It's March, and that means it's time for my favorite season in college sports - March Madness. I had a great opportunity this past weekend to watch two teams who, while their names sound a lot alike, are entering the tournament under very different circumstances. While I admire both teams a great deal, I know which one I'll be cheering for most loudly through the coming days.

Now, I'm prepared for the boos which sometimes come when I say I'm a Duke fan from way back. I admire Coach K and his teams every year for the discipline, the workmanlike professionalism they bring to the court. No player in the Duke system deviates from the game plan. Duke basketball is, in the sports world, a very successful franchise. They don't rebuild after graduating seniors, they reload. They've got the players, handpicked for very specific attributes, all ready to plug into the starting line-up.

That Duke "clone army" style of ball appeals to the side of me that admires the dynasty, and the effort it takes to not just start it, but maintain it. The grace under pressure and intensity of those teams are some of the things I admire.

It was a barnburner in Cameron Indoor Arena Saturday night before the Tar Heels of North Carolina came out on top, but man oh man, it was fun to watch!

The Blue Devils fell, but they fell to the nation's #1 team. If you play for Duke, you know you may lose a few, but you also know that you're going to the dance, the NCAA tournament, every year.

I'm happy to say I've raised a Blue Devil fan as well. The name of his new black lab puppy? Duke.

I rest my case.

Now, on the other side of the coin is Iowa's own Drake. Coach Keno Davis and his Bulldogs who have captured the imagination of the entire nation with their improbable race to the NCAA tournament, and the Top 20 rankings.

Pegged to finish 9th out of 10 in the mid-major Missouri Valley Conference, the Bulldogs have proved to be the Little College that Could.

And are they ever fun to watch!

They rain down threes like monsoon season in the tropics. That draws defenses out and before you know it, they're going straight for the lane and an easy lay-up. And the team is, in the best sense of the words, made up of student-athletes. SeniorAdam Emmenecker earned the conference MVP honor with an 8.5 ppg average, and a 3.97 grade point average, carrying four majors. Now THAT's a student-athlete! Fellow senior Klayton Korver proves that his big brother Kyle, now with the Utah Jazz, isn't the only family member who knows his way around a trey. Klayton took a shot from so far downtown Sunday afternoon I do believe it was in a different zip code.

I'll be cheering for Drake to continue the Cinderella season they've been having, perhaps all the way to the Sweet 16. This year, they'll be number 1 in my heart, because it's always great to see Cinderella at the ball.

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OK, let's get those letters sent, those notes written, those nominations sent for Spencer's Citizen of the Year. We've gotten a few, but I know there are more folks out there who deserve the recognition for all they do to make our community special.

Drop me an email at: pbuenger@spencerdailyreporter.com; write a letter of nomination and send it to us at: Spencer Daily Reporter, PO Box 197, Spencer, IA 51301; or stop by our offices at 310 East Milwaukee here in Spencer.

I need those nominations this week.

Please.