In an attempt to probably capture more money, Bill Self said he woudl entertain the possibility of coaching for Oklahoma State. Once the money came pouring in for Kansas, Bill Self suddenly wasn’t very interested anymore.

“Home called,” Self said. “And we love home. But this is home now.”

“There was never serious interest on our part in leaving the University of Kansas,” said Self, who has won 142 games, four Big 12 titles and a national championship in five highly successful seasons with the Jayhawks.

“But there was serious interest in listening and helping Oklahoma State in a way that would put their basketball program in the position they want it to be in. We visited and slept on it and came to the conclusion that I felt all along that the time is right for my family to be in Lawrence, Kan., and lead this program, hopefully, to bigger and better things in the future.”

The noise you just heard? It was many Kansas fans, all collectively breathing a sigh of relief.

You see what winning a National Championship does for a man? Three weeks ago, 1st and 10, a show I rarely watch, pondered whether or not Bill Self was on the hot seat. He hadn’t been to a Final Four, had fallen short each year with lots of talent and, generally, was known as a guy who could only coach in the regular season.

Three weeks later, the man is going to be able to go to any school he wants for about any amount of money he wants. With Oklahoma State looking like they’re going to back in the Brink’s truck, Kansas donors are willing to empty their pockets, as well.

Immediately after Kansas beat Memphis in overtime Monday night for the NCAA championship, speculation intensified that oil and energy magnate T. Boone Pickens might be coming after the Jayhawks’ coach on behalf of Oklahoma State.

“If they’re going to need to raise a lot of money, I’m sure there will be many people who step forward,” Dana Anderson, a businessman/developer and prominent Kansas donor, told The Associated Press. “Bill Self is a great individual and a great coach and he’s perfect for Kansas.”

I like basketball. But $165 million? Give me a plane ticket, a hotel in Vegas, and a couple of cheap strippers, and I promise I’ll do more with that money that any delight winning a National Title can give me.

It’s a little late on the win, but I was too lazy last night and too tired this morning. So this morning I write to you that the Kansas won a game in which Memphis absolutely blew; and when I say “absolutely blew,” I mean shitting the bed as badly as one can shit a bed.

I saw Memphis up eight with less than two minutes to go, ran to the laundry room, threw some clothes in, came back, and Kansas had cut it to five with a minute and a half. I watched Memphis miss free throws like they had all season and, before you knew it, I watched Mario Chalmers make a three because he wasn’t fouled at halfcourt, and then watched Memphis make a halfcourt heave when they had a timeout.

John Calipari, your coaching blunders won’t be forgotten.

Above is a clip of how the Jayhawks won the game, or how Memphis imploded under pressure. We don’t get to see Mario Chalmers’ miraculous three-point heave to send it into overtime, but watching the expression on CDR’s and Derrick Rose’s face is way more priceless.

Enjoy your win, Bill Self. And your $2 million dollar hike in base pay this year.

Tonight marks the last day until we’re stuck with nothing but MLB and NBA — unless, of course, you’re an NCAA Women’s fan — so let’s make the best of it.

Kansas and Memphis tip off at 9:21 tonight, which means I’ll be up much later than I am on most other nights, where I’m asleep before the sun has set and most 8th graders are still outside playing baseball.

I can’t imagine there’s many Memphis fans out there — unless you’re born a Memphis fan, and if so, I’m sorry — so my guess is most are hoping against John Calipari and his band of dirty recruits (yes, I hate Calipari).

If anything else, I hope for a good game. Outside of the Davidson/Kansas game, and the Western Kentucky/Drake game, there haven’t been a whole lot of nail-biters, at least not by your normal tournament standard.

I’m a hardly a Jayhawks fan, but for tonight: Rock, Chalk Jayhawk! (I still don’t know what the hell that means.)

Derrick Rose didn’t take any questions from the media on Sunday, and the cause was a little odd: The man, as it turns out, didn’t feel well because he ate too many Gummy Bears.

“He eats Gummy Bears and Starburst for breakfast, and Twizzlers and Honey Buns for dinner. That’s why his stomach hurts,” fellow guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said. “We tell Derrick the whole year, ‘Stop eating so many Gummy Bears and Sour Straws.’ But he can’t. … Nobody eats Gummy Bears more than him.”

It’s good to know that a guy who may be picked in the top five of this year’s NBA Draft bases his diet around Gummy Bears, Honey Buns, Starbursts and Twizzlers. I’m guessing he won’t be gracing the cover of Men’s Health any time soon.

I was pretty amped about last night’s games; the idea of seeing Calipari lose again and Roy Williams vs. his old team was an exciting concept to me. I figured both games would be nail-biters, the type where you have lead change after lead change after lead change, and it ends on some crazy shot that somehow finds the bottom of the net as time expires.

