For me, this is a bizarro hoops season

[Black Diamond Vol]

Most years, the NCAA tourney is my favorite sporting event, bar none.  The excitement of that first weekend can't be matched in sport.  I typically spend the final 6 weeks of the regular season pouring over every new bracketology update, and I see the conference tourneys as the tasty appetizer for the delicious feast to come.  

But this year, I couldn't care less.  Outside of the top 3-4 teams, I have no idea of who will be seeded where, or even who is likely to make the field.  

The likely absence of UT might explain it somewhat.  The big dance is always more enjoyable when you have a rooting interest.  But I've always enjoyed this event even when UT wasn't involved.  So what's changed?

Maybe it's that the outcome has already been decided.  Nobody's touching Kentucky this year.  Cal has already bought and paid for this "championship".  And when the integrity of the game comes into question, it might as well be WWE.

By contrast, the NBA is in the midst of its most exciting regular season in decades (and for a long time Association basher like me, that's really hard to admit).  Teams like the Hawks, Warriors, and Grizzlies are proving that the "little guy" can't just compete, they can dominate.  I've followed the Hawks all my life, although my fandom became much more casual after the 'Nique trade debacle in '94.  But this year, I'm back on the bandwagon.  I guess that's a label I'll just have to bear- because in following the Hawks, I've watched more NBA this year than in the past 20 years combined.  But dammit, they're just fun to watch.  They move the ball, they defend, they make the extra pass, and they do it all without a single superstar on the roster.

I have no grandiose expectations- I know this is the NBA, and once the postseason rolls around, games are officiated much differently, especially when stars like Lebron or Rose are involved.  But now that David Stern is gone, maybe they've turned over a new leaf.  Maybe.  Probably not.  

But here we are on March 8, and I can definitively say that I know who will win the NCAA title.  But as for the NBA title?  Any one of probably a dozen teams could still  realistically win it.  And I can't remember another time in my life when that has been the case.

[Creek Walker]

The Spurs have been proving the little guy can dominate the NBA for the better part of two decades now. 

[Tnphil]

I don't get into college basketball until this time of year. Yeah, I watch UT some but IMO college basketball season is to seed you in your conference championship and if your good enough get you to the dance. I've always hated the conference tourney champs getting a automatic bid because it can leave some more deserving teams sitting at home....example is Murray State that had a 25 game win streak and ranked 25th in the country but most likely will be left out of the dance....not right IMO.... This time of year I like watching the mid-majors that have kids that play the game the way it was intended.

Talking about KY...this was a interesting article I read this morning.

http://www.thepasadenapost.com/post/112768850743/former-william-wesley-acquaintance-calipari

[Black Diamond Vol]

There was a scene near the end of Breaking Bad where a lawyer goes to visit his clients in jail with Mike in tow, posing as his "paralegal".  When they're alone with the client, Mike does all the talking and the lawyer puts on his headphones and turns up his music so as not to incriminate himself.  Well, substitute Cal for the lawyer, Worldwide Wes for Mike, and a McDonald's All American for the prisoner, and that's about how I imagine a Cal recruiting visit transpires.

[Black Diamond Vol]

The Spurs have been proving the little guy can dominate the NBA for the better part of two decades now.  

That's only because Tim Duncan (and David Robinson before him) was grandfathered in before Stern began his "big markets only" policy.

[BanditVol]

That's only because Tim Duncan (and David Robinson before him) was grandfathered in before Stern began his "big markets only" policy.

It's likely no coincidence that the little teams are doing better with Schtern out of the way.