Confessions of a March Madness convert (with Final Four poll); plus Heat lose, Marlins countdown, stinkin' Jets, Jose Canseco & more

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CONFESSION OF A REFORMED MARCH MADNESS AGNOSTIC: That's me. I don't call myself a March Madness atheist because I don't deny the men's basketball NCAA Tournament exists as something that sends millions into annual rapture. I'm an agnostic in that I don't get into the religious fervor as much as I stand back from it with bemusement over others' orgasmic involvement. Now here comes the caveat: Virginia Commonwealth going from a play-in game to the Final Four finally convinces me that what the March Madness acolytes say is really true: The little team really can win it all, and in a way that doesn't seem nearly as possible in most other sports. I'm sold. I still think there are too many teams to start (68), but VCU getting this far -- and for the first time ever, no No. 1 or 2 seed in the FF -- affirms for me that anything is possible. It's a good Final Four all-round, with traditional powers in Kentucky and UConn, and upstarts in Butler and Virginia un-Commonwealth. My bracket exploded, so my rooting interest from here is purely emotional. UConn won as recently as 2004 so is my fourth choice. Butler, an overqualified Cinderella, is my third choice. Kentucky, which last reigned in 1998, is my second choice. I'll be rooting for VCU. Because the glass slipper fits. Take a dip in our poll. This isn't who your cold money thinks will win. This is who you want to win (and why).

HEAT'S LOSE AT CADAVALIERS: Amusing last night to watch Clevelanders celebrating like it was Game 7 of The Finals. Another dip in the topsy turvy season, this loss to awful Cleveland. You measure Miami's Big 3 Experiment in the playoffs, the ones coming up soon and in the years beyond. That hasn't changed. But a reminder had come just Sunday that Pat Riley's coup already has been a huge success. LeBron James (33 points, 10 rebounds), Chris Bosh (31-12) and Dwyane Wade (30-11) became only the second set of three teammates -- and first since 1961 -- to top 30-10 in the same regulation game. Bosh's assertion on the offensive end makes me think more and more that Miami has a real shot at the title this season. Last night's aberration didn't change that thinking. Well, much. 

MARLINS COUNTDOWN: 1 DAY 'TIL OPENING NIGHT: Friday night begins the 19th season and last in the old stadium, versus Bernie Madoff's Mets. Look for our big preseason poll in a new, separate blogpost later this week.

ADVERTISING FROM HELL: A TV ad for the new movie, Your Highness, mentions -- as if it were a good thing -- "...from the director who brought you Pineapple Express!" Which is sort of like introducing a new music act "...from the producer who brought you Milli Vanilli!"

JET EDGES DOLPHIN IN MADDEN VOTE: Jets QB Mark Sanchez advances over Dolphins tackle Jake Long by 55 to 45 percent in the first-round of bracket-style voting on ESPN.com to pick the cover of EA Sports' Madden NFL '12 video game. It was surprisingly (to me) the closest of 16 first-round matchups. It also was a statement about Miami's lack of starpower that an offensive lineman would be the club's rep.

JOSE CAN YOU SEE YOU'RE A MORON?: Jose Canseco, the former 'roid-boy baseball slugger from Miami, continues to embarrass himself at every turn. His latest stunt: To appear on a "celebrity boxing" card Saturday at Hard Rock Live, an indictment of both the promoter's inability to book real celebrities and Jose's amazing knack for making career choices as if guided by Charlie Sheen. So what's worse than celebrity boxing? No, it isn't being on the new season of Celebrity Apprentice. It's failing to show up for Saturday's boxing sham and trying to get away with sending your twin brother Ozzie in your place. One of life's small wonders, by the way, is why Ozzie has not yet tried to distance himself from his odd bro with massive plastic surgery.

Click back. Adding more stuff to this latest blogpost later. Seriously...