THE CUPCAKE BITES BACK

I went to go see Villanova lose horribly against Texas last week, but it was worth it just to say I saw a college basketball game at MSG for $10. Let's face it: $10 gets you shit in Manhattan, let alone a seat in the Garden, the Self-Proclaimed Most Important Arena In The World.

However, I would have paid any amount of money to see this game against Cleveland State. It may look like a typical Syracuse early season cupcake (one of 11 straight home games against the likes of Cornell, Colgate, Canisius, Coppin State and Long Beach State), an easy win to pad their win/loss record for the selection committee come March . . . but that's where you'd be wrong.



I don't know which one I enjoy more: the ridiculous buzzer beater, or Coach Boeheim's frustrating feedback fiasco during the post-game press conference.

NOVA GOING TO THE DANCE (ALONG WITH 63 OTHER TEAMS)

I'm shocked. And stunned. I'm shocked AND stunned.

Villanova, my alma mater, is in the NCAA tournament. They got a #12 seed and will play #5 Clemson in Tampa (looks like I picked the wrong month to visit Florida). And they're playing on Good Friday, just as God intended. I couldn't be happier because I have something to root for, and once they inevitably get ousted, I can go back to rooting for Georgetown and Duke to lose.

After taking a look at the bracket, here are my gut reactions (and dumb jokes):

Overseeded: Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Duke, Georgetown (yes, I knew Pitt was going to beat them in the Big East final--so there.)
Underseeded: Butler, Wisconsin, Indiana, Tennessee (who I really thought would be the 4th #1 seed).
WTF Are They Doing Here? Oregon, Kentucky (who was awful this year; back in February they only scored 11 points in the first half en route to a 41 point asskicking by Vandy).
Team That Got In Simply Because I Blognosticated They Wouldn't: Villanova. Seriously, I did not see 8 teams from the Big East getting in. Though I'm happy the last one in ended up being my school, I don't agree with it. (Again, great work Joe "Bracketology" Lunardi for not getting anything right.)
Best Team Name: The Retrievers of University of Maryland-Baltimore County. As a tribute to "The Wire" I think they should change their name to the Hoppers. Win one for Omar!
#15 Seed I Really Want To See Win: Belmont (over Duke) on the first day.
Upset I Actually Think Will Happen: #13 Winthrop over #4 Washington State.
Team That I'm Never Picking Ever Again Because They Always Kill My Bracket: Gonzaga.
Team With The Best Chant: Austin Peay's "LET'S GO PEAY!" (Get it? You will once you've had too much to drink.)
Most Overrepresented Team Name: The Wildcats of Villanova/Arizona/Kentucky/Kansas State. Oddly enough all four were at-large bubble teams.
Team That Stephen Colbert Is Probably Rooting For: American Eagles. Their colors? Red, white and blue. Duh.
Storyline That I Honestly Know Nothing About: O.J. Mayo vs. Michael Beasley. You see this everywhere regarding the USC/K-State game. I'll have to Google or Wiki it or something. (UPDATE: I guess these are the two freshman everyone considers to be the best in the NCAA, and both are assumed to be skipping school for the NBA after this season. Whatever. Fuck the NBA.)
Teams That Should Just Play Chess Against Each Other: Stanford vs. Cornell.
Team/Player I'm Fucking Sick Of Hearing About: North Carolina and Tyler Hansbrough.
Team Everyone Is Picking To Lose Early (And They're Right): Kansas. The Jayhawks bowing out early is an annual right of spring. It just wouldn't feel right otherwise.
Team That I Have No Opinion About: Kent State.
Team Everyone Is Picking To Lose But I Think Are Going To Win It All: Memphis.

UPDATE: I just found out that Villanova plays at 9:40 PM on Good Friday. That's going to be a looooong day. I hope Bob Hyland's Sports Page has enough beer.

PERFECT(LY AWFUL) SEASON

It's all over but the crying. The NJIT men's basketball team has set a new standard for suckitude. A few weeks ago I wasn't sure if it was even possible, yet they somehow persevered and completed a totally defeated season: 29 games up, 29 games they were knocked down.

