Back to work today, so you will have to carry on without me for long stretches of the day.
Five people lead the contest with 15 of 16 correct choices.
Here's the agenda, the times listed are in PT and remember that the times listed for the second games of each doubleheader are approximate.
9:15 am - #13 Albany vs #4 Virginia in the South Region in Columbus. Marmaduke's favorite team takes on the favorite team of Charles I.
9:25 am - #10 Georgia Tech vs #7 UNLV in the Midwest Region in Chicago. Ahh, memories of the days of "Lethal Weapon III." I had to look up who the other two guys who weren't Kenny Anderson.
9:30 am - #15 North Texas vs #2 Memphis in the South Region in New Orleans. The Tigers haven't lost since December 20 when Arizona beat them.
11:30 am - #11 Winthrop vs #6 Notre Dame in the Midwest Region in Spokane. Back in November, Winthrop beat Presbyterian. The Eagles have also beaten Limestone. Notre Dame beat Alabama when the Tide was ranked fourth. That was a while ago.
11:35 am - #12 Long Beach State vs #5 Tennessee in the South Region in Columbus. Time for all the 49er alums in the Windy City to go root on "The Beach." I believe there are four.
11:45 am - #15 Texas A&M Corpus Christi vs #2 Wisconsin in the Midwest Region in Chicago. TAMU-CC calls itself the "Island University." I guess they have a point.
11:50 am - #10 Creighton vs #7 Nevada in the South Region in Columbus - The Bluejays try to join fellow Jesuit institutions Georgetown and Xavier in the second round.
1:40 pm - #14 Miami University vs #3 Oregon in the Midwest Region in Spokane - And so it begins. This is the mystery game. It's likely going to be seen only in Oxford, Ohio and Oregon. And maybe in Saskatchewan and parts of the Northern Marianas.
4:10 pm - #12 Illinois vs #5 Virginia Tech in the West Region in Columbus - The Illini will try to press on without Chief Illiniwek. The Hokies will try to get along without their mascot which is a ... um ...
4:10 pm - #16 Niagara vs #1 Kansas in the West Region in Chicago - I'm not sure what's in the water of the Niagara River that makes the eagles there purple.
4:20 pm - #9 Purdue vs #8 Arizona in the Midwest Region in New Orleans - When the Wildcats won it all in 1997, they finished fifth in the Pac-10.
4:25 pm - #13 New Mexico State vs #4 Texas in the East Region in Spokane - New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus' bio on the IMDB says, "Is considered the most underrated guard in NBA history." Well then it must be true.
6:30 pm - #13 Holy Cross vs #4 Southern Illinois in the West Region in Columbus - People from Worscester pronounce their city's name "Wooster." People from Carbondale pronounce their city's name "Carbondale."
6:30 pm - #9 Villanova vs #8 Kentucky in the West Region in Chicago - Jim Boeheim will refuse to watch this game as a matter of principle. And it's going to start really late on the East Coast.
6:40 pm - #12 Arkansas vs #5 Southern California in the East Region in Spokane - I wonder which of the 25 daily nonstops from Fayetteville to Spokane the Hogs flew on.
6:40 pm - #16 Jackson State vs #1 Florida in the Midwest Region in New Orleans - This will likely be the last game of the first round. Watch for numerous scary looking shots of Joakim Noah laughing on the bench.
You did not remember Dennis Scott and that guy with that kid with the last name Oliver? I am shocked and appalled, of course this was during my peak obsession with college basketball so I remember far too much about that era.
But how about that Mean Green! That would be the ultimate upset since it would be a high seed going down, but one that so few people had going far that it would ruin few brackets.
James Carville has picked Memphis to win on XM radio. His guest was Bill Clinton. Clinton picked a Final Four of Ohio State, Florida, North Carolina, and Kansas.
13 - Bill Clinton walks the middle road again, eh? Isn't that all four #1 seeds?
I have Florida, No. Carolina, UCLA and Texas A&M. UCLA over Texas A&M in the final. This, of course, means, that all four of these teams will be eliminated shortly.
This GT-UNLV game is going to totally bollocks up my bracket. Just like every 10-7 game so far. Sigh. I guess I'm not going to win the popsicle this year.
