With February in the rearview mirror, it’s finally time for one of the top sporting months on the calendar.
Its premier event doesn’t begin until 10 a.m. MST on March 15, which is roughly 320 hours from the time this coffee-induced on-deadline column was written – not that I’m counting or anything.
The first four days of this let’s call it ‘Madness’ have already been booked off for my annual celebration.
In preparation, I’ve actually been watching basketball recently, too.
I even PVRed and skimmed through the sore excuse for a dunk contest during the NBA All-Star festivities last weekend.
I had never heard of the four entrants, however, and only two of the dunks were anywhere near original (the barstool double dunk and the glow-in-the-dark, for the 23 other people who watched).
The NBA has a stipulation that dunk contest entrants have to be within the first three years of their careers.
This league has long been a non-factor as far as my daily life goes, so I don’t really care, but that rule is beyond incomprehensible.
Only the most devout NBA fans had previously heard of Jeremy Evans, the winner, Chase Budinger, Paul Jones and Derrick Williams.
This event used to be a must-see, when players like Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter ruled the league — people who other people outside the NBA’s inner circle have actually heard of.
If the league had any sense of becoming relevant again in the mainstream-sporting world, it would have featured its top stars like LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin, regardless of their advanced experience, previous dunk contest wins, or even their willingness to participate.
I’m told this league had a lockout at the start of its regular season. As far as I’m concerned, it should have continued.
Back to March’s upcoming big dance. I’m talking about the Alberta 3A and 4A high school provincials taking place in Lethbridge starting on March 15, where area teams such as the George McDougall girls and the Chestermere Lakers boys should have a good chance to come out on top. I wish these teams the best of luck.
But I’m also talking about one of my favourite sporting events of the year – the annual NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship, aka March Madness, which also begins on March 15.
The initial four days of the tournament are the best, with its buzzer-beater shots, teams you’ve never heard of (and have no idea where they’re from) producing upsets, and, of course, the brackets.
For me it also means taking four days off of work to watch sports.
