Built Ford Tough

I agree that he is a vastly overrated GM, wouldn't give a rats ass if he was fired and hasn't done a good job in Toronto, but the organization as a whole is in a better position now than when he took over. That is undeniable. When he took over the team's core was Tomas Kaberle, Matt Stajan, Jason Blake, Alexi Ponikarovsky, Pavel Kubina and Niklas Hagman. They had basically nothing in their pipeline as well. Say what you want about the Leafs currently sucking, they certainly do, but I'd take a core of Phil Kessel, Dion Phanuef, Jake Gardiner, Joffrey Lupul, Luke Schenn and Mikhail Grabovski (although the last two were here when he took over) over that other group any day of the week. I'm not saying that core is great or anything like that, because it isn't, but it is still a clear improvement over the other group. The biggest difference is the Marlies. They had absolutely nothing when he took over. It was so bad that Jiri Tlusty and Anton Stralman were considered the best prospects in the system. Now they have Joe Colborne, Nazem Kadri, Jessie Blacker, Korbinian Holzer, Matt Frattin and Carter Ashton in the system. None of them are blue chip prospects by any means, but they all project to at least be NHL players, which is much, much more than you could say prior to him coming to Toronto. The Marlies are one of the best teams in the AHL and it is mainly built on young players. Of course, that is well and good and all, but it doesn't change the fact that the Leafs still suck and that is ultimately what his job is. He can have all the Calder Cup teams he wants, but it is useless if he is never able to build a contender for the Leafs. Burke isn't a great GM, no Leaf fans in this thread have said he is, but to say that they aren't in a better position now than when he took over is incorrect. That is just as much of a testament to how terrible a position they were in when he took over than what he has actually done, but it is still true.

It was the right call by the rules so you can't really complain about it but, damn, what a tough way to lose a game.

Lmao, a lane violation losses Notre Dame the game.

Schedule - All times US/Eastern Kansas St. #8 E vs. Syracuse #1 E 12:15 pm CBS Gonzaga #7 E vs. Ohio St. #2 E 2:45 pm CBS Murray St. #6 W vs. Marquette #3 W 5:15 pm CBS Vanderbilt #5 E vs. Wisconsin #4 E 6:10 pm TNT VCU #12 S vs. Indiana #4 S 7:10 pm TBS Iowa St. #8 S vs. Kentucky #1 S 7:45 pm CBS Colorado #11 S vs. Baylor #3 S 8:40 pm TNT New Mexico #5 W vs. Louisville #4 W 9:40 pm TBS

Gay saved the tank so that Conley could [expletive] it up. Man, he has been awful in overtime. With Gay fouled out, I don't see another game tying 3 here for Memphis. EDIT: Wow, Bayless fouls Conley on a 3. This game has been an absolute tankers dream. Blah and Conley blows it at the line. Conley sucks.

That Bargnani prayer was way too close for comfort.

Rudy [expletive]ing Gay! Keeping the tank alive, baby. Two huge 3's including one at the end of the 4th to send the game into OT. Also, props to Gary Forbes for missing the free throw that would've iced the game. The Barbosa deal paying off already (although Forbes does have 17 points tonight).

Magloire laying dudes out right now. He absolutely leveled Mayo on a screen at the end of the 3rd and now he just sent Hadaddi to the deck. That was a weak flagrant, though. Just a good, hard foul.

Yes, it is. I don't care what you say. I won't believe you if you say that you aren't surprised by Duke losing their 1st game. Same with Missouri. I had my doubts about both teams but even I didn't think either one would come close to losing against Lehigh or Norfolk St. I wouldn't have been surprised to see either one lose in the next round, but not this round.

Go from almost turning the ball over to getting a dunk and sealing the game. What a perfect ending.

McCollum completely whiffs on two free throws and then they foul Rivers on a 3? Come on Lehigh, don't choke this away.

Lol. If Lehigh holds on to this game and beats Duke how many brackets are going to be completely [expletive]ed? Duke, Missouriand Michigan all out in their first games. UNLV and Wichita St, two popular sleeper picks, also out in their first games. Awesome day.

Curry with the lucky bounce on the three, but when you have such great form and rotation on your shot like he does, you are going to get those kinds of bounces. Lehigh is in prime position to pull off another huge upset.

How do you call that an intentional foul on Curry? Bad call, and I hate Duke and would love to see them lose. EDIT: Nevermind, I guess they called it on Thornton and not Curry. I was watching Curry, so I didn't see what Thornton did.

I'm not saying pick a replacement for DeRozan. I'm saying pick the BPA. The Raptors aren't nearly talented enough to justify passing on a prospect because they already have somebody who plays that position. Nobody on this team, with the possible exception of Valanciunas, projects to be a consistent All-Star, and it is a stretch to even say that Valanciunas has that potential. DeRozan, as much as I like him, hasn't proven enough in his career to justify passing on the BPA in order to fill a need. He has had good scoring games, but he is still inconsistent scoring wise, is an inconsistent defender and contributes very little on the glass or making plays. I don't even care if his numbers were the same as they were last year, he just doesn't have a large enough impact on games. If you think Beal or Lamb are the BPA when picking, draft them and let them and DeRozan battle for the starting shooting guard spot. I'm not giving up on DeRozan but I'm also no longer under the belief that he should be entitled to or be handed anything.

Had them losing to Florida at first, but in another brilliant move, I changed it Wednesday night. I had them losing to Marquette in mine. I didn't see any way that they would be able to stop Crowder in that matchup.

*Norfolk St.

I think a lot of people feel that way. The only problem was that who could take advantage of that? I don't think anybody expected them to lose to Norfolk St and Florida plays the exact same way (4 guards, 1 big, live or die by the 3) as they do, so even though their faults were obvious to everybody, they didn't look like they would an issue until the Sweet Sixteen based on the bracket they were in.

And Missouri's lack of size [expletive]s them in the end. EDIT: Maybe not, after O'Quinn blows a pair. Norforlk is giving Missouri way too many chances to win this game.

What a stupid shot by Denmon.

Huge And 1 from O'Quinn. Grabs the airball and managed to put it in and draw the foul. He is really taking advantage of Missouri inside and exploiting their lack of size.

This is what worried me about Missouri before the tournament. They rely so heavily on the 3 point shot, don't get easy baskets inside and aren't a good defensive team. I overlooked it and figured their experience would compensate for these to flaws, but my concerns before hand are looking valid right now. They are the same issues I have with Duke and why I am not a big fan in either of their chances of making a deep run, even if I have Mizzou in the Elite Eight and Duke in the Sweet Sixtenn. Teams like these can beat anybody when their shots are falling, but if they aren't hitting from deep, they are very susceptible to an upset because of their inability to get stops or easy baskets.

No, I don't. I can see DeRozan moving to the 3 more than I can see Beal playing the point. I actually think DeRozan's game is more suited to the 3 than the 2, though. The only problem with him playing the 3 is his lack of strength. His game from a stylistic standpoint is much more of a small forward than a shooting guard. Really though, unless DeRozan goes nuts these final 20 games of the season, I don't think that the Raptors should not draft a guy because of him. In my opinion, he hasn't shown enough so far to warrant passing on the best player available, if it that ends up being Beal.

Not really. He has actually looked pretty bad so far if you ask me. The only reason why he even has 14 points is because he of his size advantage and the fact that UNC is running their offense through him and Zeller instead of Henson and Zeller like normal. He has played better in the 2nd half than the 1st (where he was awful), though. The only UNC players that have looked good are Marshall and Zeller. Everybody else was average at best. At least in my opinion.

That was Javale McGee-esque lack of awareness.