"We're gonna run the Picket Fence at em....."

Opening Thoughts: Despite getting only 4 hours of sleep, today was a good day. Good brunch with the bro, good phone call from home. Then, got the micro homework done for tomorrow with Jason, who came over for some bratwurst. Finally, a great run, and, Hoosiers was on, including the original 1954 title game that spawned the movie. When Hoosiers starts to reappear on TV, you know March is just around the corner. Just 1 more day of February, and let the Madness begin. I'm really excited.

Before we talk hoops, let's talk Oscars, first up Best Dressed:

• Beyonce. Everytime I looked up, Beyonce was singing, in a new dress, looking amazing. She could've worn a rag and still looked hot. She is a true diva.
• Gisele Bundchen. Leo's girlfriend was stunning in her white dress, while nice and tanned and wearing her down. Gisele is my #1 all-time best looking model, hands down.
  
• Catalina Sandeno Moreno. I had never heard of her until tonight, but from now on, I will pay attention to Ms. Catalina. How can you not be beautiful with the name Catalina Sandeno Moreno?
• Kate Winslet. Her blond streaks went perfectly with her blue dress. It also helps keeping off the weight she lost since Titanic. She might have had the best dress of the night.
• Penelope Cruz. She's always been beautiful, but the way she wore her hair up, straight, combined with her killer dress. Excuse me for a moment......
  
• Halle Berry. Enough said.

Now, for the Worst. Granted, it wasn't as bad as the Golden Globes, but still, these people could've done better:

• Natalie Portman. My dear Natalie. Yes, your choice of dress was much better, but anything could've beaten the maid outfit you wore at the Golden Globes. When I take a closer look at what you're wearing, it looks like a long wool curtain.
  
• Renee Zellweger. The black hair, red dress, white as rice combination just doesn't do it for me. Stick to a hair color, preferably blond.
• Annette Bening. Everytime I see Annette, her hairstyle reminds me of a guy who puts too much gel in his hair.
• Scarlet Johansson. It looked like she was wearing a 3 piece dress, and I don't know what she was trying to do with her hair. Keep it simple, simple is good.

Anyway, congrats to Million Dollar Baby for cleaning house. Also, Chris Rock is no Billy Crystal. His monologue was too political for my taste and he's just not as witty as Billy.

Ok, time for the hoops:

• Villanova 67, Georgetown 56. Nova has now solidfied their NCAA status and appear to have a firm grip on a 1st round bye in the Big East tourney. The Cats made 19 free throws while the Hoyas only attempted 10. The Hoyas are on shaky ground at 8-6 in the Big East. Winning out plus a win in the Big East Tourney would get them in for sure. That includes winning at UConn this week.
• Indiana 78, Michigan St. 74, OT. The Spartans shot 55% from the floor, outboarded IU 32-19, 11-2 offensively, and still lost. The Hoosiers forced 18 turnovers, only committing 11 themselves, and made 22/32 free throws compared to only 9/15 for MSU. These are two surprising stats for such a young team, but as today showed, the Hoosiers are growing up quickly. Bracey Wright only needed 14 field goal tries to score 32 points, going 9/9 from the line. This was the best I've seen him play in awhile. I'm continually impressed by D.J. White, who had 17 today, although he's gotta get more than 1 rebound. Mike Davis has done a great job with this team AND HE DESERVES TO STAY!!!! The Spartans didn't play a bad game, but they couldn't come up with the plays when needed against a young team, which doesn't bode well come NCAA time. If IU can win out, which includes winning at Wisconsin this week, and win a game in the Big 10 Tourney, I think they should get in.
• Bowling Green 57, Miami 56. The Redhawks lead in the MAC is down to 1 as BG pulls back into a tie with Western Michigan for the MAC West lead. The top 8 teams in the league are separated by just 2 games with some interesting matchups in the final week. Miami's at-large status is up in the air, now needing to win out and make the MAC finals to have a chance. BG and Western play for the MAC West title this week.
• Maine 87, Vermont 66. In an interesting decision, Vermont's top two players sat out with injuries to rest up for the conference tournament, which ended up costing the Catamounts any chance of an at-large bid. They'll now need to win the conference tourney, in which they are the top seed and have home-court advantage.
• Nebraska 76, Iowa St. 69. After playing themselves back into the NCAA hunt, the Cyclones are playing themselves out again. 2 straight losses have ISU at 7-7 in the Big 12, and back on the outside looking in. Curtis Stinson only managed 9 points on 3/12 shooting, and the Cyclones only shot 38% from the floor, at home!!!!
• UCLA 75, Notre Dame 65. In a must-win game, the Bruins were in control throughout in this one, keeping themselves in the NCAA hunt. Dijon Thompson continues to play well for UCLA, getting 16 points and 10 rebounds. If the Bruins can win out, and win a game in the Pac 10 Tourney, they might get in.
• Kansas 81, Oklahoma St. 79. I'm disappointed I didn't get to see this game (homework), but it sounds like it was a classic. The Cowboys shot 57% from the floor, in Phog Allen Fieldhouse, and still lost because KU shot an unreal 70% from the floor!!!! Wayne Simien stepped up bigtime for KU, scoring 32 and grabbing 12 rebounds. He needs to put KU on his back if they're going to make a Final 4 run. OSU couldn't have played a better game, KU took it to another level today.
  
• North Carolina 85, Maryland 83. Another team back on the outside looking in is Maryland, my all-time most frustrating team. They couldn't beat a Rashard McCants-less team on their home floor. David Noel and Jackie Manuel picked up the slack for UNC, combining for 21 points and 14 rebounds. The Terps are now 7-8 in the ACC, having lost 3 in a row, making their game at Virginia Tech a must win.

Tomorrow is Pay Day!!!!!!