Maybe the Big East will have to rethink their tournament strategy again, as the double byes, designed to perpetuate the fortunes of the league’s top four seeds, turned out to be just that for three of the four teams lucky enough to receive them. In the Big East this season, bye + bye = bye-bye for #3 Syracuse, #10 Villanova and #16 Pittsburgh all suffering close but disappointing losses to lesser seeded teams who seem to have benefited from getting a warm up game on the previous night. In fairness, in order to pull off those upsets, the Hoyas, Golden Eagles and Fighting Irish respectively, all had to fight off teams that had played and won the previous night too, and didn’t seem to have any trouble with it. Only #6 West Virginia managed to take advantage of their double bye, and perhaps it’s no coincidence that they were the only double bye team to face a team with two tournament games already to their credit. The Bearcats were game, but just didn’t have what it took to finish down the stretch.

Day four of the Big East Tourney begins today at 7:00, when the Georgetown tips off against Marquette. The Golden Eagles are a game better in conference play, and a higher seed, but it’s the Hoyas who sport the little number next to their name, ranked 22^nd in the nation. The Hoyas lost their only previous meeting this season, 62-59 at Marquette in January.

In the nightcap, at 9:00, the 6^th ranked Mountaineers will try to deal with Notre Dame, their “new” 6^th man extraordinaire in Luke Harangody, and their painfully methodical style of offense. West Virginia lost their only other meeting with the Irish, 70-68, in January. On paper, both games look like potential barnburners, but little has worked out the way that it looked on paper so far in the Big East.

In much the same way, day one of the ACC Tourney began with upsets being the prevailing theme. And just like in the Big East, the lower seeded teams won three of the four ACC games held on Thursday. With Virginia, Miami, and NC State, knocking off Boston College, Wake Forest and Clemson respectively, only the match up to determine the Terps’ opening round opponent, between Carolina and Georgia Tech went the way that it was supposed to.

Raise your hand if you would have ever dreamt that you’d wake up on Thursday pulling for the Tar Heels. Indeed there were few even willing to concede early on that Carolina might be playing in a Thursday play in game at all. But when the Tar Heels took the court against Georgia Tech yesterday, given the way that the Terps had performed against both teams, Carolina definitely looked like the lesser of two evils from a Terps fan’s perspective. As the game wore on however, and Carolina seized and exerted their control from down 13-7, to up 24-13, the realization that both of these teams were far more talented than either of their records would indicate began to set in; as did the creeping feeling that a Carolina / Georgia Tech winner in their opener is a heck of a reward for winning a co-conference title. In the end, I found myself cheering for overtimes, lots and lots of overtimes. Instead, if the Terps are going to win, they’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way, and earn it.

All things considered, the Terps probably would have been better off facing a Carolina team that they not only had their way with this season, but also one that for all intents and purposes had nothing left to play for. Instead, they’ll get a Yellow Jackets club that matches up really well with them, one that still has NCAA Tournament aspirations and could really use another resume building win, and also one probably feels like the Terps may have stolen one from them in their last meeting with improbable and unforgettable heroics.

The Jackets are tough up front with Gani Lawal and All-World freshman Derrick Favors. Jordan Williams will have his hands full with whichever of those two Tech decides to impose on his side of the lane, but it’ll take a bigger than average effort defensively from Milbourne or whomever draws the other side of the post to keep their other options in check. If the Terps can successfully defend the frontcourt, they’ll still have their work cut out for them in containing Tech’s shooters. Peacock, Oliver, Bell and Rice all play significant minutes for Tech and all shoot 40% or better from 3-point land. Moreover, Shumpert and Udofia both seemed to find a bit of rhythm in last night’s opener, and along with D’Andre Bell provide the Yellow Jackets with a number of possible perimeter options.

Starting quickly will likely be a key to the Terps fortunes. It seems that even over their current 7-game winning streak, the Terps have been lethargic and somewhat disinterested at times. They seem to be operating under the pretense that they can turn it on whenever they need to, and so far they’ve been able to do just that, the likelihood of that continuing through the weekend and beyond though, gets slimmer as the price of poker continues to go up. The Terps will have to survive Tech’s early barrage, and whatever rhythm they may carry over from last night’s win, in order to be able to wear them down and take advantage of fresh legs in the end game.

In today’s other ACC action, the Cavaliers will try to capitalize on their momentum when they open the day at noon against #4 Duke. The Blue Devils were an 18-point winner in their only other meeting this season.

At 2:00, Miami will try to keep things rolling after an impressive win on Thursday. They’ll face a Virginia Tech team with whom they split home wins, with the Hokies winning 81-66 at home in January, and Miami returning the favor 82-75 in Miami two weeks later.

After the Terps play at 7:00, the Wolfpack will try to extend their season at 9:00 against the Seminoles of Florida State. The Wolfpack took the only meeting between the two clubs this season, beating the Noles, 88-81 in Raleigh.

All tolled, ESPN is listing 38 games on the tournament schedule for Friday, after 47 on Thursday. There are conference tourneys going on all over the country, and up and down your TV dial. And the real madness has yet to even begin, hold on, it should be quite a ride.

Can you jinx a team that already hasn’t won in 12 seasons? It seems that Tom Verducci and the folks at Sports Illustrated are trying, as Matt Wieters graces the cover of this week’s edition. Hopefully it’ll be the first of many memorable Wieters covers, but probably worth picking up and tucking away nonetheless. The article by Verducci is a glaring review of Wieters’ skills and potential, and may serve as a timely reminder that there are aspects of the Orioles’ impending season that still lend themselves to excitement and anticipation, even if the team itself still comes up woefully short in that regard.

As the sun sets on the football season and the inevitable tumult of baseball approaches, the Terps basketball team has thus far provided more than a convenient distraction in between, and may also be proving that this season is a little more than just the Greivis Vasquez traveling NBA audition that we feared it could become. As Vasquez goes though, so go the Terps, for better or for worse, as he refines his trade and attempts to solidify his value for scouts on the next level.

When Vasquez arrived at Maryland to begin the 2006/07 season, the accolades were easy to come by. The scouts were touting him as 6’5” with the potential to grow to 6’7” by graduation, and he would supposedly benefit from the presence of what appeared to be another budding albeit more traditional style of point guard in classmate Eric Hayes. After a prolonged stretch of Terps teams lacking in NBA caliber talent, Vasquez appeared poised to break that trend in a big way. In fact, given all of the hoopla, it was easy to envision at least the possibility that Vasquez could mature into the best Gary Williams era Terp in the NBA. His style after all, even from day one, always seemed better suited for a one-on-one style of game.

