Alex Kreitman - Stealing signs

I’m boycotting the NFL Draft this year. Well, kind of.

Of course I’m interested in the draft and who my favorite team the New England Patriots draft, but I don’t care for the ridiculous amount coverage.

This time of year ESPN dedicates its network to the NFL Draft even though the NBA and NHL playoffs are in full swing. I’d also much rather watch a college baseball game on ESPN than 20 some odd hours of the draft.

The network will be airing every round and pick of the draft with pregame, postgame analysis. Everything you need to know, don’t need to know and wouldn’t even care to know will be covered this weekend.

I don’t care for the product I just want to see the end result. I’ll glance when it’s all over at who went where.

This weekend I’ll be keeping a close eye on Elon’s baseball team. The Phoenix has a three-game series against UNC Greensboro on the road. The Spartans are hungry to stay in the conference championship race. Right now, Elon, College of Charleston and UNCG all have five losses in the league. Elon is in first because it has more league wins because it has played more games.

This weekend is a big series for the Phoenix. Last weekend Elon dropped two of three from the Cougars which hurt Elon a little bit, but it still controls its own destiny.

Another thing I’m excited for this weekend is Elon’s spring football game. Usually I don’t care for this stuff and prefer to wait until August, but after attending Elon’s road tour in Greensboro last night, I’m excited for the upcoming season.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to attend Saturday’s game at 3 p.m. in Rhodes Stadium, but I’m going to try. Coach Pete Lembo spoke at the event and seemed extremely positive about the team he has for the upcoming season.

Elon returns its two best and most explosive players, QB Scott Riddle and wide receiver Terrell Hudgins. I can’t wait to watch these two go off again this season.

Elon University’s magical and improbable Southern Conference Tournament run came to an end Monday night as Davidson halted the Phoenix with a 65-49 victory in the championship.

Elon stood one win away from earning its first ever berth into the NCAA Tournament, but with the loss it wasn’t meant to be. The Phoenix fought hard, but it just looked like it ran out of gas at the end.

Shooting just above 35 percent wasn’t going to get it done and unfortunately Elon wasn’t able to crack 50 points in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPN2. Despite the loss, Elon fans got what they’ve been waiting for a long time.

We got to see our small private university play on a big stage when it counts. Even though it would’ve been a lot better if Elon had won, we still got there, to the end and almost did the unthinkable. Elon’s run was special and always will be. Winning three games in three days, a fourth in four days was just too much to ask.

I guess I didn’t realize how big a deal it was until last night. I watched the game on Elon’s campus and was amazed at the school spirit for the Phoenix, a pride that the university always lacked. Where students chose shirts and ties over maroon and gold at many sporting events. Where girls wore sunglasses and fancy sun dresses instead of an Elon t-shirt and some face paint.

But not Monday night. Fans were proud of Elon and hung onto their seat after every shot, block and rebound. The crowd erupted after every 3. It was great. The mood after the game wasn’t of disappointment, but of satisfaction and pride. It didn’t matter that Elon had lost because now, for the first time ever, we felt that we belonged there on that national stage. The feeling was of hope that we would get there again some day soon.

The only sad sight was looking at pictures of Elon players after the game. I felt really bad for them and even sad for them, knowing how close they came to reaching their goal. You can see the sadness in their eyes and hearts, feeling their pain.

But looking forward with a positive attitude is the way to go. As I wrote Monday, things are on the way up at Elon. The football team is a contender, the baseball team is consistently good and every other team is falling in line. It’s a good time to be an Phoenix fan.

There is only one thing to write about today and that’s the Elon University men’s basketball team.

The Phoenix defeated the College of Charleston 75-61 in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Tournament on Sunday night to advance to tonight’s championship game at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Elon will take on Davidson at 9 p.m. on ESPN2 for the Southern Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That’s right; Elon has a shot to go to the big dance. I never thought I would actually see the day.

