Thursday, March 16, 2006

It Begins ...

Every spring, just as the snow starts to melt and the birds return, I succumb to the collective delirium known as March Madness. My wife claims that I become a different person entirely - loud, vulgar, and obsessed with gambling. And when I woke up this morning, I could feel the transformation taking place, much like a werewolf grows hair and fangs when he looks at a full moon through the clouds. I howled with delight, because the start of the NCAA Basketball Tournament is one of my favorite times of the year. Forty-eight games in four days - upsets, buzzer-beating shots, and every game do-or-die for the teams involved.

Along with nearly everyone else in America, I'm participating in an office pool. My Final Four teams are UConn, Duke (even though I despise them), UCLA, and Boston College (who just barely survived Pacific earlier today). I think UConn will win it all. My beloved Badgers play tomorrow in Philly versus the Arizona Wildcats. I think they have a good chance of winning this first game, although I don't think they'll survive No.1 Villanova (but I heard that one of 'Nova's best players was blinded by Syracuse in the Big East tourney, so there's always hope).

Oh, I almost forgot to mention one of the best things about "The Big Dance" - when it's over, you know that Opening Day is very near!!

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