Quickies: Media madness!

• If there’s one true thing I love in this world, it’s tearing down a common media talking point that gets repeated over and over and over again, and today there’s this: Players at mid-major schools do just as poorly as their major-conference counterparts. Worse, maybe. Good to know we’re all corrupt. [Slate]

• Oh, ESPN Radio. A host reads something that “was sent to him,” passes it off as his own work, and when confronted, responds in all capital letters saying that the website that originally did the site is “whining.” Sigh. [The M Zone]

• The 76ers today finally re-signed Willie Green now that his knee’s all better. He originally had a six-year deal almost all set up, but got injured, and so the 76ers didn’t sign him. Hopefully they can insert him into the lineup ASAP. [AP/Philly.com]

• Aww, my old college buddy Alex Koppelman is growing up! (Note: I think he’s older than me.) Big story about how the new Washington Post conservablogger is a douche, linked by popular blogger Atrios, and he earns al ink from me by bashing Michelle Malkin! Hip hip hooray and such. [Dragonfire]

Blogicized: Sunday ‘Parade’

• If you’re not reading the Sunday Inquirer’s Parade supplement, you’re totally missing out on some tremendous insight. [Wookified]

• No war! Instead, let’s make Mercedes Benz! [All Spin Zone]

• When the Kimmel Center is on Flickr, you know that said particular photosharing application has hit critical mass. [Kimmel Center Blog]

• The Minneapolis bracket matches up two Catholic schools in the Sweet 16, as ‘Nova and BC tangle on Friday. Not just that, but Georgetown’s in the bracket, too! Those heathen Florida Gators will end up advancing to the Final Four, just watch. [The 700 Level]

Images of the NCAA Tournament

Well, the best four days of the year (sports-wise) are over, and hopefully your brackets haven’t fallen apart too much. Let’s recap this in the best way we can; with some goofy images.

I wish I knew which college was hosting this tournament game. It’s just too hard to tell! (And, it’s Oakland University in Michigan, which just makes things even more confusing.)

You might think this was the funniest image from the weekend. And, yeah, it’s amusing, but this trumps it by a million:

“I am a sorcerer. There are those who call me… Adam Morrison. I shall levitate this orb with my mind and put it directly into the basket!”

As an annoying white guy, I’m offended

Sure, if you consider two points on 0-for-6 shooting in a first round loss “ruling,” then, yes, he’s very annoying.

Point Guard Envy [Slate]

The madness continues…

Whew! Yesterday started slow — Seton Hall trailed 70-2, I think, at one point against Wichita State — but we got a double overtime game with Pacific almost pulling the upset over Boston College (in my Final Four, eep) and Tennessee averting the dreaded 15-over-2 upset with an improbable shot with less than a second left.

And, more importantly, I only missed two games yesterday and am currently in first in the office pool. It all kicks off with the matchup everyone’s been waiting for, Davidson vs. Ohio State, at 12:15. In case you missed it yesterday, here’s my guide to following the tourney at work! I’ll be on all day blogging and following the games, so feel free to drop me a line with such observations as “That was a foul?” and “How was that not a foul?” My alma mater plays at 9:50 tonight, again Texas. Yikes.

Yesterday: Following the NCAA Tournament at work (a guide)

Get Glogicized!

Just when you thought the stupid words made because of the Internet couldn’t get any worse, CBS Sportsline comes through:

Glog. GLOG. I think we’ve finally found a word worse than “blogosphere.”

Update: Oh, yeah, I have Wichita State in my pool. They’re up 20 now. And, for liveblogging goodness, Deadspin’s doing a very nice job of it right now.

CBS Sportsline Scoreboard

Following the NCAA Tournament at work (a guide)

Yes, it is the greatest two days of the year. Or at least the greatest two days of the year for schlubs like me who have the option at working from home. It’s the first two days of the NCAA Tournament, and sports junkies and normal people alike are all into it because they could end up winning some cash if some school you’ve never heard of except in NCAA Tournaments (say, UNC-Wilmington) is able to pull off a second-round upset.