Three and a half seasons later, 6’5” seems debatable, 6’7” out of the question, and maturation is a relative term as well as a work in progress where Vasquez is concerned. Still, it’s not beyond possibility, that by the time all is said and done, Vasquez could be the best Gary Williams era Terp in the NBA anyway, maybe more due to a lack of impact by Gary’s Terps in the league than any great potential of Vasquez’ own.

The Terps athletics’ web site lists 17 former Terps, who spent at least one season under Gary Williams as having played in the NBA. For some, played is a relative term too. Here are my unofficial rankings on the Williams’ era Terps, ranked based solely on their NBA careers. Looking over the list, Vasquez won’t have to aim very high to get into the top 5.

The Honorable Mentions

#17. Cedric Lewis – There are lots of players who came and went through the hallowed halls of College Park that would’ve loved to have been the last guy on this list, but that distinction goes to Lewis. Inherited from the Bob Wade regime, Lewis played 2 seasons under Gary Williams, and tallied 137 blocks in 1990/91. Never a commensurate rebounder with his leaping ability, Lewis managed just 4 NBA minutes in 3 official games with the then Washington Bullets in the ’95-’96 season.

#16. Chris McCray – McCray came to the Terps as part of their first post-national championship class and played 4 seasons between ’02-03 and ’05-06. A starter since his sophomore season, McCray came right out of the gates as a double-digit scorer, averaging 11 ppg as a sophomore, and topping out at 15.1 ppg as a senior. Largely ineffective in other stat categories, McCray managed a total of 12 NBA minutes over 5 games with the Bucks in 2006-’07.

#15. Evers Burns – Burns a carry over from Wade’s last recruiting class played 4 seasons under Williams. As a senior, Burns took advantage of the opportunities afforded to him because of defection and disinterest to the tune of 18.5 points and 9 rebounds per game. He was drafted in the second round by Sacramento and played just 143 minutes in parts of 23 games for the Kings in ’93-94.

#14. Keith Booth – The current Terps’ assistant, largely credited with opening the door back up for the Terps to Baltimore recruiting, Booth started all of his 126 games as a Terp and managed double digit point production right out of the gates, averaging 10.8 points and 6 rebounds per game as a freshman and steadily increasing those averages to 19.5 points and 8 boards per game as a senior. Drafted 28^th overall by Chicago in 1997, Booth earned a ring as a member of the Bulls, but not much playing time. Largely limited by injuries Booth managed 2.9 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, playing an average of 10 minutes per over the course of 2 seasons.

#13. Laron Profit – Profit played four seasons under Williams and started for three. Appearing poised for stardom, the athletic Profit, leveled off stats-wise after his sophomore season, and never really became the player that many had envisioned in his first 2 seasons as a Terp. Drafted in the second round by Orlando in 1999, Profit never suited up for the Magic, but did manage to play parts of four NBA seasons, ’99-’00, ’00-’01, and ’04-05 for the Wizards and ’05-’06 for the Lakers. For his career Profit averaged 3.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game in an average of 11.4 minutes per.

#12. Terence Morris – Arguably a lottery pick after his sophomore season, one in which he averaged 15 points and 7 boards per game, Morris decided the money could wait and stayed in school. As a junior he saw his averages go up slightly, but his draft potential begin to drop, he followed it up with 12 points and 7 ½ boards as a senior and went to the Rockets by way of the Hawks in the second round of the 2001 draft. He played 117 games and started 12 for the Rockets in ’01-’02 and ’02-’03 and then made a comeback with Orlando in ’05-’06 for 22 games. For his NBA career, Morris averaged 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in just under 14 minutes per game.

#11. Obinna Ekezie – A starter from the midway point in his freshman year, Ekezie used his big body and brilliant mind to overcome the late start that he had on the game of basketball in general. He averaged a steady 12 points and 6 boards per game as a junior and senior, and then managed parts of 4 seasons with 5 NBA teams before finishing his NBA career in ’04-’05 with the Hawks. Ekezie played for Vancouver, Washington, Dallas, the Clippers and Hawks, managing 32 starts and 10.8 minutes per game in a 143-game career. He finished with career averages of 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. A noted scholar, Ekezie was probably always destined to earn a better living outside the NBA than in it, but still almost makes the top ten.

The Top Ten

#10. D.J. Strawberry – Son of Darryl, D.J. Strawberry played 4 seasons under Williams between ’03-’04 and ’06-’07 in a variety of roles. Strawberry’s development was debatably either hindered or enhanced by the fact that he was called on to play a number of different roles for the Terps in his four seasons. He finished his Terps career averaging 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists per game, and was drafted by Phoenix in the second round in 2007. In one NBA season, Strawberry averaged 8 minutes with 2.2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist per game in parts of 33 games. Strawberry currently plays for Reno of the NBA D-League, as a designee of the Rockets so the book may not yet be closed on his NBA fortunes just yet.

#9. Lonny Baxter – You could call Lonny Baxter the evolution of Evers Burns. Baxter was reluctantly awarded a starter’s role, late in his freshman season of ’98-’99 and never relinquished it. Baxter was a pretty steady 15 points and 8 boards per game as a sophomore, junior and senior and was a second round selection of the Bulls in the 2002 NBA draft. He managed 4 seasons in the NBA with the Bulls, Raptors, Wizards, Hornets, Rockets and Bobcats before going off to play in Europe. For his NBA career Baxter managed 162 games, averaging 11 ½ minutes, 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest, but may be best remembered for shooting a Glock randomly into the air while driving in the vicinity of the White House for no apparent reason.

#8. Sarunas Jasikevicius – Williams foray into the European talent market brought him Jasikevicius, and all of his 3-point range. A four-year player and two-year starter, Jasikevicius averaged 12 and a half points per game as a senior while shooting nearly 40% from three-point land. Overlooked by the NBA, Jasikevicius retreated to Europe, and became the shooting star of the Lithuanian National team, before surfacing with the Pacers in ’05-’06 and then splitting time between the Pacers and Warriors in ’07-’08. One of the most decorated pros in Europe and around the globe, Sarunas averaged 6.8 points and 2.9 assists per game in 138 NBA contests over 2 seasons.

