Great to be a Patriot

So much was made of the video of Iowa fans and their reaction to the upset loss to Northwestern State. That video showed -- pardon the cliché -- the agony of defeat.



Today's video shows the other perspective of the upset. This afternoon, I found myself in the middle of the George Mason student section at the Verizon Center, cheering along as the Patriots pulled off one of the greatest upsets in NCAA Tournament history.



Many of the alums in the building had not seen the Mason team before today. One alum told me at the half, 'You know, we're just happy to be here.' The same could not be said by those who followed the team extensively this season. You'll see from the video how much this win meant to the team and to the student body.



The video is available below, and if seeing a few hundred college kids chanting 'Billy Packer! Billy Packer!' doesn't get you going, I'm not sure what will.

Great to be a Patriot

So much was made of the video of Iowa fans and their reaction to the upset loss to Northwestern State. That video showed -- pardon the cliché -- the agony of defeat.



Today's video shows the other perspective of the upset. This afternoon, I found myself in the middle of the George Mason student section at the Verizon Center, cheering along as the Patriots pulled off one of the greatest upsets in NCAA Tournament history.



Many of the alums in the building had not seen the Mason team before today. One alum told me at the half, 'You know, we're just happy to be here.' The same could not be said by those who followed the team extensively this season. You'll see from the video how much this win meant to the team and to the student body.



The video is available below, and if seeing a few hundred college kids chanting 'Billy Packer! Billy Packer!' doesn't get you going, I'm not sure what will.

The Duke Media Conspiracy

Remember that Duke game earlier in the year when the Blue Devils shot 40 free throws versus Florida State? The media started harping on the referees after that game, suggesting that officials favored Duke.



I won't go so far as to suggest that Duke is the darling of NCAA officials. But I do wonder about the odd coincidence betwee the NCAA's official mascot and the ACC's all time leading scorer. Do direct your attention to the diagram below:







At left is J.J. Jumper, the official mascot of NCAA basketball. The NCAA sends him out to games, where he wreaks havoc on television cameras and roots for no one.



At left is J.J. Redick, who coincidentally is really good at jumpers. He was a sophomore in high school when J.J. Jumper was created.



It's highly, highly unlikely that someone at the NCAA had the foresight to name a frog mascot after Redick. But it is strange, indeed.

The Duke Media Conspiracy

Remember that Duke game earlier in the year when the Blue Devils shot 40 free throws versus Florida State? The media started harping on the referees after that game, suggesting that officials favored Duke.



I won't go so far as to suggest that Duke is the darling of NCAA officials. But I do wonder about the odd coincidence betwee the NCAA's official mascot and the ACC's all time leading scorer. Do direct your attention to the diagram below:







At left is J.J. Jumper, the official mascot of NCAA basketball. The NCAA sends him out to games, where he wreaks havoc on television cameras and roots for no one.



At left is J.J. Redick, who coincidentally is really good at jumpers. He was a sophomore in high school when J.J. Jumper was created.



It's highly, highly unlikely that someone at the NCAA had the foresight to name a frog mascot after Redick. But it is strange, indeed.

Overrated?

CBS paid the NCAA $6 billion to broadcast the NCAA Tournament through the year 2014. 58 million Americans have entered their picks into a pool. Some experts estimate that the U.S. economy will lose $3.8 billion due to productivity loss this March.



But you know what? Peole are blowing all that money over nothing. March Madness, my ass. I'll give it to you straight: the tourney is pretty overrated.



That being said, anyone who agrees with the above statement probably thinks that the Rorschach image at right is a sign of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's supremacy over Earth. Such crazy people should not be trusted with anything -- not even the hiring of Missouri's new basketball coach.



But at least one person in all of America thinks that the NCAA Tournament is a terrible way to choose the national champion of college basketball. Perhaps there are more of you out there. Maybe even three or four. It's a scary thought. Anyway, I was reading Michael Wilbon's live chat on The Post's website today, and here's what one poster said:





So leave it up to the Voice of Reason, Michael Wilbon, to rectify the situation. The real argument is this: if the above poster can find a way to fairly select the best of the 334 teams in Division I college basketball AND make it just as unpredictably crazy as the current setup AND keep the scholar athletes who play basketball for our amusement from failing out of school, then let's go for it.