15 It seems like TAMU and Georgetown are the really trend picks. A bunch of us picked Texas A&M to go really far. Heck I picked 'em both to get to the Final Four myself.
10 The Midwest Whoopiecushion Conference will not be denied. This time...
Albany is not exactly playing the upset role that a lot of people expected. They trail by 25. I didn't pick 'em, but I was kind of rooting for Albany. Naga...Naga...Nagonna happen.
I picked the Rebs to beat the Ramblin' Wreck but lose to Wisconsin. I almost picked UNLV in the second round upset. The stench of Tark the Shark still bothers me a bit.
My brackets were all geographically balanced against the people I was competing with. With my friends from school who all still live on the east coast, I only had UNC and Georgetown going to the sweet sixteen from the Big East and ACC. For this contest with all of the west coasters, I think UCLA was my only sweet sixteen team from west of Texas. For my office pool in Chicago, only OSU from the Big Ten made my sweet sixteen.
Ga Tech ties the game. My bracket may be coming unbollocksed.
I was down on conferences with "Big" in the name, sorta. I took a total homer pick of Oregon over Wisconsin (not actually going to happen, but you gotta do it at least once), Ohio State not in the Final Four, and Texas A&M the only "Big" team in the semis. I'm a total Kansas-skeptic.
On my way home from Hong Kong, I got stuck in Japan overnight. So at this point, I don't really care too much who my picks are. Unless one of them can send me a private jet.
I do get to watch NCAA On Demand at 3:30 am, but this is not where I wanted to be watching the games.
50 A few, yes. HK is a remarkable city. Huge subway stations, fantastic public transit that puts most US cities to shame. The central part of HK island is a beautiful city.
thank the Brits for HK's transit. Just about every European city has a public transit system better than all American cities with the possible exception of San Francisco.
I'd like to thank Steve for the UNLV pick. I also have them taking out Wisonsin. On the negative side I inexplicably picked Albany over Virginia. I have no idea why.
Come on Winthrup and Creighton.
Chism? what the heck is John Wayne doing playing college hoops?
please refrain from using "UT" to refer to all schools that are not Texas. my wife's from Toledo and it's sad to hear it used for their community college.
UT leading UT at the half by 8. Doesn't look good for UT. And in a possible upset-in-the-making, UT doesn't score against fifteen seed UT until several minutes into the game.
I'm disgusted by the "Texas-Ex" window decals I see from time to time, for the Texas Ex-Students Society (or whatever the exact name is). Either 1) the word "alumni" is too complicated for them or 2) actually received a degree is not required, too member-limiting.
Passing the hour mark sitting on the tarmac at Dulles. Updates welcome.
I am reading the 9/11 Commission Report. My seatmate has noticed and is nervous. There is a two-page spread of photos of the hijackers - she really didn't likeit when I was examining that.
96 I like Billy Packer. I enjoy his insight involving gameplay (pointing out screens, technique, etc), and he's pretty quick getting his point across. And he'll call a guy out if needed.
I've never been a Jim Nantz fan. I can't fathom how he manages to announce 47 different sports for CBS. (Well, if Musberger can do it...) Nantz is the embodiment of the word "Vanilla". And I'm as corny as the next guy, but Nantz is over the top with his ridiculous puns ("Juan Shining Moment") and seems way too committed to the in-game ads (the one thing I like about Joe Buck is his playful, mocking nature of the in game ads).
I didn't like Paul Sunderland either, as he is like a Jim Nantz-lite. But, I hate Joel Meyers so much that I long for the days of Sunderland in LakerLand. And Chick Hearn's death has unfortunately put an end to the muzzle on Stu Lantz. The more he talks, the less I enjoy.
Packer is grouchy. I get that. He gets a little holier than thou [/understatement]. But I haven't really grasped what it is about him that makes people despise him so. When it comes to the actual analysis of the game...You know, the thing that they're supposed to be doing, he's pretty darn good.
Plus, he absolutely hates Dick Vitale. That has to count for something.
96
I used to like him alot when he was teamed with Al McGuire or however you spell the ex-Marquette coach. Now, not so much but I don't seem to have as much venom about anything related to sports as most of you guys.
