The Regional Semi Final and Finals are here after what seemed like an eternity. Admittedly, if these games resemble the games from last week (outside of Saturday’s early games) we may not be missing them for long. But with such good teams in the Sweet Sixteen, you have to believe at the very least the Regional Final will be compelling.

In the meanwhile, thoughts came up during the games that couldn’t be encompassed as simple points in a live blog. So before we get into the previews, here are a few of the things Zach, David and I discussed last weekend:

With all the talk of the mid major in years past, the tournament has been almost devoid of them. The ones that got in were quite good, as evidence by Butler/ Southern Illinois and UNLV making the sweet sixteen and Xavier nearly doing it.

Still, years of experience have allowed us to compile a to-do list for constructing the ultimate mid-major team. Guaranteed to at least make the second round or your money back.

-Athletic black guys who can’t play basketball but can either jump out of the gym and/or are 6’11. The shorter ones serve as “tweeners” (too small for power forward but don’t shoot well enough for the small forward) that will make explosive put-back jams that get the crowd in the game when your team jumps on that higher seed with 17:40 to go in the second half. The big guy is there to stand there, look pretty and occasionally block a shot. Announcers will love him because he “looks like he moves well for a big man” which of course is useless if you can’t shoot, block, pass or rebound. But hey, he looks the part and might just get drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the lottery. Preferably you’ll be able to get one of each in your rotation.

-A small point guard. Anyone 5’7 –5’10 will do. They don’t have to be able to shoot it well. All they have to do is be fast enough to push the ball and be difficult to guard in the half court set. Plus the reality is that the college three point line is close enough that if you left me open at the top of the key, even I’d be able to knock a few down. So shooting isn’t necessary. Also, a catchy nickname like "Squeaky," "Scooby," or "Chuckles" helps.

-A white three point specialist. Preferably this kid, as Zach put it, “will have shot 500 threes a day back on his farm in Idaho.” Bonus points if he's the coach’s son. However, considering the fact that presumably one of us would be coaching (and we're all 23-24), that’s going to be a problem. Obviously this is the guy who makes people pay for playing the 2-3 zone because no one else on your team can shoot. Also, he’ll make people like Bill Simmons happy because he looks about as athletic as...well...Bill Simmons. This means your team will get lots of press as the media flock to cover the “down to earth country boy who’s on the biggest stage of his life, a long way from home (again, bonus points if they can uncover a photo of him milking a cow).”

-A European guy with a name like Mikalanus Jaskulonous. You don’t want a European whose country is easily identifiable. He might be Slovakian, he might be Croatian, he might be Greek, hell, he might be Russian. No one knows, no one cares. The fact that he’s European will make people assume he’s talented even though he’s probably a stiff (which is why he’s playing college basketball and not professionally in Europe in the first place). This undeserved attention frees up space for your athletic black guys to run around while your white sharpshooter gets open looks.

-The son of an average NBA player. Del Curry never got more press than when his son Stephen was in the tournament for all two minutes (okay, it was one full game). My original thought was to find a Shawn Kemp illegitimate child, since that’s about as easy as walking to your local grocery store. However, we realized that Kemp was much better than average for a large chunk of his career, so his kids have no time for mid majors. Think John Starks, BJ Armstrong, Danny Manning or someone in that vein. When you see the last name you need to be able to say “hey, is that so and so’s kid?” and yet still be surprised when the answer is yes. He’s likely going to be the star of the team.

-Finally, a short (like 6'7-6'8) fat guy to grab boards, take up space and give hard fouls. Someone has to clean up the mess your 6’11 guy can’t. Again, a catchy nickname helps here...like you wouldn't watch a guy with the nickname "Tub of Goo."

And there you have it; the elements to a successful mid major. Give me that, and I’ll see you in the Sweet Sixteen.

On Gus Johnson

Bill Simmons wrote something on this matter for ESPN and for once I agree with him. People like Gus because he sounds like he enjoys what he's doing. It’s like anything else in the word of presentation; if the person showcasing the object/game is enthused, then there’s a much better chance you are. People remember Gus Johnson’s calls almost as much as they do the games themselves.

