When Will It End?

Enough already with winter!

It's time for crazy weather here in Ohio, and Mother Nature is delivering. Temperatures have generally been pretty mild lately, and we're paying for it today. It's been snowing all day. We're expected to have 4-6" by the time it's all said and done, and I'd say we're well on our way to that. Luckily, the road crews are doing an uncharacteristically good job of keeping the roads clear. I was out and about on my lunch break with no problems or even delays whatsoever.

Of course, that's here in Toledo. Brandi, who's in Stow, called this morning to tell me she was involved in a weather-related car accident. She's not hurt--just regular post-collision soreness--but a little shaken up, which is understandable. It was just a fender-bender, for the most part, but it does sound like her car was knocked out of alignment, if nothing else. Fortunately, her parents have stepped in and are getting her another car. It sucks that it had to happen this way, but her having a newer car is a good thing.

I'm just hoping that this is our last snowstorm of the season. It should be, seeing as how spring begins for real on Saturday. And it's not all bad--there are a couple of cardinals hanging out in the tree right outside my office window, and they look awesome against the snowy background. These are the sort of photographs I would take if I had a really good digital camera. The colors are just phenomenal.

And the weather being crazy this time of year in Ohio (most of the time, really), it's supposed to get back to being mild again soon. Whatever snow we get today will likely be gone by this weekend.

Along with crazy weather in Ohio, this is also the time of year for the NCAA basketball tournament. This is one of my favorite times of the year, and it's maybe the best time of the year for even casual sports fans. There's just something captivating about the tournament, especially the opening rounds. Smaller schools are getting a rare chance to show their stuff against the "big boys" on a neutral floor, and the "survive and advance" attitude provides an amazing, emotional atmosphere. It's great to watch--I know I've always liked watching the tournament, even back before I was as big of a basketball fan as I am now. Brandi and I watched the selection special on Sunday evening and filled out brackets, and it was a lot of fun.

Personally, I think the first round of the tournament, which is always played on a Thursday and Friday, should be national holidays so everyone could take the day off work and watch the games. At the very least, there should be a television in a break room or conference room or something so workers could check in periodically and see how the games are going. Right now I can't even have a radio at my desk, so I'll be checking scores on ESPN.com every couple of minutes.

Tournament action actually starts tonight, with the opening round play-in game between Lehigh and Florida A&M. The winner gets to face top overall seed Kentucky. They've had this play-in game for a couple of years now, and it's always played in Dayton. I'd love to eventually be able to go to one of these games, since it's not very far. This year, though, I'll be watching on ESPN.

On his radio show today, Tony Kornheiser had George Mason head basketball coach Jim Larranaga on to preview the tournament and talk about his own picks. I found Coach Larranaga to be a good radio personality and quite entertaining. This is at least mildly noteworthy to me because he was the head basketball coach at Bowling Green before moving on to George Mason. My first year attending BGSU was the first year for Coach Larranaga's successor (Dan Dakich), so I don't know that much about him.

You'll notice, of course, that I've said little to this point about the end of BG's basketball season. Rest assured, there will be a season review sometime in the coming days. Right now I'm taking a couple of days to detach myself, to think about the season and talk with other BG fans. It was a rough season, and I think it bears some thought before I write about it. It's coming, though, and it'll be extensive.

For now, though, let winter end and March Madness begin!