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The Final Four Contest 2009

College Basketball Bracket Contest - Tournament Bracket 2010 – College Finals Brackets Contest

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College Contest Basketball Glossary

This glossary contains everything you need to better understand the Basketball Championships

It is an indispensable aid for casual and seasoned fans alike to better understand the Men's and Women's Basketball Championships.

Final Four Term Final Four Glosary Description
35. Hot Dog A courtside delicacy whose origin is variously claimed by Coney Island, in Chicago, and St. Louis. Also, a player gratuitously overplaying for audience attention.
36. Jayhawk The jayhawk is a fictitious bird whose name was borrowed by the Jayhawkers, the free-soil guerrillas in Kansas and Missouri during the border disputes of 1854-1859. This year's Final Four represents some very heated border disputes but these Jayhawks are very real.
37. Jump Ball Something related to 'jump bail' these days. (See also, UNLV).
38. The Key At one time, a much sought-after key to a woman's heart; in current usage, a key to the cell block door. Also the paint and foul shot area on the court
39. Lay-down A player who refuses to drive to the basket. Also, what the Taliban refuses to do with its weapons in Afganistan.
40. Lay-up A shot made by driving as close to the basket as possible, then bouncing the ball off the backboard.
41. March Madness An undocumented form of mental illness, related vaguely to Mad Cow Disease, whose symptoms include severe cramps in the wrist and index figure of the hand that holds the TV remote, an beery smelling foam around the lips, crumbs on the upper body, and the repetitive muttering of the phrase, 'the brackets'.
42. Naismith James Naismith, Canadian clergyman, educator and physician who formulated the game of basketball in 1891 at the Young Men's Christian Training Association School (now Springfield College). Teams originally had nine players and used a soccer ball and peach baskets for goals. The backboard was added in 1895 to keep fans from interfering with play. (Not to be confused with Mike Nesmith of Monkees fame.)
43. NIT The other 'national championship' tournament, reported last won by the Little Sisters (and the Little Brothers) of the Blind.
44. Nothing but Net A shot that goes into the basket touching neither the rim, nor the backboard. AKA a "Swish!" (See also, Dennis Rodman.)
45. Office Pool The unofficial form of March Madness gambling amounts to billions of dollars, more than the GNP of several small countries. Also referred to as 'the brackets'.
46. On the Bubble The March Madness version of 'pushing the envelope', borderline teams being considered for the tournament by the Selection Committee.
47. Paint Area between the foul line and the basket. Also the make-up worn by Dennis Rodman, the KISS band members, Marilyn Manson, and Tammy Faye Baker.
48. Personal Foul Illegal body contact. Not to be confused with the Personal Fowl, Larry Bird.
49. Pick An offensive maneuver where a player uses his body to block an opponent or a draft choice.
50. Points in the Paint Groupies who go after Dennis Rodman, KISS band members, Marilyn Manson, and Tammy Faye Baker.
51. Press A tight defense that exerts continued pressure on the team with the ball or what Dennis Rodman dresses up for.
52. RPI Ratings Power Index. A somewhat arcane formula used to rate the 319 schools that play Division One basketball. The formula includes winning percentage, winning percentage of foes, the Colonel's original recipe for fried chicken, and a secret series of 'tie-breakers' contributed by the Palm Beach County Board of Election Supervisors.
53. Selection Committee The committee, reporting only to God, who selects which of the nation's 319 Division One teams will be invited to the "Big Dance." Thirty-one teams receive automatic bids as conference champions. The Selection Committee selects the remaining 34.
54. Sooners Pioneers who, during the land rushes of the past century, started out a tad before the starting gun and staked out their claims sooner than those who waited for it. Today they are the men's and women's Oklahoma basketball teams who had sooner move to Kansas than lose in the Final Four.
55. Sweet 16 Associated with the sweet taste teams experience upon making it to this round of the single-elimination tournament. Eight of these (the Eliminated Eight) will leave this round with a very bitter taste.
56. Technical Foul Unsportsmanlike conduct on the sidelines. (See also, judges in the Olympic Ice Dancing competition.)
57. Terrapin The story of the tortoise and the hare shows us how slow and steady beats running in spurts. The Terrapin and the Husky story showed us that hot and steady works even better. Lefty Driesell called Maryland the UCLA of the East; now UCLA wishes it were the Maryland of the West!
58. 3-Pointer A ball thrown from behind the 3-point line or an alien hunting dog.
59. Hail Mary A desperation shot thrown from behind the halfway line in the final seconds of a half or game or what you say when an alien hunting dog comes after you.
60. 3-Second Violation Holding onto the ball for more than three seconds in the key.
61. Touch As in "he's got the touch," a player who is hot. Also, a likely target for scalpers.
62. Travel The Itinerary taken by Rick Pitino: BU, Providence, Kentucky, Boston Celtics, and Louisville; or three steps without dribbling the ball. Unfortunately, the mathematical skills of referees are low and they worsen when they are watching a nice shot unfold.
63. Turnovers Losing the ball to the opponent. (In the rarefied air of Georgetown sometimes called 'croissants'; in the Tarheel State, better known as 'Krispy Kremes'.)
Bonus Term Comment
Sixty-four New math for the number 65. (See also, graduation rate.) The number of teams invited to The Big Dance by the Selection Committee.

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