Basketball Jones

J: It's one of my favorite times of the year- NCAA conference tournament week. I'm always amused by how the big boys- the so-called "majors"- play true to form. The PAC-10 and SEC play a little streetball, the Big XII and Big 10 play like, well, a bunch of Midwestern farmboys shooting ball, the ACC looks like a clinic, and the Big East has all the style, subtlety, and grace of a mugging.

The thing is, once they start dancing for real, every game starts to look like a Big East game, so it may be a positive for them.

And then there's Cinderella. Small schools playing in gyms with pull-out bleachers and cinder-block walls just beyond the baseline. We get our annual fill of estatic students and proud alums, who are so overjoyed that, for a week, their school matters. The brutal reality that they're going to be down to Kansas by 30 in the first half, and CBS will cut away to a more competitive game, hasn't sunk in yet. For all the glory the tourney gives Cinderella, more often 
than not she goes home in a tattered dress.

And that brings us to everyone's favorite thing- their bracket. Who to pick? Who's the dark horse? Why does my job outlaw gambling, when even the boss has his sheet in the pool for $10? No worries, we're here to help. First off, a team peaking late in the season is generally a good pick to make the round of 16. Southern Cal and Kentucky have both been hot lately. Second, a strong but quiet mid-major will go deeper than you think, and Butler looks like this year's "no-name" that can make a run. But for the Final Four, you go with #1 and #2 seeds. UCLA? They look real good. Kansas? History says "no". Memphis? Maybe. I'm not sold on them yet. Tennessee? Let me see how they do in the SEC Tourney before I give my recommendation.

And so on. There's probably more to say, but I've got to get to the couch- the games start soon.

C: I believe I enjoy Conference Championship tournaments more than the Bracket Show. Strangely, it's similiar to the Primary season free-for-all. Everyone knows everyone, elbows and blood flow freely and sometimes it's better to stuff in a guy's face that you've already played for a few years.

That said, the Big East and the ACC in any given year, on any given night, could smoke half the NBA.

I've more to say but the wall of televisions here at Drunken Politics North demands closer scrutiny.