Soft Pretzel Logic

It all starts tomorrow, finally. For today, we have a few things.

-- Today's College HoopsCast features Inquirer women's basketball writer Mel Greenberg, as well as an exclusive with ESPN.com bracketologist and St. Joe's radio analyst Joe Lunardi.

-- Elsewhere in the podcast universe, ESPN.com's Andy Glockner (a Penn alumnus) heeds our cry here on the blog and calls out Pat Forde for never having been to the Palestra.

And should Mr. Forde come across this blog, I will be glad to offer tips on where to eat and drink in the neighborhood, as he is known to be fond of that sort of thing.

-- Speaking of Forde and his neck of the woods, you take a guess as to what folks in Lexington, Ky., are feeling like today after Gardner-Webb knocked off Kentucky last night. Sounds from that story like they're doing their best impression of us here in Philadelphia.

-- The latest poll results, but remember voting continues through Saturday morning:

Drexel 644
La Salle 20
Penn 70
Temple 30
Saint Joseph's 144
Villanova 671
Somebody else 34 (and still, none of them say who their team is)

Be sure to check out today's headlines on the right side of the blog, including the Inquirer's Penn preview and a great piece on former Temple coach Wayne Hardin, who was in charge of the Owls the last time they were good.

And the football crunchy numbers, which I've just been too busy to work on until now:

24. Penn State -- home win against Purdue (32)
45. Rutgers -- road loss vs. Connecticut (11)
75. Delaware -- home win vs. James Madison (87)
110. Villanova -- road loss vs. Richmond (81)
132. Temple -- road loss vs. Ohio (112)
139. Delaware State road win vs. Winston-Salem State (190)
172. Lehigh -- road win vs. Colgate (159)
189. Lafayette -- home win vs. Bucknell (228)
199. Penn -- home win vs. Princeton (207)
242. La Salle -- road loss at Wagner (216)

Nothing much to see here this week, but I'm quite amused at how highly ranked Connecticut is even with one loss. Boise State is 28th and Hawai'i is 40th, and I would say both are better teams. The next four teams after UConn, by the way, are Auburn, USC, Virginia Tech and Michigan.

The Top Ten comparison:

UPDATE: It just crossed the AP wire that Nittany Lions running back Austin Scott has been accused of raping a woman at her on-campus apartment.

It's not quite the kind of holiday we'll have on the blog next month when the season starts, but the start of basketball practice is nonetheless a pretty big deal.

The biggest party tonight looks to be out on the Main Line, where Villanova has reloaded its backcourt and is looking to charge to a fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid. And given that 50 Cent showed up on this day at the Pavilion last year, who knows what'll happen this time.

We begin today's roundup with Dick Jerardi in the Daily News, who tries to figure out what we know so far and figures there isn't much. He's got an eye on Temple as well as the Wildcats, writing that the Owls "might be the most fascinating" team in the City 6 at the moment.

The Inquirer gives October Madness the info box treatment, and we end up with a nice little clip-n'-save version of all the big games this year. I'm already trying to figure out what our citywide doubleheader days will be, and I'll let you know as soon as I can.

We have a bit of news on the Temple front: 6-foot-10 Owls freshman Michael Eric has been declared ineligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse. Fran Dunphy is not happy, to say the least.

On the women's side, Mel Greenberg turns the spotlight on Rutgers as the Scarlet Knights begin their first season after the Final Four berth... and Imus. He also takes a quick look around the local scene.

Now to football, and the big local news is that Villanova quarterback Antwon Young's season is over thanks to a torn ACL.

Temple plays at Akron tomorrow, and both teams are coming off dramatic wins. But Akron's shouldn't have happened, according to MAC officials -- hey, does this sound familiar? -- and you can see video of why here.

Penn State hosts Wisconsin tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. on Channel 6 in what might pass for the biggest game of the weekend on any of the Disney networks.

Bernard Fernandez writes that Anthony Morelli's teammates are standing up for him. Jeff McLane writes about defensive end Maurice Evans, a big talker who's backing it up with his play.

And we have the latest on the Joe Paterno road rage controversy. He addressed the subject on his radio show last night, and you have to love this line from JoePa:

"I pointed my finger at [the woman driver]," Paterno said. "I did not give her the middle finger, even if I knew what that meant."

If you got your Inquirer or Daily News today you noticed that both papers are running their college football previews this week. Here's a rundown of what they've had so far:

In the Inquirer, Shannon Ryan profiled Penn State's Dan Connor on Sunday. Today, Tom Wiedeman profiles Boston College QB and Penn Charter grad Matt Ryan.

In the Daily News, Ted Silary profiles Ryan as well, and has a great rundown of 15 Philly players expected to make names for themselves across the landscape this season.

