March Madness

I've spared you much bloviating on March Madness and my pool and such but there are some things that must be said :

GO BIG RED - I've heard from high school classmates who went to Ithaca with me and from Chicago-land friends watching Wisconsin lose on CBS's main feed while I sat, mesmerized and chatting on-line with the Big Cuter, as a team - my team - with no scholarship players (there are no athletic scholarships in the Ivies) crush not one but two nationally ranked teams.  You may have picked them to win, but did you expect the scores to be so lopsided?

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Michigan  State was down by one.... got the ball off and through the net for a 3 as the clock turned to 0.0 in the frame just behind the basket.  The Maryland players were on the floor, shocked, looking at their navels as the Michigan State kids pile on the shooter laughing and hooting...  like puppies..... like boys having fun.  Sometimes it's really wonderful to watch other people's kids play sports. 

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The Big East may well be "just deep" and perhaps it is not the greatest conference in the history of the game.  Such was the hype going into the tournament and winners from other conferences have been making note of the fact.  The Big 10 has 3 teams in the Sweet 16 and the Pac-10 is doing much better than expected and, of course, there's the IVY LEAGUE (yes, I am shouting) winning by 20-ish points and advancing once again.  Bring it on, Kentucky.
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NBC really blew it with the Olympics.

I have been typing this post (and others) on my desktop in the library while listening to the NCAA tournament on the big screen tv in the living room and watching it via mmod.com on Nellie the Netbook, who is sitting on the desk beside me.  The main feed from CBS is showing what it believes will interest viewers in a particular geographic location (hence my Chicago-land friends watching Cornell v Wisconsin on their CBS affiliate).  All the other games are available on-line, for free, in real-time.  There's a wrap up program at the end of each day on tv which shows highlights and brings the viewer up-to-date on the latest news.  The Cuters and I can watch the same games at the same time and g-chat or text or even use the phone to share the excitement

Contrast that to NBC's pitiful time delayed even on the west coast when the events were happening live telecasts with no simultaneous on-line presence.  Aggravating doesn't begin to cover it.

The same guy who brought you Sports Watch and Market Watch made the CBS/March Madness/OnLine extravaganza happen.  And do you know why?  Because he's a huge Syracuse fan and the Orange were never on tv.... and he wanted to know the scores.
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