It’s that time of year again. Office pools and brackets on cubicle walls… streaming games and Cinderella stories…bragging rights and ‘fun units’ to wager with. Yes, it’s NCAA Tourney time.
For a few minutes this afternoon, I started drafting a post about the deterioration of the fundamentals in professional basketball, with its dunks and SportsCenter highlight-seeking passes over basketball basics. But it was half plagiarism, half lack of motivation that kept me from it. So instead, I will just let you know that I’m looking forward to watching hard working players get back to basic skills and elements of the game over the next week. Three-point shooting, communication, strong defense, grabbing rebounds- and above all team spirit.
Frankly- I love this stuff, and I have no problem with letting you know that I track the tournament like most two-week-out-of-the-year-fans. It’s good to see the White House candidates are also making time for the important things:
March Madness: McCain Ponders, Clinton Passes, Obama Picks UNC
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama is picking the University of North Carolina to win the national college basketball championship, John McCain was working on his tournament bracket last night in London and Hillary Clinton told reporters she needs to check with her sage, Bill Clinton.
The former president, perhaps cognizant of the voters' passions for home-state teams -- including politically important ones in North Carolina, Indiana and Pennsylvania -- is taking a pass.
The intensity of the presidential race hasn't left the campaigns immune to ``March Madness.'' They are joining millions of Americans in following the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, a yearly ritual that that costs employers an estimated $1.7 billion in lost productivity.
``Even with the rigors of a presidential campaign, there is time for March Madness,'' said Jen Psaki, an Obama spokeswoman.
Republican candidate John McCain is running his own bracket pool, letting supporters guess winners in the 64-team tournament as they compete for campaign memorabilia. In accordance with McCain's opposition to gambling on college athletics, first place gets a McCain 2008 fleece.
McCain's bracket was to be unveiled on his Web site today before the tournament tips off at noon.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, when asked about her picks for the Final Four teams, deferred to the most famous graduate of Georgetown University, whose highly ranked Hoyas are playing tomorrow.
`Basketball Adviser'
``Oh gosh, I don't know,'' she said at a campaign stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on March 18. ``I have to consult with my basketball adviser, my husband.''
Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president, said, ``We're going to pass.'' Obama's choice of North Carolina, the tournament favorite, won't hurt him in that state's May 6 primary.
The candidates don't have the chance to root for their own schools. Clinton, 60, got her undergraduate degree at all-women Wellesley College. Obama's alma mater, Columbia University, hasn't sent a team to an NCAA tournament since 1968. The U.S. Naval Academy, where McCain graduated in 1958, hasn't participated in 10 years.
Home States
Neither do the three senators have much opportunity to cheer for home-state teams. The tournament has none from Illinois for Obama; Clinton's New York is represented by Cornell University and Siena College, both rated long shots; and the University of Arizona finished fifth in the Pac-10 conference and was one of the last teams to make the tournament.
Instead, the candidates can take a more political approach
As Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, put it when asked who his boss is pulling for: ``The correct answer is Pitt,'' as in the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, one of four teams in the tournament from Pennsylvania, where voters go to the polls in a crucial primary April 22.
An enterprising candidate could almost build an all- Pennsylvania Final Four by including St. Joseph's and Villanova universities while being forced to chose between Pitt and Temple University, which are slated to meet in the second round.
Or with an eye on the general election, it may be wise to fill a Final Four with other swing-state contenders like Florida's University of Miami, Virginia's George Mason University, and Ohio's Kent State and Xavier universities.
Reggie Love
Obama, 46, made his picks on a flight yesterday from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Charlotte after Reggie Love, a campaign staffer who played on Duke University's 2001 national championship team, passed out brackets on the plane.
A proficient basketball player himself, Obama has made a campaign habit of pre-election games after playing with friends on the day of the Iowa caucuses, which he won, and passing up a game on the day of the New Hampshire primary, which he lost.
``It really relaxes him,'' said Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a regular participant and Obama backer. ``We don't talk politics. We just play ball and get a good sweat in.''
Along with the backing of Giannoulias, 32, who played on Boston University's 1997 national tournament team, Obama has been endorsed by former Ohio State University center Greg Oden, who led his team to last year's championship game and was the No. 1 pick in the National Basketball Association draft.
Love's Duke teammate, the 2001 tournament's Most Outstanding Player and current Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier, 29, is also an Obama backer. He's given $2,300 to the campaign, campaign finance records show.
Magic's for Hillary
Magic Johnson, 48, who played on Michigan State's 1979 championship team, has also given $2,300 to Obama, though he has endorsed Clinton and given her the federal maximum of $4,600.
For North Carolina's primary, a key endorsement could be that of Dean Smith, the University of North Carolina basketball coach who won two NCAA championships during a 36-year career.
Smith gave $4,400 to the campaign of former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, a Tarheels season-ticket holder who once last year jokingly threatened to throw a reporter off his campaign bus in Iowa when he learned the journalist was a Georgetown fan; Georgetown beat North Carolina in overtime in last year's regional finals.
The demands of campaigning take a toll on being able to watch the tournament. Love, 25, who predicts another championship for his school, will miss tonight's Duke game. He'll be flying with Obama to Oregon.