100 Now if you reached in your pocket and pulled out some eyedrops, glanced back at the book and then her and then put them back in your pocket, she'd be reaching for that attendant button really quick.
I miss Al Maguire. He's with George Allen and Paterno in the pantheon of coaches I respect and actually revere.
Maguire said that "Any coach who doesn't graduate his players is a pimp." Things have changed with players leaving early and what not, but that was a really ballsy thing to say at the time.
The lowest scoring NCAA tournament game ever was in 1941 when Pitt beat UNC 26-20.
In 1999, SW Missouri State (which no longer has SW in its name) beat Wisconsin 43-32. That had been the lowest total for any team since 1949 when Oregon State scrounged up 30 points against Oklahoma State.
Since the current system has been in place, 2 Seeds are 80-4 in this game so about once every 5 years, we are due for one but not many thought this year.
I'm not even from Tay-has and didn't go there for college; I just think that Austin, being the only brain in that vast wasteland that is Texas, has earned the right to the title of "UT".
arg. Wisconsin's in the Final Four of 4 of my 8 brackets. thankfully, not the one I have money on.
136. Being filled with hipster trash and being a brain are not mutually exclusive. The town could be void of people and the bats under the bridge would be more brain then the rest of the state.
Every time I see LBST up in the corner, I think "Lieberstein". I had a friend named Jonas Lieberstein in grade school; I keep thinking, "Wow, Jonas must have got good at basketball to score 54 points all by himself."
I use "Papist" in a sarcastic sense, making fun of those who once used it in a perjorative manner. you know, like half the dialogue in 'Blazing Saddles'
A friend of mine is a huge Notre Dame and is not Catholic and is pretty much agnostic with a dose of Buddhism tossed in.
I was raised Catholic and was taught by my family to dislike Notre Dame pretty much from the cradle. It was part of a strange behavioral experiment by my folks.
Papist generally had a perjorative meaning. I was particularly amused that the Wikipedia article had a link to "Popery." Popery seems like a good name for a Jeopardy! category.
Thanks all for the updates. Now, if I could only remember who I have in my bracket.
After an hour and a half on the tarmac, we've returned to the gate so people can "stretch their legs. I'm fairly sure this story ends w/me sputtering under a ticket counter somewhere and calling my cellphone Wilson.
Papists, Deists, Raelians, whoever - keep me in your prayers.
205 Bless me, Steve, for I have sinned. I did not break your second and third commandments, but I delayed following your first until the second round. Forgive me, Steve, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee....
Bill Raftery complains like crazy becuase Fazekas fouls out. Because Fazekas fouls out, Raftery says that they should have called the foul on somebody else. Amazing.
I had Creighton going past Memphis, too. Memphis can't take a good defense. Vols don't stand up against a strong post, and Vandy is up and down all the time. Ah well. I did better than last year!
My wife has lost only two games so far, and is of course doing much better than I am. She picked three brackets -- this one is the one where I told her not to pick so many upsets, and so at this point things are looking nice for her.
I thought the lesson, which I agree with, was that some things are bigger than bracket picks. Sometimes, the right thing to do is to root against your bracket.
Come to think of it, my wife's father's side of the family is from Sicily. I had never thought of that in this context before, but now that I do, it makes a lot of sense.
I don't know what to make of Lute anymore. I used to like him a lot. He just seems like Bitter Q. Bitterman these days. And he keeps taking some shots at the Bruins, which kind of bothers me.
Ratface losing is just fine by me. As Bob said, Duke delenda est.
I had two great upset picks today, and both teams blew the game. Creighton and Illinois could have really helped me out, and they made a poopy in the final minutes of their games.
Virginia Tech and Illinois played possibly the worst game of the tournament, with Illinois blowing it right at the end. My bracket won, but I shake my head in disgust nonetheless.
And then I look at my bracket and realize that I had Winthrop losing, even though I KNOW I picked them to win the game. I must have hit the wrong button or something.
budingers awesome, i dont get all this budinger picking. is it because hes an albino? for what its worth, hes coming back next year so we will see a backcourt of bayless and budinger for at least one year.
oh well, bad game, arizona cant play defense and they make horrible decisions with the ball. thank god mustafa is out of here.