And me, I can watch the tournament all day from home! Yes, you jerks, I finally have an advantage over all of you with better jobs, more money, actual girlfriends, &c. And there’s nothing you can do about it! Muah ha ha ha… erhm. Sorry. Gimme a second to straighten my tie.

Okay. Forget that. The NCAA Tournament isn’t about gloating — except after your team hits a game-winning shot — nay, it’s about love and friendship and puppydogs and brackets and basketball! And I think you should share in the fun. Every year some companies — who probably make their employees work on Christmas Eve — release studies about all the productivity lost due to the NCAA Tournament. Wah wah wah. In addition to the polls rarely addressing if the people skipping work to watch the tourney would actually be doing work were they back at their desks, these polls are, uh, evil. I feel that, refreshed from a little bit of basketball watching, Joe Worker returns to his desk and is more productive than ever!

So let me present to you, the first annual Philadelphia Will Do Guide To Following The NCAA Tournament At Work.

• Okay, the easiest and simplest way is to simply find a television in your office. Do you have a conference room with a TV? Schedule a “meeting.” If a boss wonders why you’re being so boisterous, simply say you’re really into pie charts. If you need to get keys or something for reserving a conference room, feel free to bribe the guys who control said keys. Candy is your best bet, but you can also offer to pay the person’s tourney pool entry fee.
• If you don’t have a TV in your office, you can try to skip out for the last few hours of the day. The games don’t start until the afternoon, so if you get to a bar around 1, you won’t have missed that much and you’ll only be missing four hours of work. The usual missing-work excuses can usually be applied for, but I think it’s best to go the straight route when telling your boss you’re leaving: “I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is MORE BASKETBALL!”
• For some of you, that might not be an option. You have to be at your desk. Never fear! There are plenty of ways to watch the Tourney at work. Now, I know some companies have restrictive firewalls that don’t let you visit anything but Official Corporate Sites™. There are ways around that. The blog Boing Boing was recently blocked by some filtering software, and they’ve set up a way to get around these blocks. If you can’t get any of that to work, try bribing your IT guy. If bribing doesn’t work, try this: “Hey, Gary, I heard Bob say that Windows ME was the greatest, bug-free operating system of all time.” While Gary spends the next two hours beating Bob over the head with a keyboard, sneak into his desk and disable the firewall. I assume there’s some sort of button for that, right? (Note: This only works if your IT guys are named Gary and Bob.)
• That being said, this year you can actually watch the tournament on your computer. The NCAA has set up the free March Madness on Demand, a video player that will stream all the games online. This is free. And, unlike a lot of Internet video sites, it works on Firefox on Mac. I know; I’m shocked, too. If you’ve already signed up, you’re a “VIP” and you don’t have to wait (apparently), but you will have to wait in a “line” if you’re just registering now. But, I mean, come on, that’s a small price to pay.
• If you’re tired of waiting in line, don’t have video capabilities, &c., you can simply follow the scores online. (Don’t yell, “GO BUCKNELL!” too loud in your cubicle.) There are tons of sites that stream real-time scores, stats, even play-by-play. Here are some links to scoreboards:
  • Yahoo! Sports
  • CBS Sportsline
  • CSTV
  • SI.com
  • For general hoops madness, check out The Mid-Majority, the best college basketball site on the web. TMM also features the Adam Morrison Rating, that shows how well other players in the nation would do if given the number of shots the Gonzaga star gets. Maybe this will make him shave his mustache. (Disclosure: The founder of TMM once bought me drinks.) Other fantastic sites are Ken Pomeroy’s, yocohoops.com and Big Ten Wonk. And, you know, if you’re really abitious, go read Basketball U.’s Ivy League section, which is such a good site it’s employed me for the past two years.

So there you have it. It all kicks off at 12:20 p.m. EST when Seton Hall takes on Wichita State. (The latter will win.) May the ball bounce the right way for your alma mater and may your bracket be perfect, but not as perfect as mine.