Down to Four and Tiger's comeback

Hope everyone had a great weekend, as we unfortunately head into the week.

We are down to four in March Madness.  This weekend we saw the field of 16 get shrunk to the four teams that will be fighting for College Hoops supremacy and their one shining moment.  The bad news at least for this guy is Cuse lost on Friday to Oklahoma, being in a bar with it packed with all Syracuse people was a good atmosphere.  That is until we started loosing then everyone was miserable, and giving up way to quickly.  Besides Ivler and myself it seemed like everyone else had given up on us once we went down big.  I guess everyone else was right, but hey stick with it till the end.

The two biggest "upsets" of the weekend was Missouri beating Memphis by 11 and Nova on Saturday beating Pittsburgh.  Now it is hard to call Villanova an upset since they were the #3 seed and play Pittsburgh during the regular season and are very familiar with them.  The action got better on Saturday and Sunday when we saw Michigan State upset the #1 overall seed, Louisville and punch their ticket to the Final Four.  Then we saw UNC man handle the best player in the country and Oklahoma.  The last ticket to Detroit is Uconn who handled business against Missouri.

The Final Four match ups are Uconn vs Michigan State and Villanova vs UNC.  It is set to be a great weekend of basketball and ultimately an incredible Monday.  There are 2 Big East teams heading to the Final Four and the debate should be over about which conference was the best this year.  3 #1 seeds, 5 Elite 8 Teams and now 2 Final Four teams.  There is no debate, Big 10 should not be mentioned in the conversation, and the ACC was very good but they are a tier below with out a doubt.

Today Tiger Woods in his 3rd event back after having knee surgery was five strokes back heading into the final round.  However, Tiger wouldn't be Tiger without his Sunday Magic, and it was out today.  A back and forth battle found Tiger tied with O'hara heading into the final hole and with both on the green with birdie opportunities O'hara missed a long putt just left and just short.  Thats when Tiger goes for the win and thats when the Tiger roar was heard as he hits his putt to win the tournament and head into the Masters with a victory.  It was an impressive round for Tiger and he becomes the favorite for the Masters.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend....

Before I go:

The common thread was The Royal Tenenbaums, Glover in Angels in the Outfield; Stiller in Along Came Polly and Luke Wilson in Anchorman.

Todays Quote: "My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. I've told you my name: that's the Who. The Where could most readily be described as a prison cell. But there's a vast difference between being stuck in a tiny cell and being in prison. The What is easy: recently I planned and set in motion events to execute the perfect bank robbery. That's also the When. As for the Why: beyond the obvious financial motivation, it's exceedingly simple... because I can. Which leaves us only with the How; and therein, as the Bard would tell us, lies the rub."  

Question of the day:  If you could be the best in the world at a sport which would it be?

HOLY LOST 3/26/09

It's Thursday and that means its time for our LOST review from Mos Jef.  I hope everyone enjoyed the ultimate bracket for music we had some great comments, I must say very creative.  Without further ado its time for HOLY LOST:

I always say that watching an hour of LOST, no matter what happens, is so enjoyable that it cannot be considered a bad episode. It cannot be considered a disappointment, because on it's worst day LOST is still better than say 24 or Heroes or any other show on its best day. I still feel that way, but it doesn't mean I can't get frustrated with this show for never answering questions. Ever. They're totally pulling a last-night-Sayid on us. Let it be known now, in a public forum, that I will force feed Cuse and Lindeloff LSD after next season if I don't hear exactly what I want to hear. I will pull up in an unmarked VW Bus, scoop them inside, drag them to self-storage unit in Syracuse, New York (in the winter, when no one can hear you scream) and make them talk.

Moving on, best line nominees:

"A 12-year-old Ben Linus brought me a chicken salad sandwich. How do you think I'm doing?" - Sayid, after clearly being dissatisfied with the quality of said chicken salad sandwich

"You know, together? Like you guys were?" - Hurley

"To put it quite simply, you're capable of things that most men aren't." - Ben Linus

My vote is the Ben Linus line, just because he delivers every line so well. Also, the deeper significance it holds. Quite simply, Ben Linus is just as capable as Sayid to kill. And he enjoys doing it. The thing is, only John Locke knows that Ben kills. He saw him kill the big dude with the bomb detonator on his 24-inch-python. He knows that he himself was killed. And then, of course, Ben killed the entire DI.

I also thoroughly enjoyed when Ben was getting beaten by his father. Note, I have some sympathy here, b/c if my kid looked like Ben I would totally backhand him at least twice a day. But it was great to see even Sayid, who hates Ben more than anyone probably, flinch at the site of a child being over powered by his father.

Another familiar actor, Ohad (is that his name?), the DI's torturer, was in Blade Runner, amongst other things. And thank you, VH1's The Drug Years, for informing me beforehand that the army explored the use of LSD as a truth serum back in the day.

