Devil's Playground? No, I'm not talking Las Vegas, or even TELRIC proceedings before some of my favorite PUCs. I'm referring, of course, to the Final Four, where the Blue Devils--that braveband of brothers--will make their 14th appearance this weekend. They beat Xavier 66-63 to earn a trip to San Antonio.

You can get all the skinny you want at the GoDuke site. I'll just say: Hat's off to a valiant effort by Xavier's Musketeers, who made a great March Madness run. I'm sure they are saying, "Dang that Deng." Freshperson Deng, born in the Sudan, scored 19 points and was named tourney MVP.

So, on to San Antonio and Connecticut. As one of our presidential candidates is fond of saying: "Bring Em' On!"

PS ONLY for ACC fans--Okay, I can't resist adding: Could you believe those two fouls called on my namesake, Duke's Shavlik Randolph, after clean blocks? OK, he's not really my namesake, but John Shavlik's. John Shavlik was a great player for N.C. State in the 1950s, when the Wolfpack was coached by the great "Old Grey Fox", who won four ACC crowns and six Dixie Classic tourneys. Shavlik Randolph grew up in Raleigh, home of the Wolfpack. If you want to know the Old Grey Fox's true identity, contact my trusted research assistant, Becca Fuller, who is a N.C. State alum, an avid State fan, and a real winner in the John Shavlik and Old Grey Fox tradition.