There have been two 0-28 teams, but this team did them one better. And there's never one with such an impressive, flawless record such as this. The final nail in the coffin of NCAA basketball history didn't get hammered down easily either: their flight on Saturday afternoon was delayed out of Newark, and the game at Utah Valley State delayed an hour. They even stormed out to a 6-5 lead with just 37½ minutes to go, but the end result was the same as it ever was. They were never truly in the game, just like they were never in the season.

If Coach Casciano was still around, maybe he'd explain why he decided not to schedule the maximum of 4 Division II opponents, instead opting for the minimum of zero. However, he quit after this game, choosing to go out at the bottom. So we'll probably never know.

My favorite quote from one of the players, freshman point guard Jeryl Wilson (who is considering a transfer): "It's been hard. I'm just hoping to forget about it in a month or two. High school was fun. This is completely the opposite."

That sounds like a completely, thoroughly defeated young man.

CONGRATULATIONS NEW JERSEY TECH HIGHLANDERS. 0-29: The Perfect Season.

(Book on pre-sale at Amazon.com. I think some guy from Boston already trademarked that last week.)

Photo courtesy of AP/Douglas C. Pizac, who showed up at this game for some godforsaken reason.

THE PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

Lately, there's been a lot of talk about perfect seasons. Maybe, maybe too much talk, as too many congratulatory voices can ultimately spoil the relentless pursuit of perfection. As we've already happily discovered this week, some teams have the talent but lack the intestinal fortitude to achieve such lofty aspirations.

As the men's college basketball season heats up, one team has separated itself from the rest of the pack and stands alone--and rightfully so. No, I'm not talking about Memphis, who probably by now has won over 20 games or so--I've honestly lost count. The team to which I am referring is none other than the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders, who are on the verge of a perfect season.

A perfectly winless season.

Currently sporting on an astonishing 0-24 record, the NJIT squad is ranked an unsurpassable 341 out of 341 Division I NCAA basketball teams. This is no mean feat. Starting off the season getting unceremoniously waxed by Manhattan (8-14) by a score 70-28, they haven't looked back, nor have they looked forward; in fact, one would be hard pressed to determine that they have affixed their gaze in any discernable direction all season. Along the way, they've succumbed to each and every perennial powerhouse they've met: stoned by Stony Brook (4-18), lambasted by Longwood (3-20), mauled by the Maine Black Bears (5-16), just to name a few.

This is just their second season as a Division I Independent since moving up from Division II, and they've come a long way since their inaugural 5-24 record. Only two other teams have gone totally defeated: Savannah State (2004-05) and Prairie View (1991-92), both going 0-28. But can they pull off a season of such distinction? Unlike the 2007 Miami Dolphins (1-15), I believe they have it in them, and whatever "it" is might have to be surgically removed.

Here is their remaining schedule (with each opponent's record and CBS Sportsline RPI rank in parentheses):

Feb 9: @UT-Pan American (9-13, #297)

Feb 13: @La Salle (8-11, #194)
Feb 16: Chicago St. (7-15, #205)
Feb 18: @Longwood (3-20, #332)
Feb 23: @Utah Valley St. (9-13, #246)

As you can see, virtually nothing stands in their way of achieving perfection. Of these final 5 games, 4 are on the road, 3 of which are against teams who have already soundly thrashed them, and the other is at LaSalle, to which they should easily surrender a win. And I don't know how many college basketball fans have filled Newark's 1,500 seat Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center to witness history (I'm going to guess not many), but that Chicago State game will be their final chance to do so.

Can this team go all the way and nail down that elusive Perfect Season? So far they've made it appear effortless; not only do the players seem to be up to the task, but Coach Jim Casciano seems to know how to get them to not to perform. It's like the movie "The Perfect Storm"; as you may recall, all the characters drowned at the end. However, this is a group that cannot be started. I say they will finish the season exactly the way they started it, and get it done.

0-29: The Perfect Season. It's so close you can practically taste it coming back up.

2007: THE FINAL BRACKET (?)