Meanwhile, I'll be sitting here, screaming my way through another two weeks of incredible college basketball while State College crunches the numbers. Have fun, boys. You're not going to find a better way.

Overrated?

CBS paid the NCAA $6 billion to broadcast the NCAA Tournament through the year 2014. 58 million Americans have entered their picks into a pool. Some experts estimate that the U.S. economy will lose $3.8 billion due to productivity loss this March.



But you know what? Peole are blowing all that money over nothing. March Madness, my ass. I'll give it to you straight: the tourney is pretty overrated.



That being said, anyone who agrees with the above statement probably thinks that the Rorschach image at right is a sign of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's supremacy over Earth. Such crazy people should not be trusted with anything -- not even the hiring of Missouri's new basketball coach.



But at least one person in all of America thinks that the NCAA Tournament is a terrible way to choose the national champion of college basketball. Perhaps there are more of you out there. Maybe even three or four. It's a scary thought. Anyway, I was reading Michael Wilbon's live chat on The Post's website today, and here's what one poster said:





So leave it up to the Voice of Reason, Michael Wilbon, to rectify the situation. The real argument is this: if the above poster can find a way to fairly select the best of the 334 teams in Division I college basketball AND make it just as unpredictably crazy as the current setup AND keep the scholar athletes who play basketball for our amusement from failing out of school, then let's go for it.



Meanwhile, I'll be sitting here, screaming my way through another two weeks of incredible college basketball while State College crunches the numbers. Have fun, boys. You're not going to find a better way.

How About Them Jaspers?

The argument goes something like this: Air Force never should have been invited to the NCAA Tournament, because a team like Florida State or Maryland had nine ACC wins this year, and teams from the ACC wipe the sweat from their big, ACC-inflated biceps with those the rags that play in the Mountain West.



Then the tournament comes around, and you see Air Force come out and play with Illinois.



Then Wichita State and George Mason and Northwestern State and Bradley and all those other tiny schools from Anytown, USA, pull big upsets.



And then Maryland, which ended up in the NIT instead, comes out on ESPN and loses to Manhattan, 87-84.



Whoops.



The Maryland loss would be more surprising if I didn't know a number of things about Maryland already:

1. The Terps have no offensive skills. By which I mean:
   
   
• They don't have a true center
• They don't have a consistent outside shooters
• They don't have a point guard
• They don't pass the ball well
• They don't dribble the ball well
• They don't rebound well
2. They Terps have no defensive skills. By which I mean:
• They don't defend the 3
• They don't do a good job of one-on-one defense in the post
• They don't switch or hedge on screens
3. They Terps aren't very smart. By which I mean:
• Chris McCray was declared ineligble because he couldn't get a 2.0 GPA for the first semester of his senior year
• Ekene Ibekwe has been named the team's LeFrak Foundation Scholar two years in a row, even though the only player who carried a 3.0 GPA those years was walk-on Darien Henry

That just about sums this year's team up. They've got no fundamentals, no smarts, and no heart. Today, Maryland came out and was blown out by a Manhattan squad that was excited to be playing in any postseason tournament. The Jaspers played tough, diving into the crowd for loose balls and banging with a much larger Terps squad. They left nothing on the floor and no one on the bench, since four Manhattan starters fouled out in the game.



ESPN actually flashed a graphic in the final minute that said, 'Manhattan: No bench players remaining.' The Jaspers were forced to use all nine players on their team, and at the end of the game, only one starter remained. That starter was Jeff Xavier, who finished with 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 steals.



So Maryland managed to lose despite a home court advantage (You can see from the photo at the top that Maryland fans really came out en force for the 11 am tip off) and despite an incredible advantage at the foul line. They shot 39% from the field, even though they grabed 25 offensive rebounds. Maryland also gave up 27 points from beyond the arc, as is typical for a Terps game.



I've got to feel bad for Gary Williams. His teams are usually excellent on defense, and they usually play tough. But this team is lazy, has no heart, and gave up 47 points to Manhattan in the first half. Their strength is size, which is nice, but I would rather see the Terps be very strong at, say, rebounding or defending the 3.



