Carlisle: These days, being ranked No. 1 is the last thing teams want

Maybe we should start the men's college basketball rankings at No. 2.

It's obvious that No. 1 spot is broken or something.

Michigan was there once and looked ready to perhaps take control of it again, but couldn't hold onto a three-point lead Saturday with less than two seconds to play against Wisconsin and lost in overtime. Badgers battling Wolverines — that belongs on the National Geographic Channel, not ESPN.

Kansas has historically spent a lot of time as the nation's No. 1 team, and had been as high as No. 2 this season. But the Jayhawks have lost three games in a row and the governor is considering asking for a bill to take the word "Kansas" off their uniforms.

Duke spends as much time atop the polls as anyone, but has suffered losses to Miami and North Carolina State. Coach Mike Krzyzewski has been a household name for years, but he's thinking of having it changed to something more obscure. Maybe something like Metta World Krzyzewski.

Louisville had high hopes, but the Cardinals too have lost three straight this season. They lost 104-101 at Notre Dame in quintuple overtime Saturday. It was a game so frustrating for coach Rick Pitino, he actually (gasp!) took his jacket off.

Indiana went into last week at No. 1 and hadn't looked this good since Bobby Knight was wearing plaid pants and throwing chairs across the court, but the Hoosiers lost to the Fighting Illini of Illinois on Thursday, which was enough to make them ill. They got better Sunday, beating No. 10 Ohio State.

Arizona has No. 1 tradition as well, and had lost only to UCLA and Oregon in the Pacific-12 — that is, until the No. 7 Wildcats were upset by Cal on Sunday. Lute Olson is reportedly angry and organizing a coup d'état.

Aforementioned Miami is in first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 10-0 record and is 19-3 overall after beating North Carolina on Saturday. But this can't possibly end well, can it? The U, after all, is a football school. Jimmy Johnson is reportedly angry and organizing a coup d'état.

Syracuse? Florida? Gonzaga? They're all close, but no cigar. The only thing in college basketball you can really count on these days is that you can't count on anything.

What it all means is this: The upcoming NCAA Tournament should be as wide open as any we've seen in a long time. Fortunately, we'll know for sure who No. 1 is when it's all over.

The week just past

Now, while feeling proud that we've managed to avoid the word "bracketology," let's take a look at the week just past:

Pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training. If you've ever wondered why they report before anyone else, it's because pitchers take longer to get ready than position players do. Catchers report early because without them, everything the pitchers threw would just go right to the backstop.

The Northern Trust Open is this weekend, minus Tiger Woods or even last weekend's Pebble Beach winner, Brant Snedeker. Phil Mickelson's playing, but which Phil will Riviera Country Club get? The one who won easily in Phoenix or the one who tied for 60th at Pebble?

We think of Riviera as being the home of the Northern Trust Open (originally known as the Los Angeles Open), but the tournament has had a rather nomadic existence. It's also been played at the Los Angeles, El Caballero, Wilshire, Hillcrest, Inglewood and Valencia country clubs; the Brookside and Rancho Park golf courses and even at Griffith Park.

LeBron James just keeps getting better and better. It's really kind of scary.

MLB Network debuts a show called "The Next Knuckler" on Wednesday night. In it, former knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield tries to teach the pitch to former college football quarterbacks John David Booty (USC), Josh Booty (LSU), Doug Flutie (Boston College), David Greene (Georgia) and Ryan Perrilloux (LSU and Jacksonville State). It's a competition with the winner getting an invitation to spring training from the Arizona Diamondbacks. As admittedly washed up as these QBs may be, it seems like it would be difficult to go from throwing a ball with a tight spiral to a ball with no spin at all.

I wonder if ESPN plans to celebrate Michael Jordan's 50th birthday as long as the people at Disneyland celebrated theirs.

Seems rather trifling to hold the NBA All-Star Game in Houston. L.A., New York, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago and New Orleans should pretty much be the only cities in the rotation. Houston, to me, would rate just slightly higher than Salt Lake City.

Here's the latest on the Notre Dame football scandal: It appears now that Manti Te'o was imaginary and that his girlfriend is real.