Another NCAA tournament weekend has come and gone, and it was enjoyable, even if it was not completely earth-shattering. In the first round, besides VCU upsetting Duke, Winthrop knocking off Notre Dame, and ignoring the 8/9 games, all the games went to chalk. This almost never happens, and it made for a pretty dull set of games. Usually you have a 12, 13, or 14 seed prevail: this year not one surprise Cinderella in the bunch. The second round had a few games go to OT, but I didn't really feel that excited about any of them, and there wasn't a single buzzer beater.

But what's not surprising is that my bracket picks are garbage. I took chances on George Washington, Holy Cross, Old Dominion, Gonzaga, Arkansas, Creighton, Texas Tech, and Albany and they let me down. Come to think of it, why did I choose eight teams with a 10 or worse seeding? I really don't know what I was smoking, but I really thought that this was a wide open field with no real favorites. I tend to overthink my picks, and then think some more and go back and change it a bit. But this year's was the topper, as I decided at the last minute that Vanderbilt and Tennessee were crap (despite saying earlier that the latter could surprise), that Maryland was a legit Final Four team because Darryl Strawberry's kid is on it, that Butler completely stinks, and that Boston College was going to lose because I didn't like the way coach Al Skinner looks. Even Kansas and Memphis look competent, and the PAC-10 teams truly kicked my ass. And fuck you Gonzaga! (And let's not talk about Villanova, who didn't even show up. Mike Nardi, who was hurt and shouldn't have played that second half, we hardly knew ye. "Moving without the basketball" will take on a new meaning, as he moves back into his parents' house this May.)

Good lord, I stink.

Yes, I can still win the pot if Texas A&M gets the title (I still have NC and Pitt alive for my final 4), but I really don't see that happening. Basically, it comes down to this: I will not be running a bracket pool for 2008, and probably won't even fill out a sheet. It's embarrassing to organize this thing every year and be soundly thrashed. Instead, I'm going to focus on just enjoying NCAA Friday, during which my only worries are drinking, eating, and watching basketball. Just a few notes:

As far as sports viewing goes, Nyack is a complete and fucking utter waste of time. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, judging by the large gay population, but it's unbelievable. On Thursday night it was simply unfathomable that Black Bear Saloon and their "26 flat screens" was showing ESPN figure skating on 5 TVs and ESPN News on several others, instead of ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR SPORTING EVENTS OF THE YEAR. They were on notice, now they're dead to me.

On the other hand, The Sports Page Pub in White Plains "gets it". They have all the games in HD, and know when they're on. And while the place is nothing to look at from the outside, it has a nice big room with countless TVs to choose from. Plus, it's filled with sports fans and just has a great atmosphere. We had dinner at James Joyce, but they just could not compare, as they were in full "calm before the St. Pat's storm" mode.

The Page even had a bunch of Villanova alumni gather in a back room with a big non-HD big screen to watch the game, which led to this awkward exchange with one of them:

Alumni: So do we have anyone else here who went to Villanova?
Me: Uhm, I did.
Alumni: I graduated in 1984.
Me: Oh. I graduated in 1992.
Alumni: Oh.

He quickly turned around before I got to introduce myself. Yes, it turns out that it's true: most Villanova alums are stuck-up snobs. Whatever. I quickly sauntered back into the main room to watch the games with the real fans, most of them rooting for Holy Cross (the owner's son apparently went there). I didn't find this out until now, but most of them were fans of senior point guard Torey Thomas from White Plains. Regardless of the respective fan support, both Catholic schools bit the dust. I guess God hates basketball.

I'm still surprised at how many "sports fans" have no idea that the tournament is NOT ON ESPN. It's been on CBS for years! People seem to think that if it's a sporting event, it's on ESPN; conversely, if it's not on ESPN, then it's not a sport. Apparently, the brainwashing is working.

