Heading to the Garden after a beautiful day in Boston. Everybody is out, wandering, waiting. There are plenty of Villanova sweatshirts on the cool, sunny streets.

Tonight against Pitt, the Wildcats have a chance to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 1985. Rollie Massimino, the old coach, will be in the building. The place will be all Big East hellfire and whatnot. Across the way from my seat will be the CBS announcers. If this is to be a DVD moment for the Villanova faithful, you couldn't have a better pair to call the ending.

Everybody knows Bill Raftery, America's basketball uncle. But the play-by-play guy, Verne Lundquist, is really good, too, the definition of understatement and elegance. His two most famous calls are golf calls, from the 17th hole of the Master. They are true classics. In 1986, when Jack Nicklaus made that putt to take the lead in the tournament at the age of 46, Lundquist just let him hit it and didn't talk over the drama. As it approached the hole, he offered only a hopeful, "maybe," but then when the ball disappeared a second later, his shout was simple and perfect: "Yes sir!" They will be replaying that one when we're all dead.

Then, in 2005, Tiger Woods hit the chip shot for all time on that same 17th hole, picking a landing spot about 25 or so feet away from the hole and then allowing it to slowly, slowly down to the cup. "Here it comes," he said. And as it got closer and closer, it was, "Oh my goodness," and as it hung on the lip for a half-second before falling into the hole it was, "Oh, wow." Seconds later, into the late afternoon cheering, Lundquist shouted the question, "In your life, have you seen anything like that?"

If this one is going to be a keeper for the Wildcats, the microphone is in good hands.

BOSTON – The calendar turns and the obstacles grow larger. It is what the NCAA Tournament is about. You get scared in one round and you grow up in the next round and you hope that the momentum continues. Hope. Through everything, it remains the dominant emotion.

To paraphrase Bill Parcells, the old basketball coach, you are what the tournament says you are. And what the Villanova Wildcats are is an elite American college basketball program. When they arrived for their Sweet 16 game last night against the Duke Blue Devils, it was their fourth journey of this distance in five seasons. It has been a fantastic run, an elevating period of time for the program.

But they all wanted more – kids, coaches, thousands in the stands at the TD Banknorth Garden. Greed. That remains the second-most dominant emotion.

And now, hopeful, greedy, all of that, Villanova stands on the precipice again. For the second time under coach Jay Wright, the Wildcats are one game away from the Final Four after running Duke out of the gym last night, 77-54. Tenacious on defense, relentless on offense, physically dominating for every one of the court’s 94 feet, Villanova now has a game against Pittsburgh remaining between them and the happiest basketball place on earth.

And, this just in:

What a monster the Big East is.

“We want Pitt…We want Pitt,” is what the Villanova crowd chanted with about 2 minutes left last night. It will be a brawl against brothers. It will be physical and it will be familiar. It will be wonderful and it will be hell.

There was this great Villanova atmosphere in the Garden. It wasn’t like the Wachovia Center last week, certainly, but the pro-Nova bias was evident a half-hour before tipoff when the crowd booed the arrival of the Blue Devils for their warmup. It stayed that way throughout. Boston might be an ACC city these days because that is where Boston College landed a couple of years ago, but the Big East roots still run deep. It was a Big East building last night.

Yet there was still this feeling…

The Wildcats didn’t shoot it very well in the first half (34 percent) but Duke shot it worse (28 percent). And while Villanova could be happy with its 26-23 halftime lead, there was still the sense that it should have been more. They got to the rim with ease against Duke. They looked quicker off the dribble.

In the last 15 minutes of the half, this was how the Wildcats scored their points: slam, 8-foot jumper, follow, layup, layup, layup and free throw, two free throws after a drive. Villanova attacked the interior of the Duke defense and then it attacked some more. The pre-game assumptions played themselves out in that way, then.

But they led by only three at the break, with a great shooting Duke team shooting only 7-for-25, only 28 percent.

