Better than Expected

What a fun Dance this has been...and if only a pair of shots could have found the bucket for Davidson, but what an incredible game we witnessed last night! While Stephen Curry was highly touted by CBS, he lived up to his hype in the first half before being put on lock down by Rock Chalk's Box & One D.

Nevertheless, ALL Four 1 seeds made it to the Final Four for the first time, which is pretty remarkable since they should be the best teams in the tournament in the first place, but we all watch to see (a) big time upsets and big time little guys in the first weekend, (b) Cinderellas give it their all in the second weekend, and (c) top quality hoops the final weekend. I think we can put a big fat YES for (a) and (b), now we just have to wait to see if we get the quality hoops this coming weekend as CBS salivates over 2 games - 1 actual and 1 potential game - (1a) Roy Williams (who did not give a "shit" about UNC following the 2003 NCAA Championship game) vs. His Former Team and Bill Self and (1p (for potential)) Tyler Hansbrough vs. Kevin Love. The stories within a game aspect that CBS craves are there...let's hope that CBS broadcasts the games rather than talks obnoxiously about the stories...then again, who am I kidding!

The real point of this thought is to say a half-hearted I was not 100% correct to CBS...at least through the first 2 weekends of The Dance, which is why I might be partially correct. However, I want to applaud CBS for (a) having new Masters commercials and (b) not running them over and over and over and over and...you get the idea. However, CBS has one more weekend during which it can cram The Masters...A Tradition Like No Other down our throats. Here's to not allowing that to happen as I dream again about next year's perfect bracket.

With one more weekend, the goal is still the same...Stay As Long As You Can!

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Blinking Yellow

Driving can be a pain in tush at times because of all of the reasons that flow through your mind and my mind. Thankfully, though, I am not driving in Atlanta anymore!

However, while driving today, again I encountered (though I did not get to use) what I have before thought to be one of the best driving aspects ever programmed. What is this you ask, what can be so wonderful?

The blinking yellow turn signal my horsepower pumping partner.

Why do I, or we, need to wait through, at worst, both directions green lights just because I am turning left? That is like being penalized for not using change to purchase something that costs $1.55.

I do not know if there is a council to which I can ask for more blinking yellow turn signals, but I might start to look for them. When ever I spot these, I get a little tingle of happiness because I know at least one traffic signal oriented intersection is doing things right! If only there were more.

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Corporate Sponsorship...It Can Get Worse

When I think naming rights (or group's putting corporate names on structures) cannot get any worse, I open AdAge this morning only to read the following article.

*Note 1 - AdAge does not leave its articles online for long, so the short article is below as well.
*Note 2 - I am not going to subject you to senseless links that would lead you to corporate websites.
*Note 3 - My one musing is in red. The article should provide enough fodder.

Children's Hospital in Hot Water Over Corporate Sponshorships (from AdAge)

*The New York Times ran an article on this hospital as well.

Published: March 12, 2008
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- What's in a name? If you're a Columbus, Ohio-area children's hospital, plenty of donations.

The Nationwide Children's Hospital, so called in recognition of the insurance company's $50 million donation, is drawing fire from advocacy groups for its embrace of corporate sponsors. The facility is preparing to break ground on the Abercrombie & Fitch Emergency Department and Trauma Center. Another retailer, Limited Too, will be recognized for its $5 million donation with the Limited Too & Justice Main Lobby. [Next up - a new OshKosh retail spot that you walk through as you leave the B'Gosh Delivery Room and the Gerber Dining Hall in the Gerber Life Insurance Wing.] [In its current naming situation, this is the future of the building and its make-up.]

But it is the affiliation with Abercrombie, known for its not-exactly-child-friendly advertising, that is drawing the most criticism. Abercrombie donated $10 million to the hospital in 2006 for the construction of the center.

Not kidding around
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood sounded alarms this week with a widely distributed press release detailing its position, as well as a letter sent to hospital officials. The group also began a letter-writing campaign today in opposition of the use of the retailer's name.