Let is be known that in his final game, Travis Garrison, a McDonald's All American just four years ago, airballed a layup. I am not sure how he managed to miss the backboard and rim on a two footer, but he did.



It was truly a season to forget in College Park.

How About Them Jaspers?

The argument goes something like this: Air Force never should have been invited to the NCAA Tournament, because a team like Florida State or Maryland had nine ACC wins this year, and teams from the ACC wipe the sweat from their big, ACC-inflated biceps with those the rags that play in the Mountain West.



Then the tournament comes around, and you see Air Force come out and play with Illinois.



Then Wichita State and George Mason and Northwestern State and Bradley and all those other tiny schools from Anytown, USA, pull big upsets.



And then Maryland, which ended up in the NIT instead, comes out on ESPN and loses to Manhattan, 87-84.



Whoops.



The Maryland loss would be more surprising if I didn't know a number of things about Maryland already:

1. The Terps have no offensive skills. By which I mean:
   
   
• They don't have a true center
• They don't have a consistent outside shooters
• They don't have a point guard
• They don't pass the ball well
• They don't dribble the ball well
• They don't rebound well
2. They Terps have no defensive skills. By which I mean:
• They don't defend the 3
• They don't do a good job of one-on-one defense in the post
• They don't switch or hedge on screens
3. They Terps aren't very smart. By which I mean:
• Chris McCray was declared ineligble because he couldn't get a 2.0 GPA for the first semester of his senior year
• Ekene Ibekwe has been named the team's LeFrak Foundation Scholar two years in a row, even though the only player who carried a 3.0 GPA those years was walk-on Darien Henry

That just about sums this year's team up. They've got no fundamentals, no smarts, and no heart. Today, Maryland came out and was blown out by a Manhattan squad that was excited to be playing in any postseason tournament. The Jaspers played tough, diving into the crowd for loose balls and banging with a much larger Terps squad. They left nothing on the floor and no one on the bench, since four Manhattan starters fouled out in the game.



ESPN actually flashed a graphic in the final minute that said, 'Manhattan: No bench players remaining.' The Jaspers were forced to use all nine players on their team, and at the end of the game, only one starter remained. That starter was Jeff Xavier, who finished with 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 steals.



So Maryland managed to lose despite a home court advantage (You can see from the photo at the top that Maryland fans really came out en force for the 11 am tip off) and despite an incredible advantage at the foul line. They shot 39% from the field, even though they grabed 25 offensive rebounds. Maryland also gave up 27 points from beyond the arc, as is typical for a Terps game.



I've got to feel bad for Gary Williams. His teams are usually excellent on defense, and they usually play tough. But this team is lazy, has no heart, and gave up 47 points to Manhattan in the first half. Their strength is size, which is nice, but I would rather see the Terps be very strong at, say, rebounding or defending the 3.



Let is be known that in his final game, Travis Garrison, a McDonald's All American just four years ago, airballed a layup. I am not sure how he managed to miss the backboard and rim on a two footer, but he did.



It was truly a season to forget in College Park.

Sucks to be a Hawkeye

You'll see the highlights tonight of Northwestern State's incredible win over Northern Iowa. It was a great win if you like college basketball, but lost in all of this was the reaction by Iowa and their fans.



Today, photographer Tyler Profilet went down to the Coliseum, a bar in Columbia, Mo., to talk to people who had skipped work to watch the games. He found a few Hawkeye fans, and then captured their reactions as their team inexplicably blew a 15 point second half lead and lost on a 3 with .5 seconds left.



The video is below, and it is excellent:







The full video, without the YouTube logo in the right corner, is available here.

Sucks to be a Hawkeye

You'll see the highlights tonight of Northwestern State's incredible win over Northern Iowa. It was a great win if you like college basketball, but lost in all of this was the reaction by Iowa and their fans.



Today, photographer Tyler Profilet went down to the Coliseum, a bar in Columbia, Mo., to talk to people who had skipped work to watch the games. He found a few Hawkeye fans, and then captured their reactions as their team inexplicably blew a 15 point second half lead and lost on a 3 with .5 seconds left.



The video is below, and it is excellent:







The full video, without the YouTube logo in the right corner, is available here.

