Elite Eight Agony and Triumphs

Okay, the madness is getting too much for me as I am watching the forming of the Final Four contest. My bracket is suffering with my only Final Four pick, Villanova, surviving. Still waiting to see if North Carolina pulls it out. Of course, I had already underestimated Missouri and had Memphis going all the way to the Final Four. Now, Louisville just lost to Michigan State! I am waiting with baited breathe to see the final game today.

But, along with the agony come some pretty neat surprises. We have seen some major upsets during the tournament. For every team that was predicted to be a shoe-in for the semifinals, there is the underdog who everyone wrote off. Many of these teams have come much farther than anyone expected. It is really great to see the joy on the faces of these teams who went the extra mile and pulled out the upsets. Some inspiring examples are: #12 Arizona pulled out a win over #5 Utah; #13 Cleveland State overcame the odds to win over the powerhouse of #4 Wake Forest; #10USC won over #7 Boston College. There are many other examples of these even before the madness began.

But, even more interesting to me are the personal stories of some of these athletes. It is so wonderful to see some of our homegrown players make a place for themselves with some well respected college teams. Some of these great athletes whom I have had the opportunity to meet and watch are from our own Gwinnett County schools. It is so nice to see the powerhouse Alfarouq Aminu (Norcross High School) who I watched run over my own Northview team has become a stand-out freshman at Wake Forest and Wesley Witherspoon (Berkmar High School) who is now playing at Memphis. On the women's side, we have Maya Moore (Collins Hill High School) who is a valuable player with UConn.

But my favorite is Chris Allen (Meadowcreek High School) who now a freshman with Final Four contender, Michigan State. I had the opportunity to meet Chris when I saw him play his senior year. Chris Allen is an impressive athlete but he is a more impressive young man. I was immediately impressed with his poise and charm even as he was certain to be contender for a place on a D1 college team. I am proud to say that I "saw him when" and am very excited to see his team make it this far.

Yes, I am a softy girl, but I love these inspiring personal stories that come even with the best of teams. Many of these accomplish athletes had humble beginnings and should be proud. I know we are all proud of them.

Sweet Sixteen and Basketball Basics

We are finally getting back to business with March Madness! The bracket has shrunk and the competition has intensified. We are in the second day of round three. After today, there will only be eight teams - The Elite Eight. I have my picks in and am doing okay. Of course, I missed some of those unpredictable upsets, but not too bad for a girl. I really don't see how these guys get a near perfect bracket; I guess they are into this way more than I am.

While we are still on basketball, let go over some of the terms you will hear during the game. The picture to the right illustrates the zones on the court. First, the scoring: players can score two or three points with a field goal when they throw the ball into the basket from anywhere on the court. A two-point shot comes from anywhere around the basket within the blue, red or black area. A three-point shot occurs anywhere outside the black line around the basket. Some of the special ways to score include a jump shot, where the player jumps while shooting, usually several feet from the basket. Another special shot is a layup, where the player runs up to the basket and lays the ball up into the basket. For the one pointers, a foul shot earns one point when the player stands in front of the basket (within the black semi-circle) and throws it in after a foul has occurred. Fouls are penalties that occur during the playing of the game.

Some other terms you may hear include travel, double dribble, walk and carrying or palming. A major rule during the game is that the player with the ball must bounce the ball, or dribble, while they are walking or running. If they stop and hold the ball with two hands, they must pass the ball while keeping one foot stationary. These fouls are all variations of a violation of this rule. Specifically, carrying or palming is exactly what it sounds like - the player holds the ball in his hand while dribbling.

Some other common violations include a back court violation where an offensive player takes the ball back over the center line of the court after they have driven down toward their basket. A charge is also an offensive foul where the player with the ball runs into a player who is not moving. A technical foul is given when a player, non-player or a coach exhibits unsportsman-like conduct during the game.

Some other terms you may here during the game are rebound, assist, drive, fast break, jump ball, and turnover. A rebound is when someone catches the ball after someone throws (or shoots) it and misses the basket. An assist occurs when one player passes the ball to another player who scores. A drive and a fast break are similar - they are both where a player goes down the court quickly to the basket to score. A turnover is simply a change in possession - the other team gets the ball.

There are lots more terms including zones, player designations and different types of plays. Since we are almost finished with the season, I will save these for next season. Right now, I will finish out with the madness and find out how close I came with my predictions. By the time the tournament is over I will also be over it. Did I say I was ready for baseball?

Still In The Madness

Okay, we are well into this March Madness thing. I spent all last weekend watching the games, checking my bracket, comparing point totals and bonding with my husband. Now I have found that I am a little lost with the lull this week. After the end of the second round on Sunday, I couldn't wait until the next game to see what happened. I looked at the schedule and found that the next round doesn't start until Thursday! What will I do until then? I have been sucked into this madness and now I feel like a junkie without a fix!!

