WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2013 induction ceremony will be held Saturday April 6, 2013 at Madison Square Garden.

It will be shown on the USA network on April 9, 2013 at 10pm. Donald Trump, Mick Foley and Bruno Sammartino will be the inductees shown.

Bob Backlund to be inducted by Maria Menounos.

Booker T to be inducted by Stevie Ray.

Mick Foley to be inducted by Terry Funk.

Bruno Sammartino to be inducted by former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Trish Stratus to be inducted by Stephanie McMahon.

Donald Trump to be inducted by Vince McMahon.

Then, On Sunday, April 7^th at 7:00pm its the greatest wrestling event of the year, WrestleMania 29, live from MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey.

This year my party will again be at Buffalo Wild Wings for the PPV. What an atmosphere. It’s packed with wrestling fans and it makes it feel like we are at WrestleMania.

Sean “P. Diddy” Combs will sing the National Anthem and later on perform, Living Color will be performing CM Punks entrance “Cult of Personality” and Pee Wee Herman will also be appearing for the event.

Three years ago I started a tradition where I would pick who would win the match and in what order the matches would be. In 2010, I was 7-2 in who would win, but a dismal 0-9 in the order of the matches. In 2011, I was 5-3 in who would win, but again a dismal 1-7 in the order of the matches. In 2012, I was at my worst with a 4-4 record on who would win, but as it has been for the past three years, I sucked in the order of the matches, going 1-7 for the second year in a row. This goes to show you that the WWE must know better than I on where a match should be placed. My three year record for who wins is a very respectable 16-9.

Anyway, that will not deter me, as I am again going to pick who will win and in what order the matches will be. Even though I tell you how a match will end, if the person, or team that I pick wins even though they don’t win it the way I say, it still counts as a win for me. Sorry my predictions, my rules. LOL. Its on with the predictions:

The WWE had announced that the following will be shown during the WWE WrestleMania pre-show which will start one-hour before WrestleMania:

WrestleMania 29 Pre-Show

Intercontinental Championship Match:

Wade Barrett (c) vs. The Miz

Its power (Barrett) versus finesse (The Miz). Wade is bigger and stronger than The Miz. But, what The Miz lacks in size he makes up with speed and wrestling smarts, something that Barrett lacks.

I am going with the Miz to win this one.

These are the matches that will appear during WrestleMania.

Match 1

Tag Team Title Match:

Team Hell No (c) (Kane and Daniel Bryan) vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston

If there is anyone who can take the title away from Team Hell No it could be the combination of Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston. They team up well against Kane and Bryan with wrestling savvy (Ziggler against Bryan) and strength (Langston against Kane). The deciding factor will be A.J. Lee. If she interferes Ziggler and Langston have an outstanding chance. I say it will happen as Langston will pin Bryan and win the titles.

Match 2

Singles Match:

Fandango vs. Chris Jericho

Let’s see, the WWE builds Fan-dan-go for over two months just for him to lose? Then again we really don’t know how he wrestles. Jericho is one of the best wrestlers of the past 15 years. Can you see Y2J losing to a newcomer. I didn’t think so. So I am going to go with Fandango in an upset.

Match 3

Singles Match:

Mark Henry vs. Rybeck

Two of the most powerful men in wrestling will compete in action. Forget about technical wrestling, this will be nothing more than brute strength versus brute strength. The thing is who will win? Both wrestlers are sure to hurt each other, but it will be the one who wants it the most. Rybeck has a lot to lose as the WWE has been trying to make him the next superstar. Henry has nothing to lose, he‘s been there, done that. Winner Rybeck in a very physical match.

Match 4

No Holds Barred

Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar

Triple H’s career is on the line

Shawn Michaels will be in Triple H’s corner.