I mean when I think Gonzaga/Florida the first thing that comes to mind is “THE SPLIPPER STILL FITS!!!” You don’t forget that Gus Johnson did the UCLA/Gonzaga game last year, just like people won’t forget he did the Ohio State/Xavier game this year.

And like most people, I think it’s a disgrace he’s being replaced by James Brown. Brown is a fine studio guy, but frankly, head studio guys are a dime a dozen. Fox didn’t lose much because he left; the problem was they tried to make Buck the guy when he already had to do a football game beforehand. And to make matters worse, early on Buck sometimes had to do baseball one day, football and studio the next (for all Buck haters, he is probably the hardest working play-by-play guy in the business. Maybe next they have Buck judge American Idol or guest star with Kiefer Sutherland on 24).

My point is, CBS had no need to give Brown the NCAA games. Their studio show would have been fine with Greg Gumbel or someone else. Of course, since the NCAA tournament sells itself, it probably doesn’t matter who's doing the game. So CBS did take a worthwhile business gamble? Time will tell if their NFL show does better ratings (I have my doubts).

But as usual it’s the fans who suffer. So my hope is that next year CBS will reverse its mistake. If enough people complain, then there’s a chance Gus will get to do the games next year.

Oh and while we’re on the subject, if I had my druthers, the play-by-play guys I’d have doing the regionals this weekend are: Gus, Kevin Harlan, Ian Eagle and Jim Nantz in no particular order after Gus Johnson. Outside of Bill Raftery, I don’t care who does color. My reasons are as follows.

Kevin Harlan: If we can’t have Marv Albert, or Kenny Albert, then we should have the next best thing, Harlan. He does the Marv style voice and he pulls it off.

Ian Eagle: I’m a huge fan of Ian because I’m a Nets fan, but Ian brings a nice change of pace with his sense of humor combined with sometimes off the wall calls. Example: “THAT’S A MAN’S JAM!!” during Winthrop/Notre Dame. Plus he actually said his color partner Jim Spanarkel had a “Man Crush” on Dwight Howard this season. The guy rocks.

Jim Nantz: I don’t love Nantz as much as some people, but the guy delivers a solid play by play. He’s the more narrative, friendly type of announcer. With the high wire acts of Gus, the Marv-esqueness of Harlan and Ian’s unpredictability, it the stable call we need.

Plus he reminds me of Bill Belichick, except I can’t imagine Belichick ever saying “hello friend.”

On to the games for Thursday:

-Pittsburgh vs. UCLA: Zach and I have termed this “Pitt East vs. Pitt West.” Former Pitt coach Ben Howland leads the Bruins against Jamie Dixon and his current corps of Panthers in what figures to be a game so ugly Bill Simmons may choose to watch the Women's NIT. Seriously, would anyone be surprised if the score was 20-19 at halftime? UCLA’s got better players, but there’s always a chance Aaron Gray plays that one game that gets some team to piss away a lottery pick on him. Besides in ugly, close games, anything can happen.

-Southern Illinois vs. Kansas: The Jayhawks are rolling right now. I’m feeling far less confident about UCLA making it out of this bracket than I did earlier. Still nobody rolls through the tournament. Hoping for stumble before the Final Four.

-Tennessee vs. Ohio State: The Buckeyes should have lost, but they didn’t so I still have a chance at the money in my pool. The hope for me is that the way they reacted to the scare (and playing without Greg Oden in OT) makes them stronger.

-Texas A&M vs. Memphis: I’d love Memphis to win, but I haven’t been impressed with them yet. Plus this game is almost a home game for A&M. I like the Aggies here.

And for fun, our pool:

Zach is in the best shape right now since he's in first and has his entire Final Four left. David is pretty much finished, which is what happens when you do dumb things like pick Wisconsin to win the tournament. I'm well behind, but since my bracket depends on Ohio State, I'm just counting my lucky stars I’ve still got a chance.