March Meh-ness

In addition to being an astute political commentator (quit the snickering,) I also have a passion for many sports. When the NHL Playoffs come on, I'm glued to tsn.ca daily for my fix, obsessively checking my pool picks to see how many points I finish out of first place this year. I will scrutinize players, create pre-draft lists pages long, and then I'll shag it all and go on a team hunch (thanks a lot, San Jose.)

One event I just can't get into, however, is NCAA basketball. I just can't do it. Nothing intrigues me about it- some god-forsaken college from West Kentucky is facing off against some powerhouse team from some equally obscure school. Sure, they play hard, but I have no connection to the players, no unanimity in their plight. I don't care who wins or loses. Now, I of course love Cinderella stories, but how often do they happen? A 16th seed has never beaten a first seed; until that happens, I'll remain on the sidelines. Where's the competition if 90% of the games have a pretty much pre-determined result? And until I get an HDTV with some better cable, there's no point in scouring the myriad games for that magical 10%. It's not like I know which team is the underdog without the commentators telling me anyway.

Some people adore March Madness, and if you're into college basketball, I can see why. There are even people who don't pay attention all year, and pick it up just for the level of competition- but these folks are either more desperate or more knowledgeable than I (sometimes both,) and I have no desire to learn a bloody thing about the competition.

Alas. There's 10 games left in the regular season, my beloved Habs are petering out, and it's looking increasingly like a Detroit/Boston or Detroit/NJ final. Oh joy, oh bliss.