by Jeff Kammann
I'm really happy that the NCAA Basketball Tournament is starting today, which is no surprise to those who know me. I've been looking forward to it for months, and barely slept last night, like a 5 year old waiting for Christmas morning. My alma mater, Villanova, is in it this year, which gives it a little extra juice. And although the overall talent has been eroded in the past few years because of the NBA luring the best players away with giant wads of cash (and who can blame them), there's something inherently pure about a bunch of kids giving their all to win the championship for their school. They're not doing it for money, fame, or an endorsement deal. Well, most of them aren't, since 98% of them won't make it to the NBA. The focus isn't on the stats, the dunks, or the contract disputes; this tournament is all about teamwork. Yeah, I know I'm starting to sound like a cliché, but it's true. And there's a chance for an upset in almost every game, which is something that you don't see all that much. Unfortunately, the "team" concept is a rarity in organized sports.
Instead, if you check the news and listen to sports radio, it seems everyone is focusing on a handful of bloated, jacked-up baseball players who are testifying in front of Congress today concerning the steroid abuse problem in major league baseball. It irks me to no end that our government not only decided to waste everyone's time with this nonsense, but they're holding the hearings on the first day of the greatest tournament in all of sports. They're investigating a corporation of about 700 people, who are basically playing a game for entertainment purposes, to see if they cheated to increase their performance, and thus increase their paychecks. So what? It's like sending subpoenas to Julia Roberts and Renee Zellweger to find out if they got breast enhancement surgery to help them win their Oscars--a huge problem plaguing the entertainment industry. So what is this fact-finding mission going to prove? If people are harming their bodies in the long run with these performance enhancing drugs, is the government going to hold baseball financially responsible? Morally responsible? What can they possibly accomplish, besides getting a photo opportunity? The most ridiculous thing is they're not even questioning the biggest offender (in every definition of the term), Barry Bonds, about why his head is now bigger than Mr. Met's. So what's the point?
The point is that I've just about had it up to HERE with major league sports. And I'm not watching that crap today because I really don't care, and as a result I may not even watch baseball at all this year. For me, today isn't about a single player, a needle, or a tainted home run record. For me, today is all about the 64 teams that are trying to win the NCAA men's college basketball tournament.
Oh, and I'd be remiss if I didn't say . . . Let's Go Nova!!!