Tom Talks

Ultimate Fighter tryout in Charlotte Thursday

   The UFC and Spike TV are holding a casting call Thursday for season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter. The competition will be held at the Omni Hotel in downtown Charlotte. Registration begins at 8 a.m., the tryouts at 10 a.m.

   To be eligible, fighters must have competed in at least three mixed martial arts fights. Applicants must be 21 or older. The series will feature fighters in the lightweight (155 pounds) and heavyweight (205 pounds) divisions.

Elbow him

   Some quick hits -- and icks and chokes -- from Bojangles Coliseum and the UFC card:

   The Octagon in which the fighters fight is 30 feet by 30 feet and the fence that encompasses it is six-feet high.

    There are four big screens set up so everybody can see everything.

    There are similarities to boxing. The public address announcer has announcer hair, wears a tuxedo and makes every syllable sound like five. Ring girls circle the Octagon before each round with a placard shaped like an Octagon that tells fans which round is coming up. Unlike their boxing counterparts, the ring girls don't wear high heels. They don't wear much else.

   Fans cheer for Brazil, for Japan, for the U.S. The card features fighters from each country. Some fights features boxing, some grappling. Every round is five minutes. Some rounds are thrilling. Some are intermidable. They're like a bad round in boxing, except instead of leaning against each other the fighters lie on top of each other.

   In boxing, fans yell "HIt him!" UFC fans yell "Choke him!" "Elbow him!" and "Kick him."

   The pace is deliberately fast. The idea is to keep the show -- which features 11 fights -- moving. And UFC does.

   Fans want big hits. They're like racing fans who want to see a wreck. Most rounds, they get one.

The view from cageside

  Doors to the Ultimate Fighting Championship card at Bojangles Colisuem opened at 4 p.m. The first fight started at 5 p.m. The last fight is scheduled to start about 9:30 p.m.

   Yet when I walked into the building at 3:45 p.m., there were hundreds of fans in line. They stood in the heat and waited for the doors to open.

   How many hundred? I asked a police officer. After looking at the line from the left and the line from the right, he said, "I'd say 1,200."

   Cool scene. Fans practically sprinted to their seats, or to the concession line for a beer.

   My seat is just outside the Octagon. I've sat at ringside 50 times. But this is the first time I've sat at cageside.

The surprising Blue Devils?

   Like most of you, I didn't have Duke in my Final Four. In fact, the only Final Four team I picked correctly was West Virginia. The Mountaineers looked tough and imposing to me. The Blue Devils looked like the Blue Devils. I kept thinking of their lopsided road loss to Georgetown. Against an athletic team, they'd be too fragile and slow.

   But when they had to be tough Sunday against the athletic Baylor Bears, they were. All the huge rebounds that enabled them to score decisive second-chance baskets were theirs.

   They grabbed 23 offensive rebounds -- six more than Baylor. Lance Thomas grabbed eight offensive rebounds, Brian Zoubek four and Miles Plumlee -- I think it was Miles -- three.

   The Blue Devils are unselfish, play superior defense and don't panic. Even when their best player, Kyle Singler, failed to hit even a single field goal Sunday, they didn't panic.

   Duke did have the easiest path to the Final Four among the top seeds. But nobody gets to the Final Four without earning it.

    Perhaps the surprise is that so many of us are surprised. Perhaps we should have seen this coming.

What about Iceland?

   Somebody has to speak out for Iceland.

   We wrote in Wednesday's Observer about the Mexican soccer team, which will play Iceland today at Bank of America Stadium. We wrote about the reception the team received when it pulled into the parking lot of its hotel.

   What about Iceland's reception? When the Icelanders pulled into the parking lot of their hotel, did the Icelanders who have relocated to Charlotte go crazy?

   We write as if all the fans will be supporting Mexico. I tell you, the zeal the Icelanders have for soccer is as great as it is almost anywhere, and that includes Greenland, the North Pole and, I'm not exaggerating, the South Pole.

   Every spring in Iceland, when the sun finally peaks out and the temperature moves above zero, kids go out and play soccer. Since the land is frozen -- thus, Iceland -- they kick a little iceberg around and it slides around that ice and kids will play for hours, or until they go numb from the cold and are never heard from again.

   Either way, they love the sport. And when they play Mexico today, don't be surprised when you see fans waving the Icelandic flag, which I've never seen but probably is quite attractive. To get in the mood, I might go to one of Charlotte's many Icelandic restaurants today.

   See you there.

Don't waste time, money and energy changing the local NBA team's name

   News conferences rarely reveal. Questions are asked, answers are given and there often is a staged quality to the proceedings.

   I learned little I didn't already know about Michael Jordan at his news conference Thursday night. But I acknowledge that he was impressive. He answered every question and looked every questioner in the eye.

