March Madness Giveaway

It's March Madness. Basketball fans know what that means. Hoops, hoops and more hoops.

So check out my latest giveaway: an e-book edition of "Shooting Star."

It's the story of a young man who transfers to a new school. Although he's an outstanding basketball player, Jesse Christopher faces obstacles in fitting in at the school as he contends with bullies, cliques, teachers, and even fellow basketball players.  

Jesse is the member of a rural team that has hopes of winning the Kentucky State High School Basketball title. Read his story. 

The giveaway ends March 12 so be sure and enter. No gimmicks. No follows. No strings attached. 

Give it a shot! You may be a winner.

Just click here.



  

NCAA Commercial Overload

I don't believe I could stand another day watching the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments.

The games, for the most part, were filled with great storylines along with nail-biting outcomes and a few surprises as well as a few clunkers thrown in for good measure during the three-week run.

So what's my beef? The commercials. If I saw one, I must have watched it 25 times during the course of the tournaments. 

Enough is enough!

Some were  clever and cute, such as the Capitol One spots featuring Charles Barkley, Greg Anthony and Alec Baldwin, and the AT&T ads, with the children and later featuring NBA Hall of Famers Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird and Bill Russell (especially the slow break).

And then there were the All-State spots with "March Mayhem;" the guys in Lowe's building a deck; Applebee's with Bob Knight and Digger Phelps; AXE with the clip from the Valparaiso-Ole Miss game from years ago; the Liberty Mutual Insurance ones playing the Human League's song "I'm Only Human;" and Florida coach Billy Donovan and staff talking logistics the UPS way.

A friend mentioned to me that it takes a commercial about five showings to register with a viewer. I think I got overload.

If you get a craving to watch them again, just click on these YouTube clips:

Until the next time...

Until the next time...

Basketball by the Book

For the past few days I've been watching the NCAA basketball tournament on television.

I don't watch all the games. Some I'll spend perhaps  ten minutes and then switch channels if it appears a blowout is in the making. Others I'll begin viewing if I see it looks to be competitive. There are a few I'll watch from start to end. And there may be some I won't watch at all (especially if they're past my bedtime).

I think the tournament -- and perhaps other sporting events -- provide a valuable lesson to writers.

Writers need to craft their books to keep the attention of the readers, much like Marquette's 74-72 win over Butler and Wichita State defeating top-ranked Gonzaga 76-70. Those were nailbiters that kept the viewer staying tuned until the final horn. Writers should seek to keep the reader until the last page.

And there've been surprise endings, such unheralded Harvard defeating New Mexico 68-62 (past my bedtime but I was still surprised the next morning, if that counts). No doubt there were people watching the game who were simply waiting for Harvard to fold in the final minutes. The same could be said of Florida Gulf Coast's improbable 78-68 victory over Georgetown.

And there was suspense, such as Marquette's rally in the final 30 seconds to beat Davidson 59-58. Even though Marquette was the favorite, there were enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Good suspense writers know how to keep you guessing.

I wonder what the TV ratings were for those lopsided contests? Much like a book, I'm sure many folks switch channels or turn off the TV (or close the book, never to be read again). You don't want that as a team or a writer.

Until the next time...

Bluegrass Madness

While most basketball fans think of the NCAA tournament as March Madness, many Kentuckians will tell you that the Kentucky State High School Basketball Tournament just as big of a deal.

Teams across the Bluegrass state compete in district and regional tourneys, hoping to earn a coveted spot in the Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena in Lexington.

This year the championship was played on Sunday, the first time in tourney history, and more than 17,000 fans watched Madison Central rally from a 16-point deficit to post a 65-64 victory over favored Louisville Ballard.

It was a memorable event for Madison Central coach Allen Feldhaus Jr., who played on Mason County's squad that lost to Simon Kenton in 1981 title game before more than 21,000 fans. His dad, Allen Feldhaus, was his coach.

The boys state tournament has been held annually since 1916, with the first officially sanctioned tourney by the Kentucky High School Athletic Association two years later. 

