NCAA Tournament Championship Open Thread (Rondo vs. Pierce)

Rajon Rondo's Kentucky Wildcats take on Paul Pierce's Kansas Jayhawks. Who ya got? Consider this an open thread to discuss tonight's NCAA Tournament Championship game.

One interesting twist to the above dynamic was laid out by the Mark Murphy article from yesterday.

Not in the Cards for Rajon Rondo - BostonHerald.com

Rajon Rondo did his part. He talked up Kentucky all week with the same kind of bravado that Paul Pierce showers over Kansas and Ray Allen reserves for UConn. But by the time Kentucky and cross-state rival Louisville met in last night’s Final Four, part of the Celtics point guard was a detached observer. He has a unique connection to both programs, and it’s been well-documented. The Louisville native wanted to play for Rick Pitino, and was recruited by the Cardinals coach.

There's a butterfly effect going on there. If Telfair declared earlier for the NBA or if Pitino had just recruited Rondo instead, would Rondo have "struggled" in college and lasted till the Celtics could buy a pick from the Suns to get him? What if Telfair went to college and thus the Raef & pick for Ratliff and Telfair trade never happened? Would the Celtics have picked Brandon Roy or Rudy Gay? And if any of that happens, do they still trade for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett or do they trade Pierce and start over? Butterfly effect. We'll never know.

Anyway, back to the game. Who's life will be changed forever by being crowned NCAA champs?