that it would be down year for Aurora area hoops.

Time has proven me correct. Here's the proof: In the second week of March, the only local team still playing is the Oswego Panthers.

That's right: Oswego, the football school. For the first time in 24 years, Oswego won a regional championship in boys basketball with its 64-61 win over Aurora Central Catholic last Friday.

The Panthers play Belvidere North Wednesday night in the Class 3A Rochelle Sectional. No Oswego basketball team has won a sectional since 1974, two years before I was born.

Take nothing away from Oswego. The Panthers are 22-6, and they have three pretty good players in Andrew Ziemnik, Jordan Mitchell and Andrew Galow (handling the ball, at left). But for Oswego to be the only school standing in an area full of basketball programs rich in tradition, that shows that this has been a weak year.

Not a single basketball team from Aurora won a regional. Not one. Not East Aurora. Not West Aurora. Not Aurora Central Catholic. Not Waubonsie Valley. Not Aurora Christian. Just north of here, Batavia also has a great tradition. The Bulldogs didn't make it out of the first week either.

I'm really surprised East Aurora and Aurora Central lost as early as they did.

The Tomcats got upset on their home floor by Plainfield North. Earlier this season, East handed sectional top-seed Neuqua Valley its only loss. Clearly, the Tomcats didn't play at that level on Friday night. That Plainfield North team lost by 20 tonight against that same Neuqua Valley squad. I'm sure East Aurora would have given Neuqua a more competitive game, if it hadn't screwed up last week.

Aurora Central was the top seed in its regional, but the senior-laden Chargers lost to the aforementioned Panthers. The homecourt advantage worked in favor of Oswego, which also received a season-best night from role player Colin Seibert (16 points, six rebounds). That's how upsets happen in postseason basketball.

I think West Aurora got the most out of its limited offensive talent. The Blackhawks were a good defensive team, and they rode that to 20 wins. But they didn't have the firepower to overcome Naperville Central and Northwestern-bound Drew Crawford in the regional title game.

I'm really not surprised West didn't make it out of the regional this year, but I thought this could be the year for the Tomcats and the Chargers.

Denied.

I guess this is proof that anything can happen in March: DePaul won a game today. Yes, I'm serious.

Behind 17 points each from Dar Tucker and Bolingbrook product Will Walker, the Blue Demons broke their 18-game losing streak with a 67-57 win over Cincinnati in the first round of the Big East tournament.

DePaul had not won a single conference game during the regular season.

I sure as hell didn't waste my afternoon watching this game, so I wonder how Cincinnati managed to blow it.

I've been thinking all season about who would win a game between Indiana (6-24, 1-17 Big Ten) and DePaul (9-23 with today's win). Those might be the two worst BCS conference basketball teams in America this year.

I firmly believe Indiana would win if those two teams were to play. Sure, DePaul has some guys who were highly-regarded recruits, like Tucker and Mac Koshwal (left). But the Demons are so poorly coached, and they don't even play hard most of the time. At least Indiana's Tom Crean is a decent coach and gets his guys to play hard. DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright deserves to be fired.

Speaking of deserving to be fired, do you suppose the seat is a little hot for Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin? Attendance is slipping at UC, and the Bearcats just lost to DePaul.

Incredible.

Joe Crede isn't the only member of the Minnesota Twins with a balky back.

Of course, if Joe Mauer can't play, Mike Redmond will hit .750 for the season against White Sox pitching.

I noticed that White Sox second base candidate Chris Getz hit a 3-run homer off Cleveland's Fausto Carmona this afternoon.

Good for him.

Getz better start picking it up if he wants to hold off an unexpected challenge from 2008 first-round draft pick Gordon Beckham (left), who is looking more and more like he's going to be in the big leagues sooner rather than later.

Beckham, hitting .333 on the spring, has manager Ozzie Guillen's wheels turning after going 3-for-5 with three doubles against the Dodgers on Sunday.

Beckham has a grand total of 14 games professional experience, all in the minor leagues last year. Conventional wisdom says that he'll start the season at Class AA Birmingham, but that could change if he continues to hit over .300 with power.

Alexei Ramirez will start at shortstop this year for the Sox. While shortstop is Beckham's natural position, it isn't too much of a stretch to think he could make the switch to second base in order to get to the big leagues quicker.

