It's March Madness time, ya'll. My associates and I will be working overtime the next few days to make sure we're able to sit in front of the telly when the big action starts on Thursday.

(Yeah, I know, there's that wierd little game between Northwestern and Winthrop tomorrow to see who wins the honor of getting annihilated by Illinois, but that doesn't count.)

Should Georgia have made it? Can Gonzago whup Virginia? Will my Duke Blue Devils make it all the way to the Final Four again, only to get blown up?

This is IMPORTANT, ya'll. This is the only time of year that matters. Life will be good for the next three weeks. Sandy and I have A Method:

1. We pull for any ACC team, with preferences to Duke and Carolina.

2. We pick an underdog or two and pull for them like mad.

3. We enjoy every moment of the tournament.

I suggest you do the same. Pick yer winners now.

-- Anonymous, March 12, 2001

Answers

By the way, it looks like the ACC takes top honors in tournament entries again, with 6 (six) teams: Wake Forest, Virginia, UNC, Duke, Georgia Tech and Maryland.

-- Anonymous, March 12, 2001

Thanks for the reminder, Stephen. SO should have returned home for the weekend on Thursday, but he didn't find any flights that were affordable. Remembering March madness from previous years, it's quite likely that the guy just didn't try very hard. [giggle]

I'll be busy taking Lucky in for catscans on her legs Thursday evening anyway. I don't know what the problem is, but one of her legs hurts and [DUH!...like we all don't do this?] she's not rotating her OTHER hip correctly now. So, the doctor has set up a scan for BOTH legs.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Well Stephen on this we *almost* wholeheartedly agree,this is the best time of the year,with the exception of summer on the beach with plenty of visuals.

I'll take Winthrop in the opener by 10.Still breakin' the rest of the brackets down as I speak.

I guess we'll have to wait and see about the mighty (over-rated) ACC,cause I'm an SEC kinda guy and I'll take Kentucky over the Dukies in the regionals.And yes I'm up for a friendly wager.

Yes,Georgia deserved it,did you check out their RPI? it looks like the selection committee did and rightly so.

Will pull for any team playing against an ACC school,just fer shit's and giggles.

Will pick an underdog or two/three and pull for them like mad.

I concurr,This IS IMPORTANT,and Life will be good for the next three weeks.It's good to see I'm not the only roundball junkie round here.

Anita,

I hope Lucky's allright.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Kansas vs Cal State Northridge? Duke vs a Horsetrack Monmouth? Haven't checked the lines yet but can you say 40? And who the hell is NWSU/Win? are they the "cyber" entry?

Here in Vegas the press is focused on the Lady Rebels. They are going to some post season thingee someplace(zzzzz). Seems the UNLV boys sucked again. Thought all that would have changed by now with Oscar (our former mob lawyer Mayor) around,,,bUt no apparently. I miss having the corruption where it belongs, in sports and gambling. GW is fun, but like you said Stephen, this stuff is serious.

Oh my pick? I want Iowa State but it will be Kansas. Course with my understanding of college roundball I myself would not bet a dime on what I think. I just hope there are some good touchy feelie human interest angles to the deal. Call me a Liberal and a Dreamer, but this is why this Dance is interesting.

BTW, who won last year?

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Anita,

Go get SO. He needs to be there for this. :)

(Sorry to hear about Lucky. Hope all goes well.)

Cap'n,

Even though you're hopelessly deluded about the ACC, I accept your challenge in the spirit in which it was rendered. :)

(Hey, I live in SEC country now.)

(Although my pick for an early upset is Gonzaga over Virginia. I like Gonzaga a lot.)

Just for the record, the winningest coaches in NCAA post-season play through the 2000 season are (in order, stats from the World Almanac for 2001):

1. Dean Smith of UNC

2. Mike K. of Duke

3. John Wooten, UCLA

4. Denny Crum, Louisville

5. Bob Knight, Indiana

6. John Thompson, Georgetown

7. Lute Olson, Iowa

8. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse

9. Jerry Tarkanian, UNLV and Fresno State

10. Adolph Rupp of Kentucky

Doc,

Last year, Michigan State whupped Florida 89 to 76. MVP was Mateen Cleaves. (Got that latter factoid from the World Almanac.) It's a shame they're in the same bracket this time; no way for a repeat of the championship game. One will be eliminated before the Final Four.

