Every Conference Tournament Date
Click HERE to go to website to view each bracket!
ATLANTIC COAST CONF TOURNAMENTMarch 8-11 -- Atlanta -- Philips Arena
Bracket and results »
AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENTMarch 1-10 -- Hartford, Conn. (Title Game at Higher Seed)
Bracket and results »
ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENTMarch 6-11 -- Atlantic City, N.J. -- (First Round Campus Sites)
Bracket and results »
ATLANTIC SUN TOURNAMENTAuto bid: Belmont (27-7)
Belmont rallies for win »
Bracket and results »
BIG 12 TOURNAMENTMarch 7-10 -- Kansas City, Mo. -- Sprint Center
Bracket and results »
BIG EAST TOURNAMENTMarch 6-10 -- New York -- Madison Square Garden
Bracket and results »
BIG SKY TOURNAMENTMarch 3-7 -- (First Round at Higher Seeds)
Bracket and results »
BIG SOUTH TOURNAMENTAuto bid: UNC Asheville (24-9)
Bulldogs back in NCAA tourney »
Bracket and results »
BIG TEN TOURNAMENTMarch 8-11 -- Indianapolis -- Bankers Life Fieldhouse
Bracket and results »
BIG WEST TOURNAMENTMarch 8-10 -- Anaheim, Calif. -- Honda Center
Bracket and results »
COLONIAL TOURNAMENTAuto bid: VCU (28-6)
Rams rest easy after holding on »
Bracket and results »
CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENTMarch 7-10 -- Memphis, Tenn. -- FedEx Forum
Bracket and results »
GREAT WEST: NO AUTO BIDMarch 8-10 -- Chicago -- Jones Convocation Center
Bracket and results »
HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENTAuto bid: Detroit (22-13)
Titans pound host Valpo »
Bracket and results »
IVY LEAGUEAuto bid goes to regular-season winner Harvard
METRO ATLANTIC TOURNAMENTAuto bid: Loyola (24-8)
First NCAA bid in 18 years »
Bracket and results »
MID-AMERICAN TOURNAMENTMarch 5-10 -- Cleveland -- (First Round Campus Sites)
Bracket and results »
MID-EASTERN TOURNAMENTMarch 5-10 -- Winston Salem, N.C. -- Joel Coliseum
Bracket and results »
MISSOURI VALLEY CONF TOURNAMENTAuto bid: Creighton (28-5)
Creighton wins in OT »
Bracket and results »
MOUNTAIN WEST CONF TOURNAMENTMarch 8-10 -- Las Vegas -- Thomas & Mack Center
Bracket and results »
NORTHEAST CONF TOURNAMENTMarch 1-7 -- Campus Sites (Higher Seeds)
Bracket and results »
OHIO VALLEY TOURNAMENTAuto bid: Murray State (30-1)
Racers beat TSU in thriller »
Bracket and results »
PAC-12 TOURNAMENTMarch 7-10 -- Los Angeles -- Staples Center
Bracket and results »
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENTFebruary 29-March 7 -- Campus Sites (Higher Seeds)
Bracket and results »
SOUTHEASTERN CONF TOURNAMENTMarch 8-11 -- New Orleans -- New Orleans Arena
Bracket and results »
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTAuto bid: Davidson (25-7)
Wildcats survive 2OT shootout »
Bracket and results »
SOUTHLAND TOURNAMENTMarch 7-10 -- Katy, Texas -- Merrell Center
Bracket and results »
SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNAMENTAuto bid: S. Dakota State (27-7)
Jackrabbits earn first NCAA bid »
Bracket and results »
SUN BELT TOURNAMENTAuto bid: W. Kentucky (15-18)
7-seed 'Toppers rally for title »
Bracket and results »
SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC TOURNAMENTMarch 7-10 -- Garland, Texas -- Special Events Center
Bracket and results »
WESTERN ATHLETIC TOURNAMENTMarch 8-10 -- Las Vegas -- Orleans Arena
Bracket and results »
WEST COAST TOURNAMENTAuto bid: Saint Mary's (27-5)
Gaels beat rival Zags in OT »
Bracket a
Irsay better hope he's right on Manning
Peyton Manning is getting cut.
Let that sink in.
One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time -- some would say the most technically sound man to ever play the position -- is getting cut. Peyton Manning. The assassin. The leader. The face of the Indianapolis Colts' franchise. A man so ruthless with the football that Bill Belichick, of all people, famously feared him.
Cut. Gone. Done. Thanks for playing. See you in Canton.
Peyton Manning won 141 games and eight division titles as the Colts' quarterback.It is like the Chicago Bulls waving goodbye to Michael Jordan, or the Edmonton Oilers saying farewell to Wayne Gretzky. There are no fairy tales, not in professional sports, only reminders of how harsh a business it is.
If Peyton Manning can get cut, no one in the NFL is safe.
This has been coming for weeks, since the two sides fired up their spin machines shortly before the NFL arrived in Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI. It had to end like this because of how Manning's contract was structured.
But the news is jarring nonetheless, and it left me with this: Jim Irsay had better be right.