Sayid tripping face--priceless. How come Hurley hasn't made any references to needing a joint, by the way? I think it's pretty clear that Hurley rocks the ganj. Wouldn't you expect him to ask around..."So does the DI 'grow' anything special?" Or..."This ranch dressing is great...but it would be even greater if..."

Sayid drinking the same scotch as Widmore and Desmond drank. Yea, you pompous fucking creators. You can link that shit back together but you can't answer why Walt's so special or why Libby was in the mental institution with Hurley? And mind you, now that our Bounty Hunter is in the year _____ w/ Ben and Locke, the speech that Sayid gave her on the plane regarding how awful Ben is as a human being, will definitely go into her decision making from here on out.

Clearly there was only one thing in this episode truly worth analyzing (hence the frustration from paragraph one) but something else irked me. Maybe I'm wrong here, but what did Ben do to really piss Sayid off? Sayid killed people for Ben. Ben then came to him when more people needed killing (outside Hurley's institution.) What did Sayid expect from him? I don't think we're missing any pieces to the puzzle. So am I alone in thinking that Sayid has no reason to be on the "I hate Ben" band wagon? He told him to kill. He killed voluntarily. Went to South America to star in Extreme Home Makeover. Was told to kill again. Did so. Shows up in the harbor. Hates Ben.

And now the big finale...Ben's shot in the chest. He's not dead. This is what happened. It's not as if this is a new time line and Old Ben doesn't exist. Old Ben remembers being shot. It might be worth going back and watching the first time Old Ben (then Henry Gale) encounters Sayid (about to get tortured in the hatch.) Is there a hint of recognition? Is there a hint of fear? I love the parallel nature of Sayid being caught and lying to Ben, "I came here for you." This is the very same line Ben used on John Locke to get free...

Is Ben being shot possibly related to the toomer he develops later? In the coming attractions Kate flips out saying "We did this." Meaning them coming back forced what they assume to be as changing the past. But in reality they're not changing anything. Whatever they do from here on out is what happened in the 70s. So Jack, feeling guilty, steps up. "I'm a doctor. I can save Ben." This will bring up more questions later, but for now at least Ben is saved. Does he screw up the surgery? Is that why the toomer happens? And then Ben, finding Dr. Jack later, knows he's the only one who can rectify his surgery mistake.

Or have there been experiments going on the island? So far, it doesn't appear that the island has any healing powers. Nor does it have any defects in the baby-making process. Does Horace flip a switch? Or experiment with the time traveling abilities in the Orchid station to save Ben's life? Perhaps this is the first time they do this and in the process unleash the healing powers of the island, but also screw up the final stage of pregnancy.

Do they take Ben to the Hostiles for help? Richard recognizes Ben as the kid who saw the image of his mother, which impressed him all those years ago, and decides that he needs to use Jacob, or the island, or whatever, to save the kid. Whatever happens, being shot at someone that you later learn is part of Flight 815 is enough to have you hold a grudge for the rest of your life.

For serious you guys, "Too many questions."
-mos jef

Another great recap and review by Mos Jef.

Before I go:

Great college basketball continues tomorrow and continues to the end of the weekend.  By Sunday night we will be down to our Final Four.

Yesterdays Quote was Anchorman

The Three Movies that make up the common thread are: Anchorman, Along Came Polly and Angels in the Outfield.  The idea of the game is to now find something they all have in common.  Remember the example: My Cousin Vinny, Analyze This, Wild Hogz the answer was Goodfellas due to Liota in Wild Hogz, Pesci in My Cousin Vinny and Deniro in Analyze This all together in Goodfellas.  Good Luck

Question of the day:  If you could visit one place in the world where would it be?

Have a great weekend....

GIDDY UP

Welcome Back

Hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather and the most amazing time of the year for sport fans.  

March Madness started Thursday night and was just great basketball, top teams for the most part won there were only 3 lower seeded teams that won and for the most part they weren't huge upsets: Maryland beat Cal and Michigan beat Clemson to show the world why the belonged in the tournament.  With no huge upsets and people started to question when it was going to happen....well that's when Friday came around.  Well around 11:00pm on Friday the big upset happened, Cleveland State beat Wake Forest who at one point this season was number one in the country.  The game reminded all of us why this tourny is so great.  The weekend continued to provide great basketball and we are now into the sweet 16.  Syracuse heads into the sweet 16 and continues to grow Jimmy's win total now at 799 and hopefully can get number 800 next Friday night against Oklahoma.