CBS's HD coverage was fine, considering the sheer breadth of this tournament there weren't any major foul ups. As long as they weren't switching around too much and doing that weird "live look-in" thing where the entire screen had a huge frame around it (bad choice). I did notice that the picture was a bit muddy at times, and although it wasn't good as "looking through a window", it was not as bad as looking like it was "underwater" (like some complained); it was somewhere in between. However, what is with the microphones on the rims? Do we have to hear a loud rattling sound with every basket? Jeepers.

I just want to announce: I've never found Tracy Morgan funny. Not even remotely. I haven't seen a funny SNL skit, interview, or standup performance of his . . . and now he's doing DiGiorno's commercials. Uh huh. I just don't get the allure, and that 30 Rock show where he does a parody of himself is also NOT funny.

Once last thing: thanks to the New York DOT for not plowing I-287 all the way from White Plains to Nyack, even though it was snowing/sleeting in the area for 15 hours straight. It was atrocious, and I'm really wondering where the hell my tax money is actually going. We even passed 12 plow trucks in WP and NOT ONE OF THEM HAD THE PLOW ON THE GROUND; I hope they got paid OT for that. Although if they'd actually done their job, Vertullo would not have been able to make a snow angel in the middle of Church Street. So that was worth it.

All in all, another enjoyable NCAA Friday. (Let's just forget about the brackets.)

BRACKET MADNESS: WWJP?

I'm in a training session right now. (Ah, the magic of blogging on the InterWebs.) Basically, a guy is doing a presentation for some laboratory software, and right now we're watching an HPLC system equilibrate. For those non-separation scientists out there, it's like watching methanol dry. This was supposed to be a hands-on training, but my cheap-ass company only has 3 computers allocated for 12 people; meanwhile, we pay 174 VPs over 6 figures and 10000 stock options a year. What a complete joke. So anyway, this is my revenge. BWAA-HAA-HAA-HAAAA!!!

Sometimes I look like I was drunk when I shaved, and other days I actually AM drunk while shaving (NOT RECOMMENDED). Today, it's the former; I have a quarter-inch stripe on my chin with 2 days worth of stubble on it, which I didn't even see until I went to the bathroom at 10 AM. The problem could be that I quickly shave at night before going in the shower, and in the morning I only look at myself in the mirror to make sure I'm not bleeding. I also switched the bulbs in my bathroom light to the crappiest of compact fluorescents (thanks IKEA!), which I highly recommend if you want to slip on something and brain yourself. I also use the same blade for 2 months or so because I don't grow a thick beard, and I'm annoyingly frugal and each MACH3 blade costs $11. Some days I think, "Fuck everything, I'm going to five blades", but nah, those things cost $14 each. No thanks.

But I think I know what my problem is. I have a touch of the dreaded MADNESS.

For the last month it's been nothing but NCAA hoops. I've been breathing, eating, drinking, inhaling, injecting, consuming, masticating, swallowing, digesting, processing, absorbing, excreting, defecating, cleaning, flushing and deodorizing NCAA hoops. I had it all at my fingertips: RPI, SOS, DNA, and many more acroynms. So with all this information at my disposal, the picks should be easy. I basically had it all figured out . . . and then I changed my picks about 6 times last night. That's never a good sign. I have no chance, and I would like to pre-congratulate one of the other people in my bracket pool for winning it all!

But then while reviewing my bracket for the 40th time, I had an epiphury epiphany. I asked myself, WWJP? It was suddenly so clear to me. Villanova will meet Holy Cross, and Georgetown wil play Oral Roberts in the Saint Sixteen. Marquette, Creighton will most surely make it to the Holy Eight . . . it's what God would want. And who would be in the Divine Four? Nova, Norte Dame, Xavier, and Oral Roberts--this is the Word of the Lord. (Screw Georgetown, not even God is rooting for them. How many John Thompsons and Patrick Ewingses must we endure?)

Screw that. UNLV is going all the way. They play "Viva Las Vegas" before every game! I'm not going to win the pool, so basically I'm just psyched that the BEST TOURNAMENT IN SPORTS is almost underway. Tonight and tomorrow it's supposed to snow like a bitch, and I say bring it on! I won't be at work anyway, I'll be inside watching hoops, drinking, and eating, so who cares?

