October Madness

Now, you may guess by my name that I am the #1 Tarheel fan. I take my job seriously. There are 2 seasons of the year....1) basketball season & 2) pre-& post-basketball season. I have given you a break, as I have been patiently waiting and preparing for the upcoming Tarheel mania. (No medication required.) The schedule has been on the fridge for months, with the pacific time conversions. The ESPN Full Court package has been bought & paid for. The roster is on the fridge and I quiz myself on the home towns of each player. So, no more breaks for you. First we will have October madness (prep time, including learning each new player, stats, rankings), November madness (pre-season blow-outs, pre-season tourney trip to NYC), December madness (a short holiday break in between the early games), January madness (rising to ACC greatness), February madness (overcoming the Cameron crazies in their house), March madness (my party, on the 4th at 1pm PST where we will watch & celebrate UNC beating duke), & finally April madness (we will paint our bodies blue, run through the field, & scare the 9 month pregnant cows as we celebrate once again---a NCAA National Championship)! Now, the Gators can't get greedy, they had their celebration, so move over, here we come. The preseason polls are out...listed below. Dick Vitale has redeemed himself with me (I've always believed he is a secret, in the closet, duke lover and during the misery of the 8 winning game season, had to regularly mute him on my TV or listen on the computer to the hometown announcer). But, alas, he has been assimilated and has gone against the grain and put my BELOVED Tarheels as #1 ranked in the USA. Thanks Dick!
Week 1 ESPN/USA Today Poll
1. Florida (30) 0-0 772
2. North Carolina 0-0 728
3. Kansas 0-0 714
4. Ohio State (1) 0-0 595
5. Pittsburgh 0-0 583
5. UCLA 0-0 583
7. LSU 0-0 556
8. Georgetown 0-0 538
9. Wisconsin 0-0 530
10. Arizona 0-0 478
11. Duke 0-0 477
12. Alabama 0-0 420
13. Texas A&M 0-0 335
14. Memphis 0-0 328
15. Boston College 0-0 284
16. Washington 0-0 240
17. Marquette 0-0 203
18. Connecticut 0-0 200
19. Texas 0-0 172
20. Syracuse 0-0 138
21. Georgia Tech 0-0 137
22. Kentucky 0-0 119
23. Creighton 0-0 113
24. Tennessee 0-0 106
25. Nevada 0-0 101Top 40Dick VitaleSPECIAL TO ESPN.COM
When looking at the landscape of college basketball, the 2006-07 season should be excitement galore, baby!
There are so many talented teams out there. It is time to look at my summertime rankings for the upcoming campaign, 10 at a time until I unveil number one. Here we go.
1. North Carolina Roy Williams has a super recruiting class coming in to join Tyler Hansbrough and company. There will be joy on Franklin Street! 2. Florida Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, Al Horford and company want to be the first repeat champion since Duke. The Gators have a legit shot of doing it.