The Elevator: NCAA Championship Week edition

Saturday, March 14, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Expanded coverage of the Mountain West Conference tournament

A special NCAA Championship Week — where does ESPN keep getting these theme names? — edition of who’s going to the penthouse and who’s getting the shaft:

GOING UP

WCC

The West Coast Conference, dominated by Jesuit priests and Christian Brothers, for understanding that it’s possible to hold a postseason college basketball tournament on a neutral floor connected to a Las Vegas casino without fans or players suffering eternal damnation. They should have held a second collection because every seat at the Orleans Arena was filled.

WAC

The Western Athletic Conference, for rethinking its initial position that playing its postseason tournament in the Orleans was a bad idea. It looks like the WAC might be coming back to Las Vegas in 2011, because 7,471 Gonzaga fans (and a few cheering for Santa Clara) can’t possibly be wrong.

MWC

The Mountain West, or at least Commissioner Craig Thompson, for saying the fans have spoken and they want to keep coming back to the Thomas & Mack Center for their postseason basketball tournament — no matter what Steve Alford and the other coaches have to say about it. (But it’s those darn MWC presidents I’m worried about.)

Fan House

The sports Web site ran a story this week that said “Someday, All Conference Tournaments Will Be Played In Las Vegas.” OK, you can keep the Summit League, because the Tennessee women’s basketball coach shouldn’t have her own conference.

GOING DOWN

Byes to the semis

To make the regular season more meaningful or to protect its best teams’ NCAA tournament viability — or both — the WCC and MWC women give the top two seeds free parking to the semifinals. This is what happens when 27-3 Utah loses to 3-27 Colorado State in the 2008 quarterfinals.

The Dominican Republic baseball team

For going double Dutch and out of the World Baseball Classic — how can a bunch of Major League all-stars lose two one-run games in four days to nine guys from the Netherlands wearing wooden cleats? — the Dominicans must now play the winner of next week’s NCAA play-in game. The loser of that one gets pine-tarred by Albert Pujols and the Alabama A&M mascot.