Happy with Final Four Attendees

I read a great article about the composition of the mens' basketball Final Four by Bernie Miklasz that I wanted to share with you. He states:

I've read a few columns and blogs this week written by unhappy correspondents who bemoan the absence of brand-name teams and future NBA stars. They want to see the one-and-done NBA lottery picks who pass through Kentucky for a season until it's time to collect that first NBA paycheck. They don't want the Final Four to be populated by overachievers, tough guys, unselfish role players and true teams.

I haven't read such columns, but I haven't really been reading many sports columns, period, so I'll take his word for it that they exist. He wouldn't construct a straw man for his column, would he? I can definitely see that those interested in ratings and receipts would not like this Final Four. I would think that having a team like George Mason in the Final Four in 2006 would be good for ratings, but it was not. I guess many people must have said, "Oh, they're gonna get whipped. I'm not watching!"

Some more lines:

• "I don't need to watch spoiled, entitled basketball brats from Kentucky go on an ego spree by crazily firing 32 3-point shots, and making only four, in an Elite Eight loss to West Virginia."
• "Wait a minute: a real student, competing for the NCAA basketball championship? Who let Hayward and Butler in here? Butler clearly needs to hire John Calipari's academic advisers."
• After comparing the playoff system of college hoops to the football BCS, he replies, "If you're caterwauling over this year's Final Four, then you can't savage the BCS and demand a college football playoff. Sorry, you can't have it both ways."

Like at least 95% of America, I'll be rooting for Butler tonight. What a jolt to college sports it would be if they won. It might even make the BCS system more untenable. But let's not get too carried away.