March Madness

It is a day almost unrivaled in the world of sports. Sixty four (or sixty five) teams begin their journey to try and become the best program in all of college basketball. I come home from work to find my dad already home for the day (he took a half day) sitting on the couch and watching the TV. This is day one of the NCAA tournament.

I have to hand it to CBS this year, for allowing me to use my cable internet access to watch any of the games they are televising out of my region, except for the locally televised game due to blackout rules. All it takes is a quick registration and it is free! How can anyone NOT do this? So there I am laying on the bed with the TV on the locally televised game and my computer monitor with whichever game I select! The beauty is that once Florida starts burying South Alabama, I can switch over to Montana's upset of Nevada.

And that's not all. If you missed a game while you were actually at work, or wherever else you were that actually pulled you away from the tournament action, you can watch highlights of any of the games! Drawbacks? Sure. Since it is being broadcast over the internet there is a slight delay, but then again unless you continuously watch the live score updates on the top of your screen, you would never know the difference. The video isn't the smoothest when those players make the runs down court on a fast break, but I still believe that more basketball, in any form, is better than less. Be sure to take part in this online broadcast though, because it is only available for the first three rounds. After that just about everything will be shown on TV no matter where you live.

Of course, with more basketball there is the increased chance that I'll catch a verbal slip;
"Villanova will be like a home team in the Wachovia Arena" - What? CENTER people! And besides, some of us still call it the FU Center.
"And midnight has come for Cinderella on day one!" - Already we are getting carried away with the Cinderella terminology, as it is overused enough as it is. Allow me to explain. The term "Cinderella" is used to describe a small team with little shot at winning going on a run that is either miraculous or unexpected against superior competition. "Cinderella" teams make it to the sweet 16, not win just one game. Montana beating Nevada does not qualify Montana as a Cinderella...yet. Beat Boston College and we'll talk. But that is not even the point yet. That phrase made it sound like Montana lost, i.e. Cinderella's time has run out. Montana gets one more dance with Prince Charming.

I love tournament basketball, and I love the extra coverage. I hate the over dramatics of commentators. I also hate Duke and people who like Duke who have no North Carolina roots, but that is another story for another time.


Now excuse me, because UCLA and Belmont are tipping off and my local CBS outlet is showing the 6pm news!

P.S. I like the Bruins in this game!