There is a solution! It's the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). This is a college basketball tournament for the top 32 teams that are not selected for the NCAA/March Madness Tournament. It is organized in a similar bracket, but since there are 32 teams instead of 64, the bracket is smaller. Also, the games are played at the higher seeds home court instead of neutral locations. The finals for the NIT are always played at Madison Square Gardens. Some really great teams play in the NIT tournament and the winner usually makes the argument that they should have been in the NCAA Tournament.

So now, we have our issue resolved. Between these two tournaments, we can watch basketball nonstop! For the small gaps in these two men's tournaments, we always have the women's tournaments - and of course we still have the NBA! Wow, our guys must be in basketball heaven! Nonstop basketball action!

Personally, I am enjoying the madness, but I'll be glad when it's over. It's a little much to keep up with and it is definitely maddening! I do know one thing - I'm ready for baseball!

Oh, Those Brackets!

Even though I have been a sports fan for most of my life, basketball is still relatively new to me. I never really gave the game a chance until I met my husband. After covering many, many basketball games for his television show, the game has grown on me. So, this is the first year that I have really gotten into the ritual that is March Madness.

Mark and I completed our brackets and waited with baited breath for the madness to begin. It finally dawned on me why they call it madness. There are so many games in just a few days that it really is maddening to try to keep up with it all. We have been poised in front of the television for hours trying to follow all the games. At this point, it has all begun to run together for me. Don't even ask me who I picked to win in the 3rd round. I barely know who is playing today!

So, as far as the brackets go, it starts out with 64 teams. The brackets are divided up into four regions. By the way, these regions seem to be picked at random. It is very difficult to tell which team is in which region. Anyway, in the first round, they play 32 games in two days. This eliminates half the teams. The points are tallied as the games are completed and the winners determined. You receive one point for each correct prediction for a potential total of 32.

The second round is 16 games played by 32 teams. This round gives two points for each correct prediction. The third round is the Sweet Sixteen with 16 teams playing eight games. Each correct answer this round earns three points. The fourth round is the Elite Eight giving four points each. The semi-finals is called the Final Four with four teams playing two games (giving 5 points each). The finals yield six points when the winning team becomes the national champions. This process is very exciting but really is maddening at the same time!

Mark and I were watching yesterday and he paused to ask me why I cared about any of this. He pointed out that we are not doing well enough with our bracket predictions to win anything. But, it is the competition that I am enjoying. As a girl trying to exist in the man's world of sports, I love to succeed in anything that guys think we can't do! I guess it's that rebellious streak in me that says "Anything you can do, I can do better!!" I love to hang with the guys and be a constant source of surprise for them.

March Madness

I must take a break from our discussions of baseball Spring Training to give some time to March Madness. No, March Madness does not refer to getting ready for Spring Break or the frustration of hay fever that comes with Spring flowers. March Madness refers to the college basketball playoffs.

I have to admit, basketball is not my first love or even my second. Honestly, I was not much of a basketball fan before I met my husband a few years ago. I have always focused on college football and major league baseball. But with Mark, I have seen so much basketball and "get it" for the most part, so it has finally grown on me. That being said, I still must admit that I prefer professional basketball and follow the Atlanta Hawks religiously.

So back to this March Madness issue. I originally referred to it as the college basketball playoffs, but that is a little misleading. The famous "bracket" that the guys talk about consists of 64 teams. Thirty of these teams are the winners of their conferences (there are 30 conferences). The other 34 teams are decided by a committee of guys who have some type of subjective system to figure out who is better and who should get to play. This same committee of guys decides how the teams are arranged in the bracket, essentially who will play who. There is usually quite a bit of disagreement among fans, particularly if their team doesn't get into the tournament or if their favorite team gets a tough spot in the bracket.

Now this committee of guys who decide on the teams and bracket are really into secrecy and drama. Everything is decided behind closed doors and then announced on Selection Sunday. This ceremony, which rivals only the NFL draft, is when this committee announces the teams one at a time while each team watches from their schools. When a team is confirmed as playing in the Madness, the TV shot goes to the campus and shows the pandimonium. Now, many of these teams know they will probably play and there's is more celebration than surprise. But there are some teams "on the bubble" or borderline. Teams with so-so records will be placed on the bracket if the committee decides they deserve it. This is where the fans can get a little irate. Sometimes, these decisions are questioned when the obvious choice is not made.

So, March Madness really is a little mad. The teams and fans get worked into a frenzy and rush to fill out their brackets so they can win the pools. The selection process is a bit of a circus and this madness occupies our guys for a whole three weeks of eye numbing TV coverage.

Baseball Basics

It is much more enjoyable watching the game of baseball if you understand the basics of the game. I don't want to overwhelm you with too much (and please forgive me if this is too basic for some of you), but here are the bare bones basics:

Baseball is played on a field shaped like a diamond. Really, it's just the infield where the bases are that looks like a diamond, with a semi-circle on one side which is the outfield. In this picture, the infield is grey and the outfield is green. Also, you can see in the diagram that on the four corners of the diamond there are first, second and third bases and home plate (where it is labeled "Catcher"). The batter stands at home plate while the pitcher (in the middle of the diamond) throws the ball and the batter tries to hit it. Teams and fans make it a point to keep up with the speed at which the pitcher can throw the ball. The teams actually use a type of radar gun behind home plate to clock the ball speed. Most pitchers can throw a baseball between 70 and 95 mph.

