East Coast Bias, or West Coast Bias?

For years we have heard that there is an east coast bias in sports. In that east coast teams get more coverage than teams from the western US. Teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Duke, NY Giants, etc. get more coverage by the national media than the Dodgers, UCLA, Raiders, etc.

I would suggest that there is a definite west coast bias when it comes to the time of championship games. I was only able to watch the first half of last night's NCAA championship game. Advertisers wasted all that cash, because I never saw their commercials.

What moron puts a championship game on at 9:30 PM? What on earth are you thinking? Do you want me to watch it?

My kids were in bed an hour before the game the started. Do they want kids to watch? I can only assume the answer to be "no."

It's not just the NCAA. Major League Baseball starts the World Series games closer sunrise than sunset. The NFL gets it pretty close to right. They start the Super Bowl at about 6:30.

I can only see a west coast bias in this.

I felt like this poor yawning orangutan.

Sports and Life: A Perspective

As I sit humiliated by my wife and daughter. Both of them kicked the tar out of me in our bracket challenge. I'm just glad I didn't have my six-year old fill out a bracket. I think about larger things. Perhaps you have heard this. The young man, named Jason Ray, that portrayed the North Carolina Tar Heels mascot, "Ramses the Ram," was hit by a driver in New Jersey last week before the UNC-USC game. He had been in critical condition, but died yesterday.

So often we think of sports being life and death. We (myself included) get so wrapped up in the game. A tragedy like this puts it all in perspective.

The Luck of the Irish Spartans! What?

As I was watching the North Carolina - Michigan State game the other, one of the announcers made one of the dumbest comments I have ever heard. I can't remember who was announcing the game. It was March 17 (St. Patrick's Day). Michigan State was wearing their road uniforms, which are green. One of the announcers made a comment about the "luck of the Irish" not being with the Spartans. I screamed at the TV, "The Spartans aren't Irish, they're Greek!"

Anyway, I think the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament are the most exciting. Forty-eight games in four days. I signed up for NCAA March Madness on Demand. So, I had one game on the TV and one on the laptop.

3-point Obsession

What is the obsession with the three-point shot? Louisville, down by one heaved a 3-pointer at the last second. At the end of regulation in a tie game, Washington State chose to send one up from "downtown."

Players are too enamored with hitting the "big" shot from a "big" distance when they would have a better percentage shot from closer.

Reflections on Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament

My humiliation at the hands of my wife and daughter continued yesterday. I did call one upset. The Winthrop Eagles knocked off the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. I lost only two "Sweet Sixteen" teams: Arizona (thank you Lute Olsen) and Duke (as mentioned yesterday); I also had both teams in the Regional Finals. My wife lost no teams for the "Sweet 16" yet.

I'm parked on the couch for round two today.

Oh, by the way, every years for the last 15 or so, I take a bracket and flip a quarter to see who will win each game. The quarter called 17 of the 32 games, only 4 less than I got.

Reflections on Day 1 of the NCAA Tournament

How embarrassing is this? My 10 year-old daughter is beating me in the tournament brackets. I think I'll be going into hiding. My wife is also beating me. I think I'll have to turn in my "man card."

Two teams that always seem to trip me up are Duke and Indiana. Duke got upset by Virginia Commonwealth University. It was really the only exciting game of the first round. (Although, I'm not sure of the late games. I can't stay awake.)

Then there is Indiana. They beat Gonzaga. Just a few years ago, Gonzaga was the darling of the tournament.

It doesn't matter, when I pick Duke or Indiana to lose, they win. When I pick them to win they lose. I can't win either way.

Then there is the "great" coach Bobby Knight. He is the same way. His Texas Tech Red Raiders lost to Boston College. When I pick him to win, he loses. When I pick him to lose, he wins.

My brackets are a mess, and we are just starting Day Two.