The Sox other second base candidates have not distinguished themselves this spring. Offensively, Getz is ready for his shot, having hit over .300 at Class AAA Charlotte last year. But his range is limited defensively. Jayson Nix has been on the shuttle from triple-A to the majors and back for the last couple years with Colorado, and he's hurt right now. Hard to win a job that way. And Brent Lillibridge strikes out too much and seems to be more suited to a utility role than everyday action.

Really, it comes down to whether Beckham can beat Getz out. Even if that doesn't happen this spring, don't be surprised if Beckham is playing at U.S. Cellular Field by midsummer.

Here we have it, the schedule for this week's Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis:

Thursday's games:
Game 1: (8) Minnesota (21-9, 9-9) vs. (9) Northwestern (17-12, 8-10), 11 a.m. (BTN)
Game 2: (7) Michigan (19-12, 9-9) vs. (10) Iowa (15-16, 5-13), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 3: (6) Penn State (21-10, 10-8) vs. (11) Indiana (6-24, 1-17), 4 p.m. (ESPN2)

Friday's games:
Game 4: (1) Michigan State (25-5, 15-3) vs. Game 1 winner, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Game 5: (4) Wisconsin (19-11, 10-8) vs. (5) Ohio State (20-9, 10-8), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 6: (2) Illinois (23-8, 11-7) vs. Game 2 winner, 5:30 p.m. (BTN)
Game 7: (3) Purdue (22-9, 11-7) vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m. (BTN)

Saturday's games:
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12:40 p.m. (CBS)
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 3:05 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday's game:
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)

So, the Illini back into the No. 2 seed, thanks to weekend chokes by Penn State and Purdue. That's fine. I accept charity. We'll see if Illinois can take advantage of a more favorable draw.

Meanwhile, Northwestern gets the No. 9 seed. Perhaps I was a bit premature in writing off the Wildcats' NCAA hopes a couple weeks back, but they are still a longshot. They have to beat Minnesota AND upset Michigan State in the quarterfinals to get into the NCAA tournament discussion. Even then, they'd be on the bubble.

Right now, Joe Lunardi's bracketology has the top eight teams from the Big Ten in the NCAAs.

Let the madness begin!

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Illinois blew a golden opportunity to secure second place in the Big Ten with its 64-63 loss to Penn State Thursday night.

As a result, the Illini are in need of help from both Iowa and Michigan State this weekend if they hope to secure the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

This put Illinois fans in the uncomfortable position of having to cheer for their mortal enemies from the Hawkeye State. I'll be damned if those hayseeds didn't come through for us. Iowa beat Penn State 75-67 in double overtime on Saturday.

That result relegates the Nittany Lions to fourth place and ensures Illinois of no worse than third. The Illini can still move up to second if Michigan State wins at home against Purdue Sunday.

It was rough for me to root for Iowa, but I have no trouble cheering for Michigan State at all.

Go Spartans!

So, the Cowboys released diva wide receiver Terrell Owens the other day. Predictably, that created a national media firestorm. It's created quite a buzz in Chicago, too. All the meathead talks shows are debating the pros and cons of Owens and whether there might possibly be a fit with the Bears.

The local columnists are weighing in as well, including Rick Telander.

The notion that the Bears will sign T.O. is just ridiculous to me. Telander apparently finds it pretty ridiculous too.

It's so ridiculous, in fact, that I'm not going to comment on it any further. I am, however, going to post my favorite Terrell Owens memory.

Remember that day in 2001 when Owens, then a member of the 49ers, fumbled a Jeff Garcia pass right into the hands of Bears safety Mike Brown? Just a classic example of alligator arms by Owens. Here's Brown returning the pick for the game-winning TD. You'll need to wait about 13 seconds into the video:

There's really only one thing I don't like about Bruce Weber's coaching philosophy: His insistence on going into the stall offense in the final five minutes of games when Illinois has the lead.

The strategy killed the Illini in their 64-63 loss to Penn State on Thursday night. With 3:52 left, Illinois led 63-57. It didn't score again.

The funny thing is, the Illini didn't have a single turnover the last four minutes of the game. Not one. It isn't like Penn State rallied because Illinois was throwing the ball away.

Actually, the Illini methodically ran down the shot clock in their stall offense. They got a shot on every possession. Unfortunately, they didn't make a single one. That's because they ceased to get good shots. They were forced attempts up against the shot clock.

The stall offense is particularly bad for this Illinois personnel group. The team doesn't have guards who can create their own shots off the bounce. The offense is predicated on players sharing the ball and hitting open shots --- the Illini are among the national leaders in assists and have been all season.

