Harrison Barnes

We are asking you to predict the winners of each of the NCAA basketball tournament regionals today, and conclude with the Midwest Regional. A quick breakdown before we get to the poll: Top four seeds: North Carolina (29-5), Kansas (27-6), Georgetown (23-8), Michigan (24-9). Upset specials: No. 14 Belmont over No. 3 Georgetown, No. 11 North Carolina State over No. 6 San Diego State. 2012 NCAA tournament interactive brackets Gary Klein's rim shots: --North Carolina Coach Roy Williams could go up against his successor at Kansas, Bill Self, if the Tar Heels and Jayhawks reach the regional final.

Barry Bonds' home run record has been removed ... not from the record books, like many people have wished, but from the walls of the San Francisco Giants' ballpark in San Francisco. The commemorative plaque honoring Bonds' record-setting 756th home run has disappeared from the right-center brick facade in AT&T Park, where it has hung since the start of the 2008 season. No one seems to know exactly what happened to it. Giants spokeswoman Staci Slaughter said Tuesday night that the team is conducting an investigation as to where the hardware may be. “We're not sure what happened," she said.

Matt Kenseth and his Joe Gibbs Racing team were hit with major penalties from NASCAR on Wednesday following Kenseth's victory Sunday at Kansas Speedway. NASCAR said that in its post-race inspection of Kenseth's No. 20 Toyota, it found the car had an unapproved engine part -- a connecting rod that was too light. Although Kenseth was able to keep his victory, the driver was stripped of 50 Sprint Cup Series championship points, dropping the former Cup champion from eighth in the standings to a tie for 14th with Jeff Gordon.

The Times has boxer Victor Ortiz, a former WBC welterweight champion, guest-blogging while he competes on "Dancing With the Stars . " Each week while he competes on the show, Ortiz will answer a few questions from Sports Now editor Houston Mitchell and give some insight into the competition. Here are Ortiz's thoughts about Week 6, which he offered via email. This week, Ortiz was eliminated, finishing in eighth place overall. Q. You had to learn two dances this week, a solo dance and a team dance.

A look at the top four seeded teams 1. North Carolina. The Tar Heels are vying for their third NCAA title under Coach Roy Williams. North Carolina lost to Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title game. 2. Kansas. The Jayhawks, a loser to Baylor in the Big 12 Conference tournament semifinals, could go a long way if they avoid NCAA tournament upsets that have plagued them. 3. Georgetown. The Hoyas moved past an ugly on-court brawl in China during an August exhibition and earned the No. 3 seed despite a double overtime loss to Cincinnati in Big East tournament.

OAKLAND — Clearly, the Clippers still are bothered by what they perceive as antics and trash talking by the Golden State Warriors. Even with Chris Paul laboring in his second game back since missing three because of a bruised right kneecap, and even after the Warriors won, 106-99, at Oracle Arena on Monday, all the Clippers wanted to get across was that they think they are the better team. The Warriors talk too much for the Clippers' liking, even if Golden State backed it up by winning the season series 3-1. Clippers Coach Vinny Del Negro acknowledged that the Warriors "get up for us, you can tell a little bit. Which is good.

After last week's scare against Concordia, UCLA Coach Ben Howland was searching for signs of improvement from his team. On Tuesday night, he got a few. With a healthier Jerime Anderson and Michael Roll in the lineup, a calmer and more organized-looking Bruins team cruised past Humboldt State, 74-57, in the final exhibition before next week's season opener. "A lot of people might be second-guessing us after last week," Roll said. "We wanted to play better." The senior guard led his team with 17 points, one of four Bruins in double figures before a crowd of 6,852 at Pauley Pavilion.

And with the second pick in the June 28th NBA draft, the Charlotte Bobcats select... Oh, right, what about the first pick? Well, the consensus is that the New Orleans Hornets will take Kentucky big man Anthony Davis with the first overall pick. After that, the selections might get a little dicey -- if only because Bobcats owner Michael Jordan has too many choices. One decision Jordan has to make is whether to trade the No. 2 pick to get more quality players lower in the draft of equal potential.

Shannon Ryan's NCAA men's basketball preseason rankings and comments: 1. Duke (35-5, NCAA champion): Kyle Singler plus Nolan Smith can equal a second championship. 2. Michigan State (28-9, Final Four): Healthy PG Kalin Lucas leads class that boldly predicts a title. 3. Kansas State (29-8, Elite Eight): With Jacob Pullen back, Coach Frank Martin should cheer up. 4. Pittsburgh (25-9, NCAA second round): Can't name a Panther? You'll know the starting five by March.