For a few minutes this afternoon, I started drafting a post about the deterioration of the fundamentals in professional basketball, with its dunks and SportsCenter highlight-seeking passes over basketball basics. But it was half plagiarism, half lack of motivation that kept me from it. So instead, I will just let you know that I’m looking forward to watching hard working players get back to basic skills and elements of the game over the next week. Three-point shooting, communication, strong defense, grabbing rebounds- and above all team spirit.
Frankly- I love this stuff, and I have no problem with letting you know that I track the tournament like most two-week-out-of-the-year-fans. It’s good to see the White House candidates are also making time for the important things:
March Madness: McCain Ponders, Clinton Passes, Obama Picks UNC
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama is picking the University of North Carolina to win the national college basketball championship, John McCain was working on his tournament bracket last night in London and Hillary Clinton told reporters she needs to check with her sage, Bill Clinton.
The former president, perhaps cognizant of the voters' passions for home-state teams -- including politically important ones in North Carolina, Indiana and Pennsylvania -- is taking a pass.
The intensity of the presidential race hasn't left the campaigns immune to ``March Madness.'' They are joining millions of Americans in following the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, a yearly ritual that that costs employers an estimated $1.7 billion in lost productivity.
``Even with the rigors of a presidential campaign, there is time for March Madness,'' said Jen Psaki, an Obama spokeswoman.
Republican candidate John McCain is running his own bracket pool, letting supporters guess winners in the 64-team tournament as they compete for campaign memorabilia. In accordance with McCain's opposition to gambling on college athletics, first place gets a McCain 2008 fleece.
McCain's bracket was to be unveiled on his Web site today before the tournament tips off at noon.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, when asked about her picks for the Final Four teams, deferred to the most famous graduate of Georgetown University, whose highly ranked Hoyas are playing tomorrow.
`Basketball Adviser'
``Oh gosh, I don't know,'' she said at a campaign stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on March 18. ``I have to consult with my basketball adviser, my husband.''
Matt McKenna, a spokesman for the former president, said, ``We're going to pass.'' Obama's choice of North Carolina, the tournament favorite, won't hurt him in that state's May 6 primary.
The candidates don't have the chance to root for their own schools. Clinton, 60, got her undergraduate degree at all-women Wellesley College. Obama's alma mater, Columbia University, hasn't sent a team to an NCAA tournament since 1968. The U.S. Naval Academy, where McCain graduated in 1958, hasn't participated in 10 years.
Home States
Neither do the three senators have much opportunity to cheer for home-state teams. The tournament has none from Illinois for Obama; Clinton's New York is represented by Cornell University and Siena College, both rated long shots; and the University of Arizona finished fifth in the Pac-10 conference and was one of the last teams to make the tournament.
Instead, the candidates can take a more political approach
As Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, put it when asked who his boss is pulling for: ``The correct answer is Pitt,'' as in the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, one of four teams in the tournament from Pennsylvania, where voters go to the polls in a crucial primary April 22.
An enterprising candidate could almost build an all- Pennsylvania Final Four by including St. Joseph's and Villanova universities while being forced to chose between Pitt and Temple University, which are slated to meet in the second round.
Or with an eye on the general election, it may be wise to fill a Final Four with other swing-state contenders like Florida's University of Miami, Virginia's George Mason University, and Ohio's Kent State and Xavier universities.
Reggie Love
Obama, 46, made his picks on a flight yesterday from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Charlotte after Reggie Love, a campaign staffer who played on Duke University's 2001 national championship team, passed out brackets on the plane.
A proficient basketball player himself, Obama has made a campaign habit of pre-election games after playing with friends on the day of the Iowa caucuses, which he won, and passing up a game on the day of the New Hampshire primary, which he lost.
``It really relaxes him,'' said Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a regular participant and Obama backer. ``We don't talk politics. We just play ball and get a good sweat in.''
Along with the backing of Giannoulias, 32, who played on Boston University's 1997 national tournament team, Obama has been endorsed by former Ohio State University center Greg Oden, who led his team to last year's championship game and was the No. 1 pick in the National Basketball Association draft.
Love's Duke teammate, the 2001 tournament's Most Outstanding Player and current Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier, 29, is also an Obama backer. He's given $2,300 to the campaign, campaign finance records show.
Magic's for Hillary
Magic Johnson, 48, who played on Michigan State's 1979 championship team, has also given $2,300 to Obama, though he has endorsed Clinton and given her the federal maximum of $4,600.
For North Carolina's primary, a key endorsement could be that of Dean Smith, the University of North Carolina basketball coach who won two NCAA championships during a 36-year career.
Smith gave $4,400 to the campaign of former North Carolina Senator John Edwards, a Tarheels season-ticket holder who once last year jokingly threatened to throw a reporter off his campaign bus in Iowa when he learned the journalist was a Georgetown fan; Georgetown beat North Carolina in overtime in last year's regional finals.
The demands of campaigning take a toll on being able to watch the tournament. Love, 25, who predicts another championship for his school, will miss tonight's Duke game. He'll be flying with Obama to Oregon.
