Yesterday and today, during the opening round of the NCAA basketball tournament, this is how our living room is set up. Games are on 4 channels, so we need 3 TVs and a computer monitor. Maybe this is why it’s called March Madness.
A few observations from yesterday’s action:
- Enough already with the Samuel L. Jackson, Spike Lee, Charles Barkley commercials
- Ditto for the DirecTV “settlers” ads
- There were quite a few players who slipped on the court late in the game, at crucial times. Could the NCAA’s “let’s install the same generic looking court at every venue” policy be to blame?
- There’s nothing more fun than a first round upset by Yale… unless it’s a 2nd round upset by Yale (they’re playing the dreaded Duke Blue Devils).
- The double OT game between Purdue and University of Arkansas-Little Rock was the most fun to watch.
- Providence’s last-second layup was really the closest we’ve come to a buzzer-beater.
My Xavier Musketeers play late tonight. Saw this bus on the road yesterday:
Let’s hope it was on the road to the Final Four.
D2, I was watching the Wichita State/Arizona game last night. Great hoops, and a fascinating, albeit nauseating, display of sweat on the part of Sean Miller. It was during sweatfest that I stumbled upon my perfect March Madness experience. I became so tired of hearing sports clichés and babbling commentary/noise from expert anal-ysts. So I cranked up some old Steely Dan on the Sonos system and enjoyed a damn fine second half of basketball, the mind-blowing percussion of Steve Gadd, and some killer sax solos from Wayne Shorter. One shining moment, my man.