Moving on to the weekend in review I saw I Love You Man.  I thought it was a very funny movie and highly recommend it.  Paul Rudd is hysterical and I heard most of his quick liners in this movie were completely improve and he is really really funny.  The movie was one of the funnier movies I have seen in a while.  This group of Rudd, Rogan, Segal, Hill are starting to put themselves on the map like the frat pack and the many other groups of actors.  They just put out funny movie after funny movie and the previews that played before I Love You Man were great, 2 containing Rogan.  One was Year One with Cerca and Black with many other people in it and it looks hysterical.  The other one was Rogan, Hill and Adam Sandler I forogot the name of it but it seems like a serious comedy (oxymoron I know).   Last was Rogan as a mall cop again I don't remember the name but looks great.  Go see I Love You Man, you'll laugh and enjoy it I promise.

Few other things, I need good websites to go to everyday.  I need good reads at work and there are only like 3 sites I go to now during the day and its usually CNN, Profootballtalk.com and Variety.  I need more shit and I am asking on the readers to help me out with this.  If there are websites you go to all the time or other blogs you read please post a comment and give me the name of that.  Whenever I find something good I will be sure to post them for all of you.

2nd Episode of Kings was tonight and the show continues to entertain and I will certainly continue to watch.  I recommend you watching it, if you haven't seen the first episode watch it on NBC.com or Hulu.com and take a look its still really early in the series to not fall too behind.

Before I go:

Movie quote from Thursday was Pulp Fiction.

Todays Quote:" I'll tell it to the hot, I'll tell it to the cold. I'll tell it to the young, I'll tell it to the old. I don't want no laughin', I don't want no cryin', and most of all, no signifyin'. This is Petey Greene's Washington."

Question of the Day:  If you could commit a crime and not get caught what would it be?

HOLY LOST is Back

Before we get to HOLY LOST lets review day one of March Madness.

Yours Truly went : 9 for 16 on the games against the spread.  I was 0-2 on the best bets of the day.

Here are my picks for Friday , day 2 of the first rounds:

Utah -1.5 vs Arizona: Ill talk the points and take Arizona to win outright

Wake Forest -8 vs Cleveland State:  I love Cleveland State, but Wake Forest is too tough theyll cover

Cuse -11.5 vs Stephen Austin:  Stone Cold is not enough for Cuse, I'll take Cuse

Arizona State -5.5 vs Temple:  Arizona State can make noise in this tourny and Temple is getting too much love right here.

Louisville -20.5 vs Morehead St.:  Well we can all use Morehead, but Louisville is no match they cover easy

Ohio State -3 vs Siena:  Ohio State covers but barely, might win by 4

Pitt -19.5 vs E. Tenn. St.:  Pitt is covering by halftime and never looks back

Tennesse -2 vs Oklahoma State:  I like Ok State and the points, SEC is overrated

Michigan State -16.5 vs Robert Morris:  Robert is no match for MSU, but dont expect MSU to last much longer in the dance.

USC -2.5 vs Boston College:  USC is just flat better than BC and only 2.5 points is basically a pick em, I'll take BC

Kansas -9.5 vs North Dakota State:  Please show Kansas some respect, this spread is too low, I'll take Kansas

West Virginia -9 vs Dayton:  If WVU gets hot they cover easy, but I'll take em to cover regardless

Missouri -12.5 vs Cornell:  Maybe its just the upsate NY love I have, but I will take Cornell to cover, loose but cover

Marquette -4.5 vs Utah State: The spread is too low take Marquette

Florida State -2.5 vs Wisconsin:  Wisconsin wins this outright take the points.

Xavier -10.5 vs Portland State:  I like the X-men to win this, they may cover.

Best Bets: Kansas, Michigan State, Pitt, Louisville

And NOW on to HOLY LOST.....ITS BACK:

In an episode seemingly lacking in a "go to" line of the night, I leave it up to you. And the nominees are.

Jin Kwan for his work and feigning the tough guy in the jungle. "Say another word and you're dead."

Jim LaFleur and the Doc for their regular old 'pick-up from the airport' convo. "Faraday? He's here?" "Not anymore." Might as well have been LaFleuer pointing out a local burrito shack that makes the best fish tacos in town. He'll take them there after they drop off their bags and settle in. Their mango salsa cannot be beat anywhere. Count on it.

The Asian Video Doctor for his sticking it to Jack. “Based on your aptitude test you’ll be doing janitorial work.” Good one LeFleur! (ooh, you’re a legend LeFleur!)

And lastly, Hugo Reyes for his work in saying what everyone was thinking to Jin.. "Dude, your English is awesome."

A little something a friend of mine, Joshua the Fagen, and I saw coming was the Project Runway reveal. Clearly the 1994 White Aztec (please excuse the Camp reference) building project that Sawyer and Kate were taking part in while in Others' captivity was the runway that Lapidis sees when the plane is going down. You remember the chain gang I'm talking about. Sawyer drops his pick axe, struts over to Kate, totally gets to first base with her, then takes the gun from the dude who Juliet shot on the beach. So now we don't know what year that was...but let's say it was 2004 as we all originally assumed being blatantly ignorant of the complexity of time jumping at the time. If we accept that as fact, then Sun, Ben, Lapidis and Caesar have landed the plane in the future; 2009? Beyond? By the way, hate to say "I told you so" that Caesar was looking in a station post DI's reign.

