Friday, March 17, 2006
Hoop Dreams, Day 1
You've gotta love that first day of scrambling action in the NCAA basketball tournament. Back in New York I would take an, uh, extended lunch in some nearby pub to catch some of the action, but that is a lot easier to do in a city where you can just slip out the door and the pub is on the same block. So how happy was I to find that the internet has finally fulfilled its promise and can deliver the games live to my computer! I heard about this stuff back in the rah rah new economy days, but it never materialized, so I figured it was all a bunch of BS, along with the hydrogen car and cold fusion. But I logged into CBS Sportsline and found that, indeed, I could watch basketball live on a little box on my computer screen, while still returning email in real time (and not raising suspicions with the blackberry signature).
The headline on sportsline today is "Flirting With Disaster," and rings true for a number of high profile teams. I watched most of the Tennessee-Winthrop game, a match up of a 2 and a 15, and can say it did not lay to rest the criticisms following the selection committee for seeding Tennessee so highly. Winthrop played right with them the whole game, and lost only on an off balance jumper as time expired. Gonzaga was being pounded by Xavier the entire game, before making a few plays down the stretch to win it; George Washington trailed by 18 before making a 19-0 run that got them back in the lead agains UNC-Wilmington. They pulled it out in OT. Boston College, a favorite to go deep into the tourney, trailed by 6 in overtime to Pacific. I didn't see them pull it out, but they got it to a second OT and won going away.
Today should be an interesting day. Of course it is of personal interest, as the Hawkeyes take the court against Northwestern State, a game a surprising number of pundits are picking Iowa to lose. Iowa has too many seniors and has just endured the fires of the Big 10 Tournement, so I don't expect that to happen, but that doesn't mean it won't be a gut wrenching nail biter like most of their games.
In other interesting action, three of the four top seeds will see the court, as will Penn, the Ivy League representative. It should be a fun day.
For some other good sports bloggy goodness on this topic, check out Sportsprof and the Big Ten Wonk, and scroll. Both have excellent commentary and analysis.
The headline on sportsline today is "Flirting With Disaster," and rings true for a number of high profile teams. I watched most of the Tennessee-Winthrop game, a match up of a 2 and a 15, and can say it did not lay to rest the criticisms following the selection committee for seeding Tennessee so highly. Winthrop played right with them the whole game, and lost only on an off balance jumper as time expired. Gonzaga was being pounded by Xavier the entire game, before making a few plays down the stretch to win it; George Washington trailed by 18 before making a 19-0 run that got them back in the lead agains UNC-Wilmington. They pulled it out in OT. Boston College, a favorite to go deep into the tourney, trailed by 6 in overtime to Pacific. I didn't see them pull it out, but they got it to a second OT and won going away.
Today should be an interesting day. Of course it is of personal interest, as the Hawkeyes take the court against Northwestern State, a game a surprising number of pundits are picking Iowa to lose. Iowa has too many seniors and has just endured the fires of the Big 10 Tournement, so I don't expect that to happen, but that doesn't mean it won't be a gut wrenching nail biter like most of their games.
In other interesting action, three of the four top seeds will see the court, as will Penn, the Ivy League representative. It should be a fun day.
For some other good sports bloggy goodness on this topic, check out Sportsprof and the Big Ten Wonk, and scroll. Both have excellent commentary and analysis.
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