Things Fall Apart

I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the pasture. . . . Near them, on the grass,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

My name is Calipari, Coach of Coaches;

Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level bluegrass stretches far away.

Anyway.

John Calipari is finalizing a five-year deal to become the next men’s basketball coach at Arkansas, sources told ESPN on Sunday night, a blockbuster move that will shake up the SEC and college basketball landscape.

Calipari’s contract is expected to have an overall base salary of slightly less than the $8.5 million he’s making at Kentucky, sources told ESPN. However, the deal is expected to be incentive-laden with the ability to pass that number.

The contract is expected to be completed in the next 24 hours.

The key relationship to help the deal come together was Calipari’s long-standing ties to John H. Tyson, a billionaire who is a longtime Arkansas benefactor.

In other news, congratulations to Karl Witter:

RANK	CHAMP	GROUP BRACKETS	PTS	PCT	NCG	F4	E8	S16
1		BaronUnderbheit’s Picks 1Karl Witter	1640	98.5	320	320	240	280
2		brpalm02’s Picks 1Bradley Palmer	1630	98.2	320	320	240	240
3		GreenWood42hunter powell	1620	97.9	320	320	240	240
4		bobthornberry’s Picks 1Bob Thornberry	1600	96.1	320	320	240	200
4		maybethistimePennagardener	1600	96.1	320	320	160	280
6		Unicamman’s Picks 2Thomas Green	1590	95.1	320	320	240	280
7		ESPNFAN7549056021’s Picks 1Eric Killian	1580	94.6	320	320	160	240
7		espn96191856’s Picks 1Jerry Epplin	1580	94.6	320	320	160	240
9		Kendall510’s Picks 1Paul Anderson	1560	93.5	320	320	160	240
9		Kilks401’s Picks 1Peter Kilkelly	1560	93.5	320	320	240	160

And on the men’s side I completely blew the calculations from last week:

RANK	CHAMP	GROUP BRACKETS	PTS	PCT	MAX	F4	E8	S16	R32
1		Egads. Here We Go Again.Michael Rosenberg	1150	99.6	1470	320	160	240	220
2		randylong999’s Picks 1Randy Long	1120	99.2	1440	320	160	200	240
3		rrouda’s Picks 1Randy Rouda	1090	98.4	1410	320	160	160	220
4		Mer the hoops queenmeredith levin	1080	98.1	1400	320	160	160	200
4		Kilks401’s Picks 1Peter Kilkelly	1080	98.1	1400	320	160	120	240

It’s either Michael Rosenberg or a coalition of Meredith Levin and Peter Kilkelly.

… and we have odds on the next UK coach: