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As you're probably aware by now, it turns out that the whole K/Roy flap from a few weeks might have been much ado about nothing.

Check out this article for the background. I don't have the strength to go through it again.

First things first. Kudos to Ken Tysiac of The Charlotte Observer for noting that "Hey, nobody ever got a chance to ask K about this" and posing the question to K on Monday's ACC Teleconference. I think, like a trauma victim, I'd already blocked the whole thing out of my mind.

Next, mea culpa. At the time the whole thing was happening, I was not able to get a hold of the actual audio from the broadcast and was forced to rely on The Buzz's posted quote. While I attributed it to The Buzz, I incorrectly identified it as a "transcript" which it clearly was not. I should have called The Buzz to ask them the source of their quote.

It would have been interesting to see what public reaction would have been like had the correct quote been used originally. Remember, Roy wasn't reacting to what The Buzz posted. The Buzz only received the incorrect quote from its anonymous source after its hosts had been wondering aloud on the air about what had set Roy off on his radio show the night before.

One lingering question is what, exactly, was relayed to Roy? Was he, indeed reacting to K's actual quote?: "(Smith) has not been playing well the last couple of weeks. Again, he hyperextended his knee. You know, we don't put out all our injuries, you know, but we're injured too, you know. I mean everyone's injured."

Or did he, like The Buzz, get an incorrect quote that was more inflammatory?

Oh, and why didn't K put out a quick response when it was clear he was being misrepresented publicly? After all, multiple media outlets - this one included - dutifully asked Duke for a comment from K about it. Maybe it's because this was his feeling about the whole thing:

"It's just stupid. That’s about all I can say. It’s just stupid."

No argument here, but it seems like another PR black-eye for Duke that might have been at least softened if it had been a little more available with information to the press.

Speaking of which, why is it that Duke doesn't "put out" all it's injuries? And why is UNC so forthcoming with each ailment the crops up? My thinking is that it's deep-rooted in the philosophies of both programs.

From what I've heard, UNC's policy goes way back, to the days when gambling was a legitimate problem in the ACC. As the story goes, Dean Smith wanted to make sure his program never had such a taint, so whenever a health issue arose, he publicized it, avoiding any possibility of "inside information" for gamblers to exploit. Plus, UNC is a public university, "the people's university." Being open about such things may be considered to be in line with its mission statement.

As for Duke, I've always thought K's stance toward publicizing injuries is connected to his military background. First, he usually operates on a "need to know" basis. Anyone who's ever watched former Marine Tom O'Brien in action in a N.C. State press conference has seen the same thing at work. Second, I think K doesn't like to publicize injuries before a game because he doesn't want to give that injured player a ready-made excuse. The theory being that if K mentions that a particular player has a problem, then that player becomes more accepting of his limitations, rather than fighting through them.

Now, having said that, K has always been willing to mention an injury after the fact. His detractors will say that it's a self-serving approach, usually revising history after a loss. His supporters will say it's his way of keeping one of his players from being unjustly ripped after a poor performance.

What do I think? I think I can't believe I just spent this much time and space rehashing a subject that seemed trite even when it was incorrectly brought to the public several weeks ago.

An animal rights group wants the PGA Tour to punish Salisbury native Tripp Isenhour, whose golf ball struck and killed a noisy hawk while he was taping a TV show.

"I want to let everyone know there was neither any malice nor deliberate intent whatsoever to hit or harm the hawk," Isenhour said in a statement. "I was trying to simply scare it into flying away."

For what it's worth, this is the first of (hopefully) several entries updating my guesses at who's in, who's out and who's standing perilously on the barbed-wire fence for the NCAA tournament.

I've got 52 teams solidly in the field and 28 candidates for the remaining 13 spots. If that sounds like strenuous competition, it isn't. In some years, I've considered 40 teams for the final 13 positions.

Here's my tentative list, which assumes no upsets in leagues in which the regular-season champion is a lock for an at-large bid if necessary. Remember that this is PRELIMINARY.

