March Madness has gripped SportDork Headquarters, but not in the way you might imagine.  In fact, we've experienced an entirely different kind of March Madness.  There's no doubt that the action on the court has been riveting, but it pales in comparison to the excitement that took place only days before the tourney began. 

Energized by the excitement of Selection Sunday, including the news that the Gators would not only be in the tournament, but would be an unlikely ten seed, Mrs. SportDork and I immediately ran out and made an offer on a new house.  Some people pop open a bottle of champagne to celebrate significant Gator milestones, such as their first trip back to the big dance in three years.  Not us.  We didn't think that would make enough of a statement, so we put an offer on a house down the street.  Not a contingency offer that's based on our ability to sell our current place.  Just a plain old offer, leaving us in the position of potentially owning two homes on the same street in one of the worst real estate markets in history.  But hey - we did it for the Gators.  It's been a tough couple years for Billy D and the boys, and we thought this was the kind of gesture that would accurately demonstrate our level of gratitude.  Plus, if we can't sell our current place for a while, the street will have two Gator flags.  That can't be bad.

I'm not sure that all of our family members were fully on board with our impromptu real estate decision, since shortly before the Winthrop Eagles and the Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions tipped off in the play-in game on Tuesday night to see who would be the sixty-fourth team in the tourney, my dad (a.k.a. The Senior SportDork) was admitted to the hospital with chest pains.  This is the same man who is responsible for me knowing where almost every NFL player went to college and is the reason why I can tell you that cornerback Kenny Easley wore number forty-five when he played for the Seattle Seahawks in the early 80's, so I'm still not convinced that his issues weren't related to anxiety over either a) his bracket, b) the Gators' opening round matchup against BYU, or c) both, since his bracket's success was dependent on the Gators' success.  It's entirely possible.  This is a man who can no longer watch the Gators play a meaningful football game.  Physically can't do it.  Causes him too much agony.  He spends the Gator football games watching the Golf channel and flipping over to the game periodically to see if the Gators are winning.  If they are, he watches until they make a boneheaded play, and then he switches back to the Golf channel, because he can no longer stomach any negative plays.  It's not that he can't bear to watch the Gators lose; it's that he can't even bear the prospect of the Gators losing.  Anyway, I think I've made my point.  Chest pains only days before the start of March Madness and the Gator's opener against BYU?   I don't need a regression analysis to figure that one out.

Of course, as soon as we got word that The Senior SportDork was in need of medical attention, Mrs. SportDork and I, as well as my sister, Sibling SportDork, flew down to Del Boca Vista to be with The Senior SportDork and Mrs. Senior SportDork.  (Wow.  That's a lot of SportDorks.)  First thing Wednesday morning, The Senior SportDork was in for his procedure, and incredibly, by late Thursday morning he was out of the hospital and we had him back home.  (I know saying this officially makes me old, but it's really amazing how far medicine has come.  It wouldn't surprise me if ten years from now, brain surgery is an out-patient procedure.)

You know what's not good for you immediately after returning home from a heart procedure?  Watching the 2009-2010 Florida Gators play basketball.  The Gators tipped off only moments after we walked in the door from the hospital.  How about that for timing?  (You gotta give it to The Senior SportDork.  He's wily.  Not many Gator fans could manage a major hospital visit around the Gators' tournament schedule.)  I was tempted to turn it off for fear that just a couple minutes of watching Erving Walker hoist up ill-advised three pointers and Dan Werner - well, be Dan Werner - would send him right back to the hospital, but The Senior SportDork astutely pointed out that watching all those jokers run up and down the court would provide an excellent indicator of how his ticker was faring.  I couldn't argue with that logic (and I'm a masochist when it comes to Gators basketball), so we decided we would suffer through the ordeal together.

The most impressive aspect of the Gators' 2009-2010 basketball team was how difficult they were to watch.  Just when you thought they were going to blow a team out, they could go ten minutes down the stretch without scoring a basket, and voila! - they had a nail biter on their hands.  Similarly, they could go down by double digits and give you the impression that they were going to be blown out, and then suddenly go on a tear and turn it into a game.  In their opener against BYU, clearly recognizing the national stage, they put on an impressive display that showcased why so many long-time Gator fans have facial tics.  When they went down by more than ten points in the second half, we thought it was over.  We were about to turn the channel to avoid having to watch multiple replays of a guy named Jimmer from BYU single handedly take down the Gators, but then they went on a run, and we were forced to keep watching.  That's how these 2009-2010 Gators got you.  They toyed with your emotions.  They'd push you right to the brink, seconds away from hitting the channel button and moving on, and then suck you back in. 

They really put a masterpiece together against BYU.  After going down by double digits in the second half, they came storming back, and suddenly they were in position to win the game.  It was only right that after that kind of comeback, Chandler Parsons, the same kid who won two games at the buzzer this year, would get the final shot in the opening game of the tourney and send the Gators to the second round.  It would be the perfect ending, right?  Not for this team.  For this team, you get the final shot in regulation, you get it in the hands of the guy you want taking the shot, and you get him an open look, but he doesn't make it.  It's no criticism of Chandler Parsons - without that kid, the Gators aren't even in the tourney.  No, it's just the way this team rolls.  This team must inflict pain on its fans.  Parsons making that shot would be too easy!!  Why have that shot go in to cap a great second half rally when you can go to overtime and extend the pain??? 

As expected, the overtime period looked eerily similar to the end of regulation.  The Gators with the ball to win the game, and another last second shot misses.  Two shots to win the game, two shots missed, and it's on to double overtime.  It's one of the few times I can remember being disappointed that I was going to get to watch more basketball, because I could see how this one was going to end before they even tipped off for the second overtime.  They pushed us away, then sucked us back in, and then toyed with us as they flirted with victory twice, only to come up short.  It's like they knew The Senior SportDork was just back from the hospital and could really use a nice, relaxing game as part of his recovery, but decided they'd have some fun with him. 

After coming so close to victory twice, the third time, or in this case the second overtime period, was not a charm.  The Gators fell apart, exhausted from exhausting us, and BYU, led by a guy named Jimmer, ran away to victory.  So, not only did the Gators miss two separate opportunities to win the game, but they also got taken out of the tournament by Jimmer Fredette in two overtimes.  It doesn't get an better than that.

There were a few positives to take from the Gators' loss, however.  First, The Senior SportDork made it through the entire game in great shape, demonstrating that all systems are once again a go.  And second, when I get to spend a couple days with The Senior SportDorks, this blog pretty much writes itself.  Case in point:  later that day, as Villanova battled Robert Morris in overtime of its first round game, Mrs. Senior SportDork looked at the score at the bottom of the screen and asked, "Who is OT?"  That was immediately followed by her asking, "And who is 'Rob Morr'?"  I told her I thought it was short for Rob Morrow, the guy who played 'Dr. Joel Fleischman' on the show 'Northern Exposure."  (He's also been rockin' it on 'Numb3rs' on CBS.)

He's got a sweet jump shot.