Re-seeding talk needs a rest.(The Orlando Sentinel)

ORLANDO _ The Final Four is here, which means it's time for the annual blather from numerous folks_including Billy Packer and Dick Vitale_about how the field now needs to be re-seeded.

Please, just give that a rest.

Part of the beauty about the NCAA Tournament is the upsets. And part of the beauty is having to win your way to the Final Four. Why mess with something that works so well?

Let's look at just three examples why this isn't a good idea:

_ This year: Presumably, folks such as Packer and Vitale are in a lather because Kansas meets Maryland in one semifinal, which is being called "the real title game" by numerous folks. One problem with that: Oklahoma_the lone conference champ in the Final Four_beat both Kansas and Maryland this season. Another problem: Indiana beat seemingly unbeatable Duke two rounds ago on its way to the Final Four. Are KU and Maryland really better than Oklahoma and Indiana? Who knows? Hey, that's why they play the games, folks.

_1983: That was when Jim Valvano, everybody's favorite coach (that's sarcasm, people), led his sixth-seeded North Carolina State team to the title. NCSU met a fourth-seeded Georgia team in one national semifinal; the other semifinal_the one everybody called "the real national title game"_matched No. 1 seeds Houston and Louisville. NC State, of course, beat "unbeatable" Houston in the final. If Packer and Vitale had their way, you would've had NCSU meeting either Louisville or Houston in a semifinal.

_1988: That was the year sixth-seeded Kansas beat top-seeded Oklahoma for the title (the last time teams from the same conference met for the crown). The others in the Final Four were second-seeded Duke (ousted by KU in one semifinal) and top-seeded Arizona (ousted by OU in the other semifinal). If the "re-seed the field" folks had their way, you would've had KU-OU in one semifinal and Arizona-Duke in the other. Who knows who would've won it all?