The biggest news this week (even bigger than the Kevin Ware injury, which is another discussion for another time) was CBSSports.com college basketball writer Jeff Goodman's story that Ed Rush, the head of Pac-12 basketball officials, offered rewards to his referees if they gave technical fouls to Arizona head coach Sean Miller.

Rush, according to a source within the Pac-12 officiating group, told a group of referees on the Thursday of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas that he would give them $5,000 or a trip to Cancun if they either "rang him up" or "ran him," meaning hit Miller with a technical or toss him out of the game. Rush then reiterated during a Friday morning meeting, according to one referee in attendance, that officials should take similar action against Miller if he did anything on Friday in the Pac-12 semifinals against UCLA.

Yesterday Antone Exum tweeted the following in response to one of the machines he was using to rehab.

1. Half man Half horse. #Centaur New Nickname thanks to @andybittervt— Antone Exum Jr. (@IAmSwag1) April 2, 2013

Then this thread on the site broke out, and Charlotte Hokie created an amazing Photoshop.

Y'all are the best.

A couple of things caught my eye while reading through yesterday's stories from the beat guys. The quote plastered on the picture above is from Logan Thomas talking about Scot Loeffler (via Chris Lang's latest post, New coaches' energy infectious at Tech spring practice). If toughness was the primary thing the coaches were emphasizing this spring, it seems like attention to detail might be their second priority. Here's more from Thomas.

"He said I have a lot of work to do, in certain aspects," Thomas said. "That's what we've been working on as much as we can. You all were out there today. You saw him coaching at me a little bit. That's because he wants me to be perfect. That's not to say I was doing it bad or wrong. But he wants me to do it 100 percent the right way. For me, I love that type of thing. I want to be the best there is. Whatever is going to make me the best I can.

I often call March Madness the most wonderful time of the year. It's like Christmas for me. I don't think I'm going out on a limb to say any of this either, as most people's feelings about the tournament range from love to complete "I've sent you twelve of my eyelashes in this letter" obsession.

For most of the first three days we got terrible basketball. I don't mean the standard "the college game is inferior" basketball either. I'm talking ten blindfolded kids playing outside on a windy day bad. Shooting percentages were down, turnovers were up, and if the court they were playing on didn't have an NCAA logo in the middle, no one would have been watching.

And then, just like that Sunday's games single handedly redeemed the weekend. It was awesome. Anyway, as the Sweet Sixteen tips off tonight, here are my power rankings (in reverse order) the past week:

#292. Reggie Johnson: Coming in dead last, I went with this number because it's what Big Reggie's weight is listed as. 292 pounds? Come on now. That's like saying Trey Edmunds ran a 40 in 4.37 seconds. Reggie only played 18 minutes in Miami's win against Illinois, while also suffering an injury that will force him out in tonight's game against Marquette. Hard times out there for a big man.

It's football season for the next 4 weeks y'all! These are my thoughts on the reports from Tech's first day of spring ball.

We all clamored behind our keyboards for Trey Edmunds to strap it up last season, and it sounds like he looked beastly at practice today (6-1, 215 lbs). Chris Lang caught up with Shane Beamer.

"He's extremely explosive. You all saw what he ran the 40 in. I saw it with my own eyes," Beamer said. "And to have that strength and that power, it's exciting. And it's intriguing. He's just very raw."

/Drools

It's also important to note the Beamer and Loeffler are working to find their featured back and rotation this spring, "I certainly would like to get a solidified rotation coming out of spring."

Mike Barber noted the early focus on the power running game.

In the brief glimpse the media got, it was obvious Tech is focused on returning to its power-run game. Most of the plays run during the fourth period came out of the I-formation or double-tight end sets.

"I want this to be the toughest football team we've had here at Virginia Tech" — Frank Beamer

"What I'm worried about is developing the toughest line in the ACC" — Jeff Grimes

Before writing this column, I frequently lamented how Virginia Tech football lost the identity that lead the program's rise to prominence. Hokie football in the Frank Beamer era meant one thing: win or lose Tech's opponent left Lane Stadium bruised and battered. The program revolved around the Lunchpail ethos of outworking other teams on the field and in the weight room while being as physical as possible. Offensively, the scheme was antiquated, but the men who executed it left an impression in the chewed up turf, the sore chests, and backsides of their opponents. On a 3rd-and-3, you had confidence that your offense could get four yards. That is how you win football games.

A message from Brian:

There are a few things that everyone knows about sports. They're memorable, they're emotional and most importantly they're personal. This bracket is not something that is cut and dry. It's something that makes you think where you were and what you were doing during the moments in question. It is about a son's memory of spending time with his dad. A memory of two boys, 5 and 9, playing football in the yard, arguing over which one gets to be Michael Vick.

That's me, and as you will be able to tell the Hokies hold a very special place in my heart, as they do with all of you. The best part of this thing is not that there will be a definite winner, but that there will never be a unanimous champion, but only multiple champions of the heart.

I just hope that y'all have as much fun filling this thing out as we did.

A message from Joe:

Thanks to everyone for all of the great suggestions! That thread was one helluva trip down memory lane. Narrowing the bracket to 32 moments was difficult, and everyone's suggestions plus the number of up-votes determined and seeded almost the entire field. In my opinion, the most glaring omission was the 2007 ECU game. Both Brian and I agreed, the respective winners of our brackets would finish in second to that emotional pre-game.

Members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association voted Erick Green as the conference's player of the year. Green received 38 of the 76 votes cast. Miami's Shane Larkin was second with 23 votes and Duke's Mason Plumlee was third with 12 votes. Green is truly the best player on the league's worst team. Here are some of his accomplishments this season:

• Nation's leading scorer (25.4 ppg, 48.2 fg%)
• First ACC player to lead the nation in scoring since USC's Grady Wallace (1956-57)
• ACC's leader in minutes played (36.4 mpg)
• Virginia Tech's single-season scoring leader (786 points)
• Fifth most efficient player nationally according to Hollinger (32.51 per)

Green never let up, consistently played hard to the point of exhaustion, and manufactured points. He never seemed to stray from James Johnson's system, and made it a point to include his teammates in the game with smart and timely passes. That's my only knock on Green, I would have be fine with him putting the ball up every time he had it regardless of the shot quality.

From the official HokieSports.com release.