Monday Morning Five-Pack

Another day, another brain dump. Hope this starts your week off well.

• VCU and Butler are the exact reason I didn't put any money on my bracket for the second straight year...I have no long have reason to root for the Kansas' and Florida's of the world. I don't care how much the Rams and Bulldogs killed my bracket - I want to be able to root for them. By advancing to play each other in the National Semifinals they assured that there will be David vs Goliath match-up for the final. My interest in the tournament normally wanes after the first two rounds, but for the second straight year I will be excited to watch. So who is going to win? Butler looks tough, but after watching VCU celebrate - Jaime Skeen especially - I saw one thing. They are not happy just to make the Final 4 like George Mason was 5 years ago. No, they look focused and ready for bigger things. I liked the fire that I saw in their eyes.
• Opening Day in baseball is four days away. It's a wonderful day as all 30 fan bases will be dreaming of a World Series title. Most of those dreams go out the window within in a few weeks - afterall, the reality is that only 8-10 teams really have title hopes. I am not naive enough to think the Mets are a contender, but I do know that they have some good pieces. I do know that after all that has gone wrong the last 4 years that something has to break our way. I also know that their is a new attitude in camp - one that is completely refreshing compared to the old regime. We might not be able to win 90 games but I think we can certainly surprise people and have a winning record.
• After scoring the game tying goal against Argentina, Juan Agudelo, the 18 year old New York Red Bulls forward now has 2 goals in 3 career USMNT games. Even though he has only played in 3 games, is 18 years old and has less than one year of MLS experience, national team fans have already anointed him the new savior, following in the steps of Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore and Charlie Davies. I get the excitement - he is young and exciting and provides a glimpse of what can be. We let a golden opportunity slip through our fingers in 2010, mostly because of a lack of scoring (no US striker has scored in the WC since 2002) and if we want to take the next step we need a striker who can score. Having a deep midfield is great, but it means nothing without goals. So yeah, it is important to find the next great striker...with that being said, I want to caution people to calm down. Agudelo is a great talent, but he is young. He can't legally buy alcohol. He should be attending his high school prom. Placing weighty expectations on someone so young can be crushing. Just ask Jozy Altidore, who while still being worthy of a starting spot has definitely not progressed as we all would have hoped. Let him get more games in NY and then a few more with the national team before we rate him as the next can't miss striker.
• I was going to do an entire Sounders write-up, but couldn't find the time over the weekend and now I have basically moved on to this Saturday's game. What I will say is that I love this team no matter how frustrating they are. That first half may have been the best I have ever seen them played. Again, they couldn't score, but their form was very very encouraging. While not on the score sheet yet, I think Fredy Montero is playing really well. Eric Friberg has certainly cemented his place in the starting 11 (at least in my mind) and Mauro Rosales is a breath of fresh air. The original story was that he was dropped from his Mexican team because he failed his physical, but new sources say that they signed him even though they were already at their limit of international players. He was made the scapegoat to save face and is apparently really eager to prove the reports wrong. The dude worked his ass off, quickly becoming a fan favorite (although J-Will reminded me that a goal would go even further in that right). Suddenly the midfield is even more crowded than we thought it would be. El Flaco is going to have to work to get his spot back and draft pick Michael Tetteh is no where to be seen. I would like to see a Zakuani-Alonso-Rosales-Friberg midfield this upcoming weekend (with Evans the first off the bench) to see what it has to offer.
• Finally, a few links for your Monday morning:

• Chad Ochocinco's trial with MLS' Sporting KC
• Gus Johnson calls various world history events
• The Gus Johnson sound board
• Dick Vitale killing VCU's selection into the tournament
• An Angry Birds movie trailer
• In honor of the new LeBron-Dwight McDonals commercial, here is the original
• My boy the Brockness Monster performing some trick shots