#7. Tony Massenburg – A holdover from Lefty Driesell to Wade to Williams, Massenburg spent just one season playing for Gary. He averaged 18 points and 10 boards per game in that season, although no one could likely verify it since the Terps were in struggling in exile. Longevity and the ability to adapt were skills that served Massenburg well over his NBA career too, holding on for 13 seasons while playing for an NBA record 12 different teams including Houston and Vancouver twice each. Never averaging more than 28 minutes or 11.2 points or 7 rebounds per game, Massenburg finished his career with averages of 6.2 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18 minutes per game, over a total of 683 NBA games.

#6. Juan Dixon – There’s little debating that Juan Dixon was the most storied Terp of the Williams era as far as college careers go, the lightly recruited Baltimore guard who became a three time first team all ACC player, a first team all American, culminates his career with back to back Final Fours, a National Title and a Tournament MOP award. At 6’3” though, Dixon’s NBA potential was in doubt, but not enough to drop him from the first round as the Wizards selected him with the 17^th overall pick in the first round of the 2002 draft. Over 7 NBA seasons, Dixon has gone from Washington to Portland to Toronto to Detroit back to Washington, and most recently to Greece. A part time starter, in 436 NBA games over 7 seasons, Dixon averaged 8.4 points, 1.8 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game.

Totally Depressed Yet? The Top 5 is a Little Better

#5. Chris Wilcox – Only at Maryland for 2 seasons total, Wilcox didn’t find his way into the starting lineup until midway through his sophomore, and final season. His numbers are largely unimpressive, averaging 12 points, 7 rebounds and over a block per game, but his athleticism was unquestionable. Wilcox gave the Terps a gigantic boost down the stretch in their run to a national title, and rode that momentum into the draft lottery, going 8^th overall to the Clippers in ’02. In his 8 NBA seasons, Wilcox, currently with the Pistons, has played for 5 different teams, but may have peaked with the Sonics between 2005 and 2008. He’s playing 13 minutes per game for a bad Detroit team right now, averaging 4 ½ points and 3 ½ rebounds per.

#4. Walt Williams – Another Wade holdover, Walt the Wizard is adored as much or more by old school Terps fans for hanging around and giving us anything to cheer for as the Williams regime settled in, than for the wonderful memories he left us on the court. In his 3 seasons under Gary Williams, Walt Williams was called on to do everything from banging in the post to running the point. As a senior Williams averaged 27 points 5 ½ rebounds and 3 ½ assists per game for an otherwise anonymous team. He was drafted 7^th overall in 1992 by the Kings, and played 11 NBA seasons between Sacramento, Miami, Toronto, Portland, Houston and Dallas. At his best he was good for 15 points and 4 rebounds per contest, for his career he averaged 12 and 4.

#3. Steve Blake – Blake, the point guard from the national title squad and last significant pro the Terps have produced is currently playing, and often starting, for the Portland Trailblazers. A four-year starter for the Terps, Blake finished his Maryland career averaging 8 points, 7 assists and 3 ½ rebounds per game as a Terp. This season with Portland he’s playing 28 minutes per game averaging 7 ½ points and 4 assists per; pretty much right on his career averages. In a league rich in young point guards, but devoid of true traditional pass first floor leaders, Blake remains a niche commodity and his placement on this list a work in progress.

#2. Steve Francis – Only sticking around for one season at Maryland, Francis was probably the biggest recruit of the Williams era. After flirting with the NBA out of Alleghany Community College, Francis brought his wares to Maryland for one season, and averaged 17 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game before bolting to the NBA. Drafted by Vancouver with the second overall pick of the 1999 NBA draft, Francis refused to report and was subsequently traded to Houston where he became Stevie Franchise. In 5 seasons with the Rockets Francis averaged 20 points, 6 ½ assists and 6 rebounds per game, living up to his Franchise moniker. Disgruntled after the trade of his pal Cuttino Mobley, Francis spent the next 3 seasons with the Magic, and Knicks before returning to the Rockets to end his career in ’07-’08. Francis finished that career as a 3 time All-Star with averages of 18 points, 6 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game over 9 total seasons.

#1. Joe Smith – Joe Smith burst onto the scene for a Terps team in need of a jump start in ’93-’94 as a freshman averaging 20 and 12 per game. After putting up nearly identical numbers and capturing the Naismith Award as a sophomore, Smith wisely bolted to the NBA, while the getting was good, and before Allen Iverson or Tim Duncan had a chance to steal his money. As a result, Smith was chosen first overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 1995 NBA draft. As #1 overall picks go, Smith could be considered a disappointment, but hardly a bust. In 15 seasons since that pick, Smith has been through 10 teams and a variety of roles, but remains vigilant. At his best, you could pencil him in for 15 and 8, for his career, he averages 11.3 and 6.6. In addition to his 10 unique NBA stops, Smith has enjoyed 2 stays each in Philly and Minnesota, and is currently logging 9 minutes per game and putting up 2.8 points and 2.8 boards per for the Hawks. He’s also providing veteran leadership to one of the NBA’s most exciting young frontcourts, increasing his overall NBA impact still. Disappointing for a #1 overall perhaps, but as Gary era Terps go, Smith is easily the cream of a not so lovely crop.

Although he’d probably never say such a thing, it’s not Kurt Warner’s fault that the football world never fully grasped his greatness. After all, the only reason that Warner’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame, now that his career has come to a close, is even debatable, is due to the failures of 32 NFL football teams to realize that Warner was the truth. Forget about the numbers, Warner’s back-story alone is Hall of Fame worthy.

We’ve all known that guy, the one holding on to his pro sports dream for far longer than reason or common sense should allow. You try to encourage them, and hope that when reality inevitably sets in for them, as it did for all of us sooner or later, they won’t have wasted too much of their life. You can imagine the reactions that Warner must’ve gotten from his co-workers at the Hy-Vee market, as he espoused on his NFL dreams.

In a story too sappy to have been written for a Disney movie, Kurt Warner achieved heights that likely even surpassed what once seemed like little more than delusions of grandeur. Scour the landscape of sports, or American history for that matter, and you’ll likely find no better spokesperson for the concept of chasing your dreams, regardless of what anyone else may believe. Eventually, what Warner proved to us all was simply that doubting him was never a good idea.

