The Big Ten Tourney is next and MSU is jockeying for seeding in the top four lines. A good showing could mean a solid 3 seed and depending on what happens elsewhere a BTT Title could lead to another 2 seed (MSU is 10-1 as a 2 seed in the Tourney). I cannot wait for Thursday to get here – in the meantime I guess I’ll just have to get my fill of all the other Conference Tournaments and Championship games.

Now – a quick word why this was just a short note: In a few moments I will be heading to Historic Fordson High School in Dearborn to watch our own Coach Jimmy engage his battle tested Allen Park Jaguars in his first High School Playoff game as HC of the hometown Jags. Sam is meeting me there and we will rep the “Tourney Trip APHS Boys Hoops Booster Club” in Coach Jimmy’s first District game. It’s March – even for Jimmy – Go Jags!

5. Niagara Falls – While not located in Buffalo, NY, Buffalo is the closest major city to Niagara Falls. I’m not sure if we will get the chance to see this. I believe a few guys of the trip have already seen Niagara Falls, but I have not. Even if we do a drive by on the way into town, it’d be pretty neat.

4. Rick James – Yes, everybody’s favorite David Chapelle parody, Rick James, was born in Buffalo, NY. Some other no talent ass clowns were as well, including the Goo Goo Dolls (wtf?), and 4790324,84032 Maniacs. This is actually a pretty crappy #4 out of a top five. I wanted to put that Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as president after William McKinley was shot, but that’s kind of messed up too. We’ll skip number 4 with the advisory that Buffalo is a working class city, and is not very showy, which means all of the TMZ celebrity bullshit that would make up a random Top Five list doesn’t really make it’s way into town. That’s a good thing for five beer drinking will be weary travelers like ourselves.

3. SPORTZ – Buffalo, NY is home to the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, the NHL’s Buffalo Sabers, and to Division 1 Canisius. I once tried to play Canisius in a Playstation 2 basketball dynasty when we lived in the stink house. It was too hard to figure out how to shoot, and the dynasty was quickly scrapped. The Griffin on the home floor is really large, and equally as sweet.

2. Food – Food, and specifically, buffalo wings. Wings were created in this city. As far as we can tell, they were originated at The Anchor Bar, in Buffalo. Their website talks a lot about it, and I guess that it’s pretty important. All I care is they have like 10 Tv’s and a dozen of their special creation so we can watch basketball. Trip traveling organization has us arriving in town on Thursday, hopefully sometime in the early afternoon. We may be tracking this place down sooner or later. Note should be made that Buffalo has a lot riding on its shoulders as a city after the letdown of Philly, and its gross bunmeat sandwich. The website has a bunch of dumb motor cycles and signs on it, so I’m not going to get my hopes up too far.

1. THE TOURNAMENT – Fucking Duh. 1st and 2nd rounds, Friday and Sunday. I’m flying across the country. We’re going through another country. Buffalo, NY will house us for 5 days. Decent odds on seeing a few teams we follow. BYU is off the list due to the Friday / Sunday configuration. It’s the first weekend of the tournament, and we’ll be on the town with a handfull of duckets, and stars in our eyes. The Tourney Coat is being cleaned, the Colonel’s suit will be pressed and bagged.

March Madness is a term for the masses. It’s goal is to create a froth of Johnny Come-lately for three weeks in March. Everybody will fill out three brackets, half of them will be trashed after the first weekend, and some soccer mom will win a random pool of loot for something she knows nothing about.

I question the term “Madness” because, to me, it is a symphony. There is nothing mad about it.

64 teams lace them up in perfect harmony. 64 goes to 32 goes to 16 goes to 8 goes to 4 goes to 2 goes to 1. Each team receives a seed, based on their seasons work. Then, each team plays the game. If you want to advance, you win. If you want to win, you have to play better than the other team. Doesn’t mean you ARE better than another team. Just means you have to show up on that day in order to advance. Survival of the willingest.

Simply slating a random team on a bracket line demeans the effort that has been put forth by 300+ teams over the last 4+ months. It means more than what people will make of it. Bus rides and late nights, and hotels and buffets and practices, those damn practices. Sprained ankles and concussions and hamstring tweaks and bone bruses. Some guy is going to pick Richmond to hit up the sweet sixteen this year in his bracket and feel pretty good about it, not knowing what the Spiders have put into this season to make him look real smart, or real stupid. How about the fact that it’s real? A real town, and a team that affected a real conference of basketball teams. They loaded up the bus and hit the road. They defended their home gym. Taped up ankles and suicides. All so you can pick them to beat Oklahoma State. Every team is real, every player, every coach, every university or college. Every small college town, or city block, or small state. The miles traveled are real. The sweat spent is real too.

