March Madness

It’s March Madness, and you know what that means. People that ordinarily wouldn’t talk to you about sports during any other season of the year are going to be asking you about your bracket. Guys that haven’t watched one game of college basketball all season long are going make predictions for the final four and championship game. Girls are gonna’ make pics based on mascots, guys are read a few stats and pretend their pics are “scientific,” or else that they have watched every game and know those stats firsthand.  And the president is no exception.

Barack Obama was on the Tonight Show last week. Former U.S. senator turned leader of the free world is talking it up with the King of Late Night and automotive guru, and made his own prediction for college champion: the North Carolina Tar Heels. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

So let’s have it: Who will play the final game of the NCAA Tournament, and who will be the NCAA Champion for the ’08-’09 season? Every man and his brother have a pic, share your with us.

Basketball in Kentucky

Has anyone wondered where I’ve been all week?  I have.  No, actually I’ve been working long hours as our school played host to the KHSAA 49th District Basketball Tournament.  I run the score clock for all home games, as well as serving as the spoken voice for our school.  And where we live, basketball is a big deal.  (Ever wonder who puts up new nets when the winning team cuts them down?  There’s no one taking pictures then, but yeah that’s me too.)

You see I’m from GA.  Football is a big deal in GA.  I never once went to a basketball game as a high school student.  But we held pep rallies, during school hours, before home football games.  Homecoming was centered around a football game, and the celebration lasted a week.  Look at the size of the UGA Bulldogs football stadium.  Compare that to their basketball arena, which seats like 12,000.  Kentucky is the opposite, at least in the eastern end where I now live.  Basketball is King, and the U.K. Wildcats are like gods on earth.  Go out in public wearing TN orange and you could start a riot. 

So the District Tournament was this week, and was a BIG deal.  Basketball season is over now, and so is life for most Kentuckians until this fall.  It gives me a chance to relax (which means blog) until baseball starts.  All I do for baseball is drive the bus.