I have nothing against albino people, or albinism in general. Budinger just shoots too much, doesn't rebound enough, and doesn't play great defense. But he's a really talented kid and only a freshman. I don't mind Budinger.
But dude is soft serve. He needs some man muscles.
Nobody really celebrates Albino-American achievements. For all the hullabaloo that attended Nancy Pelosi's rise, nobody said boo when Dick Gephardt became the highest ranking albino in American political history.
As Oregon's gateway to the scenic Steens Mountain, Burns has much to offer the outdoor enthusiast. Burns is a friendly cowboy town located at the heart of Oregon's wide open range lands in Harney County. Burns, Oregon can rightfully claim the title of the most "away from it all" town in the nation, since Harney County, the ninth largest county in America, is bigger than many eastern states.
Eastern Oregon is unique, and worth visiting. The coast is also can't miss. The problem, of course, is that the major cities are all more or less along I-5, so there's no convenient path for seeing it all.
The week in Oregon trip would also depend if my girlfriend wanted to come along. I would have to do quite a sales job to say I wanted to go away for a week to Oregon with her (instead of her preferred destination, the Bay Area) for a week because of a bet that is very hard to explain.
So I might have to to by myself. I've got a lot of vacation time.
How would the weather be in Oregon at the end of October, beginning of November?
How hard is it to get football tickets to see a game at Autzen Stadium?
How would the weather be in Oregon at the end of October, beginning of November?
The weather at the beginning of football season is usually very nice, sunny and temps in the 70s. By the end of football season, it's cold, rainy, and foggy.
How hard is it to get football tickets to see a game at Autzen Stadium?
It is probably harder than it used to be. Course, I always got student tickets, so that's different. eBay is always a good option for sports tickets.
If you seriously thought Jackson State could hang with Florida, you were sadly deluded. They were the worst team in the tournament and would have been in the playoff game if the Selection Committee wasn't hesitant about matching two historically black colleges.
My Firefox browser crashed while trying to access the Texas Rangers website. But I refuse to close it as I have hope I can resurrect my post about Adam Greenberg.
Hey, whadda ya know? The Firefox extension saved the information I had typed even though I had never saved it. It just appeared back on the screen when I reopened Firefox.
Its source is Lake Erie. Nuff said.
But they sure are a wreck at this point.
You live in Saskatchewan?
I have Florida, No. Carolina, UCLA and Texas A&M. UCLA over Texas A&M in the final. This, of course, means, that all four of these teams will be eliminated shortly.
10 The Midwest Whoopiecushion Conference will not be denied. This time...
Albany is not exactly playing the upset role that a lot of people expected. They trail by 25. I didn't pick 'em, but I was kind of rooting for Albany. Naga...Naga...Nagonna happen.
Never bet on Marmaduke.
I mean, it's the almighty ACC, the greatest basketball conference in the history of history.
But I like conferences with "Big" in their names.
My Championship game is a Kansas/Texas rematch, but this time Durant will not be denied!
I was down on conferences with "Big" in the name, sorta. I took a total homer pick of Oregon over Wisconsin (not actually going to happen, but you gotta do it at least once), Ohio State not in the Final Four, and Texas A&M the only "Big" team in the semis. I'm a total Kansas-skeptic.
Oregon will beat Wisconsin. And if UNLV blows this game, I will be most displeased.
I do get to watch NCAA On Demand at 3:30 am, but this is not where I wanted to be watching the games.
UNLV has the ball with 1:13 left, game tied up.
Let's go 49ers!
Come on Winthrup and Creighton.
Berkeley Doug has picked 17 of the first 18 games right.
Today will turn my bracket into a bloodbath. Of this I am certain.
I like the press...Except when Lavin did it.
I just realized that I have Va Tech beating Kansas in the Sweet 16. I had forgotten that.
Come on Winthrop Crimson Knights!
please refrain from using "UT" to refer to all schools that are not Texas. my wife's from Toledo and it's sad to hear it used for their community college.
Is this some conspiracy to just give Florida the trophy?
This is all predicated on Maryland beating Florida.
If Oregon goes to the Final Four, then I spend a week in the Beaver State.
Of course, Texans generally take being from Texas very seriously.
They like their state...A lot.