Good luck out there, Bracketeers.

WAITING FOR THE BRACKETOCRACY TO TAKE OVER

Every year, somebody who gets paid more than me produces some ridiculous financial report to estimate how much money due to productivity decreases(oh, the irony) caused by employees following the NCAA tournament. Somehow, this figure is usually in the billions of dollars. But damn, this is the funniest thing I've read in a while: Does March Madness distract workers? They sum it up by saying that companies should embrace the NCAA tournament, and not blame it for lost work time. This section takes the cake:

" . . . companies should embrace the annual tournament by helping to organize events such as a company pool or team sweatshirt day. He also thinks employers should consider offering workers a flexible schedule so they can watch their favorite teams on their own time and then get back to work."

Are you kidding me? Is this for the employees of UTOPIACORP? This ARTICLE is complete madness. I guarantee that 95% of the corporations out there would do no such thing. Maybe I've worked for some crappy employers, but the slave labor camp that I work in would laugh at this notion. If I take 2 hours to go to a doctor's appointment, they make me take a half a sick day. FLEX TIME FOR A BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT? Are you out of your mind?

Of course, if my company actually embraced this, I'd probably learn to hate the NCAA tourney. As it stands now, I'm calling in sick on Friday.

LOW DEFINITION MADNESS?

WCBS actually replied to my request and sent me the primary games that they will be showing in New York on Thursday and Friday. Here it is:

THURSDAY, MARCH 15
12:00 p.m. -- Boston College (7) vs. Texas Tech (10)
2:45 p.m. -- Georgetown (2) vs. Belmont (12)

7:00 p.m. -- Duke (6) vs. Virginia Commonwealth University (11)
9:45 p.m. -- Indiana (7) vs. Gonzaga (10)

FRIDAY, MARCH 16
12:00 p.m. -- UNLV (7) vs. Georgia Tech (10)
2:35 p.m. -- Notre Dame (6) vs. Winthrop (11)

7:00 p.m. -- Kansas (1) vs. Niagra (16)
9:30 p.m. -- Kentucky (8) vs. Villanova (9)

At least Villanova will be on, but they dissed Albany as the first game on Friday. But the worst choice: they chose Duke! Why? Who gives a crap about Duke? As long as you're already ignoring local interest (C-Conn getting crushedf), why not show Michigan State vs. Marquette? I still haven't decided if I'm going to the Sports Page on Friday for the Mega March Madness, but I think I might have to.

Of course, the bigger story (to me) is that although CBS is broadcasting every game in HD, most of the local affiliates are NOT showing the local games in their entirety in HD! That's right! Instead, they are showing the national HD "flex feed", which interrupts games midstream according to the action. This sucks for several reasons. One: I will no longer get multiple games like I did last year (one in SD on Channel 2, and another in HD on 702). Two: some of the local stations, in order to get a constant feed of a game of local interest, will be upconverting to SD for their HD channels. Even the Mega March Madness package on DirecTV only allocated 4 HD channels for the tournament. CBS claims that "every game" will be in HD. Yeah, only if you're in the CBS control room! What a joke.

(Oh, and can everyone stop calling last night's 'play-in' game the first game of the tournament? That's bullshit. And why is it in Dayton every year? Someone please explain this.)

2007 NCAA TOURNEY SCHEDULE

Here's the schedule for the first round of the 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament!

