Championship Links...

Mike Lupica on Coach Cal: "He first made a Final Four with UMass 12 years ago when Marcus Camby was his center, took over the Nets and made the playoffs with them, when that was no small thing, and then they ran him out of Jersey a year later when they were 3-15. Brown brought him to Philadelphia and made him his assistant coach, and that was the beginning of Calipari picking himself back up. Monday Calipari tries to climb up a ladder on those rickety hips and cut down the nets at the Alamodome as the national champion of college basketball."

Hoops Weiss on Memphis' CDR: "Douglas-Roberts has been Memphis' leading scorer in this tournament, averaging 23.6 points. His NBA stock skyrocketed to lottery status on Saturday night, when he scored 28 points in a 78-63 victory over UCLA in the semifinals. "

Mike Vaccaro on Coach Cal: "A Division I coach told me yesterday afternoon, 'you can say a lot of things about Cal. You can call him every name in the book and he probably deserves it. You can accuse him of being something less than an altar boy, OK? But if you've seen his work, you know there's one thing you can't ever question. The SOB can coach. You got to give him that, if nothing else.'"

Dick Jerardi: "Memphis is that undisciplined team of kids from inner cities who end up on the police blotter. Its leader, John Calipari, really isn't a good coach, but just someone who attracts talent and then unleashes it on overwhelmed rivals."

Jay Mariotti: "Between Self and Calipari, someone will crash the party of crowned snobs for the first time, and Gummy Bears or otherwise, I'm figuring Self will be holding the scissors as CBS' ralph-inducing 'One Shining Moment' blasts over the stadium speakers."

Manny Navarro on CDR and Brandon Rush: "One is an All-American swingman who is often overshadowed by the star freshman point guard. The other is a relatively quiet leader who would have been in the NBA this year with his older brother if not for a freak accident during a pickup game."