A Day for Dreaming :: The Mid-Majority

March 17, 2010 3:59 pm ET by Kyle Whelliston

It's the Wednesday before the Thursday of the Tournament, a day for hopes and dreams and wishes. Today, we're all still believing that the impossible will become possible. Every time we play the games in our heads, those teen seeds from one-bid leagues always seem to find a way to pull out wins in the end. This is a day for "well, if this happens, and that happens, and we stay out of foul trouble, then mayybe..."

As you probably know, Beth Ann Cosgrave and I wrote a book about this very day! We did it with the help of some friends, too. It's called Bally's Dream, and we'd like to dedicate it to Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Vermont, Lehigh and East Tennessee State, the No. 16 seeds who will be attempting to make history over the next two days.

Click on the pages to turn them!

And it's available for purchase! (Buying a copy helps kids, too.) We are sold out of our first run of the paperback, but another big box was ordered today. (In other words, please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery.) I've been getting messages about paperbacks arriving in happy places all across Hoops Nation, but my apologies to anyone who didn't receive it yet. It's coming, it's coming!

I just got word last night that the hardcover, on the other hand, was held up at the printer. It will be another 1-2 weeks for those to be delivered, but by that time the Tournament (or at least Season 6) will be over. So if you preordered, please watch your e-mail box for a list of options. We will make it right, and I humbly apologize for an unforseen mixup that was, ultimately, out of our control.

An important order of business! Dina S. from Charlotte won the drawing among preorderers for Bally No. 99. Congratulations, Dina! Your new orange friend will be along soon, yes!

To all, please enjoy this anticipatory day to the fullest... the feeling won't last forever. The next few days will be full of heartbreak, unmet expectations and missed chances -- but with a few moments of victory mixed in to remind us all of the possibilities. Right now, though, all 25 Tournament dreams are alive, and each team has a chance.