March 13, 2005 

Check out the brackets. Once again, the NCAA shows that March Madness is not just a cute, alliterative name for a basketball tournament. Rather, it is a clinical assessment of the selection committee. Duke-North Carolina is one of the 3 best rivalries in sports. This year, for the first time in several years, both teams are serious title contenders. Despite the Heels' early exit in the ACC tournament, their regular season makes them worthy -- and you are hearing this from a Duke fan -- of a number one seed.

Imagine: a Duke-Carolina title game. But no-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o. The selection committee sets it up so that Duke and Carolina can meet, at best, in the Final Four, with the winner of that game playing for all the marbles.

We need a latter day Brian Bosworth to craft an acronym for the NCAA in light of this scandal. A Duke-Carolina title game would be the game of the century and a commercial bonanza.

Lord, when's the Big Rock gonna hit?

Freely Speaking: Essays by Doug Newman

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