Big Sky Tournament Preview

I see very few surprises coming out of the Big Sky conference. Montana and Weber State have dominated the conference all year, splitting their two conference meetings on their way to 6- and 5-loss seasons, respectively. They both should have no trouble making the conference championship. Weber State will move on to the dance thanks to the do-it-all play of Damian Lillard.  The junior guard not only averages an unconscious 24.5 points per game, but  also leads the team in rebounds, assists, and steals. 

Colonial Athletic Association Tournament Preview

The top three teams in the CAA are on the bubble to make the NCAA tournament as at large teams. Those teams are the original Cinderella Story George Mason, last year’s long shot Virginia Commonwealth, and the streaking Dragons of Drexel. All three teams have great records and have played well this year, but the weakness of the conference this year might make it tough for an at large bid for any CAA team.

MAAC Tournament Preview

Iona is the team to beat in the MAAC. The lead the country in scoring, averaging over 83 points per game. Their starting five, from Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem, and two from the Bronx, are led by the inside-out duo of Mike Glover and Lamont Jones. It’s Scott Machado who impresses me the most, averaging 13 points and 10 assists per game. He’s a star in the making, keep him in mind when you fill out your brackets in a couple of weeks. 

Southern Conference Tournament Preview

Davidson has the starting five to die for: five starters all averaging double digits scoring per game. Can anybody stop the Wildcats? Trevis Simpson of Greensboro might be the only chance.

Summit League Tournament Preview

Which tongue-twister team will get the Summit League auto-bid? Oral Roberts Golden Eagles? South Dakota State Jackrabbits? Nate Wolters is the ultimate 3D man - drive, draw, and dish. It will be Wolters vs. Dominique Morrison of Oral Roberts. May the best man win. May the best man dance.

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups

Trade Jeremy Lin? We think that might be the best for your team. That discussion and much more as 3SN joins the Ryan and Christian show on ESPN Radio 1240 each Wednesday!

Northeast Conference Tournament Preview

Long Island scores points at will. Wagner is 24-5 this season. Robert Morris has beaten the best at their best. These three top seeded teams in the NEC are favorites to win the auto-bid. Oh, and all three teams lost their season finale. Which team will actually show up come tournament time?

Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Preview

Wichita State vs. Creighton. Two great mid-major schools with a great possibility of going far in the NCAA Tournament. But first they'll need to face off in "Arch Madness" of the Missouri Valley Tournament.

The Shockers have lost only one game since January, a triple overtime loss at Drake. Their balanced, high-scoring offense is led by 7 foot center Garrett Stutz, who puts up 14 points and 8 rebounds again. They are red hot and don’t appear to be slowing down.

Creighton is led by sophomore forward Doug McDermott, who averages an outstanding 23 points and 8 rebounds per game. The Bluejays had a bit of a hiccup at the start of February, losing three straight, including a 21 point home loss to Wichita State. They’re righted that ship, winning four straight leading up to the tournament.

America East Tournament Preview

Stony Brook is the talk of the town in America East country. 3SN has other ideas. Boston U. is the pick, due to consistent and improving play. A loss to Stony Brook is the reason why the Terriers will move past Stony Brook and Vermont. Agree or disagree? Just be prepared for a fun ride in the America East Tourny.

Patriot League Tournament Preview

It will be Lehigh vs. Bucknell in the Patriot League title game. 3SN can’t promise you one team or the other will win. However, we can promise that after this tournament, fans nationwide will know the name of C.J. McCollum. Lehigh’s junior guard is averaging just under 22 points per game this year, and also leads the Mountain Hawks in rebounds. He’s Lehigh’s best chance of winning the tournament and heading to the dance.

Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Preview

Murray State and Isaiah Canaan dominate the headlines for the OVC Tournament, but they have already punched their ticket. Can Morehead State or Tennessee State make the OVC a two-bid league? Or will the Racers keep racing into the dance?

Atlantic Sun Tournament Preview

Belmont is the team to beat, they score at will. Can Mercer or SC Upstate make the dance in a huge upset? Watch for Torrey Smith.

Horizon League Tournament Preview

The Horizon League is wide open for claiming the automatic bid. Valparaiso has the edge with the home court advantage and two great foreigner forwards, but you can never count out the Butler Bulldogs. Coach Stevens might need four straight wins to get his team to the dance, though. Could Youngstown State make some noise on the road to a tournament berth? Any team could claim the Horizon League title this year.