Even as Dick Vermeil was giving his teary eyed, now famous, press conference, trying to convince the world that the team had confidence in Warner, it seemed he was likewise trying to convince himself. What he failed to realize at that time, what none of us could have realized, was that Warner had enough confidence and conviction to overcome what his teammates or anyone else lacked in him.

From there the rest should have been history. Warner’s exclusion from the NFL had been corrected to the tune of a pair of Super Bowl appearances, with a win in one, a pair of league MVP awards and a Super Bowl MVP award to boot. One might look at this season’s Super Bowl participants and the overall change of the NFL toward that of a passing game, and declare Warner and his “greatest show on turf”, the forefathers of modern offense.

Instead, Mike Martz instead declared himself the mastermind behind the “G.S.O.T.”, and jettisoned Warner to make way for Marc Bulger. One rocky season in New York, and Warner’s fairy tale ride appeared over. Shiftless and benched a few times in Arizona, Warner almost began to give the appearance of a guy holding on for too long. And who could have blamed him? After all he had fought to overcome to gain entry to the league, no one would’ve expected him to go out willingly.

A Sunday afternoon in Baltimore in 2007 saw Warner get another chance. Taking over for an ineffective Matt Leinart late in a 23-6 Ravens’ blowout, Warner led a memorable comeback effort, which eventually saw his Cardinals lose 26-23 in overtime. In a way it’s kind of fitting that it happened against the Ravens, the team against whom he made his improbable debut in 1999.

Now after leading the Cardinals, as he did the Rams, through an unprecedented stretch of success for their history, Warner rides off into the sunset; having put the exclamation point on not just a hall of fame career, but also a hall of fame story, a hall of fame pursuit of a dream, and is generally regarded as an even better human being than football player.

It’s kind of ironic that Warner goes out without much suspense or fanfare, not looking to command the spotlight, simply going away on his own terms, after fighting for so long to justify his belief in himself and his own belief that he belonged. Meanwhile, we prepare as well for the inevitable opposite as Brett Favre will soon begin the public spectacle that is his retirement watch. Especially interesting since Warner’s first taste of the NFL was as a free agent invite to Packers camp, hoping only to back up Favre, as unseating him would have been out of the question.

Forget about the numbers, which also stack up pretty well against current hall of fame quarterbacks, what Warner accomplished goes far beyond numbers. If ever there was a deserving Hall of Famer, Kurt Warner is the one.

Having made a couple of prudent if not barn burning free agent acquisitions over the off-season, win or lose, the O’s appear poised to score some runs. And maybe hindsight will show us that they actually made the best of a bad free agent crop at their need positions. And in bringing in veteran stopgaps, the team may not only have bolstered their lineup for the short term, but could also be strengthening the foundation for the future by bringing in veteran influences for their already robust stable of budding young hitters.

From a pitching perspective too, it would seem that at least philosophically the plan would be the same. Rumors however of Kevin Millwood’s apparent discontent at being traded to the O’s – not hard to believe – could be giving rise to concerns around the warehouse as to whether mentally he’ll be the type of influence on their young pitching staff that they had envisioned. If nothing else, the O’s apparent lack of interest in Erik Bedard – a much needed lefty starter – may be all the proof we need that providing a harmonious and productive clubhouse may be priority number one for the O’s. All of that though, makes the Orioles decision, so far at least, to go to the arbitration table with Jeremy Guthrie that much more perplexing and concerning.

Let’s face facts, and state the obvious, wins have been really tough for the Orioles to come by over the last decade or so. Their struggles on the field are well documented, but for the O’s, it doesn’t end there. From being relegated to second class status by the Ravens to having another baseball team parked in their own back yard, to steroid scandals, failed free agent bids, even bigger failed free agent acquisitions, the rise of the Red Sox, and all of the bad PR in between, success stories have been hard for the Orioles to come by. By all accounts though Jeremy Guthrie is an Orioles success story.

For his part, Guthrie should be having the time of his life right now. A once failed first round draft pick with the Indians, Guthrie was probably resigned to putting his Stanford education to use before the Orioles took a flyer on him, as he never managed to post 20 innings in a season or to register an ERA below 6.00 in parts of 3 seasons with the Indians.

Guthrie pitched 175 innings to a 3.70 ERA in his first season in Baltimore, and backed it up with 190 innings at an ERA of 3.63. At 17-17 lifetime for a sub .500 team, Guthrie had seemingly answered his critics. And then he found out that he had new critics, as the Orioles took him to task.

For his spirited efforts, on a club severely lacking in spirit, the O’s rewarded Guthrie with a reduced salary from $770,000 in 2008 to $650,000 in 2009. Think Guthrie didn’t take it personally? He responded with a point and a half higher ERA, and saw his WHIP go from a steady 1.23 to 1.42 in 2009. Whether he’d ever care to admit it or not, it would seem Guthrie’s feelings were hurt, his confidence shaken, and as a result, his production suffered.

It’s no secret that the Orioles won’t compete this season, not in the standings anyway. We do expect them to be competitive though, on the field, as if every game, every inning, every pitch does matter. How quickly they become truly competitive will depend on it. If the O’s expect Guthrie to be the type of leader that they’ll need in a formative clubhouse looking to take the next step, then they should reward him as such.

A vote of confidence for Guthrie now would probably go a long way toward burying any hard feelings remaining from last year’s dirty deal. Sitting across the arbitration table and espousing on the reasons why they shouldn’t pay him would likely add to them instead. Remember Charles Johnson?

If nothing else, Guthrie has proven he’s good to eat innings; you can likely pencil him in for 180+ conservatively this season. Why not use this opportunity to get another year out of him at a possible discount, before he goes out and puts up numbers like he did in the 2 seasons before last. It’s not like these young guys are beating the door down to claim his spot just yet. Two years and $5.5 - $5.75 million could be a big win for both sides. More importantly, it could avoid a touchy situation that could almost certainly have an effect on more guys in that clubhouse than just Guthrie.

If you’re going to challenge one time tested NFL axiom, you might as well challenge them all. In beating a path to Super Bowl XLIV, the Saints and Colts are not only proving that NFL success may no longer be as simple as a stout defense and clock consuming running game, but also challenging the conventional NFL model on how championship teams are assembled.

