1. to undergo decomposition; decay. most likely in the form of sitting or laying position. typically on a sofa with some sort of entertainment.
2. Mind completely shutting down
source: Ricky Butler personally published dictionary
Hockey, baseball, football, futbol, college football ... umm, arena football... fans across the globe: soak this in. Let it marinate. The best time in sports all year. March. College basketball. Mmm, that tastes good, huh? The 11 other months of the year I am subjected to Chris Mortenson analyzing the NFL, Kirk Herbstreet analyzing CFB, Mel Kiper breaking down the draft picks, Lou Holtz shocking the world day in and day out that a) he is still alive and b) ESPN still employs him. I am subjected to baseball lasting FOREVER, and completely befuddling the mind by scheduling 245 games per day, despite their only being 30 MLB teams. And soccer and hockey, well, being professional sports (Beckham in LA! that was cool for about a day).
It doesn't get better than the NCAA tournament, and even most non-basketball fans willing to swallow their pride can admit that. And, while I couldn't have predicted or planned this (well, I could have, but that have been borderline masochistic) I have received doctor's orders to continue to Rot for the first two rounds of the greatest show on earth (sorry Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey, and the St. Louis Rams '99-'01 "greatest show on turf"). What is rotting you (read: me) ask? It's doing nothing. It's sinking so far into your couch that you create a Homer Simpson ass-groove. It's being so mindless that you answer questions with grunts and moans. In this particular situation, it's absorbing zone defenses, cinderellas, sleepers, upsets, buzzer beaters, blowouts, and Steve Lavin's gelled hair until you melt into an extension of the television. It's really quite beautiful.
But, we all know this. Everyone knows this - that March Madness is the best. But, what's special about this year? Well, here's 3 things I like, and 3 things I don't like:
Like
1: The freshman. Is it just me or do you need to continue to be reminded these kids are 18 and 19 (OJ Mayo is actually 20, go figure). Not that they are this good at such a young age, but that they are grown men with facial hair that puts Adam Morrison's senior year mustache to shame.
2. The middle of the pack. Villanova is a 12 seed, Notre Dame is a 5 seed, and Duke is a 2 seed, and I have absolutely no idea which team is the best. Jim Boeheim said it best on PTI in that with all the studs leaving early for the NBA you don't have truly great teams anymore, but just a bunch of good ones. Great, my bracket is screwed.
3. Psycho T. What is up with Tyler Hansbrough? Oh wait, these are things I like? Woops, wrong category.
Don't Like
1. ESPN "expert" pics. Between Jay Bilas, Reece Davis, Digger Phelps, Hubert "quickly to be replaced full time by Bob Knight" Davis, Bob Knight, and Dick Vitale no one besides Knight picked a seed lower than #2 to be in the final four. Thanks, experts. No, really, thanks. I mean, the selection committee spends hours and hours to determine who the top 8 seeds are, and the guys on ESPN are earning their keep by pointing out to us exactly which 8 teams they picked. We can read, guys, but really, thanks. Way to go out on a limb.
2. Butler-Southern Alabama & Gonzaga-Davidson. Probably the 4 best mid-major schools are slated to play each other in the first round. I know the selection committee doesn't have enough time to take everything into account, but we see mid-majors play each other all year long. Isn't this the time we see if they can hang with the big boys?
3. Bob Knight. To make up for Psycho T belonging in this category (purely for his super weird intensity), I'll put Knight in the "like" category. After a whopping 3 days of experience he's already better than most as a TV analyst and does so by simply speaking from the immense amount of basketball knowledge he has. In the midst of the immense time crunch of the tournament picks (and my depressing amount of ESPN watching) I've seen technical difficulties (prompter not working, graphics not working, etc.) completely stump the analysts. It's like they don't even know what basketball is without a teleprompter. Knight has been good, very good even.
Should be a good few weeks. I have Kansas, Memphis, UCLA, and Tennessee in the final 4 - three #1's and a #2. Looks like I am a product of my own rotting; unable to go out on a limb picking anything but what the experts tell me.
1 comment:
Do you still like Bob Knight after this:
"The three point line should be eliminated," Knight said. "Let me tell you why I don't like it. It's not difficult enough. Even at my age today, I can step on the court and hit three point shots. There are tougher shots, tougher things to do on the court that are worth less. They said the three point line was invented to stop the zone defense. Why? Does this mean we should eliminate the zone defense? No. The zone defense is a challenge. Basketball should be about challenges, and that's why it should be eliminated."
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