The dust has settled in Miami, the Las Vegas slot machines have stopped ringing and battery tandems in Florida are just charging up. February is a very fickle month for casual sports fans, because the four major sporting events: the Super Bowl, NFL Pro Bowl, NBA All-Star Game and Daytona 500 are too close together. These events occur during the first couple of weeks of February, however, after the All-Star MVP Trophy is given and some driver sprays Pepsi all over his pit crew, all of the hyped ballyhoo is over.

Plus, today is a holiday. Sales are galore even in the NBA as the trading deadline hastily approaches. While Pau Gasol is being shopped, the San Diego Chargers look to lure a big tuna and pitchers try to add pitches to their repertoire; one sport will provide a buffer to its own big-time predecessor. While casual fans gear up for March Madness, die-hard fans know that the final two weeks of February, dubbed February Frenzy, determine whether teams will go in to March with their bubbles ready to burst.

The third week in February is very pivotal because every sport takes a backseat to the purest sport known to man, College Basketball. There are no contract years. There are no endorsed players. There is no coasting in the regular season. There are no teams that possess magical switches, which they use to turn on their competitiveness. During this time of year, every minute counts, every possession counts and every shot counts. The next two weeks highlight the end of the college regular season. Now analysts will start talking about a very unlikely group: RPI, strength of schedule, Cinderella and bubbles.

Is your team on the bubble? The question ranks somewhere between, “Are you on the list?” and “What’s in Paula Abdul’s cup?” The NCAA selection committee is watching as teams audition for a berth in the tournament. Normally, certain teams are such a lock that their conference tournament is just a formality. However, like the rest of the sporting world, parity has reared its ugly head in college basketball’s business.  

What would Major League Baseball’s playoffs be without the New York Yankees? What would the NBA playoffs be like without Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant? Would you watch? The ratings for the ’06 World Series were at an all-time low, because it lacked star power. Contrary to popular belief, America loves the juggernaut. Either you love ‘em or you hate ‘em; either way you are watching. Who wouldn’t tune in to watch a NBA Finals featuring Shaq versus Kobe? On the flip side, George Mason might have excited fans with their David-like run, but nobody watched the National Championship game last year. Well that could happen again this year.

Duke, Syracuse, Michigan State and Connecticut find themselves in unfamiliar territory. They are on the spherical elasticity, aka the Bubble. These four teams not only are tournament stalwarts, but have also won five of the last eight tournaments. These teams are considered college basketball royalty. Now they are in danger of not being invited to the dance they made famous. In the past, these teams have burst more bubbles than a bully, but this year they need to avoid the bully.