It was a first-rate Final Four, culminating in a terrific championship game. Make no mistake, UConn had every business beating Duke. The Huskies lost only 2 games the whole season, both with key players injured. Michigan St. gave Duke all they could handle, so it shouldn't have been amazing when UConn beat the Dukies.

Strategically, Calhoun substituted freely which wore down the Blue Devils. In my opinion, the key to the game lied in not getting blown out in the first half. If you are constantly fighting to catch up against Duke, they control things and they do it well. Because of that, I thought Ricky Moore was the MVP of the Final Four. He kept them in that game with a brilliant offensive first half, then shut down Langdon at the end with the game on the line. The game before, he didn't score much, but he completely shut down Scoonie Penn, which was the key to beating Ohio State. I have nothing against the choice of Richard Hamilton, he was their leading scorer both games, but all you hear from coaches and writers is how important defense is to winning championships. Here they had a chance to honor a brilliant defender and passed on it.

While we're on the subject of the last minute of the game, what was Coach K doing at the end? No time out? Just let Langdon bounce the ball for ten seconds and take it himself? Bad work, I say. You call time out and run a play. If it breaks down, there's plenty of time for Langdon to exercise a B plan.

How not to win an MVP Award, Pt. 1: Allen Iverson, was nursing an injury, came back, went 0-7, was sat down by Larry Brown, was put back in, got into a shouting match with Brown about not doing it sooner, then decided he was hurt after all. He has diagnosed his current injury and has decided to sit out a couple of games.

How not to win an MVP Award, Pt. 2: Alonzo Mourning gets 23 points, 17 rebounds, and blocks 9 shots, while the rest of his teammates watch, going down to the Nets (!) 88-77. Not his fault, but it doesn't help the cause.

NJW: Well, I said the Raptors were coming on, but I didn't imagine it would be this fast. Vince Carter, on the other hand, has been all that and more. Thursday night vs. the Pacers, in a one point win, he put up these numbers: 31 pts., 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, only 1 turnover. He has the Carolina blue blood to be the heir to the throne, who knows, he may be the real deal.