The First 52 (arranged by alphabetical order of conference affiliation, in most cases)

1. UNC
2. Duke
3. Clemson
4. Miami

5. America East champion TBD

6. Xavier
7. Atlantic Sun champ TBD

8. Kansas
9. Texas
10. Kansas State
11. Oklahoma

12. Georgetown
13. Louisville
14. Notre Dame
15. UConn
16. Marquette
17. Pittsburgh

18. Big Sky champion TBD
19. Winthrop or UNC Asheville (Big South champ)

20. Wisconsin
21. Indiana
22. Purdue
23. Michigan State

24. Big West champ TBD

25. VCU (as CAA champ; might make it at-large if necessary)

26. Memphis (as C-USA champ; will be in at-large if necessary)

27. Butler (as Horizon champ; will make it at-large if necessary)

28. Cornell (Ivy League championship secured)

29. MAAC champ TBD

30. Kent State (as MAC champ but probably in at-large if necessary)

31. MEAC champ TBD

32. Drake (in as Missouri Valley champ but in if necessary at-large)

33. BYU (as Mountain West champ but in at-large if necessary)

34. NEC champ TBD
35. OVC champ TBD

36. UCLA
37. Stanford
38. Washington State
39. USC

40. Tennessee
41. Vanderbilt
42. Mississippi State
43. Arkansas

44. Davidson (predicted SoCon champ but under consideration at-large if necessary)

45. Southland champ TBD
46. Summit champ TBD

47. South Alabama (predicted Sun Belt champ; at-large candidate if necessary)

48. SWAC champ TBD

49. WAC champ TBD

50. St. Mary's
51. Gonzaga

52. Patriot League champ TBD

The Final 13
53. Texas A&M: No really bad losses and wins over Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor and Ohio State
54. West Virginia: Win over Pitt helps put Mountaineers over the top
55. Arizona: Hard to deny a team with the nation's toughest schedule and a break-even record in a round-robin league like the Pac 10.
56. Arizona State: Terrible non-conference sked, but Herb Sendek's Sun Devils swept Arizona and are 5-6 against the Top 50. That's one of the Top-50 best records in the candidate pool.
57. Kentucky: I hate to do this because the Wildcats lost to Gardner-Webb. By 16. At home. But their schedle is ranked 12th toughest; they're 10-2 lately; and they've beaten Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi.
58. Baylor: Big 12 is tough and Bears are credible.
59. St. Joseph's: A solid 3-3 Top-50 record now includes a win over Xavier.
60. Villanova: 4-6 vs. Top 50; beat George Mason outside the Big East.
61. UMass: Won at Syracuse.
62. Mississippi: Must win regular-season finale.
63. Illinois State: Swept the Salukis of Southern Illinois; decent schedule.
64. UNLV: Yes, we are getting to the bottom.
65. Ohio State: This presumes a win over Michigan State in the regular-season finale.

The man on the left is Randy Bennett, coach of the St. Mary's College Gaels. The man on the right is Bruce Cutler, the outspoken attorney whose zealous defense earned three acquittals and the nickname "The Teflon Don" for mobster John Gotti in the 1980s. Bennett's players aren't wiseguys, but they do defend. Seeded second in the West Coast Conference tournament, they're a lock for an NCAA bid. They're on track to face Gonzaga in Monday's title game.
Just couldn't pass up a Separated at Birth possibility.