It was, in many ways, ominous…

The Wildcats busted out of their dressing room to start the second half. Their lead was 32-25 after a Shane Clark driving layup with 18:01 left. But then the whistles started to blow. It was a deep concern for everyone who watches this Villanova team play in the battering Big East – that quick whistles would help Duke. And there it was: the Wildcats had five team fouls in the first 3 ½ minutes of the second half. The crowd pleaded in unison, “Let them play…Let them play…”

So all of those various concerns hung in air…and the Wildcats ignored them all. They systematically dismantled the Blue Devils, owning the paint. They watched as Episcopal Academy’s Gerald Henderson missed his first 11 shots of the game, a living nightmare. And they just attacked and attacked and attacked some more.

They play in the best college league on the planet, and last night was a living testament to that truth. Three Big East teams are through to the final eight, and two more are still playing. Tested all season by the physicality of the league, and by the coaching, and by a myriad of styles, there is nothing that a team like Villanova has not experienced by now.

One more, then.

Hope, greed, etc.

It's an often-told story, about how the great Gerald Henderson, late of Episcopal Academy, chose Duke over Villanova. Here is coach Mike Krzyzewski's side of it. He was asked how he "plucked" Henderson out of Philadelphia, and Coach K offered just a hint of superiority in his reply.

"Because we're a national school, our school plucks good people in different parts of the country," he said. "It's what a national school does. Harvard does it in this area, Stanford. You're talking about -- Duke is one of the great schools.

"When I saw Gerald play, even before his junior year, I knew he would be -- he had a chance to be a great player. I'm not sure he knew it as much. I think he will tell you that sometimes the vision we have for it is maybe not the vision at that time he had for himself.

"I think if it wasn't for the broken bone in his wrist in mid-February of last year, you would have seen even more of that at the end of last year. But he was out for four months. He had surgery right after the season last year, didn't play for four months. I thought he started playing really well here right after Christmas. And it took, I think, that long for him to get back and accustomed to it.

"He and I have a great relationship. I know he loved Villanova. His sister is a graduate and it's a great school, too. But sometimes it's a great relationship you might have, while you still also have a great school. I guess that's how the pluck occurred, the anatomy of a pluck"

Read that again, and again, and it isn't hard to understand  why Duke haters are not an exclusive group.

At the nicest restaurant in the palatial hotel where the NFL is currently holding its meetings, this is what I would have for dinner if I were an owner.

Appetizer: Caviar, naturally. My choice would be the Iranian Golden Osetra because I want the best. The price is a mere $275.

Entree: I won't take the most expensive thing, the $55 Colorado Rack of Lamb. I'm in a red meat mood so I'll go with  the Nebraska Prime Beef, with pommes dauphine, celery root and black truffle jus. That's $51.

Dessert: Molten chocolate cake for $12.

Two beers to start, all priced about the same. How about a reliable Stella ($7 each)? As for the wine, I'm going to pick a bottle from the list that is right down the middle of the price range on Page 36 of the list, "Red Wines of Consequence." The selection is a Sirita Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley 2003, for $105.

Tax, tip, etc. That gets you to $575 for one person (maybe a little less because you're sharing the wine, unless you're thirsty).

Also known as your recession-battered season ticket money at work.

These are wealthy people and I get it. I don't criticize their wealth -- I criticize their sense of public relations (because, you know, they are in a very public business). They are hilariously tone deaf. Well-fed, but tone deaf.

Curt Schilling retired.

On his blog.

Perfect.

I used to wonder a lot what it might have been like if Schilling had stayed with the Phillies, of if he had come back that time when it seemed a possibility. Because there is no denying the big-game excellence of the guy, or the big mouth. I can argue that it would have been the kick they needed. I can just as easily argue that it would have been an annual firestorm that would have held them back. It is the beauty of you-never-know, and about arguing. Facts don't matter because there are no facts. With these kinds of arguments, as long as you have lungs you can stay in the game.

The man is a fascinating character. The man owned October. Given the chance to pitch in the post-season, again and again and again, Schilling came through for teams, again and again and again.  It is impossible to demonstrate greatness without the opportunity, and Schilling was given tons of opportunity -- and he delivered. I don't vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame and I don't want to, but he will be a fascinating case -- because if the post-season can deliver a player to Cooperstown, it will deliver Curt Schilling.

And, like I said, I used to wonder about what might have happened if Schilling had stayed -- if the Phillies had had the money to spend, if Ed Wade hadn't been the general manager. But I really don't wonder anymore. I mean, they won, and winning provides the great absolution. Winning does not answer all questions but it renders a lot of them meaningless. So it is with this one.

