We’ve been anxiously awaiting the next thirty days for the last eleven months.  You have too.  In fact, if this isn’t your favorite time of year by a healthy margin then you should probably click away from this site for a while.   Because we plan on waterboarding you with March Madness coverage.  Seriously, you’re going to feel like Dick Cheney himself is holding a Spalding-logoed towel over your face.  Your intake will be so voluminous that you’ll be drooling Gus Johnson and bracket residue in your sleep.  Or Seth Davis, if that’s more your style.  The point is that we’re all locked in and ready to go.  Are you?  To help us all get into the mood, we like to click around a fancy little website called YouTube for a daily dose of notable events, happenings, finishes, ups and downs relating to the next month.  We’re going to try to make this video compilation a little smarter, a little edgier, a little historical-er.  Or whatever.  Sure, you’ll see some old favorites that never lose their luster, but you’ll also see some that maybe you’ve forgotten or never knew to begin with.  That’s the hope, at least.  We’ll be matching the videos by the appropriate week, so all of this week we’re heading down memory lane at the Final Four.  Enjoy.

NCAA Final Four

Dateline: 1973 NCAA Championship – UCLA vs. Memphis State

Context: In the 72-year history of the NCAA Tournament, there has never been a more dominant performance than the one Bill Walton laid on Memphis State in 1973.  Walton and his UCLA Bruins came into this game having won 73 consecutive games and the last six national titles.  The big, lanky redhead from San Diego ensured that upstart Memphis State would not be ending that streak.  His 44 points on 21-22 FGs is a record that still stands in the national title game, and the late ankle sprain that he suffered when the game was already put away portended the myriad leg and foot injuries that Walton suffered throughout his professional career.  Take a trip back to a bygone era and enjoy — you’ll probably never see anything quite like this again.