Time for Spartans to state their case

Good Monday morning. I’m serving up a hot plate of breakfast – complete with grits, toast and off-the-wall thoughts starting with tonight’s matchup for the NCAA men’s basketball championship . . .

Michigan State vs. North Carolina. It’s the matchup predicted on my tournament bracket. For real. And I can’t wait for the opening tipoff. More than 70,000 screaming fans at Ford Field in Detroit, most of whom are expected to be rooting loud and hard for the home-state Spartans. The alma mater karma is also in play, with former Spartans great Earvin “Magic” Johnson a part of the pregame ceremonies while former Tar Heels great Michael “Air” Jordan is officially announced today as a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Confession: I’ve been a Tar Heels fan dating back to the days of Phil Ford. In the 1990s I lived in the “Triangle” (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill). My face and bio appear on page 196 of the 1995-95 Tar Heels men’s basketball media guide. I have lived and breathed Carolina basketball – anybody remember Serge Zwikker? Other than taking a photo with Johnson after performing stand-up comedy at an awards dinner in his honor three years ago, I don’t have any personal connection of note with Michigan State. Wait, my youngest sister lived in Lansing for a couple of years, but that really doesn’t count. But I do have the Spartans winning the game at Ford Field, where they lost by 35 points to North Carolina last December. The Tar Heels are better now than they were four months ago. But so is Michigan State. In that blowout loss, the Spartans shot under 40 percent, turned the ball over a bunch and were missing some key players due to injury. I’m banking on Michigan State’s depth, rebounding, a concerted effort to neutralize Tyler Hansbrough and the sheer will to win to overcome a hungry and talented team of Tar Heels . . .

True story: I’m driving north on Interstate 225 Thursday evening, 7:05 p.m. to be exact, in the far left lane, when my cell phone rings. The cell phone is connected to the charge cord, which doesn’t stretch very far. It’s hard to make out the name on caller ID, but I flip the phone (yes, I’ve still got a flip phone) and answer before missing the call. It’s John Elway, and he’s returning my call to him a few hours earlier in the day. I wanted to talk with him about the Jay Cutler trade, preferably off a freeway with hands free. But I’m in the fast lane and he’s on his way to dinner. Maybe some other reporter would get lucky enough to interrupt him during dinner. He called me beforehand, so it was now or never. I happened to have a sheet of paper on the passenger seat (a printed ticket receipt to a comedy show) and an ink pen in the beverage tray. So I’m doing 65 in the fast lane, left hand on the steering wheel, head cocked to the right with the cell phone barely reaching my ear while feverishly scribbling Elway’s words. We finished the conversation, shared a quick laugh and then it hit me – it’s time to let Elway go. It is time for Denver to let go of John Elway. Everything that happens around town requires a thought from Elway. I get that. But inevitably, it comes down to the quarterback of the Broncos present not being able to measure up to the quarterback of the Broncos past. Cutler never was going to be Elway. If he doesn’t get the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl, you really can’t compare Cutler to Rex Grossman. So let Elway be. And let the next quarterback of the Broncos be himself. It might do us all a lot of good. Oh, and writing, talking and driving all at the same time is every bit as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs . . .

The longer the Nuggets hold on to the second seed in the Western Conference playoff standings, the more I’m starting to think special things can happen for them in the spring – until they face the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The proof for the Nuggets will be in the rebounding column – and the performance of their bench. More than one basketball coach has uttered the familiar phrase, “No rebounds, no rings.” It will help if Kenyon Martin can stay healthy. Consistent and strong performances from reserves like Chris Andersen, Anthony Carter and Linas Kleiza will give coach George Karl some needed flexibility with the rotation. In particular, Carter has to be effective. Chauncey Billups has given the Nuggets an attitude that should make them a much better playoff team than in years past. But Billups is creeping up on 33 years of age, and his legs can use extra rest – especially if the Nuggets draw teams with young point guards like New Orleans (Chris Paul) and Utah (Deron Williams) . . .

If you listen closely, you’ll hear announcers proclaim every current NBA player to be a “future Hall of Famer”
. . .

I hope the Broncos have better luck with two first-round picks than the Nuggets did in 1991. Remember the ’91 NBA draft? The Nuggets had the fourth and eighth picks overall. The fourth pick was used to select Dikembe Mutombo. That’s was a good pick – while it lasted. Mutombo earned All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year honors with the Nuggets before leaving as a free agent after five seasons. The eighth pick? Not so good. The Nuggets selected Mark Macon, who proved to be a bust in the league. But I see Macon’s face every time I go to Freddie G.’s Barber Shop. There’s a poster (made in Michigan) showing numerous hairstyles for customers to choose. Macon, who is a Michigan native, is on the poster . . .

How can you not raise an eyebrow when a basketball coach (University of Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun) talks about retirement while his school is under investigation for alleged recruiting violations? I think a decision would’ve been much easier for Calhoun had the Huskies won the national title . . .

Smell that? It’s baseball in the spring air. That means the Cleveland Indians are going to win the World Series. Of course, for Indians fans like me, breathing the spring air is like guzzling a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 wine – you think you’re feeling good at first, but it’s just a matter of time before you get sick . . .

Bet you forgot that Trevor Immelman defends the championship at The Masters this week – or that Zach Johnson won it in 2007. Is there anyone else but Tiger Woods to proclaim the favorite? In winning the U.S. Open last year, Woods showed a remarkable ability to compete with a serious injury in a championship setting. And Woods already has shown that his recuperative powers are just short of amazing, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in just his third outing after an eight-month layoff due to knee surgery. But here’s one thing that hasn’t been mentioned about Woods that I believe is worth noting: He’s winning, but by narrow margins. Like one-stroke, 16-foot winning putts on the 18th hole narrow in each of his past three victories on the PGA Tour. Bottom line is, a win is a win for Woods. Was it the knee slowing down Woods, or is the rest of the field creeping up ever so slowly? Woods expects to be on top of his game this week in Augusta. We’ll see who else steps to the challenge. Most golf fans want a winner-take-green jacket Sunday pairing with Woods and Phil Mickelson. I wouldn’t mind seeing Woods and Padraig Harrington go at it.