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<\/a>2020 Headline<\/p><\/div>\n
We thought we knew what \u2018March Madness\u2019<\/strong> was until last March when suddenly restaurants, schools, bars, churches, gyms, salons, etc., etc., etc., were suddenly closed for the better part of a year \u2013 now that’s MADNESS<\/strong>!<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s \u2018other\u2019 March Madness, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament<\/strong>, was cancelled due to a new thing called the Coronavirus Pandemic<\/strong>.\u00a0 This year, in our effort to return to ‘normalcy’, the tournament is back, albeit with a few restrictions around Covid and woke correctness:<\/p>\n OK, perhaps I\u2019ve stretched the truth a bit, but there are some real restrictions:<\/p>\n Former UCLA Coach John Wooden<\/p><\/div>\n Most know that the \u2018Final Four<\/strong>\u2019 is the last team standing from each division – they play for the championship.\u00a0 However, the \u2018First Four\u2019 <\/strong>is\u00a0made up of eight teams that are on the \u2018bubble\u2019 of getting into the tournament; they play the week before the tournament starts (which was last week) and the four winners advance to round out the 64-team field<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The classic match up in last week\u2019s \u2018First Four\u2019<\/strong> game was UCLA vs. Michigan State<\/strong>.\u00a0 These two schools have historically been perennial basketball powers and would typically be in the Final Four, not the First Four.\u00a0 UCLA has made 49 appearances<\/strong> in this tournament, made it to the Final Four 18 times<\/strong>, won the tournament 11<\/strong> times and was undefeated for the year four times<\/strong>.\u00a0 Michigan State has made 33 appearances<\/strong> in the tournament, made the Final Four ten times<\/strong> and won the championship twice<\/strong>.<\/p>\n UCLA won last Friday’s ‘First Four’ game in overtime and thus receives an invitation to \u2018The Dance\u2019<\/strong>.\u00a0 Aside from the overtime game, the other three First Four games were decided by 1, 1 and 8 points – this is going to be one great tournament!\u00a0 Michigan State will be joining\u00a0 a couple of other basketball powerhouses, Duke<\/strong> and Kentucky<\/strong>, on the sidelines this year.\u00a0 The last time those two teams were NOT in the tournament, Gerald Ford<\/strong> was president – that was 1976!\u00a0 \u00a0A “does-history-repeat-itself” <\/strong>aside: As many of you will recall, Gerald Ford’s assent to the presidency is unprecedented. Vice President Spiro Agnew<\/strong> resigned due to charges of extortion, bribery and conspiracy, President Nixon<\/strong> appointed Ford, who was then the House Minority Leader<\/strong>, to be vice president.\u00a0 Then, less than a year later, the Watergate scandal forced Nixon to resigned, making Ford president.\u00a0 Does the absence of these teams from this tournament mean we’re going to see some unprecedented movement at the top of our government? Or have we already see it?<\/p>\n But enough about those who didn’t get voted in.\u00a0 One of the favorites in this year’s tournament is the Gonzaga University Bulldogs<\/strong>, a school with an enrollment of around Even if you think you don\u2019t like to watch basketball, I would bet that if you start watching this tournament, you\u2019ll find yourself hooked and rooting for, or against various teams – you’ll end up having a \u2018favorite\u2019 that you\u2019d like to see playing for the championship on Monday, April 5th<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0After this Monday’s games, we’ll be in the ‘Sweet 16’<\/strong>.\u00a0 Pac-12<\/strong> fan are loving the tournament so far, all five teams made it through the first round, including both UCLA<\/strong> and USC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I think you’ll find the tournament a nice break from the latest Netflix series or another one of those \u2018fake\u2019 reality program – this ‘show’ is truly unscripted reality!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Bob Sparrow We thought we knew what \u2018March Madness\u2019 was until last March when suddenly restaurants, schools, bars, churches, gyms, salons, etc., etc., etc., were suddenly closed for the better part of a year \u2013 now that’s MADNESS! Last … read more\n
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<\/a>7,000 undergraduates in Spokane, Washington<\/strong>.\u00a0 They are the only undefeated team in the tournament, as well as being a #1 seed along with Baylor, Michigan <\/strong>and Illinois<\/strong> (who got beat in the first round last week!)\u00a0 This small university in the northwest has been to the tournament 22 times and, in fact, played in the championship game in 2017, when they lost to North Carolina.<\/p>\n