NCAA Tournament Predictions

When it comes to the NCAA Tournament, I see filling out a bracket as more of an art than a science. I have only have enough time to watch bits and pieces of games throughout the season, and I couldn't tell you a thing about teams like Purdue and Butler.

But for what it's worth, I've got North Carolina beating UCLA in the finals, 74-62. If you care, you can click the image above to view the complete bracket.

Who do you like?

Why collusion isn't needed to keep Barry Bonds unemployed

The Major League Baseball Players' Association wants to know if the owners are colluding to keep Barry Bonds out of work, or at least that's how ESPN is reporting it.

If you read between the lines, this is somewhat of a non-story. The players' association does a similar review every year, it's just that this year Bonds happens to be involved. What's silly to me, though, is that the decision to avoid Bonds seems easy enough to make without having to violate anti-trust rules to reach it.

There are plenty of obvious reasons:

The man is 43 years old, and he'll be 44 soon after the All-Star break. Bonds has put up decent numbers in the last years, but he's definitely tailed off since 2004. And once you get past 40, there's always the threat your body will go on strike mid-season.

Certain substances seemed to have "cleared" his system. How can this be said delicately? If indeed he's been getting some "help," it will be tougher than ever to continue this season.

He'll cost a fortune to sign. Even if he takes a pay cut from the $16 million he earned last season, as he would almost certainly have to, it's hard to imagine Bonds settling for the $5-7 million a team might -- might -- be willing to pay him.

Bonds doesn't have the greatest reputation as a teammate. What team wants to sign a potential, dare we say likely, clubhouse cancer? The stories that have come out about Bonds' behavior in the Giants' clubhouse over the years, and even this spring, make it seem unlikely that a team would want to add an attitude like that to the mix.

Oh yeah, and there's that whole indictment thing. Always nice to know when you sign a player that he's got a decent shot to finish the season on your roster, not playing softball on the prison's rec yard. Bonds' trial will probably drag on for years, and he may never do jail time, but for now the legal cloud follows him wherever he goes.

Chuck Hayes' free throws are not for the faint of heart

Houston won a big one over Los Angeles Sunday to take sole possession of first in the Western Conference and extend its winning streak to 22 games.

More importantly, though, the nation got the opportunity to watch Chuck Hayes shoot a free throw. That he made it, his sixth in 14 attempts this season, was an afterthought.

Hayes' free throw shooting form is one of a kind, unique in the way that you tell your kids to cover your eyes so they don't learn any bad habits. The lead-up to the shot is innocent enough: a quick spin to get the feel for the ball in his hands, a couple dribbles, and a look to the hoop.

But the shot itself is preceded by a kind of pump fake. The ball goes up, the form looks good... but then the ball remains in Hayes' hands for about a second too long. Everyone in the arena -- including Hayes, apparently -- is fooled.

If there was ever such a thing as bait for lane violations, a Chuck Hayes free throw is it.

If you're looking for more laughs at Hayes' expense, there are plenty more videos where this one came from. (YouTube)