March Madness continues this week with the girls state tourney at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green. It's been an annual affair since 1975 and brings the same degree of competitiveness as well as fervor from the fans.

The boys and girls tournaments are special for the teams, schools, counties, towns and cities that are represented as well as the cheerleaders and fans who support them to the final horn.

The Madison Central boys received a heroes welcome in Richmond including a parade aboard fire trucks through the center of town. It's an experience the players, students and community will never forget. And no doubt the girls champion will be accorded the same reception when they return to their hometown this weekend.

Until the next time...

Homegrown Talent in Final Four

We're down to the Final Four teams in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

I was curious to see how many of the four remaining teams had home-state players in their starting lineups.

Ohio State (31-7) leads the way with three -- guards William Buford of Toledo and Aaron Craft of Findlay, and forward Jared Sullinger of Columbus.  The other starters are guard Lenzelle Smith Jr. of Zion, Ill., and forward Deshaun Thomas of Fort Wayne, Ind.

The other teams don't have homegrown starters although Louisville freshman Chane Behanan, whose hometown is Cincinnati, played his last two seasons at Bowling Green High School in Kentucky. The other starters for the Cardinals (30-9) are guards Peyton Siva of Seattle, Wash., Chris Smith of Millstone, N.J., and Kyle Kuric of Evansville, Ind., and center Gorgui Dieng of Keberner, Sengal.

Kansas (31-6) starts guards Travis Releford of Kansas City, Mo., Elijan Johnson of Las Vegas, and Tyshawn Taylor of Hoboken, N.J., forward Thomas Robinson of Washington, D.C., and center Jeff Withey of San Diego.

And top-ranked Kentucky (36-2) showcases guards Marquis Teague of Indianapolis, Doron Lamb of Queens, N.Y., and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of Somerdale, N.J., forward Terrence Jones of Portland, Ore., and center Anthony Davis of Chicago.

As for the entire rosters, Ohio State has six, Kansas has two, Louisville has three, and Kentucky has four homegrown products.

One thing it shows is that national programs recruit on a national level for the most part. Ohio is a populous state so it was fertile recruiting territory for the Ohio State coaching staff. And the Northeast is a hotbed for great players on this year's teams.

Regardless of where the players are from, I'm sure the fans of their respective teams have embraced them as one of their own.

Until the next time...

Game Changer

I usually watch "Charlie Rose" on PBS to gain some insights on politics, world events, the economy, the arts, and other interesting and timely topics.

I was mildly surprised this week when I turned on his program and watched an interview with ESPN basketball analysis Jay Bilas about this year's NCAA basketball tournament.

Bilas is one of the best commentators on the sport. He's a former player at Duke (played on the NCAA runner-up squad in 1986), played professionally overseas, served as an assistant coach to Mike Krzyewski (including 1992 championship team), and has been with ESPN since 1995. He also earned a law degree during his years as a Duke assistant.

Bilas believes the NCAA needs to make some adjustments to the game because "the product on the floor is not what it should be."

He mentioned "clutch and grab" defenses and charges being "handed out like Halloween candy." He asserted that the college game is more physical than what you see in the National Basketball Association.

He said the NCAA needs to put someone in charge of the sport and that officials need "to be mandated on what to call" in games. He pointed out that college basketball has the shot clock and 3-point shot and scoring keeps going down.

Bilas also defended players leaving after one season to play in the NBA.  He said players should encouraged to "chase that (NBA) dream...being an athlete is a noble thing."

Click here to listen to the entire interview.

Two changes I always thought to improve the game -- and they've been mentioned by several coaches --- are to raise the goal to 12-feet and widen the foul lane to international dimensions to relieve the congestion and rough play under the basket.

I believe it was Coach Marv Harshman who said years ago that the only reason the goal was 10-feet high was because that was the highest spot on an elevated track where James Naismith could nail the peach basket. If it had been at 12 feet, or some other height, that's where it would be today. Players have simply outgrown the 10-foot standard.

One other thing, be sure and check out the "Charlie Rose" because you'll hear people discussing all kinds of interesting things.

Until the next time...