March Madness

As a sports fan and all apologies to Andy Williams and those who have remade this classic song, but this "Is the most wonderful time of the year." Right now, you have Spring Training Baseball games taking place in both the Grapefruit League (Florida) and Cactus (Arizona) League; teams in the National Basketball League and National Hockey Leagues are fighting for playoff spots in next month's postseason run; and the biggest event of all: March Madness.

Favorite memories of March Madness

The first time that I paid attention to March Madness was in 1982. As a little kid back then, I started to get involved into not playing sports but also watch it on television. At the time, I didn't realize how important the college basketball tournament and looking back, it was a great tournament to watch because some of those college players would end up playing in the National Basketball Association. The school that I choose to follow was the Georgetown Hoyas, led by head coach John Thompson along with a freshman center from Boston: Patrick Ewing. The Hoyas faced the North Carolina Tar Heels, led by legendary coach Dean Smith, who at the time critics wondered if he would ever win a championship. The Tar Heels featured two future NBA Hall of Famers: James Worthy and a freshman from North Carolina #23 Michael Jordan. The game went to the wire when Jordan hit the game winning shot (we will see that similar ending so many times in the National Basketball Association.) The game ended when Hoyas guard Fred Brown threw an errant pass to Worthy and the Tar Heels took the championship away from Georgetown. Jordan took his talents to the NBA in 1984 with the Chicago Bulls and won 6 championships; ten scoring titles; made 14 All-Star appearances and became a global icon. Ewing when on win a championship with Georgetown in 1984 against the Houston Cougars and it's star center--future NBA Hall of Famer Akeem(later known as Hakeem) Olajuwon, but lost to Villanova in the 1985 title game. Three months later, Ewing became the No.1 pick overall for the New York Knicks, become a 11-time All-Star, led the Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1999 and end up as one of the greatest 50 players in NBA History. Yes, Jordan and Ewing would continue their rivalry by facing each other in the playoffs five times (1989,1990, 1992, 1993, 1996) with Jordan winning every single time. The Knicks were able to finally beat the Bulls in the 1994 playoffs, but by then Michael Jordan was out of the league---to play for the Birmingham Barons, a minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.


Single game elimination


March Madness is unique when compared to other sports. Unlike Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League where it can take 4-7 games to eliminate your opponent, March Madness has the single game elimination format. It is possible to the best team in college basketball and get wiped out in the first round. The National Football League also has the single elimination playoff format, but there is one major difference. With the NFL, after a team win a game, they have one week to not prepare for their opponent, but also bring back players who were injured in the contest. With March Madness, once you win, you have 48 hours to get ready and face your opponent--a very quick turnaround.



Bracket Time


On Sunday Selection, where the committee announced which schools made the tournament and what region they will play in, the brackets are made available that night for everyone to fill out and they have to wait until Thursday when the games begin. I usually play the bracket challenge just for fun, however there are people who use this opportunity to play for higher stakes
(To quote Randy Moss: "Straight cash, homey.") They literally have to wait on pins and needles every single game to see if their picks turned out great or not. The law of average says that the tournament will have a few upsets during the competition. If you plan to participate in any bracket challenge, have with it. You don't want to be THAT person who finds out that their bracket is blown up to bits prior to the Sweet Sixteen and you have to owe an arm and a leg to somebody.

Final Thoughts

March Madness is like Christmas time when you were a child: You can't wait until the day comes and it's over before you know it. The tournament is here for a short period of time
(2 weeks and a few days) so watch as many games while you can before it is all over.