Got those brackets filled out? Better hurry

The NCAA Tournament starts today.

And I don’t like it one bit.

Every year since I can remember, my favorite day on the entire sports calendar was the first day of the men’s basketball tournament. It was always on Thursday, and it was like a basketball explosion. Games started before lunch, and they went all through the day, the evening and into the night.

It was a sports fan’s nirvana.

Now, the start of the tournament has been pushed back with the expanded 68-team field and a pair of play-in games Tuesday and Wednesday. Granted, we’ve had the single play-in game for the past couple years, but with essentially the worst two teams in the field battling for a spot in the 64-team bracket, that didn’t feel like the start of the tournament.

But with four games and several teams that are legitimate squads — these play-in games now aren’t just 16-seed wanna-bes — this feels like the start of the tournament.

Our basketball explosion has been replaced by a basketball trickle.

It stinks.

The start of the NCAA Tournament has always been something of an unofficial holiday for sports fan. People take an extra-long lunch to catch some action. Some even play hookie from work.

But now? Is anyone even going to watch these first four games?