I am reading the 9/11 Commission Report. My seatmate has noticed and is nervous. There is a two-page spread of photos of the hijackers - she really didn't likeit when I was examining that.
You are the only person in America that doesn't hate the guy.
Even Jim Nantz hates him. But he's too polite to say so.
Tennessee is beating CSULB.
The Purple Panthers of Winthrop are crushing Notre Dame.
Wisconsin is on pace to score negative three points.
Their four losses this year include: UNC, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Texas A&M, all on the road. Other than that, they were 28-0.
If Oregon makes it to the 2nd round, Winthrop will probably beat them.
They've now switched to UT walloping UT in a real shocker. I wonder if UT can play with the kind of pace neccessary to make up a big deficeit.
I've never been a Jim Nantz fan. I can't fathom how he manages to announce 47 different sports for CBS. (Well, if Musberger can do it...) Nantz is the embodiment of the word "Vanilla". And I'm as corny as the next guy, but Nantz is over the top with his ridiculous puns ("Juan Shining Moment") and seems way too committed to the in-game ads (the one thing I like about Joe Buck is his playful, mocking nature of the in game ads).
I didn't like Paul Sunderland either, as he is like a Jim Nantz-lite. But, I hate Joel Meyers so much that I long for the days of Sunderland in LakerLand. And Chick Hearn's death has unfortunately put an end to the muzzle on Stu Lantz. The more he talks, the less I enjoy.
Plus, he absolutely hates Dick Vitale. That has to count for something.
I think Richmond over Syracuse in the 1990s was the first 15 over 2. More research required here.
I used to like him alot when he was teamed with Al McGuire or however you spell the ex-Marquette coach. Now, not so much but I don't seem to have as much venom about anything related to sports as most of you guys.
Winthrop is in Rock Hill, South Carolina. And is named for a former Speaker of the House who was from Massachusetts.
And it appears that Wisc./T A&M-CC is the 5-12 upset everyone was looking for. It just happened that they were seeded 2 and 15.
Doesn't appear to have happened yet.
2001 - Hampton over Iowa St
1997 - Coppin St over South Carolina (aka the other "SC")
1993 - Santa Clara over Arizona
1991 - Richmond over Syracuse
Maguire said that "Any coach who doesn't graduate his players is a pimp." Things have changed with players leaving early and what not, but that was a really ballsy thing to say at the time.
In 1999, SW Missouri State (which no longer has SW in its name) beat Wisconsin 43-32. That had been the lowest total for any team since 1949 when Oregon State scrounged up 30 points against Oklahoma State.
http://www.givememyremote.com/uploaded_images/VM_shocker-759901.jpg
1-7 from the line...Lorenzo Mata approves of Winthrop's FT acumen.
136. Being filled with hipster trash and being a brain are not mutually exclusive. The town could be void of people and the bats under the bridge would be more brain then the rest of the state.
Notre Dame is not a Jesuit school, but rather run by the Society of the Holy Cross.
Yet, none of the three Loyolas that play in Division I made it to the tournament.
I believed in you, Winthrop.
That entire station needs to be destroyed.
I prefer to be called a "Romanist"
Again with the Catholicism!
1/2 the 11 seeds won in the opening round.
I always thought "Papist" was a pejorative term. At least, that's how I use it with my Catholic friends.
Pearl is a pretty good motivator, or posterior-pounder, as needed.
Chance for a school scoring record.
You can always count on Notre Dame to blow it in hoops. They've only been to the Final Four once.
It's all so...fabulous!
I was raised Catholic and was taught by my family to dislike Notre Dame pretty much from the cradle. It was part of a strange behavioral experiment by my folks.
http://tinyurl.com/6owwf
Papist generally had a perjorative meaning. I was particularly amused that the Wikipedia article had a link to "Popery." Popery seems like a good name for a Jeopardy! category.
LMU put up 149 against Michigan in 1990.
Wiscy ties the game against the Islanders of TAMCC
After an hour and a half on the tarmac, we've returned to the gate so people can "stretch their legs. I'm fairly sure this story ends w/me sputtering under a ticket counter somewhere and calling my cellphone Wilson.
Papists, Deists, Raelians, whoever - keep me in your prayers.
