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Seriously, is there anything better than the NCAA Tournament?  Throughout the world there are sporting events that capture excitement and majesty in the performance of excellence.  Some say the Super Bowl is the greatest event.  Others might contend that the Olympics or the World Cup represents the best that organized sport has to offer.  A fan representative from every major sport could file an argument for their sport's top event.

Most times we are consumed with professional athletes and for good reason.  Pro athletes are at the top of their game and talent levels across the board are much higher than that of any amateur league.  However, there is just something special about college basketball.

Sure some of the pageantry has been lost over the years from players leaving college early.  And yes there are a litany of dirty coaches in college but at the end of the day these players should be allowed to receive compensation.  Tax friendly of course.  The only obvious problem is the disparity between schools and the pocket books of their boosters.  But until the NCAA cleans up their act that is a conversation for another day.  For now we just get to enjoy the amazingly competitive basketball we have had the pleasure of watching all season.

You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief from millions of people and businesses across the country this week when the NFL officially ended the lockout.  Players may now enter practice facilities and coaches can finally begin to start on work that normally gets taken care of in the spring.  Coaches will quickly realize which players worked hard during the time off.  It will be obvious which players take their profession seriously.  Adversely, there will be several players that did not stay in shape during the break and will have a slow start to say the least.  Look for the coaches across the NFL to intensify their efforts in an attempt to get their teams ready for the 2011-12 NFL season.