I learned this the hard way. I’ve entered my fair share of brackets. I won a good portion of them. You live and you learn. I no longer feel the need to express my love for this game in the form of a bracket. I actually kept the last bracket I ever filled out, folded it up, and put it into the program of the second tournament I ever went to, in Milwaukee. This is an evolution, for you, and for me.

So when a random wrong comes up to you this year with a stack of blank brackets, and asks you for twenty bucks to enter, politely pass. Maybe even offer to buy him lunch with said twenty bucks. He’s lost, and he probably needs it.

Enjoy it for what it is. It’s better than a computer print out and a highlighter. It’s not mad. It’s not crazy. It’s not insane. It’s a symphony of 347 basketball teams. Nobody ever notices the guy who plays the triangle, but that doesn’t mean he’s not important.

Good news on the ticket front this week as well. Some randoms from Buffalo, NY sent over a few tickets for us to attend some hoops games, the same ones we’ve been talking about. So that’s good news:

I also managed to track down my set of Final Four tickets:

So now we can get into these places we’ve spoken about so much. The Final Four tickets were pretty hard to track down. The wonderful people at the NCAA ticket office did not change my mailing address, even though I sent the proper information to them, and even received conformation back that it was. It’s all good though, as it worked out in the end.

Wyoming @ UNLV for the last Rebel game of the year is next Saturday. I will also be at the WCC tournament at the Rhett’s Basketball viewing arena, AKA, the Orleans Arena. That starts on Friday.

Currently watching Richmond @ Xavier (dynasty). Looking forward to some USA hockey, and MSU @ Purdue. Things are rounding into shape nicely. They should be, tomorrow is March, and it is MY month.

- Evan Turner didn’t play well and OSU still won

- MSU’s depth was a non-issue (even with OSU’s lone bench player fouling out) as the team seemingly did their own thing in the first half going against the game plan of run-run-run and if it’s not there pound the ball in the post (post-ups and drives) and what resulted was a 13 point deficit and OSU controlling tempo.

- Raymar played with good effort, and was the only player praised by Coach Izzo in the post-game, but was not too crisp. He made some plays and left it all on the court but was again limited by a few silly fouls. For the rest of the season – and his career – I just expect a good effort out of Ray and if he does that good things will happen. Ray can’t compensate for the lack of a true presence in the middle (cough – we really miss G – cough) or when the wings decide they know more than Izzo – So, from now on I’m Ray’s biggest supporter and as long as the effort is there I got his back (and thank him for a fine career in the Green and White).

Joe Rexrode at the Lansing State Journal has a very interesting blog post about the state of the team:

\”Hey Joe\” MSU LCD Issues

These “LCD” issues explain a lot about the last three weeks (and have been mentioned before, but no one pays attention to these things when the team is winning) so too does Kalin’s injury and of course the expectations factor discounting the loss of Walton, Suton, Gray and Ibok.

So, where does this team go from here? The discussion will focus on the Purdue game and the how far this team can go in the Tourney. And a lot of judgments about the latter will be based on the performance in the former. However, I still would not read too much into what happens next Sunday – and I still think a rested and prepared Spartan Team can win in West Laffy (as a matter of fact the Flintstones began to build their legacy one cold Indiana winter night back in 1998 at Mackey Arena – maybe Kalin, Raymar and DayDay can re-build their own legacy there too… but I digress) – as certainly the Big Ten regular season hangs in the balance but MSU has built its program based on the NCAA Tournament not the Big Ten regular season (don’t get me wrong I like BT Championships as much as the next guy but banners hung in the center rafters with Final Four logos are more important than banners hung on the side rafters that say BT Champ). And I still think this team has a Tourney run in them. They’ll have to work out the “LCD” issues and it’s a good thing Tom Izzo is there to guide that process. If they can do that in time for the 3rd weekend in March this team can play for more than two games in the Dance. Of course, based on my last post I wouldn’t go wagering the house on my predictions.

Headed into the last week of February, if you are thinking of making the tournament, and advancing in the tournament, you had better be rounding into top form.

UNLV coming off a 3 game losing streak against New Mexico, San Diego State, and Utah, found their hoop game against Colorado State yesterday afternoon, and used it to gain a 70-39 win at home against the Rams. Colorado State is a decent squad, with some good pieces and will look to be a player in the league next year. UNLV started the game out on a 10-2 run, had balanced scoring, including 12 points from Anthony Marshall and Chace Stanback, and 11 points from Kendall Wallace and Tre’Von Willis. The Thomas and Mack was a bit empty, but that did not prevent the Rebels from having some great defensive pressure for almost the entire 1st half. The Rams only managed 16 points by halftime. The second half was mostly coasting, with a small Colorado State run squashed by UNLV.

