Western Kentucky is complaining about the wrong time-out situation

At the end of Gonzaga's 83-81 victory tonight, Western Kentucky coach Ken McDonald was upset that the officials didn't see him call time out with 0.9 second left, and rightfully so. Regardless, the Hilltoppers would have needed a Laettner-esque miracle to win at that point.

They would have been a lot better off using that time out after Steffphon Pettigrew's beautiful tip-in tied it with 7.2 seconds left. That would have allowed WKU to calm down, set its defense, and insert its best defenders. Instead, Gonzaga wisely inbounded quickly and pushed. WKU's Orlando Mendez-Valdez played an outstanding game, scoring 25 and hitting 7-of-10 from 3, but he and the rest of the Hilltoppers played terrible defense on the last play. Mendez-Valdez was guarding Demetri Goodson on the winning play...at least until he inexplicably let Goodson drive unmolested from about 20 feet with no help defenders in sight. That has to be miscommunication, something the Hilltoppers could have prevented with a time out before Gonzaga inbounded.

Great shot by Goodson and a tremendously exciting final 10 seconds, but McDonald needs to look in the mirror before he starts berating the officials tonight.

Do I really have Mizzou going to the Final Four?

By golly, it appears I do. Does this make me the biggest homer in basketball history? Quite possibly, but normally, I'm realistic about Mizzou's chances in the tournament. Of course, Mizzou hasn't made an NCAA appearance since 2003, so maybe I'm irrationally exuberant. Only one way to find out...

First-Round Upsets

Texas A&M over BYU, Utah State over Marquette, Maryland over Cal, Portland State over Xavier, Western Kentucky over Illinois, and Temple over Arizona State.

I didn't pick anything terribly shocking in the first other than Portland State. ESPN Insider's Peter Keating created an interesting statistical model analyzing which high seeds are vulnerable to a big upset and which low seeds could pull it off. Xavier, because it relies heavily on free throws and has a poor turnovers-versus-turnovers-forced ratio, is "as good an upset pick as you'll find in the first round." Good enough for me.

Keating also thinks Kansas is vulnerable against North Dakota State, making it his "best bet" in the Midwest. As much as I'd love to see that happen, I can't go that far.

Also, since everyone and Dickie V's mother is taking Arizona over Utah and VCU over UCLA, I'm going against the grain. I think people are getting a little too excited about VCU in particular; the Duke upset from two years ago is still fresh in everyone's mind. But let's not go nuts. VCU's Eric Maynor will play in the NBA, but so will at least two guys in UCLA's starting five. Also, Keating's model says UCLA has a 0% chance of being upset. Since he started it in 2004, no 0% team has lost in the first round.

Sweet Sixteen

Louisville, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Michigan State, Connecticut, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Pittsburgh, Florida State, UCLA, Duke, North Carolina, Gonzaga, Temple, and Oklahoma.

West Virginia impressed in the Big East tournament, and Kansas looked terrible in its last two games after killing Missouri at home.

I doubt many have Temple over Syracuse, but I needed to take a chance. I love Syracuse's Jonny Flynn, and Eric Devendorf ain't too shabby either, despite being the most hated college player since J.J. Redick. However, Syracuse was only 1-5 against the Big East's top five, and it looks ripe for an upset according to Keating's system. Syracuse relies heavily on free throws, and it turns the ball over a lot without forcing many in its 2-3 zone. Plus, Temple is playing its best ball now.

Elite Eight

Louisville, Michigan State, Purdue, Mizzou, Pitt, Duke, Gonzaga, and Oklahoma.

Purdue takes down UConn. Ever since DeJuan Blair used an arm-bar takedown on Hasheem Thabeet, I've been questioning UConn's toughness. Purdue has a healthy Robbie Hummel and plays excellent defense. Purdue center JaJuan Johnson is big enough and athletic enough to neutralize Thabeet. He can also draw Thabeet away from the bucket if he's hitting from the outside.

A potential Mizzou-Memphis game could be an epic track meet. Memphis has a little more talent, but the teams are eerily similar. Both play up-tempo on both ends of the floor, and their forwards can play on the perimeter. Thus, Memphis doesn't have the size to exploit Mizzou's lack of size, and vice versa. Missouri appears to have more depth, and Mike Anderson proved at UAB that he can beat John Calipari. So, I'll give my Tigers the benefit of the doubt.

North Carolina flames out against Gonzaga. There's almost no chance Ty Lawson will be the same player in the tournament. Turf toe is not something that heals quickly, and if it's debilitating to running backs, it has to be equally bad for someone who relies on his quickness as much as Lawson. The talent gap between UNC and Gonzaga isn't as big as you might think.

Final Four

Louisville, Missouri, Pitt, and Oklahoma.

Yep, all Big East and Big 12. Honestly, I thought the ACC was better than the Big 12 overall this year, and I was tempted to take Duke over Pitt. However, I think Pitt can overpower Duke.

