Madam, I Owe You an Apology
Posted March 26, 2006, 8:43 PM ET

Cinderella, would you mind removing your slipper from my...?

Thanks to the amazing kids from George Mason, they proved that Cinderella isn't dead after all. The upstarts from the Colonial Athletic Association became the first # 11-seeded team to make it to the Final Four since LSU pulled it off in 1986. Ironically, that was the year after Villanova won the title...the last "true" Cinderella story.

For Cinderella, please accept my apology for declaring that you had no pulse and that you were "Dead On Arrival". You might be twenty years older, but you still bring a smile to people's faces.

I'm still trying to figure out what is happening to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. March Madness is one thing, this tourney is pure insanity.

So how many people that filled out a bracket would imagine that every #1-seed team would be at home watching the Final Four festivities? Given the fact that all four number one seeded teams were alive and well heading into the Elite 8 match-ups, it makes their dismissal from the Big Dance even that much harder to comprehend.

First Duke, then Memphis, then the best of the Big East...as easy as 1-2-3-4. Amazing. Simply amazing.

I'm not sure what to make of this Final Four collection: LSU, UCLA, Florida and George Mason. Part of me is excited for some new blood and story lines...and part of me wants a recount of the Elite Eight finals.

For years I have made fun of the ineptitude of the BCS (Bowl Championship Series) in college football....the way this tourney has unfolded, it makes the BCS look like a well thought-out plan.

One thing is certain: the upcoming games in Indy will provide some great sidebar stories and a new champion of college basketball. And given how bizarre and strange this tournament has been so far, it is only fitting that these four teams play the National Semi-Finals on April 1st.

April Fool's Day has never been more appropriate for the NCAA Basketball Tournament.