At one time he was considered the “Next Big Thing.” Then he faded away, only to come back a year ago. Its Brock Lesnar versus the man who will be running the WWE for the next several decades. Both are fading stars who still have something left in the tank. This match will be more physical than the Henry - Rybeck match as nothing will be left on the table, so-to-speak. Do you think Triple H’s career will end. He signed a 3-year contract extension to wrestle on a limited basis. Lesnar just signed a 2-year contract to wrestler on a limited basis. Who’s contract is going to be terminated? My guess is Triple H as Sable will make a surprise appearance to distract Triple H so Brock can low blow him and then pin him.

Match 5

World Heavyweight Championship Match:

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger

The All-American, American, Jack Swagger takes on the Champion Alberto Del Rio. Both of these wrestlers can wrestle and this could be an interesting match. Both are strong athletic wrestlers who can use their strength and wrestling skills. At one-time the WWE was high on Alberto, they felt he could be the next superstar, but that didn’t work out too well. Swagger was on that path until his DUI problems curtailed it. Now, it must be a miracle that Swagger is in the WWE spotlight again, with a good storyline. I think the WWE is liking what they see in Swagger and he will get the win.

Match 6

6 Man Tag-Team Match

Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show vs. The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns)

It’s put-up or shut-up for The Shield. Now they face the team of Orton, Sheamus and the Big Show. Usually the Shield is no match for any single competitor as they beat them up by shear numbers, but that won’t be the case in this match. If anyone can beat The Shield it could be Orton, Sheamus and The Big Show. The match won’t go down as a classic match, because the Shield will win with the help of Randy Orton. Yep you read it right. Randy Orton will help the Shield win.

Match 7

The Streak On The Line

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

On paper, there is no way that CM Punk could beat The Undertaker. Luckily, paper doesn’t wrestle. CM Punk can elevate any wrestler he goes up against, just look at the matches he had against Cena. Punk made Cena into a wrestler and he did a great job. The Undertaker hasn’t been at his best for several years, yet his matches always are outstanding. Still, it will be CM Punk who will carry this match and make it a five-star event as The Undertakers streak comes to an end.

Match 8

Eight-person Mixed Tag Team Match:

Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay and Tensai) and the Funkadactyls (Camercon and Naomi) vs. Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes and Damien Sandow) and the Bella Twins (Brie and Nikki Bella).

This match was put together as a buffer between two matches. So, this is where I decided to stick them. On one side you have a team of technical wrestlers (Rhodes and Sandow) going up against to of the most uncoordinated wrestlers the WWE could find. The winners of the match will be Team Rhode Scholars.

Match 9

WWE Championship Match:

The Rock (c) vs. John Cena

This is the second year in-a-row that these two stars will face each other. “Fan favorite,” John Cena goes against the most electrifying WWE superstar of all-time, The Rock. Talent goes to The Rock even though he has only seen limited action in the ring since leaving to become an actor. Cena has the capabilities to wrestle, when he has the right opponent (Miz/Punk), otherwise he is a Hulk Hogan clone. Will The Rock take Cena to new heights? Will The Rock see Cena? Will The Rock be cooking? I say it will all happen as John Cena will defeat “The People’s Champ” The Rock.

BUT here is the twist, after Cena wins, Dolph Ziggler will cash in his money-in-the-bank briefcase and pin Cena to become the new WWE Champion.

There you have my predictions.

Who do you think is going to win this years matches??

With games starting as Sunday night when the newly minted American League Houston Astros host their cross-state rival Texas Rangers on Sunday night, the 2013 Major League Baseball season is upon us. No more talk about the Hot Stove, no more trade or free agent speculation, just baseball. Pure and simple.

But we still have a few days left before the first pitch is thrown and the long, arduous season is underway. That means we have a few more minutes to make some predictions and assumptions about how things will play out and who will be wearing the crown when the dust settles.

Today, we'll work on the American League, and then we'll follow that up with the National League tomorrow. So let's get started, shall we?

