FanNation - The Republic of Sport

     Yes, I frequently pimp my homies in this space, be they from Rhode Island in general, or in particular North Providence, my residence; Warwick, where I grew up; or Bishop Hendricken High School (1980 graduate). Hawks have been making news all over the place this year, including Green Bay Packers defensive back Will Blackmon, Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Rocco Baldelli (you get yourself well, Rock) or University of Rhode Island guard Jim Baron (perhaps soon to be followed by younger brother Billy).

     And then there's Joe Mazzulla.

     Johnston Joe has become a valuable bench player for West Virginia as a sophomore; Bob Huggins likes his defensive intensity. But today, on the big stage, he stepped up like he did the night he threw down 35 points to conclude his high school career with a third straight state title (now five straight).

     With the Mountaineers down seven early in the second half, not having hit a three-pointer and the Duke defense seemingly taking the legs out of Joe Alexander, Huggins inserted Mazzulla to institute a three-guard, two-point attack with Darris Nichols. Huggy might as well have stuck a fork in Duke's socket.

     Mazzulla grabbed rebounds, found open men with bounce passes (Alexander for a drive and Alex Ruoff for a three on consecutive possessions) and outhustled a bunch of Dookies that might well have inherited Coach K's bad cold. His teammates responded on both ends of the floor, harassing and frustrating the Blue Devils into missing 15 straight threes. Joe's damage: 13 points and career highs 10 rebounds and nine assists.

     A star is born? Maybe. Just bring that game to Phoenix against Xavier Thursday night, Joe.

     Some other random observations:

     * Every championship team needs one near-death experience on its way to the Final Four. UCLA, my pick to win it all, just survived one, down 10 early in the second half against Texas A&M. Never bet against UCLA in a rock fight - Kevin Love battled the beef and blocked seven shots, while the pesty D of Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook and the Aggies' one-and-one failures enabled the Bruins to survive. And they won't have to worry about Connecticut in the Sweet 16, either.

     * He hasn't gotten the hype of Love, Eric Gordon or the rest of the freshman one-and-done club, but Kalin Lucas can play point guard for me anyday. Michigan State wore down a Pitt team whose four-game, four-day Big East title run finally caught up.

     * Nice 22-rebound effort, Luke Harangody. Oh, wait...Notre Dame couldn't throw the ball in the ocean from a dock today - put an asterisk on it. Somebody occasionally beats Washington State, but nobody looks good against the Wazzu defense and waltz tempo.

     * Could anybody but Brook Lopez be player of the day? A game-winner in overtime and 30 points, virtually all after intermission, let Stanford outlast Marquette. He and twin bro Robin really puzzle me, though, with their effort not to be identical. I think of Brook as Justin Timberlake and Robin as young Carlos Santana.

    * Memo to Kansas State: No three-pointers and just 14 non-Michael Beasley/Bill Walker points don't cut it against Final Four timber like Wisconsin.