--- advertisement ---

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Local Sports

Local sports in the Panhandle are not just a game, they are a lifestyle. Our community eats, sleeps and breathes cheering on our local athletes.
News13 is On Your “Sidelines” bringing you more than the score.
News13’s Stephen Gunter is committed to giving you stories of the Panhandle’s top athletes, intriguing match-ups and unusual sports you may not even know exist.
sgunter@wmbb.com

Thursday, March 16, 2006

March Madness Maniacs!

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. - Basketball, basketball, and yes, more basketball.

There’s around 12 straight hours of non-stop basketball action kicking off the 2006 NCAA Division I Championship Tournament.

“I got the beach in earlier, now it’s basketball time,” basketball fan Jeff Mullin said. “A lil dinner and break for the beach, then back to basketball.”

“Wall-to-wall basketball action,” Gordon Anderson, owner of Calypso Beach Cafe said. “There’s TV’s everywhere, it’s a lot of fun!”

Bosses across the country are preparing for the most unproductive Thursday throughout corporate america, as everyone up and down the employment the tries anything and everything to guarantee a seat in front of the television.

“If you want to know if I would skip work, don’t worry, I’m not getting a job,” basketball fan Colin Dougherty said.

“I’m always coming out, checking scores, sneaking out of the kitchen,” Anderson said.

In addition to sneaking off to catch games, offices all over are catching “Bracket Fever.”

Millions of people have signed up on the Internet trying to guess which teams will be moving on.

But there are several ways to select your picks.

“I cant follow all the teams,” Mullin said. “So I go with the mascots quite a bit.”

Dougherty uses the “magic thumb” method. He simply closes his eyes and puts his thumb down.

Which ever team his thumb lands on, they win!

While picking your favorite mascot or pointing your thumb are both great scientific methods, some tend to go with their favorite team.

Our local favorite, the Florida Gators are still alive with a win, but there’s always someone else to root for.

“I lean more toward the ACC and the SEC,” Anderson said. “I’m a big Coach K fan, so I’m going for Duke.”

Conventional wisdom doesn’t seem to produce the best results when filling out your bracket.

So all I can really say is… good luck.

You’ll need it.

By the way—UConn over Duke.

• • (0) Comments • (0) Trackbacks • Permalink

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page 1 of 1 pages