March Madness USA

If you lined up 10 college basketball games, how exactly would you tell them apart? Would it be motion capture work or slick TV re-creation? Would you notice players decked out in custom clothes, or would the excited verbiage of the announcers grab your attention first? Well EA is betting that it knows what exactly the players want.

Two major distinguishing factors separate NCAA March Madness 08 from the rest, according to Novell Thomas, associate producer at EA. “Last year we laid the foundation. This year, our focus is on the inside game and individual player customization,” he explained. “For the last two years the best college teams had excellent inside games, so we’re working from the inside out, just like they do. We’re creating a realistic and legit inside game.”

Utilizing the big man as the team focus, EA Vancouver’s dynamic post control feature will refresh college gamers with new moves, animation, and strategy. As quick as the words come from his mouth, Thomas shows me the new post moves. Passing the ball to a tall skinny sophomore with a t-shirt under his jersey and a large afro, he demonstrates how the center can catch, face the opponent, lean down, and pivot while the palmed ball swings to and fro beneath his knees; how he can lean in, fake left, pivot, and shoot utilizing spin moves; or quickly jump up and under the opponent and the basket for a dunk. The motion capture work, as always, is clean and near realistic, and animations are short, smooth, and blend into one another.

“There are at least 15 to 20 new shot animations across the board, from inside shots to outside shots,” explains Thomas. “Our game encourages gamers to play realistically. We followed teams like Ohio State and their inside game.”

EA plans to distinguish player moves by their physical attributes and play styles. Every player will perform distinct moves based on their personal characteristics. If an athlete has great footwork and hands, he’ll slip past opponents with sleek gliding moves. If strong and powerful, he’ll lean in, hook or slam in dunks à la young Shaquille O’Neal. A few of the moves consist of jump hooks, sky hooks, drop steps, and power dribbles. EA also worked on a new tutorial that introduces these new offensive and defensive moves–from fronting opponents to using body weight to force opponents out of their drives. EA still has a month before the game ships and in that time, one of the elements it’s working on is player ratings. “The ratings aren’t tuned yet, but we still have a month to finish it,” Thomas admits. NCAA March Madness 08 ships to stores December 18.

As part of that tuning process, EA will ramp up the framerate for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions to 60, and keep it there. Smart gamers will take advantage of their momentum using “Team Intensity Control,” riding blocked shots, steals, and multiple shots and the momentum they generate with the crowd to increase their probabilities–all of which affect each player based on their distinct characteristics. Thomas was straight forward about the PS2 version. “It’s called the Gold edition, and it’s not like these next-gen versions at all. The PS2 version has updated rosters and stats; that’s it.”

If you watch NBA games, you’ve probably noticed that there is a greater emphasis on one-on-one play, as opposed to the running of set plays. Sure, you might see a coach calling out a play during crunch time, but that is usually to ensure that the team’s best shooter gets the ball when it matters most. During the rest of the game, however, the ball is frequently passed around a few times, before one player decides to challenge his defender. This is not the case in college ball, where coaches rule the roost and players have to follow their instructions to a T. It’s nice to see, then, that EA has decided to implement what’s known as the Floor General Play Calling System, which allows you to call, set up, and execute a play without altering the flow of the game.

Using the Floor General system is amazingly simple, even for those players who don’t know the difference between a weak side screen and a screen door. When bringing the ball up the court, simply press the D-pad up, and you’ll see three different offensive formations appear. You can select one of these by pressing the D-pad in the corresponding direction, or you can press up again to bring up three more offensive sets. After you decide, pressing the right thumbstick will show you where to set up, and which player should receive your pass. At first, figuring out how plays were supposed to be run was a challenge, as you can only see the first step of the play. However, once you figure out what to look for (a player curling around a screen or your big man wide open underneath, for example), you’ll have no problem putting the ball in the hoop.