American League East

1.) Toronto Blue Jays

2.) Tampa Bay Rays (WC)

3.) Boston Red Sox

4.) Baltimore Orioles

5.) New York Yankees

No team in baseball did more to improve their overall team than did the Toronto Blue Jays. Adding three quality starters (R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, and Josh Johnson) to their starting five and then securing two solid top of the order hitters (Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera) and a pair of universal infielders (Maicer Izturis and Emilio Bonifacio), the Blue Jays may be the deepest team in baseball. They will beat teams on the mound, on the basepaths, and in the batter's box. Some pundits worry about how the team will gel, but the players acquired are all professionals of the highest order and that shouldn't be an issue. The AL East, in a weakened state, should be their division to lose.

Tampa will take second place and one of the two wild-cards in the American League. The Rays have the one thing all teams envy, and that's a deep pitching staff that will keep them in any game, and help them win quite a few. Unfortunately, the line-up outside of Evan Longoria is at its most barren and Tampa will again struggle to score runs. That may improve once the team bites the bullet and promotes Wil Myers, but they'll need to wait three weeks before that happens.

I may shock some people by picking the Red Sox to vault up to third place this season, and then again some will think this is a homer pick. That said, Boston did a lot to improve themselves throughout the order, adding Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, and Ryan Dempster. Furthermore, the pair of Clay Buchholz and Lon Lester have looked great this spring and they'll have a healthy Will Middlebrooks back. The only question mark is David Ortiz, but the team is deeper and may be able to withstand a short-term loss of Big Papi.

The final two squads could easily flip-flop in the standings. As much as I appreciated what the Orioles did in 2012, I think they overachieved and are in for a market correction. Baltimore did little to improve on a squad that managed only a +7 run differential and won more games with their bullpen than any other team in the American League.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are going to struggle to overcome the injuries to Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, and Alex Rodriguez. They may have a solid starting five, but they'll lose more offense than any team in baseball for the first three months of the season, and an aging Kevin Youkilis, Travis Hafner, Vernon Wells, and Lyle Overbay are not going to be the answer the Yankees need.

American League Central

1.) Detroit Tigers

2.) Cleveland Indians

3.) Chicago White Sox

4.) Kansas City Royals

5.) Minnesota Twins

The AL Central is likely going to be a brutal division in 2013. The Tigers are still the toast of the town and should be better than the 88-win team that won the division in 2012. The addition of Torii Hunter and the return of Victor Martinez should make the line-up even deeper and the pitching staff should be solid, with Justin Verlander topping the rotation and a full season of Anibal Sanchez to add to the mix. Closer is a concern, but the role is overrated anyway.

The Cleveland Indians have flirted with respectability each of the last two seasons, but stumbled in the second half of both. The front office reloaded by bringing in Nick Swisher, Michael Bourn, Mark Reynolds, and Brett Myers, but we should all keep an eye on Scott Kazmir. If Kazmir can be a shadow of what he used to be, this could be a very entertaining team to watch.

The White Sox have a lot of good going for them, but they are still only a third place team at best. Chris Sale and Jake Peavy are a solid 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation, but the rest of the starting five has its question marks. Will Tyler Flowers be able to carry A.J. Pierzysnki's weight? Will Adam Dunn ever get himself away from the Mendoza line? Can the starting outfield avoid regressing in 2013? That's a lot of questions to answer to make a two-team jump for the division title.

I really like what the Kansas City Royals did this winter. The front office finally said "we need to win", and they went out and traded their top prospect (Myers) to Tampa for James Shields and Wade Davis, and acquired Ervin Santana from the Angels. Still, will it all be for naught when these markedly better Royals squad still has to jump three other teams in the division? Will they regret losing a talent of Myers' proportions?

What can you say about the Minnesota Twins? This is a still a team that revolves around Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, but their window of opportunity has passed and the team seems to be set on building for the future. The fans will be treated to a talented rookie in Aaron Hicks and the team will likely turn to other young building blocks as the season progresses. The lack of a solid pitching staff and a young line-up likely means that the Twins will make more noise at the trade deadline than they will in the standings. Expect Morneau and Josh Willingham to be shopped extensively when the Twins fall out of contention in early June.

