Tag Archives: march madness

Oklahoma culture

The Madness is Sports At It’s Finest

The American economy may be slowly recovering, but I promise you there is zero growth taking place right now. Congress might as well go ahead and declare national holidays for the first two days of the NCAA basketball tournament. Don’t act like you actually got anything accomplished at work yesterday. Unless you were waiting tables or bartending, I’m willing to bet you wasted hours of company time glued to a TV while constantly checking and re-checking your pathetic bracket. America’s businesses are coming to a screeching halt and rightly so. The NCAA tournament is the single most captivating sports event we have in this great country.

I love the NFL playoffs, but that’s only a couple games per day at the most. The first and second rounds of March Madness feature four glorious days of 48 games. I can’t even describe how amazing it is to know that I can roll out of bed, flip on some hoops and remain nearly motionless until the sun goes down. I can then repeat that beautiful process for three more days. I’m convinced this is why pizza, beer, and sports bars were invented. I can’t wait for the NHL playoffs, but only a game seven scenario can match the level of drama in the NCAA tournament. A single elimination format where the little guy always has a shot at realizing a dream, upsets reign, and one bad game can send you packing? Brilliance. The Masters is four straight days of unbeatable scenery and shot-making, but there’s no bracket for a golf tournament, no office pool, no opportunity to talk trash to your co-workers. The rest of the globe can have its World Cup; I’ll take these four days of buzzer beaters and last second heroics over 90 minutes of no action, no goals, and fake injuries. And the Olympics? Come on, don’t tell me you really get excited to break down the matchups in ice dancing or call in sick so you can watch equestrian.

We’ve already witnessed what makes the tournament so special… Continue reading The Madness is Sports At It’s Finest →

Man Cave

No Buzz For Basketball

If you still have a team alive in the NFL playoffs, you’re one of the lucky few.  For the rest of us, mid-January leaves an empty feeling.  College football season is officially over.  Just reading that last sentence out loud is almost enough to make my eyes wet.

So now we can turn our full attention to basketball.  Or can we?  I’m sorry, I just can’t do it.  I feel no buzz, no excitement, and no anticipation for hoops right now.  I don’t think I’m the only one.  In this state, no one is talking basketball.  Sure, the newspapers and local media will cover the games because they have to, but trust me, the fan bases of our state schools are not fired up.  There is far more interest in the next football season than there is in the current basketball season.

Part of that is simply the climate in our state.  Oklahoma is a football state, always has been, always will be.  Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of basketball tradition here.  Henry Iba, Eddie Sutton, Wayman Tisdale, Billy Tubbs, the Griffin brothers, Nolan Richardson, and countless others have contributed to the hoops history of Oklahoma.  But the truth is, no matter how many Final Fours the colleges rack up, and no matter how many dunks Kevin Durant throws down, basketball is never going to overtake football in the hearts and minds of Oklahomans.

Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon will both be back for another season in Stillwater (courtesy tulsaworld.com)

Part of the basketball apathy is due to the unbelievable success of football in 2010 and what could transpire in 2011.  OU is already one of the favorites to win a national championship, while OSU is getting its stars back and should start the season in the Top 10.  Tulsa finished in the Top 25 for the first time in nearly 20 years, and the search for a new head coach is dominating the headlines in this part of the state.  If there’s one constant in Oklahoma sports, it’s that it’s never too early to start talking football.

Continue reading No Buzz For Basketball →

Man Cave

My Sports Wish List

Only a week til Christmas, so its a little late for wish lists.  I won’t be asking for anything extraordinary from my family and friends at this point.  Get me the sweater, the book, the DVD, and I’m a happy guy.

But let’s pretend for a moment there is a sports Santa Claus.  A sports version of St. Nick who is very interested in making the wishes of sports fans come true.  Well Mr. Claus, I’ve been pretty good this year and I have a few requests.

Here is what I want for Christmas:

I WANT A COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF

Don't the unbeaten Horned Frogs at least deserve a shot at a national championship? Maybe one day they'll get that chance. (courtesy realclearsports.com)

I know Santa, you get this one a lot, but I’m never going to stop wishing for this.  I’m thrilled with an Oregon/Auburn matchup in the title game, but the BCS continues to get lucky and that can’t last forever.  I’ll even admit TCU probably isn’t as good as Oregon or Auburn, but shouldn’t that be decided on the field?  The Horned Frogs did absolutely everything that was asked of them, but won’t get a sniff of a championship simply because of discrimination toward smaller schools and non-traditional powers.  I don’t care how big or small the playoff is, I just want a level playing field here.  And spare me the excuses of extra games, protecting student-athletes, and preserving the bowl system.  The bowl system is a middling mess of mediocrity.  You mean we might miss out on Florida International vs. Toledo in the Little Caesar’s Bowl?  Good, I’d rather watch curling anyway.  Trust me Santa, if you want to stop receiving these letters, you’ll find a way to make this happen for me and the countless fans who hate seeing this sport’s champion be crowned by ignorant human voters and soulless computers.

I WANT THE NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT TO STAY AT 65 TEAMS

College football may get it wrong, but college basketball gets it right.  There is no need to expand March Madness to 96 teams as is being discussed by the NCAA.  65 teams means the little guy still has a shot and that’s all the little guy is asking for.

Continue reading My Sports Wish List →