selection sunday has finally delivered its crop of 65 teams - fully vested with technicolored sugar-plum dreams. 48 will be gone in a week - no doubt some of the better ones. the most exciting part of march madness is seeing a 12 or 13 seed get to the sweet sixteen. and listening to the 4 and 5 seeds explain why they didn't. last year, one got to the final four.

the weekend was a blur of hdtv images and web stats: my preparations for filling out a perfect bracket. so far, in my accumulated wisdom, all 1 and 2 seeds will survive the week. i have some preferences, elsewhere, but ... that's the beauty of this thing: you really just have to watch the games. anything can happen.

beyond the competitive aspect, there's another reason I love mm: the refreshing, utterly complete absense of ego. most of the seniors will return to classes, graduate and do something else with the rest of their lives. for the nonce though, and before a staggering audience, they have their 15 minutes. it satisfies them, and it delights us. no contracts, no endorsements, just play your heart out.

the best reality show you could ever find -- march on!