18 - April 2, 2010

Hudson~Litchfield News

Why March Makes Us Mad

by Chris White

Like any Thanksgiving Day or Fourth of

Hudson~Litchfield News

July celebration, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament holds a significant place in today’s American culture. Televised nationally on CBS, the tournament enters the homes of millions of viewers who not only tune in to watch a great basketball game, but also to see whether or not their picks advance to the next round. It has become a common tradition for people to pay a small entry fee to participate in office pools and other similar friendly contests involving the tournament. When the 65-team field is announced in mid-March, experts and novices alike fill out their brackets before the tournament begins, hoping to correctly predict as many winners as possible in order to come out on top of any pool they entered. Upsets loom once the tournament begins,

however. Some are relatively easy to determine, while others are ones that no one can see coming.

For example, a somewhat predictable upset in this year’s tournament was when Cornell beat Temple in the first round. Cornell, who went 27-4 during the regular season, was handed the 12th seed in the East Regional, despite having a similar record to the fifth-seeded Owls, who were 29-5. Cornell was given the 12th seed mostly because it plays in the weaker Ivy League Conference, but it ended up advancing to the sweet 16 after upsetting Big 10 power Wisconsin in the round of 32. On the other hand, upsets like 14th- seeded Ohio knocking off number-three Georgetown in the first round or Northern Iowa spoiling top-seeded Kansas’ plans for a national championship in the second round are occurrences almost no one can predict or wants to have the guts to predict. This season, the final four was whittled down to Butler, Michigan State, Duke, and West Virginia. Duke and West Virginia were favorites to advance to

the tournament’s final weekend, while Butler and Michigan State (both fifth seeds) surprised many with their ability to advance after multiple rounds. Many people have their brackets busted by dark horses who make Cinderella runs to the sweet 16, elite eight, and final four. It doesn’t matter how much you know about the tourney’s participants. Anyone can rise to the top of the March Madness pool just as easily as they can fall to the bottom. With a win or go-home format, tournament games will forever remain as pressure cookers for players, coaches, fans, and pool participants alike—and this is why we call it March Madness. People don’t give much thought to how popular the tournament is today, but it never actually started receiving the amount of attention it does now until around the mid- 1980s. A few significant March Madness events leading up to that point sparked interest in the

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Gymnasts Compete in Spring Meets

submitted by Anne Boulia

The Nashua School of Gymnastics’ Levels 4-8 gymnasts competed in the NH Spring States Meet March 20-21 at the Stratham Cooperative Middle School, hosted by Tri-Star Gymnastics. The gymnasts qualified to attend the State meet by scoring 33.00 or higher in the all-around at one of the two NH Sectionals this spring. The Level 6 team took home an eighth-place team trophy, and the Level 8 team earned a seventh-place trophy. Level 8 gymnast Megan Middlemiss qualified for New England Regionals by placing sixth in the all-around. She will be competing on the NH State Team on April 23 in North Andover. Individual results for

the Hudson and Litchfield gymnasts are as follows: NH Spring States Level 5 (Age 7-8): Devon Rosier had an all-around score of 35.10. She scored 8.90 (fifth) on vault, 8.55 on bars, 8.55 on beam, and 9.10 (fifth) on floor. Level 6 (ages 9/10): Blake Boulia had an all-around score of

32.20. She scored an 8.50 on vault, 7.45 on bars, 8.20 on beam, and 8.05 on floor. Level 6 (ages 11/12): Ariel Flaisher had an all-around score of

33.20. She scored an 8.95 (seventh) on vault, 8.35 on bars, 7.50 on beam, and 8.40 on floor. Level 8 (ages 13/14): Megan Middlemiss had an all-around score of 34.90 (sixth). She scored 8.45 on vault, 9.125 (first, tie) on bars, 8.40 on beam, and 8.925 on floor (fifth).

Hudson Rec Basketball

college game. There was the great duel in the 1979 national

championship game between Larry Bird’s Indiana State Sycamores and Magic Johnson’s Michigan State Spartans. Then there was the unforgettable upset by coach Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State Wolfpack in 1983, who defeated seemingly unbeatable Houston for the national title. In 1985, underdog Villanova accomplished a similar feat as it upset Patrick Ewing and the mighty Georgetown Hoyas for the national championship. It’s the unpredictability and competitiveness of the tournament that fuels its fire. Viewers are attracted to the spirit of lesser-known teams competing to defy all odds against them, while also watching favorites stop at nothing to try to earn what they deserve. It’s the perfect mix for madness.

Te team sponsored by Harris Trophy captured the top prize in the Over-35 Men’s Basketball League for this season.

Members are John Lavoie, Yves Gosselin, Bob Andrews, John McGranahan (sponsor), Bob Ianacco, Keith Bowen, Mike Frasco, Bob Davis, and Jason Lavoie.

Left: Bob Ianacco grabs a pass in midair

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Lavoie sends the ball out of double coverage against the M&N Sports team

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