Andrew 22, version 2.0* (*March snow included)

This is the second edition of the column (here's the first one), which is a a blatant rip-off of (1) Pat Forde's "40 Yard Dash" column that he pens during the college football season. (He also does a college basketball one, but it is his pigskin one that coaches, players and fans anxiously wait for each week.) Of course, our version comes with a twist. Instead of 40 things pertaining to college football (Forde's runs the gamut from coaches and players to cheerleaders and college bars), ours is 22 things pertaining to...well, whatever is on our mind at the time. As for the name of the column? It honors (2) Andrew Toney, the single greatest under-6'4"-offensive-threat in history of the NBA.
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March Madness

Speaking of March...speaking of Our Guy Forde, here is his latest, which focuses on the (3) conference tournaments. His Atlantic 10 team to watch? (4) Your UMass Minutemen. Oops. (5)The Fighting Sons of Travis Ford went one and out in Atlantic City. Hmm. Suddenly Ford's overnight stay in Amherst on his way to a Big Time Job is turning into the (6) Milt Wagner 10-year college stay. And it figures to get worse next year, when senior (7) Gary Forbes will be playing for pay in the NBA.

JTIII

We must admit that we never cared much for (8) John Thompson during his reign in the 80s. We always felt that he was thisclose to going (9) Al Sharpton on us. But we have a wicked huge Man Crush on his son, (10) John Thompson III. Unlike his old man's teams that played angry at the world, JTIII's Crew keeps its collective mouths shut. No talking. No taunting. No dirty play. I got an e-mail last year from a Louisville fan who told me Thompson's kids were the nicest, most polite group of kids to ever visit Freedom Hall. So while we are obviously pulling for (11) Our Louisville Cardinals in next week's tournament, we will also be cheering for the Hoyas. (And that is something we never thought we would utter.) By the way, Georgetown probably does not have enough oh to win the whole thing. But if it gets a few more games like the opening round of the Big East Tournament (17 treys against Villanova), it can (and probably will) win Everything. Final Hoya Thought: He's not a star at the collegiate level, bit it says here that (12) Patrick Ewing Jr. will make someone's NBA roster next fall. He is a legit 6'9", able to defend 3s and 4s, a solid ball handler and a good finisher. Kind of a (13) Luke Walton, minus the passing.
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Other Big Dance odds and ends
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Yes, the rumors are true. Our much heralded (14) Good Pro, No Pro column will return during the March Madness run. Obviously Super Frosh (15) O.J. Mayo will be on the team. Mayo is so good, that people expect the world from him. And because of that, some peeps have actually gone as far as saying the Huntington, West Virginia native (that makes two of us) has been a disappointment this year. Which reminds us of one or our favorite sayings: A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Funny that (16) Kansas is somewhat of an afterthought with national "experts". (You know 'em...The guys who ignore college hoops until March.) They have size, athleticism and talent. And now that (17) Roy "Gosh I Loved Coaching Matt Doherty's Kids to a Title" Williams is gone, we fully expect the J-Hawks to advance to the Final Four. And advance easily.
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Non Sports Minutiae (Which, let's face it, is really why you are reading this blog.)
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That (18) Spitzer guy is completely C-R-A-Z-Y. Dropping of over 80k on women of the night? Good gawd, my man, it would have been cheaper and safer (on multiple fronts, not the least of which is the STD factor) to have a girl friend on the side. Staying in the political arena, if (19) Osama Obama thinks things are getting sticky now, he will go into cardiac arrest when he finds out what happens in September. For those who think (20) Karl Rove has pulled the plug on his GOP work, think again, suckers. Our Guy Karl has all sorts of Young Republicans out there digging up dirt on Iraq Barack. Republicans have money (as compared to Democrats who take your money). And they will spend what it takes to get (21) John McCain to succeed Dubya.
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Pass the Metamucil
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It pains us (literally) to say this, but the Pit Master is turning 4-oh next week. We are still able to crank out 4.5 miles every morning on the treadmill, just like we did 15 years ago. The difference now is the always present (22) Hurt List. Said list includes: a bad knee, sore hip, stiff back, one tender quad and one tight calf. As our old hoops coach told us many (many) years ago: "After 30, it's all about Advil and ice."

Amen to that.