Sports: March Madness

It's that time of year again - the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is underway, and it's probably the most drama-filled sporting event ever, for a number of reasons.

1. Lots and lots of single-elimination games. It's one thing to watch a big game that eventually comes down to the final seconds - it's another thing entirely to watch one close finish after another. Sometimes CBS switches between two close games at the timeouts, which is pretty annoying but undoubtedly makes for great TV for sports fans with short attention spans.

2. These are young guys with a lot of emotion. With professional sports, I think there's invariably a certain detachment with winning or losing - the most you have invested in the affair is how many zeros your paycheck has at the end and how many marketing deals you get. Seeing players puff out their jerseys in pride or hang towels over their heads in anguish adds compelling human interest.

3. It's basketball. In basketball, compared to the other major professional sports, it's common for a big lead to evaporate in a couple of minutes, which keeps games exciting right up to the very end.

The defending champs, the Florida Gators (I've posted about them before), just played a close one with Purdue. They edged out the win, and are now in the Sweet 16. Go Gators!