NIT nuggets from New York, New York

NEW YORK -- I picked up a copy of the New York Post today because, hey, I had to. What other newspaper would choose the Jay Leno/Jimmy Fallon/NBC story as its cover story, and have a photoshop of Fallon riding in a sidecar of a motorcycle Leno was driving?

The Post's story about tonight's Baylor-Iowa NIT title clash at Madison Square Garden? It was seven paragraphs, on page 52 of the tabloid, the only non-horse racing item on the page.

I think this is the one and only time I've covered the Hawkeyes in an event of any significance in which you seldom bumped into their fans unless you made a beeline for the Hawkeye Huddle. I've seen two here, two there, but not two everywhere. And I have yet to see one on a subway.

But about tonight's game. The Hawkeyes are 2.5-point favorites. Iowa opened as a 1-point pick, but maybe this little detail started to spread:

Iowa has covered the spread in its last 10 games!

The last time the Hawkeyes failed to cover was their infamous loss at Nebraska on Feb. 23. Since then? Money. Three of those covers were by one point, but Iowa covered easily in its last two games, wins over Virginia and Maryland.

Jill Gaulding may be right. Iowa should get rid of the all-pink color scheme in the visitors' dressing room at Kinnick Stadium.

Whether her reasoning is right, I don't know. You can read this story and draw your own conclusions. But clearly, the pink "passive" effect isn't working. If anything, it's engaging the creative juices of Iowa opponents.At least that's what Iowa State, Central Michigan, Penn State, Purdue and Nebraska said last year.

Might I suggest lavender?

Who stands on a street corner in Manhattan and talks gibberish? Besides, oh, hundreds of gibberish-speaking corner-claimers, that is.

Why, Scott Dochterman, Scott Saville and I, of course. The following video was taped Wednesday before a live New York audience:

Roger Ebert was as big a talent in his profession as anyone he ever wrote about was in theirs.

Now, for some mediocre amateur photography from the Big Apple.