This is called taking care of business. This is a game UNLV should have won, and had to have when you consider the three previous losses. They have TCU and Wyoming at home and Air Force on the road to finish out the season, and should win all 3 games rather easily. They’ll need to to ensure a favorable match up in the 1st round of the conference tournament. Losing the first game in the conference tournament on your home floor is not a good idea.

Michigan State is sitting in another boat. After losing three games, they won two easy road games against Penn State and Indiana. This left them headed into two game, at home vs Ohio State, and on the road at Purdue. Ohio State handled Sparty this afternoon, which is disapointing. Now, the road game at Purdue seems rather important, as the Spartans haven’t proven they can beat good squads lately, and may need the confidence boost a Purdue win would bring, in order to get their minds right for March.

I’m hoping the Rebels will win out in convincing fashion to eliminate any doubt that they should be in the field of 65. I’m also hoping Michigan State starts to hit their stride, knocks off Purdont, and starts off March on the right foot.

I’ll also keep it brief and focused. I think there are three key questions/factors in this game:

- How will Raymar play? Here’s hoping the Ohio Native has a re-awakening in his last game against the home state school. If Ray posts double digit points and grabs a nice number of boards it bodes well for MSU’s fortunes.

- Can MSU keep OSU’s other four in check? Evan Turner is going to get his, no matter who is guarding him Turner will get his. The question is can MSU check Lighty, Buford, Diebler and Lauderdale? The defensive key for MSU is keeping OSU from getting that second guy to score.

- How will MSU’s depth effect OSU? I wrongly predicted that depth would not be an issue in the PU @ OSU game and I think if MSU can get a lead early they can ride that depth to the win in the second half.

Overall, it should be a good game. I think the Breslin will be rocking and the home court will be a big benefit for the Spartans. Of course, I will be rooting for the Spartans and I think MSU will get the home win.

Item! Snow is all the rage these days and is fast becoming a political tool – I of course have known the political applications of snow ever since I whitewashed those two Romney Petition Canvassers who knocked on my door one dreary February day.

Item! It seems that Kentucky knows no sense of decency. After Calipari and his hired guns stole one from Mississippi State the locals took exception and kindly offered “Coach” Cal and his troops some post-game refreshments. I should point out that a lot of the Bulldogs’ ire was directed at UK’s lowest paid staff for the day – the officials. I mean c’mon guys if you’re going to tank a game for Kentucky at least be subtle about it – two successive phantom foul calls and then a non-call on a clear goaltend isn’t really hiding your show cards, now is it? Of course, the difference between Rick Stansbury and Calipari is night and day – Calipari plays Wall and Cousins who smart money would wager have not seen the inside of a classroom since November and Coach Stansbury benches his leading scorer for the night because of his attitude in practice. One coach will do whatever is necessary to win a game and the other will do whatever is necessary to build a young man. The difference is striking but not surprising.

Item! I was once told that the United States Military forbids the use of blue ink pens – well here’s hoping that this exclusionary and miss-guided policy will fall to the wayside along with “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” Blue ink users want to be free to serve their country in the open and with multiple colors on one piece of paper.

Item! There hasn’t been much talk of coaches on the hot seat yet this season. I’d imagine that chatter will pick-up as the season draws closer to its conclusion. But I’d like to throw a few early hats into the ring – We have the two perennial contenders from the Big East: Norm Roberts at St Johns and Bobby Gonzalez at Seton Hall. And then there’s Doc Sadler at Nebraska and of course Ernie Kent at Oregon (which begs the question: how much good money can Phil Knight put after bad at OU Hoops?). Locally, I really do not see how Charles Ramsey at EMU can keep his job barring a run to the MAC Tourney Title (or the Athletic Department can’t afford to buy him out). So, in my mind the next logical question becomes will one of these openings work for Mark Montgomery to continue the Izzo/Heathcote coaching tree? My guess is yes and I would be really surprised if Monty isn’t running his own program come April or May.

Item! I really think I could be an Olympic Curler.

Item! Steve Lavin has fast become my second favorite basketball analyst – no one will ever un-seat Bill Raftery – I especially enjoy his graphics that have 5-7 points regarding a particular issue in college basketball. Last night he highlighted the 7 issues facing freshman as they transition to the college game. Number 7 was “Hootin’ with the Owls” as too much late night partying is not a good idea for the young kids trying to hoop.

Item! I wonder how much money the inventor of Post-It Notes made? After inventing something like that do you just walk away from the inventing game figuring you’ve peeked or do you re-double your inventing efforts trying to top the previous invention? I know my good ideas usually come in groups of threes.