American League West

1.) Los Angeles Angels

2.) Oakland Athletics (WC)

3.) Texas Rangers

4.) Seattle Mariners

5.) Houston Astros

To me, this is the toughest division to pick. In the end, I went with the Angels taking the title, as they are just a dangerous team to have to face consistently. The addition of Josh Hamilton to a line-up that already contained Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, and Mark Trumbo will be devastating for even the best rotations to face. Jered Weaver is a solid ace at the top of the rotation, but the rest of the starting five is made up of number 4 starters at best, and that's giving Joe Blanton a lot of credit. Still, the team's offense should carry them.

Oakland is my runner-up, but could very well steal the division again. The starting rotation is as deep as they come, and Billy Beane's teams always seem to have another arm waiting in the wings, which they may need if Brett Anderson continues to struggle with his health. Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick will likely continue to improve and are solid offensive building blocks. The addition of Jed Lowrie is another good buy-low move by Beane.

What were the Texas Rangers doing this winter? A team with so much to gain just by retaining their top offensive weapon, Texas instead let Hamilton walk to a division rival and did nothing to replace him. They have the best prospect in the game in Jurickson Profar, but no place to play him, so why they couldn't swing a deal for Justin Upton with Elvis Andrus as a center piece, I don't know. The combination of Yu Darvish and Matt Harrison at the top of the rotation is solid, but losing out on Greinke is going to hurt them.

The Seattle Mariners, like the Royals above, did a lot to improve their team, first bringing in the fences, then bringing Kendrys Morales and Mike Morse to help an anemic offense support one of the most underrated pitching staffs in baseball. Still, they face an uphill battle with the Rangers, A's, and Angels still having stronger rosters to fall back on. The presence of Danny Hultzen, Taijuan Walker, James Paxton, Mike Zunino, and Nick Franklin gives the Mariners a top-5 prospect list to be envied by any organization.

Moving from the NL Central to the AL West was the right move for the Astros and will help them create a natural rivalry with the Rangers. Unfortunately, they have a few years of building a roster ahead of them, especially after dismantling the current one. There is something to be said about building a winner by losing on the field, but entertaining is not one of them.

The auto bids have just about been all handed out and now the final anticipation begins. The 31 teams that have won their respective conference championship are just waiting to see where their travel plans are and for who to prepare for. There are 37 teams that are going to be selected to join these 31 auto bids as at-large selection. Who will they be? Here is who is in and who I think is going to be in the big Dance. I have the #1 seeds Indiana, Gonzaga, Louisville and Kansas. All but Indiana won their conference tourneys and Indiana won their first regular season title in 20 years.

Atlantic Coast
Conference Class-Power

In: Miami
Going: Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Maryland, Virginia
Skinny on the ACC: The Canes win their first ACC title since joining the league 20 years ago and the 2^nd consecutive Florida based team to win the ACC conference championship. The Dukies quarterfinal loss prevents them from garnering a #1 seed. The Terrapins and Cavs got deep enough in the ACC tourney to not be left behind.

Atlantic Coast Conference Champions: Miami

Projected Bids: 6

Atlantic Ten
Conference Class-Major
In: Saint Louis

Going: Va. Commonwealth, Temple, Butler

Hoping For the Best, but will get left out : LaSalle, UMass

The A-10 Spec is: Saint Louis grinded out a tough win to earn their first automatic bid since 2000, VCU, Butler and Temple are good to go as well. I cant put LaSalle in. I cant see the selection committee giving the Explorers the benefit of the doubt.

Atlantic 10 Conference Champions: Saint Louis

Projected Bids: 4

Big East

Conference Class-Power
In: Louisville

Going: Syracuse, Georgetown, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt ,Cincinnati, Villanova,

Hoping For The Best, but will get left out: Providence,
Big East Skinny:  The Cardinals used a frightening 2^nd half blitz to rally to a win over Syracuse and win the final Big East tournament (at least with the configuration that we know and love) The cut line will stop at Villanova. Providence flunked its chance to crash in with its first round loss

