"The Ball Is Tipped ..."

Leitch|published: 03/15/2006, 5:50pm EST

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Honestly, we feel like it's Christmas Eve; it's the day before the tournament, one of the most wonderful days of the year. We know we're sometimes considered Negative Nellies around these parts, but we truly love sports, and the NCAA tournament, in a way that transcends Billy Packer or draconian Direct TV contracts or even Dick Vitale. (Well, maybe not Dick Vitale.) We can't wait. Jeez, can you?

Obviously, we're going to be here all day for you tomorrow, live-blogging the afternoon games, starting at high noon. So if you're stuck at your computer or in that virtual waiting room thing, we'll have a home for you here.

Prep yourself with our big Deadspin NCAA Tournament Preview (PDF), and join our Deadspin pool at ESPN.com, which is very close to hitting 1,000 people. And we'll see you tomorrow. We can't wait.

Deadspin NCAA Tournament Preview (PDF) ( JPG version of bracket) Join The Deadspin Pool! NCAA Tournament First Round Schedule [Deadspin] Complete Deadspin First Round Matchup Previews [Deadspin]