Before I talk tourney, a question for you New York sports fans:

Is it just me, or did the whole Woody Johnson coin flip fiasco piss the living crap out of you too? I know Jet fans and their inferiority complexes have some reason to cry foul, but my God. Three solid days of listening to Jet fans bitch about a stupid coin flip has never made me more grateful than now for the tournament's arrival this week.

On a quick side note, I'm leaving the New York area for good Sunday to move to Colorado, where I'll be interning and doing production for a sports radio station. And since Denver doesn't get very good New York radio reception, it's with a little sadness that I'll be retiring my Standing on a Pedestal weekly look into New York sports radio simply due to distance. Bye bye, Francesa, hello, um, Dino Costa!

Some big news today: Bobby Gonzalez got the chop out at Seton Hall for having "bad conduct", and I'm kind of excited to find out what exactly he did to piss off Seton Hall so much over the course of  the six months (after he signed a long-term contract extension in the fall). He had some players in a little hot water with the law and he also got his fair share of technical fouls during his time in Jersey, but I think he had to have done something else that we don't know about to get the can so soon after Seton Hall committed to him for five years.

Also, St. John's ended their season on a decent note Wednesday, losing only by a combined four points to formidable opponents Marquette (Big East tourney) and Memphis (NIT last night). I saw the Marquette game and I liked what I saw from some of their big guys down low, especially Sean Evans and Justin Brownlee. Definitely premature, but I'm sure long-suffering Red Storm fans will cling to whatever glimmer of hope they can get. Coach Norm Roberts still appears to be a lame duck though; it looks like the rumors of his firing will become official sometime this week.

Ok, onto the tournament. Here's a closer look at the games that New Yorkers seem to care most about this week:

12 Cornell, vs. 5 Temple:


Everybody seems to love them in their opener against Temple. And who wouldn't? They're a senior-laden squad with a legit NBA prospect (Ryan Wittman). They've got a fairly favorable first-round matchup against A-10 champions Temple (they could've gotten Michigan State or Butler). For all these reasons and just for the sheer sexiness of picking the underdog, most people have the Big Red winning this game.

Here's the problem with Cornell though: they're a poorly kept secret. Everybody knows they're good, and they'll be facing a formidable Temple squad, champs of the A-10, a.k.a. the "best of the rest" conference. They're coming in hot, fresh off a big win over A-10 rival Richmond on Sunday. They should handle the Ivy league champs, but it'll probably come down to the wire.

Temple by 3



13 Siena, vs. 4 Purdue:

Another case of a team a lot of people are thinking will get to the 2nd round. As a 13 seed, they got a dream first-round matchup with Purdue, a team that scored a grand total of 11 points in the first half during their last game Saturday against Minnesota, and as ESPN reminds us every 20 seconds, the Boilermakers have lost star forward Robbie Hummel for the season. That's the good news for Siena.

However, the Saints aren't the same Cinderella team that greater Albany has fallen in love with the past three years. Gone is last year's star player Kenny Hasbrouck, who, by the way, just signed a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat. They got into the tourney by the skin of their teeth, and as much as some might love Ryan Rossiter, they just don't have the post players to stop JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore. They're almost certainly going to get killed on the boards, and without Hasbrouck, they don't have the guards to make up for their lack of an inside presence this time around. My apologies to the Reilly extended family.

Purdue by 10



1 Syracuse vs. 16 Vermont:



In a Gus Johnson special, Vermont famously beat Syracuse in OT as a 13-seed back in 2005 ("SORRENTINE FROM THE PARKING LOT!"). But that's not happening again. Syracuse might have the most scoring options of any team in this year's tournament and even more importantly, they're not reliant on Gerry McNamara, college basketball's most overrated player of my lifetime, like they were back in '05. Vermont is a nice team, but they're in this tournament thanks to the dominance of a 6'5" guy in the paint, which might work in the America East conference, but not when you're playing Syracuse.

With that said, if you're going to watch a 16 versus a 1, this is the game that will almost assuredly be the closest of the four 16 vs. 1 matchups. I'm aware that's like sort of like saying Kathy Bates is the hottest overweight 60+ woman the world's ever seen, but go with me here.

I think Vermont will hit a few threes and keep things relatively close in the first half. Remember, Vermont is from the same conference that produced Albany, the team that's come closest to pulling off the 16 over 1 upset when the Great Danes made me and my fellow UConn fans sweat bullets back in 2006.

By the way, Andy Rautins looks like a tool.

Syracuse by 15

As Conor said, if you're looking to me for help with your bracket, you might as well just play eenie meenie miney moe. I have Syracuse winning it all over Villanova for all two of you wondering. A gut pick, but they're well-balanced, well-coached and well-rested. If Arinze Onuaku comes back healthy as expected, I'll feel about 18% confident that my pick will come true.

I don't buy Kansas because they have too tough a road for my taste (I'm taking Ohio State over KU in the elite 8), and Kentucky is too young. Duke is an interesting team with a fleet of big, fundamental white guys who can stretch the floor, but I think they'll crash out to a more balanced Villanova team with better guards.

I'm couldn't be less confident in my bracket. I'd say I'm somewhere between "Islander fan" and "Lindsay Lohan in rehab" on the confidence meter.

But even if my bracket is ripped apart tomorrow, at least there's Gus Johnson for the next three weeks of my life. I think we can all collectively say Amen to that.

Finally, good luck to all of you who are participating in our tournament challenge! If you're reading this before noon on Thursday, you can sign up for FREE below:

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/group?groupID=73426&entryID=1777638