Big East Champions: Louisville

Projected bids: 8

Big Ten
Conference Class-Power
IN: Ohio State

Going: Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin

Hoping For The Best, but will get left out: Iowa
The word on the Big Ten is: Can the Hoosiers get a #1 seed without winning the Big Ten? I think that they do. Ohio State grinded out a tough win over Wisconsin and gets the auto bid. The teams that are going have not changed but the only question is where is the cut line here? I think Minnesota in spite of their disastrous last six weeks should make it in, barely. Iowa gets caught on the wrong side of the cut line this year

Big Ten Conference Champions: Ohio State

Projected Bids: 7

Big 12
Conference Class-Power
IN: Kansas

Going: Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kansas State

Hoping For The Best, but will get left out: Baylor, Oklahoma
Skinny from the heartland:  The Jayhawks may have very well locked down a #1 seed here. The Wildcats, Cyclones and Pokes are tourney bound. But Baylor and Oklahoma are another pair of teams that are sitting on the sidelines sweating out the possible bid stealing scenarios from other conferences. But as it stands now I still only have four teams coming out.

Big 12 Conference Championship: Kansas

Projected Bids: 4

Conference USA
Conference Class-Major
IN: Memphis
Hoping For The Best, but will get left out: Southern Miss
Oh Say Can You C-USA Spec: The Tigers are Golden Eagles played a double overtime thriller, but the Tigers snag the  win and will ultimately be the only team coming out here

Conference USA Champions: Memphis

Projected Bids: 1

Missouri Valley
Conference Class-Mid Major
IN: Creighton

Safe: Wichita State
Missouri Valley Skinny:  Bravo to the Bluejays! They edged the Shockers in a thrilling finale and clinch the auto bid, Im pretty sure that Shockers will garner an at large bid. Northern Iowa is off the sheet and will not get a bid after losing in their first game.

Missouri Valley Conference Champions: Creighton

Projected Bids: 2


Mountain West
Conference Class-Major
IN: New Mexico

Going: UNLV, San Diego State, Colorado State, Boise State
Spec from the Mountains:  The Lobos howled their way to a championship in front of a rollicking crowd in Vegas. The Rebels, Aztecs and Rams are good to go? The Broncos? They may sweat all the way to the last region but I think that they will get in.

Mountain West Conference Champions: New Mexico

Projected Bids: 5


Pacific 12
Conference Class-Power
In: Oregon

Safe: UCLA, Cal, Colorado, Arizona

Hoping For the Best, but will get left out: Arizona State,
Spec from the left coast:  The Ducks are quacking all the way to the dance, leaving no doubt that they are the Pac-12’s best. The Bruins proved their worth all season and are in no danger as are Wildcats. Heres where its gets tricky Cal should have enough weight to offset their horrid first round stumble. Colorado avoided a bad 1^st round loss and played fairly honorable against Arizona so I think that they are good but the cut line hit Arizona State whose poor numbers and weak resume cant offset their tight win over Stanford and tough loss to top seed UCLA. They get left behind

Pacific 12 Conference Champions: Oregon

Projected Bids: 5



Southeastern
Conference Class-Power
In: Ole Miss

Safe: Mizzou, Florida, Alabama
Hoping For the Best, but will get left out:  UK, Tennessee
Spec is Down South: Wellllp! Ole Miss smashed any doubt of their tourney validity by upending top seed Florida to lock up the auto bid. I have the Gators along with Mizzou and Bama. Tennessee really needed to get to the semis to have a realistic chance and Kentucky isn’t really in the conversation other than being the first defending tourney champ since UNC in 2010 to not return to the tourney to defend its title.

Southeastern Conference Champions: Ole Miss

Projected Bids: 4


Western Athletic

Conference Class- Major
In: New Mexico State

Hoping For The Best, But won’t get in: Louisiana Tech, Denver
Spec on the WAC: The Aggies took advantage of upsets to cruise to the title and make this a one bid conference.

Western Athletic Conference Champions: New Mexico State

Projected Bids: 1

West Coast
Conference Class- Mid Major

In: Gonzaga
Going: St. Marys
West Coast Spec: The Bulldogs are in and are likely a #1 seed, I think the Gaels are good to go as well.