Big South Conference Tournament Preview

The 2012 Big South Conference Tournament begins on Monday, February 27. UNC-Asheville is the favorite to clinch the automatic berth, ranking 6th in the country in points per game. Can Charleston Southern or Coastal Carolina make a run to stop the Bulldogs? Or will Asheville be dancing again?

Daytona Weekend - Issues.

NASCAR.  This weekend provides excitement of going to Daytona. It's the first weekend of the NASCAR schedule. It's also the biggest race on the schedule. The Daytona 500 kicks off the NASCAR schedule each year, and other than the name, to me there is very little good that comes out of this weekend. I have lots of issues with NASCAR in general right now, but the opening weekend especially just really, for lack of a better phrase, grinds my gears.

NFL Free Agency : Running Backs

Ground and pound...sounds kind of classless, but in the NFL, it means eating up the play clock, getting yardage and grabbing solid control of the offense and game in general. There are some decent players at the running back position, others who have some injury questions and some team-focus questions. Let's take a look at free agent running backs in the NFL!

NFL Free Agency : Quarterbacks

Hey all in the fantasy football world, how did the past year treat you? Well, no more time to look at slight losses and cry in taking third or second place in your leagues because you just couldn't fire the trigger to grab that free agent we had talked about for weeks and weeks and weeks...

Instead, let's take a look at some notable names in the upcoming 2012 NFL and Fantasy Football Season. We're going to take a look position by position, including some defensive analysis, as well as wrapping things up with a check as to what each team really needs, in both free agency and in the upcoming NFL draft.

Today, we take a look at quarterbacks. Yes, those leaders of the grunts, the shouters and play-makers...and in some cases, those injury-prone jerks who your team, for some reason, can't live without.

Could the "chosen one" return home?

Lebron James rocked media headlines this week when he said he wouldn't rule out a return to Cleveland in the future. Most Cavalier fans I talked to said they don't want him back. Now I can understand why they wouldn't accept him back but let's be honest here. Let's say if the Cavs continue to have losing seasons and down the road it turns out the Lebron is genuine in his return, would you REALLY not want him back? He may not have won a title during his Cleveland tenure but he can at least deliver winning seasons and playoff appearances. It would bee up to fans to decide if they would want more continuous losing seasons or Lebron. I would take Lebron back in a heart beat, but then again I'm not a Cleveland guy so I may not understand the hatred for him. Yes he embarrassed the City and left, but everyone acts like he assaulted one of their family members or something. The NBA is business and people shouldn't take what happens in it personally. People need to grow up and swallow their pride, Lebron is going to be the NBA MVP and now that Kobe is aging he is gonna be hands down the best player in the NBA. So fans should accept Lebron back because he might be their only shot at ever getting close to a championship, not just in basketball but in any sport. Personally I would take the winning seasons and best player in the NBA over losing seasons and being a bottom dweller in the NBA but hey that's just me I guess.

Contender or Pretender?

Only three weeks separate us from Selection Sunday, and with that the debates begin of who will make the big run to the Final Four. Who are the contenders and who are the pretenders? Let the debate begin! Agree or disagree? Let your voice be heard!


There is still lots to be learned in the last two weeks of the regular season and the conference tournaments. We will analyze each conference in the near future as the tournament field begins to fill! Stay tuned to 3SN for the latest college hoops updates! Now, for who we can count on and who we cannot:

Randy Moss Wants One More Chance

Randy Moss announced on his ustream that he is going to attempt to return to the NFL. Key word "attempt". You all know Randy Moss is my favorite athlete but i just cant see a team taking a chance on him. He is 35 years old and has been out of football for a year. He says he can still run a 4.3 40 but I dont know how much I believe that. Lets see if he still does have "it" then there could be a few teams that can use his talents but I still think the best fit for him is the Patriots and I don't think they want to deal with him any more. I was estatic to hear about this at first but then I realized that this isnt the Moss of 2007 and sometimes you got to just know when to call it quits. I hope BADLY that I am wrong and he comes back to rip the NFL up.

Free Agency in College Athletics

In our latest installment of "What's Wrong With Sports" we take a look at what essentially amounts to free agency in college sports.

