Niagara feels dissed by play-in game

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Disrespect. It's the new watch word in athletics today.
The latest of the disrespected these days seems to be the teams that "must" play in the NCAA tournament's play-in game, in this year's case Florida A&M and Niagara.

Up here in Buffalo, close to where Niagara is located and where an NCAA regional is taking place, the Purple Eagles were furious -- just furious!! -- that they had to play the Rattlers on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio, for the right to play Kansas on Friday in Chicago.

"We feel disrespected," Niagara forward Charron Fisher said on Sunday. "I'm sure you'll be able to see when we play on Tuesday how disrespected we feel."

Niagara -- who probably would have lost badly if they played NCAA-scorned Syracuse, Florida State or Drexel -- should realize how fortunate it is to be included at all. -- David Scott