For $9.95, you can get streaming video of just about every NCAA tournament game over the internet. That’s a pretty good deal. If I wasn’t planning on completely blowing off work for at least one of the two opening tournament days, I’d consider it. The $9.95 deal is good until February 9th.

CBS president Sean McManus is worried that it could hurt office productivity. And if you’re an employer, come on… do the right thing and let your employees watch some basketball in the afternoon. It’s maybe the best two sporting days of the year, and about the only two that fall on weekdays. Let them have it.

And chances are, they weren’t going to be doing any real work anyway. If you deprive them of March Madness, they’re going to be unhappy employees end up hating you. From that point on, they will spend the rest of their careers stealing office supplies, making compies of their bare asses any chance they get, engaging in subtle forms of sexual harassment, spreading rumors about the boss’s homosexuality, and doing just enough work so that they don’t get fired. Long-term, it’s better for productivity to let people watch basketball.

Weird story. Ashley McElhiney, former stud point guard at Vanderbilt, had led the ABA’s Nashville Rythm to a 17-7 record before being fired by this crazy bitch last night. McElhiney is the first ever female coach of a men’s pro basketball.

McElhiney was told to bench Matt Freije by the owner, for some reason. Frieje had just been released by the Charlotte Bobcats, and signed a two-game contract with the Nashville Rhythm. McElhiney refused to bench him… and being 17-7, I’m taking McElhiney’s word that Freije gave them the best chance to win the game.

Freije was playing, and owner Susan Anthony actually physically came down to the court in the third quarter. She started yelling at the coach, and told her she was fired, until security was able to restrain her and get her off the court.

A few things combine to make this all even weirder:

- Susan Anthony is also a recording artist, and a terrible one at that. She has a website, and she has some songs on there, and they suck. One track in particular opens with about 30 seconds of her doing some heavy breathing. I can’t comment on the rest of the track because there’s no fucking way I’m listening to all of it.

- After the game, Anthony threatened to fold the team if any player decided to support McElhiney on the issue. “If they’re willing to stick their neck out for Ashley, and that would be dumb, I would fold the team right now,” the crazy bitch said.

- She may not even be able to fire her. She owns 1/3rd of the team, and didn’t consult either of the other two owners.

- Also after the game, she got into an incident with the brother of injured Rhythm player Adam Sonn. She allegedly shoved him, gave him the finger, and cursed at him.

- Later that night, Susan Anthony fell down some stairs and ended up in the hospital. Someone asked her about a 911 phone call related to the incident, and she said, ”I was picked up last night. That’s all I’m going to say about that.” Okie Dokie.

If I was a bigger tennis fan, Lleyton Hewitt would probably be the athlete I would most hate… So I wasn’t at all disappointed when I woke up saw that Marat Safin beat his ass in the finals of the Australian Open.

Hewitt is the douchebag who…

1) Called the Australian public stupid
2) Complained about the playing surface in the Australian Open, because it didn’t suit his game
3) Once called an official “spastic”
4) Acts like an asshole on the court, and of course…
5) Said some completely ignorant racist things against a match with James Blake.

Even while losing, he managed to be a sanctimonious prick. “You knocked off the guy who’s nearly been impossible,” he said to Safin afterwards. Who are you, Freddie Mitchell? At least we can all laugh at Freddie Mitchell. Hewitt, unfortunately, is much more talented and a far bigger douche, making it harder to laugh at him.

Call me old-fashioned, but… aren’t TV analysts supposed to remain impartial? I get that Ron Jaworski is rooting for the Eagles. That’s cool. I don’t expect him to turn off all human emotions and just forget that he ever played for the Eagles. Jaws likes the fans, he likes the city, and while I have no idea why he would, that’s fine.

But if he’s going to come out and publicy state that he’s rooting for the Eagles… then I don’t think he should be on TV talking about the game. If he wants to be a fan, he can buy a ticket, get a McNabb jersey, and sit in the stands with everyone else. I like Jaws, but I don’t think it’s cool for him to be on NFL Matchup saying, “You’ll see the safety bite on the play action, and Todd Pinkston reads it, and adjusts his route, and I really hope Donovan McNabb throws it to him and they score a touchdown, because I love really love them. And I’m sure they will score, because Andy Reid is a great coach, and a better person. He is a terrific listener, and I’ve always found his chest to be soft, warm, and comforting. I wish he was my girlfriend.” No one wants to hear that.