ATLANTA (AP) a Around the Final Four and its host town with journalists from The Associated Press bringing the flavor and details of every thing surrounding the activities. And Presidential parting photo The formal question-and-answer percentage of his information conference had just ended when NCAA leader Mark Emmert looked at a reporter and said "I know you are unhappy, but I'm still here." It was an appropriate parting shot on Thursday for criticism have been faced by Emmert, who since the NCAA has revealed it broke its policies while investigating the scandal involving a Miami enhancement. Emmert said dealing with criticism is a part of his work, particularly because the NCAA goes through change. "If you are gonna start a big change plan you have got to manage to handle criticism," he explained. a Charles Odum a' http://twitter.com/@CharlesOdum Etc Cool, Soggy begin On Thursday the final Four coaches made their first performances in Atlanta. Atlanta's spring weather? That is still at the least each day or two away. The town is all dressed up for college basketball's biggest celebration. Phases are create and banners have now been lifted in Centennial Olympic Park, near the Georgia Dome where the activities is going to be played, but an early damper is put by the gloomy weather on the spirit. Soggy and cold conditions were found by fans arriving early for the Final Four in Atlanta. The forecast needed conditions to keep below 50 on Thursday. Where all the Final Four actions are in the pipeline, low clouds covered the top of the skyscrapers in downtown Atlanta. Light water and brisk winds put into the gloom. At the least it's not as bad as Atlanta's notorious Super Bowl freeze. An ice storm created travel through downtown dangerous in January 2000 for the Super Bowl between the St. Louis Rams and Tennessee Titans. This week's prediction is more encouraging. Once the projected large is 62 degrees, the water is likely to keep by Friday. Thursday can look more like spring, with an outlook for sun and a high in the reduced 70s. a' Charles Odum Com Louisville's 'great motivator' Kevin Ware is from Rockdale County Senior School, about 40 minutes east of Atlanta, and he has returned to Georgia an immediate celebrity. Ware, Louisville's sophomore guard, endured gruesome compound fractures in his right leg in Sunday's Midwest Regional final make an impression on Duke that sent the Cardinals to the Final Four. He had successful surgery and flew with the team to Atlanta. Coach Rick Pitino says he's proud of the way in which Ware and his teammates have managed the scary damage. "I believe it is going to be a great motivation for us," Pitino said Thursday. "I don't think I have ever been more proud of a group of teenagers the way they acted and cried their heads out for Kevin, and then the way Kevin got them together and the way he reacted. "Now we are refocused. Kevin's with us." And Ware is a celebrity. "He is performing David Letterman's top 10," Pitino said before adding with fun "I don't know if he has time for us." a' Charles Odum Ok Rapid quote: "Thrown a ball ' A ball has been thrown by "i but it is generally up in the stands and so I don't do it anymore, I damage my arm, last time I did it. I literally could not view that video." a Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim on former Rutgers coach Mike Rice, who had been shot Wednesday after a movie appeared of him reaching, pushing, tossing basketballs at his players and berating them and with anti-gay slurs. a Eddie Pells a' http://twitter.com/@epells Com Mayor's not-so Final Four Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed owes an amiable apology to Louisville, Syracuse and Wichita State as they are welcomed by him to the Last Four. The mayor, whose tournament segment is on public display near the Georgia Dome, properly had Michigan coming out of the South region, but he had Duke, New Mexico and Miami joining the Wolverines. Reed predicted that Syracuse and overall favorite Louisville would drop in the Sweet 16. He owes the largest mea culpa to Wichita, the No. 9 seed from the West. Reed expected the Shockers would decrease their opening game to Pitt. a Bill Barrow a' http://twitter.com/@BillBarrowAP Etc Boeheim 'merely a inexpensive person' Ron Pitino says he knows why Jim Boeheim has coached for so long: He's cheap. Pitino, who was hired by Boeheim being an associate at Syracuse in 1976, has since had four school head coaching jobs and also trained the NBA's Knicks and Celtics while Boeheim has remained at Syracuse. Pitino claims the 68-year-old Boeheim is saving his pennies. "Jim is training quite a long time while he is extremely frugal," Pitino said with a grin Thursday. "He is just a man that money means every thing to him and he's going to coach till he's 90 and ton away every cent he's actually made." a' Charles Odum Etc Boxers or briefs? Red or blue? Michigan coach John Beilein, a native of Burt, N.Y., however has when his Wolverines perform Syracuse in the Ultimate Four on Saturday evening family and friends who might have mixed loyalties. Beilein says supporters could be maintaining some loyalties well-hidden a say under a or two of clothing. "I have called a classic friend of mine on your way down and said, 'What color are you currently wearing?'" Beilein said. "'Do you have orange lingerie on with the blue shirt over the top'" Beilein said he does not mind if his old friends sneak in just a little Syracuse fruit with Michigan blue. "It is a superb thing for anyone to have," he said. "There is to fairly share following a tough winter, in western Nyc, central Nyc. I simply believe that it is all good. It is only all good." a' Charles Odum Etc Small schools share big stage The Last Four isn't the sole big game in town. Hello, City State. Hello, Drury. We are speaking about you. And think about a for Mary Hardin-Baylor and Amherst? For the very first time, the NCAA Division II and Division III national championship games are increasingly being placed in the same city as the Final Four. In his comments to the press on Thursday, NCAA president Mark Emmert said "it's going to be a good experience" to have the smaller colleges playing their championship games at Philips Arena, which will be next to the Georgia Dome. It's part of the NCAA's celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Ultimate Four. City State and Drury will perform for the Division II championship on Sunday at 4, after Amherst plays Mary Hardin-Baylor for the Division III title. a' Charles Odum And Rapidly Fact: What's a Shocker? Because the lowest seed still enjoying a' and one of many lowest ever to achieve the last weekend a' Wichita State's handle is suitable. But where did "the Shockers" come from? University lore traces the name to 1904, whenever a baseball manager called the team as the "Shockers" to drum up curiosity about a gridiron matchup with the Chilocco Indians. The name was reportedly chosen by him since many players used the offseason farming or "shocking" wheat in fields surrounding Wichita. Wichita State bills its costumed mascot WuShock a who bears a resemblance to a huge, more-intense Bart Simpson a' as "a large, poor, muscle-bound bundle of wheat." a' Bill Barrow Etc Pitino's pride It's been a week for Rick Pitino. Pitino is training Louisville in the Last Four, and on Wednesday his son Richard was named head coach at Minnesota. So Thursday's issue for Pitino: Which was greater event? "They are both exciting," Pitino said after pausing to consider the issue. "I am happy and very proud for Richard... So it's been an excellent week for our family." a' Charles Odum Com Louisville's Angel Louisville is making probably the most of its Atlanta connection with its former women's basketball star, Angel McCoughtry. Associates of Louisville, the alma mater McCoughtry of the WNBA Atlanta Dream, conceived a residential area service project for the Last Four. Louisville volunteers will wear T-shirts with McCoughtry's name and number because they join with volunteers from Michigan, Syracuse, Wichita State and the Dream for a project to simply help the homeless and feed the hungry. The volunteers will form and package supplies and clothing that will later be distributed by Lift Up Atlanta, a nearby organization, to homeless people in Atlanta. Coaches will taxi the volunteers to the work site at Medlock Commons Self Storage in Norcross, near Atlanta. McCoughtry was the 2012 WNBA scoring champion. a' Charles Odum And NCAA Finals Watch uses the Ultimate Four games and most of the activities surrounding the function as seen by writers from The Associated Press from across Atlanta. It'll be updated throughout the day with breaking news and other things of interest. Follow AP journalists on Twitter where available.
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