THU 3/15
12:20 PM	13 Davidson Wildcats (29-4)	4 Maryland Terrapins (24-8)
12:25 PM	10 Texas Tech Red Raiders (21-12)	7 Boston College Eagles (20-11)
12:40 PM	11 Stanford Cardinal (18-12)	6 Louisville Cardinals (23-9)
2:40 PM	14 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (23-10)	3 Washington State Cougars (25-7)
2:40 PM	12 Old Dominion Monarchs (24-8)	5 Butler Bulldogs (27-6)
2:45 PM	15 Belmont Bruins (23-9)	2 Georgetown Hoyas (26-6)
3:00 PM	14 Pennsylvania Quakers (22-8)	3 Texas A&M Aggies (25-6)
5:00 PM	11 George Washington Colonials (23-8)	6 Vanderbilt Commodores (20-11)
6:10 PM	11 Virginia Commonwealth Rams (27-6)	6 Duke Blue Devils (22-10)
7:10 PM	16 Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (22-11)	1 Ohio State Buckeyes (30-3)
7:20 PM	9 Michigan State Spartans (22-11)	8 Marquette Golden Eagles (24-9)
7:25 PM	15 Weber State Wildcats (20-11)	2 UCLA Bruins (26-5)
9:30 PM	9 Xavier Musketeers (24-8)	8 Brigham Young Cougars (25-8)
9:30 PM	14 Wright State Raiders (23-9)	3 Pittsburgh Panthers (27-7)
9:40 PM	16 Eastern Kentucky Colonels (21-11)	1 North Carolina Tarheels (28-6)
9:45 PM	10 Gonzaga Bulldogs (23-10)	7 Indiana Hoosiers (20-10)
FRI 3/16
12:15 PM	13 Albany Great Danes (23-9)	4 Virginia Cavaliers (20-10)
12:25 PM	10 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (20-11)	7 UNLV Runnin' Rebels (28-6)
12:30 PM	15 North Texas Mean Green (23-10)	2 Memphis Tigers (30-3)
1:50 PM	10 Creighton Bluejays (22-10)	7 Nevada Wolf Pack (28-4)
2:35 PM	11 Winthrop Eagles (28-4)	6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (24-7)
2:35 PM	12 Long Beach State 49ers (24-7)	5 Tennessee Volunteers (22-10)
2:45 PM	15 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (26-6)	2 Wisconsin Badgers (29-5)
4:55 PM	14 Miami-Ohio Redhawks (18-14)	3 Oregon Ducks (26-7)
6:20 PM	9 Purdue Boilermakers (21-11)	8 Arizona Wildcats (20-10)
6:25 PM	13 New Mexico State Aggies (25-8)	4 Texas Longhorns (24-9)
7:10 PM	16 Niagara Purple Eagles (22-11)	1 Kansas Jayhawks (30-4)
7:10 PM	12 Illinois Fighting Illini (23-11)	5 Virginia Tech Hokies (21-11)
8:30 PM	13 Holy Cross Crusaders (25-8)	4 Southern Illinois Salukis (27-6)
8:40 PM	16 Jackson State Tigers (21-13)	1 Florida Gators (29-5)
9:30 PM	9 Villanova Wildcats (22-10)	8 Kentucky Wildcats (21-11)
9:45 PM	12 Arkansas Razorbacks (21-13)	5 USC Trojans (23-11)

Why are there so many East Coast schools playing late games (Villanova, Holy Cross, Kentucky, Florida, Pitt, NC)? And who put Stanford on at 9 AM on the West Coast?

The Monday after Selection Sunday has officially become "Bracket Bitching Day". I just heard Jim Boeheim whining on ESPN Radio (he was also on WFAN, and god knows where else), saying that he doesn't understand why they didn't get a bid. He was defending all of Syracuse's non-conference home games, saying "Football doesn't make as much money as it used to, so we schedule home games to generate more revenue." Exactly. They chose money over decent competition. That's why you're not in the NCAA tourney, and you're in the NIT (who didn't even give you a #1 seed)! You're not making any new fans by complaining to every major media outlet, you asshat. You'd probably lose in the first round anyway.

If Villanova didn't make it, I would have said that they should have won more games. Period. But let's face it: if there was a clear cut criteria for getting into the tournament, sports talk radio would have nothing to bitch about. How about you talk about the matchups instead, you assclowns? (Since I'm an alumni I might be a little biased, but Villanova being a #9 means that they consider #4 Southern Illinois, #5 USC, #5 Butler, and #7 BC to be significantly better teams--I'm not seeing it. They should have gotten a #7.)

By all accounts, K-State's Bob Huggins was drunk when they asked him on ESPN about not being selected. They thought he said "we don't have enough wins", but he actually said, "we don't have enough gin". Now THAT'S the way to go out.

