Running 2018 college rings postseason thread

This is me - after Sunday - just substitute bracket for division.

4 Sweet 16, 1 Final Four, No winner.

 

Jordan Peele hilariously accepted congratulatory messages meant for Jordan Poole

 

Is Kentucky the only team remaining that was named in the Yahoo! stories connected to the Scandal of the Century in Which Nobody Really Knows What the Fuck is Going On?

Cal's tournament runs are always tentative after the fact anyway, so it seems like the supposed black cloud hanging over the start of the tournament has kind of dissipated.

 

Mitch Richmond played at Moberly (Mo.) Area Junior College in the old barn of a gym. About one foot of space along the baselines and about the same on the sidelines, plus a balcony that damn near leaned over the court. One of the biggest homecourt advantages in juco ball. They built a modern gym about 10 years ago and haven't been back to Hutch since.

 

Now that we have a chance to catch our breath:

The NCAA Tournament - much like the NFL season - is a reminder to me of how closely the future of spectator sports is tied to gambling. In our ADHD world, that seems to be the one thing that draws eyeballs and interest from casual sports fans that would have been invested sports fans in a prior era. With so many entertainment options available, people need skin in the game to care.

 

The NCAA tournament is also an exception to the general gambling rule that simple to stupid wagers drive out more difficult ones. State lotteries are one reason horse racing (handicapping is hard!!!) has faded, though not the only one of course. Everybody who does a bracket knows it's just as hard, but they do it anyway. The thrill is clearly not in the idea of winning, hardly anyone ever does. And as the tourney thread has shown here year in and year out, people take a weird sort of pride in their busted brackets, too. It's a gambling oddity.
PS: The brackets play into this, but it's not the only reason that the first two rounds of the tournament are the most fun. In terms of entertainment, the best story of this year is already done with UMBC out. As the field narrows down to the usual suspects who win, my interest declines accordingly, even if, as has happened but not this year, I have a live bracket with a chance of winning money.

 

I've seen quite a bit of promotion for "second chance" brackets, in which people select the Sweet 16 forward.

I really enjoy the Tournament from here forward, for various reasons. More NBA-level talent. Higher stakes. And, frankly, just easier to keep track of.

But I realize that most casual fans will now check out. The upsets and brackets are a big part of the early-round interest, but it's also just a four-day frenzy of basketball on, all the time. That's fun, too.

 

I think that last is a lot of it. I know a few folks who've covered the NAIA tourney in Kansas City and they said it was an exhausting total blast.

 

Was at the bar Saturday sitting next to a dude who took Seton Hall to cover against Kansas. He won $5K on a meaningless 3 to end the game then bought a round of shots. Gambling indeed.

 

Pretty much the same here. Got three of the final four and only missed two of the 12 games in the East Region.
The other three regions -- combined -- I have one team (Kansas) still standing.

 

The first two rounds is easily the best sports weekend of the year. There are so many games, so much craziness, so many storylines. There is nothing like it.