Something to remember--and I'm sure someone out there is nerdy enough to have looked this up-- what was the name that Sayid's guard whispered as she was coming to from the crash?

Ethan the baby throws off our whole "Richard was born on the island so he won't age" chatter. Clearly something else at play. But Ethan's existence makes it easier to believe that an older Ben could convince the little kids (Ethan among them. Goodwin also? The Sheriff? Gay Tom?) that he's special. It's like convincing a youngin' that there's a water polo hall of fame in Scranton, PA.

Is Faraday time jumping or is he dead? Did he volunteer to be part of one of Asian Doctor's experiments of time travel for the good of LeFleur's entourage? That's my guess. But I hope he's merked. Sweet justice would be if Adam Goldberg (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004965/) came on for a cameo and killed him, saying "You couldn't have shot that German dude while he was digging that hole and singing the wrong words to the National Anthem? He stabbed me in the chest! Slowly! Slow, painful chest stabbing because you were sympathetic of a Nazi in a Speilberg movie! You dick!"

Did it bother anyone else when Sawyer and Jin spoke openly on the walkie about Sayid? Jin ducks behind a wall and says "It's Sayid." Are we to believe on this huge island, only the two of them communicate by walkie talkie? I used to go skiing, my friends would have those ill walkie talkies, and we purposely would go on other people's channels to jump into random conversations. "Meet me at the top of Nor’Easter in half hour.” I imagine the folks on the receiving end of these pranks never showed, but I think it’s a useful example of why not to speak openly over walkie talkies about sensitive information, i.e. Genuine Iraqi Hostiles.

Real cool that Ben’s arm was healed once they crashed.

Can’t wait for LeFleur to slip up in his nick name rant and make some kind of 80’s or 90’s reference that the DI members just don’t’ get. Maybe that’s how…

Dean Gordon “Cheese” Prichard’s former assistant figures the whole dubious situation out. He clearly doesn’t trust our crew. And way to fuck it up for everyone Jack. “I’m looking for James.” Just cause the Boss (fuck Bruce Springsteen) shaved his beard doesn’t mean he’s not a fan of the nick names! You know he loves nick names! Besides, you were clearly instructed to call him LeFleur. Follow directions for once, Noah Wiley. Yea, you’re the equivalent of Noah Wiley in E.R. Not even LaSalle status, let alone Clooney, Anthony Edwards or new-wave Stamos.

In that sense, the sense that Jack is a fucking idiot, I agree that LeFleur was right about “thinking” before acting. At the same time, this is the first time I’ve ever had to say this to my favorite character: “I’m not mad, LeFleur. I’m just disappointed.” Honestly, Jack-o shows up, you barely fill him in on the last 3 years, he comes to talk about Sayid’s situation and you’re a total dick to him? I could see that being the case if he saw that Kate had written on Jack’s Facebook wall or something. But this attack was totally uncalled for. Read your book, think before you act. That’s all well and good. But let the Doc know about what you’ve learned since he’s been gone. Tell him about the Hostiles. Tell us about the Hostiles! And tell him about pre-pubescent Ben on the island…

Now I’ve been arguing this for a while…at least 3 episodes. I was convinced that Ben was not on the island yet. Convinced. Why? Because Juliet would’ve said something. Sawyer would have tried to kill him (which is exactly what Sayid is about to try and do.) But then at like the middle of the episode I knew I was wrong…as soon as LeFleur said “Farday’s has some interesting theories about what we can and can’t do.” Clearly Sawyer and Juliet meet little Ben, and Sawyer is about to go all “That’s for taking the kid off the boat” on him until Faraday has to explain things to him.

Speaking of PP Ben, finally a nice casting job by the team. This kid LOOKS like he could be Ben. A huge step up from the Jack’s grand dad debacle.

I liked the irony at the end of the episode. Ben greets Sayid in his cage, just as Sayid greeted Ben when he was locked in the Hatch’s gunnery. Clearly it’s gonna take time, a whole lotta precious time, for Ben to rise to status amongst the Hostiles, but I think we can believe that he’s made contact with Richard in the jungle at this point. His fascination with Sayid gives that away. Now it’s a matter of him convincing the right people that the DI must be wiped out, that he’s the dude that should be leader, that Ethan and Goodwin and whoever else should be allowed to come along for the ride.

Karma that the EP's of the best show ever are Lindelof and Cuse? Go Orange - Johnny Flynn is the Troof.

“Too many questions”

-mos jef

Before I go:

Yesterday's Movie Quote:  My Cousin Vinny, if you havent seen it get out of the country.