The most glaring similarity between the two clubs obviously begins at the quarterback position. Alas, if finding quarterbacks the caliber of Peyton Manning or Drew Brees were easy, then every franchise would have one, and the Colts and Saints would likely be suddenly much more mediocre by comparison. Since quarterbacks like that don’t grow on trees, let’s begin by saying that both franchises are somewhat lucky in that regard.

How they came by those quarterbacks on the other hand, is another matter altogether. While the Colts found themselves in the enviable position of picking first in the 1998 draft, and did manage to avoid the potential Ryan Leaf trap, picking Manning was as much of a no-brainer as there has likely been in the history of the NFL draft. The Saints on the other hand took a leap of faith on a quarterback in Brees, who never quite won the confidence of the staff in San Diego, and who suffered a pretty daunting shoulder injury on basically the eve of his free agency. In fairness, Brees did eventually find a little success in San Diego, but not before being benched for Doug Flutie for a season, and seeing the team draft their heir apparent at quarterback in Phillip Rivers. Still, a season ending shoulder injury as he went into free agency only added to the questions in an already lukewarm at best market for Brees.

With afranchise QB in place, NFL wisdom would lead you to believe that protecting that investment would become priority number one, and that doing so with highly regarded offensive linemen or prospects would be in order. For the Saints and Colts however, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Colts’ offensive line boasts Charlie Johnson a 6^th round draft choice in 2006 at left tackle (where he’s backed up by ’07 2^nd rounder Tony Ugoh) and Ryan Diem, a 2001 4^th rounder at right tackle. Between them, the Colts start 3 un-drafted free agents, left guard Ryan Lilja, signed and released by Kansas City in 2004, center Jeff Saturday, once property of the Ravens as an un-drafted free agent, and right guard Kyle DeVan an un-drafted free agent in 2009 have all done an admirable job at keeping Manning upright and healthy.

On the Saints side, right tackle John Stinchcomb, a second rounder in 2003, comes with the highest credentials. He’s joined by a pair of 4^th rounders in left tackle Jermon Bushrod (2007) and right guard Jahri Evans (2006), and a pair of fifth rounders in left guard Carl Nicks (2008) and center Jonathan Goodwin, drafted by the Jets in 2002, and signed by New Orleans as a free agent in 2007.

In both cases it would seem that the prowess of the quarterback offsets whatever shortcomings the offensive line may have to deal with. There’s also little doubt that both clubs benefited from good scouting, and probably wound up with talent beyond where player’s draft positions would suggest. Still, it would seem that a true franchise quarterback earns his salary by allowing the team to cut corners in his protection.

Instead of spending big money to protect their quarterbacks, it seems that both the Colts and Saints have placed a priority on stocking the skill positions with talent, and have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to do so through the draft.

The Colts have spent countless draft picks on offensive skill position players, and have had success on a lot of them too. Reggie Wayne (2001), Dallas Clark (2003) and to a lesser degree Joseph Addai (2006) have all been first round hits for the Colts and their offense. Additionally though, the Colts have spent recent first rounders on Anthony Gonzalez (2007) and Donald Brown (2009) who although the book is nowhere closed on either, have thus far provided little to justify their lofty draft positions.

For their part, the Saints have tried as well to bolster their offense with high draft picks, but with far less success. Reggie Bush, ordained by many to be the top overall talent in the 2006 draft, has proven to be little more than a fragile special teams ace so far, who can provide some interesting, if not consistent, wrinkles on offense when healthy. Without the spirited efforts though of un-drafted free agent (2007) Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell (signed by Denver in ’06 as an un-drafted free agent, and signed off waivers by New Orleans in ’08) the Saints wouldn’t likely be anywhere close to the peaks they’ve reached already this season.

In the receiving game, it’s much the same story for the Saints. They spent a first rounder in 2007 on Robert Meachem and a second rounder in 2004 on Devery Henderson, who both remain buried on the depth chart behind Marques Colston (7^th round 2006) and Lance Moore (un-drafted free agent by CLE in 2005, signed by NO in 2007). And at tight end, it’s former first rounder Jeremy Shockey, cast off from the Giants as a potential locker room distraction (to put it mildly) and former third rounder David Thomas gotten from the Patriots in exchange for a 2009 7^th rounder.

On defense, both sides seem to benefit from the security in knowing that even if they allow a score, they have an offense capable of getting it back. There’s probably a lot more inherent freedom to gamble on defense when you know that the offense will spot you a mulligan or two. What’s more, even if gambling on defense leads to a quick score for the opposition, all that means is a quick turnaround for the opposing defense to have to deal with the likes of Brees or Manning again.

For the Colts, their defense, much like their offensive line, is a who’s who of late round draft choices and un-drafted free agents. Amongst their starters on defense, the Colts boast only one first round draft choice (Dwight Freeney 2002) and one second rounder (Kelvin Hayden 2005). The rest of the defensive line consists of 5^th rounder Robert Mathis (2003) and un-drafted free agents Antonio Johnson (2005), Daniel Muir (2007) and Eric Foster (2008). At linebacker they have two 3^rd rounders in Phillip Wheeler (2008) on the outside and Freddy Keiaho (2006) on the inside, along with 4^th rounder Clint Sessions (2007) and un-drafted free agents Cody Glenn (2009), Ramon Humber (2009) and Gary Brackett (2003). And in the defensive backfield, Hayden is complimented with un-drafted free agent corner Jacob Lacey (2009), un-drafted free agent safety Melvin Bullitt (2007) and 6^th round safety Antoine Bethea (2006). That’s how you build a defense on a budget, and by putting an offensive juggernaut in front of them, set them up for success.

The Saints too have opted for defense on a budget, but have done it somewhat differently. In addition to a number of their own draft picks, some very highly, on defense especially, the Saints have done a great job at raiding the cabinets of other teams for talent.

On the defensive line they have first round draft choices in Sedrick Ellis (2008) at tackle and Will Smith (2004) and end, and have complimented them with a trio of un-drafted free agents, cast of by other teams in Paul Spicer, Remi Ayodele and Bobby McCray, along with Anthony Hargrove the former 5^th round draft pick of the Rams (2004) who had worked his way off of a couple of rosters due to drug and character issues.