If you take a look at a team roster, you may see something that looks like code next to each player's names, like 1B, OF, or RHP. This "code" actually stands for the position that player normally plays. Players tend to specialize in one, maybe two positions and it is not that common for them to move around very much. The differents positions are:

1B - First Base

2B - Second Base

3B - Third Base

SS - Short Stop

C - Catcher

OF - Outfielder
**can also be RF (Right Field) LF (Left Field) and CF (Center Field)

RHP - Right Handed Pitcher

LHP - Lefthanded Pitcher

Okay, now we know who is who and where. Now, let's talk about the basic playing of the game. The numbers to remember are:

9 innings in a ball game (extra innings if there is a tie)

3 outs in an inning for each team

3 strikes makes an out

4 balls make a walk

Baseball games normally are played for 9 innings. In one inning, players on a team take turns batting (in the batting order) until there are three outs. Then the other team has a turn to bat. An out means that the player missed hitting the ball three times when it was in the strike zone. It doesn't matter if the batter tried to hit it or not. They can strike out by missing the ball or they can strike out "looking", which means that they did not swing the bat. When a ball is thrown outside of the strike zone, it is a "ball". Four balls means the player gets to go to 1st base or "walk". Umpires are positioned behind the catcher, and in the edge of the outfield close to 1st and 3rd base. The umpires job is to call strikes or balls. It is very entertaining to watch fans argue over whether the umpire made the right call and it is very common for fans to disagree with the calls.

Major League Baseball: Spring Training

We are in the middle of March and that means spring training for major league baseball. Each team has a spring training facility in either Florida or Arizona since many of their hometowns are still a little cool this time of year. Spring training begins around the end of February and ends in April when the regular baseball season begins.

Spring training is the time for the teams to get back into shape, work out the kinks, and try out new players who have moved up from the minor league "farm teams". You may hear that a minor league player was "invited" to spring training. This means that the major league team is trying him out to see if they want to keep him or put him back down into a minor league team. Also. during spring training the teams play each other in preseason games that equate to scrimmages. These games don't really count that much, but each team gets practice and they can check out the other teams.

Each major league team has one or more minor league teams for up and coming players. These minor league teams are designated as AAA (the highest level), AA (the middle of the road), A (a lower level) and the rookie league (right out of high school or newly drafted). While players can move directly from AAA to the major league team and back again, it is not unusual for players to skip up or down more than one level at once. For example, if Johnny Shortstop is playing on a major league team and he starts playing really bad or if he is injured, he could be moved to a minor league team for more intensive training or to rehabilitate an injury. On the other hand, if Joe Outfielder is a young kid who is the best thing since sliced bread, he probably will be able to skip some of the minor league levels and go straight to the major leagues.

Spring training is the time that the guys start getting really excited about the beginning of baseball season. They will debate about what player was traded to which team, who is the best team or player and try to predict which teams will win the most games. Every baseball fan's dream is to attend a spring training game to get a jump on the season.

Welcome to the Women's Guide to Sports!

I have alway been a tomboy. I followed my dad around like a puppy and learned all about "guy stuff". When I was young, instead of dolls, tea parties or frilly dresses, I preferred cowboys and indians, climbing trees and fixing things around the house. I have always been a very independent chick and I have always been a sports fan.

When I grew older, I made the effort to move away from my tomboy ways and tried to be more feminine. I still wasn't the epitomy of the girly-girl, but I seriously tried to be more like other girls. I succeeded for many years and truly moved away from my tomboy roots. But then along came a man who swept me off my feet - a man who happens to be a sportscaster! Finally, I found my soul-mate! My husband, Mark, a former radio sportcaster, has served Gwinnett County for over 10 years as the host of The Coaches Corner which features local teams, coaches and highlights of games.

As the wife of the local "sports guy", I have had the opportunity to watch and record high school sports on almost a daily basis. We are constantly filming football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, etc. When we are not documenting local high school games, we spend much of our time at home watching ESPN, Sportscenter, and our local sports teams, the Atlanta Falcons, Braves and Hawks. So, most of my life now is spent in the world of sports. In our home, we eat, sleep, dream and breathe sports.

So, I started thinking that this life I am so fortunate to be living has given me a unique pespective. I am a woman who understands and enjoys sports! I know, that is rare, but that's where I can help you. I see sports from a woman's point of view. I want to give you what I have learned so that you can understand and maybe even enjoy time with your man while he is watching sports. You might even surprise him that you know what is happening on the field before he has to explain it to you. Believe me, guys will love it that you share their interests. But be careful not to act like you know more than they do. Give them some room to teach you a few things so that they still feel needed....