Those who study in the United States are well aware that at this time of the year, university students, like most other Americans, are subject to "March Madness". This is the name of the final tournament of the national basketball championship among the teams of the First Division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It runs from mid-March to early April.

After the Super Bowl, the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament or "March Madness" or "The Big Dance" is the most anticipated sporting event of the year. Of course, other sports (baseball) and leagues (NBA) can argue with this opinion, but it is shared by many, and in this article I argue this position.

"March Madness" is the tournament's most famous nickname, which refers to the huge number of games that were played over two weeks, a bunch of upsets and the sincere emotions of the players for whom this tournament is the best chance to prove themselves and continue their careers, and for others, this is the last chance to play their favorite game before the start of “adulthood”.

During the “March Madness” period, the Internet connection speed even drops, because so many fans watch matches online. According to the latest available data, in 2018, in-game ad revenue exceeded $1.32 billion. Last year, 97 million fans followed the tournament.

1.Work on March Madness Day

2.Bracket’s busted

3.There’s a chance

We offer answers to the questions that are most often asked by those wishing to understand this purely American sporting event. If you go to study in the United States next year, then in March you may be rooting for your university team.

Americans are incredibly loyal to their colleges and universities. It doesn't matter whether a person just entered the university or graduated 30 years ago, he is, without any doubt, an avid fan of his university team, considers it the best and the only one that deserves the championship title.

These are exciting competitions. Compared to the professional championship, there are fewer playoff matches in the student championship, the struggle is sharper, and the final tournament is much faster. Even if their favorite teams don't make it to the finals, Americans still watch every game. Why? It's simple: unlike professional athletes, students do not play for money, but defend the honor of their educational institutions and just love basketball.

In total, more than 300 university teams play in the NCAA Division I. On Qualifying Sunday - this year it falls on March 17 - a special commission announces 68 teams that will enter the so-called men's bracket. Eight of them will play preliminary games, and the four winners will advance to the main tournament, which includes 64 teams. Another commission announces 64 teams of the women's draw.

4.Live dangerously

5.Finish above you

6.This is madness?

In both the men's and women's tournaments, 32 teams advance to the final tournament as the winners of their respective conference championships. (Conferences are groupings of universities, usually organized geographically.) The selection committee names the rest of the teams based on the number of victories and how strong their rivals were. Tournament brackets are divided into four regions.

The commission "seeds" the best teams in each region under the first numbers, the next four - under the second, and so on. In the first round, the first seeded team plays the 16th seeded team, while the second seed plays the 15th seed. In other words, the strongest play the outsiders first. Teams from the middle of the grid are approximately equal in strength.

The second major reason for the huge popularity of March Madness is that no one knows for sure who will be the champion.

This spring, the men's teams of Duke University and the University of North Carolina are considered the strongest. They often claim the championship title, and they all have a glorious history. The teams of the University of Virginia and the University of Gongaz are not far behind. Stirring up interest in March Madness is the possible appearance of Cinderellas, those who have not previously achieved major success, but defeat teams that were considered invincible.

7.Gloat about it

8.Better bracket

9.Gambling

Last year, Loyola University Chicago's men's team, seeded 11th in their region, made it to the final four. The University of Virginia team, number 1 in its region, lost in the first round to the 16th club, the University of Maryland from Baltimore (this happened for the first time in the history of the tournament). This year, the 12th seeded University of Oregon can beat the established favorites and become, as ambitious newcomers are called, “the destroyer of tournament grids”. Although the victory was predicted primarily for the number 1, Duke University, this team almost lost in the second round to the University of Central Florida, seeded 9th. In other words, everything is possible in this tournament.

As for the women's teams, the top four are the University of Louisville Cardinals, the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Baylor University Lady Bears and the Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Popular teams that have not been successful before are the Hoosiers from Indiana University and another Lady Bears from the University of Missouri.

Many will be surprised to learn that the Madness has not always been the premier college basketball tournament. In the middle of the last century, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was much more prestigious than the NCAA tournament. For those who are more or less familiar with college basketball, yes, this is the same NIT that now has a reputation as a repechage tournament. In the 1950s, the NCAA basketball tournament began to gain prestige after the NCAA began requiring conference champions to play in their own tournament.