Illinois got the lead by doing just that Thursday, moving the ball with the pass. Then, the stall offense got them away from their strengths. They started dribbling in circles. They stopped attacking. And the offense, well, stalled.

As a result, we had to watch Talor Battle (left) celebrate a game-winning basket in the final second.

Now, Illinois needs help to finish second in the Big Ten. A win Thursday would have wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. That won't happen for the Illini unless Penn State loses to Iowa AND Purdue loses to Michigan State this weekend.

The likely scenario? Penn State wins and Purdue loses, leaving Illinois with the No. 3 seed.

I've had a little more than 24 hours to digest this trade now: The Blackhawks sent defenseman James Wisniewski and minor-league center Petri Kontiola to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for center Samuel Pahlsson, minor-league defenseman Logan Stephenson and a conditional draft pick.

My reaction: Meh. It doesn't make the Hawks significantly better. It doesn't make the Hawks any worse. It's a No. 5 defenseman for a third-line center. Doesn't excite me. Doesn't devastate me either.

The reaction from most Blackhawks fans was what you might expect. Wisniewski (left) is a fan favorite and all-around good guy, and you know what happens when fan favorites get dealt: The natives howl at the moon.

I've seen fans dismiss Pahlsson's potential contribution entirely, outright declaring that he isn't good enough to play for the Blackhawks. That response to this trade leaves me shaking my head.

There is a downside to this trade. Pahlsson has mono. He hasn't played since Jan. 31. It's possible he won't play for a couple weeks more. It's possible he'll be too weak to play well when he comes back. I acknowledge that.

But what if Pahlsson comes back and plays well? He was a checking-line center on the 2007 Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks. He took a regular shift and helped in shutting down high-powered teams like Detroit and Ottawa during that playoff run.

He's won 53 percent of his face-offs this year. Immediately, he becomes the Hawks best man in the circle. And he's 21 months removed from raising the Stanley Cup. Yet people think he isn't good enough to play for the Blackhawks, who haven't won a playoff game in seven years? Seriously?

Pahlsson has taken (and won) critical defensive zone draws in the Stanley Cup Finals. When it comes down to it, who do you want taking a critical face-off? Pahlsson or Colin Fraser? Pahlsson or Dave Bolland? Pahlsson or Kris Versteeg? I'll take Pahlsson. Maybe, just maybe, he'll be a valuable role guy.

Please folks, let's see how this trade plays out. The Hawks didn't trade a top-four defenseman or a top-six forward. They didn't acquire one either. Right now, it's a wait-and-see kind of move.

I get a chuckle out of the possibility that the New York Yankees will have to play 33-year-old Cody Ransom at third base this year.

Alex Rodriguez has a torn labrum in his hip, and he will attempt to play through it. If not, it will be time for surgery and a four-month rehabilitation for the disgraced third baseman.

It hasn't been a good 18 months or so for A-Rod. The Yankees missed the 2008 playoffs. He's going through a divorce. He got caught juicing. And we know he lied to Katie Couric about his steroid use in a Dec. 2007 interview. He also falsely accused Sports Illustrated reporter Selena Roberts of "stalking" him.

Seems like the bad karma is starting to catch up with good, ol' aloof A-Rod. And here now is Culture Club:

HEY, IT'S DEBBIE GIBSON!

Remember that minor-league baseball player who got traded for 10 maple bats last year? Well, he's dead.

He died in November of an accidental overdose from heroine, meth, benzylpiperazine and booze.

On a brighter note for Illini fans, basketball coach Bruce Weber is a finalist for the 2009 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award.

As we've noted here many times, Weber has the program's arrow pointed up now for the first time in about two years. He's deserving of this nomination, as the Illini have exceeded expectations and maximized their talent this season.

Weber won National Coach of the Year honors once previously, in 2005 when he led the Illini to a 37-2 season and a national runner-up finish.

In recent days, Illinois finalized its football schedule for the 2009 season.

Take a look at this article here. After you get done scrolling through all the basketball recruiting gibberish, you'll note that John Supinie reports the Illini and Cincinnati will play a non-conference game at Cincinnati on Nov. 28.

Dumb, da, dumb, dumb. Dumb, da, dumb, dumb, DUMB!