At linebacker, the Saints have corralled a trio of free agents cast of by other clubs too in Jonathan Vilma (NYJ), Scott Fujita (KC) and Scott Shanle (acquired for picks from St. Louis). And in the defensive backfield the Saints have mixed it up, with un-drafted free agents Jabari Greer and Randall Gay (via NE) and 2009 first rounder Malcolm Jenkins and 2008 second rounder Tracy Porter. At safety they sport 2006 second rounder Roman Harper and compliment him with Darren Sharper, drafted by Seattle in the second round in 1997, and acquired through free agency after a stay in Green Bay.

At the end of the day, when you have to pay quarterbacks as highly talented and well regarded as the likes of Brees or Manning, it means having to cut corners elsewhere in order to facilitate it. Conventional (salary cap era conventional) NFL logic used to point to the draft as the best place to find those players. Hitting on early draft picks has long been the formula for keeping the budget under control. It seems that the Saints and Colts may have found an even cheaper, and possibly more efficient way to fit that need.

If these teams had done a better job though at drafting in the early rounds over the last few seasons, the results could have been much more dramatic than the show that we’re likely to see on the field in Miami. Either way, they’re likely to change the way teams look at doing business.

Maybe The Who said it best:

“Not trying to cause a b-big s-s-sensation,

I’m just talkin’ ‘bout my g-g-generation”

On the surface, the Ravens would seem to be big winners if indeed the NFL goes spend happy. They have a stadium that’s never been at less than capacity for an NFL game, with 70,000 strong season ticket holders, who paid substantial fees for the simple right to buy those tickets. Cashing in season tickets now not only means forgoing the game day experience, but also losing substantial upfront cash investment. It would seem that there’s little danger of M&T Bank Stadium housing many empty seats anytime soon, regardless of the economy.

Even more glaring about the Ravens’ potential position in an uncapped NFL is the makeup of the rest of the AFC North. It’s intriguing to think how competitive the Orioles might be if they shared a division with Cleveland, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. As it pertains to the NFL, you’d figure the Steelers will have a lot more marketing muscle than their baseball counterparts because of their national following, but Cleveland and Cincinnati, both already notoriously cheap would likely sink to the path of least resistance, a-la Bob Irsay in the late 70’s and into the 80’s.

The Ravens and Steelers then, would likely become the Yankees and Red Sox of the AFC North, and could run off for the division and a wild card almost every year, perhaps due in large part to 4 built in games with Cleveland and Cinci. The NFC East would likely become the most interesting division in all of sports; with the mega-market Giants in competition with the highly valued and deep pocketed Redskins and Cowboys. Life would likely get pretty tough for the Eagles, who occupy a market that’s by no means small.

The other likely undesired result of an uncapped NFL going forward would be more franchise relocations. Can you imagine how quickly a team would jump to get to LA if profitability and market size were directly tied to viability on the field? Can you imagine two?

Fans in Baltimore will remember the circumstances that led to the Colts departure from town. As it was explained to me, Irsay was already getting his communist-like share of the NFL’s revenue pie, and with no salary cap or floor decided to pocket as much of that money as possible and reinvest little in his team. Resigning to losing, and therefore not spending insured profitability, but also wore on the fans. As the fans hopes dwindled, so did their interest, and likewise ticket sales. Since selling tickets is one way to insure personal profit as an NFL team, 10 years of guaranteed sellouts, luxury suites and a fan base so starved for NFL football that they’d settle for the Colts was too enticing to pass up for an owner who only saw dollars signs in the first place.

On a side note, it’s arguable that the Orioles are headed down that same path. Baseball however has only managed to relocate one franchise in recent memory, and in attempting to do so had considerable difficulty finding a suitable suitor. That’s never been the NFL’s problem, not to mention that the NFL could probably fit another team in Chicago and two in Los Angeles already, two of the nation’s top three media markets.

So far, it seems that we’re still largely in the dark about the potential of the NFL’s continued labor unrest, and maybe that’s for the best. Both sides have seemingly done a pretty good job at laying out their best and worst case scenarios, and most of us are probably guessing that the solution will lie somewhere in the middle. Until then though, fans usually primed for the excitement of the off-season, free agency and the draft, are left to wonder just what this off-season will or won’t have in store.

For their part, for now the Ravens are bound by the Final Eight rules regarding free agency. As one of the last eight teams remaining, but not the final four, the Ravens will have some restrictions going into free agency if the labor agreement remains unresolved. They’ll be allowed to sign one free agent with a first year salary of $4.9 million or more. Additionally, they’ll be allowed to sign any number of free agents they want to first year salaries $3.275 million or less, with an annual salary increase of no more than 30%. And lastly, they’ll be able to sign free agents to replace any unrestricted free agents that they lose, to a salary equal to or less than the departing player signed for with his new team. Sound tough? It would have been worse if the Ravens had beaten Indianapolis and been one of the NFL’s final four.

The bigger question surrounding free agency is about who will be available. Players due to become restricted free agents after their 4^th year of service will now have that trigger moved out to 6 years. Presently, the Ravens web site lists 18 players as restricted free agents. Among them though, only Billy Cundiff has 6 years of NFL service, meaning that presumably a lot of potential restricted free agents across the NFL will be locked into negotiating with only their current teams. Can you say massive holdouts? In fact of the 26 total free agents listed on the Ravens roster at present, only 9 may actually find their way to free agency this off-season.

In fact for all of the hoopla about an uncapped season, we could be looking at the weakest free agent class in quite some time because of the additional 2-year restriction.  The great equalizer may be that teams now free of cap restrictions, even if only temporarily could take advantage of that opportunity to rid themselves of large burdensome contracts that they’d otherwise be forced to eat or to suffer large cap hits. I suppose there could be a number of big named, veteran free agents that may find their way unexpectedly to free agency this off season.

For now, at least we still have the draft, and draftniks celebrate, it looks like it could be one of the most important drafts in league history too, as teams may not have a lot of other options when looking to fill their roster needs. And pretty soon, the draft will be all that the league and the Players’ Association will have to distract us from what we’ve all grown to hate about sports; millionaires fighting over money.

One of the interesting new trends in the NFL of late has been the propensity of teams to look beyond the usual suspects in attempting to fill their head coaching positions. Perhaps in no small part due to the recent success of such upstart coaches as Mike Tomlin of the Steelers or the trio of rookie coaches in John Harbaugh, Mike Smith and Tony Sparano who all led their teams to playoff appearances in their rookie campaigns last season, teams have all seemingly begun to reach for the next young star in coaching.