Wooster senior Tim Vandervaart netted a career-high 32 points as he sparked the Fighting Scots to an 85-68 win over the NAIA’s Walsh. The native of North Canton, Ohio, shot 80 percent from the field as Wooster remained unbeaten at 3-0 … Baldwin-Wallace College senior forward Tori Davis attempted a school-record 23 free throws in a 74-71 win over Olivet College on Nov. 25. Davis scored a season-high 30 points, adding 11 rebounds and a blocked shot. He needs just one blocked shot to tie his brother, Thad (1999-2004), for the all-time school-record with 190 … Junior forward Travis Gorham was one of five players in double-figures as he scored 15 points to lead Plattsburgh State in a 72-55 win over Norwich on Nov. 21. Gorham tallied 15 points and 16 rebounds for a double-double, garnering SUNY Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors … Rowan’s Matt Byrnes lit up the scoreboard for 37 points as the Profs posted a 97-73 win over Medgar Evers last week. Byrnes’ performance is the highest point total for a New Jersey Athletic Conference player so far this season. The junior guard from Mays Landing, N.J., also hit five three-pointers and grabbed 12 rebounds, earning the league’s player of the week award. He leads the NJAC with 29.3 points per game.

“March Madness,” the term used to describe the excitement surrounding the Illinois state high school basketball tournaments, first appeared in print almost sixty years ago. It was coined by Henry V. Porter, who started his career as a teacher and coach at Athens High School in central Illinois. In 1924, Porter led the Athens boys basketball team to a second-place finish in the state tournament. He later served as assistant executive secretary of the Illinois High School Athletic Association (from 1929 to 1940) and executive secretary of the National Federation of State High School Associations (from 1940 to 1958).

Porter, who edited the IHSA’s journal, coined “March Madness” in an essay that appeared in the Illinois High School Athlete in March of 1939. Soon thereafter the nation was plunged into World War II. The drama of March Madness provided a unifying force that brought the entire state together, and Porter again commemorated the event, this time with a poem, “Basketball Ides of March,” which appeared in the Illinois Interscholastic in March of 1942.

March Madness

Homo of the Hardwood Court is a hardy specie. There are millions of him. He exists through summer and fall, shows signs of animation through the winter and lives to the utmost during March when a hundred thousand pairs of rubber soled shoes slap the hardwood in a whirlwind of stops and pivots and dashes on the trail to the state basketball championships. He is a glutton for punishment. When the March madness is on him, midnight jaunts of a hundred miles on successive nights make him even more alert the next day.

He will polish his pants on sixteen inches of bleacher seat through two games or three and take offense if asked to leave during the intermission between sessions. He is happy only when the floor shimmers with reflections of fast moving streaks of color, when the players swarm at each end and the air is full of leather. For the duration of the endemic he is a statistical expert who knows the record of each contender, a game strategist who spots the weak points in a given system of offense or defense, a rules technician who instructs the officials without cost or request. Every canine has his day and this is Homo’s month.

He is a doodler who, while conversing, scribbles free throw lanes with a hundred radiating alleys. In May the three symbols of the New York Fair will take on their intended meaning but in March the helicline is a ramp to the balcony, the trylon is the pyramid of hundreds of teams being narrowed down to the one at the state championship pinnacle and the perisphere has the traditional four panel basketball markings.

In everyday life he is a sane and serious individual trying to earn enough to pay his taxes. But he does a Jekyll-Hyde act when the spell is on him. He likes his coffee black and his basketball highly spiced. He despises the stall — unless his team is ahead. It is a major crime for the official to call a foul on the dribbler — unless the opponent was dribbling. His moods are as changeable as the March wind. He flies into a frenzy at some trivial happening on the court and before his vocal expression of disapproval is half completed he howls in delight at the humorous twist of a comment from a bleacher wit. He is part of the mass mind and is subject to its whims. He berates the center for attempting a long shot and lauds him when it goes in the basket. He is consistent only in his inconsistencies.

The thud of the ball on the floor, the slap of hands on leather, the swish of the net are music in his ears. He is a connoisseur in matters pertaining to team coordination and artistry in action. The shifting zone, the screen and the spot pass are an open book to him. He speaks the language.

He is biased, noisy, fidgety, boastful and unreasonable — but we love him for his imperfections. His lack of inhibitions adds a spontaneity that colors the tournaments. Without darkness there would be no light. A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel.

