The Morning Walk-thru - More Madness

So technically we're not into March Madness this week, but I can't help but think Championship week might be an even better hoops watching experience than the tournament itself.

Really.

There are a couple of things that really make championship week beautiful:

A) It's a slow burn. You start with some of the smaller conferences on Saturday and while you may not care about either of the teams, a game with a tourney bid (the only tourney bid for the conference) on the line is always worth watching.

And this is just the start. As the week progresses there are automatic bids at stake every night and the conferences get better.

B) Somehow this all transitions seamlessly into the larger conference tournaments that receive wall-to-wall coverage. While bids aren't on the line per se, the games are still plenty intense and I find myself caring more about play-in Big East tournament games than I have any right to.

C) I always forget this, but basketball is on all the freakin' time. Yesterday the first game started at approximately 11 a.m. and they didn't finish up for 14 hours. Big East, Big XII, ACC, Pac-1o. Anytime you turn on the TV a game is on, but none so important you have to miss work.

Every year it's a struggle with the Thursday and Friday of the first round. Use a sick day or no?

Not so with the conference tournaments. I can get home when I get home and basketball will be there. Sure I miss some stuff, but nothing that SportsCenter can't recap.

It's not destination programming, it's a convenience. Any hour, flip to a sports channel and dramatic, important games are right there.

Come next week, either way I feel guilty. Don't go to work and betray the job or go to work and betray everything I believe in.

There's never been a day at work I'll remember 10 years from now. There will probably be three such games next Thursday.

Down goes Duke...It has been positively excruciating to watch this formerly great program struggle this year. I feel for Coach K. Such a stand-up guy, I wonder how he's handling things?

Last time the Blue Devils struggled he just stopped coaching the team for the year so maybe he won't even show next week. Could he stomach having a lower seed than Creighton?

We'll find out next week because it's going to happen.