West Coast Conference Champions: Gonzaga

Projected Bids: 2

There are others in the mix to be sure. the champions from the following conferences get an automatic bid:  (bids earned in bold) Amer. East (Albany), Atlantic Sun (Florida Gulf Coast), Big Sky (Montana), Big South (Liberty), Big West (Pacific), Colonial (James Madison),  Horizon (Valpo), Ivy  (Harvard), MAC (Akron), MAAC (Iona), MEAC (North Carolina A&T), Northeast(LIU-Brooklyn), Ohio Valley (Belmont), Patriot (Bucknell), Southern (Davidson) , Southland (Northwestern St.), Sun Belt (Western Kentucky), Summit (South Dakota St.), and SWAC (Southern)

Final Spec Review on Monday
 

The next to last Spec Sheet of the year sees the day dawn with 12 auto bids being handed out over the course of the day. The sheet continues to be very fluid, and tomorrow there will be a spec sheet before the final games and just before the bids are announced.

Tuesday saw three more bids handed out as LIU-Brooklyn and South Dakota State repeated as Northeast and Summit Champs and return to the NCAA tourney. The Blackbirds are making their third straight trip. Valparaiso held off Wright State to earn its first tourney bid since 2004. Little has changed on the sheet aside from some minor corrections and updating the teams that have secured a NCAA tourney bid. There is only one championship being played on Wednesday as the Patriot League title is on the line in Lewisburg, PA with host Bucknell and Lafayette facing off at 7:30. The Big East, Big 12, Southeast, Pac-12 and Mountain West are some of the major conferences starting play with the Big East, Mountain West and Pac-12 playing an all day slate of games most of which start around Noon. Today and tomorrow will be the busiest college basketball days of the year. With apologies to the festive holiday season, for a basketball junkie this is the most wonderful time of the year.

Atlantic Coast
Conference Class-Power
Safe: Miami Duke, North Carolina, North Carolina State

Playing Their Way In: Virginia
Hoping for the Best:Maryland
Skinny on the ACC: Miami clinched its first ever ACC title regular season or postseason and have the #1 seed headed to Greensboro, but the Dukies are the team to beat after punishing Carolina in front of a sullen Chapel Hill crowd. Could we see a Miami-Duke ACC title game next Sunday with a #1 seed on the line? Virginia secured a 1^st round bye with a taut win over Maryland and may be just about safe. The Terrapins on the other hand are in real trouble after a late season slide they may need to get to Saturday at least to get back on the right side of the tourney equation.

Atlantic Coast Conference Championship: Mar 14-Mar 17 Greensboro Coliseum; Greensboro, NC

Key Games: Wake Forest vs Maryland Thursday 7p (ESPNU) The fading Terrapins had better not rely on the fact that they have beaten the Demon Deacons twice, if they slip up they have no shot at a tourney bid.

Projected Bids: 5

Atlantic Ten
Conference Class-Major
Safe: Va. Commonwealth,Saint Louis, Butler

Playing Their Way In: Temple

Hoping For The Best: LaSalle, Xavier

The A-10 Spec is: St. Louis will head to the Barclays center in Brooklyn and the A-10 tourney as the top seed after steadily pulling away from a fading LaSalle squad. While VCU and Butler are way safe. Temple just went safe after routing the Rams in front of a rabidly happy home crowd and a national TV audience who is getting a glimpse of how dangerously good this team is.

Atlantic 10 Conference Championship: Mar 14-17 Barclays Center, Brooklyn

Key Games: St. Joseph’s vs Xavier Thursday 6:30p (NBCS) The Muskies need to string together wins in Brooklyn to play bid stealer.

Projected Bids: 4

Big East
Conference Class-Power
Safe: Syracuse, Georgetown, Marquette, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt ,Cincinnati

Playing Their Way In:Villanova,

Hoping For The Best: Providence
Big East Skinny: The Hoyas blasted the Orange in front of happy home crowd in DC and will head to MSG as the #1 seed. There are plenty of safe teams here, Cincy isn’t totally rock Safe safe, but beating Providence will further that end. The Friars took a tough loss against UConn and have more or less faded into a win it to get in it Also the badly fading Johnnies who lost a heartbreaker to Marquette are in need to get to no less than the Semis on Friday to stay in the conversation.

