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March Madness Perfectly Justified

BY JIM ARMSTRONG,
AOL
Posted: 2008-03-16 21:39:15
Sports Commentary

Bears hibernate in the winter. Sports fans? We doze off from early February to mid-March.

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Andy Lyons, Getty Images

Heading Into
Hoops Heaven

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When the best of college basketball on the court blends with the star power of, say, Ashley Judd in the seats, how could you not find something to cheer?


Those six weeks amount to the Dark Ages on the sports calendar. There’s no there there. There’s nothing to do, nothing to watch, nothing to make you want to paint your face, bet your mortgage or eat vast quantities of sausage in a parking lot.

No wonder the Big Scorekeeper in the Sky decided that early February to mid-March was time to get our tax returns done. It’s either that or watching the Bubbalympics triathlon — NASCAR, bass fishing and bowling. Or the NBA, where the only games that matter don’t roll around for another couple of months.

Now for the good news: Mid-March is here, which means late March and early April aren’t far behind. Which means the NCAA basketball tournament is about to begin. Which reminds me. Can you keep it down a little over there? I’m trying to write a column here.

As boring as the past six weeks have been, the next three will more than make up for it. They won’t just entertain us. They’ll bust our brackets, break our hearts and test our bosses’ patience. Unless, of course, they’re standing next to us at the corner sports bar when we’re supposed to be working.

That’s the thing about the tournament. Everyone watches it. Your boss, your co-workers, your doctor and your lawyer. Your mechanic, your CPA and your bartender. Your wife, your kids, your mother-in-law and your father-in-law. It has become a slice of Americana, with viewers coming in every shade of red (necks), white and blue (collars).

What makes the NCAA Tournament the greatest event under the sports sun? Now that you asked, let me count the ways ...

1. The Who-the-hell-is-Bucknell factor. You never know when a ridiculously low seed is going to sneak up on one of the big boys. As we speak, a No. 5 seed-in-waiting is doomed to go down in the first round to some school with more hyphens than hope.

2. The coaches. Now that Bobby Knight is retired and Rick Majerus’ team is out of it, every coach will dress better than Bill Belichick. Assuming Bruce Pearl goes conservative, that is. Um, coach, Deion Sanders asked me to tell you to lose the Creamsicle orange sportscoat.

3. The nicknames. Ever notice how the names of college hoops teams are cooler than the ones in pro sports? The Badgers, the Boilermakers, the Jaspers, the Toreros and the Minutemen. Then there’s my personal favorite, those fighting Catamounts from the U of Vermont.



2008 AOL LLC. All Rights Reserved.
2008-03-14 15:44:45


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twisterlin 02:50:29 PM Mar 18 2008

The Word “Mania” Definitions
(In each case, “MANIA” is used as a noun.
In some cases, example(s) of use in a sentence is provided.
AOL names their bracket game "Bracket Mania. That's wrong!

Mania is a mental illness. The individual experiencing mania is disorderly, unregulated, immoderate and excessive. For this reason law enforcement officers are trained in psychology and mental health. Someone exhibiting symptoms of mania is not necessarily a criminal. Mania due to bipolar disorder may be responsible for their behavior.

Here is the full and correct definition of the term mania according to the American Psychiatric Association:
MANIA: Mania is the Greek word for madness. It is an abnormally elevated mood state characterized by such symptoms as inappropriate elation, increased irritability, severe insomnia, grandiose notions, increased speed and/or volume of speech, disconnected, racing thoughts, increased and/or risky sexual desire, markedly increased energy and activity

kevindolphan99 01:25:37 AM Mar 17 2008

HELL I'D CHEER FOR VICVOD

vicvod 02:21:38 PM Mar 15 2008

I'll cheer for Ashley Judd, but basketball is BORING!

s321saint 09:56:55 AM Mar 15 2008

There is no doubt its a big TV event and of course college basketball uses it as its playoff (which is very good--no matter what...the winner is the champion--no paper champions like the AP gave USC in football). But like the TV hype that they give to it, just like they have been doing to pro basketball....its STILL a distant third in sports after Football and Baseball. Part of the problem is that suddenly you have a plethora of no name colleges with no name teams that suddenly everyone is an "expert" about. And when you look at the teams themselves, you see a sameness that is boring...THIS point guard--best in the game...no THIS point guard best in the game...THIS forward works best with THIS Center (unfortunately they are on different teams). And of course lets not get overwrought because some college basketball "analyst" gets all worked up over a 0.5 difference in scoring by an obscure guard, regular season vs "the big dance"....enjoy it for what it is...college (amatuer at best) pl

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