Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow and all that NFL chaos

First of all, who actually cares about football right now? It's college basketball season!

Anyway, I figured I would diverge my focus for a few words on what went down during the trade deadline. So what did we learn? We learned that Tebow is so good that he is worth a fourth round draft pick. Not a first round pick, not a second round pick, not a third round pick, but the Broncos dished Tebow out like yesterday's trash for a measly fourth round pick!

And am I surprised? Nope.

Tebow and Sanchez will be teammates next year in New York.

I have never been a big fan of Tebow as an NFL quarterback. He had an all-time great college career, he is a hell of a winner, and is a great role model for his values and the way he goes about his business. However, he is not an NFL quarterback. Yes, he did have a remarkable season last year and carried the Broncos into the playoffs, what he did cannot last. Teams weren't ready for him, but now that teams know what he is going to do, he won't be able to succeed long term as a quarterback. QBs simply have to be able to throw (accurately).

Peyton Manning's future is also a big question mark, but I think the Broncos made the right decision. They had a shot at one of the greatest QBs in history, which they couldn't pass up. Tebow is simply not the QB of the future in Denver, especially with John Elway in charge (he knows a thing or two about passing). So they made a great decision. Maybe it will work, maybe it won't. But it was a risk worth taking.

As far as the Jets are concerned, they now have two bad quarterbacks to chose from. One is a great winner but not a good QB, the other is just not a good QB. I'm not sure the Jets can win a championship with either one. Yes teams have won Super Bowls based on defense, but that is rare; ultimately you need a good quarterback to be successful in the NFL. It will be interesting to see who earns the starting job or if they plan on using a two-QB system with Tebow in a Wild Cat.

Did Duke lose...?

OK so this is a little bit delayed... but I have to say a few words about Duke losing to Lehigh.

A little bit of humor to lighten the mood.

To be honest, I wasn't all that surprised. That might sound funny coming from a die-hard Duke fan, but I'm also a realistic fan more than an optimistic one. I knew Duke was not playing well at the end of the season. Even when they one games, they were just barely sneaking by and were not making it look pretty.

In my personal bracket, I picked Duke to make it to the Elite Eight before losing to Kentucky. Did I actually expect that to happen. Hell no. As a Duke fan, I felt an obligation to at least pick them that far even though I wasn't expecting it because if they happened to do well, I would look like an idiot. In all honesty I though they would either lose in the second round to Xavier or to Baylor in the Sweet Sixteen. Especially with junior forward Ryan Kelly sidelined with an injury, my hopes weren't too high.

So, a second round loss was pretty much in my mind in terms of expectations. No I didn't foresee an opening game loss to 15th-seeded Lehigh, but it was just one game earlier than what I had in my mind. Yeah it hurt at the time, but I was also glad I would never have to watch that Duke team again. Thanks fellas for putting me out of my misery early.

But that leads me to next year's team, which has major question marks. With Miles Plumlee graduating and Mason Plumlee and Austin Rivers most likely leaving for the NBA, they might be in some trouble. The Plumlees and Rivers were their most consistent and most valuable players this season. Seth Curry, Andre Dawkins, Tyler Thornton and Quinn Cook were all up and down all season. In big moments, it was usually the Plumlees and Rivers who kept Duke alive.

Luckily they will have the third Plumlee available next season, Marshall, replacing his two older brothers. But we haven't seen much of him yet and don't know if he can be a major contributor right away. And in terms of Rivers, there is no way to replace what he provides.

Redskins to get RGIII!

There was only one move that could have rallied all of the Washington area around their annually mediocre NFL squad-- trading up to get the rights to the second pick in the draft. And, much to my shock and excitement, they actually did it.

Robert Griffin III holding his Heisman Trophy (Photo courtesy Google Images)

The Redskins under owner Dan Snyder have tried many questionable things, 99.9 percent of which have been complete failures. There is no guarantee that Robert Griffin, III will be a successful NFL quarterback, but I think Snyder has at last made a great decision, a decision that could turn this franchise around for years to come. A potential reputation-saving decision.

I watched nearly all of Baylor's games this past season and I was thoroughly impressed with RGIII in each game. He has rare talent with his arm, his feet and with his intelligence. Yes the Redskins had to give up A LOT to get him-- three first round picks and a second rounder-- but this time it was worth it.

RGIII could be the face of this franchise for the next dozen years or so, as the Redskins have gone through about 15 starting quarterbacks in the previous dozen years. Sure they have more holes to fill than the QB slot, but this is a huge step forward. More so than anything else, it gets the fans excited about Redskins football again and ticket sales will skyrocket as a result. Also, free agents from around the league will now want to come to D.C. to get a chance to play alongside the young QB.

