March Madness brings out the fan in me

I am not a basketball fan. Never have been. Never will be.

But thanks to games like today's between Ohio State and Xavier, I can't help but become a fan of the game during March Madness.

Down by three with less than three seconds left, Ohio State's Ron Lewis nailed a deep three pointer to tie the game and send it into overtime. I raised my arm in joy. You would have thoughts I had been a basketball fan for life.

But how could I not be excited? Talk about a tense moment with a thrilling ending.

Freshman Mike Conley took over the game in overtime, leading the Buckeyes to a 78-71 win and a trip to the Sweet 16.

There is another aspect to the excitement, you see - the bracket.

Not only did the game today excite me because of the finish, but I have the Buckeyes going to the finals in my NCAA bracket. Had they lost, I would have been in big trouble.

There is nothing like keeping track of games, marking off the wins and hoping that you have enough luck to pick the right teams.

Luck is the key word here. I got a laugh out of my father, who sent me his filled out bracket asking me what I thought. My response: your guesses are as good as mine.

I don't know much about college basketball. Yet it brings out a sense of excitement (I am currently 25-8 in my picks).

The exciting finishes, the thrilling upsets, keeping track of brackets - there is something for everyone in March Madness. Even for people like me who are not even basketball fans.

Still waiting for the defense to be fixed

Wide receiver - check.

Big running back - soon to be check.

Fixing the defense - still waiting on that one.

Sure, the signing of Kevin Curtis was a good one, especially after they let Donte Stallworth walk away. And yes, the Eagles need a big running back. But don't forget where the issue was last year. It was stopping the run.

And while the Eagles have re-signed three of their own guys, putting a better defense on the field still does not seem likely.

Sure, we can hope their young guys develop. But that is not a given. Neither are any defensive players they pick up in the draft. The Eagles still need a run stopping linebacker, a playmaker.

So while it is easy to once again get excited about the offense, we must remember that the offense was not the issue, even after Donovan McNabb went down.

The defense was the issue and will continue to be the issue unless the front office does something about it.