Besides, Schilling and a television career seem predestined, no? My guess is that we'll be seeing him more than ever, and soon.

The Eagles are going to run it a little more next year.

Really, they are.

This has been my general take since the end of the season. Sitting there after they lost the NFC Championship Game, trying to divine the future from the still-warm ashes, that just seemed the most logical way for Andy Reid & Co. to proceed. And that is exactly what they are doing.

When you replace both of your starting offensive tackles, which it appears they are going to do -- Tra Thomas is gone, Jon Runyan is unsigned and recovering from knee surgery -- you are making a statement. When you realize that both of the veteran tackles had better years pass blocking than run blocking, you are offering a suggestion. I don't know who the new left tackle is going to be, but he will be a better run blocker than Thomas by default. The right tackle -- presumably the newly-acquired Stacy Andrews -- has a chance to be better than Runyan (repeat, a chance) if he can stay healthier than Runyan.

So, there is that. Then, add in a real fullback -- free agent Leonard Weaver, signed at the end of last week amid the noise of the basketball tournament. This is a nice, solid move and it points to the exact same conclusion -- that the Eagles have decided that they do, in fact, need to be able to rely on their running game in situations, because of injuries or weather or a quarterback slump or simply the way a particular game is playing out. I will say again what I have said for a while now: their failure in crucial running situations is much, much, much more of an issue for this offensive than the acquisition of a wide receiver. Don't get me wrong -- I'd take a star and I'd really like to see them get somebody, anybody, who is 6-foot-4 and with whom the quarterback can made a consistent red-zone connection (more than Hank Baskett).

It is more of an issue than the overall number of running plays, too. People always said they didn't run it enough and couldn't develop a running rhythm because of that and etc. Well, they could have run it a thousand times around the left side and not found that rhythm -- and with Runyan hurt and with running back Brian Westbrook always dinged, well, it was just hard last year. It really is about the personnel, not the play-calling -- and the play-calling wasn't really out of whack very often, besides.

But they are fixing it. They will have more run blocking at tackle. They will have a real fullback. They still need a tight end because there isn't a guy on the roster right now who can block you. And they need to draft a running back and draft one high -- which colleague Paul Domowitch is suggesting now is going to happen.

Then, the makeover of that aspect of their game will be complete.

Effective balance. It might just work.

March Madness...

Stream of consciousness...

Plenty of people take the first 2 days of the NCAA Tournament off from work, meet up with friends, make one last plea to spouses, do the total immersion thing. But you really aren't a degenerate, a true and total degenerate, unless you have eaten three meals in the same bar on a Thursday or Friday in March -- one from the lunch menu, one from the dinner menu, one from the late menu, outlasting at least two shifts of bartenders and servers. Then, you know.

Prepare for rambling here. It is hard to explain this to people who don't get it in the first place. But to have been there in the Wachovia Center a couple of years ago when the Great Danes of Albany took mighty UConn to hell and back before succumbing -- to listen to 90 percent of 20,000 people raucously enraptured by a group of underdogs whose names they barely knew, well, you really did have to be there. And to be there even once in your life is never to leave again.

I once saw 16th seeded East Tennessee State rim out a potential game-winner against Oklahoma. I also once saw Oklahoma coach Billy Tubbs in the championship game against Kansas. It was an all-Big Eight final against Larry Brown/Danny and the Miracles, and  it was played in a small arena in Kansas City, and it was a riot. Tubbs nearly jumped to the ceiling after the first whistle against his team and a veteran official went over to him and said, "Will you please calm down? We're all nervous enough as it is and you're just making it worse."

I also saw Tubbs in a regional final against Villanova. He was griping in the days leading up to the game that coaches outside the East got no respect. He said, "I know, maybe I need to change my name. What do you think of Tubbsimino?"

Let's just say Villanova coach Rollie Massimino was not amused. Rollie. I can remember at the Final Four in 1985, he sat at the huge press conferences and told warm, charming stories while a bunch of Philadelphia writers -- whom Massimino had been snapping at all season -- sat in the back of the room and asked each other, "Who is that guy?"