Free agency, with no salary cap, no limitations. That's what college football and basketball has become over the past couple of years thanks to the graduate student transfer rule.

When a student-athlete transfers from one university to another, that student-athlete must spend one year in residency at the new institution before participating in athletics at the new school. This costs the athlete one year of his eligibility, thus ensuring that he (or she...don't mean to be gender specific as this issue is going to affect both men's and women's athletics) does not change schools just go join a "better" program. If you decide to change schools, whether due to playing time or you just don't like the coaches anymore, you have to pay with a year of eligibility.

State of the Pirates

It's been a long time since the Pirates have had a winning season. 1992 was the last time. Most 90's kids that grew up in and around Pittsburgh don't really know what it's like to follow a baseball winner unless they root for a team outside of the Burgh. Last season the Pirates were competitive basically up till the beginning of August. Even though the team finished with a losing record I still had so much fun following the season. You all know how much I love my Pitt Panthers and Steelers but up until August I can honestly say I never had as much fun following a Pittsburgh team.  That is mostly due to the fact that I never seen the Pirates win the way the did. I have always followed the Pirates but up until August I truly felt like a was watching something special. Something special for the first time and then It was taken away from me. I want to be able to follow the Pirates without being in heartache for most of the season. More than anything though, I wan't Pittsburgh to be known as the "City of Champions" not the "City of Champions, and the Pittsburgh Pirates."

The Pittsburgh Steelers and The Haley Family

Today I smiled when I heard the news finally made official by Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin. Todd Haley is now the Offensive Coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Haley family has had a long and good relationship with the Rooney family. Dick Haley was the Director of Player Personnel in the 1970's. Dick Haley was responsible for the Famed 1974 Draft which vaulted the Steelers into the four Superbowl wins in the 1970's.

DeLlav's Daily Blog: Ochocinco going back to Johnson

Ochocinco is changing his name back to Chad Johnson. Good for him. Good for everybody. I never thought it was "cool" when Chad changed his last name to Ochocinco. It was creative and unique but I just thought it was clownish. Ever since Chad changed his last name a few years ago, he was on a steady decline in terms of statistics and production. Of couse, a different last name isn't/shouldn/t bring a player down but its almost as if thats when Chad became full of himself and lost his game. After having a disaster season in Foxboro this past year, many are wondering if this is the beginning of the end for Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson.

DeLlav's Daily Blog: Eli vs Ben

Eli Manning has two Super Bowl rings and both came at the expense of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Big Ben has been to three Super Bowls and has two Super Bowl rings just like Eli. The difference though is that Eli has been SB MVP both times he was in the game and Ben doesn't have any MVP's. Ben's first Super Bowl performance wasn't that impressive even though his Steelers beat Seattle 21-10. He had a 23.9 passer rating and almost cost his team the game. He played great against Arizona in 2008 but he played awful against Green Bay in the Super Bowl last year. So how do you compare Eli Manning to Big Ben? I say Manning has the edge because of the two MVP awards but Big Ben's three Super Bowl trips are pretty good also.

Super Bowl XLVI Recap

Did the Giants win the Super Bowl? Or did the Pats lose it? What is Eli Manning's legacy? Or Tom Coughlin's? Can the Patriots be considered legit without a post-Spygate Super Bowl victory? All these questions and more answered in our latest podcast!

What 2 Watch 4 - Super Bowl XLVI

The following is a list of what to expect for the big game tonight. You can guarantee that everything on this list WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT.

DeLlav's Daily Blog: Future of Peyton Manning

I think it would be wrong if Peyton Manning was on any team besides the Colts. That dude buit Lucas Oil stadium. That being said Jim Irsay and the Colts are in a difficult situation. Do they draft Andrew Luck and part ways with their head horse or could they possibly have both on the roster? I would like to see them both on the roster. People have to realize no matter how good Andrew Luck is (and he is good) he will never be Peyton Manning. That is no knock on him but Peyton Manning is Peyton Manning for goodness sakes!  The Colts have the cap room to have both Luck and Manning on the roster but Irsay is not sure if he wants to use up all that cap space on two quarterbacks. Well we all saw what happend to Indy when they didnt have Manning so at this point do they really expect any thing to be different if Manning is not under center for at least the next couple of years? Colts should draft Luck and keep Manning. Period.