Just think about it this way-- the two quarterbacks currently on the Skins roster are Rex Grossman, who holds the NFL record for most consecutive games with a turnover, and John Beck, who has never won a game as a starting quarterback. RGIII may have never played an NFL game but he is a proven winner, a Heisman Trophy winner, and a likeable guy who is a popular figure among sports fans.

Top teams fall in Championship Week

Duke, Kansas and Syracuse have now all fallen victim to lesser opponents prior to reaching the championships in their respective conference tournaments.

Florida State took down Duke again (Photo courtesy Google Images)

As a Duke fan, I thought these loses could potentially help Duke move up into the No. 1 seed slot if they went on to win the ACC Tournament, but they soon fell as well. However, they lost to a quality team in Florida State, so they should remain a No. 2 seed.

Of course the Duke loss was a tough blow for me, especially now that they have lost to FSU twice this year, but this is why I love college basketball. Everybody expected Syracuse to beat to Cincinnati-- they didn't-- and everyone expected Kansas to beat Baylor-- they didn't. During Championship Week teams are so hungry to win and state their cases for the Big Dance that anybody can win, you really have to throw the regular season out the window.

The same pretty much goes for the NCAA Tournament, as the best team from the regular season rarely wins. Last year UConn won it all after a mediocre regular season, as they caught fire during the Big East Tournament. The year before Duke won it all with one of their lesser talented teams in recent memory.

That is the beauty of college basketball and March Madness-- anything can happen.

That being said, the two best teams in the country (in my opinion) are Kentucky and UNC, and they are both still alive in their respective tournaments. It's hard to imagine those two teams losing to any team other than each other, and that would be a great national championship if they were to meet in the finals. Nevertheless, I would be just as happy to see both lose in the first round, but that's just me.

Mason tumbles in Richmond to VCU, again

In what is essentially a home tournament every year for the VCU Rams in the Richmond Coliseum, they once again took down the George Mason Patriots, making that three consecutive years in which the Rams eliminated the Patriots in the in the CAA Tournament.

Mike Morrison was the best player on the court for Mason in the loss.

This years' version got off to an embarrassing start for Mason, to say the least. The Rams jumped out to an early 30-4 lead and later led 41-13 in the first half. That's a 28 point differential! Somehow, Mason actually cut it to just six points on two occasions in the second half before falling 74-64, at least making the final margin respectable.

In what is, without question, the best rivalry in the CAA, it just seems that VCU has Mason's number in March.

One year ago, the two teams met just once during the regular season, as the Patriots took down the Rams in Richmond just one week before the CAA Tournament. Yet, it was the Rams who won in the Coliseum. This year, the two teams split during the regular season, each winning on their home floor, and, once again, the Rams dominated the matchup in the Coliseum.

Whether it is in the heads of these Mason players, whether it is the overly VCU-favored fans, or maybe a combination of the two, the Patriots just can't get past VCU when it matters. The Patriots last won the Tournament back in 2008, before falling to VCU every year since.

Not only did the loss for Mason essentially eliminate them from even the hope of making the NIT, but it gave VCU a boost in their chances of making the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. And the only thing GMU fans hate as much as Mason losing is VCU winning.

UNC did what they were supposed to do this time... Unfortunately

So did I mention that this Carolina team should have dominated Duke in the first meeting? Yes, yes I did. Well, it just so happened that they chose to dominate Duke in the second game instead. Not many teams can take down Duke in Cameron with ease, but this UNC team has that kind of star power.

Miles Plumlee and his brother Mason carried Duke. (Photo courtesy Google Images)

It amazes me that this UNC team could ever lose a game with as much talent and athleticism and length and size as they have. Kendall Marshall is as good a point guard as there is in the ACC and Tyler Zeller, John Henson and Harrison Barnes is without question the best front line in the country, and all three could play (and possibly start) in the NBA right now.

So, with that being said, as a Duke fan I am very happy to have escaped the regular season with a split with the Tar Heels. I am worried about the possibility of a rematch in the ACC Championship game, but if Duke does in fact reach the conference championship game they will have at least locked up a No. 2 seed in the Big Dance, so not a big deal if they do in fact lose again.

The only devastating aspect of this loss is the fact that I was at the game. Wow, was it painful. It was so bad I considered leaving after halftime. That has to be the first game I've been to in Cameron in which I felt Duke just never had a chance to win. The lone bright spot for the Devils was the play of the Plumlee brothers, who kept them somewhat alive in the second half.

They were badly outplayed from the start and the better team just won the game. Enough said.