Missouri beats Purdue in a rematch of last season's 73-63 Missouri win in Columbia. I'm sure Purdue has improved since last season, but Missouri is drastically better than last season. Plus, Mizzou Arena wasn't the home-court advantage it became at the end of this season, with just 7,600 in the stands last year. I had no intentions of putting Mizzou in its first Final Four, but if it's going to play Purdue in the Elite Eight, let's roll the dice.

I think Blake Griffin is clearly the best player in the country, and I always have the best player's team going far. (That strategy screwed me two years ago when I had Kevin Durant's Longhorns going all the way, only to lose in the second round.)

Championship

I hate to agree with conventional wisdom, but the Big East has been by far the best conference. So, I'll take Pitt over Louisville to win the title. Pitt, along with having ample talent, is the kind of team that intimidates you as soon as it steps on the floor. If Blair possibly getting in foul trouble is the best reason to pick against Pitt, I feel pretty good. Any team is in trouble when its best player is on the bench.

Louisville ends Missouri's remarkable season. Since Louisville is capable of playing just about any style, I think it will handle Mizzou's pressure well. Despite the loss, Mike Anderson signs a massive contract extension, giving the metaphorical middle finger to the SEC after multiple teams had a chance to pursue him at UAB. Missouri wisely gave Anderson an opportunity, and I think it's a no-brainer that he'll stay if Mizzou shows him the money. There’s no reason to start another rebuilding project, unless he desperately wants to live in Alabama again.

Adam Carolla's podcast a wake-up call for big media

In late February, with practically no warning, CBS cancelled the smartest and funniest show on radio, The Adam Carolla Show. While the show was a ratings hit and had a cult-like following, CBS, amid tough economic times, cut its entire talk lineup on Los Angeles' KLSX. Instead, KLSX will broadcast the significantly cheaper alternative of top-40 music. (The show was also nationally syndicated and available via podcasts.)

Carolla's fans, myself included, were blindsided, but to Carolla's credit, he showed no bitterness during the show's final hours and said CBS merely made a "business decision." However, if the popularity of Carolla's new podcast is any indication, it was a poor one. Carolla's last radio show aired Friday, Feb. 20, and the audience was told the show was being cancelled the previous day. During those last two days, Carolla announced he would record his first podcast on AdamCarolla.com a little more than 48 hours after the show went dark. Because Carolla is under contract with CBS through 2009, the podcast is sponsor-free and free of charge to avoid breaching his contract. Despite his fans' relatively short notice, the first podcast was downloaded more than 200,000 times. The response exceeded Carolla's wildest expectations, and his podcast is now No. 1 on iTunes.

CBS might save money by getting rid of The Adam Carolla Show, but isn't it flushing money down the toilet by paying one of its greatest assets to stay home? If hundreds of thousands are downloading his podcasts daily, and he's getting high-quality guests like David Alan Grier, why wouldn't CBS capitalize on that? Advertisers are still figuring out the most effective means of advertising on podcasts, but surely there is a profitable way. Carolla guessed he'll spend about $3,000 a month producing the show, which is chump change relative to his audience's size.

If CBS makes a bunch of money playing top-40 hits during the next few years, wonderful. However, if it doesn't create any original content or develop talent in the future, it will become increasingly irrelevant. There are a million free ways to listen to pop music, including Pandora.com, the praises of which I recently sang. Every year, media is becoming more of a niche business, and few have a more loyal following than Carolla.

Instead of cutting costs that will merely help its short-term bottom line, CBS should focus on the changing radio landscape and how it will adapt. Being one of a many outlets for top-40 music will render it indistinguishable from the rest. While Carolla rose to prominence through radio and television (e.g. Loveline and The Man Show), he's clearly popular enough and technology has advanced enough that he can run his own show profitably.

This reality is a valuable bargaining chip for popular radio talent like Carolla, Howard Stern, and Rush Limbaugh. Big radio gave them a forum, but those three men are now bigger than radio. Independent podcasting also gives the host full creative control: The shows can be any length, no one is telling you what to talk about or what guests to book, and best of all, the FCC's rules don't fucking apply to podcasting.

Here's something for CBS to consider: Instead of doing away with talk entirely, why not focus on finding the next Carolla, Stern, or Limbaugh? Eventually, CBS could be like Triple-A Radio, where young talent goes to develop before advancing to The Majors (podcasting) on their own. CBS could sign promising talent to modest contracts, giving it a low risk-high reward business model.

Regardless, any media company is only as good as its content. And in my opinion, CBS made a foolish choice cutting a unique asset (Carolla) in favor of distributing something incredibly generic that is already available in numerous other media (top-40). Terrestrial radio is dying, and its lack of foresight and disregard for unique talent and programming are the two biggest reasons why.