No Pressure? No Problem!
Since I am not involved in a regular office pool (except with Butkus D. Dogg), there was no pressure on me to perform this year with my NCAA tournament brackets. Most likely, that explains why I was 13-3 for the second round. Some thoughts:
- I correctly picked the UNLV to win over Wisconsin. Without Brian Butch in there, Wisconsin was a tick away from getting knocked out anyway.
- My only loss yesterday was picking Texas over USC. Too much Kevin Durant kool-aid I guess.
- My elite eight and final four teams are all still in tact.
- Biggest disappointments in round 2: Maryland and Washington State
- SIU looked very strong yesterday. Leave it to Jay Mariotti to ruin Saluki nation's breakfast.
- It will be interesting to monitor how yesterday's losses play in Lexington and Austin.
- In my original bracket, I had Tennessee going to the final four. I'm wondering if I should have kept it that way. They look like real world beaters right now.
- Best matchup of the third round: UCLA vs. Pittsburgh. And, if Florida comes out shaky, Butler could shock the world.
- The pendulum for the White Sox fifth starter now swings back to Gavin Floyd after the Padres hand John Danks his buttocks. When is Kenny Williams going to realize that this is turning into 2004 all over again and bringing in somebody with experience is the best way to win NOW. The fifth starter slot should not be an audition for Mark Burhle's place in the rotation for 2008. And it may be Burhle's spot in July of 2007 if the fifth starter is unproductive.
- How about the irony of the Lowe's car passing and beating the Home Depot car in Home Depot's home town? How about the irony of the Lowe's car winning a race sponsored by a tool company only available at Lowe's in Home Depot's home town? I wonder if Arthur Blank has demanded that Joe Gibbs replace Greg Zippadelli with Bobby Petrino.
- To say that the NBA is really concerned about Kevin Durant coming out early is absurd. The very thought makes NBA commish David Stern smile. Michael Jordan's comments were not inflammatory nor did he state his intentions. In fact, his opinion was more towards Durant staying at Texas at least one more season rather than make the leap to the NBA. MJ was simply commenting on whether or not he thought Durant was ready now for the NBA. There was no basis to fine him. Danny Ainge on the other hand is opening recruiting Durant. That deserved a fine.
- The SCOTUS has agreed to hear the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case. An Alaskan high school student, erected the absurd banner across the street from the school as the Olympic torch was coming through. The principal of the high school, went across the street and trashed the banner, then suspended the kid for ten days. If the kid wasn't on school property, what right did the principal have to infringe his right to free speech? Further, if the banner had read "Bong Hits for Murray", would we even be having this conversation? The school is being represented by Captain Ahab (Ken Starr) who is as conservative as they come and has the full support of the Bush administration. The kid has the ACLU behind him. This case will be a litmus test for the now more conservative court
- I guess "The Other Sister" is organized too.
- It's Chefography week on Food Network. This week, you'll get to find out the inside stories on Emeril, Rachel, Ina, Bobby, Mario, Giada, Tyler, Nigella, Paula and (ugh) Sandra. I am curious as to why two pretty compelling personalities were left out. Before he created Good Eats, Alton Brown had a connection to REM, working with them on their early videos. Chef Robert Irvine has cooked for kings and presidents. I'll be he has some good stories as well.
- Willie Nelson is the latest celebrity to be awarded a Ben & Jerry's flavor. When asked what the criteria was to have your name on the label, a B&J's spokesperson said it's based on "how much work you do for humanity." The rumor of an Al Gore ice cream are not true as Ben & Jerry's is having a tough time developing a flavor that goes well with baloney.
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