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Patriot League Championship on ESPN2

Spring sports are early in the season, and the NCAA Wrestling championships are net week. That means for Lehigh fans the most important game of the weekend is happening at 4:30 on ESPN2: the Patriot League championship in Worcester, Mass between Bucknell and Holy Cross.

It's fitting that the two teams that were head-and-shoulders better than the rest of the league should be playing in the final (though Holy Cross escaped on Sunday against feisty American, 55-53). What should be worrying Bill Simmons and the rest of the insane Holy Cross fans is that Bucknell is finally healthy, and if their inside-out game of screens, C Chris MacNaughton and F Donald Brown are clicking, it's hard to picture the Crusaders getting the win, even if Keith Simmons and Torey Thomas are doing their thing.

I did like this from Bill Simmons' Monday posting though:

• Get your TiVo ready for Bucknell at Holy Cross, Friday, 4:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2, winner advances to the NCAA Tournament! It's just too bad that Rob Stone and Bill Simmons won't be calling the action -- I could have broken Tommy Heinsohn's "most shameless homer of all time" benchmark for basketball announcing. They should have done an ESPN Full Circle and had us announce the game for ESPNU. Has an announcer ever gotten kicked off the courtside table for arguing with the refs before? Could have happened.

(Note: A few readers pointed out that Joe Lunardi's latest "Bracketology" column had No. 4 Texas pitted against No. 13 Holy Cross in Round 1. That's just cruel. I think Joe's trying to mess with my head.)

Note to Bill: I will gladly volunteer to do for free the first-round game with you should Holy Cross make the big dance. I personally guarantee you would get the most biased coverage on the planet. Picture this:

Chuck: Oden with the dunk over Clifford! Ouch! Bill, I think there was a DEFINITE change on that play.

Bill: I'd like to call Oden a student at OSU, but I have to keep the word student in quotes, since I can't prove he actually took any classes. Yes! Thomas for three!

Chuck: Are you freakin' kidding me? How could you not call a travel on Conley there? BOOO... Bill, are you leading the cheers from the announcer's booth again? That's not exactly kosher.

Bill: I'm going to give you a Tommy Point Chuck, just so you'll shut up.

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