Free Republic

Call it the Marxist theory of surplus value in high-tops . . . On Melissa Harris-Perry's MSNBC show today, David Zirin, sports guy at the far-left Nation mag, called the NCAA tournament nothing less than "the organized theft of black wealth." Zirin expanded his accusation to call the tournament the theft of "youth wealth." Speaking of wealth, Zirin has made a living out of adopting provocative positions, from supporting the boycott of Israeli athletes, to attributing dislike of Barry Bonds to--you guessed it--racism. View the video here.

No one should begrudge the President a little rest and frivolity. There is a time and a place for it. The issue for a President is picking the time and place for such things. George W. Bush refused to golf once the wars started, deciding that the appearance of the President golfing sent the wrong message. Bush was forever attacked for spending a month at his ranch every summer, despite the fact that he had the same access to the government and the world that he had in the White House. Bill Clinton took less vacation time than Bush, spending...

(snip) Barack Obama picked 29 of the 32 games so far correctly on his bracket. He just went a blistering 29-3 in the first round. While millions of Americans have had their brackets busted, Obama’s is almost perfectly intact after two days of play. (snip) Other than that, he has ridden a wave of success from favorites that have mostly robbed the vaunted tournament of its signature small-school upsets but proven money for those, such as Obama, who picked few upsets. Obama’s score would rank him in the top 1 percent of the masses who played the Yahoo! Tournament Pick’em...

This message is from VRWCmember who is challenging you to play Tournament Challenge on ESPN.com. Get in on the excitement of this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament with the web's most popular bracket game. To get in the game simply complete a bracket by the first tip of the tournament. Points are awarded for each correct pick, with point values increasing as the Tournaments progress. Create or join a private group to compete amongst your friends, family, and co-workers. Or join a public group and compete against ESPN celebrities or like-minded fans from around SportsNation. Come out on top and...

Remember the earlier days of the NCAA tournament, before the days of the mega-conferences? As a conservative, I miss the old days, and I still find myself routing for the old nine-team Big East. I happen to like Pittsnoggle and the current West-Virginian team, but I’m not prejudiced towards them the way I am for the old Big East, and the way I sense many people root for given conferences. So, may I present to you, a fictional wrap-up of the NCAA tournament, the way it would’ve been with all these “newfangled, whippersnapper, Wal-Mart conferences.” (Imagine me saying that in...

Join now, picks available Sunday Group ID# 32919 Group Name FR Hoops Group Password jimrob

Nothing personal, but I'm sick of your bracket. And it's not just you, although everyone would appreciate it if you'd stop talking about it at some point between now and the title game. I'm sick of my bracket and my friends' brackets. I'm sick of the guys who call the radio shows to discuss their brackets. And the word "bracketology?" Sick of it. I don't want to hear about how "Nevada killed my bracket, dude." No kidding. You mean you didn't have the genius to foresee the Wolf Pack's entry into the Sweet 16? Good thing you had UAB beating...

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson is going to another Final Four -- only this time, he won't have to go alone. With a dynamic combination of toughness and late-game cool, Oklahoma rolled to its first national semifinal since 1988 with an 81-75 victory over 12th-seeded Missouri on Saturday.Hollis Price scored the last of his 18 points on two free throws with 6 seconds left to give the Sooners their 12th straight victory and a ticket to Atlanta. "Coach goes to the Final Four every year, but he never takes us," Price said with a grin. "We're...

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Indiana is back in the Final Four thanks to nearly unprecedented 3-point shooting. Making their first eight long-range shots and close to 80 percent overall, the Hoosiers rolled past upstart Kent State 81-69 Saturday night in the South Regional to return to the national semifinals for the first time since 1992. Indiana (24-11) -- at No. 5, the lowest-seeded team left in the tournament -- will play Oklahoma next Saturday in Atlanta. The Sooners won the West Regional by beating Missouri 81-75. "It's an unbelievable feeling," said Dane Fife, who led Indiana with 17 points. "We've...