The NCAA men’s basketball tournament starts Thursday.

Not only will billions of dollars be bet in pools across the planet. People do crazy things to watch all the action.

It starts at 11 a.m. (CDT) Thursday and goes until. about 11 p.m., with a break for local news. Same schedule for Friday.

Looking for an excuse to stay home?

Here are a few:

10. Going in for lasik surgery and will be unable to work rest of week, even though you have 20/10 vision.

9. Garage door is stuck and car is in garage. You live in an apartment complex.

8. The time for your lamaze class got changed and it’s an all-day lesson.

7. Dog ate important document (your brackets) and you have to wait for the results.

6. I’ve got to take my fish to the vet.

5. Need a little more time to complete that big presentation for the boss.

4. Bad reaction to chemicals used to remove unibrow.

3. Wife grounded you for not taking out the garbage for fourth week in a row.

2. Your fourth grandmother died. Ironically it happens a year after the third one died.

1. Census taker stopping by to fill in a few gaps in questionnaire.