You'll have to excuse me today as I continue to come down from last night's high. Taken together with the absolutely gorgeous morning we have here in DC and I'm feeling pretty good.

Quincy Pondexter, his entire career defined by how good he wasn't, validated every decision he has made in his last four years, including being the only member of his recruiting class to still don a Washington jersey. Having watched that guy up close for three years, it is hard to be happier for someone. Those kinds of moments are when sports do become real.

However, he missed a couple of free throws, meaning he probably spent some time in the gym last night. And, though his shot will overshadow it, let's not forget the craziest play of the game, a 75-foot all-net buzzer-beater by Isaiah Thomas, that was waved off by a shot clock violation on Marquette. Talk about a buzz kill.

Huskies will play New Mexico, which escaped Montana by five last night. You may recall that Washington also beat the Grizzlies by five points earlier this season. New Mexico is known for great guard play and its tough home environment. Sounds like the "Shark Tank", home the the San Jose Sharks, where these games are being played, was full of Husky fans last night. The game will be at 2:50 pm pacific.

Maybe the bigger national story here, however, comes from the east, the Big East to be exact. The oft celebrated, oft televised, oft crowned league went 1-3 on opening day, and that first win took overtime against a 15 seed. This, after one of the league's most storied teams, Connecticut wasn't even included in the eight teams that made the NCAA tournament and two more lost in opening round NIT games. The league will get four more chances today, but after an embarrassing loss for Georgetown against Ohio and a Pac-10 team knocking off one from the super conference, this has already been a tough year for the pundits around hoops. Oh, and the Pac-10 gets another shot today, when California takes on Louisville.

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Daily health care update:

- Proponents of health care reform legislation had a huge day yesterday, when the CBO (which was once again a trending topic on Twitter) announced that the bill would cost $950 billion, but most importantly would cut the deficit $100 million in the first ten years and $1.2 trillion in the second ten. Those cuts come from reduced costs and savings over time, which is why the second figure is so much higher. Pay attention that $1.2 trillion number. It could be the reason this bill is passed.
- CBO was a trending topic internationally, behind only "March Madness" and even made Yahoo!'s top ten searches. Guess: American people still don't know what it is. The CBO is the Congressional Budget Office, an independent agency that scores bills, among other things. I remember one congressman calling it "religious in this town." He wasn't far off.
- Two things to know about the CBO score. First, the possible negative aspect is that this numbers rely on the bill being implemented exactly as it says it will be, not exactly a certainty. These things are often changed in the long run as bad programs are scrapped and better ones see increased funding. That's the whole point. Second, more positively, the CBO is always conservative with these estimates, meaning the numbers could grow.
- On last check, Dems were about five votes away for a vote that will be held Sunday after the Rules committee takes it up tomorrow.

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One last note, thanks mostly to a minus-10 in the Rasmussen poll, president Obama's RCP average net approval rating is negative for the first time.