In all actuality, we got none of that.

The Memphis/UCLA game featured one team that jumped all over the other team’s back, and another team that just couldn’t score for the life of them. I’d heard about Kevin Love all year and, living on the East coast, hadn’t really had much of a chance to see the guy play. What I saw was a fat white guy that hardly resembled someone ready for the NBA. On the flip side of that, Derrick Rose, who I’ve criticized often as being overhyped, looked absolutely ridiculous. Neither Westbrook nor Collison could guard him, and UCLA’s staunch defense looked rather flimsy.

And for those of you who watched the UNC/Kansas game, well, I’m sorry. I was drunk, thankfully, so what I remember is only bits and pieces, but enough to know that 10 minutes though I’d lost all interest.

The end result is Kansas and Memphis (I’d called Kansas in the finals, but had Memphis losing in the Elite 8), and we can only hope there’s a little more tension and excitement in that game than in the previous two. My pick’s Kansas, but I’m a bit nervous; Memphis has looked absolutely unstoppable, and having to watch Calipari lift the trophy may be completely nauseating.

My prediction: Kansas 77, Memphis 72.

The odds are out for the Final Four, and it’s not very surprising to see that everyone is rated pretty equally; they are, after all, number one seeds, and saying which one is really the best is a guess and nothing else.

If I had to take a stab, my bet would be on UNC. I picked UCLA in my bracket, love their defense, but just feel they play every game a little closer than they should, and it’s going to bite them in the ass eventually. Memphis hit their free throws, but how many times will that really happen, and Kansas, well. . . they’re Kansas, and they never win anything big.

Which leaves UNC, Psycho T, and a lot of pro talent. The odds for UNC are 8:5, the rest at a solid 3:1. I’ll probably throw 50 bucks at UNC, and given how the rest of my bracket has gone, I’ll show nothing for it in the end.

With Memphis romping Texas today like Texas hasn’t been romped, we’ve got our Final Three. Davidson and Kansas are in action right now, and Kansas has a two point lead at the half. It’s hard for me to root for Davidson, as much as I love upsets: Kansas/UNC will be an awesome game to watch, and either of those taking on UCLA or Memphis will make for a really, really fun final. Davidson is a good story, and Stephen Curry is great, but c’mon — can you really see these guys beating Georgetown, Wisconsin, Kansas, and then UNC? At this point, I’m rooting for entertainment. So go, Kansas, go.

What a day it was. I would hvae written this a bit earlier, but a bit earlier I was a bit drunker. Anyway, here’s the recap of yesterday’s action, minus the Duke game (see below).

Kansas State 55, Wisconsin 72: When I filled out my bracket, I was this close to picking Wisconsin to the Final Four, and then backed out. Watching them dominate K-State the entire game yesterday, and watching Kansas struggle a bit, I’m wishing I went with my gut.

Purdue 78, Xavier 85: Purdue started strong, and Xavier started sloppy. The Boilermakers mounted a comeback in the end, but Drew Lavender and C.J. Anderson’s 18-point performances were too much to overcome.

Notre Dame 41, Washington State 61: I picked Notre Dame, falling for the Big East Irish hype. After a 19 point first half and 22 point second half, I was left scratching my head.

Marquette 81, Stanford 82: I was sweating watching this one. My bracket was falling apart before my eyes. The lanky guy for Stanford that sunk the game winning shot? Well, he’s my hero now. Really.

UNLV 56, Kansas 75: This game was actually kinda close, but Kansas has just got too much offense for the Runnin’ Rebels.

Michigan State 65, Pitt 54: Don’t be surprised if MSU makes it to the Final Four. I have them beating Memphis in the Sweet 16, and then losing to Texas in the Elite Eight, but if they made it, I wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Texas A&M 49, UCLA 53: I’m still sweating from this one. . . .

Scores and Updates:

Finals:
-Georgia 61, Xavier 73: It was a close game, a good game, and UGA almost pulled it out.

-Temple 61, Michigan State 72: I’ve got Michigan State in my Elite 8 — almost picked ‘em to the Final Four — so watching the first half as close as it was was kinda scrary.

-Portland State 61, Kansas 85: Like many who fall into the Kansas trap, I picked this team to go to the Finals. We’ll see if they can pull their annual choke-job.

In Progress:
-Kentucky 41, Marquette 48: It’s the only close game going on right now, so it’s the only one I’m watching. Both teams looked sloppy in the first half, but things have picked up a bit.

-Kent State 20, UNLV 45: Ballgame.

-Baylor 27, Purdue 26: See above.

-Oral Roberts 24, Pittsburgh 47: See both. Jeez.