Mmm, this blackbird may taste better if it were baked in a pie with three and 20 others. Then again, probably not. This bird would still taste bad even if it were barbecued, boiled or fricasseed.
Sometimes, you just have to eat crow.
Unless you’ve been wandering aimlessly in the Bermuda Triangle or camping in the Gobi Desert, you know I had penned there was no way the NCAA would send the Jayhawks to Kansas City following their 64-60 loss to Texas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament.
That prediction held up for about as many hours as those blackbirds baked in a pie.
E-mails and phone calls have been pouring in since the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee tapped Kansas as the No. 4 seed in the St. Louis Regional, and dispatched the Jayhawks to — yep — Kemper Arena.
Even my wife chimed in with a sarcastic “Caw, caw” when she heard the news.
Why did I predict the Jayhawks would be sent anywhere but Kansas City? More or less because I was trying to use logic based on the rationalization of the historical imperative when, in fact, I forgot the NCAA Tournament selection process is always a riddle wrapped in a paradox.
In other words, you never know what those people sequestered in that Indianapolis hotel room are going to do.
In theory, the NCAA would send the top two Big 12 Conference teams — Oklahoma State and Texas — to Kansas City, one as a high seed and the other in a pod, because K.C. is Big 12 territory. In fact, the NCAA did sent Oklahoma State to Kemper Arena, but dispatched Texas to Denver which is, in effect, Big 12 country, too.
Those who suspect the NCAA sent Kansas to K.C. instead of Texas because Kemper Arena wasn’t sold out have a strong case. At the same time, it isn’t unreasonable to suspect the NCAA still feels guilty about deserting K.C. for Indianapolis a few years ago and wants to paint the best possible scenario for its former home.
  Read Chuck’s earlier column stating KU would not go to K.C. Printable tournament bracket (.gif) Printable tournament bracket (.pdf) |
To tell the truth, there really isn’t any other reason for Kemper Arena to be an NCAA Tourney site. It’s an archaic structure situated off the beaten path. Tomb-like Kemper Arena is neither fan friendly nor readily accessible.
What Kemper Arena is, however, is the Jayhawks’ home away from home — a fact that must be sitting like Crow Kiev in the stomachs of the Illinois-Chicago faithful. Still, two other No. 4 seeds also were assigned to nearby sites — Wake Forest to Raleigh, N.C., and Cincinnati to Columbus, Ohio, — so KU wasn’t singled out for special treatment in that regard.
Actually, the folks who really should be belly-aching are the Maryland fans. The Terps were the lone No. 4 seed that will have to board an airplane to reach its initial site. The 2002 NCAA champions were sent three-quarters of the way across the country to Denver.
Also in the Mile High City, but in a different pod, will be Texas and North Carolina. On paper, the Longhorns and Tar Heels will meet in the second round, but that’s not a given because each must play first-round games against teams coaches hate to play — deliberate Princeton and more deliberate Air Force.
I can sense Roy Williams and Rick Barnes worrying from here.
Williams, you’ll recall, was grumbling for another reason last year. The Jayhawks hoped they would receive a No. 1 seed, but wound up with a No. 2 instead and were sent to the same regional as traditional powers Duke and Arizona. Kansas, it appeared, had been assigned to the Bataan Death March.
As we all know, however, the Jayhawks ran the gantlet all the way to the national championship game.
In case you’re wondering, the only way Kansas and North Carolina can meet in this tournament is in the title game in San Antonio, Texas, so the odds aren’t good that jilted Kansas fans will have an opportunity to boo Williams in person.
Rarely do a No. 4 seed (Kansas) and a No. 6 (North Carolina) ever meet for the national title, but you never know.
At the same time, in view of my most recent prediction, it’s no wonder many of the folks who have e-mailed and phoned are flat-out begging me to claim the Jayhawks will absolutely, positively not win the national championship.
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