THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 15, 1995 TAG: 9503150570
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
A pair of national obsessions met head-on Tuesday when Judge Lance Ito called a recess in the O.J. Simpson murder trial so that Det. Mark Fuhrman could fill out his NCAA basketball brackets in time to enter the precinct office pool.
In a related development, Rosa Lopez was asked in El Salvador if she had picked her Final Four teams, and she said, ``I don't remember.''
Jokes. They're just jokes.
OK, so I know what you're thinking. Some things are no laughing matter.
Like the NCAA office pools. Couldn't agree with you more. But how can you not chuckle over these pairings?
A No. 1 seed for a Kansas team that couldn't reach the finals of its own conference tournament?
The fewest ACC teams since the tournament expanded to 64?
Six teams from a mediocre Big Ten?
You want funny?
Take Purdue, the Big Ten champion, and the No. 3 seed in the Midwest. These title-winning Boilermakers lost at James Madison, which in turn lost to Liberty and Richmond.
So don't count on the Big Ten to keep you afloat in the pool. With the possible exception of Michigan State, the Big Ten is going to sink out of sight faster than oneAustralia.
Seriously though, the Big Ten shouldn't be embarrassed about getting six teams into the tournament. What it should be more embarrassed by are the wardrobes and hairlines of Jud Heathcote, Lou Henson and Gene Keady.
There are so many laughs written into this tournament field that you'd think the NCAA selection committee convened at the Improv.
What kind of tournament is it when one city - Philadelphia - has as many teams as the ACC?
But the big question is not who will win, but what the headlines will say after Colgate plays Kansas.
Colgate pasted by Kansas
Kansas brushes off Colgate
In any case, Kansas is sure to find cavities in the Colgate D. Afterward, the Jayhawks should remember to floss.
This year's tournament field may speak volumes for the state of college basketball, but can anybody locate the state Nicholls State is in?
Nicholls joins Murray, Long Beach and Ball as states that do not have their own flower.
Before you go thinking that nobody is good enough to win this thing, remember that there are nine Catholic institutions in the mix, so somebody has a prayer.
But there is no question as to the magnitude of this year's NCAAs. Everywhere you turn, you are reminded of its bigness.
There is Oklahoma State's Bryant ``Big Country'' Reeves. And Arkansas' Corliss Williamson, ``Big Nasty.''
The field features Tulane, from the Big Easy, and Manhattan, representing the Big Apple.
It's a big tournament that welcomes schools of all sizes. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clara.
And an Old Dominion, too. Now that ODU is scheduled to play in Albany, N.Y., I know why the tournament is called the Road to the Final Four - it's almost impossible to fly to some of these places.
What do the teams who win Friday in Albany do on their day off? Go to Newark for the sun?
This just in: Darryl Strawberry announced that he intends to submit his NCAA tournament picks for the New York Mets' replacement players clubhouse pool ... as soon as he files his 1989 tax return. by CNB