Other thoughts:
** Bad weekend for most mid-majors -- I generally hate that term, but it'll have to work for now -- aspiring to squeeze into the field. Syracuse and Ohio State helped their cases with victories over Marquette and Michigan State, respectively. The field of reputable candidates once looked more shallow than Mike Huckabee's fan base, but it has now expanded. It may yet be tough to whittle down the contenders for the final spots.
** VCU, which entertained at-large hopes, is now in trouble after a loss to William & Mary in the CAA semifinals. Yes, William and Mary. The Tribe is its league's title game for the first time since 1983 -- when the current Colonial Athletic Association was known as the ECAC South. The Tribe has already won more games in this year's tourney (three) than it won in the previous 19. Furthermore, all three triumphs have come on their final shot.
And in the final, W&M plays everybody's favorite underdog from two years ago, the George Mason Patriots.
** If anybody tries to tell you that the ACC women's tournament is unpredictable, kindly ask them to take their rhetoric elsewhere. Duke won the first five championships of this decade; Carolina has taken the past four. Those two have met each other in six of the nine finals in that span. With two such outstanding programs, you'd at least like to think the title game can be compelling. Well, it can't. Five of the past six championships affairs have been decided by 11 or more points. The one moderately interesting one involved an interloper, N.C. State, which played the Tar Heels to a 60-54 score last year.

This could be a very special school year for Dudley's Jeremiah Kilimanjaro. A consistent member of the Honor Roll, he was a tight end on the Panthers' state championship football team in the fall of 2007. Now comes word that he's a competitor on what may be the greatest tournament on the Web.

In the opening round of the Name of the Year competition, conducted by popular vote, Kilimanjaro defeated TonTon Balenga, a basketball player at Virginia Wesleyan College. Balenga, who helped the Blue Marlins to last year's NCAA Division III championship game, saw his college career end over the weekend when the Marlins were ousted by Ursinus.

As any battle-tested veteran knows, things get tougher now. Kilimanjaro's second-round foe is Danger Guerrero, a catcher for a Cuban baseball team who dispatched Daniel Best-Spicehandler to advance.

To throw out any more names would be to spoil the fun. Take part in the democratic process yourself. You can do it here.

Do I like this? No. In no way do I think this is perfect. It's subject to change and ridicule. And I presume both will happen. But for now, here are my picks for the NCAA tournament field.

Xavier
UNC
Duke
Clemson
Miami
Hartford/UMBC
Belmont
Kansas
Texas
Oklahoma
Texas A&M
Kansas State
Baylor
Georgetown
Louisville
Notre Dame
UConn
Marquette
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Big Sky champ
Winthrop
Wisconsin
Indiana
Purdue
Michigan State
Big West champ
George Mason
Memphis
Butler
Cornell
Siena
Kent State
MEAC champ
Drake
BYU
UNLV
Mt St M/Sac Heart
Austin Peay
UCLA
Stanford
Washington State
USC
Arizona
Colgate/AU
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Mississippi State
Kentucky
Davidson
Southland
Oral Roberts
Western Kentucky
SWAC champ
WAC champ
San Diego
Gonzaga
St. Mary’s
UMass ??
Villanova
Ohio State
Arizona State
Arkansas ??
Mississippi ??
South Alabama ??

Maybe it's because I'm a glutton for punishment from readers who will inevitable write in and call me an idiot (sort of like the ones who wrote in after I posted my thoughts on the whole Roy v. K injury debacle). Or maybe it's just because I like a challenge. Maybe I think that maybe, just maybe, I might get it right.

Whatever the root cause, I've decided to have my own one-man challenge: picking all the games of the ACC Tournament. Here goes:

No. 8 Wake Forest vs. No. 9 Florida State - Wake and its young talent is probably the popular pick here, but I'm going to go with the experienced - albeit - erratic Seminoles and their strong backcourt. FSU

No. 5 Miami vs. No. 12 N.C. State - I know the Wolfpack topped Miami earlier this season, but the Hurricanes are playing a lot better now and State is ... well ... not so good. MIAMI

No. 7 Georgia Tech vs. No. 10 Virginia - Believe it or not, this is actually the best matchup of the first day. I like the way both teams are playing right now, but the Cavs have Sean Singletary and the Jackets don't. VIRGINIA

No. 6 Maryland vs. No. 11 Boston College - I'm taking Maryland here just because I'm afraid of what might happen to Gary Williams if the Terrapins' slide continues. MARYLAND.

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Florida State - Unless Ryan Reid takes out Ty Lawson again this one goes the way of the Tar Heels. UNC.

