Saturday, March 27, 2010

Been a while...let's talk College Hoops

I got away from doing this but I'm making it a goal to start posting at least one blog a day now. So yeah, you're gonna have to get used to my opinions spewing forth yet again.

Let's start this return off by commenting on the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

First let me preface this by saying I am by no means a basketball fan, in fact of the major sports in this country it ranks 4th behind football, hockey and baseball for me. I do however admit that I think the March Madness that surrounds the NCAA Tournament is by far some of the most fascinating sports you can watch.

Unlike football, every Division I conference champion is given a chance to win the title as well as most of the other top programs. You have to earn it on the court. What is also fascinating about this is that any National Champion USUALLY ends up having to beat several styles of play along the way.

What has defined this year's tournament is the staggering amount of major upsets we've seen. For any of you who filled out brackets this year, I'm sure a major portion of us that picked the top overall seed to win it all stood by both in sheer amazement at Northern Iowa's victory even as we all silently cursed the bad fortune that struck our brackets.

Even now as I write this, the tourney is down to a single number one seed alive in Duke and they still have to beat a very strong Baylor team to make the Final Four.

For all the arguments in rankings and the bias they show towards big conferences, the tournament is the great equalizer. The Butler's and Tennessee's of the world get to try and show they belong in the Final Four even though neither garners a top 5 ranking from the voters.

This kind of injustice is never balanced out in football, where the SEC and Big 12 biases, as well as a strong USC bias stand out all season and it impacts who gets to ultimately be 1 or 2 and play in the mythical championship game.

So Even though I am not a huge basketball fan you have to give the NCAA Hoops people credit. They sure know how to make Captivating Entertainment.

To all my WVU friends out there, Best of luck in the Final Four. Here's hoping you guys win it all!

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