MADNESS: OUR HOUSE

We're down to less than 24 hours to the beginning of the NCAA Tournament, and about 50 hours until Villanova plays their first round game at the Wachovia Center (which is technically not their "backyard" or "house", despite the reports). Can you feel the excitement? Can you smell the fear? Can you taste the rainbow? More NCAA trivia that I gleaned (stole) from Deadspin.com:

• Georgetown used to be called the "Hilltoppers" before writers for the school paper shortened it to "Hoyas" (huh???);
• A Saluki, the Southern Illinois mascot, is a breed of dog originating from Egypt;
• The hideous striped clown pants that Indiana wears during warmups are only $144.99 (plus S&H);
• The Academic Final Four (the top 4 teams that have the highest graduating percentage) are Bucknell, UNC-Wilmington, Illinois and Villanova. Congratulations, 2006 National Champions, the Bucknell Bison!

Of course, don't miss the Deadpsin Pants Party factoids about Villanova and Monmouth.
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The Monmouth Hawks beat Hampton Pirates in the "play-in game" last night for the priviledge to face #1 Villanova in the Wachovia Center on Friday. According to CBS Sportsline, this is "the first NCAA tournament win for a NEC team since 1984". Are they really considering the play-in game a "tournament game"? Because I'm not. But they can raise a banner if they want. Knock yourself out.

Chris Kenny set an opening-round record with six 3-pointers (again, is this really the "first round"? I don't think so), but the most intriguing player was Hawks junior John Bunch, who had 5 blocks and easily dwarfed the other players on the court at 7' 2" and 320 pounds. Apparently, he never played high school ball and was working at a movie theater showing "Ice Age" when a college coach's wife noticed him and passed his name along. Wow.
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Miss Deaf Texas was struck and killed by train, despite the engineer repeatedly sounding the horn to warn her. Well, uhm, I don't think she heard it.
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This blog has done an exhaustive (and exhausting) analysis of the baseball game in the classic 1946 cartoon "Baseball Bugs". Among the facts of the game:

• The Gorillas hold a 54-0 lead after four innings. That is far ahead of the previous all-time scoring record for a team in a game (held by the Chicago Colts, who scored 36 against Louisville in four innings on June 29th, 1897).
• For some reason, the Gorillas are allowed to smoke cigars during play.
• In the carnage, even Gorilla coaches, bat boys and other uniformed staff are able to bat and hit against the weak Tea Totaller pitching.
• We are introduced to both the shabby state of the grounds keeping and of stadium security at the Polo Grounds, as we see an angry rabbit (Bugs Bunny, RHP/UT) is able to heckle the visiting team from left field, where he has dug a fairly substantial hole.
• Bunny’s pitching line: 5 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 3K, 0 BB, 0 HR.
• One Gorillas hitter uses the largest bat ever known to be used in a baseball game — actually a tree — estimated to be 20 feet long, three feet in diameter and just shy of 5,000 pounds.

I don't know what to say except: outstanding!
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In the world of post-Olympic NHL hockey, the Devils and Rangers have both hit the skids. Last night, the Islanders beat the Devils for the 6th time in 8 tries (!) this season, and Marty "Team Canada" Brodeur gave up 5 goals on 23 shots. Meanwhile, the Rangers have lost 6 in a row, the latest a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the first place Carolina Hurricanes, who have the league's best home record (a stellar 27-5-1 in Raleigh). This effectively cancels out the 7 game winning streak that preceded it. During the 7 wins, Jagr had 15 points (9 G, 6 A), while he has only 3 points (2 G, 1 A) during the 6 losses. I still hope these two teams meet in the playoffs, but I wouldn't etch their names in the Cup just yet. The Sabres continue to play well, however . . .
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On 3/3/2006, it was 19° overnight. On 3/10/2006, it was 70° during the day. This Friday, 3/17, they're forecasting 36° and snow. Yes, the Earth is completely off kilter and spinning off its axis, so we should be hurtling into the Sun at any minute. Just wanted to warn you. I would recommend you pack some SPF 50 and a goose down parka.