The advocacy group earlier created a public-relations nightmare for McDonald's over its sponsorship of student report cards. The fast-food chain discontinued that program in January.

Susan Linn, the group's director and a psychologist at Judge Baker Children's Center, said the group took action after it was contacted by a concerned hospital employee. "[Our] stance is that selling naming rights is a terribly troubling trend," said Ms. Linn. "It gives corporations a veneer of respectability that, in fact, they may not deserve, and this is a good example of that."

Incensed by A&F
"Abercrombie & Fitch is really among the worst of corporate predators," she continued. "A company with such cynical disregard for children's well-being shouldn't be able to claim the mantle of healing. ... And, personally, I find it very concerning that they named their hospital after an insurance company."

Jon Fitzgerald, president of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Foundation, explained that the hospital is not selling naming rights but recognizing donors for "transformational" gifts. "It's a very common practice that when an institution is fortunate enough to receive a significant gift, or any gift for that matter, it requires some sort of recognition," he said. "If you took a look across universities and other hospitals you would see many retailers involved in naming opportunities at those institutions."

Mr. Fitzgerald also said the hospital, not the corporations, made the decision to rename or name certain areas in their honor. He noted that because design plans for the new building have not been finalized, he could not comment on how the Abercrombie & Fitch name would be used.

In response to the letter, Mr. Fitzgerald expressed concern. "Clearly we're open to talking to anyone who has issue with the directions we take to support our mission," he said. "And clearly we'll take into account what their concerns are. But this is a 2-year-old decision."

Tom Lennox, a spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch who has also served on the hospital foundation's board of trustees since 2005, said, "We are proud of our long-standing relationship with the hospital and pleased to help secure its bright future." He declined to comment further.

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A Ruining Like No Other

Welcome to one of the most beautiful, most wonderful, most amazing times of the year my friends. In actuality it started a few days ago for our small, Cinderella hopeful friends (including the local Portland State Vikings!) who are hoping the shoe fits, but in reality, it all starts today as the Big Boy Conference Tournaments tip-off and teams make that one final push to get an invite, sure up an invite, or move up their invite number to the Big Dance.

March Madness.

I need not utter anything else(!), but I will...although not about the tournament itself. Wait...man, March Madness sounds so pleasing to the ear as the words bring back so many memories, sounds, smells, brackets - good and bad - bracket busters, buzzer beaters, couches, and ouches. But I digress.

March Madness (MM and More) does not bring just the pageantry of hoops and all that college ball has to offer. Unfortunately, March Madness also marks the rebirth of CBS's ability to ruin a beautiful event (if not more since CBS stands for Can't Broadcast S#@*), CBS's efforts to hawk an event we all love, and CBS's bullying ways that mean cramming an event down our throats. Unless you are going to be watching your first NCAA Basketball Tournament, then you know I am talking about The Masters.

During the tournament, you will watch more golf coverage than you will the rest of the year if you are not a golf fan. You will see almost every inch of Augusta National. You will quickly figure out that you are watching basketball and golf simultaneous. It gets that ugly. As we all know, the commercials end with A Tradition Like No Other, but I am not sure if the reference is to The Masters itself or CBS's annual muscle job of running the commercials incessantly. BUT WAIT...CBS could not wait this year. Some CBS marketing person decided that starting the cram job during March Madness simply did not give them enough time. While I do not have an official date or reference to prove this, my jaw dropped when I saw a Masters commercial during the NFL Playoffs. I kid you not my Bracketville Friend. Evidently CBS took Bracketville's "Stay as Long as You Can" slogan.

The Masters is simply a great event, and now we can watch more of it thanks to ESPN's coverage. However, I am simply not ready to digest a fist full of The Masters, A Tradition Like No Other. I can always count on CBS for being great at Ruining Like No Other, so thanks for being good at it!

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