Kind of like 1991, when Duke won it all after getting revenge on UNLV in the semis. No way for a repeat of the 1990 championship game, but Duke figured the revenge was still sweet. :)

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

PS - another team I love to watch is Temple. I like John Chaney and have followed his program for years. He's a class act from the word go.

He'll have a tough time getting past Texas, Florida and UNC, but even though I'm a big UNC fan, I would feel good about that one if he did.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

PSS - for statistics, summaries and game coverage, see the official site at www.finalfour.com.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Ummmmm, Stephen, that would be _7_ Big Ten teams, I think. OK, OK, so Penn State barely made it but I'm excited anyway. Quite a good game when we beat Michigan State this last week.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

For you fellow ‘spotters’ I suggest a closer look at the flow chart. I predict an easy road to the final 4 for Stanford. At that point I give them an equal chance to rule the dance.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

I was born at Georgetown Univ. Hospital. I've rooted against them ever since John Thompson--never liked him or his attitude. And what the heck is a school like G'town doing in Div. I basketball anyway? They don't even have a club football team anymore, and they have no other Div. I sport. Always thought that program was reverse-discrimination and a good argument against affirmative action. I'll be pulling for whoever plays them.

My team is Maryland, and I think they will beat Stanford to get to the Final Four.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

For all the hype, college basketball remains just a bit less interesting to watch than the Iditerod, and a LOT less interesting than the America's Cup.

Fortunately, I can often find a test pattern on another channel to watch instead.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Poole:

Haven't looked at all of the conferences but it looks like half of the Big Twelve made it. That would also be 6. IE. 12/2=6. *<)))

Cheers,,,,

Z

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Flint:

Do you still get test patterns? I remember them from the 50's when I was a child. You could use them to adjust the TV and the cable [sort of]. I haven't seen one in a half century.

Cheers,,,

Z

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Pam and Z,

I stand humbly corrected about the ACC being predominant this year. :)

(Still doesn't mean that Duke won't take it all! GO DEVILS!!!)

Also, Z:

Test patterns are a holdover from the days of cameras with tube-type electronics, which required constant alignment and fiddling. You'd aim the camera at the indian head on the wall and start tweaking until the lines were (reasonably) well-focused and straight. When color came along, you aimed the camera at the indian head for alignment and resolution, then at a standard NTSC color bar pattern to set the chroma.

The TV cameras that the local CBS affiliate uses for Russ and Dee's morning show simulcast at WYDE are only a bit larger than a typical camcorder. They're self-correcting, self-adjusting Sonys that do everything but make the morning coffee.

And the special effects are done on a MacIntosh! :)

Socrates,

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a championship game with Stanford and Duke in it.

UNC has a telephone pole with feet playing for them that oughta keep their matches interesting, too. :)

Flint,

YOU hush. Go watch the paint dry on that Saturn V booster up there and leave the rest of us to civilized behavior. :)

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Poole:

Yeah, I suppose it is so. I haven't lived east of the Mississippi since the early 60's. I grew up in the eastern mountains. The cable, such as it was, was two wires with insulating connections. The hills were so high [ after years in the west (name the state from Colorado to Alaska)I no longer call them mountains] this was needed. Locals had put these things on the top of hills to pick up reception. You ran across them in the woods, but you never touched them. Sort of like cables.

When I was a little kid, I didn't know what my parents were adjusting. Yet, they were satisified. Who cares?

Cheers,,,,

Z

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Stephen,

"I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a championship game with Stanford and Duke in it."

Maybe you'll be surprised when Kentucky knocks them out in Philly,just like we beat UNC back in Dec,long before we even started to jell,wer'e comin' to get ya!!!

I will have to give a big nod to Chaney and Temple,they are a first rate team.

-- Anonymous, March 13, 2001

Not off to a good start as I see Winthrop bit it,damnit.Glad there's still alot of B-ball yet to be played.

-- Anonymous, March 14, 2001

FINALLY -- PROOF that Flint is certifiably insane.

You've never known true excitement until you've watched a toe-to-toe Carolina-Duke basketball game in the state of North Carolina, in a bar filled 50/50 with fans of both teams.

