Thursday Blogdome: A 96-team NCAA tourney may still be a possibility

NCAA, CBS: Strong Hints That 96 Still In The Mix. On April 29, I expect the NCAA Board of Directors to confirm that the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament will have 68 teams. That confirmation does not mean that a 96-team tournament is dead, only that the staging of a 96-team, 2011 tournament is now, according to a source, logistically impossible. 2012 is another matter. [SportsbyBrooks]
* Not Fit To Play: The French Want Ribery Canned. Six out of ten French folk say that it’s now unacceptable for Bayern Munich winger, Franck Ribery to go to the World Cup with France; after the revelations that he and his team mates bedded an underage prostitute. [Unprofessional Foul]
More items following the jump.

* NFL draft star Sam Bradford on hockey love, Cup pick. Bradford’s story about becoming a fan is something that probably resonates with a lot of American puckheads. He didn’t grow up in an NHL city; his love for the game grew thanks to things like Don Cherry highlight videos and “The Mighty Ducks.” Add in “the Internet,” you have the situation for thousands of young fans today. [Puck Daddy]
* Awesome: Alex Ovechkin Sprays Snow On Little Punk Waving Canadiens Team Flag. What made Ovechkin’s routine before the Caps-Habs game last night different (and sure to drum up unnecessary controversy) was there happened to be two little kids dressed up in Montreal gear waving Canadiens flags. The kid standing in front of the Caps’ bench got slightly sprayed, surely scarring him for life. Just kidding. [Sportress of Blogitude]
* The Top 10 Things You Won’t Hear at the 2010 NFL Draft. 10. “He’s the best QB prospect since Ryan Leaf.” 3. “Does this Cleveland jersey make me look fat?” [The Last Angry Fan]
* Submitted For Contrast Purposes: ESPN’s 1983 Draft Coverage. Here, Chris Berman actually speaks with a hint of seriousness and level-headedness, rather than barking theatrically for attention. But then, this was a time before he had become a caricature of his own shtick. And what’s this? A decided lack of a dozen former star players on the screen needed simply to talk vapidly for the sake of adding celebrity to the broadcast? [The Sporting Blog]
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