Unfold your victory story

So I was hardly excited about this year’s NCAA Tournament. Filled out three brackets this morning, but I don’t know who’s good, and I don’t really care. By the way, brackets are just awful when you can’t convince yourself yours matters.

But then the games started.

BYU just wrapped up a spectacular 99-92 double-overtime win over the 10-seed Florida Gators that reminded me why March Madness is king. Like many tourney games, it started slowly, with poor execution and a disappointing level of play. But the Cougars took a big second-half lead, blew it, and then somehow managed to win the game anyway.

My favorite part was when Jimmer Fredette got knocked down with four minutes to go in the second overtime period. As soon as the cameraman stood over him, he just looked up and waved. Totally cool under pressure, and that’s as close as I got to knowing the Cougars would win before the final buzzer sounded. My least favorite part would have been that stepback three he took late if he hadn’t made it, but it went in and he finished with 37 to lead BYU to an awesome victory.

So it’s back to the games for me. By the way, CBS and the NCAA completely rock for giving you alternative options if you can’t catch the games on TV, like their online streaming and $10 iPhone app (which has pretty solid video quality, by the way) for catching games on the go, or just seeing the game that isn’t on right now. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can’t wait until everyone sees the light.

Broncos get Brady Quinn. Next stop? Missing the playoffs

So you’ve probably heard that the Denver Broncos acquired quarterback Brady Quinn, late of the Cleveland Browns and previously of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, in a trade involving Peyton Hillis (who I’m not in love with) and some late draft picks.

I’ve got nothing against Hillis; he’s just not one of my favorites the way he seems to be for some Broncos fans.

So how does Brady Quinn, Medicine Woman, shift the balance of power in the AFC West? Not at all! Everyone keeps asking me what I think about this trade, which is weird, considering Quinn’s dazzling career 5.39 yards per attempt, which barely beats Hillis’ 4.9 yards per rushing attempt. Let me spell it out for you: he sucks. No, he doesn’t suck at football the way I suck at getting women, but he’s yet to show any hint that he’s got the potential to turn a team around, despite his build, athleticism, and hype.

And make no mistake: turning the franchise around is absolutely what the Broncos need right now. We might’ve been gangbusters out of the gate last year, including a Week Two win over Cleveland in which Quinn threw thirty-one times for 161 yards and a pick, but we were straight garbage down the stretch, with a pair of four-game losing streaks sandwiching our only second-half wins. Overall, we were middle-of-the-pack, if anything, outscoring opponents by two points over the course of the season and finishing 8-8. But the team fell apart in ways that seemed to go beyond things that are easily correctable. And we’ll be even worse if we get rid of Brandon Marshall, our one offensive weapon at the skill positions. (That’s an odd thing to say, because Ryan Clady is nothing if not skilled, but you know what I mean.) Knowing Josh McDaniels, we’ll probably get rid of Marshall and Champ Bailey, and then next year we can trade for guys with one third of their potential. In other words, don’t anybody get excited, because we’ve got a long way to go.