NCAA: Beware the Ides of March Madness

A break from our poorly researched MLB preview to address something more pressing. Before the shroud of unproductivity that accompanies the NCAA tournament blankets all of America's schools and offices, we felt that we should address the Madness that is March.

1. Courtesy of my friend Dan, go here to watch all the games on your computer. And while you're at it just give your two weeks notice before your boss has the opportunity to fire you. That way you can say you left because of creative differences and not because you spent two hours screaming in your cubicle for Creighton to "hit a f****** shot." At least leave with some dignity.

2. I have two brackets in my office pool ($10 each, play money not real money) and they could not be more different. It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Bracket. I realize that this is a smart move in terms of hedging my bets, but now I'm conflicted. Until I see how each bracket is going to unfold who do I root for in the first rounds? UVA or Albany? Butler or ODU? Florida or Jackson State? Okay the last one was a joke.

3. Speaking of Florida, if sports in HD is the argument for high definition broadcasts then Joakim Noah is the very persuasive counter-argument.

4. Do teams like Winthrop, Creighton, or Xavier even play any regular season basketball games? You never hear anything about them until mid-March and suddenly they're populating the 9-12 seeds of the tourament. I'm convinced they play in one team conferences where they have intra-squad scrimmages all year and then announce themselves champions.

5. Who else can't wait to see Tyler "Psycho T" Hansbrough flip out with the mask on like a dog with one of those cones around its head? Yet another reason why you shouldn't put animals in people's clothes.

6. Greg Oden is going to issue a huge reality check and reassert his status as the far and away number one pick in this year's NBA draft. With all the pre-college hype followed by the broken wrist and the unassuming performance this year, Oden's Q rating has been surpassed by Kevin Durant and his trascendent season for Texas. Durant is very good, but Oden is Oden and has played all year relying on his non-dominant hand. Nobody in the college game can stop him near the basket, as simple as that. And, yes, I did pick Acie Law IV and Texas A&M in beat them in the Dr. Jekyll bracket.

Ian, additions?


Yeah, I got additions.

1. Duke sucks. I knew they sucked heading in and thought they'd be "upset" in round 1. I picked them to go to the sweet sixteen, however, in order to paint myself into a win-win scenario. Either they'd be bounced in the first two rounds making me happy, or they'd make the third round and make me right. Well, I'm happy, but I can't help but be remiss about the opportunity I had to be happy and right.

2. Day 1 had me going 12 for 16. I consider this an underperformance, but it's irrelevant, as the first round hardly matter in any pools. It's all about keeping the subsequent rounds intact as long as possible. I had GW and Duke in the Sweet Sixteen, so I only have fourteen SS teams left. My goal is to have 10 alive after the first round, and eight alive heading into the actual Sweet Sixteen. I also am confident of all my Elite 8 picks. If I get 6 or 7 of them, that should put me in a comfortable spot in my "friendly contest."

3. Who are these Elite 8 teams? Florida, Oregon, Kansas, UCLA, Texas, Georgetown, Ohio State, and Louisville. Three one's, two two's, a three, a four, and a six.

4. Duke lost in the first round to Virginia Commonwealth.

5. I'm hoping both Oden and Durant have great tournaments, as any tumbling of stock might convince them to get in another year at the college level. As this is the year my Boston Celtics are bottoming out, I want badly both of them in the draft.

6. Picks for today, the 16th of March: #13 Albany, #10 Georgie Tech, #2 Memphis, #11 Winthrop, #12 Long Beach State, #2 Wisconsin, #10 Creighton, #3 Oregon, #1 Kansas, #12 Illinois, #8 Arizona, #4 Texas, #9 Villanova, #13 Holy Cross, #1 Florida, #12 Arkansas

7. Haha, Duke.

8. I am a school teacher and I have a snowday today. Now I can watch all these games scheduled between 12 and 1. Talk about a gift from the gods.