Unfortunate, too, as Mizzou will now head to possibly the toughest bracket of the four, the East, and be forced to play a very good Clemson team in the opening round. Still, it's tough to be all that upset, as the Tigers made the NCAA Tournament in what was very much an in-between year for the program following the departures of Leo Lyons, DeMarre Carroll, and Matt Lawrence. Sure, that 10 seed isn't ideal, especially as the Tigers could have done so much better, but they're back on the dance floor, and anything can happen as long as you get in. 

It's really unfortunate, too, considering how much ground the Tigers had gained in recent weeks. Just how much of that ground they gave back is up for debate, of course, but it's clear their standing will take a hit. 

No part of that statement should exist. Yet somehow, it still does. (Delaware? Really?) 

The kid in question is David Sills, a quarterback who attends Bear Mountain Christian Academy in Bear, Delaware. He's apparently pretty good, and travels to California every year to work with a quarterback guru by the name of Steve Clarkson. Clarkson has coached a couple USC quarterbacks in the past; both Matt Leinhart and current USC QB Matt Barkley are pupils of his. 

So sure. It's pretty obvious the kid wants to be a quarterback. Then again, at thirteen I wanted to race hover cars for a living. So, you know, maybe committing to something at thirteen isn't such a good idea. 

I ask because I was reminded of Animaniacs just yesterday. See, the show followed a variety-type format, with one cartoon featuring the main trio, then two shorter cartoons featuring some of the other characters. Well, one of the supporting cartoons featured a little girl by the name of Mindy, and she was always getting herself into trouble. Just a toddler, she nevertheless managed to find her way into construction sites or sawmills -- that sort of thing. The thing was, no matter what Mindy did, she never got hurt. Her dog, Buttons, would chase madly after her, trying to save her from imminent peril, all the while she would just merrily crawl along as danger narrowly missed her. She would fall off a construction crane, only to have an I-beam coming up below to catch her. An anvil would fall off a shelf toward her, only to miss her and hit Buttons instead as he tried to rescue her. You know, stuff like that. 

It wasn't the best segment on the show, to be honest. Pretty basic cartoon stuff, really (Popeye did the same thing 80 years ago), though it was nicely animated. So why am I talking about this? Because I think I've found out what happened to that little girl. 

Mindy grew up and became Lane Kiffin. 

Well, in the interest of helping you out with your preseason predictions, I would like to bring a little something to your attention. It seems like just about every year, we hear that this is the year the Pittsburgh Pirates finally really start to turn their fortunes around and become respectable again. 

Well, I'm here to tell you that turnaround may be a bit further off than that. 

See, the Pittsburgh Pirates sent out a collection of their top minor league prospects to play Manatee Community College yesterday in an exhibition game. 

And guess what? Manatee won. 

There's something you don't hear every day, huh? 

Now, I'm not entirely sure on this one; Manatee Community College could be an absolute hotbed of major league talent and I just don't realize it. However, until I see Manatee taking on Oregon State or UNC in the College World Series, I'm going to assume it probably isn't. 

Seriously, how great is this? When your franchise is such a mess that a team of your best prospects, or even just your prospects, all of whom are real live professional baseball players, loses to Manatee Community College? 

So as for that great Pirate turnaround that gets predicted every year, until the youngsters the Pirates are bringing up can start beating the local JuCo kids, I'll just assume it isn't going to happen. 

The best quote of all came from Manatee coach Tim Hill. 

It wasn't played by the Cardinals (you'll have to wait till Monday, when the Pirates come to town to see the Redbirds in action) but by the Mizzou and SLU. The Tigers trounced the Billikens 19-6.

If a confused spectator had wandered into the stands, there was zero chance of confusing this game for big league play. It was a sloppy, achingly slow-paced affair that included seven errors, thirteen walks, and six hit batsmen. 

But despite their mediocre records (SLU is 14-13 after the loss and Mizzou 14-14) both teams have a few talented players that were worth seeing, including Mizzou centerfielder Ryan Lollis who has twice been taken in the 20th round of the MLB draft and Mizzou catcher Trevor Coleman, a second team all-Big 12 player and the Louisville Slugger freshman of the year in 2007.

But Kentucky wasn't going to take Mike Anderson. I thought they would go for a bigger name, a splashy move that makes bold headlines all over the country. I thought they would try to poach Billy Donovan away from Florida. Maybe even a guy like Jim Boeheim from Syracuse. Most of all, though, I always thought that John Calipari was going to be the guy. He's got all the qualifications; track record of success, certainly a big-name coach, could bring in half of a great recruiting class with him, history with the university, all of it. Mike Anderson is perfectly safe, I thought; Calipari is likely going to be the guy. 

Well, it looks now like I was probably right about Calipari being the guy for Kentucky. Unfortunately, it also looks like I forgot a little something in my assessment: the school that loses their coach is going to need a coach.

A three-quarter court shot at the buzzer? Check.

Enough bricks from the free throw line to rebuild Mizzou Arena? Check.

102 points against the most efficient defense in college basketball? Check.