Who the hell does athletic director Ron Guenther think Illinois is? USC? As Supinie points out, next year's non-conference slate is ambitious. That's putting it mildly The four non-conference games are a neutral-site tilt against Missouri, home contests against Illinois State and Fresno State and this road game against Cincinnati.

Illinois could very easily go 1-3 in those games, and I wouldn't put it past a Ron Zook-coached team to choke against Illinois State. This is NOT how you build a football program.

The Illini need to schedule a bunch of cream puffs in the short term. Play seven home games in that newly-renovated stadium. Play Chicken Salad A&M and SE Cornpone State until you reach a point where you're going to a bowl game every year. Once you get to that point, THEN you can schedule up.

For the complete Illini schedule for next season, click here.

It's too bad the Illini have an open date on Sept. 19. The weather is usually great for a home game at that time of year. Instead, Guenther is sending the kids to Cincinnati for a loss in late November.

I'm feeling another 5-7 or 4-8 campaign coming on.

The NHL trade deadline is Wednesday, and several teams spent Tuesday frantically trying to clear salary cap space.

One such team is the Blackhawks, who placed veteran Craig Adams (left) and his $600,000 salary on waivers. Click here to see some of the high-profile names that are being floated on the waiver wire.

In another move on Tuesday, the Hawks sent winger Jack Skille back to Rockford and recalled center Josh Brent.

It seems like it will be difficult for NHL teams to make moves at the deadline this year. Looking at the NHL standings, every team in the Western Conference is within 10 points of the final playoff spot. Out East, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and the New York Islanders are out of realistic contention. That means most teams still consider themselves in the race. There are more buyers than sellers.

Can Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon find the second-line center the team needs? Questionable. The Hawks need to get stronger in the face-off circle, and the acquisition of another center would allow them to move Kris Versteeg back to wing where he belongs.

The next 18 hours should be interesting.

You can take the Sun-Times Chicago Sports Fan survey here.

I'm staging a write-in campaign for people to name A.J. Pierzynski as their favorite Chicago athlete. I'm also encouraging people to write in "none" when asked for their favorite local sports radio show.

I'm glad to read today that Bulls GM John Paxson has told coach Vinny Del Negro that he should, ya know, play Derrick Rose in end-of-game situations.

There have been a couple games lately (losses against Indiana and Miami) where coach-for-now Del Negro has benched Rose in the fourth quarter. Do that once, and it might be considered a head coach teaching a rookie a lesson. Do that twice, it is bad coaching.

We all know the Bulls are terrible this year. If they happen to luck into the playoffs, they'll be eliminated quickly. Rose's development should be a major focus for the rest of this season, even if it leads to a couple extra losses.

As long as Rose is healthy, there is no rational reason for mediocre veterans to be taking minutes away from him.

Amazing. It's all over the newspapers again today. The Cubs brigade of beat writers is breathlessly reporting that the North Siders might still have a chance to acquire San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy.

I thought this Peavy speculation died on Jan. 28. That was the day the Cubs dealt left-handed pitcher Garrett Olson and utility infielder Ronny Cedeno to the Mariners for pitcher Aaron Heilman.

Olson and Cedeno (Olson in particular) were the bait the Cubs were using to try to entice San Diego GM Kevin Towers into making a move. That ship has sailed now.

The story goes that new Cubs owner Tom Ricketts might be in the mood to increase payroll and make the big-splash acquisition of Peavy once his purchase of the team goes through. I can go along with that. What team wouldn't want to acquire a pitcher like Peavy?

Here's a better question: Just what the heck do the Cubs have that San Diego would want? The Padres are seeking payroll relief and would want young players in return. The Cubs farm system isn't exactly brimming over with elite talent. If I'm Towers, I'm asking for third baseman Josh Vitters and pitcher Jeff Samardzija.

Peavy has more strikeouts (1,256) than any other National League pitcher since 2002. Peavy has a 2.95 ERA since 2004, better than any pitcher in baseball not named Johan Santana. I don't think the Padres would be out of line for wanting the Cubs two best prospects. This is a legitimate ace pitcher we are talking about.

In the previous Peavy talks, Cubs GM Jim Hendry was reportedly unwilling to give up Vitters or Samardzija. That's probably why Peavy isn't wearing Cubbie Blue today.

Unless Hendry changes his mind, I don't think Peavy will be wearing Cubbie Blue at any point this year. Unless, of course, Towers has "Sucker" tattoed across his forehead. I suppose that's always a possibility.