I agree with you that for the big dogs, the conference tournaments are basically a waste of time and, like the end of the football season when a team has home field advantage locked up, it places the coaches in somewhat of a predicament over whether to go all out and risk fatigue and injury, or rest their starters and prepare for the tournament that really matters.

But for the little guys, I do like the conference tournament because it really is an extension of the big promenade (is that different than dance?) in that it truly is a national tournament where EVERY team (save some nerd schools) has a shot at making it. I do agree that it tends to diminish the value of having a strong regular season, but as other posters have pointed out, if your regular season is strong enough, you should still get a bid (a la Butler and SIU). And those teams do have a legitimate shot of knocking off a power conference team, which is what it's really all about.

As for the bubble teams in the power conferences, nobody should ever shed a tear for them. They have been given the opportunity all year long to shine, and if you're the 8th or 9th best team in your conference, you really have no gripe about not making it, especially because you're given an extra shot by virtue of the conference tournament.

And I happen to know Gilles de Navacelle's son ... had no idea he was a descendant of the founder of the modern olympic games. Ahh ... the french humility.

Has anybody noticed that the definition of mid-major has morphed? I used to think a Mid-Major was from a conference just a shade under the power conferences - teams from conferences like the MAC, the Mountain West, and Conference USA. But now, it seems as if every team from a non-power conference is labeled a Mid-Major, which belies the name because it's precisely in the middle of nothing. Old Dominion and Drexel are Mid-Majors? Granted, fellow Colonial conference cohort George Mason shocked the world by going to the final four last year, but there was nothing Mid or Major about Mason. They were the Hickory High of the tournament.

Most of these so-called Mid-Majors are really Mid-Minors who have a decent record by virtue of beating other similarly situated schools whose talent pool consists of those a step slow, an inch short, or an SAT point shy. Sure, some of these schools manage to bring together their ragtag group of misfits to play a decent brand of hoops, and some can even beat a big school 1 out of 10 times. But that doesn't warrant them getting in over teams that are, on balance, better.

The committee is not charged with the task of finding the little engine that possibly could, but rather by putting the best teams out there. And I think they did especially well in this especially tough year.

First off, I don't pretend to know the first thing about WNBA eligibility rules, but what incentive would Parker have to leave? As of now, she gets far more exposure being the best player on the best college team in the country than she would get being a good player in the WNBA. True, she could tear her ACL (much more prevalent in womens' hoops than mens') and miss out on a few hundred grand, but that isn't the same as someone like Greg Oden staying in school and missing out on millions. Apples and oranges.

Speaking of which, I found it absolutely hilarious when I flipped on the Tennessee-North Carolina game and saw a 5'2" guard for UNC attempt a layup (in which she got about 3 inches off the ground) and get absolutely stuffed by a much larger Lady Vol, and then the obligatory "that's as athletic of a play that you'll see in any game, mens or womens" from I believe Doris Burke. You could hear Mike Patrick biting his tongue as he had no choice but to agree with her. I could have made that play, and I'm an out-of-shape 30 year old dude. It would have been fine if Burke had just left it as "that's a great block" instead of trying to convince the viewing audience that they were actually watching quality of play on par with the mens' game. It's not even close ... the games are totally different, so why do we have to keep justifying the womens' game in terms of how it matches up with the fellas?

As far as I see it, this is where Cleveland turns its season around. The last time they played in Milwaukee for home games, Jake Taylor called his shot, but instead laid down a surprise bunt that the grizzly old vet beat out, allowing Willie Mays Hayes to score from second, thus sealing the pennant for the Tribe, and throwing Bob Uecker into a tizzy. There's good karma for the Indians when they play their home games in Milwaukee.

(the movie Major League used Milwaukee's old County Stadium as the home field for the Indians).

I bet Pedro Cerrano launches one through the retractable dome.