6:40 PM
The game ends at 24 hours and 10 minutes. It turns out that drawing my brother in law into a conversation about the Selection Committee was not a a good idea. Even with a forewarning, he let slip that UAB got crushed last night. Game over. This one was a self-inflicted wound. Completely my fault. Hope I dont have to do this again.
3:30 PM
The margin for error remains thin, as a couple of accidental clicks on Google News threatened to end the Game before the First Four was even over. Not only are sports sites off limits, news aggregation sites must also be avoided, in the off chance Nutsack A&M beats Duke and it makes the Drudge Report.
Tonight brings one of the most difficult challenges in the Game. How do I go about watching Virginia Tech's NIT game against Bethune Cookman and still avoid any information on the NCAA Tournament? Watching on TV is less risky than checking the score online or on my phone, since I figure that I will have to cycle through ALL college basketball scores (which will be headlined by scores from the NCAA National Championship Invitational Tournament) to get to what I want. We can only hope that painter's tape covering the ESPN Bottom Line and the mute button (to avoid the inevitable "Look at what the bubble teams ahead of Virginia Tech did last night!" chatter) can save the Game for one more night.
8:45 AM
12 hours and counting. Even though I slept eight of those hours - and the games in Dayton didn't mean jack squat - I am now realizing how tough the Game will be. Curiosity is powerful, even for things you didn't think you would care about. I wanted to look at the scores, and I'm pretty sure the scores were all over the place: ESPN, CNN, even the local news.
Today is about creating a pattern. My choices of background entertainment could determine if the Game lasts beyond the First Four in Dayton. Forget listening to The Sports Junkies - that's a death wish for the Game. Its best to just stick to the IPod or a CD, and not run the risk of tuning into even a normal radio station. There are too many local teams involved (Georgetown, George Mason, VCU, etc.) to risk it.
The work radio is potentially one my most dangerous foes - I will be here for nine hours, so how can I avoid sports talk, or the casual conversation of customers coming in to talk about sports? My solution, the classical radio station, would certainly be effective, but after a couple minutes I knew it wouldnt fly with the co-workers. I changed the station to soft rock, and I'm now hoping for the best.