Todays Quote:  "Normally, both your asses would be dead as fucking fried chicken, but you happen to pull this shit while I'm in a transitional period so I don't wanna kill you, I wanna help you. But I can't give you this case, it don't belong to me. Besides, I've already been through too much shit this morning over this case to hand it over to your dumb ass."

Question of the day:  If you could live any where in the world where would it be?

Blinded By The Light...Or Stupidity

Before I start my rant of the day I want to preface this by saying I am not trying to be mean to anyone when I write this and not trying to be insensitive to any people, with that being said:

-The Midgets had Dewey Cox

-The Deaf had Beethoven 

It is time for the Blind to have a new person on their side, no longer will it be Stevie Wonder....its time for me to help out.

What's the deal with their being braille on signs?  I have had this on my mind since 8th grade in middle school when I realized there braille on the lunch room sign.  Here is my beef, the blind do not know where the sign is and if they are feeling the wall they need to hit it exact or they wont even feel the sign.  So why put them up?

If you are to say that if someone is walking with the blind person they can put the hand on the sign, well if you say that your a fool.  If you put the hand on the sign what about the next time when you aren't there? I just do not see the sense of this, if you think this is a good idea please let me know why, cause I just do not get.  I say we put more things in the world that actually helps the blind.

They say that a blind person's other senses are enhanced why not come up with  new idea, like how about door smells.  Certain doors smell certain ways, for example any door for a kitchen, cafeteria, etc smells like blueberry pie, but just a small hint of it so that to the average smeller they might not actually smell it.  Maybe the art room smells like paint and etc, (bathroom wouldn't smell like shit, if you thought that your better than that we are talking about blind people DICKS)

It is time to move past these stupid signs that no one can read because they cant find them, move past this and do something that might be constructive and useful.  WHOSE WITH ME?

Moving past my rant........LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!!

Tomorrow is the first day of the tournament and like every day there is a blog and their are games upcoming I will be making my picks and shoot the shit about some great games.  So without further ado:

Duke -21.5 vs Binghamton:  My pick is Duke, this isnt going to be close going into the half and isn't getting much better for Binghamton come the second half.

Texas -4 vs Minnesota:  Texas is winning this game and I like them in the next round vs Duke

UNC -25 vs Radford:  UNC enough said

LSU -2 vs Butler:  I like Butler, but LSU has this one wrapped up with about 5 min left and then is going to head to the foul line to seal this spread.

Uconn -20.5 Tenn Chattanooga:  If TO was still on Tenn. they might have a chance to cover this spread, however he is in Buffalo and Tenn has no prayer.

BYU -2.5 vs Texas A&M: Texas wins this game outright

Nova -16.5 vs American:  I am all about being patriotic, but Nova playing in Philly destroys American in this one.

UCLA -7.5 Vs VCU:  UCLA is going to win this game, but its going to be a lot closer than people think, bet on VCU

 

Memphis -19.5 Vs CS Northridge:  Memphis plays games like this all season, once again they cover

Cal -1.5 vs Maryland: Maryland wins this outright, they have to much to prove and will handle business in the first round.

Oklahoma -16.5 Vs Morgan State:  Oklahoma wins this game easy, but not easy enough to cover this spread, I say they win by 14, bet on Morgan State.

Clemson -5.5 Vs Michigan:  Maize and Blue take this one outright...bet on Michigan

Purdue -8.5 vs Northern Iowa:  Boilermakers win this one going away...take Purdue

Washington -6 VS Miss. State:  This one could be a buzzer beater so I think Washington wins but bet on Miss. State

Illinois -5 Vs Western Kentucky:  Two years in a row Western Kentucky will have an upset, bet on Western Kentucky +5.

Gonzaga -13 vs Akron:  Zaga plays these type of teams all year and cover most of the time, no different tonight.  Bet on Gonzaga

Bet of the day: Gonzaga and Memphis

Take a look at the top ten buzzer beaters in March Madness history, this should get us all in the mood for the Madness:

Before I go:

Yesterdays Movie Quote:  Boondock Saints, incredible movie watch it.

Todays Movie Quote: " Imagine you're a deer. You're prancing along. You get thirsty. You spot a little brook. You put your little deer lips down to the cool, clear water - BAM. A fuckin' bullet rips off part of your head. Your brains are lying on the ground in little bloody pieces. Now I ask ya, would you give a fuck what kind of pants the son-of-a-bitch who shot you was wearing?"

Question of the Day:  If you lost one of your senses which would you most prefer it to be?

HOLY LOST returns tomorrow.

Happy Brackets to all....

GIDDY UP!!

Review and Rant

Every now and then if I watch a movie or a new show I am going to give my opinion and last night a new show aired on NBC, Kings. 

