Bracket Time!

The first two days of the tournament are my favorite.

This is something that's become a tradition since I graduated college, because when I was a kid the NCAA only took the conference champions and there wasn't much in the way of TV coverage except the title game.

My first awareness of college hoops started when I was about thirteen and I started receiving Sports Illustrated.  During one of those early years the Badger team made the top 20 in their weekly rankings, and since they were local, I was interested.

In 1977, the Marquette Warriors (now the Golden Eagles) won the NCAA title - and I listened to most of their games on the radio.

But, the routine of watching the first two days of the 64 team bracket started while living in Pierre, South Dakota.

Thanks to my employer, KELO-TV, which also owned the local cable provider - one of my benefits was free cable television and a new station dedicated to sports called ESPN.  (You may have heard of it.)

They broadcast the first two days from 11am until the last game ended around midnight on Thursday and Friday.  I booked my seat on the couch and with rare exceptions have only missed a few.

The upsets, the come-backs, the busted brackets and the rapid change of how things are expected to go is the appeal.

The first day was a good one - with upset wins by North Dakota State, Dayton, and Harvard - plus four overtime games.  That's a great start to a fun weekend of college hoops.

I'm not a gambler and only in the last few years started writing out my bracket for some contests at work.

I entered the Billion Dollar Bracket Challenge - but I lost out for that about half-way through the first day.

The Badgers have a very good team this year, and I'm rooting for a long run that has them cutting down the nets in North Texas April 7.

If they don't... I will still enjoy the games and watch every minute I can while bouncing back and forth with the remote to the closest game.

The Cinderella stories and compelling drama of human interest playing out on the hardwood keeps my attention.

I hope you enjoy it - even if your bracket is already torn and tattered.

Oregon beat BYU to set up a third round game tomorrow with Bucky.  Go Badgers!