Item! Purdue at Ohio State tonight. I predict a win for the Buckeyes, it will be tight but I just don’t think Purdue has anyone to stop Evan Turner (but who does?). Although OSU’s lack of depth could hurt them down the stretch, in this game it shouldn’t matter too much. It should be a good game and I wouldn’t be surprised if Moore and Turner go shot for shot for a couple of minutes. Looking forward to some Wednesday night hoops! And remember I’ll be back by Saturday with a look at the OSU@MSU game on Sunday.

It occurred to me yesterday when I was sitting in the Convocation Center watching my two mid major alma maters battle it out in a game that would determine 3rd place in the MAC West that this game had more meaning to me than the previous weeks Duke/North Carolina game could have had to most of the chattering, blue clad masses in the Dean Smith Center or watching on ESPN, because I am vested. I spent three years of my life in Kalamazoo and watched the Broncos 10+ times a season since the day I set foot on that campus, I’ve spent the last 4 years in Ypsilanti going to every EMU home game I can. The highlights of rooting for middle of the road to bad mid major teams are not plentiful, but they are far more memorable than any Final Four could be for the team I might have arbitrarily chosen to root for.

This might strike some as a bitter rant. I certainly don’t mean for it to. I root for Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Georgetown and Michigan State. I have degrees from Eastern and Western, and followed Michigan State since an early age. I do not mean to imply that you must attend a school to root for the basketball team. I think it should be your first loyalty and I absolutely resent the notion that you should cast aside your personal affiliation just because the athletic program isn’t as high a profile as the larger state school. I do recognize that some people make an attachment early in life and it stays with them regardless of where they went to school. I absolutely get that and for the most part can respect it. The so called fans that I can’t abide by are the guys that root for the top team, top player, or top tradition and want to revel in that success. These are the parasites that latch on to the biggest thing they can find to try and share in their success.

Classic example is this clown who sat near us at last years championship game:

This guy was the most vocal person in our section. He was more animated in his support of the North Carolina Tarheel’s than Tyler Hansborough’s parents (I know this because as the game got more and more out of hand I kept an eye on both just to have something to take my mind off things). He didn’t even care enough about the team to ever buy a t-shirt. He did care enough to put on his best Carolina Blue Rocawear jacket and matching Carolina Blue Old English D hat, and try to taunt Spartan fans in our section. He liked to declare things over and jump out of his seat for dunks. I liked to yell “Go Rocawear” every time he did, because I have zero respect for guys like this. If he had an equally unaffiliated friend who was wearing green and white Fubu and had a green and white yankee hat it would be different. But this tool was trying to banter with real fans who were watching their team play for the highest stakes out there. It was completely inappropriate, and no matter how much he tried to pretend to celebrate afterwords it was clearly unauthentic and meaningless. He was out there watching a TV show, I was watching a team/program that I had been following since I was in 3rd grade, other people were watching a team/program that represented the school where they spent years of their lives, a place where they had chosen a career path, met a spouse, etc… it just wasn’t balanced.

My philosophy is simple and fair. There is nothing wrong with liking a team. You can like a team without being a true fan. I like Georgetown. I root for Georgetown, watch them when I can, know who their players and coaches are, and read about them. I like their tradition, I like that they win at an elite level without taking dirty BCS football money, and I just plain enjoy watching them play. I am a true fan of Western Michigan. This is because I can’t walk away when the program is down, or when we have a tough loss. If Georgetown starts a long slide it won’t bother me that much, I’ll just root for Seton Hall or something. If Western Michigan starts/continues to slide I’ll get pissed, want the coach fired, call Ball State cheaters, want to build a new arena, drink more, etc… I can’t walk away from “my team”. If you don’t have a team you can’t just pick one up overnight . You have to earn the right to call a team yours through time and energy expelled watching, hoping, and sometimes being disappointed. Until such time as you become a true fan of a team you should be respectful of true fans and never try to equate your loss affiliations with their real passions. If some tool at BW3s who grew up in the same town as I did, went to community college, grew up rooting for the Fab-5 and then Michigan State when Izzo became dominate, and has never lived outside of Metro Detroit, sits next to me to watch Kentucky play WMU in the tournament this March (I can dream), he better not pump his fist and try to talk shit to me if Kentucky is beating up on Western Michigan just because he really likes Wall, and Bledsoe. He doesn’t matter, his thoughts don’t matter, and his happiness is just a meaningless front, because to him, sports don’t matter. I’d rather watch a game with some crusty old Kentucky fan from the hill country who has a picture of Adolph Rupp in his rec room if he is a true fan of his team. Because at least that guy gets it.