Back in Connecticut - for a little bit - and time to reflect on UConn's 10th regional championship.

This is my third year back on the beat after a four-year hiatus and for the first time since my return, basketball was the top priority which is just fine for me.

Two years ago you had the mess at LSU with former coach Pokey Chatman forced out and NCAA moderators doing everything they could to shield the LSU team from the assorted media who naturally where going to write about what led to Chatman's ouster. You also had the heartwarming North Carolina State team pushing on even though their Hall of Fame coach Kay Yow was fighting a battle with cancer - one she would lose earlier this year.

Last year you had the drama involving UConn and Rutgers being placed in the same bracket and having to play each other in the regional final. I firmly believe the emotional toll of having to play against the only team to beat the Huskies during the regular season drained the Huskies.

In the recently-completed Trenton Regional, the focus was solely on what happened on the court with no off the court diversions stealing the spotlight. I didn't really deal with Texas A&M's Gary Blair but Cal coach Joanne Boyle and Arizona State's Charli Turner Thorne handled themselves with tremendous dignity - as did their players - and both are outstanding quotes (trust me, from my end of things that is important). Now UConn heads to St. Louis to play the same Stanford team which knocked them out of the 2008 Final Four. OK, so it is not the "same" team. Candice Wiggins is now playing professionally and JJ Hones is out for the season with a torn ACL. But the rematch will - and already has been - a popular subject.

For those going to Final Four, practices will be open to the public. Here is the schedule (times are Eastern).

Oklahoma 11 a.m.-noon
Louisville 12:05-1:05 p.m.
UConn 1:10-2:10 p.m.
Stanford 2:15-3:15 p.m.

Here's a list of the teams with both men's and women's basketball teams advancing to the Division I Final Four the same season.

2009 Connecticut
2006 LSU
2005 Michigan State
2004 Connecticut*
2003 Texas
2002 Oklahoma
1999 Duke
1983 Georgia
* - UConn won both the men's and women's NCAA National Championships

I've had a request to list the Trenton All-Regional team, which was at the bottom of my game story today. So here it is:
Maya Moore (Most Outstanding Player)
Renee Montgomery
Tina Charles
Danielle Orsillo (would win the award for best quote of the tournament if such an honor existed)
Briann January.
Personally, I thought Cal's Ashley Walker should have been on the team.

I'll leave you with this: anybody who thinks President Obama actually filled out a women's bracket probably believes UConn coach Geno Auriemma will place a call to his good friend Pat Summitt of Tennessee (sarcasm intended) to get a scouting report on Stanford.