   His passion for  his new endeavor was apparent. He said he would buy a house in Charlotte but wouldn't live here exclusively.

   Jordan doesn't need to live here full-time. He talked about his kids and about spending time with them, and he ought to. Kids, regardless of age, are an opportunity. The Bobcats are a job.

   The job has been part-time. Jordan has been a tourist, a guest. That won't work. But he sounds as if he no longer will be a temp. He sounds as if he is serious, and with the money he has invested and the time he will invest, we wouldn't he be?

   On another note, what's in a name? Do you really care if he changes the name of the team? Several readers have emailed to suggest he change Bobcats to Jordanaires. I emailed them back and said sip, don't guzzle.

   The Bobcats might be a testament to Bob Johnson, who sold the team to Jordan. Johsnon is to owners what George Seifert was to football coaches. But by next season nobody will remember Bob. As unappealing as the name is, the team has grown into it. Say a thing enough and it fits. Bobcats fit.

   If I'm Michael, my goal is to make the playoffs, win playoff games and eventually a series and eventually compete for a championship, and to convince the city that the team is theirs. Those are my priorities. Changing the name is not. 

  

  

Wake Forest wins a game in March

   If the Final Four were played in January, Wake Forest could be national champions. Who knew the Deacons were capable of winning a game in March?

   They won Thursday night, however. They won for a variety of reasons -- a dysfunctional opponent in Texas, clutch performances in overtime and a game-winning shot by point guard Ishmael Smith.

   Smith is my favorite ACC basketball player. He's an old-school pass-first point guard. He's quick and he's smart and, even when his teammates laid down in a first-round ACC tournament loss to Miami, he kept hustling.

   Smith hustled down the court Thursday on Wake Forest's final possession. Down 80-79, he drove the right side, spun after crossing half court, changed direction, put on a move and put up a jumper. The 17-footer with 1.3 seconds remaining gave the Deacons an 81-80 victory.

   Smith finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. I knew he had it in him.

   I didn't think his teammates or his head coach did.

Most wonderful time of the year

   If this isn't the best day in sports, what is? All our brackets are pristine and unmarked. Our longshots can still do it. Our Final Four is feasible.

   Some thoughts:

   I am so glad Virginia Tech did not make the NCAA Basketball Tournament. You imagine if Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer played that schedule? The Hokies had no interest in playing big-time basketball. So why should big-time basketball suddenly have interest in them?

   The ACC will go down quietly. I don't a team other than Duke advances to the second round.

   Some of the things North Carolina coach Roy Williams does are perplexing. But if he had recruited Kentucky phenon John Wall, his team is in the NCAA Tournament. A point guard could save the Tar Heels. But Williams didn't think that Wall, and all his AAU coach hangers-on, fit. So he ignored him. That took guts.

   The best first-round match-ups: Wisconsin-Wofford, Clemson-Missouri, Richmond-St. Mary's, California-Louisville, Tennessee-San Diego St. and Xavier-Minnesota.  

   My Final Four: Kansas, Syracuse, West Virginia and Villanova.

   And in non-NCAA news:

   The Charlotte Bobcats were a team last night. Down by 19, they won by eight. They sustained poise, never panicked, always believed in each other and in their coach. This was an impressive victory.

  The Masters is the perfect place for Tiger Woods to comeback. Augusta National is like a gated community with all the covenants and rules for which those neighborhoods are known. Last year at the Masters a fan next to me saw Woods, who was wearing a red shirt, and yelled, "You the man, Red!"

   A marshal quickly approached. Maybe the marshal said, "You the man is a cliche, and we don't use cliches here." Whatever he said worked. The fan shut up.

   Woods will be protected. So will every other golfer.

    

Miami was great in the first half or Wake Forest was terrible

   Greensboro Coliseum is quiet and so is the Wake Forest defense. Miami hit six of 13 three-pointers in the first half. Almost all the shots were open.

   The Hurricanes lead the Deacons 41-27 at the break. Ishmael Smith of the the Deacons made some thrilling plays and woke up the crowd, such as it is. He scored a team-high eight.  But he's outnumbered.

   Perhaps Miami, which finished last in the ACC this season, which is really saying something, has suddenly turned good.  

   Perhaps Wake Forest's slump is permanent.

Dewhurst, we'll miss you

   Charlotte junior Charles Dewhurst played his final basketball game for Charlotte Tuesday. He'll graduate and pursue his studies.

His numbers rarely were pretty. He scored five points in the loss to Massachusetts, hit a three, his first of the season, and also shot an airball when he shot another.

    But, as always, Dewhurst hustled. Although at 6-5 he's a guard, he tied 6-10 Phil Jones for team-high by grabbing seven rebounds. He's fearless. He's the 49er most likely to get knocked down and to get back up.

   After the season, he undoubtedly will play again -- in a rec league or a high school gym. HIs teammates will be fortunate.