Selection Show Running Diary

Selection Sunday is finally here! Today's events will set into motion all of the games, upsets, and gambling ramifications which will take place over the next three weeks. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has been sequestered in Indianapolis all week debating the merits of various at-large teams while doing copious amounts of cocaine. With Pitt winning the Big East Tournament for the first time in five years, and keeping with my theme of "Conquering The 2008 NCAA Tournament"...I just had to keep a running diary of what took place during the Selection Show. I'm hoping the CBS studio team will provide a lot of unintentional comedy, not to mention the fact that they will give about 35 teams "a chance" after seeing the brackets.

6:00 pm - CBS throws out a studio team of Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg, and Seth Davis. I actually don't mind Seth Davis. But I'm counting the minutes until Kellogg says something outlandish that will be proven wrong 10 minutes into the games on Thursday.

6:01 pm - UNC is the overall number one seed, the 12th time they have been a #1seed, and the Tar Heels are headed to the East Region.

6:02 pm - Gumbel is sporting some kind of purplish handkerchief in his suit coat pocket...nicely done.

6:03 pm -Memphis is the #1 in the South, UCLA #1 in the West, and Kansas #1 in the Midwest (I really like this Kansas team, although Bill Self still scares me).

6:03 pm - Seth Davis has some kind of subtle checkered patterned suit on. The CBS studio team is donning some classy threads.

6:04 pm - Jim Nanz and Billy Packer make their first appearance! Nantz looks worried that he's going to have to spend the next 3 weeks with this crabby older gentleman sitting to his right. Jim's pre-game preparations include fake smiling and fake laughing.

6:09 pm - East region is slowly announced. The play in game is Mt. st. Mary's and Coppin State. What a crucial game to the tournament! Gotta love the annual play-in game on Tuesday in Dayton Ohio. I need to write a column on that game. Indiana fell to an 8 seed? Hard times for the Hoosiers. Notre Name as a 5 seed against this years George Mason...George Mason!!! Say it isn't so Phil, Annie, Chaz, and Johnny! Butler is the 10th ranked team in the country and they get a 7 seed? Curious. If Louisville is getting a 3 seed...Pitt better fucking get a 3 or a 4 seed. That is if conference tournaments mean anything to the Selection Committee. Kellogg says that Indiana has been playing well lately...what team has he been watching?!?!? Their women's softball team? Davis has much better insight...noting that Tennessee was perhaps a better 2 seed than to be placed in the same region as UNC, and that South Alabama not only got a 10 seed...but gets to play a de facto home game at Birmingham against Butler in the first round. Seems like a really good draw for the Tar Heels.

6:17 pm -Midwest region is slowly announced. Did i call UNLV getting an 8 seed or what? NO!!!!!!!!! Two of my bracket busters are paired against each other in the first round (#8 UNLV vs. #9 Kent State)!!! Fuck!!!! Everything is going to hell! I guess one of them has to win that game though, which means one of my picks will follow through with a victory. Villanova got an at large bid? As a 12 seed? That's it, i quit. This project is over. Georgetown is a 2 seed? Pitt beat them twice this season. Things keep looking good for Pitt's seeding. (I'm setting myself up here for the disappointment and anger of them getting a #6 seed) Nice...UMBC (my first Bracket Buster) gets the privilege of knocking off G-town.Gonzaga 7 vs. Davidson 10...sexy match-up. I like Clemson as a 5 and USC as a 6. This region presents a first-round match-up with two fantastic freshman squaring off with USC's OJ Mayo playing Michael Beasley and Kansas State. Davis just called Siena over Vandy in the first round! People need to hold him accountable for this! Kellogg just called Georgetown's draw "favorable", again...what the hell is he basing these statements on?