The writer’s temperature is rising. The thing is catching. It’s got me! Gimme that playing schedule!

Basketball Ides of March

The gym lights gleam like a beacon beam
And a million motors hum
In a good will flight on a Friday night;
For basketball beckons, “Come!”
A sharp-shooting mite is king tonight.
The Madness of March is running.
The winged feet fly, the ball sails high
And field goal hunters are gunning.

The colors clash as silk suits flash
And race on a shimmering floor.
Repressions die, and partisans vie
In a goal acclaiming roar.
On a Championship Trail toward a holy grail,
All fans are birds of a feather.
It’s fiesta night and cares lie light
When the air is full of leather.
Since time began, the instincts of man

Prove cave and current men kin.
On tournament night the sage and the wight
Are relatives under the skin.
It’s festival time, sans reason or rhyme.
But with nation-wide appeal.
In a cyclone of hate, our ship of state
Rides high on an even keel.
With war nerves tense, the final defense
Is the courage, strength and will
In a million lives where freedom thrives
And liberty lingers still.
Now eagles fly and heroes die
Beneath some foreign arch
Let their sons tread where hate is dead
In a happy Madness of March.

If you want to have a dinner party, don’t do it on game day. March Madmen are going to be a lot happier if they can snack on stuff without getting up from the TV. That means you’re in shooting range with chips and dips.

A meat and cheese plate (with some mustard on the side) would probably get a good workout, but leave the vegetable plate at the grocery store.

For sweets again go small: cupcakes frosted like basketballs, cookies and brownies will all score big points.

Ingredients: 2 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne
9 cups freshly popped unsalted popcorn
2 cups miniature pretzels
1 1/2 cups salted roasted peanuts
1 1/2 cups whole almonds, toasted
1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted
1 1/2 cups salted roasted cashews

Prepaation :

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Whisk together egg whites, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, paprika, and cayenne in a large bowl. Add popcorn, pretzels, nuts, and salt to taste and toss until thoroughly coated.

Spread evenly in 2 buttered large shallow baking pans (1 inch deep) and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of pans halfway through baking, until coating is crisp, about 20 minutes total.

Spread mixture on 2 large sheets of parchment paper or oiled foil and cool completely.

Ingredients :3 lb russet (baking) potatoes (6 to 8 medium; preferably organic)
1 small head garlic (2 inches in diameter)
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepperAccompaniment: onion and spinach dip

Preparations :

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Prick each potato once or twice with a fork. Cut off and discard top fourth of garlic head, then wrap garlic tightly in foil. Bake garlic and potatoes on same rack in lower third of oven until potatoes are tender, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Remove potatoes from oven and cool on a metal rack 15 minutes. Continue to bake garlic until tender, about 15 minutes more, then cool in foil on rack.

While garlic cools, halve potatoes lengthwise, then quarter each half (to form short wedges). Scoop out potato flesh (reserving it for another use), leaving 1/4-inch-thick potato skins.

Increase oven temperature to 425°F.

Squeeze garlic into a small bowl, discarding garlic skins, and mash to a paste with butter, salt, and pepper using a fork.

Divide garlic paste among potato skins (about 1/2 teaspoon each), spreading evenly, then roast skins in a large shallow baking pan (1 inch deep) until golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes.

Ingredients :For cakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg For filling
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
11/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparations :

Make cakes:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand held, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Make filling:
Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assemble pies:
Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

A half marathon is a road running event of 21,097.5 meters, or 13 ⁷/₆₄ miles, about 13.1 miles. It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. It is a popular race for relative amateurs, long enough to be a serious challenge but not requiring the level of training of a full marathon. In consequence, many towns and cities hold annual all-comers half marathon races through their streets. It is also common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a full marathon, using almost the same course with an early finish.

Marathan:

The marathon is a long-distance running event of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles 385 yards) that can be run either as a road race or off-road (for example, on mountain trails).

“March Madness,” the term used to describe the excitement surrounding the Illinois state high school basketball tournaments, first appeared in print almost sixty years ago. It was coined by Henry V. Porter, who started his career as a teacher and coach at Athens High School in central Illinois. In 1924, Porter led the Athens boys basketball team to a second-place finish in the state tournament. He later served as assistant executive secretary of the Illinois High School Athletic Association (from 1929 to 1940) and executive secretary of the National Federation of State High School Associations (from 1940 to 1958).