"The best rivalry in all of sports", it's been called. Pro or college.

There's nothing better, or more intense.

As for me & my house, we'll go with Dem Heels.

CL UNC-CH '79

-- Anonymous, March 14, 2001

I liked basketball much better in the 80s when the players still wore tight fitting shorts and you could see the package.

-- Anonymous, March 16, 2001

Oh well so much for Iowa State...Hampt on 58, Iowa St 57

Duke did however cover the 40 I told youalls to get down on....Duke 95, Monmouth 52

as with most of Doc's rantings, nothing here is to be taken very seriously and should be considered for Entertainment Purposes only.

-- Anonymous, March 16, 2001

Well, so fer, this has been the Upset Tournament. Wow.

Lessee, we had Gonzaga whuppin' Virginia (I picked that one, remember[g]) and Temple knocking off Texas, along with Butler beating Wake Forest, Hampton (HAMPTON!?!) beating Iowa, Kent State winning over Indiana and Utah State (UTAH STATE?!?) taking care of Ohio.

The only thing that HAS gone as expected is the #1 seeds.

-- Anonymous, March 16, 2001

(to the tune of an old song with the refrain "...and Beattlebomb")

........and Penn State won.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2001

Pam,

Yes, they did, and looked good doing it. Nittany Lions v. Tarheels is gonna to be a good game, too.

My wife is torn because she has family in Pennsylvania and she likes Penn State as much as NC. :)

And how 'bout them Owls? I TOLD you I liked Temple. Let's see if they can handle Florida ...

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2001

Hampton (HAMPTON!?!) beating Iowa,

Stephen. As a life-long Iowa Hawkeyes fan, I cannot sit idly by and allow this horrendous misrepresentation of the truth!

Hampton did not defeat Iowa! Hampton defeated Iowa State.

Iowa plays Kentucky tonight but it's not looking too hopeful. (Particularly since one of the Hawkeyes best players [Brody Boyd] is considered "doubtful" for tonight due to a knee injury.) Here's hoping for that first #1 seed upset of the tourney.

-- Anonymous, March 17, 2001

Sorry bout your luck there CD,KY put the hurt on the Hawkeyes last night,and seein' how I bleed Blue I was mighty ticled with our play.

On to Philly!!! and a date with USC !!!

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Thanks, capn. Yeah, your Wildcats looked pretty tough last night. Of course, now I'm going to have to join you and root for the team that knocked the "good guys" outta the tournament. Hope there's room on the bandwagon for me.

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Good game, Stephen, good game.

(.........and here comes Beetlebomb.)

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Hop on CD,your'e in for a wild ride as the Cats playing the role of "come from nowhere kids" storm into Philly.First things 1st though as USC will fall to the wayside and make way for a willy in Philly as the Cats challenge Duke for a ticket to Minneapolis.Make no mistake about it,Duke is ready,only problem is,the ACC is over-rated this year and after 40 mins of prime-time ball the Dookies will run out of answers.

GOOOOO CATS!!!

I love this shit!!!

-- Anonymous, March 18, 2001

Hanging head very low...the ride didn't last very long for KY.I acquiesce.

-- Anonymous, March 22, 2001

Stanford has just spanked Cincy and now moves on to a match-up with Maryland on Saturday. The Big Red machine from Palo Alto will take it all this year.

-- Anonymous, March 23, 2001

Oh well! That’s why I don’t gamble.

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2001

OK, so will it be Illinois or Arizona? Can Temple knock off mighty Michigan State?

Aw, shoot, I'll pull for Temple 'cuz they're the underdog. But Michigan's gonna be HARD to beat ...

I was a little surprised (if pleased, as an ACC supporter) that Maryland took care of Stanford. I really thought that it would be Stanford and Duke squaring off next.

Duke-Maryland is going to be a GREAT game. Look for an epic struggle, like, we're talking Otto B. Preminger here; mayhem, bloodshed and armed invasions. The fact is, my Duke Blue Devils are by no means a shoe-in on that one. Maryland can beat (and HAS beaten them).

These two teams know each other like the proverbial backs of their own hands. It'll be a HECK of a game, but you have been *WARNED*: bring yer own bandages. :)

-- Anonymous, March 24, 2001