DeLlav's Daily Blog : ACC insterts Pitt, Cuse into future schedules

Finally after all these years The Pitt football schedule will face a significant increase in quality.Today the ACC announced that the new format will be employed when Pitt and Syracuse join the league (hopefully for the 2013 football season). Pitt will be plugged into the Coastal Division in football, which has Virginia Tech and Maimi in it. There will be no divisions when it comes to basketball because teams will be assigned a "primary partner" that they will play two times during the season. For Pitt, Maryland will be that partner. It will play the rest of the league once a season on a rotating basis. I think its great that Pitt will be paired with two great programs in Miami and Virginia Tech. Pitt has history with both schools so its nice to see these rivalries renewed. I can't wait for this because It will as if we will be brought back to the Walt Harris era of Pitt football!!! Oh well, on second thought....

DeLlav's Daily Blog

This is my new installment for blogging. I'm actually going to be commenting about other blogs. Either agreeing with them or disagreeing. Ill try and keep this daily but chances are ill miss a day here and there. I'm going to talk about Chris Dokish's blog about the Pitt Panthers recruiting class. I agree with him for the most part although im not sure how I feel about QB Chad Votyik. He is a talent that for sure but I'm a little bit worried because he was recruited to play Grahams radical spread offense but if anyone can get the most out of him its Paul Chryst. Also, its not like the talent at QB right now is that great for Pitt...

3SN Live

3SN will broadcast LIVE from the Crane Room Bar and Grill in New Castle, PA tomorrow, February 1st, at 6:30 pm EST. Come on out or tune in right here at 360sportsnetwork.com for a great time!


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Joe

I remember Joe Paterno as a great head coach who did good things for the University. I remember him as a good man who stood for the right things.  That being said I will not elevate him into sainthood just yet because I think what has happened the last few months has to be considered and investigated. So I reserve judgement for Joe in that regard till more facts come about. I never thought JoePa wanted kids to get hurt or let them but sometimes people make mistakes and dont handle things the right way. That being said this might have been or was a GRAVE mistake so I still have no problem with the way things went down in happy valley. Just like in any other profession if something bad happens under your watch then you got to pay the price for it even if it was a mistake. So for now my thoughts are that Joe handled the situation way too lightly. Maybe because he thought the situation was under control or maybe not. I dont know. But I highly doubt he didn't do more/enough because he could care less of the kids. Until any facts come out that dispute Joepa's character I will continue to think he was a good guy. I have a few more thoughts on some things.

"Joements"

This moving video tribute was created by current Penn State student Robbie Young. These images will last forever, like the memory of the great coach and even greater man that Joe Paterno was.

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups

Every Wednesday at 5:30 pm, the 360 Sports Network joins the Ryan and Christian Show on ESPN 1240 WBBW to talk fantasy hoops. We can't cover every fantasy question a fan might have, so we encourage you to comment, tweet, or email us with your fantasy questions so we can help YOUR team get a win!

Air Date: January 25, 2012

Remembering Joe Paterno

Ode to Joe

Earlier today, Joseph Vincent Paterno passed away of complications relating to his recent battle with lung cancer. He was 85 years old. His death is overshadowed by the sex abuse scandal at Penn State that has surfaced in the past three months. After Paterno's firing, the elderly man with the weak and withered voice that just about everybody recognizes was turned from legend to scapegoat. Now, 72 days after a night where students took to the streets to protest the legend's less-than-ideal departure, the legend himself is no longer with us.


I have always said that Joe Paterno would not survive more than six months after retiring. That's because he lives for football and for his University. I always said he, sadly, wouldn't survive. I just always hoped that I was wrong. And I was, as he didn't last three months.

I believe Matt Millen, former Nittany Lion and current ESPN analyst, said it best, and most around the country I believe agree: Joe Paterno died "of a broken heart."

In this Ode to Joe, there are so many things to discuss. I could talk about his 62 years as a Penn State coach, 44 as head coach of the Nittany Lions.  I could talk about two national championships, 409 victories, and countless images on the field. Or I could talk about the last three months, about Jerry Sandusky and the Second Mile and the child sex abuse scandal. But anybody who is close to the University or to the Paterno family knows that none of these would truly explain what a great man Joe Paterno was.  I hope to exemplify a different side of the man known as JoePa.

Championship Sunday

We are less than 24 hours away from the start of Championship Sunday in the NFL.