No. 4 Virginia Tech vs. No. 5 Miami - I know the Hokies need this game more for its NCAA resume more than the Canes, but I still can't shake my feeling that Miami will win. If that makes me a Frank Haith homer (Western Alamance High represent!) then so be it. MIAMI.

No. 2 Duke vs. No. 10 Virginia - Pay no attention to the seedings here. This one will be tight. Do I have the guts to pick the major upset? I do not. DUKE.

No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 6 Maryland - A lot of times in tournaments, the team that had to play the first day has an edge on the team that has the bye into the second round. I think this will be on of those times. Good Greivis makes an appearance and the Terps garner an NCAA berth with the mild upset. MARYLAND.

No. 1 UNC vs. No. 5 Miami - If teams that played and won in the first round have an advantage when the play teams that have a bye into the second round, by the third-round the advantage has swung around to the teams that have only played once, instead of twice already. That's a long way of saying the Tar Heel pull away in the final 10 minutes. UNC.

No. 2 Duke vs. No. 6 Maryland - Ahh, the game that Greivis Vasquez has long awaited! (It's a long story, but apparently he feels slighted by DeMarcus Nelson. You're not going to believe this, but I think Nelson's quotes were actually taken out of context). I see him playing above his head in the first half and then switching over to Bad Greivis in the second half. Duke takes advantage of a slew of turnovers and comes from behind for the win. DUKE.

No. 1 UNC vs. No. 2 Duke - I know, I know, criticize me for my lack of creativity. But sometimes it takes courage to defy convention and go with the chalk. (Yes, I realize that makes no sense). I'll take that approach all the way through. Tyler Hansbrough has a game more like the one he played against Duke in Chapel Hill and the Tar Heels claim the ACC title for the second year in a row. UNC.

So there you have it. And it's out in the cyberspace for eternity now. I expect to get emails mocking my picks up until the year 2045. After that, I'm closing out my account.

Actually, I've been here for a while already. Really ... I swear. It's just that yesterday internet access for THE ENTIRE BUILDING shut down for a chunk of time. Curiously this happened at exactly the time they were trying to get my wireless to work, but they tell me it was a mere coincidence.

Anyway, getting stuff into the actual paper has taken priority over the blog until now. Now we're back baby!

First, let's revisit my picks so far. I was feeling pretty frisky after nailing the first two games of the tournament. But then, predictably, the bottom dropped out in the second session. Wow, I really thought UVA would put up more of a fight than that. And double wow, did Maryland play its way out of the NCAA Tournament. That's three times in the last four years, by the way. Yikes.

As for today, I made the incredibly tough pick of UNC over FSU. Kids, don't try this stuff at home. Leave it to the experts. But my other semifinal selection, Miami, looks like it's going up in smoke. At least I mentally steeled myself to be mocked.

Other quick observations thus far - most of which have little to do with actual on-court action.

1) Kudos to the camera guys operating the inhouse feed here. To me, the ACC Tournament hasn't really started until fans start to pull for teams they normally care little about just so they can spite their archrivals. In an otherwise forgettable UNC-FSU game, the best crowd reactions came when the camer guys found Duke fans in the crowd doing the Tomahawk chop or holding up makeshift "Go Noles" signs. That of course, elicited thunderous boos from the UNC fans, who now make up 80 percent of the crowd here.

2) For those of you who like to put on the tinfoil hats and look for conspiracies, behold the Svengali like power Roy Williams has over the refs (for those of you who may be sensitive, tongue is firmly in cheek right now). WIth 17:56 to go in the game, UNC's Deon Thompson was called for a foul while trying to deny post position to FSU's Uche Echefu. Williams jumped off the bench, pointed at the end of the floor where UNC was shooting and yelled, "You've got to give us that too!"

Eighteen seconds later, at 17:38, FSU's Ryan Reid picked up his first foul. Reid's second foul game at the 16:46 mark. Foul number three came at 16:08.

I'm not sayin' ... I'm just sayin'

(Disclaimer: Again. This is merely in jest. Please direct all vitriol and anger to Ed Hardin. He's used to it.)

