ESPNews did a nice job of getting the brackets out in the open. Good job by Brian Kenny.ESPN gave the whole thing a real wordly feeling by having Tommy Smyth on the set. I was surprised that Smyth had so much input. Go figure he even keeps up with the College game. Who was the other guy he was a real dork.At least Smyth picked a winner when asked. I dont think his choice was a good one he picked St Johns, I think Maryland wont lose this time around. Go Terps.
The "dork" as you put it, was Will Kuhns of Soccer America. He was obviously a little nervous being on national TV but I thought he made some good points in the short time they gave him. It's a shame he came across as stiff as I think his writing is among the best in American soccer. ESPN news loves Tommy Smyth and that's good for soccer as it gets him on their to spread the gospel. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with how ESPN handled this. An analsyst in the studio, two remote shots, an iterview of one of the coaches, commentary from a journalist and video of the top teams. The host made a few "not familar with soccer" mistakes but otherwise did a nice job. The whole thing was very professional and handled the even with a lot of dignity and didn't make it seem like it was being ignored or that ESPN was only doing this because they were contractually obligated. They are, but they made it seem like they gave a crap and that was nice.