.
At long last the college
basketball season is over and the conference tournaments have left more
questions than answers so it must be time for March Madness when men become
boys watching the boys become men playing.
Thank God for sports in America and the
Super Bowl, Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, March Madness, World Series and every other
athletic showcase that separates the best from the rest.
If we had to live only
with the news, politics and current events the suicide rate would be ten times
higher in America,
the gambling industry would be dead, and guys would have so much more time to
spend with their girls the divorce rate would probably double.
Think of the economic
impact from sports. Billions spent in
pools, billions more spent on booze, and for the first time we will know the
economic impact when potheads try to keep up with the high speed boys in
shorts. We can actually measure the
economic impact in Colorado (where it is
legal) and also poll the fans to see how many even realize the University of Colorado is in the tournament.
"Hey man, what the hell is a Buffalo doing running up and down the
court? I thought we were watching B-ball
not National Geographic."
This will also be the
first time in history we have a billion dollar pool thanks to The Sage of Omaha
Warren Buffett and speaking of Omaha
the Creighton Blue Jays are also in the tourney along with player of the year
candidate Doug McDermott.
The last two national
champions, Kentucky intra-state rivals the Louisville Cardinals and the
University of Kentucky Wildcats are in the same bracket and will have to play
in the third round, long before the championship game.
One of the #1 seeds, the
University of Arizona, is my alma mater where I played on the Wildcats team
long ago and should have a good shot at winning it all but the field is well
balanced and any number of teams could win.
From now until April 7 we
can forget about the world and join our families and friends in one of the greatest
reality shows in the world, the NCAA Basketball championships. These kids have spent their entire lives
working for this moment.
Most world and national
championships like the Super Bowl, World Series, World Cup and even the
Olympics give the players multiple chances to win since they can always qualify
the next year but once your college career is over there will never be another
chance to win in your lifetime.
Of course the cheerleaders
add glamour and energy to the proceedings and it is their only moment in the
national spotlight as well. Come to
think of it there should be a contest for the best cheerleading squad as well.
So here is some of the
scoopala...
Watch Doug McDermott of
Creighton, the smoothest shooter in the nation, continue to set records.
Will the only unbeaten
team in America, Wichita State, survive? They have to get past Kentucky,
St. Louis and Louisville in the first three rounds.
Can #1 Florida
keep it up after escaping a loss to Kentucky
in the last second of their last game?
What conference will win
the most games? What conferences may not
exist next year?
Will there be a Cinderella
team this year (San Diego
State?)?
Which teams will
self-destruct in the closing minutes when a player forgets the team and seeks
individual glory?
What better way to end the
Winter
of our discontent than letting your globes get glued to the radiation
generator screen and cheering for the underdogs. Move over Putin, we got better things to
worry about.
.
