NCAA. Madness indeed

It's a shame Purdue center Isaac Haas suffered a cracked elbow/arm and will be out for the remainder of the tournament. But did anybody really think the Boilermakers were a serious title contending threat anyway? Likely not. Though Haas is 7-2, they have another guy 7-3 they can plug in. And they're talking about having to play "small ball" when a 6-8 guy steps in for relief?

Idle thought. If you're an "average" dude, say, 5-10 to 6 feet, or an average dudette, say, 5-6 to 5-8, and a 6-8 guy (or especially gal) is next to you in a check-out line, or walks into the bar you're at -- you're going to notice them -- big time, no pun intended. 7 feet and above? They're apparently out there somewhere, so how come we never see them except on basketball courts?

While it's good that so many teams get into the NCAA tournament, see cha-ching and TV exposure, in reality the vast majority of them are nothing more than cannon fodder, with no chance -- ZERO -- of winning it.

The first round of games weed out most of the plankton. By the time the Sweet Sixteen is settled, only two games worth, a whopping 52 original teams will have bit the dust. True, a wannabe, like maybe an 11 or 13 seed might sneak through. But they'll get blasted by a vastly superior team the following week.

Idle thought II. The 13 seeds seem to be having their way with the 4 seeds so far. Go figure.

In recent times, the media hype machine has trumpeted the Final Four to the heavens. Like this is some sort of monumental achievement. Hey, it's not bad making the semi-finals, like in any other team sport, but the college hoop game has taken it to a level heretofore unheard of. I mean, good grief, three of them are going to lose anyway. And nobody will remember who they were just a few weeks or months later. It doesn't matter, other than the big pile of money their schools will get for getting that far, none of which (supposedly) will find its way into the pockets of the athletes that accomplished it. Nope, it'll disappear into the school "budget", in the black hole of those ever-pesky bureaucrats/administrators. They'll find a way to blow it on something, probably giving themselves a hefty raise. Hush, hush, quietly, of course.

It's not just the schools that get a big pot of dough. Consider the various sites around the country the tournament is played in. The arenas themselves, which would likely be otherwise vacant, all of a sudden get sell-out crowds at exorbitant ticket prices. Throw in the pig slop food they call concessions that's marked up 10-20 times what it's worth, add in parking cha-chings, stir well with serious TV bucks, and they're defecating in tall cotton themselves.

Yessirree, it's quite the spectacle alright. Great for sports junkies to merrily click away back and forth between so many games. Bars love it, and so do pizza take-out joints for those viewing at home. Beer stocks likely go up a point or three during the hoops tourney. Always lots of that going around.

But in the end, though it's theoretically possible a lower seed can get there, the Final Four will consist of really good teams. This is when the last wannabe, if still there, will surely bite the dust.

For sure, hoops fans (and I'm one) get geeked for this tournament.

But looked at objectively, it's far, FAR more hype than substance.

When the field is diluted to the point of 68 original teams, and really only a handful of them had any chance of winning the championship in the first place -- well -- it can fairly be said the powers that be have sold the public the proverbial "bill of goods".

Yet it's become that way across the entire spectrum of sports. The playoffs and their formats keep expanding, because there's money to be made by the slick folks.

Where will it end, and will it someday implode upon itself?

Beats me, but I (sucker that I am) will be watching too. And my local pub and pizza joint will probably get a few of my bucks as well.

Madness indeed.

It's the America way.

Sigh.....