6:25 pm - South region is slowly announced. Yikes...Oregon not only got in, but they got a #9 seed? The PAC 10 is getting some mad love this year. But where is Arizona? Nice! Nice! Nice! Pitt gets a 4 seed! AND they get to play Oral Roberts in the first round!!! I get to write about Oral for another week! The bracket gods are truly shining on me! A 3 seed seems too low for Stanford, but I do like the clash of styles in their potential second round game against Marquette. Davis is calling out the Selection Committee for putting the Atlantic 10 champion, Temple, at a 12 seed and St. Joesph's at an 11 seed. He also just put Texas in the final four. Again, commentators need to be held accountable with these picks. This region is looking like the strongest of the bunch so far...with Memphis, Texas, Stanford, and Pitt. It's only been 3 minutes, but I'm liking Pitt's draw here with Oral Robers and a potential second round game against Michigan State or Temple. I'll take Pitt against a Big Ten team anytime. I was typing too much to notice if Kellogg said anything outrageous, I'm sure it happened, but I missed it. I'll make sure to catch whatever he says after they announce the West region.

6:33 pm - West region is slowly announced. You have to like UCLA here, right? Drake is a 5 seed, normally prone to an upset, but they are too good to lose to Western Kentucky. Gotta love Drake to make some noise. Not many slots left, I'm sensing some serious bubble issues coming soon. Arizona is in as a 10 seed. Love Xavier here as a 3 seed...but they are playing this year's team of destiny in the first round, the SEC Tournament Champs, Georgia Bulldogs! Baylor is in. They sure waited to the last second on that one. Great story there with Coach Scott Drew and company. Davis just called Drake to go to the sweet sixteen. Kellogg just said to "keep an eye on West Virginia", and Davis just kind of nodded his head. Seth Davis has to do something there in order to keep from falling asleep.

No Arizona State, no Ohio State, no VCU, no Syracuse, no Illinois state, no Virginia Tech, no UMASS, no UAB, no Dayton. Wow...Dayton had a RPI of 32. Arizona State was the school that was robbed the most here. Oh well. Should have won your respective conference tournaments.

6:39 pm - Back to Billy Packer!!! Bring on the controversy! "I think Davidson is George Mason", quotes Mr. Packer. (me - shaking my head in awe) You're about a year behind the Davidson bandwagon Billy. Thanks for coming along. Not to mention the fact that there is some scientific theory out there that can prove that Davidson cannot, indeed, be George Mason. Apparently Billy has some questions coming up (says Mr. Jim Nantz), so I'll be sure to stay tuned for that. I'm patiently waiting for Billy Packer to make a guarantee. Here is an article reviewing the Selection Show from two years ago. The best part is where Hiestand says, "There weren't many surprises left for CBS' actual selection show. Except, that is, when CBS' Billy Packer began analyzing a bracket that hadn't been announced yet." Classic. I love March Madness.

6:47 pm - Good god. Nantz and Packer interviewing Tom O'Connor, head of the Selection committee. Time for Packer to be Packer, or at least time for him to throw a punch. Packer to O'Connor, "The RPI is something we always kid about, and talk about". I'm glad to know that they are chums. Nothing like kissing the ass of power. Packer seems to be hung up on the ACC (#1 in Conference RPI) only getting 4 bids when the Big East got 8 teams. I don't see him letting this go throughout the tournament, even after 6 Big East teams reach the sweet sixteen as opposed to 1 ACC team. Packer to O'Connor, "We cross paths so many times throughout the course of the winter". Again...glad to know that Packer is chums with people high up on the Selection committee. Nothing too outlandish happening here...Packer didn't throw a player, coach, team, race, or gender under the bus.

6:55 pm - Kellogg goes out on a limb and predicts all #1 seeds to reach the final four. Seth Davis has more balls...going with Tennessee, Kansas, Texas and UCLA. Kellogg's sleepers...Notre Dame, Clemson, Michigan State, and West Virginia. Seth's sleepers...Saint Joesph's, USC Temple, Arizona. Davis picks Temple over Michigan State. And Davis just named UCLA as his national champion, Kellogg agrees with him, also taking the Bruins. I can't WAIT to hear some ridiculous predictions by Kellogg on Thursday.

Hey...Cold Case and Dexter are on CBS tonight! Maybe I'll stick around and keep a running diary of those shows. Maybe not.

Have fun filling out your brackets folks. Let's rock and roll.