3) Oh, and it figures that I wouldn't figure out who Jason Rich looks like until after his team got knocked out of the tournament: UAV coach and former Indiana coach Mike Davis! I'm going to troll for photos on the net to prove my point. But I'm right. Trust me. I'm right.

All for now. Virginia Tech just rolled over Miami. Two of my semifinal predictions are already toast! Woo hoo!

Certainly that appears to be the case, based on both the 38-38 halftime score and on what A.D. Vassallo did at the end of the half.

With the clock ticking under 10 seconds, Ty Lawson drove to the hoop for a layup. Vasallo blocked the shot but was called for a foul. He begged to differ, but he did it in an unusual way.

Instead of arguing with the refs, Vasallo issued a silen protest. He ran over to press row, grabbed the pen and notepad of a reporter from the Lynchburg News & Advance and wrote down "Not a Foul."

Call me crazy, but I don't think this one's going to be a 39-point blowout.

That's because he's a proud alum of Davidson, Class of '63.

Many a time during my youth did I sit at his kneee (okay, lounge in the recliner next to his in front of the tv) and listen to his stories of the glorious Wildcats teams of yester-year. I heard all about Fred Hetzel, and Terry Holland, and Dick Snyder and how Mike Maloy once chipped a tooth on the backboard while going up for a rebound.

I heard about the legendary Lefty and how Davidson was ranked No. 1 in the preseason by Sports Illustrated before the 1964-65 season. I also heard about how my dad collapsed on the floor of his med school apartment sobbing after Barry Teague's last-second shot rolled off tghe rim and the Wildcats lost in the semifinals of the 1964 Southern Conference tournament to VMI. Or maybe that happened when Davidson lost to West Virginia in the Southern Conference title game the following year. Undoubtedly the trauma has clouded Dad's memory.

Then there were the '68 and '69 Davidson teams, both of which ran into UNC and Charlie Scott in the East Region semifinals. And, of course, I heard all about how Scott had allegedly committed to Davidson before switching allegiances to the Tar Heels.

Growing up, I followed the Wildcats loosely. Dad and I would usually see them play once a year, when they came down to Greenville to take on Furman. Those Davidson teams were solid, and they had a few memorable characters (Like Cliff Tribus, a guy with a curly mop of hair that a Furman fan kept calling "Pot Head." I didn't know what that meant at the time. Dad didn't explain.)

Then there was the time in 1986 when the Wildcats knocked off Chattanooga in the Southern Conference tournament title game on a last-second shot by Gerry Born. (What really sticks in my head was Born's response to the media when asked to describe his feelings: "I know it sounds trite, but it's a dream come true." Trite? Trite? What player uses trite during an on-court interview?)

It was a fun time, but it clearly paled in comparison to what my Dad and every other Davidson alum I've ever run into from Dad's generation refers to as "The Glory Years." Maybe the Wildcats aren't quite back there with this win today, but it's certainly the closest they've been in 40 years.

I just hope Dad didn't black out from all the excitement.

Certainly that appears to be the case, if you take a look at this photo essay.

The photos show signs of flooding both north and south of Poplar Bluff, Tyler Hansbrough's hometown. According to this article, a levee breached near the town, stranding 100 residents.

Unfortunately, it looks like the conditions in the area may get worse before they improve.

I tried to call home after Davidson's stunner over Georgetown, but got the "We're on the other line" message.

I can only assume that Mom's taking calls while Dad blares out the Red and Black Machine on his trumpet.

It occured to us that maybe we've given you too much UNC coverage and not enough coverage of the Cougars. So to balance things out, we bring you a 3-year old singing the Wazzou fight song. That should do it.

Enjoy. Somehow Rob Daniels unearthed this.

It's four minutes to tip and the arena is maybe? half full. Now I know I could insert a joke about late arriving UNC fans in here very easily, but I'm going to take a high road. I'm betting that a bunch of fans from the Triad and the Triangle are stuck on 85 somewhere around the Concord outlets. Seriously, this city has gotten way too big to not have some form of mass transit. And no, the light rail in downtown, err, uptown doesn't count.

