March Madness Marches to Motown

Today, March 16th, is one of the least productive days in offices across America. Why? People are swept up in the giddiness that is filling out brackets for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament a.k.a March Madness. Who do you have in the Final Four? Do you have Michigan State winning it all? How about Michigan surprising everyone (including themselves) and dancing into the Sweet 16? Should I pick Siena over Ohio State as an upset even though Ohio State is practically playing a home game (only an hour from Columbus)? Which 12 Seed will beat a 5 (I pick Western Kentucky over Illinois)? It's just a lot of fun to fill out a bracket (or two) for the office pool or go against your friends online at any number of sites now hosting bracket pools.

This is the first time since 1998 that both Michigan and Michigan State have been in The Big Dance. That was back when my beloved alma mater, Western Michigan, was an 11 Seed and upset 6 Seed Clemson. I was interning at an accounting firm in Coldwater and some fellow Western alums and I ran across the street to the local bar when the final minutes were ticking off the clock and Western was still in it. Hey, you know who Michigan plays in the first round? Number 7 Seed Clemson. There's your random bit of meaningless trivia for today.

The Final Four is in Detroit and that is not only great news for Detroit, it's great news for our entire state. With bad news piling up quicker than Michigan State's Goran Suton picks up fouls this will be a nice distraction in the newspapers. It will also give the Detroit economy a brief (but necessary) boost with hotels, restaurants, and other local businesses reaping the benefits of the national spotlight and fans.

This week's poll question deals with March Madness so without further ado, vote!

[poll id="20"]

In preparation of March Madness

The clock is ticking towards the first tipoff today at 12:20 when Xavier takes on Georgia. 32 games of college basketball await over the next two days. I'll be cheering on Michigan State since my beloved Western Michigan Broncos lost in the MAC tournament and didn't get the automatic bid to the Big Dance. Get ready for all of the excitement at my March Madness page via Squidoo. You can watch highlights of last year's tournament, get last minute tips on filling out your bracket, and find tickets to some of the upcoming games (Detroit is home to one of the regionals this year).

Let the madness begin!

March Madness is coming

March is a time for changing our clocks, changing seasons from winter to spring, and watching lots of college basketball. The 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament (aka March Madness) kicks off with a "play in" game on Monday, March 12. The real action starts on March 15 (Beware the Ides of March) with more games than there is time to watch them. Hopefully we'll see Tom Izzo and the MSU Spartans make it into the "Big Dance." It would be nice to have at least one team from Michigan make it in.

For all kinds of tournament information, video highlights from the 2006 tournament, tips on how to fill out your brackets, and the lowdown on how to watch the first 56 tournament games live on the internet for free head over to www.squidoo.com/March-Madness-Basketball/.