 I don't know if anyone watched it but the premise of the show seems to be that a country possibly the United States is split into two countries at war with each other and there is a king in charge of one of the countries, possibly one in charge of the other but we are yet to know that.  The pilot episode basically gave us a little background of the birth of a kingdom and the war that has started since then.  

The cast seems to be solid, the main characters are Christopher Egan, I don't think he has been in anything even though he looks familiar and if he has been in anything lets be honest it obviously wasn't that good.  Next on the bill after the first episode is the King played by Ian McShane who most recently was in We Are Marshall.  Both actors are very good early in this show and I look forward to seeing where it goes from here.

I definitely recommend Kings, at least so far.  I know I will be watching at least the next few episodes and hope it continues to be solid.  Check it out and catch up on the first episode on NBC.com where you can watch the entire episode.  Or look on hulu.com where it is available.

Now onto a few rants from this weekend:

I went to the Syracuse game vs Louisville on Saturday which was the Big East Championship.  Unfortunately we lost, but that is not important to this rant. So after many beers it is time to make a trip to the bathroom.  I head into the bathroom where there are about 5 urinals, my friend also going to the bathroom takes one end and I naturally take the opposite end.  Next guy walks in and finds it necessary to take the urinal next to me....WHAT THE FUCK GUY!  Have some bathroom etiquette, you should take the middle urinal.  Why would you stand next to me, and I know many of you might think, it is a stadium a lot of people are going to be coming in, but this extends outside of a stadium.  This includes a bathroom anywhere.  You are supposed to have a one urinal distance between you and the next person.  Unless a severe circumstance or if all urinals and stalls are taken.  In which case then it is ok to post up next to someone else.  Men you are better than this if you are the person standing next to someone.  Grow up and know the rules.

Lastly on the weekend, I am a friendly guy, most people that know me would know this, but there are people that probably don't like me and same from here.  Now I am with my friend after the game on Saturday and we head to some bar when randomly some kid from school comes up to us and starts to chit chat with us.  First off I haven't had a conversation with this kid since freshman year and even though we hung out at the same places the other 3 years we never talked.  Why would you come up to us, both not really liking you and you obviously not liking us.  It isn't necessary, he came up to us.  If I haven't talked to you since freshman year I don't want to talk to you know.  Smile and nod no need for anything more.  That was a little harsh of a rant, let me rephrase, if I was friendly to you and you were friendly to me and for whatever reason we haven't talked in a while by all means I would love to catch up, but if I haven't talked to you in four years and was not very friendly with each other no need to start talking now....move on.

Before I go:

Yesterdays Movie Quote was Remember The Titans.

Todays Quote:"There's a time when a man needs to fight and a time when he needs to accept that his destiny's lost, the ship has sailed and that only a fool will continue. The truth is I've always been a fool."

Question of the Day:  Would you rather be the King (or Queen) or the Prince (or Princess)?

I know most say be the Prince cause one day you'll be the King, but fuck that I want to be the King.  Give me the crown and let me rule.

I am running a March Madness pool, it is $25.00 an entry and is being run through CBSsports.com, let me know if you want in.

Sign up on the right side to be a follower.

GIDDY UP!!

Let the Madness BEGIN

After a week of great Conference Tournaments we finally had Selection Sunday and now its time to start filling out your many brackets, convince yourself that you know something no one else in the country does and put yourself at the top of your office pools.

Here is a quick run down of the conference tournaments:

Best Game: This one is easy, could be one of the best games of all time and its airing on ESPN Classic as I write this: Uconn vs Syracuse 6 OT game.

Biggest upset winner: I need to give this one to Morehead State beating Austin Peay in double OT in the Ohio Valley Conference the other upset that is right up there is Missisippi State beating Tennessee.

MVP of Conference week: This might be a bias pick but to me it is hands down Johnny Flynn, who owned MSG and made fans of college basketball start to root for Cuse. Flynn played 67 of 70 minutes in the 6 OT game and the next night played all 45 minutes of the overtime game vs West Virginia. Flynn averaged 19.8 points and 9.3 assists in the tourny and became only the 4th player ever in Big East Tournament to win the MVP and be on the loosing team.

Yours truly went 9 and 16 in predicting the conference tournament winners, not my best work, but now its time to bounce back with the real tournament.

On To The Brackets:

Some quick notes:
-For the first time ever one conference has 3 #1 seeds, that being Big East: Louisville, Pitt and Uconn
-Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Arizona and Dayton all were heard their names and are dancing there way into the tournament
-Villanova as a 3 seed gets to play their first and potentially second in Philly where they play most of their games.
-Snubs: Creighton and Saint Mary, and PSU, but lets be honest they didnt do their jobs all season and now are heading to the NIT, no real snubs this year.

