If you don’t have spring fever, you’ve probably come down with a case of March Madness! With the preliminary round of the NCAA college basketball playoffs kicking off this week, and the brackets just released, fans are scrambling to put together their picks to play all the way to the Final Four.

Use our free printable NCAA bracket to keep your March Madness picks organized.

Print one for yourself or a pile for an office pool.

It’s always exciting when your school’s team wins against a rival school. In my opinion, this always calls for a celebration. After the Sooners beat the Cowboys, my friends and I went out for ice cream. But we have never joined in a celebration that was so big that police officers were called in, 28 people were arrested, and five ended up in the hospital.

When the University of Maryland’s men’s basketball team beat Duke’s team on March 5, 2010, students gathered together and celebrated. They were very excited after defeated their rival, and “sang and cheered over their team’s success.”

However, police officers were not pleased. Officers showed up in full riot gear, with the goal of clearing the street. According to the Washington Post, many eyewitnesses reported that the officers were being overly dramatic, “banging clubs against their riot shields as they slowly moved forward.”

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Now, this might be a little biased, but I have to say that The University of Oklahoma is the best school in the country.

Okay, it might be a lot biased, but I do have my reasons for thinking this. I also don’t think I’m alone in my belief that my school is the best thing to ever happen to higher education. I’m betting that most college students think their school tops all others. Maybe Harvard has the best swimming team and maybe Rutgers has the best football team.

Every school has its own claim to fame, and now Madison Square Gardens is recognizing that.

MSG.com has created a website for college students to determine which of the 16 Big East schools is the best.

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Competition: Freestyle Skiing

Age: 35

Hometown: Denver, CO

School/University: Colorado School of Mines

Major: Chemical Engineering, Petroleum Refining, and Environmental Science

How she trains: Skiing was always a family pastime, so Michelle spent many hours on the slopes near her hometown in Denver, CO when she was growing up.  Michelle now owns a home in Denver and spends many days on the slopes in Denver and in Winter Park, CO. When she isn’t perfecting her perfumes for her new business, you will find Michelle on the slopes, practicing.

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Olympic athlete Graham Watanabe

Name: Graham Watanabe

Competition: Snowboarding

Age: 27

Hometown: Hailey, Idaho

School/University: Westminister College

Major: Business

How does Graham Watanabe train: Graham spends, on average, five days a week training for his sport. Graham spends most days on the slopes, practicing his moves. To keep in top physical shape, he rides a stationary bike, does lunges, and runs uphill on a giant treadmill.

How they manage it all: Graham receives intense support from his family. His father and brother introduced him to the sport when he was young, and it has remained a family sport ever since. 

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Olympic athlete Katie Uhlaender

Name: Katie Uhlaendar

Competition: Skeleton

Age: 25

Hometown: Breckenridge, Colorado

School/University: Colorado Mountain College

Major: Science

How she trains: Katie spends around eight hours every day training or studying her sport. She combines running, weights, and stretching every day. Before she goes to bed, she often studies past races and new race courses to stay on top of her game.

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This year the Super Bowl will be a showdown between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts. On February 7, 2010, millions of football fans will spend their Sunday night in front of their TVs, cheering on their favorite team.

If you’re not a huge football fan, there are still two huge positives of watching the Super Bowl: The commercials and the food!

Everyone knows that advertising companies shell out the big bucks to play their best commercials during the Super Bowl, and some people (including yours truly) watch the game just to watch the commercials. Of course, the yummy finger foods are also a major plus for this Super Sunday.

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College football season just about over. Basketball season is in full swing, and in the spring it’ll be baseball time. Sports are a huge part of the college experience, and at some schools, they are also a huge part of the budget.

The following ten schools have the largest athletic scholarships in the country.

Is your school on the list?

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When I was in school in Gainesville, there wasn’t a bigger game than when the Gators played Florida State. Except when we played University of Georgia on neutral territory, aptly nicknamed the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” Even in recent years when both the Seminoles and the Bulldogs have been no match for the Gators, those games were still the highlight of the season, if only for the ultimate bragging rights.

I recently came across a poll ranking some of the biggest college football rivalries, and above all others, Michigan and Ohio State were the clear winners. This game attracts national interest because most games have determined the Big Ten Conference title as well as the Rose Bowl match ups, and have also influenced the outcome of the national championship. ESPN ranked this game in 2000 as the greatest North American sports rivalry. Hands down, everyone agrees on the Number 1 spot, but there is a lot of discrepancy on who else should make the list. I did some research, and then asked some sports fan friends their opinions. This is what we came up with.

1. Ohio State vs. Michigan – Ohio State players get a gold charm in the shape of a pair of pants if they win. Since 1913, the two teams have combined for all or part of 70 Big Ten titles and have finished 1-2 in the standings 15 times since 1968. Read the rest of this entry »

The following five games are ones believed will have the biggest impact on the season, and more importantly, be the most entertaining for fans. Several that didn’t make the list include Oklahoma-Miami, Florida-Florida St., and USC-Notre Dame.

5. Utah @ Oregon, Sept. 19th

Utah had a huge Sugar Bowl win over Alabama, and is coming off an undefeated season. This game will be Utah’s one chance this season to show what it’s made of outside the conference, while Oregon will have already played Boise State. If the Ducks beat Boise, this game will launch a potential top-10 team into conference play. If the Ducks lose to Boise, this game will be even bigger; it would be a must-win to keep the Ducks BCS hopes alive.

4. Oregon @ Boise State, Sept. 5th

Last season Boise State won a 37-32 thriller against the Ducks. This season, Oregon is considered a top 10-15 team and the Pac-10’s best chance to knock USC from the top of the conference, so a Duck win here would be huge. Jeremiah Masoli and LeGarrette Blount will lead a strong Oregon team, but Boise State “is loaded and a legit BCS threat. If the Broncos can get another big win over Oregon to open the season, they will be primed for another undefeated run and a shot at a BCS bowl.” Read the rest of this entry »