“Americans are incredibly loyal to their colleges and universities. It doesn't matter whether a person just entered the university or graduated 30 years ago, he is, without any doubt, an avid fan of his university team, considers it the best and the only one that deserves the championship title.

10.March Madness

11.Never made one

12.But when I do

13. 5 speed

14.Only competing

15.When it it

16.What’s all the brackets

17.Not what we thought

18.You get it

19.A toast

20.Going exactly as planned

21.Watch out for me

22.You have one

23.Baylor students

24.Sum your life

25.So it begins

26.Welcome

27.No idea

28.The longer you watch March Madness

29.I call it march

30.Is here baby

31.Memes are coming

32.School playing

33.Canceled

34.At work

35.Shocker

36.Picking a bracket

37.College basket

38.Busted

39.Cancel it

40.So bored

41.What’s wrong

42.The only one

43.Not even mad

44.Just let me check

45.March Madness

46.I have no idea

47.The best moment

48.There I was

49.Filled out

50.All right

The Australian Open Tennis Championships is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments currently held in the Australian city of Melbourne on the courts of the local sports complex Melbourne Park. The main draws of the competition are traditionally held in a two-week period at the end of January - the beginning of February, revealing the winners in nine categories: in five for adults and four for senior juniors.

The tournament was first held in Melbourne in 1905 and was called The Australasian Championships. 17 athletes took part in it, and 5 thousand spectators attended the final match. In 1927, the tournament was renamed the Australian Championships. In 1969, it became open to professionals and received its current name.

Bemorepanda collected some funny memes about Australia Open 2022.

1.Aus Open

2.Sport Star

3.The party life

4.Stepped in what

Beginning in 1905, the championship was held in six different locations:

Melbourne (54 times)

Sydney (17 times)

Adelaide (14 times)

Brisbane (7 times)

Perth (3 times)

New Zealand (2 times, in 1906 and 1912).

In 1972, the decision was made to hold the tournament in the same city every year. The venue was the grass courts of the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, a suburb of Melbourne. Over time, the Quyong Club became too small for a much larger tournament. By the beginning of the championship in 1988, the construction of a new tennis complex Melbourne Park (Melbourne Park, former Flinders Park, Flinders Park) was completed, where the tournament was moved that year. The move was a significant success - match attendance immediately increased and the 1988 tournament saw 90% more spectators (266,436) than the previous year's Quy Ong (140,000).

5.The good tennis

6.Nadal

7.Dreamworks

8.Little goat

In addition to problems with Cuyong Stadium (where, among other things, there was a slope that caused players on one side of the main court to literally walk uphill when they reached the net), the popularity of the Australian Open in the late 1970s and early 1980s professionalization of tennis negatively influenced. Leading players at that time were already earning such large sums that they could even afford to miss the Grand Slam tournament due to the fact that a trip to it meant missing the Christmas and New Year holidays. 

Chris Evert missed this tournament six times in a row at the peak of her career, Martina Navratilova four times; Bjorn Borg never competed in the Australian Open after 1974, and Jimmy Connors after 1975. As a result, the winners of the Australian Open were players who could not claim victory at any other Grand Slam tournament: in the women's singles in 1978, Chris O'Neill won, and in 1979 Barbara Jordan, in the men's singles in 1980 Bryan Teacher excelled. With plans to organize a two-week super tournament in Florida, there was a threat that it could force the Melbourne competition out of the Grand Slam tournament list. 

Therefore, in order to make it easier to attract elite players to the Australian Open, after the tournament in January 1977, the decision was made to reschedule the event to late November and early December. Therefore, in 1977 the championship was held for the second time - in December. This month it continued to be arranged in subsequent years. Starting in 1987, the tournament was again postponed to January, so the championship was not held in 1986.

The Melbourne Park Tennis Complex consists of, among others, 3 center courts and 3 demonstration courts.