Duke could easily lose to the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth University, but we'd still have to watch all those Coach K AmEx commercials, so it'd be like he never left. Central Connecticut are also the Blue Devils, which doesn't bode well for them.

For those who make their picks by nicknames, in 2007 the Wildcats lead the way with 5 (Arizona, Davidson, Kentucky, Villanova, Weber State), followed by 2 Bruins, (Belmont, UCLA), 2 Bulldogs (Butler, Gonzaga), 2 Golden Eagles (Marquette, Oral Rob), 2 (regular) Eagles (BC, Winthrop), 1 Purple Eagles (Niagara), 2 Tigers (Jackson State, Memphis), 2 Cougars (BYU, Washington State), and 2 Blue Devils (CCSU, Duke), and only 1 Mean Green (N. Texas). We also have the Cardinal playing the Cardinals, and the Wildcats playing the Wildcats, which will lead to some confusing cheers.

How did Texas A&M Community College get in there? (Oh, that stands for Corpus Christi. Never mind.)

Apparently, the NCAA went back to naming the regions "Midwest", "East", "West" and "South", without telling anyone ahead of time. That's annoying for the graphic designers on all the major sports websites who designed their brackets with the city names on it instead.

What is the point of the local news break at around 6 PM during the first round of the NCAA tourney? Maybe to give you time to get some dinner, take a shit, walk the dog, or make a beer run? Does anyone seriously give a crap about the news at that point?

Ohio State and Florida could play each other for the national championship, just like they did in football. Has that ever happened in the same school year? Have we asked this question before? I think we have, and decided it probably hasn't.

BTW, I've got my VIP pass and I'm looking forward to the March Madness Online, since they upgraded my work computer with WMP 9.0. It had better work or I am tearing into IT on Thursday . . .

MADDENING MARCH MAYHEM (2007 EDITION)!

The bracketologizing is over and the bracketologists have been put back in storage, as the official 2007 NCAA brackets have been set (reminder: gambling on the tourney is illegal). As usual, I just have a few thoughts:

It's obvious that the selection committee is more interested in greasing the palms of the big conference schools than putting smaller George Mason types in the Big Dance. This year, only 6 bids went to "mid-majors", and this number has gone steadily down since peaking at 12 in 2002. This is a shame, but that's show biz.

The #1 seeds, Florida, NC, Kansas and Ohio State are all inherently beatable. In fact, the most of the #3 seeds scare me more (Pitt, Oregon, Texas A&M).

No one is saying it, but I feel that Villanova got JOBBED by being stuck in the unforgiving 8/9 game as the #9 seed against #8 Kenutcky (I think the Wildcats are going to win!). But then I see #1 Kansas in the next round, who always foul up my bracket every year making heroes out of schools like Bradley and Bucknell. So I get to test my "Kansas Kills Your Bracket" theory once again, this time with Nova in the catbird seat. Awesome.

Of course, it's nice that Nova got in at all, since only 6 made it from the Big East. Everyone is crying around here about Syracuse getting snubbed, but I don't think their resume is that good. They played 14 of their first 15 games at home (the other was in Buffalo vs. Canisius), their RPI was 50 (below Virginia Commonwealth and Holy Cross), and Boeheim is a whiny asshole. Let's face it: Nova, Cuse and WVU were all about the same, and Nova beat Texas. So there.

Marquette (23-9, 10-6) was ranked #18 in the country before this week (they lost to Pitt in the Big East tourney), with an RPI of 24 and a SOS of 17, with wins @ Duke, @ Pitt, Texas Tech, and 4 point loss to Wisconsin . . . and they only got an #8 seed. Meanwhile, I couldn't even find USC on the RPI list (54) and they somehow garnered a #5 seed. What a screw job.

Speaking of the PAC 10, they somehow got 6 teams in there and I haven't really seen any of them play, except a little of UCLA. #3 Washington State and #3 Oregon scare me because I don't know if they're really that good. But put Syracuse and West Virginia up against Stanford and USC, and I bet the Big East teams win those games 4 times out of 5 times.