I spent four years as a student and a few as an alumnus, monitoring Elon’s Southern Conference Tournament results, hoping that it could somehow get to the tournament final which is always on ESPN or ESPN2.

I always thought to myself, if it can just get there, to the final, anything can happen. Well, Elon is there and who knows what will come out of tonight’s game. (Check out photos from the tournament)

The university is planning a bus trip to Charleston, SC for Phoenix fans to attend the game and hopefully there will be a good showing. The bus leaves from the Mosley Center parking lot at 2 p.m.

After talking to my friend Dom on Sunday night, the Elon faithful didn’t have much of a presence. He attended the game with some other Elon alumni friends. There were sightings of former Elon players Colin Wyatt, Scottie Rice and Mike Brandon. It’s good to see those guys coming back to support the troops, but other than that not much a showing existed outside of cheerleaders and parents.

On paper, Elon doesn’t stand a chance. The Wildcats (25-6 overall, 20-0 Southern Conference) are ranked No. 25 in the nation. They’re no joke. Their 21-game winning streak is tops in the country and three of their six losses came to top 10 teams, with defeats against North Carolina, Duke and UCLA.

Led by Stephen Curry’s 25.2 points per game, Davidson is the clear favorite. The Wildcats have won the last two Southern Conference Tournament titles and have been impressive in the NCAA Tournament. Last year Davidson gave Maryland a scare before the Terrapins were able to hang on.

How big of a deal is this game? It’s huge. If Elon is able to somehow win, it will be one of the biggest national stories this week. With Elon’s record, 14-18, the Phoenix will probably be the worst team in the bracket of 65 teams; the extra team is included in the play-in-game, where Elon will probably be seeded.

The talk of the country will be if Elon is deserving of a postseason berth seeing that it will bump a team sitting on the bubble with a better record out of the tournament. We’ll save that debate for Tuesday if Elon is to somehow pull off a miracle.

If anyone can beat Davidson though it’s Elon. The Phoenix and Wildcats met earlier in the season at Alumni Gym and Davidson scraped out a 59-57 victory. Elon had the lead down the wire, but Curry came on strong after struggling earlier in the game and sank back-to-back 3-pointers. Davidson rallied from a six-point deficit with 2 1/2 minutes to play.

The Wildcats beat Elon again at home 74-64, led by Curry’s 36. Maybe the third time’s a charm for Elon tonight. We’ll have to wait and see, but after watching Sunday night’s game Elon is riding a wave of emotion. Senior Montel Watson is playing with a ton of heart and energy and seems untouchable on the court.

His energy was fun to watch and I really enjoyed his postgame interview. Knowing Watson personally, it’s great to see him do great things for my alma mater at this late stage in his basketball career. He’s really coming alive and keeping the dream alive for Elon.

Win or lose tonight, it’s a great step in the right direction for Elon. Its women’s basketball team also had a good tournament run, losing to Western Carolina in the semifinals Sunday night. The baseball team swept a home series against North Carolina A&T and improved to 13-1. Things are looking up for Phoenix athletics and it’s an exciting time to be an Elon fan. Go Elon!

What is the deal with Greg Paulus’ black eyes?

I watched Duke whip up on Virginia Wednesday night, but all I could take from the game was a lingering question to why in the world Paulus always has at least one black eye. Always.

Every Duke game I watch he has a black eye. Are his teammates beating him up? I don’t like him and I don’t even know him, so I wouldn’t doubt it if after each game Gerald Henderson and Demarcus Nelson were taking shots at the scrawny white kid. I know he got slugged against N.C. State, but it seems to always be there and on both eyes.

I’ll give him credit though for keeping a smile. In a postgame interview with the lovely Stacey Dales, Paulus had that punch me in the eye grin on his face and I was praying that Stacy would pop him for me, but she didn’t. So who is lining Paulus up against the wall and delivering blows?

