Games aren’t always won by the most talented, the high-flying slam-dunking, ankle-breaking, one-on-one sensations with all the speed, power and hops of the greatest phenoms with the multi-million dollar free agent deals. No, sometimes, more often than you might think, the difference maker is one of the old-heads coming off a perfectly timed screen heading along the baseline just as the pass arrives to meet him at the three-point line as he steps back and fires quickly, instinctively, because he just knows every beat in this measure.   

For the first time in the history of the NCAA Tournament, four teams in the Sweet 16 — a qualified quarter — are from the state of Ohio, with Cincinnati, Xavier, Ohio and Ohio State moving on to make up 25 percent of the remaining teams fighting for a chance at basketball supremacy.  

Pain came from inside Cashmere Wright’s head, looking to get out, pulsing, like his brain was expanding beyond what his skull could contain. His eyes — perhaps the most important part of his multifaceted game on the court — betrayed him; he could barely see. A single ray of light crippled him, yet he was readying for the brightest spotlight of his career.   

Tu Holloway and Kenny Frease know all too well what it means to be senior basketball players at Xavier University. For three seasons they saw older players — the likes of Jason Love, B.J. Raymond and Jamel McLean — lead the program to deep runs in the NCAA tournament. It would be Holloway and Frease’s turn this season.   

The NCAA Tournament comes around every year, which is great for those of us who believe it to be the greatest postseason event in sports — the first two days of which are particularly dramatic and exciting.  

You rarely see a musician dabbling in sports — OK, Marvin Gaye did try out for the Detroit Lions — but it’s certainly not unusual to see an athlete turn to music. So it was with London Dubstep producer/DJ Gary McCann, more prominently known as Caspa.   

The "LeBron vs. Kobe" NBA Finals are on the back burner for at least another year while the Cleveland Cavaliers figure out how to surround their star with championship support. In today's NBA, it turns out, no one can do it alone, not even LeBron James. It appears Kobe Bryant will beat James to the title, which shouldn't be too surprising. Bryant has a better team around him.  

It wasn't Billy Packer's job to make you feel good, warm your innards with a sweet story, make you smile with a well-turned phrase or confer the dignity of royalty on persons within the game. Too many broadcasters think that's their job and, worse, they're usually bad at it. Packer unfortunately won't be part of the CBS coverage of the NCAA Tournament, having left quietly last July for reasons that have never been fully disclosed.