THOUGHTS FROM THE OPENING WEEKEND

* Another year where most of the seeds have played true to form into the Sweet Sixteen. Seemed to have been a lot of near misses, though.

* Sprint Center hosted its first NCAA tournament event, and was a success. We attended the Saturday session and enjoyed a great atmosphere, despite a couple of obnoxious Michigan fans sitting behind us. Memphis coach John Calipari liked Sprint Center:

"This place is unbelievable," Calipari said. "The building is off the charts. I've got like four offices in our locker room. I've never seen anything like it. I like to have a little space for myself in a locker room and I almost got lost. They have a training room in there. A training room!

"This is as nice a setup as I’ve seen."

* Speaking of Memphis, they are freakishly athletic and talented. Add top recruits DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall next year, and the recent addition of top-notch recruiting assistant coach Josh Pastner from Arizona, and the Tigers will be in the national championship conversation for at least the next 3 or 4 straight years.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

While those of us fortunate enough to be able to take time off work to watch basketball all day today and tomorrow are enjoying ourselves, it's important to remember that we can and should make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.

Thus, we interrupt our basketball commentary to encourage you to learn more about, and consider volunteering for, our favorite charity here at FS: Sturdy Wings. Gayle Sweeny, the Sturdy Wings founder, is always on the lookout for volunteers for her fantastic organization.

And while we're on the topic of Wings, fellow fans of the movie Role Models may enjoy the backstory behind "Love Take Me Down (To The Streets)."

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

After our hiatus, we're back and will be doing some posting here and on the Quick Shots site during the NCAA tournament over the next four days.

To begin, here's a little drinking game we worked up for those imbibing while watching the games:

Mention of "Cinderella" -- 1 drink.

Greg Gumbel says "We take you now to...," or "Let's go now to..." -- 1 drink.

Reference to or explanation of the "pod system" -- 3 drinks.

"Win and advance," "survive and advance," or some variant -- 1 drink.

We are told that the selection committee "has a hard job" but did it well. -- 2 drinks.

Someone is asked for their opinion regarding the fact that only 4 non-power conference teams got at-large invites. -- 3 drinks.

The broadcast team for a game not involving Duke or North Carolina reference Duke or North Carolina or any players thereof. -- 1 drink.

We hear how "deep" or "rugged" the Big East is. -- 1 drink.