Our question of the week is simply this: what could be more fun than winning a guitar from the artist formerly known as Prince? Well, it could be the ability to compare the fat content of various fast foods, forever to lead a nutritionally enlightened existence. Or, it may be dyeing your hair in wicked ways. Certainly plausible. Then again, learning more than you ever thought possible about Parisian Urban Sanitation before the 20th Century is sometimes known to be a good time. But, these are the last two weeks of March, and Spring is in the air (at least in parts of the Northern Hemisphere like ours it is) so, we'd have to venture that fun absolutely positively means being invited to the Big Dance. Yup, you guessed it: the NCAA Basketball Tournament, known by one and all as March Something-Or-Other.
If fun also means watching the tourney to see how you're doing in the office pool, try Yahoo!'s new Scoreboard for the latest, up-to the-minute results and information. Further coverage is also available at USA Today Sports, which includes a Big Dance section, or at the ever popular ESPNET SportsZone. A local New Jersey paper, The Bergen Record, offers coverage in the form of Meadowlands Madness. The site includes the latest games, scores and schedules, but also delves into the finer points and festivities surrounding the championship. For instance, you can learn the time and location of the open practice set by the Final Four teams, or have your vote counted for an all-time team. CBS Sports coverage includes their broadcast schedule, in case you don't already know game times.
If you don't want to see it on television or follow it on the Web, there's always Mercury Mail, Inc.'s free e-mail service. Pick the type of coverage you want and the teams you're interested in, and receive personalized e-reports during the tournament. Couldn't be easier than that. Or, if you want to go directly to the source, try Yahoo!'s NCAA Teams category, which includes the Kansas Jayhawks Nothin' But Net page, Georgetown University's page, which includes the definition of the term "Hoya", the UConn Huskies, and oh so much more. Go team!
With St. Patrick's Day recently behind us and the green of Spring in the air, it seems only fitting to feature all things Irish in this week's tour.
Start with PaddyNet's Island, which describes itself as a site that explores "the richness of Ireland and her islands". With a focus on the past, PaddyNet offers a wide range of fascinating information about the country's mythology, folklore, history and literature, as well as notes about Irish places, placenames and ancient sites. There are a number of images here, but it's the interesting text that makes the experience worthwhile.
For music, stop by .tradnet, covering all that's happening in the world of Irish Traditional and Folk Music, or Ceolas, which sees itself as the home of Celtic music on the Internet. Both sites include a vast number of links and album reviews, while Ceolas also offers audio samples.
If you're looking for current news, try The Irish Times. Besides the newspaper's daily coverage, you will also find The Irish Times Collection, "a wide range of unusual gifts mostly Irish made", and including cold cast bronze busts of Ireland's history makers.
Ulysses, a combination of text links and clickable maps, has Irish travel covered. This comprehensive guide holds plenty 'o listings of hotels, hostels, pubs, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, businesses, and more. And as if that weren't enough, it's also home to the Virtual Irish Pub, where you can put up your feet, have a pint or two, and join in the conversation.
Your conversation may inevitably turn to Ireland's literary history, and the Abbey Theatre, founded by W.B. Yeats and Lady Gregory about 90 years ago, one of the country's most loved institutions. For more of Ireland's rich cultural heritage, try the number of good James Joyce sites we have listed in our literature category. Take your pick(s).