JJ Says: March Madness affects everyone old enough to fill out a bracket

<p>I am not a big fan of college basketball, and even a less of a fan of pro basketball.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>The pro game has deteriorated into a one-on-one showcase. About the only time an NBA player gives up the ball is when he loses his head-to-head duel with a defender and is forced to pass. I appreciate the athleticism of the pro players, but I prefer a team game.</p><p>College basketball is more to my liking, but there is still too much standing around waiting to feed a big bully underneath the basket or kick it out to some gunner with the accuracy of a smart bomb. The college game does get exciting when the teams start running, and any game, college or pro, can grab you when it gets down to the final two minutes. </p><p>Still, I prefer the high school game. Compared to the NBA and college game, high school basketball is perpetual motion and perpetual energy. In many respects, it is a different game.</p><p>That being said, I must admit that I am not immune to March Madness. It is truly special. Every game is an elimination game, and no team holds anything back. It is great fun and a great display of athleticism. The players are not playing for the pro draft; they are playing for their teammates and their schools.</p><p>It is not just the basketball, it is also all the hoopla and pageantry around the tournament. It should be more appropriately called March Marathon Madness. The announcement of the bracket is an all-day affair. The bracket pre-game show rivals the Super Bowl pre-game nonsense, with every former coach and player chiming in on who will and who will not make the field and where they will be bracketed.</p><p>After the brackets are announced, those same pundits explain exactly who will win every game.</p><p>The entire country is involved. Games are played every where from Providence, R.I., to San Jose with way stations in places like Oklahoma City and Jacksonville.</p><p>Of course, where teams play has no relationship to where they are from. I could never quite understand the logic. It seems more reasonable to have West Coast teams playing in the West regional, Midwest teams in the Midwest regional and so on. Lower-ranked teams might be forced to travel, but at least top-rated teams would get some sort of geographical break. But, what the heck, it is March Madness.</p><p>Then there is the whole under-world culture of gambling. We're not talking about Las Vegas sports books. With the exception of Super Bowl boards, there is probably no bigger betting event in the country than the NCAA men's tournament. </p><p>It is the biggest winked-at illegal activity since Prohibition was repealed. Almost every office has a bracket pool going. People who don't know Kansas from Winthrop are reading synopsis of teams in hopes of winning a mini-lottery.</p><p>That is exactly what the NCAA bracket is — a lottery. A second-grade teacher has as good a chance of coming up with the correct final four as a basketball coach. </p><p>If you need a little help, here's the way I see things: </p><p>Midwest: Not only is Kansas the most talented team in the nation, they are in, arguably, the least competitive region in the tournament.</p><p>West: This is one of those gut things, but I like Kansas State. It has the talent, and I have a feeling Syracuse is overrated.</p><p>East: Kentucky's 32-2 record is legitimate. Enough said.</p><p>South: Anyone with common sense would pick Duke, but I really liked what I saw from Notre Dame in the 15 minutes I watched them play on television.</p><p>So, as they say, there is your lock for the final four: Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky and Notre Dame. That's as far as I go. </p><p>It is a stretch to say that Petalumans will be skipping work to watch Xavier play Minnesota or that they will have to put on extra help at Beyond the Glory to handle the fans, but March Madness is a local issue, affecting every man, woman and CYO player old enough to dribble and mature enough to wager a quarter.</p><p>Please bracketize responsibly. </p><p>(Contact John Jackson at acsports@arguscourier.com)</p>