The Xavier Musketeers (24-4, 12-1 Atlantic 10) moved up to No. 9 in the AP and are at No. 11 in the Coaches Poll as the latest polls came out on Monday.  With all of the success this season the Muskies are shaping up well for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

The only slip up in A-10 play came with the 19-point loss at Temple Jan. 16. They have good non-conference wins over Indiana, Creighton, Cincinnati, Kansas, and Virginia. There were not-so-pretty loses against Miami and at Arizona State.  Winners of 10 straight games and 16 of their last 17, the Muskies have the A-10 in hand and are a lock to make their thrid straight NCAA tournament and 17th overall trip since 1983.

Now they need to get healthy. The team's leading scorer, point guard Drew Lavender, played through an ankle injury in Sunday's win at Dayton, but he may not get to 100% in time for the tournament unless head coach Sean Miller opts to sit him.

"Right now a true testament to our team is Drew Lavender, who is nowhere near himself. I give Drew full credit for playing hurt," Miller told reporters in Sunday's post-game press conference. "We've had to adjust a bit and in the situation he is in, the other players around him have had to step up and they've done that."

Most prognosticators are projecting Xavier as No. 2 seed in next month's tournament, including Bracketography.com, which have the Muskies as the #2 in the West matched up with UCLA and opening in Birmingham.

Other notables from Bracketography.com:

Last Four In
UNLV
Ohio State
Florida
Rhode Island

Last Four Out
West Virginia
Southern Illinois
Kentucky
Wake Forest

Next Four Out
Dayton
New Mexico
Stephen F Austin
Oregon

Things have slowed a bit in the Mock Draft but the fifteenth round is finally complete. It certainly was an interesting one as players from nearly every position were chosen. Apparently the owners are just filling in their needs. Take a look:

ROUND  1| ROUND  2| ROUND   3 | ROUND  4  | ROUND  5  | ROUND  6 | ROUND 7
ROUND  8| ROUND  9| ROUND 10 | ROUND 11 | ROUND 12 | ROUND 13| ROUND 14

169) CLASGENS - Adam LaRoche, 1B, PIT

170) SIMONS - Jose Guillen, OF, KC

171) MURDICO - Bronson Arroyo, SP, CIN

172) HUMBERT #1 - Kahlil Greene, SS, SD

173) FISCHER - Evan Longoria, 3B, TB

174) MUEHLENKAMP - Jeremy Bonderman, SP, DET

175) DINSMORE - Michael Cuddyer, OF, MIN

176) BARTEL - Edwin Encarnacion, 3B, CIN

177) BOLTON - Oliver Perez, SP, NYM

178) WETZEL - Chad Cordero, RP, WAS

179) POLKING - Clay Buchholz, SP, BOS

180) HUMBERT #2 - Jeff Kent, 2B, LAD

The NBA's Western Conference was already bunched tightly enough.  Several huge trades over the past couple of weeks involving the likes of Pau Gasol, Shaquille O'Neal, & Jason Kidd amongst others only furthered that bunch.  Well, the conference race to the playoffs may have just thinned out a bit.

KRIV-TV out of Houston, and ESPN, are reporting that C Yao Ming is done for the season.  http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3265631

He was pulled from practice after complaing of--yet again--foot pain.  He was examined by team doctors which revealed that he was going to be done for at least a game or two.  He was then sent to Memorial Hermann Hospital for further testing.  It was revealed today that he has an apparent stress fracture, and will undergo season-ending surgery.  

As you can imagine, this is going to be potentially devastating for the Rockets.  The Western Conference #1 seed and the last #8 seed are currently separated by only 5.5 games.  Although the Rockets have been playing out of their minds recently, winning 12 straight, one good 3 or 4 game losing streak could send them plummeting right out of the playoffs altogether (they currently are the #7 seed).

It should be interesting to see how they handle the situation beginning tonight against Washington.

It's hard to believe that just three short years ago Bartolo Colon was the best pitcher in the American League. He's won seven games since winning the 2005 Cy Young award and at 34 there is no telling what he has left.  He could rebound and have a lengthy career, or this could be the beginning of the end. Regardless of the answer, the Red Sox decided to take a shot, and a low-risk one at that. Boston signed Colon to a one-year minor-league contract that will pay him $1 million if he makes the club.

"Signing Colon to a minor league deal, we think, is a no-risk, potential high-reward signing," Boston GM Theo Epstein told the Boston Globe. "He's on a minor league contract, going to show up here at camp tomorrow, and we'll do an evaluation of how far he is away from helping us.

"But it takes more than five starting pitchers to get through a season. Obviously, he's an accomplished guy, and if we can get him back to a point where he's throwing well, he can certainly help us at some point this season."

Built into the $1.25 million contract are roster bonuses, award bonuses, and bonuses for games started, beginning at eight, and games finished, beginning at 20. There is an out clause in the deal, though Epstein declined to specify the date, only saying, "That gives us ample time to get him into shape and fully evaluate him."

Colon looked good out of the gate in '07 after completing his rehab from a torn rotator cuff, but it was short-lived as he battled elbow troubles for a second straight season. Many believe the problems are related, as the weakness in his shoulder forces him to put more stress on the elbow.