Monday, June 27, 2011

Now we know the bitter truth

The NCAA made an announcement today on future sites for the Division I Men's Basketball tournament. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one I harped upon last year around this time.

The announcement that Dayton will host the next two years of the First Four was well known in advance, but the NCAA's continued silence on who will host the East Regional in 21 months time continues to be the most deafening silence ever uttered since Manfred Mann released The Roaring Silence in 1976.

It's now very obvious the NCAA is witholding the identinty of the site so that Madison Square Garden can complete it's renovation by March, 2013. But there is one problem, the renovation will not be totally complete until October, 2013. If I'm positive, the NCAA wants the arena to be fully renovated(not just the seating bowl) before hand. So what excuse could the NCAA possibly have? A secret deal between it, St. John's, and the Big East(the potential hosts of any garden party)? A lukewarm reception from other prospective hosts?

Obviously, the NCAA needs to name a host site and school by September. Otherwise the prospective hosts will have very little time to prepare. IMO, they should have named the host LAST September.