It doesn't get much better than Selection Sunday when it comes to goofy live theater. Every year there's an awkward moment -- either accidentally funny or painful -- that validates the entire viewing process.

This year, for instance, we present the Pittsburgh Panthers. We were looking live at the Panthers as the bracket unfolded and they were revealed to be the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region. The camera panned the players as they sat in some sort of balcony type deal, and the players stared back, as expressionless as the lens itself.

	If CBS wanted this reaction, they should have hung out with Holy Cross.

Perhaps prodded by some zealous -- stricken? -- off-camera producer, a few of the Panthers clapped politely. Their body language seemed to be saying, "I will clap politely for maybe three seconds, then I will leave this balcony type structure and eliminate you from my presence."

The announcers dutifully said the typical, "Show some excitement, guys," and made no mention of the reason for the Panthers' attitude. As winners of the Big East and Big East Tournament, the Panthers were hoping for a No. 1 seed. They weren't interested in No. 2, especially when No. 1 is Kentucky. These facts combined to make Pitt slightly less interested in the camera than CBS would have liked.

Were they supposed to be excited about seeing their name? In October -- hell, last April -- they knew their school's name would make it on the board the third Sunday in March.

To be fair, this wasn't the undiluted pain we got a few years back when Mike Jarvis allowed the cameras into the George Washington University dorm for a moment that never came -- the moment his team would erupt with joy at the sight of its name on the big board.

Still, it didn't exactly rank with the fall-on-the-floor-and-scream performance of the IUPUI coach after his team won its conference tournament. Nobody really knows what tournament that was, or what IUPUI is supposed to mean, but the coach knows how to celebrate. There hasn't been a coach squirm like that since … well, since Jim Harrick.

And by the way, how hard is the Selection Committee rooting against BYU? They made a bonehead move by putting the Cougars in a bracket that forces two regions to be rearranged if BYU wins two games. The Mormon religion, and school policy, prohibits Sunday games.

So if you're headed for Spokane on Thursday, look for the big UConn party downtown, sponsored by the NCAA.

This Week's List:

	Miguel Tejada is OK after being kneed in the crotch by the A's owner.

Tim Keown is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at tim.keown@espn3.com.