9.Linesmen

10.Kyrgios

11.One of us is ignoring

The main court of the tournament, the Rod Laver Arena, was named after the legendary Australian tennis player Rod Laver in 2000. The court was built in 1988 and can accommodate 15,000 spectators. More than 1.5 million viewers visit it annually. The court is equipped with a retractable roof, which allows you to play matches in the rain or extreme heat.

The second court of the tournament, Hisense Arena, was built in 2000. The arena is special in that it can be easily transformed for various events. In addition to tennis tournaments, cycling and basketball competitions, as well as various concerts, are held here. The capacity of the stands also varies depending on the configuration - 10,500 spectators for tennis and basketball matches, 10,500 or 8,900 for concerts (depending on the location of the stage), 4,500 spectators in velodrome mode. The arena is also equipped with a retractable roof.

The third center court, the Margaret Court Arena, is named after the most successful Australian tennis player in history, Margaret Court, who, among other victories, won the Grand Slam in 1970, won a total of 62 Grand Slam tournaments ( in singles and doubles championships), which is still a record for both men and women; and was the first racket of the world. The court was formerly known as Show Court One and was renamed on January 12, 2003.

All courts have Plexicushion hardcovers. In the early years after the transition from grass turf to artificial courts, Rebound Ace rubberized surface was used. In cool weather, it bounced right, was neither too fast nor too slow and provided good foot grip, but in hot weather the rubber would melt and the courts would become sticky, resulting in severe injuries to Gabriela Sabatini in the 1990 tournament alone. and Mark Woodford.

12.Matt

13.Yes

14.Who said this?

15.Meanwhile, Feder

16.Official review

17.Border control

18.Ballboys

19.Terminal 2

20.Triangle 

21.Honey mommy

22.Last minute entry

23.A new player

24.He lied on visa

25.Tennis strars

26.Get vaccinated

27.Antivaxxers

28.Profesional visa

29.Both can play tennis

30.Last had covid

31.Question

32.Get a doctor

33.Admit i faked

34.And then you win

35.Zebras

36.Who is open

37.Certain things in life

38.Fashion starter pack

39.Get up at 9 a.m

40.Like this?

41.Tennis fans

42.Hair still perfect

43.What? Who?

44.Grand Slam Title

45.Character

46.If you know what I mean

47.Deportovic

48.My size

49.A new italian player

50.Unseeded?

The Los Angeles Lakers have a long history, predating the formation of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Lakers, founded in 1947, are one of the most famous and successful NBA. As of the summer of 2012, the Lakers hold all records for wins (No. 125), win percentage (620), and NBA Finals (32). They are tied in NBA championships with the Boston Celtics, winning 17 NBA titles and making more Finals than their biggest rivals (15 vs. 4 in running up), effectively making them their most successful to date. Their team includes some of the game's greatest players, including George Yan, Jim Pollard, Clyde Lovellette, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Gale Goodrich, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jamin Wilks, James Worthy, Magic Johnson, Shaquille Goodrich.

The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their home games at the Staples Center, an arena shared with the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers, the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Lakers are one of the most successful teams in NBA history, having won 17 NBA championships as well as the most wins with the Boston Celtics in NBA history.

The franchise began with the 1947 purchase of the disbanded Detroit Gems of the National Basketball League (NBL). The new team began playing in Minneapolis, Minnesota, calling themselves the Minneapolis Lakers. Originally a member of the NBL, the Lakers won the 1948 NBL championship before joining the rival Basketball Association of America, where they won five of their next six championships under star George Mikan. After financial difficulties in the late 1950s following Mikan's retirement, they moved to Los Angeles prior to the 1960–61 season.

1.Lakers fans and haters

2.Banner

3.Suspending

Led by Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, Los Angeles reached the NBA Finals six times in the 1960s but lost every series to the Celtics, beginning their long and storied rivalry. In 1968, the Lakers acquired four-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Wilt Chamberlain and won their sixth NBA title—and first in Los Angeles—in 1972 under new head coach Bill Sharman. After the departure of West and Chamberlain, the team switched to superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won several MVP awards with the Lakers. Although the team failed to reach the finals in the late 1970s, two major changes occurred in 1979 that ushered in a new golden era for the franchise. First, Jerry Buss bought the Lakers and, as the owner of the team, pioneered the vision of basketball games as both entertainment and sporting events. Second, the Lakers selected Magic Johnson first overall in the 1979 NBA draft.