After the early successes of Harbaugh, Smith and Sparano, the NFL reacted in kind. Eight head coaches were hired last off-season, and among them, only Mike Singletary who had coached a handful of games as the interim coach had previous NFL head coaching experience. What’s more, at the start of the 2009 season, only 3 of 32 NFL coaches even had rings as head coaches, Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin and Mike Tomlin.

It’s probably a good thing that Superbowl credentialed coaches like Brian Billick, Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher have settled nicely into the TV ranks, because based on current trends, it could be quite some time before the league could consider them attractive coaching candidates again. Guys like those are left hoping these days that the likes of Coughlin or Mike Shanahan can do big things in regard to reversing the current trend.

Look no further than Shanahan’s own situation to illustrate how far the plight of the recycled head coach has come. Do you really think that Washington was on Shanahan’s short list of attractive destinations before gauging the lack of perceived interest that the market seemingly had in him?

If this season had proven anything however, it may have proven that finding the next young rock star coach may be easier said than done. Of the 8 aforementioned head coaching positions filled last off-season, only Rex Ryan and Jim Caldwell saw their fortunes advance beyond the regular season. The rest of those teams are left to ponder whether their leap of faith was actually the right move.

In the playoffs however, a surprising, if not disturbing trend has arisen this season. In the 8 playoff games staged so far this season, all but one have been won by the teams with the least experienced coaches. Among the 3 coaches who went into 2009 with   Superbowl hardware, only one even qualified for the playoffs, and for his efforts, Belichick’s Patriots were rewarded with perhaps the playoffs’ most unceremonious ouster.

In the opening weekend, second year coach John Harbaugh watched his Ravens bounce the Patriots along with Bill Belichick, his 15 seasons of experience (10 in New England) and his three Superbowl rings right out of the playoffs. Additionally, Ken Whisenhunt, in his 3^rd season saw his Cardinals eliminate the Packers led by Mike McCarthy in his 4^th season at the helm. Rookie Jets’ coach Rex Ryan saw his team take out Marvin Lewis’ Bengals, in Lewis’ 7^th season as head coach. And in the read between the lines match up, Andy Reid in his 11^th season in charge of the Eagles lost to Wade Phillips, whose coaching career began 6 seasons before Reid’s, but Phillips only has 8 total seasons spread out over 3 cities of head coaching experience, and has only been in charge of the Cowboys since 2007.

The second round saw the only upset to the trend when 4^th year coach Sean Payton saw his Saints eliminate Whisenhunt’s Cardinals. Otherwise, Brad Childress in his 4^th season and the Vikings took out Phillips’ Cowboys, and a pair of rookies in Rex Ryan and Jim Caldwell beat out the oft-recycled Norv Turner and the grizzled second year vet in Harbaugh.

None of that likely gives us any indication of which way to go this weekend, as both championship games will feature head coaches of equal tenure. Childress and Payton, both in the head coaching ranks since 2006 will meet on the NFC side, while a couple of rookies in Caldwell and Ryan will duel it out for the AFC. And once the dust settles in 3 weeks, one thing will be for sure, there will be one more coach going into next season with that elusive Superbowl hardware, as a first timer is now guaranteed to win; it’s just matter of which first timer.

Experience is a funny thing. In a 16 game NFL season, every game is bound to pose a new quandary, we’ve seen evidence of that here in Baltimore over the last 2 seasons, as Harbaugh has found his way admirably, but has also endured a lot of lessons learned on the job. For years, we’ll be left to debate whether the Ravens’ success over the last two seasons happened as a result of the Harbaugh regime, or despite it. Hindsight will surely show that at least a few of the young coaches who saw success this season would fall into the latter category.

One thing that’s probably not debatable though, is that Harbaugh is surely a better coach today than he was two years ago. Heck, he’s probably a better coach today than he was on Saturday in Indy. Experience is what’s made him better, and what will continue to do so.

Why experience is no longer seemingly valued in the NFL is beyond me, but that seems to be the trend. It could make things very interesting going forward, as most of the veteran candidates for head coaching jobs will likely have to gravitate to college or coordinators’ jobs until their stocks rise again. If the NFL is a coordinators league anyway, the impact on the field could be interesting.

Once upon a time, experience made you rich; now, in the NFL at least, it just makes you undesirable. In this league though, everything is subject to change on a moment’s notice. Something tells me that there are a lot of former coaches secretly cheering for Coughlin and Shanahan.

It was a great run; let me get that out of the way first. The things that the Ravens have accomplished over the last two seasons, under a rookie coach and quarterback have to be considered far beyond any reasonable expectations, and that fact should not be understated.

Even as playoff losses go though, this one hurt particularly badly. Anyone even remotely familiar with the collective and intertwined histories of these two cities and franchises understands why this one will take some time to get over.

I should also get out of the way, that I was extremely happy to see Rex Ryan and his Jets advance their fortunes on Sunday against the Chargers, also for fairly obvious reasons.

With all of that said however, if the sting of the Colts leaving town over 25 years ago has yet to completely wear off for you, then prepare yourself. And if the fact that the records of the Colts are just that, with no real distinction between the Baltimore and Indianapolis eras, well maybe you should just avoid the TV for the next week or so.

It’s kind of fitting that in this, the season in which the NFL has elected to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the AFL, that the AFC title game will be a rematch of the two teams that met in the third and last Superbowl before the NFL / AFL merger became official. Well, they’re sort of the same teams anyway.

While it won’t be lost on fans around here that nearly all of those who watched that historical game with any vested interest for either side will likely be pulling for the Jets on Sunday when they meet again. New York Jets and Baltimore Colts fans alike will be united in their hatred for the Colts this time around, mostly anyway. Still the media will sell it as the rivalry renewed and a fitting celebration of the AFL’s 50^th anniversary.

So if you’re bothered by the way that the history of the Baltimore Colts has seemingly been engulfed by the entity now known to some simply as Indy, put down the remote this week. If it rubs you the wrong way every time Peyton Manning draws comparison to Johnny U, get ready for it, it’s coming. Even worse, few will likely take the time to distinguish, or even remember that Earl Morrall and not the Golden Arm started that fateful game. I can hear myself yelling at the TV already.

So while it’s easy to be happy for Rex Ryan and his host of former Ravens for their berth in the AFC title game, and as fitting as it may be to see the Colts knocked out of the playoffs by the team that they essentially invited back into the playoffs with their controversial week 16 decision, expect the lead up to be brutal.  Maybe it’s time to take a break from football for a little while, or at least from this week’s coverage.

