Weekend Fun: Today we spell redemption R-O-Y (Hibbert)

March 30th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

This year, I tried a different strategy. Instead of filling out a bunch of different brackets - usually randomly - I spent all my time researching teams, examining position match ups, and then filling out one master bracket. There were to be no variations from this grand plan; my genius would see me through, and I would surely win every pool I was in.

You can imagine how that ended up. Kansas flamed out (stupid pick), my Elite Eight surprise Louisville caught a tough break with Texas A&M, Pittsburgh didn’t take down UCLA, and my forays into the Sweet 16 (Georgia Tech and Creighton) … well, let’s just file those under “ill-advised.”

This was the worst bracket performance I’ve had i years. I mean, really bad. Middle of the pack in every pool, unremarkable in every way. I actually think my girlfriend outpicked me, which is embarrassing because women don’t know anything about sports. (Kidding!)

That is, but for one pool that I somehow randomly threw together, where I tried to hedge my bets against my original bracket. I forgot about filling this sheet out almost as soon as I finished it so as to devote more time fawning over my original picks. Instead, I ended up with the right Final Four, seven of the Elite Eight, and so on and so forth. And I’m the only person in the top end of the bracket with Georgetown winning it all.

And just like that, I’ve changed my picks. OSU is out, Georgetown is in. Go Hoyas!

In the other game, I’ve still got Florida, though UCLA’s defense will keep the game far closer than last year’s championship. But yeah: totally arbitrary and biased change of picks. Everyone’s cool with that, right?

Be back tomorrow or Sunday for some tourney stuff. Till then, head here for actual, you know, basketball discussion.

Man, this college course seems REAL difficult

March 29th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanR

Here I am, waddling away in my last semester of college, taking an online hip hop class along with a few other throwaways that only serve to get in the way of my blogging and drinking habits.

All and all, a pretty easy schedule. That’s what it’s supposed to be second semester of senior year, right?

Well, if I went to Lynn University in South Florida, it could be much, much worse.

Some students may skip classes this week to attend college basketball’s Final Four, though at least a dozen have managed to score class credits out of the trip.

The students are sports management majors at Lynn University in South Florida. As part of a course titled “The Final Four Experience,” they will be traveling with a couple of professors to Atlanta to get a firsthand look at what goes into the major sporting event.

And later:

Though it may sound like a sports fan’s dream, the students will be required to put in some work. They’ll take a couple of exams, keep a diary and will hold a presentation after the trip.

Oh man, they have to keep a diary? That’s mighty tough work. Attend the Final Four, too? You mean they have to travel? Man, I could not handle that.

It’s just all too much.

(Thanks to our partner in crime PMK for the tip.)

Case of the Mondays: Arriving, finally, at four

March 26th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

Continuing its direct departure from last year’s tournament, the Final Four this year is everyone’s guess: two No. 1 seeds and the two No. 2’s most people saw as potential Final Four teams. Whodathunkit?

Fortunately, the lack of surprise in the outcomes hasn’t held back the level of play, which (and this is a completely subjective appraisal, I know) has been much better than last year. Last year’s UConn-George Mason heartwarmer aside, this year’s Elite Eight was far better, including yesterday’s Georgetown-UNC game, a battle right up until Ty Lawson decided to stop penetrating and the Tar Heels decided to stop crashing the offensive glass.

Florida took care of business rather easily, but Oregon showed they belonged at that level, which is a victory in and of itself. No moral victories, sure, but considering this Florida team they ran into, they can be happy with that showing. (On that note, our Hoosiers’ loss to UCLA is starting to look all the more relevant. If UCLA takes this thing home, who’ll remember their near loss? I will, that’s who.)

So, it’s Florida, UCLA, Georgetown and OSU. And as much as I’d like to revise my picks and take Georgetown to win the whole thing, I’ll stick with OSU. But if there’s anyone that can negate the influence of Greg Oden, it’s Roy Hibbert. We’ll see.

(Oh, and by the way, let’s not forget Georgetown shouldn’t even be here. In case you still agree with Billy Packer [commenter law, I’m looking at you], here’s the link.)

NBA: Kobe got close to his fifth in a row, but didn’t quite get there, scoring 43 in a 115-113 win over the Warriors. Hyperbole aside, if Kobe can translate this points = wins formula into one or maybe even two playoff series victories this postseason, I will be ready to throw him into the top ten scorers of all time. I’d say that’s fair, huh?

In other NBA news, Denver pulled away from Cleveland late (a thoroughly entertaining game, by the way), and our boy Ben Gordon took it home at the last minute over the Pacers.

Golf: Tiger took home yet another tournament yesterday, but made it interesting at the end. If you didn’t see it, Tiger laid up twice - even hitting the shortest drive of the tournament on 18 by about 30 yards - before hitting a brilliant putt from the same spot that been destroying people all day. It won’t make the all-time Tiger Woods highlight reel, but it was a small bit of genius that showcases just how good the dude is day in, day out.

Case of the Mondays: I guess they call this March Madness

March 12th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

Pat Forde makes an excellent point in the first few paragraphs of his column from yesterday. Forde writes: “It’s now time for those of us who have been living and dying with every dribble since November to look on in disgust as the office pools are won by secretaries who make their picks based on team colors.”

He’s right, you know. The many of us who follow this game religiously are consistently outnumbered and outflanked by those who don’t, those who enjoy the tournament simply for its structure and distraction. It’s one of the things that makes me sort of sad every year; watching lots college basketball games, one of the great joys of my life, is sometimes what causes me to be so bad at picking college basketball games.

With that in mind, it’s time to think about this year’s version of America’s best tournament. The team I follow most closely got a surprising seven seed (if you don’t know, I’m going to make you guess which seven seed I’m referring to.) Illinois somehow snuck in without a really solid win and stole that No. 12 seed from Drexel, whose coach was furious on the selection show yesterday. Suppose I can’t really blame him, but too many unworthy teams beat the Drexalators (that’s their mascot, right?) throughout the year, so their high-profile road wins look a little less impressive.

Very quickly, as the teams stand, here is a short and perhaps soon to be updated list of squads who can actually win this thing:

No. 1 Florida, No. 1 Ohio State, No. 1 Kansas, No. 1 North Carolina: This is pretty obvious. All four seeds deserved their spots, and all four can definitely win this thing. Kansas is maybe the weak link here; I can’t bring myself to trust Bill Self in the tournament.

No. 2 Georgetown, No. 2 UCLA: Memphis is too streaky, and Wisconsin is too slow and too crippled without Butch. But UCLA can get hot at the right time, and Georgetown is almost a sure thing to play in their regional final.

After that, I’ve got: No. 3 Pittsburgh, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Texas, No. 4 Maryland, and, as a stretch, No. 6 Louisville: Like I said, Louisville’s a stretch, but they’re hitting their stride at the right time, as is Maryland. Durant could lead Texas to a Carmelo-esque National Title, or they could be done by next Sunday. Aaron Gray has to show up for Pittsburgh, but they could be dangerous, and A&M is just a tough team.

We’ll do more in detail on this thing later, but this is a start. It’s going to be an awesome couple of weeks, huh?