Other interesting pre-game note. As Wazzou came out for its final shootaround, the UNC band played "Who are You?" by The Who. Nice touch.

Washington State's Robbie Cowgill looks alot like Adam Goldberg, who is a bit of a "That Guy" actor in Hollywood, but is best known (at least by me) for his role in the Comedy Central movie, The Hebrew Hammer.

For some reason, Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl sat on press row at the end of the first half. Even as I type this, the guy's chatting it up with a few people and showing off his orange suspenders. Doesn't this guy have a game coming up or something?

35-21 UNC. Given the way Wazzou scores - or rather doesn't score - that's almost insurmountable.

I need to figure out a way to post the images on here (I know, I'm a technological idiot trying to blog. I get the irony) but until I do, I'll leave you with this thought.

Doesn't Bruce Pearl look a lot like Lou Ferrigno?

This one's the leader in the clubhouse, although I'm sitting near Bruce Pearl, who could alwayst top it at any moment.

Tony Bennett, after his center Aron Bayne picked up his fourth foul on a highly questionable call, turned to those of us on press row and uttered this zinger.

"I know we're getting our (umm, posteriors) kicked but that was a terrible call."

Hey, at least the man said it with a smile.

My first impression of the Cardinals was not a very good one. They looked, well, sloppy. But I think Tennessee's helter-skelter style will do that to most teams.

In the second half The Ville started to grow on me. The thing that really jumps out at you is their size - between 6-11 David Padgett, 6-9 David Caracter, 6-8 Earl Clark and 6-8 Juan Palacios, the Cards have a lot of size. It'll be interesting to see how UNC handles that.

Also, Louisville presents some interesting matchup issues. They list the 6-8 Clark as a guard/forward. I'm not buyin g the guard part, but he can clearly put the ball on the floor. So too can 6-7 forward Terrence Williams, who is really a point forward for Louisville.

Interestingly, this isn't your typical Rick Pitino team in the sense that they don't jack up the 3-pointer whenever possible. In fact, I can't remember them shooting one since I've been watching in the second half. Of course, that may also be due to the fact that they're getting to the rim so often against the Vols.

Bruce Pearl may very well have a coronary over here. I'm starting to get concerned.

A word to the wise. If you happen upon the corner of the locker room where William Graves, Quentin Thomas and Mike Copeland sit, bring a very thick skin. Egos are deflated and chops busted on a regular basis.

Today's topic was originally Graves' feet. But Graves deftly deflected attention to the feet of Marcus Ginyard.

"Ask (Ginyard) why he kicks bricks all day long," Thomas suggested.

So, I dutifully went over to Ginyard and did just that.

"I think I have great feet," Ginyard said. "But (Thomas) doesn't like anything about them. He says I have the ugliest feet on the team. That's false. I have some rough ones, but mine are not the worst."

Easy follow-up question. Who has the worst?

"Tywon Lawson."

Off I went to get Lawson's rebuttal.

"He has like claws, they're all rolled up," Lawson said. "My toenails just have different colors. They're a little brown. His are worse."

The next step then was to put this up for debate to the entire locker room.

Thomas remained adamant that Ginyard had the worst feet.

"It's like he's been jump roping on glass ... They look like he's trying to use chopsticks with his feet."

Bobby Frasor came to the defense of his roommate, Ginyard. Actually he just took a shot at Lawson.

"Ty's toes look like he painted them with black toe polish."

Danny Green took the middle ground, dissing the feet of both Ginyard and Lawson.

"Ty has the worst looking toenails," Green said. "Marcus has the worst looking foot structure."

"They're kind of like claws, eagle's or raptor's claws."

The debate raged on until Thomas suggested it be put to a vote on ESPN.com's Sports Nation. Oh, and some of the older guys said Jackie Manuel had really bad feet as well.

What does this have to do about tomorrow's big game? Absolutely nothing, but we just felt you should know.