My most intriguing matchups of the first round:

In the Midwest the always dreaded 5 vs 12 seed Utah vs Arizona is just asking for an upset. I really like Zona here especially with them getting into the tournament, they are going to be ready to play and prove that they deserve to be here.

In the same bracket Wake Forest vs Cleveland State, now I am not going to say Cleveland State is going to win, but this team is much better than people are going to think of them as. This team beat Syracuse in Cuse and they beat Butler another tournament team. This team has talent inside and out and could cause a problem for many teams in the tourny.

Moving to the South region a very intriguing game is Clemson vs Michigan. Clemson isnt as good as people think they are. They have a great press and when they get going can be dangerous but too often they play lazy basketball and have to spend the entire second half trying to play catchup. Michigan another team proving why they belong here is going to be a very tough game for this team. This one is a must see opening round game.

In the same bracket Illinois vs Western Kentucky again the dreaded 5 vs 12. Illinois a run and gun team might not be what we think they are. I see Western Kentucky who had a upset or two last year is going to come out firing and they have the confidence that they can win because they have been there before. This one is calling for a 12 upset of 5.

Sleepers:

Here are the teams that are very capable to make a deep run into the tournament. Many of these teams can win a few games if not more in March.

1. Wake Forest, not much of a sleeper as a 4 seed, but this team is really good. They can win the whole thing if they get the right matchups. If they come out flat though they can be heading home after one game. This team definetly has the talent though to win many games and I think they will until they run into a road block from the Big East, Louisville.

2. Villanova, again not much of a sleeper as a 3 seed, but again this team has the talent to win it all. This team can very easily make it to the Final Four. They have inside and outside play and are playing really well of late. Watch this team to meet Pitt and then it is anyones game.

3. Texas, a number 7 season I guess my first real sleeper if they can escape their first round game vs Minnesota they can beat Duke and I think they will beat Duke. That will be the end of their run, but if they get their they might have just enough talent to keep it going.

4. Arizona State, GOD I HOPE NOT. This team is talented, and I wish they werent potentially going up against Syracuse in round 2. I wish they were on the opposite side of the brackets because this team can make noise. I hope they loose first round.

5. Michigan, this team is building confidence and can play physical enough in this tournament to give teams a problem. It is a funny thing what confidence can do and its even funnier what can happen when you need to prove to the country you belong. Watch Michigan win a game or two.

6. Maryland. I had them on the outside of this tournament, but they did what they needed to do in the ACC tourny and that was winning 2 games. Another team that can run with most teams in the country. A great coach who knows how to coach in this tournament and a team that is more than just happy to be here. I have them beating Cal and then if they can play their A game and keep it close early in the second half vs Memphis they can beat them. I am pulling for them, but I see at least one win for the Terps.

My Elite 8 matchups:
Midwest: Louisville vs Kansas
West: Uconn vs Memphis
East: Pitt vs Nova
South UNC vs Syracuse

No real surprises and in these matchups anyone can win but my final four are:
Louisville
Memphis
Pitt
UNC (my heart is with Syracuse on this and it can certainly happen)

Louisville vs Pitt finals where I have Pitt who I think is just the best team in the country to win this game. However, if Cuse can beat UNC if they got to that point I have Cuse vs Louisville in the finals, hopefully we avenge two 10 point losses to them.

I will make my pics for each game the day before just to see how I do and I want to hear your final fours, post them so we can see who is right.

I am running a pool for the tournament, it is $25.00 an entry and will be running it on CBS. If you want in post a comment or email/im me. I will update the standings on the blog with the top 4 after each night of games or round.

Before I go:

Last movie quote was Hoosiers. The classic sports movie, Gene Hackman is great in it if you havent seen it do yourself a favor and watch it before the tournament it will get you going.

Todays Movie Quote: "No, it ain't Coach. With all due respect, uh, you demanded more of us. You demanded perfection. Now, I ain't saying that I'm perfect, 'cause I'm not. And I ain't gonna never be. None of us are. But we have won every single game we have played till now. So this team is perfect. We stepped out on that field that way tonight. And, uh, if it's all the same to you, Coach, that's how we want to leave it."

Question of the day: Who is your Final Four? Post a comment with your choices.

Sign up to be a follower on the right side of the blog.

This week we have some great blogs coming your way.

GIDDY UP!!

Time For Madness

With the calendar now on March and the regular season over it's time for College Basketball to enter its second season.  

All of this week we will be entertained with conference tournaments, this of course is just the appetizer for March Madness.  These conference tournaments are usually incredible, they are the perfect start to the Madness as we see teams that must win it all just to get an invitation to the dance.  We see the tears of teams whose bubbles burst and the joy of teams who prove to the country that they deserve their ticket punched.  These are the tournaments that we find those special players who will not allow their team to loose.  They give everything they can for 3,4 or 5 straight games.  It is when we start taking players who are known and start attaching the nickname of legend.