The New England Patriots try to return to the big game for the first time since their unbeaten season was stopped just short. They host the Baltimore Ravens, who are under the direction of QB Joe Flacco who has been criticized numerous times for his troubles on the field. They kick off at 3:00 pm EST.

The NFC Championship will kick off approximately at 6:30 pm EST in rainy San Francisco. First-year head coach Jim Harbaugh will lead the 49ers as they host the red-hot New York Giants. Eli Manning has been unconscious lately, especially in his connection with WR Hakeem Nicks.

We will break down both matchups in six categories: Quarterbacks, Running Back vs. Linebackers,  Receivers vs. Defensive Backs, Trenches, Special Teams, and Coach. Using these breakdowns, we will predict the teams that will travel to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.

Straight Retirement Homie

Randy Moss was the coolest NFL player ever. Period. I'm not the only one who thinks that. If you are pathetic enough like myself to google the most played teams for madden on xbox live or ps3, statistics will show it was whatever team Randy Moss was on. Thats right. For example in 2010, the most played team went from the Pats to the Vikings to the Titans. Saying something eh? I didnt post a write up on his retirement in august because honestly there was so much smoke about him coming back during the season. Safe to say he is done for sure. But then again you never really know in the nfl. Deion Sanders came back to play for the Ravens after he was retired for a couple years so its possible i guess...

3SN Live from the Crane Room

Tune in right here at 6:45 pm EST The 360 Sports Network team will be broadcasting live from the Crane Room in New Castle, PA! Come on out to watch the Pens / Caps game!

Tweet in to us @3SNetwork to have your opinion heard!

Topics of discussion:
Coaching Carousel
BCS Changes?
NFL Playoffs
And many many more!



Sign off:

O'Brienville

Ya know even though I go to the Shenango-vally campus, I have to be the most villainized Penn State student around just because of my view on the scandal. I'm one of the handful of studens that believe Penn State got what it deserved and that students, alumni, and fans only gave a $$$$ and rioted because of the legacy of a their head football coach. Ya, ya, ya, he did alot for the university but the next time he pays for your tuition or gets you a job let me know. Justice for the victims is what Penn States should care about. But anyway...

3SN Live at 6:30 PM EST

360 Sports Network will broadcast live tonight beginning at 6:30 from the Crane Room Bar and Grill in New Castle, PA. Come out for a good time, or tune in to join us to discuss the latest happenings in the world of sports. We will be discussing the bowl games, NFL playoffs, Pitt's basketball troubles, Penn State coaching search, and much much more!

Be a part of the broadcast! Send us your questions, comments, concerns, and ideas! The easiest way to make your voice heard is to send us a tweet @3SNetwork. Dot and Dellav can be reached too @3SNdot and @3SNdellav.  Not on twitter? send us an email 360sportsnetwork@gmail.com

BCS Bowl Predictions

In the final podcast of the 3SN Bowl Predictions Series, we analyze the five BCS Bowls. The 3SN team is split on all five games, with only Stanford getting a votes advantage over their opponent. 

 

Many questions must be answered to determine the winner of each game:

• It's power and size versus speed and elusiveness in the Rose Bowl Game. Can Oregon's speed outscore the Badgers? Will Wisconsin's size on both the O- and D-line wear down the Ducks?
• Will Andrew Luck have enough of a supporting cast to get his team to victory in the Fiesta Bowl? Will Oklahoma State be too down after not receiving a bid to play for the title?
• In the Sugar Bowl, will the kicking game be spoils for Virginia Tech? Can Denard Robinson hang onto the ball enough for Michigan to get the win?
• Which spread offense will be more high octane in the Orange Bowl? Will recent history continue to be good for West Virginia? Will it continue to be bad for Clemson?
• In the title game, does a rematch mean anything? If Alabama wins will there be a split title? Can somebody reach the endzone? Which Heisman hopeful will step up? Will Tyrann Mathieu take one the distance? Will Trent Richardson lead the team? Will it be A.J. McCarron or Jordan Jefferson who makes the big play on offense?

To view a full list of our bowl game picks, CLICK HERE. We have the safe picks, the scary picks, and the "what were you thinking?" picks. Don't like our picks? LET US KNOW! Send us a message, comment, or tweet @3SNetwork stating your claim!