The combination of Johnson passing by the wunderkind and Abdul-Jabbar provided the Lakers with two superstars that cemented their roster. The addition of head coach Pat Riley in 1981 and James Worthy in the 1982 NBA draft established the Lakers as a powerhouse in the NBA during the 1980s. The team was nicknamed the "Showtime Lakers" due to the fast break, a transitional offense that Johnson contributed to. The team has won five championships in nine years, including some spectacular Finals appearances against archrivals, the Celtics.

After Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson and Worthy retired, the team struggled through the 1990s until they drafted Kobe Bryant and signed Shaquille O'Neal in 1996. The superstar duo, along with Hall of Famer coach Phil Jackson, led the Lakers to three straight wins. championships between 2000 and 2002, securing the franchise's second top three. After the team lost in the 2004 NBA Finals, the Shaq-and-Kobe era ended when the Lakers traded O'Neal. It wasn't until the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol that Bryant and Jackson returned to the NBA Finals, winning two more titles in 2009 and 2010. The team failed to return to its former glory for the remainder of the decade, and Bryant retired in 2016. In 2020, the Lakers, led by LeBron James, Anthony Davis and coach Frank Vogel, secured the 17th seed in the championship, tying the Celtics for the win. most titles in NBA history.

The Lakers set the record for the longest winning streak in the NBA, 33 consecutive games, during the 1971–72 season. Twenty-six Hall of Famers have played for Los Angeles and four have coached the team. Four Lakers - Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, O'Neal, and Bryant - have won the NBA MVP Award, for a total of eight awards.

4.Levels

5.Lakers do

6.Defending

The Lakers franchise began in 1947 when Ben Berger and Morris Chalfen of Minnesota bought the recently disbanded Detroit Gems from the National Basketball League (NBL) for $15,000 from Gems owner Maury Winston. Minneapolis-based sportswriter Sid Hartman played a key behind-the-scenes role in helping to close the deal and then the team. Inspired by Minnesota's nickname "Land of 10,000 Lakes", the team named themselves the Lakers. Hartman helped them recruit John Kundle of St. Thomas College to be their first head coach by meeting him and selling him to the team.

The Lakers had a solid roster that included forward Jim Pollard, playmaker Herm Schaefer, and center George Mikan, who became the most dominant player in the NBL. In their first season, they led the league with a 43–17 record and won the NBL championship later that season.

Hall of Famer George Mikan (#99) led the Lakers franchise to their first five NBA championships. The official NBA website describes him as "the first superstar" in league history.

In 1948, the Lakers moved from the NBL to the Basketball Association of America (BAA), and Mikan's average of 28.3 points per game set a BAA record. In the 1949 BAA Finals, they won the championship by defeating the Washington Capitols four to two. The next season, the team improved to 51–17, repeating as champions. In the 1950–51 season, Mikan won his third straight scoring streak with 28.4 points per game as the Lakers went 44–24 to win their second straight division title. One of those games, a 19–18 loss against the Fort Wayne Pistons, became infamous as the lowest-scoring game in NBA history. In the playoffs, they defeated the Indianapolis Olympians in three games, but lost to the Rochester Royals in the next round.

7.Who they got

8.What we wanted

9.LeBron

10.Expectations vs Reality

11.30 years from now

12.Giannis

13.Sad

14.We run LA now

15.New logo

16.Fans

17.Sorry for trading

18.God?

19.No Kobe

20.Losers

21.When you realize

22.A tale

23.This could be scary

24.NBA playoffs

25.More defense

26.Prime

27.Hello LA

28.LeBron and AD

29.Warriors

30.The pelicans?

31.Who’s better

32.That moment

33.Vetoed

34.What you’re missing?

35.Laker girl

36.Winning-streak

37.You better win

38.Broony

39.The squad

40.Dreams

41.Haven’t decided yet

42.Good news

43.Agressive

44.Sponsor

45.Covid19

46.Lemon James

47.How to be

48.On your team

49.Too mainstream

50.Don’t beat anyone