Arguments That NCAA Basketball is better then NBA Basketball

Basketball is basketball....not always. Both the NCAA brand and the NBA brand have their pros and cons and their own features and benefits. Sure beauty is in the eye of the Beer-holder but it is the subtle differences that give each their own unique feeling. It all comes down to personal preference.

The regular season is very comparable. Both are anti-climatic for most of the good teams where they are just going through the motions because they are assured of being involved in the "post season" of their respective leagues. Tor the lesser known smaller schools every game could become a do or die game if they hope to move to the big dance. Invites are few and far between if you are a mid major or a small school. Same thing in the NBA The Lakers and Cav’s just need to do enough to stay on top of the league or division and try to be healthy enough going into the playoffs, and the weak inconsistent teams like the Raptors need to scratch and claw for everything just to squeak in.

In the NBA they have "Professional Dancers" that do a good job and are very attractive for the most part but that is all they are, dancers. Sure they can shake to Pump It but that is about it.

In the Collage game they have actual cheerleaders. Cheers and pom-poms and all that good stuff. Again personal preference but there is something more wholesome and entertaining about a cheerleader then a dancer.

The NBA plays Pop, R&B and Rock music blasted over the speakers.

The NCAA has school bands that play the fight songs and popular music with the collegiate touch with trombones, trumpets and big drums. When you hear the sounds of the live bands you can feel that collegiate atmosphere which is pretty cool.

NBA Playoffs last some 2+ months and sometimes seem to drag a bit towards the end when you hit late May and games still don’t have an end in sight. The plus at that time is the games are now intense and for the most part the cream has risen to the top and the game is now a showcase for the top tier talent.

The NCAA and the March Madness Tournament is the greatest self contained annual sporting event in the nation. Not only are the games for the most part entertaining but you are assured an 5-12 upset, a Cinderella team or two that comes out of nowhere to win a few games. Shocking last minute shots...some that go in and some that don’t and that is half the fun.

The NBA you see the playoff schedule and it is what it is, you never know when games are going to happen, dates times and locations are all a crap-shoot. It all comes down to the TV networks on how the games are slotted. There could be back to back games or there could be 8 days in-between. It is hard to hold viewers interest in cases like that. Even for the avid fan it can be tough to stay super jazzed.

The NCAA you know the first 2 rounds are the first weekend noon-midnight...wall to wall madness. Sweet 16 and Elite 8 take up Thursday-Sunday. The Final 4 and National Championship games take week 3. You know when and where to find it, you can plan for it, you can just sit back and enjoy it.

The NBA has "playoffs"

The NCAA has cool catch names that draw in fans like The Sweet 16, Elite 8 and Final Four. They just fall a little short with The National Championship Game.

Upsets-A-Plenty

With the first 2 rounds in the book and all the tickets punched to to Sweet 16, this years NCAA tournament may be one of the best ever. There are so many upsets that have happened over the last 4 days of play. There is only one number 1 that has been ousted (Kansas) but there are a lot of mid seeded teams that have been involved in some of the best games best finishes and biggest upsets. If you had a bracket it is likely good for nothing better then a coaster for your beer, but that is good thing.

If your bracket is busted you can just enjoy the greatest self-contained sporting even in the world. You can enjoy the best games for the games themselves regardless of the teams involved. It doesn't matter that you you don't know that Robert Morris and Sam Houston aren't players on one of the teams but actually schools that were actually in the tournament.

The beauty of this tournament is that part of the fun is to root for the underdog or the Cinderella Story. Usually that happens when the low seed faces one of the big boys like Kentucky or Duke. Granted the way this is shaking down there may be other big seeds to fall and if it comes to the point where there is a match up, lets say in the final 4 with 2 teams where there are 2 underdogs facing each other will that affect peoples viewing? can 2 good guys put on a show that people want to watch or does there need to be a Goliath to root against?

The great thing is there is plenty of more games left to find out...Let the Madness continue!!

Road to the Sweet 16

Round 2 of the tournament is in mid swing and the first line up of games were just like the seedings would predict and that made for some games that were never close. The Villanova game for example falls in that category.it wasn’t until the 5pm games that things started to get interesting. The North Carolina Tar Heals had more then their hands full with LSU and may have been forced to use their star guard Lawson more then they would have wanted. I had that game streaming as I have UNC to will it all in my brackets and it is way to early for them to be upset and blow things up for me. The other game that I had streaming was MY Michigan Wolverines. Sure I knew that they were going to loose but as a true fan it is my duty to watch and cheer. They were right there for 3/4 of the game and offered a glimmer of hope for an upset. Unfortunately in the end they fell to the #2 seed Oklahoma. The 3rd game that I had up on the stream was Purdue-Washington..I had Washington in the bracket and that one was the true down to the wire game that screwed up my perfect West region that I had going...jerks.

While all this was going on I managed to have the Ottawa Senators-NY Islanders hockey game audio on and the Toronto Maple Leafs-Montreal Canadiens Game on the TV. Nice to have multi games available on a Saturday night!!

Lakers-Bulls and Vancouver-Coyotes game for the tv and the 12 seeded W. Kentucky-4 seeded Gonzaga and Duke-Texas streamed on the computer. Texas looked like they may have put themselves into a position to become an upset in the making but Duke being Duke managed to beat Texas and sent them home...more times then Leave it to Beaver, reruns. The Gonzaga game was more tournament like...wow that was a wild finish. It is crazy that some of these kids have the mental make-up to execute in some of the pressure situations that they are put into. W. Kentucky was clearly seeded wrong as they may have been one of the best #12 team I have seen in a long time.

March Madness- Time To Bust the Bracket

It is almost that time of the year again when the world of pro sports takes a backseat to the college ranks. Much like New Years day is known for all the college bowl games March is here and it is time to unleash the MADNESS...March Madness that is.

The fun will all start with Selection Sunday only a few days away when we find out who is in, who is out, who got the number 1 seeds and find out where Weber State is. I looked on a map of the US and A and did not see the state of Weber, maybe it is hidden under part of Texas, Texas is pretty big you know.

This is a time for the under dog and the Cinderella team to shine and put their tiny school on the map even if it is only for a few weeks in March. A time where a number 5 seed will fall to that number 12 seed. A time where some unknown kid becomes a household name, where his 15 minutes of fame may be a basket with 0.4 seconds on the clock. A time when we hear things like Sweet 16 Elite 8 and Final Four

It is a time when knowing absolutely nothing about sports or basketball is the best. I know it sounds weird to say but you know it is a fact that the secretary in your office will fill out her (or his) bracket with no idea anything about anything and wind up winning the thing because she likes the colour Baby Blue (this is not an endorsement for the North Carolina Tar Heals, even if there is a good chance they may take it).

It is also that time when those who are die-hard Young and the Restless fans have to suffer through the show to end all shows getting pre-empted for basketball coverage. Sorry to be the barer of bad news but please don’t shoot the messenger. I do feel your pain, but it is only a couple of days and I am sure you can make it few days without finding what is really going to happen between Jack and Victor and the triumphant return of Danny Romalotti and Snapper Foster!

So come Sunday get that bracket printed and engage in the fun of “Busting the Bracket!” it is one of the best events in all of sports.