Big East Championship: Mar 12-16 Madison Square Garden, New York

Key Game: Cincinnati vs Providence Wednesday Noon (ESPN) The Bearcats are a lot safer than the Friars who are needing to make a lot happen to get tourney consideration.

.

Projected bids: 8

Big Ten
Conference Class-Power
Safe: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin

Hoping For The Best: Minnesota, Iowa
The word on the Big Ten is: Indiana won a thriller against Michigan in Ann Arbor and head to Chicago as the #1 seed. Where the Gophers looked like they were home free, they take yet another hit on their resume, losing to Purdue. That combined with the steady improvement of Iowa means the Gophers are now looking up at not only the Hawkeyes but the Illini and Boilers have passed them in the standings. The Gophers may need a couple wins in Chicago to get back safe. If any bids get stolen, that may snatch the bid that just ten days ago looked to be in the bag.

Big Ten Conference Championship: Mar 14-17: United Center, Chicago

Key Game:Minnesota vs Illinois Thursday Noon (BTN) The Gophers might feel a lot safer if they beat the Iliini

Projected Bids: 7

Big 12
Conference Class-Power
Safe: Kansas, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kansas State

Playing Their Way In: Oklahoma
Hoping For The Best:Baylor
Skinny from the heartland: Just when you are about to write Baylor off they not only knock off Kansas and prevent them from winning the Big 12 title outright, they laid a frightening woodshed job on them that makes you wonder what this team can do if they put it all together. They still need to put in work to get in. Oklahoma took an abject inexcusable loss to TCU and really needs to get a win over Iowa State to be totally safe.

Big 12 Conference Championships: Mar 13-16 Sprint Center, Kansas City

Key Games: Baylor vs Oklahoma State Thursday 9:30 (FSN) The Bears need to get at least to semifinal Saturday to push their way in, beating the Pokes is crucial to that end

Projected Bids:5

Conference USA
Conference Class-Major
Safe: Memphis
Hoping For The Best:Central Florida, Southern Miss
Oh Say Can You C-USA Spec: The Tigers ran the table in the C-USA and are safe, though I still think that this a one-bid conference unless Southern Miss or UCF plays bid stealer.

Conference USA Championships: March 13-16 BOK Center, Tulsa

Key Game: TBD vs USM Thursday (CBSS) The Eagles will face the winner of the UAB/SMU and had better not even think of losing if they want to retain what slim tourney hopes that they have.

Projected Bids: 1

Missouri Valley
Conference Class-Mid Major
IN: Creighton

Safe:Wichita State
Missouri Valley Skinny: Bravo to the Bluejays! They edged the Shockers in a thrilling finale and clinch the auto bid, Im pretty sure that Shockers will garner an at large bid. Northern Iowa is off the sheet and will not get a bid after losing in their first game.

Missouri Valley Conference Champions: Creighton

Projected Bids: 2


Mountain West
Conference Class-Major
Safe: UNLV, San Diego State, Colorado State, New Mexico
Playing Their Way In: Boise State
Spec from the Mountains: The Lobos are safe, as are the Rams, Rebels and Aztecs. Im thinking that the Broncos could use another win to pad the win column. But im seeing 5 coming out here. All deserving.

Key Games:San Diego State vs Boise State Thursday Midnight (CBSS) The Broncos could Solidify their status with another win.

Mountain West Conference Championship: Mar 13-16 Thomas & Mack Arena, Las Vegas

Projected Bids: 5


Pacific 12
Conference Class-Power
Safe: Oregon, UCLA, Cal, Arizona

Hoping For The Best: Colorado, Arizona State
Spec from the left coast: Arizona and UCLA finished tied for the regular season title, Oregon took a shocking rout from the lowly Utes but did nothing to jeopardize their tourney status. Cal has been watching the other teams shuffle around them but Im thinking that they are pretty safe barring a bad loss in the Pac-12 quarters to the USC/Utah winner. Colorado didn’t get one of the four coveted byes and needs only to avoid a 1^st round loss to secure their dance ticket.

