Madness, baby!

March Madness has arguably become the biggest sporting event in the country. I love the Superbowl and the World Series, but I think March Madness is more fun. I don't think there is anything more exciting in sports than March Madness. It is a fun time of year and I look forward to it every year. I love watching every minute of it and I also spend about 15 minutes each day surfing the hoops websites. What can I say, I am a huge March Madness fan.

To give you a little history, the tournament began in 1939 when the University of Oregon beat Ohio State for the first NCAA championship. Over the years upsets and heroics have characterized the tournament. In 1957, the University of North Carolina, a prohibitive underdog, beat Wilt Chamberlain and the Kansas Jayhawks in three overtime to win the championship. In the 1960s and early 70s college basketball had its version of a dynasty. John Wooden and UCLA won 10 championships in 12 years with players like Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton. The 1979 championship matched superstars "Magic" and Larry Bird. It was in 1985 that the tournament expanded to the current 64 teams, offering a chance for smaller, less well-known schools to enter the elite field.

But that's enough history. What about this year's games? Who are you rooting for? Who do you think will win this year's tournament? Are your bracket sheets still alive? Or are you not paying much attention to the tournament? Although my predictions are not very good, I think KU will go all the way. They are looking beautiful and if they continue to play the way they have been playing, it is possible. Florida just doesn't seem as hungry.

I was sick to my stomach after watching top-seeded Ohio State beat Xavier in overtime yesterday. Buckeyes survived a major scare and edged Xavier, 78-71 . I was hoping for a major upset, but it didn't happen. I always love it when the underdog team wins, but Xavier just couldn't hold on in overtime.

Oops, gotta run, the Saluki game is about to start. It would sure be nice if SIUC could advance to sweet 16 today. Wouldn't that be beautiful?
Enjoy the Big Dance!
-D

UPDATE: Yay, the Salukis advanced to the sweet 16 with a 63-48 win over VA Tech. Sweet.