Join Phillies Nation in fan polling for Wall of Fame 'March Madness'

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Manuel, Thome, Carlton (L-R) are part of March Madness

The calendar showing that it is the third week in March can mean only one thing. Okay, two. Alright, alright, at least three things. The first thing is that Spring has arrived! It was a long, cold winter. But now it’s finally over. Soon flowers will begin to bloom and grass will start to grow again.

The other two big things about this time of year involve the sports world. For baseball fans, spring training is winding to a close. The Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues have just days remaining in their schedules.

For fans of college basketball and many sports fans who barely follow the game at any other time of year this is “March Madness” time. The excitement and drama of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament is unfolding.

Here at Phillies Nation we decided to run our own “March Madness” involving our favorite ball club. As subject matter we chose the Wall of Famers, those 40 individuals who have been honored to this point with a plaque at Citizens Bank Park.

Our tournament is being run at our Twitter feed: @PhilliesNation. If you aren’t following, fix that right away. If you are, head on over and be sure to follow regularly over the next week as we poll followers for their selections.

Phillies Nation “March Madness” began with a Play-in showdown between 1960’s-70’s infielder and later a coach with the team, Tony Taylor, facing off against 1950’s ‘Whiz Kids’ shortstop Granny Hamner. The popular Taylor took an early lead in voting and coasted to victory by 61%-39% of the 157 followers who cast a vote.

March Madness

The Temple Owls men's basketball team dumped the St. Joseph's Hawks by a score of 79-65 on Thursday, advancing Temple into the Atlantic Ten tournament semi-finals.

The Archbishop Carroll Patriots boys basketball team overcame the Neumann-Goretti Saints in a 70-65 classic to advance into the PIAA Class AAA state semi-finals.

These two results knocked my college and high school alma maters out of their respective tournaments and ended their seasons, but were just the beginnings of 'March Madness', the most fun and entertaining time of the year for true basketball fans.

The conference and NCAA tournament championship tournaments in college basketball and the state championship tournaments in high school basketball which each take place this month are far more dramatic and entertaining than anything that the NBA can usually come up with in their pro playoffs which begin in May.

In fact, the NCAA tournament draws the attention of even the casual sports fan both in watching the games and in following the progression of the 'bracket pools' that dominate many office conversations.

Midnight Madness for Big Five

The Palestra in West Philly has been home to some of the greatest college baseketball ever played. 

The traditional home to Philly's "Big Five" basketball schools: Penn, Villanova, St. Joe's, Temple and LaSalle, will be rockin' this winter as the rivalry celebrates it's 50th Anniversary. 

The annual "Big Five Classic" will take place in December as a doubleheader tips off at the venerable old building, with LaSalle taking on Drexel (considered by many the 6th member) followed by Penn taking on Temple. 

It all starts tonight with "Midnight Madness". 

The rules of the NCAA allow teams to begin practice at midnight tonight, and so many teams kickoff their seasons at that point with traditional opening celebrations. 

Villanova has national championship aspirations. Penn will once again be a contender for the Ivy League title and its accompanying automatic berth in the NAAA tournament. 

St. Joe's and Temple, led by veteran coach's Phil Martelli and John Chaney respectively, are always strong clubs. LaSalle has 9-straight losing seasons, but has reasonable hopes at finally reaching the .500 mark. 

The men's basketball teams of Philly's Big Five schools should prove to be tough on any opponent that they come up against, and should provide a nice amateur sporting alternative to the higher-priced pros this winter.