I'm still at Carolina in my mind

Last post in which I mention March Madness, I promise.

Kudos to the kids down in Chapel Hill for keeping the post-game celebrations civilized. 45,000 fans out on the street, 32 bonfires, but no major injuries, no arrests, little property damage.

Not bad. Credit also goes the town of Chapel Hill and the po-pos, I'm sure.

From today's ESPN Page 2 Daily Quickie:

Less than 24 hours after winning the title, let the dismantling begin:

Rashad McCants going pro: If only the NBA had the same opinion of McCants that he has of himself. The next Stackhouse? (Or the next Joe Forte?)

Sean May to stay? Indicated that he'd like to come back next year and defend the title. Even with his stock sky-high, he's not as good a pro prospect as he is a collegian.

What about Marvin Williams? You get the feeling that the fabulous freshman is looking for an excuse to stay, but what can you do when the NBA is willing to make you a Top 3 pick?

You know, I can't begrudge any of the players whatever they decide to do, especially after the championship. It's the Bill Simmons 5-Year No Bitching Rule. Anyway, it's their livelihood, and if they think it's time to go, it's time to go. I just hope they make the right decisions for themselves.

I'm not sure if the national title would have been more or less satisfying as a student than an alum. I'm sure I would be having a ball down there if I were still an undergrad, but I also have a deeper appreciation for the Carolina experience now that I'm like 30 years removed from my keg stand days.

And this title run has been a great way to reconnect with some of the kids I went to school with. After every big win, I found myself calling up a random former classmate saying, "Holy shit, did you see that? Hey, where do you live now? Shit, you're married?"

It has also been oddly satisfying to sit back from 600 miles away, watching the students go nuts on Franklin Street. Yeah, my classmates and I never got to do that, but we've also experienced the frustrations of coming so close, and not close at all.

At this point, I'm just rambling and I have no idea how to wrap up my thoughts. So um, check out this column by Bomani Jones. It's a good read, reminded me (again) of my undergrad days. If you just watch the players on TV, it's easy to forget that they're still teenagers and 20-somethings who, for the most part, have no idea what they're doing after college

And another one: Eric Neel's Final Four blog

Look, I love college basketball and Skip Bayless is being a total party pooper with his March Madness vs NBA column, but you know he's right.

You're muttering to me that college basketball is so much more pure because these kids are sitting in the same classrooms you sat in and they're having the time of their lives just the way you did at Dear Old U. The pep bands, the cheerleaders, the student sections. The color, the pageantry.

The hypocrisy.

I'm sorry, but your college team serves as your pro equivalent. The best players on your team probably wouldn't have chosen – or been chosen by – your school if they weren't basketball players. And some of them would have skipped Dear Old U. altogether if they'd been assured they'd go in the first round of the NBA draft.

You say you're sick of how much money these NBA players make? I'm just as outraged by how little college players make – room, board and tuition. The NCAA makes untold millions off the NCAA Tournament and its TV contract. And at least part of the appeal of March Madness is all the technically illegal gambling pools that make month-long viewers out of so many office workers who wouldn't know Vermont from Bucknell.

Amen.

Watched Monday night's 24. Holy mother of Jaysus. So the simultaneous nuclear meltdowns were a mere prelude to the main event? Or they came up with the greatest Plan B of all time?

If you watch Arrested Development, do not, I repeat, do not put Europe's "Final Countdown" on your iPod. I was walking home from the subway stop last night and I couldn't stop giggling because I kept thinking about GOB and Buster doing their goofy magic dance. People thought I was crazy.