Somewhere, deep down in the recesses of his soul, in the places that no one ever gets to hear about, David Stern is probably thanking his lucky stars for Agent Zero and his lack of judgment.   After all, which NBA storyline has you most captivated this season? Is it the Celtics quest to get some semblance of a healthy team to the playoffs, the Shaq and LeBron experiment in Cleveland, the eight starting point guards under 30 that are establishing the next generation of superstars, the growing trade market, the improbable rise of the Suns? Sadly, the likely answer is the Gilbert Arenas saga.

But if not for Arenas, would we be likely to be paying attention to any of the aforementioned anyway? Doubtful.

Obviously, on the surface at least, Arenas’ actions are indefensible. But as more and more of the story begins to trickle out, it’s beginning to seem like the Wizards and the league have positioned Arenas directly into the crosshairs, to bear the brunt of the responsibility for a situation that seems to have plenty of culpability to spread around.

First were the initial reports, simply that police were investigating Arenas and his possession of guns at the Verizon Center. As news, this failed to even register on the radar, as Arenas quickly explained that he felt the need to get them out of his home, and also that Wizards security had been aware of their presence. Par for the course in the NBA these days I suppose, and reasonably explained at that. There didn’t seem much reason for concern, other than the fact that the guns were apparently unregistered, and that this isn’t Gilbert’s first firearm related transgression.

As the story began to develop though, a number of new questions began to arise, and a lot of them have still yet to be answered. The subsequent report that Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton had “drawn guns on each other” in the Wizards locker room, suddenly made the investigation at least, make sense. The fact that as the story moved forward, Arenas’ was seemingly the only one being scrutinized had to be puzzling to most, but that was all of the news that the team, the league or even the police were giving us. So we were left to wonder, or draw or own conclusions about what Crittenton’s involvement was, or whether the locker room incident took place before or after Wizards security was notified about the guns being there in the first place.

Purists, real die hard purists I’m talking about here, were also left at this point to contemplate whether or not an incident such as this supercedes what we’ve all come to accept as the unwritten rules of the locker room. In-house business after all, should stay in house, and if forced to bet, I’d have to guess that this wasn’t the first time that a gun or guns were drawn in an NBA, NFL or MLB locker room. It was however, the first that we had heard about. You have to wonder what would have happened if it were Shaq and LeBron holding one another at gunpoint, or Jordan and Pippen back in the day. My guess is that if that did happen, we’d never likely find out about it. What’s more, I’d bet that if Arenas had been living up to the $111 million contract that he signed before last season, we probably never would have heard about this one either.

Since Arenas was positioned firmly out in front of this thing, and since he was the only one speaking from the heart about it too, we flocked to his Twitter feed, for updates on the situation, and Arenas didn’t disappoint. In true Arenas fashion, he shot misguidedly from the hip, and tried to put his usual light-hearted spin on things. We probably shouldn’t have expected anything else from Arenas. In fact, if the NBA was expecting anything else from Arenas they were misguided at best, not taking greater steps to help Gilbert help himself in the days following the news breaking was either downright stupid by the league, or a calculated decision to allow Arenas to be his own undoing.

So now, finally, we think we have the real story, or most of it at least. And I, for one, am finding myself empathizing with Arenas. For those still catching up, the latest reports from various media sources have Arenas and Crittenton arguing over a gambling debt from a team flight. When Arenas fails to pay up, Crittenton threatens to shoot him in his recently repaired knee. Arenas, in a move that should surprise no one, laid out 4 empty guns for Crittenton, and advised (jokingly you’d assume) him to pick one. The story continues that Crittenton instead pulled out his own weapon, chambered a round and brandished it at Arenas.

If that’s the case, then it would seem that Crittenton would deserve the bulk of the responsibility for the incident. All Arenas did, technically, according to the story, was to show 4 unloaded guns to a teammate, albeit at the worst possible time. Crittenton on the other hand actively threatened Arenas, and as yet has seen little if any repercussions. Whether the guns were already at the arena before the incident, or were actually brought in as a response to Crittenton’s threat, whether or not security was notified before or after the incident about the fact that the guns were present, and surely a number of other questions still remain unanswered, at least publicly so far, at the heart of this matter, but so far everything still seems to center around Arenas.

So what is the league’s real perspective on this? Obviously it’s an unfortunate blemish on the image of the game, but it may have come at the best possible time for the league. After all, despite all of the potentially compelling storylines that the NBA has to offer this year, it’s just too early for anyone outside of the fanatics to be truly interested yet. We just got through college football, we’re still digesting the NFL Playoffs, acquainting ourselves with the new landscape of college basketball, and even preparing for the Winter Olympics. It’s not even the All-Star break in the NBA, and the trade deadline is likely to see as much movement as any NBA season in recent memory. It’s simply too early to get invested in the NBA just yet.

So if there were one other NBA related story that would have been likely to grab our attention at this early stage in the game, it probably would have been the Tim Donaghy book tour. From a league perspective, the Arenas incident, while unfortunate, provides the league and the commissioner an opportunity to look like the keepers of the purity of the game, rather than the game fixing, Mafioso-like machine that Donaghy is making them out to be, and have stolen the headlines from him in the process. The fact that gambling is at the heart of this matter too, is little more than an inconvenient truth that continues to be overlooked as long as Agent Zero continues to do his part in inviting the attention and criticism, that we’re all to anxious to shower him with, while the league as a whole gets off Scott-free.

From the Wizards perspective, it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which this could have been vastly different too. Let’s assume that this incident came to the attention of team management before it came to the attention of the authorities, a reasonable assumption, but a broad one no doubt. If the Wizards had been sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, and Arenas was playing 42 minutes a night and earning every penny of that $111 million (if that’s even possible), or even easier to envision, if this had been Kobe and Ron Artest, do you think the team would have been so quick to bring in outside authorities? Somehow, as dramatic as this whole incident seems to be, I have to believe that if it made sense for the Wizards to do so, it could have been worked out in-house.

Surely the next step for the Wizards is to try and void Arenas’ contract, and free themselves from the burden of a horrible investment that looks like an anvil they’ll be forced to drag forward otherwise. The more this story continues to develop, the more it appears that was the plan all along.