Pacific 12 Conference Championship: MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas Mar 13-16

Key Game: Colorado vs Oregon State Wednesday5:30 (PAC-12Net) The Buffs need only to not take an embarrassing pratfall against the Pac-12 cellar dwellers to be good to go. Keep in mind that the Buffs lost their season finale…to these same Beavers.

Projected Bids: 5



Southeastern
Conference Class-Power
Safe: Mizzou, Florida

Playing Their Way In: UK
Work to do: Ole Miss, Alabama
Spec is Down South:Just when you are about to send the Wildcats to NIT oblivion they up and drop a stunna on Florida. Big Blue Nation sits back with a smug look on its face as even those that most ardently despise the Wildcats (your humble scribe as an example) can not deny that they earned a huge boost to a very shaky resume. In a weak SEC they have but to avoid a first round embarrassment and they are good to go. Get past them and the chaff is pretty easy to weed out. Ole Miss and Bama are ahead of Mizzou I know but lack real weight to their respective resumes. I have 3 teams but knowing the committees tendency to kowtow to the noisy SEC patrons will likely give a 4^thbid. But they both don’t get one.

Southeastern Conference Championship: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville Mar 13-17

Key Game: TBD vs UK Thursday It would behoove the Wildcats to follow up their mammoth win against Florida with a win in their conference tourney game. They go right back to the wrong side of the cut line if they lose.

Projected Bids: 4


Western Athletic

Conference Class- Major
Safe: Louisiana Tech
Work to do: New Mexico State, Denver
Spec on the WAC: Are the Bulldogs in trouble??? After cruising through a majority of the WAC schedule they take a pair of damaging routs the latter to a Denver squad that is peaking at the absolute right time. This crew has one loss in the calendar year and are riding a 10 game win streak into Vegas. Now the Bulldogs hang on to the #1 seed for the upcoming WAC tourney with a better RPI (WAC tiebreaker) but the Pioneers look bound and determined to have some say so in who gets the auto bid. Do not sleep on Denver…they are the wild card that the big boy conference are now deadly afraid of. If they play bid stealer, and especially if they beat La. Tech in a winner take all WAC final this week it could make for a few sleepless nights for the big boys ahead of selection Sunday. Stay tuned.

Western Athletic Conference Championship: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas Mar. 13-16

Key Game:TBD vs Denver Thursday TBA (ROOT/FSN) The Pioneers need to get to the finale to stay in the conversation. They will play the winner of Texas St./Seattle first round game.

Projected Bids:1

West Coast
Conference Class- Mid Major
In: Gonzaga

Safe: St. Marys

West Coast Spec: The Bulldogs are simply waiting to see where they go and there better be an uproar if the 31-2 WCC champs are not only a #1 seed but waiting to see who they play via a Dayton First Four. Ignore the noisy wonks that say St. Mary's is a bubble team, I think that they are good to go.

West Coast Conference Champions: Gonzaga

Projected Bids: 2

There are others in the mix to be sure. the champions from the following conferences get an automatic bid: (Projected winners in parentheses/bids earned in bold) Amer. East (Vermont), Atlantic Sun (Florida Gulf Coast), Big Sky (Weber St.), Big South (Liberty), Big West (Long Beach St.), Colonial (James Madison), Horizon (Valpo), Ivy (Harvard), MAC (Akron), MAAC (Loyola-MD), MEAC (Norfolk St), Northeast(LIU-Brooklyn), Ohio Valley (Belmont), Patriot (Bucknell), Southern (Davidson) , Southland (S.F. Austin), Sun Belt (Western Kentucky), Summit (South Dakota St.), and SWAC (Southern)

Since this is still spec, everything here isn't in stone yet and we haven't even brought up the possibility of upsets. But those never happen, right?

Next Spec Sheet: Thursday (All 6 power conferences in action!)