It's here. The Madness is here. Sixty-four teams competing for the championship. Well, actually there were sixty-five teams this year.
On Tuesday, Northwestern State and Winthrop were given a chance to play for the final spot in the Tournament. Northwestern State won and now awaits defeat at the hands of the #1 seed in the Midwest, Illinois. The other number one seeds are Michigan St., Stanford, and Duke.
Already there were some upsets in the early games yesterday. In its first March Madness appearance in 31 years, 12th-seeded Utah State upended the fourth seed, Ohio State, 77-68, in overtime. Georgia State erased a 16 point second half deficit to defeat sixth-seeded Wisconsin as well. Both Maryland and Kentucky gave fans and gamblers a huge scare, eking out slight victories over their lesser talented opponents, George Mason and Holy Cross, respectively.
Out of the four number one seeds it seems that Duke, after barely slipping by Maryland and blowing out North Carolina in the ACC tournament, has the easiest road to the Final Four. UCLA could be a tough opponent in a sweet sixteen game - having won its first round contest, 61-48, over Hofstra yesterday - but it seems unlikely that the Bruins, #2 Kentucky, or #3 Boston College, could beat the Blue Devils.
The most competitive bracket appears to be the South. With Michigan St., UNC, Florida, and Oklahoma as the top four seeds, it will be interesting to see who emerges. In the West, Stanford, after a 28-2 season, has to be the favorite. And the way the bracket is scheduled, the Cardinal would not have to leave the state of California until reaching the Final Four.
This week Sports Illustrated reported that Michael Jordan is strongly considering coming back to play next year for the Washington Wizards, of which he is a part owner. Jordan and his agent promptly denied the story. However, the day after the article appeared in SI, Charles Barkley said he too, was considering making a comeback for Washington.
At 48-16, the Philadelphia 76ers own the NBA's best record. However, probable MVP Allen Iverson left Sunday's game against the Boston Celtics with a bruised left hip. He missed Wednesday's game against the Chicago Bulls and is questionable for tonight's game against the talented and well-balanced Sacramento Kings.
The Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant is also questionable for upcoming games this week. He missed Tuesday's game against Boston due to a viral infection. Through Wednesday, the Lakers were one game back on the Kings in the Pacific division.
Spring Training has never been so hard to watch as it is right now for Boston Red Sox fans. Through Wednesday, the Sox had the worst spring record in the majors at 3-12. But even more painful are the injuries. Nomar Garciaparra has not yet played due to a right wrist injury. On Tuesday, veteran pitcher David Cone took himself out of a game after one inning with soreness in his right shoulder. On Wednesday, Manny Ramirez took himself left a game with a hamstring strain, and Jose Offerman is recovering from a sprained groin. Though none of the injuries appear to be serious, all of them are at least a little upsetting. But then again it wouldn't be springtime in Boston if there were nothing to worry about. The curse of the Bambino holds strong.
It now appears that Gary Sheffield will not be traded away from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Earlier this month, he demanded to be traded because the Dodgers were unwilling to give him a contract extension. He has now rescinded his trade demand and on Tuesday had a closed door meeting with teammates in order to clear the air.