Porter, who edited the IHSA’s journal, coined “March Madness” in an essay that appeared in the Illinois High School Athlete in March of 1939. Soon thereafter the nation was plunged into World War II. The drama of March Madness provided a unifying force that brought the entire state together, and Porter again commemorated the event, this time with a poem, “Basketball Ides of March,” which appeared in the Illinois Interscholastic in March of 1942.

Homo of the Hardwood Court is a hardy specie. There are millions of him. He exists through summer and fall, shows signs of animation through the winter and lives to the utmost during March when a hundred thousand pairs of rubber soled shoes slap the hardwood in a whirlwind of stops and pivots and dashes on the trail to the state basketball championships. He is a glutton for punishment. When the March madness is on him, midnight jaunts of a hundred miles on successive nights make him even more alert the next day. He will polish his pants on sixteen inches of bleacher seat through two games or three and take offense if asked to leave during the intermission between sessions. He is happy only when the floor shimmers with reflections of fast moving streaks of color, when the players swarm at each end and the air is full of leather. For the duration of the endemic he is a statistical expert who knows the record of each contender, a game strategist who spots the weak points in a given system of offense or defense, a rules technician who instructs the officials without cost or request. Every canine has his day and this is Homo’s month.

He is a doodler who, while conversing, scribbles free throw lanes with a hundred radiating alleys. In May the three symbols of the New York Fair will take on their intended meaning but in March the helicline is a ramp to the balcony, the trylon is the pyramid of hundreds of teams being narrowed down to the one at the state championship pinnacle and the perisphere has the traditional four panel basketball markings.

In everyday life he is a sane and serious individual trying to earn enough to pay his taxes. But he does a Jekyll-Hyde act when the spell is on him. He likes his coffee black and his basketball highly spiced. He despises the stall — unless his team is ahead. It is a major crime for the official to call a foul on the dribbler — unless the opponent was dribbling. His moods are as changeable as the March wind. He flies into a frenzy at some trivial happening on the court and before his vocal expression of disapproval is half completed he howls in delight at the humorous twist of a comment from a bleacher wit. He is part of the mass mind and is subject to its whims. He berates the center for attempting a long shot and lauds him when it goes in the basket. He is consistent only in his inconsistencies.

The thud of the ball on the floor, the slap of hands on leather, the swish of the net are music in his ears. He is a connoisseur in matters pertaining to team coordination and artistry in action. The shifting zone, the screen and the spot pass are an open book to him. He speaks the language.

He is biased, noisy, fidgety, boastful and unreasonable — but we love him for his imperfections. His lack of inhibitions adds a spontaneity that colors the tournaments. Without darkness there would be no light. A little March madness may complement and contribute to sanity and help keep society on an even keel.

The writer’s temperature is rising. The thing is catching. It’s got me! Gimme that playing schedule!

 Basketball Ides of March

The gym lights gleam like a beacon beam
And a million motors hum
In a good will flight on a Friday night;
For basketball beckons, “Come!”
A sharp-shooting mite is king tonight.
The Madness of March is running.
The winged feet fly, the ball sails high
And field goal hunters are gunning.

The colors clash as silk suits flash
And race on a shimmering floor.
Repressions die, and partisans vie
In a goal acclaiming roar.
On a Championship Trail toward a holy grail,
All fans are birds of a feather.
It’s fiesta night and cares lie light
When the air is full of leather.

Since time began, the instincts of man
Prove cave and current men kin.
On tournament night the sage and the wight
Are relatives under the skin.
It’s festival time, sans reason or rhyme
But with nation-wide appeal.
In a cyclone of hate, our ship of state
Rides high on an even keel.

With war nerves tense, the final defense
Is the courage, strength and will
In a million lives where freedom thrives
And liberty lingers still.
Now eagles fly and heroes die
Beneath some foreign arch
Let their sons tread where hate is dead
In a happy Madness of March.