It's the first Assigned Reading that's gonna cost you a bit of ched, but if you're a fan of the Syracuse Orange (or any big-time DI athletic program), have a son on the way (because men aren't required to mold their daughters into sports fans), or just appreciate a savvy blogger turned writer (yes, they exist) then Sean Keeley's "How to Grow An Orange" is a must buy.

Mr. Keeley, as you better frieken know, is the man behind SB Nation's Troy Nunes Is An Absloute Magician. He's also a great guy, one with the courage to single-handedly roasting the veracity of all those must-read paperbacks on fatherhood written by child development authors and psychologists that don't have a lick of wit to them. Sean's far more entertaining, and he's only charging $9.99 to help you become a better father.

Per Sean:

Georgetown & UConn fans probably won't appreciate much of it.  It's also a little salty so probably not the best gift for a five-year-old.  And I'd advise against Greg Robinson purchasing a copy.  Otherwise, every other person on the planet will enjoy it.

This sounds like an excellent way to spend ten bucks; go so check it out. It must be good, because even Google is sending me digital smoke signals that this should be added to my summer reading list

As we pass deadline day for underclassmen withdrawing from the NBA Draft, The Lexington Herald-Leader's Mark Story reports on what we all have been chatting about the past few weeks regarding Kentucky basketball: that the Wildcats are fast becoming nothing more than a short-term haven for top flight one-and-donners.

It's too bad, really, but with John Calipari branding himself as a purveyor of NBA ready point guards who simply need something to do before becoming elgible to play in The League, it's clear this is the direction the program is headed in.

Now five seasons into the one-and-done rule, Story offers some nice statistics on blue-chip laden teams, suggesting that UK's approach probably isn't going to lead to One Shining Moment.

Were you aware that college athletes get laid...like...a lot? Well if you were completely naive, former Florida guard (former in that he has recently transferred out of Gainesville) Ray Shipman offered some candid information to the Independent Florida Alligator today, suggesting that DI athletes have a harder time not fooling around with random co-eds, and never find themselves in a position where they have to forcefully whip out their cocks or unsuccessfully lure ladies into a public bathroom.

Somewhere, Ben Roethlisberger is eagerly seeking to meet these types of women.

Shipman having to come out and share his experiences publicly, like he's making some sort of earth shattering announcement, is what makes me chuckle. Was he thinking only Gator QBs can have their pick of tan-skinned undergrads? We know that hasn't been happening. Maybe he thought that his pedestrian 2.7-points per game was inadequate or something.

"There are girls that go out there for athletes. They do that intentionally," he said. "Maybe it’s the crowd or the games."

This is by no means a newsie story, but worth a read if you got two minutes to kill. Clearly, it's a slow news day in Central Florida.

Andy Lyons - Getty Images

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We all know that money is the motive behind expanding the greatest tournament in sports to 96-teams. This idea of more money though is more about making the NCAA and its largets conferences richer, ostensibly doing little to fill the pockets of the little guy.

The New York Times' Ken Belson outlines how money would be distributed among college basketball's 31 conferences and sheds some light on what's sure to become an epic bidding war between CBS and the Worldwide Leader. In short, the Big Six (also known as the BCS conferences) plus the Atlantic 10 and Conference USA, would receive upwards of 71 percent of the money pie. This money is based on a conference's participants and wins per tournament.

Yes, a 96-team tournament would mean a tad more money for small conferences, with the "one-bid league" likely becoming extinct. But it also means that middling Providence, Seton Hall, Miami, Penn State, etc., etc. would also be dancing. To use a cliche... the rich just keep getting richer. And John Feinstein becomes more and more infuriated.

Despite a crazy first two rounds, there's actually a perfect bracket out there... one that foresaw Ohio's upset of Georgetown, Kansas' shocking defeat in the second round, and even had the guts to put Cornell in the Sweet 16. That bracket comes from 17-year-old Alex Hermann, a Chicago-area native who suffers form autism, but is clearly more in tune with college basketball then people like me.

While young Hermann might have a future in bracketology, he's also got a great PR sense to him. After realizing he had a perfect bracket through 48 tournament games, he told his mother to get on the phone and alert the media, because, we just might have a story here.

It's probably a stretch to everyone, but Alex has Purdue (his brothers alma-mater) cutting down the nets in Indy. Perhaps we're all just overvaluing their injured star Robbie Hummel.

According to NBCCHicago.com, it cannot be confirmed if Alex's bracket was indeed submitted before last Thursday at noon, and CBS Sports did not return their calls. But I refuse to be a skeptic here. Hats off to Alex. Dude knows what's up.

Could Lance Stephenson be maturing into a well-rounded young man in The Queen City? That's what's happening according to a piece by SI.com's and Cincinnati Enquirer columnist Paul Daugherty. After getting too-much respect and feeling coddled in NYC, Stephenson has become more grounded in the Mid-West and his decision to play for Mick Cronin has been a great move for all parties.

Many were worried Stephenson would cause problems as a college player. He already had a bunch of webisodes produced about his high school career, dealt with sexual assault charges, and was the latest Lincoln High School product to do work on the City's High School circuit. Stephenson won four state titles in four years and left as Lincoln's all-time leading scorer, the same school that  produced Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury, and Sebastian Telfair. Basically we were all led to believe that Lance loved to stroke his own ego, but he may me maturing at UC.

The Bearcats leading scorer, Stephenson is a likely one-and-done but could lead the Bearcats to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005.

Embarrassingly late on this but if you haven't read, Grant Wahl's piece in last week's hard copy on John Wall is a good read, and well deserved given the fantastic start by Blue Jesus. Somehow, the phenom is exceeding expectations in Lexington.

Wahl documents Wall's (homophone!) father-less upbringing, bouts with attitude problems, and introduces the rest of the country to Do the Shizz. Get up and dance white people.

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There is an old saying, "if you look good, you’ll play better."  Some teams have thrown caution into the wind and scoffed at the previous remark.  As the floors are being waxed and dusted in anticipation of Tip Off 2009, Paul Lukas of ESPN's "Page 2" takes a look at some of the new threads that will be flaunted on the hardwood this year, retros to alternates.

SFBE is praying for the day that when teams bring back the "retro-look," but not a half hearted attempt.  We want to see the look on Hot-lanta’s face when G-Tech puts Gani Lawal and crew in John Stockton-esque short-shorts.  Come on, think about it; Each team has to don exact replica jerseys circa 1960 for one game.

Other notable changes:

• UNC celebrate’s their 100th anniversary with special red trimmed jersey’s for a few undisclosed games.  Dean Smith’s court takes on a year long beauty mark that commemorates the centennial celebration.
• D Wade makes the switch from Converse to Nike, alma mater follows suit.
• The Black Pearls of Tennessee will show up at some point after Bruce Pearl showed interest following UT’s football uni unveiling.
• A hardwoods got some reconstructive surgery over the off season.  We’re taking a liking to Notre Dame’s parquet and shamrock.