Weekend Links

No time to write tonight so I'll just point you in the direction of some other stuff you should enjoy over the weekend.

The first part for your Championship Week viewing, with Championship games kicking off today (Saturday). [Just Call Me Juice]

Jake Plummer, the man with the great stache, is retiring. Apparently, the competition from a guy recovering from a spleen injury is too much for him. [Signal to Noise]

A good deal by Matt Millen? Well, even a broken clock is right twice a day. [Sweaty Men Endeavors]

The real tournament to keep an eye on this March. [The Big Picture]

Bubble teams... who's in and who's out? [The Sports Flow]

The next Anna Benson? As WBRS says, at least Carl Pavano's "injuries" are a little easier to understand. [WBRS Sports Blog]

A look at Wide Receivers and Free Agency. [Pacifist Viking]

Some writers still don't like any type of baseballs stats at all. What a shame. [Fire Joe Morgan]

That's what I got... have a good weekend and watch a lot of college basketball.

SPANISH FOOTBALL. THE GODDESS OF JUSTICE IS CLUBBED & UNARMED

The Spanish Football authorities have proclaimed the followingsanctions for REAL BETIS ( & SEVILLE FC) , after the "bottleincident" that left Seville FC coach floored when his team scoredthe 1º goal of the 2º leg Spanish Cup match between both clubs.THE RULING:The suspended match will be played on the 20th of March at theneutral ground of Getafe (Madrid). The Real Betis club will haveits ground

REAL MADRID. EMERSON WISHES TO LEAVE

He came from JUVENTUS to REAL MADRID to breakdown defences & "Captain" the midfield, a man ofconfidence for Capello were his duties were to stand tall, firm& direct. Those objectives have not been fullfied & thissignning is going down as an authentic disaster.Bad play, no direction & time on the bench. TheBrazilian International EMERSON is going throughvery tough times at Real & wishes to leave

SPANISH FOOTBALL - "LA LIGA" - ROUND 25 FIXTURE

Another great weekend of "Liga" Football with the main highlight being the Seville FC vs FC Barcelona game. A matchthat will have clear implications at the top of the ladder, a clashnot to be missed .FIXTURE - 25 RoundSeville FC - FC Barcelona ( Sat.)Valencia - Celta ( Sat.)Espanyol - VillarealZaragoza - R.SociedadRacing - OsasunaMallorca - LevanteAt.Bilbao - GimnasticDeportivo - BetisReal Madrid

College Basketball Power Rankings

As always, here's my top 10:

(1) UCLA - Arron Afflalo is the favorite for Pac-10 Player of the Year, but Darren Collison is just as important to the Bruins. In the win over Washington St. (two excellent defensive teams there), Collison scored 7 points, dished out 8 assists, had only 2 turnovers, and was in complete control all game on both ends. He's quick as a jet, a good outside shooter, great passer, and excellent on-the-ball and off-the-ball defender. Love watching him play.

(2) Kansas - Kansas might have established themselves as the team to beat. They've always had the talent, and now they're playing consistently at home and on the road. At the very least, I can guarantee they will not be losing in the first round this year.

(3) Ohio St. - They did what they had to do, but beating Wisconsin without Brian Butch at home by 1 wasn't really enough to convince me they should be higher than UCLA or Kansas. Certainly the talent is there to make a run towards the title, but I'm not sure they're consistent enough offensively.

(4) Wisconsin - You could write something similar here as for OSU. The talent is there if it all comes together, but I really don't think they're quite consistent enough offensively to make it to the Final Four. I'd feel a little more confident if Brian Butch was completely healthy. What a shame that is for the Badgers.

(5) Texas A&M - They're coming off of a loss, but losing in double OT at Texas isn't too bad as far as losses go. Acie Law is a first team All-American, but they also have 3 other guys scoring over 12 points per game. They're balanced, they're tough, and they're good defensively.

(6) Southern Illinois - Great defensive team, and they seem to be playing their best basketball of the season. I am a little concerned that they seem to be inconsistent offensively at times, but you can't argue with the defense.

(7) Memphis - They didn't look that impressive against UTEP, but they still won. They're very deep, very athletic, and very talented. Like last year, I have some concerns about them if they get matched up with a physical defensive team in the tournament, but it's hard to ignore 18 straight wins.

(8) Florida - Like UNC, the talent is there (obviously), but they just seem disinterested. I'm not too worried at this point, but if they lay another egg in the SEC Tourney there could definitely be a reason to have some concern.

(9) Texas - Hard to deny them of the top spot after hanging on to beat A&M. So make that 5 straight wins for the Longhorns, who are definitely peaking at the right time. Showdown with Kansas on Saturday will show a lot, but I can guarantee you nobody wants to see Texas in their portion of the bracket. Oh, and don't look now, but DJ Augustin is 4th in the country in assists as a freshman.

(10) North Carolina - They've still got incredible talent, but they have lost 3 of 5. Georgia Tech just tore them up offensively on Thursday night. They can still make a run at the Title, but something is not right.

What changes would you make?

Harvard Law School Conference on Law and Mind Sciences

For those of you interested in social psychology and the law (such as how cognitive biases affect the decision-making of athletes or how situational influences distort fan perceptions of the NBA) and who live near Cambridge, Massachusetts, I am pleased to announce that Harvard Law School's Project on Law and Mind Sciences (which Jon Hanson and I recently co-founded) will be hosting The Conference on Law and Mind Sciences on Saturday, March 10, in Austin Hall at the HLS campus. Our conference will introduce to lawyers, law students, and legal theorists some of the key discoveries and insights of social psychology, social cognition, and related fields regarding the purposes, motives, and consequences of law. It will also bring together some of the country’s most distinguished social psychologists (e.g., Jennifer Eberhardt, John Darley, John Jost) and legal academics (Duncan Kennedy, Charles Ogletree, Martha Minow)--many of whom blog on The Situationist--and will include both the presentation of research by psychologists and a discussion of that research with legal scholars.

It should be a fantastic event, and please let me know if you can make it. I would welcome the chance to meet you in person. If you would like to attend, please register at this link--that way, you will be sure to get a seat and, just as importantly, some food!

Also, for more general information about our Project, please check out lawandmind.com.

SPANISH CUP. VIOLENCE SHOWS ITS UGLY HEAD

SFS wishes to condemn the mindless violence that isagain spreading throughout Europe.If Italy was the drop the broke the glass, Seville yesterdaywas the wave.Seville FC coach JUANDE RAMOS was floored unconsciousby an iced bottle - thats right iced! after Seville scored the 1º goal of last nights REAL BETIS vs SEVILLE Spanish Cup2º leg Q/F match. Obviously the match was immediatelysuspended as