OCR Text |
Show Daily Utah Chronicle Wednesday, March 3, 2004 Going crazy with March Madness and spring fever Tye Smith Sports Writer My head hurts. I have been .waiting too long and I think Im going crazy. The sun is .out but the snow tells us that winter isn't over yet, and if I have to wait another day for college basketball's postseason, I might spontaneously combust. For those of you unclear on the nature of spontaneous combustion, it's a rare phenomenon that happens to cows when their fart gases build up inside of them until a random spark makes them blow up. That's what might happen to me. I have fallen victim to the cruel minds of the NCAA, who long ago decided to hold its tournament in early March. The brilliant formula attracted untold legions of fans, but brought with it dire consequences as well. The dangerous combination of waiting for the annual sports junkie's bonanza, the NCAA Tournament, combined with the desperate hope for spring, have been enough to drive me crazy. I am suffering from March Madness, and the only cure is just weeks away! There are many reasons that this particular spring sea- son has me feeling more insane than usual. Not only are we in the midst of one of the most competitive basketball seasons of all time, and not only did we just survive one of the most brutal winters in the history of Utah, but there are still two undefeated teams with just a week to go before the conference tournaments. The great thing is that both of the undefeated teams (Stanford and St. Joe's) suck, which means the field is wide open, and anyone can win, even the i v immm 'X'r r .A r U (just joking we all saw the game against BYU). Yes, things couldn't be more exciting in the world, but the anticipation is actually getting painful. It's like some kind of twisted disease has wrapped itself around my head, squeezing rationality out the window while sucking in the fumes of the dirty melting snow. I want to play golf, but the snow won't let me. I want to watch the NCAA Tournament, but it doesn't start for two weeks. I don't want to do homework, even though it's the one thing I could do right now, and God knows I have plenty of it. j once-prou- d 0, , t 3 m , likely. Will there a be a 16 seed that will defeat one of these national champion wannabes, or will it take an 8 or 9 seed to take them down? Will one of them make it to the Sweet Sixteen, and if so, how embarrassingly will they lose? vAfter the two undefeateds have finally lost (in whatever early round it might end up being), who will ultimately win the tournament? So many questions to answer, and so much time before it's finally here. This year's tourney should be one of the best ever if I don't explode first. tsmithchronicle.utah.edu f with Greyhound is the easy. 7 fare ) affordable way to travel for Spring Break. lEIIIIIG IUI I 13 tlr- - Tl chum muoudy And with your I $ Gonzaga. Like I already said, who cares if you beat the Zags? bracket-busters Sure, they've been in the past, but this year they are primed to get their own bracket busted by a as15 seed in the first round 2 No. a seed, are suming they which at the moment seems - i Q&A first-roun- But this spring fever thing has stunted my thought process. I can no longer absorb ideas that are unrelated to the sun or basketball. (If this column loses coherence at any point, simply take it as an example of my condition.) No. i Stanford (an awesome school on the West Coast you never could have gotten into) i 4 and No. 2 St Joseph's (an East Coast school you've undoubtedly never heard of, or at least never cared about) are standing on the brink of accomplishing something that hasn't ever happened in college basketball: two teams finishing the season undefeated. And despite my sarcastic quips about the two schools, it will be fun to watch which one loses first in the NCAA tournament. That's right, as I mentioned earlier, both of these teams are an embarrassment to the national ranking system. Stanford's biggest win of the year was against Gonzaga (another d upset waiting to which plays in one happen), of the worst conferences in all of basketball. Plus, this year was a horrendous year for the PAC-1further runof the reducing meaning ning the table in that division. St. Joe's is in a similar position. It plays in a poor conference, and again its biggest claim to fame is that it beat howl Ninht'; Student Advantage - Discount Card, you can x save off regular 15 Greyhound fares. Buses are rolling 247 to hundreds of popular V'""'"'"""""-- " XY Spring Break destinations so make your plans today. GREAT SEATS STILL AVAILABLE! GREYHOUND or visit the Kingsbury Hall e Ticket Office, the University Union Desk or order at www.arttix.org or Call Einvfesli ARTS feHfS Visit greyhound.com or call WESTAF 'Some Cart) This project received funding from the Washington State Arts Commission; WESTAF, Western States Arts Federation; and the National Endowment for the Arts. OHcount restrvWu tnd tmttatiora twv apply Student fcMntage StuOv AcfwMgt. Inc. n a tgiatenM Mann and pnxtid Dacounts bnad on cuwM often and aw subpd to cftanga u " N v" ; - T A X) E D I' I - ? Cole Cannon Nate Terry Natalie Blomquist Increase traditions and school spirit through the Midnight Muss and other events. We can't believe tJiey used our logo for this stunt EVERYDAY STUDENTS DEALING WITH EVERYDAY ISSUES. Begin construction of the Student Recreation Center; weights, aerobics, track, swimming, courts, and wellness center. Spearhead a campus-wid- e recycling program and rejuvenate grounds on IT'S ABOUT TIME! campus. Bolster Unity through better programming and a leadership council. Did you know that the U. of Montana brought Pearl Jam? It's our turn to go big! book exchange; way cheaper! Cheaper used books through an of class availability and etc. Expansion the 5 Years of combined ASUU experience (4 years elected). They know how to get the job done, and done right! on-camp- us d, Vote online at www.UNITED2004.com |