On the local sports scenes, this is one of my favorite weeks of the year: the FedEx St. Jude Classic!

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LeBron James is everything we were promised... maybe more. Detroit tossed his Cavaliers yesterday from the NBA playoffs by smothering King James in a defensive style the Pistons are well known for. But give this kid some tools to work with & he'll continue to be a force to be reckoned with in seasons to come.

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Prayers go out to the family of Mississippi Valley State assistant basketball coach Cecil Dowell. He was killed in a one-car accident Saturday night near Como, Miss. Dowell was a native of Arlington & played basketball for the University of Mississippi in the early 1980s. He was in his first year on James Green's staff at the Valley.

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A Q & A with Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer:

Q - Lets say that Foster does go down this year, at a critical point in the season (lets say around week 13). Do you think that Williams can come and make a difference? And if so how much of a difference?
Go Gordon (24), Matthews, NC 5/19/06

A - DeAngelo Williams (of Memphis) will make some difference whenever he's inserted. Good or bad? Hard to say. He could be fumble-prone. He could be wonderful. But he's going to get playing time. As Dan Henning said this week to Charlotte Touchdown Club, he looks like "Mighty Mouse" -- small but strong -- and he's going to get some carries right away when Foster needs a break.
Scott Fowler 5/19/06

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When the NCAA purchased the NIT last summer, I made the prediction then that expansion of the NCAA men's basketball tournament wasn't too far behind. After all, there's no one that can sue them since they now own the NIT. More teams means more money... more money means a happier NCAA. Get the picture?

The rumblings of expansion started at the ACC's spring meetings last week. League members Maryland & Florida State feel shafted after being left out by the selection committee in March.

Will we see a tournament field of 80? How about more play-in games? I say leave it alone. The old saying, "If ain't broke, don't fix it," seems to apply.

Heck, if you feel you need to expand the field just follow the plan offered by Bobby Knight several years ago: just add a few extra rounds & let'em all play. After all, if that is not the plan, someone gets left out each year & that team & its fans get mad. But I can solve that problem.

Just win.

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Former St. Louis Cardinals standout Ozzie Smith fired a shot at Tony La Russa in yesterday's St. Louis Post-Dispatch... today, the Cards' skipper fires back.

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Surgeons warned this morning Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro has a long recovery ahead of him, following six hours of surgery yesterday to repair his broken leg. The colt's chances of survival are 50-50, an increase from what was originally stated. The good news is the horse is standing & even showing interest in the ladies.

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