If there’s one thing that I love this time of year it’s the chance for a good thunderstorm and the excitement of tornadoes (you just never know when one will level your home…and given an infinite amount of time it will happen eventually). But what I love even more are the random summer-like days we get in February, March & April.  After a long cold winter those days are awesome, even if they’re not around to stay for a few more months.

Elite Eight action concludes this afternoon & evening. Here are your match-ups:

Elite Eight action tips off this evening. Here are your match-ups (winners in bold):

Sweet Sixteen action concludes this evening. Here are your match-ups (winners in bold):

Sweet Sixteen action tips off this evening.  Here are your match-ups:

It’s a rare occasion that you can make a good move and a bad move at the same time, but the NFL managed to pull it off.

Yesterday the NFL announced that for the 2010 season the overtime rules would be changing. BUT, they’d only be changing for 12, or 37.5%, of the 32 teams in the league, for a cumulative 11 games.

First the rule change.

• If the team winning the coin toss kicks a field goal on their first possession, the other team gets the ball for a possession in order to either try to tie or win the game.
• If the team winning the coin toss gets a touchdown on their first possession, the game is over.
• If the teams are still tied after they each have had one possession, the old (a.k.a. “normal”) sudden death overtime rules apply (the first to score wins).

Now to when the changes take effect.

These rules will only be used during the playoffs due to injury concerns.  But this is extremely flawed as it:

1. Sends the message that player safety isn’t important during the playoffs. (And I’d debate that reasoning as a cop out regardless.)
2. Could possibly ruin other teams playoff hopes and/or seeding.

I agree that the new concept is better than the old, but I still like college rules better. And if you’re going to do it, do it. Don’t halfway commit to it.

There are my thoughts. What are yours?

Sixteen teams play for the remaining eight Sweet Sixteen spots next weekend. Winners in bold.

The first round of of March Madness 2010 is in the books and we’re down to 32 teams left.  The winners head to the Sweet 16 next weekend. The losers head home until next season.  Winners are in bold.

How did you do on your picks for Day 1 of March Madness 2010?  Here are today’s games, for the first round, second day.  Winners are in bold.

I somehow missed this one over the weekend, but Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras were going at each other during a charity event for Haiti. Their tennis partners Rafael Nadal & Roger Federer just stood by while these two legends acted like children.

…but of course if I was Sampras, I probably would have hit a ball at Agassi’s head too, mainly for airing my business in his book.