Originally saw this over at Card Chronicle, but CBS Sportsline has their top 26 up for next year and the Irish are checking in at number five.  As Mike points out, next season will be a lot like "North Carolina and the Pips" as teams hope to contend with a North Carolina team that ended up getting Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson and Danny Green back with Tyler Hansbrough and the rest of the gang. 

I've been mentioning in the draft coverage that the Big East, other than Joe Alexander and Roy Hibbert, are not well-represented in the draft.  That's because all the talent is still there, which is how you get Louisville at number two, UConn at three, the Irish at five, Pittsburgh at eight, Marquette at fourteen, Georgetown at fifteen, Villanova at sixteen.  Seven of the projected top sixteen teams are in the conference, including three of the top five, which is just absurd.  I realize the fact that its bigger than any of the other major conferences has something to do with it, but the new mega-Big East hoops conference that sprung up after the ACC pillaging has not disappointed in terms of competitive level.

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Remember when I mentioned how awesome Brandon Jennings hair was and how welcome he would be at Notre Dame due to that hair?  Well, he might not be getting into Arizona because of some hang-ups with "standardized tests" and "academics," so he might circumvent the NCAA and NBA's age limit by hanging out in Europe for a year and then entering the draft.  Between Tiago Splitter, Juan Carlos Navarro and the money being thrown at Evgeni Malkin,  the overseas leagues may become quite a bit more competitive for the services of the best players in the coming years.

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And one of the most enjoyable blogs from enemy territory is saying good-bye, as The M Zone goes kaput.   They're probably most famous for Colin Cowherd stealing some great Vince Young material and claiming he just found it on the internet, as if it were lying there in the lobby as he walked into work.