Tracking NCAA tournament travails from the sofa
The NCAA college presidents (which sounds so much better than hookers) have helped create a new motto for the NCAA tournament this year: "Watch every game live." wholesale jerseys
The NCAA's negotiable virtue has prompted CBS to partner with Turner, and so, as corporations devour channels like it's HD PacMan, we now get every game live, somewhere, somehow, sometime as part of a deal to scatter the games to 875 channels, one for each team selected for the tournament.
Watch every game live if, I don't know, you can find it, and in some cases, if you can find one worth watching. Yes, I'm talking to you, PittsburghUNCAsheville. That's what, the third overall seed vs. the 297th overall seed? Yeesh.
But I'll say this for CBS and Turner: If they couldn't ensure good games, they ensured good upset possibilities, starting the day part of the real Day 1 of the tournament with two 512 games (West VirginiaClemson and VanderbiltRichmond) and two 413s (KentuckyPrinceton and LouisvilleMorehead State). There's also an 89 matchup of ButlerOld Dominion on truTV.
Providing I can find truTV and providing truTV hasn't pawned itself, consider this my playin blog. I'll click around and spew thoughts here, so check back throughout the hoopage as I try to live up to our usual motto: "Watch Every Game Snarkily." .
You know what CBS' NCAA studio show needs? Fewer CBS people, that's what. Greg Anthony and Greg Gumbel can be excused. Just leave the entertainment to the Turners: Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. This combined dueling? studio show idea is just going to expose CBS' people. The more that people see the Turners, the more painfully boring CBS will come off. And thank goodness Barkley is no longer on valium the way he appeared to be on CBS' selection show last Sunday. I mean, what'sthe point of having Charles Barkley if you're going to give jam Greg Gumbel's dull pills down his throat? .
Memo to all broadcasters: Today is the first round. Stop calling today the second round. Cockamamie playin games don't count as a round. Jeez, they barely count as a game. I mean, did you catch VCUUSC last night? .
The Choice (and remember, death is not an option): Watching VCUUSC or Nancy Grace? .
You could put Piers Morgan in there, too, if you want. .
I haven't watched Morgan since his alleged interview with the real Winklevoss twins who are still suing the Facebook guy. At least, I think they still are suing. The Winklevi weren't allowed to complete an answer. Jeez, has Morgan let any guest finish an answer yet? .
But back to VCU and USC. Awful teams, awful play, even for a tournament with bad teams and bad basketball. Tell you what, put me on the committee and I select only teams that run. Or teams that try to, anyway. Sorry, Wisconsin, you bore me. Stay home. Stay off my TV. There's a new thing in college called the shot clock. .
You, too, Princeton. Sorry, but the Ivy League's automatic bid is automatically eliminated if the Tigers win it. Some teams are slow just because they're slow. But when you intentionally take the air out of the ball, that's when the NCAA ought to put you on probation. Look, this is entertainment, right? If this was about academics, half the teams wouldn't be let in. . wholesale jerseys
I never wanted every game in its entirety. I don't know who did. I wanted a main game, some switching around, some lookins, but now I have to click around. I believe I've reached a new plateau that should be required to own the Platinum Man Card: Too lazy to hit the "previous channel'' button. .
Found truTV. Amazing they have room for basketball between all the score bars and all the writing on those score bars. The scores aren't where I'm used to seeing them, and I continually read a number that I think is a score but instead is a seed. I can't believe I'm alone on this one. .
The actual game on truTV is Butler and Old Dominion, there's a closeup of ODU coach Blaine Taylor. Stop. No. Yikes. The guy has a face like a fist. Found the "previous channel'' button pretty quick this time. . cheap nfl jerseys
ClemsonWest Virginia: Horace Grant's nephew and Jerry West's son. A chance to tell the kids some stories about Phil Jackson in your face and in your back. .
Clemson got stuck with a playin game and still played fiveseed West Virginia to a tie at halftime. If someone was looking to back up Charles Barkley's shot at Greg Anthony that the Big East is overrated, that's a good place to start. .
Everytime I see Bob Huggins on the sideline, I want to recommend Metamucil. .
Morehead StateLouisville tips off on TBS, but how come whenever I flip around, all I get is commercials? .
Speaking of missing everything, how can a Rick Pitino team not score in the first six minutes? .
Nothing's better than Barkley, but the truTV halftime with Matt Winer setting up Seth Davis, Steve Smith and Tom Crean was solid. Good insight, nice pace, like they'd done it before this week. .
If this is as close as Crean was going to get to the tournament, no wonder he and the kids celebrated that home win over Illinois like they'd actually done something. .
Leftover Chinese food works at the first halftime, especially after someone finished off my Italian Wedding soup. Some of the best meatballs I've made, I have to say. .
Butler and Georgetown were told not to bring their bulldogs to their NCAA games. The rule is, schools cannot bring live mascots into the building. Who's the person at Kentucky who breaks the news to Ashley Judd? .
Dalton Pepper had himself a career in 30 seconds. With West Virginia up five over Clemson with 1:43 to go, Pepper twice stole the ball and converted layins. Just like that, it was 8071, West Virginia, with 1:13 left. And then Pepper was taken out. Taken out? Jeez, what does a guy have to do for Bob Huggins? . wholesale nfl jerseys
Early Thursday afternoon. West VirginiaClemson, timeout. ButlerOld Dominion, timeout. Morehead StateLouisville, timeout. New tournament motto: "Watch Every Commercial Live.'' .
As Morehead StateLouisville went to half, the TBS studio show featured Kareem AbdulJabbar with Matt Winer, Steve Smith, Seth Davis and Tom Crean, talking about being responsible for banning the dunk and playing for John Wooden. Crean ask Jabbar what's missing in the college game today. "Its veterans,'' Jabbar said. "Guys who've stayed in the game for four years.'' Nice way of saying the quality of the game has sunk. Yes, and it counts! .
And then, would you look at that: Butler senior Matt Howard grabs a rebound with fourtenths of a second remaining and lays in the winner against Old Dominion. Howard's play followed a shot by a teammate who was falling down and a missed tip by another teammate. Butler does it again thanks to a veritable geezer. Yes, and it counts! .
The CBS postWest VirginiaClemson show still had Charles Barkley calling the Big East overrated. Said the conference needs six of its 11 tournament teams to reach the Sweet 16 for him to be wrong. Raise your hand if you want to hear Kenny Smith and Greg Anthony if the Big East gets there. .