And most importantly during the conference tournament we find out what teams and players are overrated and which ones aren't:

As everyone starts to debate which teams will be heading to the dance and which teams bubble's have burst and now have them in the NIT, I thought I would give my own predictions of the 64/65 teams that will partake in tourny time.  For those who don't know 31 teams get an automatic bid for winning their conference tournament and then there are 34 At large bids.  Here are the 31 at large bids as I see them playing out:

American East: Binghamton

ACC: UNC

Atlantic 10: Rhode Island (an upset that will end up bursting some one's bubble)

Big East: Pitt

Big Sky: Portland St.

Big Ten: Michigan State

Big 12: Oklahoma

Big West: Long Beach St

Colonial: VCU

Conference USA: Memphis

Horizon League: Butler

Metro Atlantic: Rider (a home state pick)

Mid American: Buffalo

Mid-Eastern: Morgan State

Mountain West: UNLV

Northeast: Robert Morris

Pac-10: Arizona State (this team is going to be dangerous in the tournament)

Patriot: American

SEC: Auburn (another bubble is bursting with this win, this team has the talent to put a run together like Georgia did last year.  They are quick and physical and can erase deficits very quickly.  I hope we see another magic run from an SEC team like last year..4 games in 3 days thanks to a tornado and just in case you forgot about it watch below)

Southern: Davidson

Southland: Stephen F. Austin

Southwestern: Jackson State

Summit: IUPUI

Sun Belt: Western Kentucky

West Coast: Gonzaga

Western: Utah State

Teams already going dancing:

Norther Iowa

East Tenn. State

Moores Head State

Radford

Cornell

After all these conference tournaments we will have 34 at large bids.  Here are my predictions:

Connecticut

Purdue

Clemson

LSU

Kansas

West Virginia

Duke

Boston College

Marquette

Washington

Tennessee

Villanova

Wisconsin

Texas

FSU

Xavier

Syracuse

Texas A&M

Wake Forest

Utah

Oklahoma State

Illinois

UCLA

Missouri

Louisville

California

Ohio State

Butler

Siena

Penn State

Minnesota

Michigan

Providence

South Carolina

The last four teams into the tournament are: Michigan, Providence, South Carolina and Minnesota.  These teams come Selection Sunday are going to be biting their nails pretty short waiting to hear their names called.  Out of the group Minnesota is on the safer side even with a loss to Michigan this past weekend.  They have done the most from start to finish, while Michigan tremendously helped their cause with a win in Minnesota this weekend.  This is a team that can win games come tournament time if they are given the chance.  The same goes for Providence who can beat many teams that will be dancing.  Being in the Big East makes them tough and able to compete against anyone in the country.  South Carolina is a one and done team even if they make it to the dance, I don't buy into them at all this year.

Bubble Bursted:

Maryland, New Mexico, Arizona, Kentucky, San Diego State, V-Tech, Miami and St. Mary's.

I am a fan of Maryland and Gary Williams, but give me a break.  This team should not be on the bubble, yea the beat Michigan State and UNC but two wins do not get you into the tournament.  Especially when you can help your cause on the last day of the season and you loose at Virginia a team that has 3 conference wins this year.  UNC isn't even the best team in the country so stop putting a win over them as the end all be all.  Maryland fans you know better than this, you already know the heartache as you have been part of it for the last few years.  The best team of this group is Kentucky, when they are clicking on all cylinders they are tough to beat.  I just think they have lost too many games this year that they should have won.  NIT is calling and Maryland and Kentucky are answering the phone.  

There are a handful of teams that have the depth and talent this year to make a run deep into the tournament and throughout the week and next week I will be giving my predictions on who will make that run to Detroit and get that One Shinning Moment.  But if you are a betting man/woman take anyone in the Big East because they have the toughness to make a run and cut down the nets at the end of the year.

For those who need a little more to get excited for the Dance take a look at the video below. 

And Anyone who wants to join a March Madness pool let me know as I will be setting it up on Selection Sunday.  I will also include it in my post that night.

Few things before I go:

Hope you all enjoyed Mos Jef's post on Lost.

Movie quote was from: Bull Durham.

Today's Quote: "I rode the bench for two years. Thought I wasn't being played because of my color, I got filled up with a lotta attitude. So I quit. Still not a week goes by I don't regret it. And I guarantee a week won't go by in your life you won't regret walking out, letting them get the best of ya. You hear me clear enough?"

Question of the day:  Before the question, I was told that I should be answering these questions if I want you guys to post so I will from now on. 

If you could go back in time and go to one sporting event what would it be?

My answer would have to be the Miracle on Ice.  I would love to be in Lake Placid and watch a bunch of kids beat the Russians at their game.  It would be something magical.

That's it for me, sign up to be a follower.

Giddy UP!!!