That was Rollie. John Chaney was the guy who walked around the lobby of an Atlanta hotel the night before his last regional final and handed out leftover soul food to total strangers, serving from a tray.

Rambling here. Totally rambling. When Chaney lost the last game, it was always a tearful spectacle, all hugging and sobbing and laughing in between. For many of the other city teams, usually underdogs, there was quick and bitter disappointment. Soon, though, there was the renewed glow of validation that only this tournament can bring to its invitees.

Oh, they just love getting here -- getting to the arena, just soaking it all in. Some of them are nervous, some hilarious. One time, La Salle assistant Joe Mihalich (not the coach at Niagara) pointed to an opposing coach in the building with a sketchy reputation and said, "He has only two rules: be on time and no smoking on the bench."

Those La Salle teams never made a run. There's nothing like a run, especially when it comes out of nowhere. Penn's run to the Final Four in 1979 was like that, silly magic. A couple of Chaney's runs to the final eight were like that. Villanova in 1985 was completely unexpected. And it is still easy to remember the morning of the game. After an all-night poker game -- completely the fault of Bob Ford, by the way -- the phone rang a couple of hours past sunrise with the terrible news that former Villanova coach Al Severence had died  in a Lexington hotel room that morning. (Bob Vetrone was rooming with him.)

This tournament is life, in many ways -- or, at least, the best part of it. In a hard-bitten sports city, it is a wonderful vacation: 3 weeks, no complaining, just fun.

It's always better to play on the second day -- you get more time to live the dream. Temple played the first game out of the box last year at Denver and was eliminated before lunch in the Mountain time zone. That's no way to go out. The Owls had a similar ending one year in Boise -- they lost by about 30 -- and Mike Kern kept asking, "They came all the way out there for this?" (I think it was his lede the next day.)

On the way home from Boise,  the office said to stop in  Oklahoma City and cover those games. I  got off of the plane, walked into the arena, put down my bags in the press room and looked up at the television to see Valparaiso's Bryce Drew hit that famous three-point buzzer beater to knock out fourth-seeded Mississippi State. I remember running out to the court to catch the end of the celebration. I remember trying to imagine what it sounded like at the moment the ball fell through the net.

Once. You only  have to see it once. It gets you then, and it never lets go.

The vote is in.

Anquan Boldin it is.

Now all that has to happen is the Cardinals have to agree to trade him.

So, we ran our little poll on Tuesday. It was as scientific as astrology, but so what? I happen to think it's a fair reflection of what people around here think. They do want Boldin, the Arizona wide receiving. They don't want Jay Cutler, the quarterback trying to whine his way out of Denver.

Me? I think Cutler is pretty intriguing. But I would be scared by what is happening right now with the Broncos. Now, it's true that there is a quarterback in Philadelphia named Donovan McNabb, and McNabb has extra pockets sewed in all of his clothing so as to be able to carry all of his various grudges at all times, but what Cutler is trying to pull in Denver goes well beyond anything McNabb has done. (Yet.) Yes, the new coach in Denver wanted to trade for the quarterback he trained from a pup. Jay, get over it.

I never thought the Cutler thing could be real for the Eagles -- for that reason, for the price it would likely take, and for the implicit repudiation of Kevin Kolb that such a move would signify. Unless the people over there are lying, they still like Kolb a lot, and they have a lot of time invested in him. So this thing just didn't fit.

As for Boldin, well, his support in the poll was predictable. (Second place on the poll was for the Eagles to keep their second first-round draft choice because of the need to fill multiple holes. Nobody wants to see them package the two picks to move up and make a blockbuster first-round selection. Me, I kind of liked that one myself.)

But Boldin it is. The truth is, he is a far better option than any receiver who was out there in free-agency, including T.J. Houshmandzadeh. There is some diva in the details, but it seems manageable if the money is right. This is the conversation-changing move to make, if that is the goal. If not, use both of the first-round picks (and come out of it with a running back, if nothing else.)

That's it. The people have spoken. 

The poll is pretty self-explanatory. The Eagles have these two first-round draft choices and a bunch of different scenarios. Some might be more real than others -- for instance, we can't be sure that Boldin or Cutler will be available. Still, this is where the conversation is today, so have at it.

Poll: How should the Eagles use the No. 28 pick? (1512 votes)