For Irsay's tweeting sake, Manning had better be done. He's better not be able to throw the ball more than 20 yards downfield. He'd better not be able to win or to scare defenses so badly that they never blitz for fear of leaving a receiver open for Manning to hit.
Manning's win total had better be stuck on 141, his passing touchdowns on 399, his regular-season starts at 208, his passing yards at a ridiculous 54,828, his NFL MVP honors at four, his division titles won on eight, his Super Bowl appearances at two and his Super Bowl MVP awards at one.
Manning at 36 years old -- his birthday is March 24 -- had better not be Manning at 33, still able to lead a team, to direct a franchise, to win 10 games, to win the AFC South, to reach the playoffs. He'd better not join Washington or Miami or Kansas City or Arizona or the New York Jets or whichever team opens its doors to him and, with his fierce competitiveness, turn them into a winner as he did in Indianapolis. He'd better not be out there pointing and waving and calling plays and making adjustments as he did so masterfully for 13 seasons in Indianapolis.
Irsay had better be right, or he will go down as the man who cut Peyton Manning, potentially the G.O.A.T., before it was time. In a Midwestern city that loves its quarterback's loyalty, his charity, his family and his professionalism, Irsay had better be right or he will never be forgiven. That beautiful stadium downtown very well might go dark.
Every franchise quarterback wants to be John Elway or Dan Marino, Troy Aikman or Terry Bradshaw. Joe Montana didn't want to leave San Francisco. Brett Favre didn't want to leave Green Bay. They wanted to finish what they started, to keep playing, keep grinding, keep winning.
The 49ers had Steve Young waiting. The Packers had Aaron Rodgers. Those were sound business decisions that worked out better for the teams than for the veterans. Montana finished up in Kansas City and Favre, it seems, is finally done after stops with the Jets and Minnesota.
The Colts have the No. 1 pick in the draft. They have a clear path to Andrew Luck, a quarterback most analysts have tabbed as the real thing, a can't-miss prospect, a legitimate longtime starter. Luck is coming from a pro-style offense and played the majority of his career for Jim Harbaugh.
Had the Colts not been in position to draft Luck, maybe they would've worked harder to restructure Manning's deal. Maybe they would've pushed to keep Manning, to let his career end the way it should -- in a Colts uniform, chasing a third Super Bowl appearance, trying to become the fourth quarterback to win a Super Bowl after the age of 35.
But Luck was there. The pick was there. It all set up for this ending.
With the information he had at the moment and given the deadline to make a decision, Irsay really had no choice but to cut Manning. It would have been fiscally irresponsible to pay a $28 million bonus to a soon-to-be 36-year-old coming off four neck surgeries who didn't play a snap last season when you have a potential starter coming in at a greatly reduced price.
Irsay probably is right. It makes sense. But with so many variables, we can't be sure yet. We will have to wait and see.
Can Luck make the transition to the pros? Can he learn, and adapt, and do so quickly? Will he have enough help? Will the Colts be able to build around him as they did around Manning, and do so relatively quickly?
And what of Manning? Can he throw? Can he get his arm strength back? Which team will sign him, and will it give Manning the control he craves? Will there be the pieces in place to win in 2012?
Irsay's decision to cut Manning closes the book on Manning's Colts career, but the story is not over. There are chapters still to write.
Manning is fiercely competitive. He will want to make Irsay rue the day he cut him.
More than anything, Manning will want to prove Irsay wrong. Irsay had better hope he was right.
TV Schedule for Todays Games
March 07, 2012
Game Time TV
Connecticut vs. West Virginia 12:00 pm
Sam Houston vs. Stephen F. Austin 1:00 pm
East Carolina vs. Rice 1:00 pm CSS
Alabama A&M vs. Texas Southern 1:30 pm
Pittsburgh vs. Georgetown 2:00 pm
Oregon St. vs. Washington St. 3:10 pm FSN Regional
N'western St. vs. Lamar 3:30 pm
SMU vs. Marshall 3:30 pm CSS
USC vs. UCLA 5:40 pm FSN Regional
Hampton vs. Savannah St. 6:00 pm
Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma 7:00 pm ESPN Full Court
Robert Morris at Long Island 7:00 pm ESPN2
Seton Hall vs. Louisville 7:00 pm
Nicholls St. vs. UT-Arlington 7:00 pm
Northern Ill. vs. Western Mich. 7:00 pm STO Network
Lehigh at Bucknell 7:00 pm CBS Sports Network
Houston vs. UTEP 7:30 pm CSS
Howard vs. Norfolk St. 8:00 pm
Villanova vs. South Florida 9:00 pm
Jackson St. vs. Mississippi Val. 9:00 pm
Weber St. at Montana 9:00 pm
Arizona St. vs. Stanford 9:10 pm FSN Regional
Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma St. 9:30 pm ESPN Full Court
Central Mich. vs. Toledo 9:30 pm STO Network
UT-San Antonio vs. McNeese St. 9:30 pm
Tulane vs. UAB 10:00 pm CSS
Utah vs. Colorado 11:40 pm FSN Regional
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