March Madness good for work?

For all those of you out there furtively sneaking a look at NCAA basketball scores (or watching the games online) while at work, here's some heartening news:

A mental health expert in Texas says March Madness is therapeutic.

"There are many positive effects associated with March Madness," said Dr. Richard Pesikoff, clinical professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine. "It creates camaraderie and provides an outlet to channel energies and impulses."

Pesikoff goes on to say that the tournament "appeals to the human nature of competitiveness and rivalry, qualities which are valuable most times in the working world."

So diving into March Madness actually is good for sanity in the workplace.

Therefore the next time a task isn't done exactly on time because you have to log in to watch the overtime of a game, tell your boss it's doctor-approved therapy.

And anyway, your boss is probably tuned in to the tournament, too.

On the other hand, don't blame us if you get fired. Let's face it, no matter how good the therapy is, it doesn't get the shipment out the door. Your boss is more likely to approve of your better attitude if it is accompanied by better job performance. Word to the wise.

ANOTHER MARCH mainstay is the annual Whitefish Winter Classic under way today through Sunday. It's been 23 years since former Miami Dolphins All-Pro Doug Betters of Whitefish initiated the event to raise money to help the families of ill or injured Flathead Valley children who need pediatric medical care outside the Flathead Valley. Three-dozen families have been helped since the Classic began.

It's a worthy cause, and area residents always enjoy meeting and greeting the many NFL players and other celebrities who attend each year. Get a schedule of activities off the Web site at www.whitefishwinterclassic.org and head on up to Big Mountain. Create some March madness of your own.

THE KALISPELL school board made the right decision this week in approving a restricted campus for Glacier High School's first year of operation. All students will be required to stay at school over the lunch hour, but the board promised to reconsider the closed-campus policy in a year.

Imagine hundreds of cars packed with hungry teens inattentively rushing into the brisk pace of traffic on U.S. 93 or Reserve Drive to find a restaurant, grab some food and race back to the high school in the 40 minutes allotted for lunch. Even though the lunch periods will be staggered over three periods, it's still a recipe for disaster to have that many teens traversing such busy highways.

Our children's safety has to come first, and that means some decisions - like this one - won't win popularity contests but are crucial nevertheless.