Facebook Hates Canada

Facebook is running an NCAA tournament pool this year. The winner gets a big screen TV. But the fine print is unusual. Check this out:

'If a selected winner is unreachable or ineligible, fails to claim a prize or fails to return an executed affidavit and consent in a timely manner, the winner will forfeit his or her prize and an alternate winner be selected in accordance with the criteria described above. Canadian participants must also correctly answer a mathematical skill testing question, without human or mechanical assistance and within a specified time limit, before being declared a prizewinner. By entering the Contest, you consent to being placed on a mailing list for promotional and other materials.'

That's right, Canada. You may have universal health care, but you aren't getting our Japanese-imported big screen without basic math skills. Glad to see that the friendly folks at Facebook are finally putting some serious tariffs on those Canucks.

Facebook Hates Canada

Facebook is running an NCAA tournament pool this year. The winner gets a big screen TV. But the fine print is unusual. Check this out:

'If a selected winner is unreachable or ineligible, fails to claim a prize or fails to return an executed affidavit and consent in a timely manner, the winner will forfeit his or her prize and an alternate winner be selected in accordance with the criteria described above. Canadian participants must also correctly answer a mathematical skill testing question, without human or mechanical assistance and within a specified time limit, before being declared a prizewinner. By entering the Contest, you consent to being placed on a mailing list for promotional and other materials.'

That's right, Canada. You may have universal health care, but you aren't getting our Japanese-imported big screen without basic math skills. Glad to see that the friendly folks at Facebook are finally putting some serious tariffs on those Canucks.

The Crayola Bracket

This year's bracket is, well, a bit odd. Air Force and Utah State -- in. Cincy and Michigan -- out. Arizona, who suspended a player, then brought him back and finished 19-12 -- in. Maryland, who suspended a player, and couldn't bring him back and finished 19-12 -- out. It's a bracket that deserves to be done in crayon. Click on the image to make it larger.

The Crayola Bracket

This year's bracket is, well, a bit odd. Air Force and Utah State -- in. Cincy and Michigan -- out. Arizona, who suspended a player, then brought him back and finished 19-12 -- in. Maryland, who suspended a player, and couldn't bring him back and finished 19-12 -- out. It's a bracket that deserves to be done in crayon. Click on the image to make it larger.

Rock Star?

If you missed today's Wake Forest vs. NC State quarterfinal, you missed a first for humanity. I'll cut straight to the videotape:



[Scene: First half, Wake up big. Justin Gray grabs a rebound, and pushes the ball upcourt to stage left.]



-Mike Patrick: 'Justin Gray is as tough as a bag of rocks.'

-Dick Vitale [in typically animated tone]: 'Bag of rocks? What the heck is a bag of rocks?'



[At stage right, the mountains crumble, pigs fly, and Casey knocks a single into left field, thus insuring that the Mudville nine will go to extra innings.]



To my knowlege, this is the first time that Dick Vitale has ever criticized the use of cliché in any setting. Even though Mike Patrick's comment was quite possible the most obscure, least sensical thing heard on ESPN in decades, the fact that Vitale didn't immediately roll with the cliché and name Gray to his 'All-Flinstones' team is a amazing. This is a truly great day for sports fans everywhere.

Rock Star?

If you missed today's Wake Forest vs. NC State quarterfinal, you missed a first for humanity. I'll cut straight to the videotape:



[Scene: First half, Wake up big. Justin Gray grabs a rebound, and pushes the ball upcourt to stage left.]



-Mike Patrick: 'Justin Gray is as tough as a bag of rocks.'

-Dick Vitale [in typically animated tone]: 'Bag of rocks? What the heck is a bag of rocks?'



[At stage right, the mountains crumble, pigs fly, and Casey knocks a single into left field, thus insuring that the Mudville nine will go to extra innings.]



To my knowlege, this is the first time that Dick Vitale has ever criticized the use of cliché in any setting. Even though Mike Patrick's comment was quite possible the most obscure, least sensical thing heard on ESPN in decades, the fact that Vitale didn't immediately roll with the cliché and name Gray to his 'All-Flinstones' team is a amazing. This is a truly great day for sports fans everywhere.