March Madness now inhabits a new, more significant atmoshphere as U.S.-led coalition forces have officially begun their march into Baghdad. Suddenly, teenagers across America are burdened with the responsibility of temporarily alleviating our war-borne anguish because they play basketball at a collegiate level. Thank you, Drew Nicholas. Your stunning one-foot jump shot over the outstretched arms of two UNC-Wilmington defenders kept me alive in my theoretical pool. As the ball snapped through the bottom of the net, people across America had a distraction from thinking about American POWs and Iraqi civilian casualties in the midst of our "Shock and Awe campaign."

Thank you to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers and Dylan Page for failing to convert a last-second layup to knock off a heavily favored Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad. Your inability to finish reminded all of us how simple basketball can be during an era of complex global current events.

Thank you to Joel Cornette, Darnell Archey, Brandon Miller and the rest of the Butler Bulldogs for putting on a shooting clinic late in their classic battle with local villain Rick Pitino and his Louisville bunch. The glass slipper was surely fit for Butler and head coach Todd Lickliter after they valiantly fought off the Cardinals (79-71) with an array of long-distance bombs that could only be felt on the court.

Butler is the little school that could. The Indianapolis-based institution was bypassed by the NCAA Selection Committee the past two seasons, but has returned to the Big Dance with a vengeance. Number one seed Oklahoma better beware, as Lickliter & Co. have no fear of the Hollis Price-led Sooners.

Is it fair to place such a responsibility on people the same age as you and I? No. But, please remember that our soldiers overseas defending us are not much older. So, when games re-commence this week and we all sit down and enjoy a couple beers in front of the tube, be sure to raise your glass to both the men and women fighting for us and those fighting for their respective schools during March Madness.

Thanks to departing seniors like Xavier's David West, Louisville's Reece Gaines and Florida's Matt Bonner who displayed the class and dignity in defeat that all young Americans should aspire to emulate.

And thanks to crazed coaching legends like Purdue's Gene Keady, Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Utah's Rick Majerus, whose sideline antics never cease to amaze us.

You can't talk about college basketball in March without mentioning Gonzaga. The 'Zags were back this year, defeating a talented Cincinnati team in the first round before they encountered Lute Olsen's powerful Arizona Wildcats in Salt Lake City.

Heavily favored Arizona needed two overtimes to topple Mark Few's relentless squad, proving just how unpredictable the tourney can be.

While reality tends to crash down on us with the hourly news updates by Dan Rather in CBS' studios, Americans can't help but be energized by the maniacal pace and sheer ecstasy of March Madness. Action resume Thursday with matchups ranging from Texas-UConn in the South region to Kentucky-Wisconsin in the Midwest.