Chalk it Up

chalk [chawk]: n. 1. a soft, white powdery limestone formed from fossil remains, 2. a piece of chalk processed into sticks used for marking, 3. a favorite in betting, a sure thing.

For example: The Kansas faithful cried, 'Rock Chalk, Jayhawk' as the defending national champions cruised past the Dayton Flyers and into the Sweet Sixteen.

As it turns out, the madness wasn't so mad after all.

After only two rounds of the NCAA basketball tournament, all of the Cinderellas have been sent home crying. For the first time in tournament history, all of the top 12 teams (all 1, 2, and 3 seeds) have advanced safely to the third round. This comes after last year saw all four number 1s as the final four teams left standing.

The tournament started with such promise. In the first round, Western Kentucky upset Illinois. Wisconsin outed Florida State. Siena put down Ohio State. Dayton knocked out West Virginia. Cleveland State toppled favored Wake Forest.

In addition, there was some close calls to keep up the competitive edge.

East Tennessee State pushed Pittsburgh to the breaking point. All though many had Pitt traveling deep within their bracket, they probably would have gladly traded their dignity for a bit of history. A last second three-point shot was not enough to allow Utah State to push past Marquette.

But that is where the fun stopped. Eventually, the depth and talent of the bigger schools usually wins out against the bright-eyed mid-majors. This year, it just happened a bit earlier than expected.

No doubt this shows that the selection committee did their job by picking the right teams to play in the tournament. No doubt this shows that the top seeds have for the most part done their job by beating lesser teams. But those Cinderellas where the ones who forgot to bring their game.

To make matters worse, last year's darling, Davidson, not only didn't make the Big Dance this year, but were just eliminated from the National Invitational Tournament by losing to St. Mary's.

Maybe that is why my bracket fell apart. So many of us were counting on those upsets. We were expecting those sure things not to be such sure things.

For crying out loud, even the women's basketball tournament has been more competitive than the men's. Last night, Rutgers stunned #2 Auburn, and Purdue dismantled #3 UNC. The Arizona State/Florida State match-up saw the Sun Devils win with a 3-pointer in the waining seconds.

Then again it looks as though the same favoritism has crept into baseball as well. Defending champions Japan was able to walk away with their second-straight World Baseball Classic title. And to think I was rooting for the Netherlands.