1) Pick against Notre Dame
2) Pick against low seeded PAC-10 teams
3) Pick against Bobby Knight
I think Howard Hughes liked to refer to the papist spies up on the bluff.
uh oh
Creighton needs to hold on to this win!
Tick tick tick...miss, rebound Nevada. Timeout with two and a half seconds or so.
Vern is calmly explaining how stupid that is.
Made up names are so awesome.
Oregon 22-3
Miami 12-3
Is that right? The first half was three long runs?
Oregon 22-3
Miami 10-3
I don't approve.
It was by Utah State in 1964.
Wayne Estes scored 21 points, but came in to the game averaging 29.
The next season, a couple hours after a game in which Estes scored 48 points, he walked into some live power lines and was electrocuted.
"Can Kobe and Kwame keep the Lakers winning without Luke and Lamar?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxanEBhUmec
The Ducks win the pennant!
The Ducks win the pennant!
Except for Marquette. Damn you Marquette!!
Come on Niagra!!!
Oh great, I have to watch Arizona.
Thank you for noticing. I need to quickly comment now while I am still in the lead.
The three of us will thank God that people like Daniel Zappala entered. He's in a tie for 103rd.
Spanarkel.
Did everybody pick Illinois as their 12/5 game?
Did he and Steve have BYU winning it all...?
End of transmission
"Once again, Arizona is starting the half with a lax attitude..."
That pretty much sums up Arizona's year.
There was a kid who asked us at the library (via e-mail) for pictures of Santa Cruz and Santa Fe.
Not the cities. The "people."
Or season for that matter.
I think that with a lot of work he could be sort of as good as Casey Jacobson.
Hilarious
Bad things, man. Baaaad things.
Tough year for the Mildcats. Maybe they should try running, you know, plays and stuff. Some defense would help a little bit too...
Ratface losing is just fine by me. As Bob said, Duke delenda est.
I guess they weren't such great picks.
But then, I remember that I'm me, and he's Mike Kryzelkjdsafsjlkjpoin, and that's what I do...and I make peace with it.
Euphemisms.
Milwaukeean
Nope, it doesn't have any other meaning other than what you would think it means.
oh well, bad game, arizona cant play defense and they make horrible decisions with the ball. thank god mustafa is out of here.
He has nothing left to accomplish at the college level...
I have nothing against albino people, or albinism in general. Budinger just shoots too much, doesn't rebound enough, and doesn't play great defense. But he's a really talented kid and only a freshman. I don't mind Budinger.
But dude is soft serve. He needs some man muscles.
This is not 1994 or 1995.
I was saying boo (urns)...
He kept bothering people till they actually opened the door. I can see why Bob hates this family.
Hate Tim Floyd, hate Southern Cal, Taj Gibson went to 16 schools, Nick Young has perpetual NBA smile (grin when you mess up or get called for a foul).
Right now I'm just watching the game, with zero enthusiasm either way.
So I might have to to by myself. I've got a lot of vacation time.
How would the weather be in Oregon at the end of October, beginning of November?
How hard is it to get football tickets to see a game at Autzen Stadium?
The weather at the beginning of football season is usually very nice, sunny and temps in the 70s. By the end of football season, it's cold, rainy, and foggy.
How hard is it to get football tickets to see a game at Autzen Stadium?
It is probably harder than it used to be. Course, I always got student tickets, so that's different. eBay is always a good option for sports tickets.
The undershirt and jersey have to be the same color.
vr, Xei
Final score
Florida: 6 quadrillion
J State: 48
But I'm afraid it's dead.
I hate the Texas Rangers website.
If The Toaster had avatars, Woody dressed up as a, uh, "swimmer" from "Everything you wanted to know" would be mine.
Or it would be Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets. Tough call.
That's pretty nifty.
Now ordinarily, I would be discouraged by Arkansas being down 12, but after watching Illinois and Tech, I am confident that anyone can blow it.
has some preposition problems. Replace "to" with "over"
That's progress!
http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~spotter/ncaa/ncaa.cgi
I'll try Sunday and see if it makes a difference.
Your esteemed host was 21-11.
All that said, I've been to Burns. Don't go. It's like a Larry McMurtry novel without all the sex. And you know what that's like.
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