And a quick bit of breaking hoops news: star women's player Elena Delle Donne, the top high school prospect in this year's senior class, will attend UConn. The Wilmington, Del., native was pursued hotly by Villanova as well as the Huskies.

While the Eagles take the headlines at minicamp and the Phillies take the headlines for ... uh ... well, I've probably jinxed them already, I'm off to Knoxville, Tennessee for the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies.

One of the inductees this year is a guy whose work you've surely read a lot if you're a Big 5 fan: Inquirer staff writer Mel Greenberg.

I'll be reporting throughout the weekend on the new version of Mel's blog, Women's Hoops Guru. There will be photos, video, and some really interesting stories to tell.

So head on over that way with me, and when you get there, leave a comment and say hello.

You bet I'll be watching the women's NCAA Tournament as well as the men's edition. Here are the 64 teams that will battle to lift the national championship trophy in Cleveland next month:

UPDATE: Here's the bracket.

Dallas Region

Games to be played March 18 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

No. 1 North Carolina (30-3) vs. No. 16 Prairie View (18-13)
No. 8 California (23-8) vs. No. 9 Notre Dame (19-11)

Games to be played March 17 in Los Angeles, Calif.

No. 5 George Washington (26-3) vs. No. 12 Boise State (24-8)
No. 4 Texas A&M (24-6) vs. No. 13 Texas-Arlington (24-8)

Games to be played March 17 in Minneapolis, Minn.

No. 6 Iowa State (25-8) vs. No. 11 Washington (18-12)
No. 3 Georgia (25-6) vs. No. 14 Belmont (25-6)

Games to be played March 17 in Minneapolis, Minn.

No. 7 Georgia Tech (20-11) vs. No. 10 DePaul (19-12)
No. 2 Purdue (28-5) vs. No. 15 Oral Roberts (22-10)

Dayton Region

Games to be played March 18 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

No. 1 Tennessee (28-3) vs. No. 16 Drake (14-18)
No. 8 Pittsburgh (23-8) vs. No. 9 James Madison (27-5)

Games to be played March 17 in Palo Alto, Calif.

No. 5 Middle Tennessee St. (29-3) vs. No. 12 Gonzaga (24-9)
No. 4 Ohio State (29-3) vs. No. 13 Marist (27-5)

Games to be played March 17 in Austin, Texas

No. 6 Marquette (25-6) vs. No. 11 Louisiana-Lafayette (25-8)
No. 3 Oklahoma (26-4) vs. No. 14 Southeast Missouri St. (24-7)

Games to be played March 18 in Hartford, Conn.

No. 7 Mississippi (21-10) vs. No. 10 Texas Christian (21-10)
No. 2 Maryland (27-5) vs. No. 15 Harvard (15-12)

Fresno Region

Games to be played March 18 in Hartford, Conn.

No. 1 Connecticut (29-3) vs. No. 16 Maryland-Baltimore County (16-16)
No. 8 New Mexico (24-8) vs. No. 9 Wisconsin-Green Bay (28-3)

Games to be played March 18 in Raleigh, N.C.

No. 5 Baylor (25-7) vs. No. 12 Tennessee-Chattanooga (25-7)
No. 4 North Carolina State (23-9) vs. No. 13 Robert Morris (24-7)

Games to be played March 17 in Austin, Texas

No. 6 Xavier (26-7) vs. No. 11 West Virginia (20-10)
No. 3 Louisiana State (26-7) vs. No. 14 UNC-Asheville (21-11)

Games to be played March 17 in Palo Alto, Calif.

No. 7 Old Dominion (24-8) vs. No. 10 Florida State (22-9)
No. 2 Stanford (28-4) vs. No. 15 Idaho State (17-13)

Greensboro Region

Games to be played March 18 in Raleigh, N.C.

No. 1 Duke (30-1) vs. No. 16 Holy Cross (15-17)
No. 8 Temple (24-7) vs. No. 9 Nebraska (22-9)

Games to be played March 18 in East Lansing, Mich.

No. 5 Michigan State (23-8) vs. No. 12 Delaware (26-5)
No. 4 Rutgers (22-8) vs. No. 13 East Carolina (19-13)

Games to be played March 17 in Los Angeles, Calif.

No. 6 Louisville (26-7) vs. No. 11 Brigham Young (23-9)
No. 3 Arizona State (28-4) vs. No. 14 UC-Riverside (21-10)

Games to be played March 18 in East Lansing, Mich.

No. 7 Bowling Green (29-3) VS. No. 10 Oklahoma State (20-10)
No. 2 Vanderbilt (27-5) vs. No. 15 Delaware State (20-12)