Black Rock Brackets

It’s tournament time and I’ve got options. To my left is a 13-inch TV. To my right a computer and Internet streaming of the games through March Madness on Demand.
Or, I can make a secondary break for the CBS Broadcast Center. The game plan: ducking out for a slam dunk on W. 57th Street.
With posting (s) take a precedent, I watch the first window of games in the office. LSU, after a strong start, holds off stubborn Butler, 75-71. Memphis, scaring bracketeers everywhere to death, finally moves past Cal Northridge in the last eight minutes to secure an 81-70 opening-round win.
Now, it’s safe to move north. Flanked by photographs of The Jackie Gleason Show and The Frank Sinatra Show and production offices for BET and soap Guiding Light, a large room houses around 100 college basketball buffs, including a future executive in a kids replica Syracuse jersey.
Like a good point guard, I survey the floor. At center court: stools and tables, flush with bowls of tortilla chips. On the left sideline: a lineup including pannini sandwiches, quesadillas, egg rolls, pigs in blanket and a bench of salads and deserts. Soft drinks and booze are along the baseline corner. There’s an opening on a couch at the front of the room. That’s my play.
Thirteen large screens, adorned by placards identifying whether the game’s taking place in the Philly, Greensboro, Kansas City or Portland region, dominate the front wall. Unlike my Sunday Ticket tavern, there’s no need for neck pivoting here: all of the action’s directly in front of me.
Settling in, there’s no real madness. UConn’s dismantling Tennessee Chattanooga, even without Coach Calhoun. UNC’s doubling up Radford, with Tar Heel Tyler Hansbrough breaking Duke’s J.J. (I barely wet it for the Orlando Magic) Reddick’s career ACC scoring mark.
YES Network and WFAN’s Kimberly Jones and former CBS Sports, Access Hollywood and The Insider host Pat O’Brien are in the house. CBS Sports executive vice president of programming Mike Aresco’s also on the scene.
Meanwhile, things are starting to get a little dicey in Portland. Purdue is letting Northern Iowa back in with some indecisive play. It’s down to six, five. A couple of missed free throws and it’s a one possession game. Not sure, if anyone ordered one, but the Boilermakers hold on, as many bracketeers collectively exhale. This is truly hazardous duty.
The attention shifts to Maryland-Cal in KC. I’ve got the Terps on three of my four sheets. A strong run — keyed by a pair of missed free throws that turns into a three-point play — bridging the midway point of the second half puts it in the bank for Gary Williams and ACC aficionados.
CBS College Sports Network’s point-to-point game in Portland takes center stage. Both Mississippi State and Washington struggle offensively. Then, the nation’s leading shot blocker Jarvis Vornado gets into foul trouble for the Bulldogs and the Huskies surge, capped by a bucket and a foul just before the halftime buzzer.
Influenced by Vornado and watching their win against Tennessee in the SEC final on Sunday, the Bulldogs are supposed to pull another upset for the sake of my bracket. Not good.
Also not good: In my haste to get uptown, I’ve left my laptop in the docking station at work. It’s back on the subway and a night of tournament watching on linear TV and bandwidth-consuming MMOD.