everything that's on my mind
(as if there's not already enough people doing this)Thursday, March 23, 2006
And the madness resumes
Just a few thoughts and observations before the madness starts again this evening...
No repeats this year in the final four. Louisville, of course, didn't even make the tournament. Michigan State lost in the first round, and Illinois and North Carolina lost in the second.
Duke is in the sweet 16 for the 9th straight year, which equals North Carolina's run from 1985-1993 (during the era of 64+ teams in the tournament.) UNC actually appeared in 13 in a row, but the first 4 were prior to the expansion and did not require winning 2 games to get there. I think the next longest current streak is 2 straight.
Traditional powers not in the sweet 16 - Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, Indiana. You expect these schools to be there most years. This year, none of them are there. The only schools there that you could call "traditional powers" would be Duke and UCLA. (Connecticut's success is more recent, and Georgetown was a power in the 80's, but I wouldn't personally call them traditional powers. At least not yet.)
Heard Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, talking about picking your bracket by which mascot could win a one-on-one battle. For example, the UCLA Bruin would beat the Gonzaga Bulldog. Part of the conversation went something like this:
A word about CBS
Okay, so, just as I do every year, allow me to complaing about CBS' coverage of the tournament. Let's see... how can I describe it... it's horrible. Yeah, that sounds about right.
I hate the fact that you can only see one game at a time, and that it's a game that (supposedly) will be of most interest to your region of the country. Then, even if that occurs, they'll switch to another game at any given time. Sometimes, this is good, because you might want to see the last minute of a close game elsewhere. Other times, they just switch to show you what's going on with 16:34 left in the first half of the Nevada-Montana game - as if anyone outside of Nevada and Montana care. I won't even go into the sport personalities in the studio or calling the games. There's going to be just as much good and bad with any other network there.
Here's my solution: ABC needs to have this contract. ABC could then, on the network channel, broadcast a similar type of coverage that CBS currently does now. However, they could also farm out all of the games (this is particularly necessary in the first weekend) to other channels they own. There are a maximum of 4 games happening at once. The network could broadcast the regional game, but all 4 games could also be broadcast elsewhere - ESPN, EPSN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN News, ESPNU, or even ABC Family. Then, regardless of the regional coverage, you could switch to the game of your choice. This would be the ideal. If you have cable, you can see all of the games. If not, you can still see the normal coverage on ABC.
Picks
Well, since I picked most everything wrong in my pre-tournament bracket, I'll go ahead and pick the final four from what we have left. Here's my picks for regional final games, with the winners, with no commentary:
No repeats this year in the final four. Louisville, of course, didn't even make the tournament. Michigan State lost in the first round, and Illinois and North Carolina lost in the second.
Duke is in the sweet 16 for the 9th straight year, which equals North Carolina's run from 1985-1993 (during the era of 64+ teams in the tournament.) UNC actually appeared in 13 in a row, but the first 4 were prior to the expansion and did not require winning 2 games to get there. I think the next longest current streak is 2 straight.
Traditional powers not in the sweet 16 - Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, Indiana. You expect these schools to be there most years. This year, none of them are there. The only schools there that you could call "traditional powers" would be Duke and UCLA. (Connecticut's success is more recent, and Georgetown was a power in the 80's, but I wouldn't personally call them traditional powers. At least not yet.)
Heard Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, talking about picking your bracket by which mascot could win a one-on-one battle. For example, the UCLA Bruin would beat the Gonzaga Bulldog. Part of the conversation went something like this:
Patrick: You've gotta think the bruin beats the bulldog.There was more and it was just cracking me up. Those guys are hilarious, and it's been great to hear them together again.
Olbermann: Sure, a young bear beats a bulldog, but it may take a while since he's not yet been sufficiently trained.
Patrick: But wouldn't a devil beat just about anything??
Olbermann: Yes, but we're talking about a blue devil. This is a devil who apparently has some sort of circulatory problem, so who knows.
A word about CBS
Okay, so, just as I do every year, allow me to complaing about CBS' coverage of the tournament. Let's see... how can I describe it... it's horrible. Yeah, that sounds about right.
I hate the fact that you can only see one game at a time, and that it's a game that (supposedly) will be of most interest to your region of the country. Then, even if that occurs, they'll switch to another game at any given time. Sometimes, this is good, because you might want to see the last minute of a close game elsewhere. Other times, they just switch to show you what's going on with 16:34 left in the first half of the Nevada-Montana game - as if anyone outside of Nevada and Montana care. I won't even go into the sport personalities in the studio or calling the games. There's going to be just as much good and bad with any other network there.
Here's my solution: ABC needs to have this contract. ABC could then, on the network channel, broadcast a similar type of coverage that CBS currently does now. However, they could also farm out all of the games (this is particularly necessary in the first weekend) to other channels they own. There are a maximum of 4 games happening at once. The network could broadcast the regional game, but all 4 games could also be broadcast elsewhere - ESPN, EPSN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN News, ESPNU, or even ABC Family. Then, regardless of the regional coverage, you could switch to the game of your choice. This would be the ideal. If you have cable, you can see all of the games. If not, you can still see the normal coverage on ABC.
Picks
Well, since I picked most everything wrong in my pre-tournament bracket, I'll go ahead and pick the final four from what we have left. Here's my picks for regional final games, with the winners, with no commentary:
Atlanta: Duke beats West VirginiaSo, there you have it. Now you know to bet on everyone I picked to lose...
Oakland: UCLA beats Memphis
Minneapolis: Boston College beats Georgetown
Washington: Washington beats George Mason
Comments:
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If you have DirecTv, you can get all of the CBS feeds with their March Madness package. What's really great is that on the "alternate feeds" (the games that aren't on your local network), they never break into the game to update the other games. You always get the feed from the game you want to watch- even if they've shut off the announcers mics. Last night, I had UCLA/Gonzaga on one tv and Texas/WVU on the other. True madness.
I also don't know why CBS abandoned the picture-in-picture concept for their look-ins on other games. If you really feel like showing us what's going on with Nevada and Montana, why not keep a picture of the main game in a frame in one of the corners? Doesn't seem like too much to ask.
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I also don't know why CBS abandoned the picture-in-picture concept for their look-ins on other games. If you really feel like showing us what's going on with Nevada and Montana, why not keep a picture of the main game in a frame in one of the corners? Doesn't seem like too much to ask.
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