Tonight I'll be unveiling my March Madness picks. I am sure you await with bated breath (I use the Shakespearean spelling of "bated.")

This is an Open Thread.

This is an Open Thread.

This is an Open Thread.

March Madness brackets come out tonight. I won't lie, my interest has dropped precipitously since the Gators won't be in it. But, never fear, I'll pick myself up and give you some first rate coverage the next few weeks.

In the meantime, this is an Open Thread.

This is an Open Thread.

Update (TL): If you missed Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer, you can watch the full unedited videos at HuffPo here.

In a game that no one but JeffinAlabama and I will be following at this site, Florida meets Auburn tonight in a de facto play-in game for the NCCA tourney. Go Gators!

This is an Open Thread.

I do not plan to write a separate post on Cramer on the Daily Show last night. Of course Jon Stewart exposed the farce that passes for journalism in our day, as his show has done for years now. This is merely the latest example. I do think Cramer may have done himself some good (while exposing CNBC to merited ridicule) by going in and taking the beating. But the reality is Jim Cramer is not a journalist and in some ways, it was unfair and unfortunate to lay the sins of today's "journalism" upon him. Stewart spent a lot of time arguing as if Cramer really held himself out as journalist. I respectfully disagree with that assessment. Cramer has always acted a fool. I doubt anyone expected him to "break" stories on financial shenanigans or even give objective analysis on financial news.

But NBC and its family of networks do hold themselves out to be journalists. And they are doing no journalism. Let me put it this way, who do you think is a worse "journalist," Jim Cramer or Brian Williams?

This is an Open Thread.

I started the day at 4:30 am, waking up concerned about Bernie Madoff (regardless of what he did, he's 70 years old, non-violent and doesn't belong at an MCC for months pending sentencing. Bail is not meant as punishment, only to secure one's appearance at the next court proceeding.)

I'm blogged out for now, the TL kid and I are going shopping, after which there's a new Gray's Anatomy to watch.

Your turn, all topics welcome.

I've spent far too much time following the Bernie Madoff case and am going to be working on my own cases the rest of the day. Final item: Here's the statement Madoff made in court today (pdf).

Here's an open thread for you, all topics welcome.

Late afternoon on the West Coast. For those wondering, we'll be back in the college hoops coverage business starting tomorrow night as we prepare for the start of March Madness next week.

This is an Open Thread.

Your turn.

This is an Open Thread.

Your turn.

This is an Open Thread.