For some reason the selection committee also loves the Big 10, who also got 6 teams. Come on. Purdue, Indiana and Illinois all stink, and Michigan State was 8-8 in the conference. Sure, any one of them can beat Niagara, but give me a break.

Teams that are overrated: Wisconsin (#2), Memphis (#2), Duke (#6).

Teams that could surprise: Tennessee (#5), Creighton (#10).

Teams that I have no idea about: UNLV (#7). They have an RPI of 10 and 25 wins, and I think one of them was at Hawaii. And Washington State, with an RPI of 26, is a #3 seed? Really?

Team that can't fucking lose enough for me: Georgetown. Stop it with these lesser John Thompsons and Patrick Ewingses, you can't fool me.

Team that I wished made the dance: Kansas State, led by Bob "Huggy Bear" Huggins. He was wearing a black and purple ensemble the other night that made him look not unlike a blackjack dealer, and I heard he was drunk during his ESPN interview after they got snubbed. I miss Huggy Bear.

Team that I'm glad missed the dance: UConn, who didn't even make the NIT. It was nice of them to give Central Connecticut their time in the spotlight.

Best team name: North Texas Mean Green.

College name that always makes me giggle: Oral Roberts.

Potentially enjoyable matchups: Virginia and Albany, I really hope the Great Danes can pull this one off; Butler vs. Old Dominion, (two mid-majors playing each other is idiotic); Southern Illinois Salukis vs. Holy Cross Crusaders, leading to a Nova/HC Sweet 16 matchup: it's what God would have wanted.

Another great thing about the tourney: now I don't have to watch ESPN at all. Go choke on a Dick, Vitale.

Anyway, I can't wait for the tourney to begin, even though I suck at the bracket pool (9 out of 11 in 2006, woo hoo!). NCAA First Round Friday, which I take off every year, is one of the best days of the year. I think it's even better than St. Patrick's Day.

EDIT: I just found out Villanova plays Kentucky @ 9:30 PM on Friday. Man, that's going to be a long day. Of course, Holy Cross plays @ 8:30 that same night, so I don't know if we'll even get to see both.

THANKING THE ORGAN-EYE-ZA-TION

I put little clocks and counters up on the blog, just to remind you of the NCAA tourney and the Masters (like I'd overlook those without this). Villanova made one step closer to a possible tournament bid as they got their 20th win tonight at UConn (who can never lose enough for me), thanks to Scottie Reynolds' 40 points, a Wildcat freshman record. I don't know where Jay Wright finds these kids, but I hope he continues (and doesn't have evil guys like Larry Brown lure him to the NBA). Anyway, I already signed up for my March Madness On Demand--can't wait for Selection Sunday!

As for hockey news, I heard on XM Home Ice a bit of Ryan Smith's interview when he left Edmonton. Apparently, there was a crowd of people seeing him off at the airport (!) and he was talking about how much he was going to miss the city and thanking the organ-EYE-za-tion and everyone he's ever met for their support. He was crying (damn soft Canadians!) like he was being shipped off to the front lines or something. WTF? Hey, cheer up, you're only going to Long Island! Oooh wait, he might have a point. Anyway, sounds like he's not too happy about leaving home, which does not bode well for the Islanders. Besides that, there's not much else to talk about trade-wise (Bertuzzi to Detroit, Zubrus to Sabres, Biron to Philly--yawn). Predictably, the Devils made no moves, and the Rangers didn't unload Captain Jagr (get ready for the "FIRE SATHER" chants again).

For Jeffuary, I did get to see a Devils game last Saturday (naturally, they looked sluggish in a 4-2 loss to the Caps), probably the last one I'll see in the Continetnal Airlines Arena. With regards to the new Newark arena (WELCOME TO THE ROCK), and there's simply no easy way to get to a game from Rockland via train, and I'm certainly not driving down there. I know they're banking on corporate types to fill the new place, but I don't see regular middle-class families making the move. Maybe I'm wrong, but we'll see.