After listening to my least favorite broadcaster in the world Mike Patrick call the game, I knew it wasn’t him who was clocking Paulus. Patrick feels the need to get excited and go wild for a 3-pointer two minutes into every game. It’s really sad. Doesn’t he have better things in his life to get excited about? Probably not, seeing that he looks like a turtle. I’m surprised he hasn’t quit broadcasting and become the mascot for Maryland. It’d be a good fit for him.

I seem to be very pro-Carolina this week. That should get my Tar Heel readers excited. It kind of surprises me because North Carolina beat Boston College on Saturday. You’d think I’d be bitter. I guess I was having such a good time in Charleston, S.C. that I shrugged off the loss.

But as our editor Madison Taylor pointed out in our daily budget meeting this morning, Alex is a pro sports guy. And he’s exactly right. With the Celtics winners of six straight, including a win against the second-best team in the Eastern Conference, the Detroiut Pistons, I’ve got nothing else on my mind.

UNC Wilmington handed Elon University its first loss of the season in baseball Wednesday, what a shame. I was hoping the Phoenix could keep its undefeated streak alive a bit longer. It didn’t give up though. Trailing 18-8 heading into the bottom of the ninth, Elon put up eight runs to make things interesting.

I almost went to the game after work Wednesday, but declined. I’m glad I did, only because then I would’ve felt responsible for the loss, seeing that the only game I would have attended would have been the only loss. I’m a baseball guy, therefore I’m very superstitious.

Spring training is underway which gets me really excited. Baseball, as I’ve said before, is my favorite sport and of course I pull for the Red Sox.

The general manager of the Sox, Theo Epstein, made some recent comments which added some fuel to the always hot rivalry with the New York Yankees. Boston opens its season against the Oakland Athletics in Japan. Last season the Yankees did the same.

Following the Yankees’ trip east, Mike Mussina among other Yankees complained about the time change, claiming it affected their play. When asked about Boston’s trip, Epstein said on WEEI radio that Mussina was a “bad apple” for complaining about the trip. He also said, “Kevin Brown and Mike Mussina spent the whole time bitching about it … and by the time the Yankees team got back from the trip they were all using it as a crutch.”

Epstein added that he and others felt it would be a good team bonding trip for the Red Sox.

When told of the comments, Mussina responded by saying, “Yeah, we used it as an excuse for winning the division.”

Ouch, low blow for someone living in the past. The Yankees have owned the American League East in the last decade if not longer, but as far as winning championships, Boston holds the recent edge with one in 2004 and don’t forget the Red Sox are the reigning champs.

Mussina, who I’ve never liked mostly because of the stupid dip he does out of the stretch, should have just said no comment, but instead opened the door for me to critique his performance all season. And with his age growing, he’s likely to worsen right into my hands.

The Red Sox open up Thursday with their traditional matchup with Boston College.

College baseball is underway and Elon University finds itself 5-0 to start the young campaign. I always love going over to Latham Park. I used to go a lot as a student, soak in the sun and watch a game. Even after I graduated I’d still make it over there, it always seemed to brighten up my week. But now, I’m not sure how many Elon games I’ll make it to this year since the university began charging admission.

The school added a fence and is now charging $4 a game with even small children costing $2 for entrance. This is ridiculous and will kill Elon’s successful attendance campaign from last year. Elon baseball games have always been a come and go event. People stop by for a few innings, then hit the road. Elon is losing those fans since people aren’t going to pay just to watch a few innings.

I’ll miss days like last spring when several of us baseball hooligans crowded the hill with cheap beer to watch Elon play Davidson. My friend Zack even wore the most ridiculous shirt out there, a green Elon track shirt from about 1960. But with the new rules, no one will be grilling in the stands or packing the cooler for fun times.

I’m very disappointed in the new rules at Elon and think it’s ruining the great baseball atmosphere it had. Last year, all the big games drew crowds of over 1,000 with North Carolina and South Carolina drawing around 1,500 fans. I doubt we’ll see crowds like that this year.