March Madness ends tonight with the national championship game. Like most common folk, my bracket was a washout halfway through the tournament’s opening day.

That was certainly the view of a few fans before the tragic deaths of 10 OSU family members.

And in case you didn’t realize it, Stillwater may not be the most exciting place around, but if you like the outdoors, it can be fun.

Betty DeGeneres, mother of lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres, made a special appearance in Stillwater to officially kick off the first Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) conference on the Oklahoma State University campus Friday evening in the Student Union Little Theater.

With her failing health and the opposition of the legal system, Viola Dees fought to raise her grandson alone in South Central Los Angeles.

The film explores the issues of the foster care system and the rights of senior citizens, according to a press release.

2. Knees — high-impact landings and quick, lateral movements lead to overuse injuries such as tendinitis.

Nine international student groups performed dramas, dances and other cultural representations of their native countries.

Oklahoma State (23-9, 8-7 Big 12) took the lead early in the first game, putting up four runs in the first inning. Nebasett Brown and Jake Bollig led off the game with back-to-back singles.

One was a recruited scholarship athlete, the other two were walk-ons. In the classroom, they were all working toward different degrees — sociology, business, and education.

But they were all united by one trait.

They were Oklahoma State University students.

They were working toward a goal that would make friends, family and fans proud of them.

And now, thanks to a Friday decision by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Oklahoma State University will be able to make that goal a reality.

Jared Weiberg, Daniel Lawson and Nate Fleming — three students out of the 10 OSU basketball family members who died in the Jan. 27 plane crash in Colorado — will be granted posthumous degrees during OSU’s May commencement exercises.

“They (Texas Tech) were a little bit down because their No. 1 player wasn’t here,” coach Julius Lubicz-Majewski said.

“But, the weather has been horrible. There hasn’t been one nice day for us to play.”

Oklahoma State’s No. 2 doubles team of sophomore Linda Faltynkova and freshman Katarzyna Kolodynska pounded Stephanie Mueller and Barbar Schraml 8-2 to record the first victory for the Cowgirls, improving their doubles record to 17-0.

The No. 4-ranked Aggies swept all three doubles matches and won four-of-six singles matches.

There was plenty of reason to be happy. After all, the Oklahoma State Cowgirls had just upset the Baylor Bears in an overtime basketball clash.

“It was a last minute decision,” Hart said. “Right before the race, I just decided that I could walk it.”

For anyone else, the two-kilometer walk may not have been a big event, but for Kris Hart — who lost his leg in a New Year’s Eve car accident — the walk was monumental.

From the third graders with baseball gloves, retired folks kicking back and talking smack and the good-hearted ribbing directed toward ol’ “Blue” and his strike-zone-of-the-moment — the atmosphere is great.

I don’t normally watch too much television. My total hours per week probably add up to less than 15 (that’s about 2 hours a day, unless “Seinfeld” isn’t on, in which it falls to an hour and a half a day). Let’s face it, the quality of the shows have gone way downhill since they cancelled “Alf” — but I was about 10-years old back then, so maybe my standards were much lower — so I usually just watch the news to find out if I’ve missed anything important in the world, like a war or a controversial election or something.

The other day, however, I realized that I might have to stop watching the news and stick simply to “Seinfeld.” This revelation came while I was watching a news story on a woman’s tragic murder down in Oklahoma City. Apparently, her boyfriend had broken into her apartment, killed her and then killed himself — very tragic.

Both teams were held scoreless through seven innings of regulation, sending the game into extra innings. Cowgirl hurler Tiffany Paper gave up just four hits while striking out eight through the first seven stanzas, but gave up her fourth walk of the game to lead off the bottom of the eighth.

Various events are planned throughout this week to educate students and provide comfort for victims of sexual violence.