March Madness 2010 Bracket Update: Round 2

First up, if you read the posts you were reading yesterday, and quite a few were…THAT WAS PROBABLY LAST YEAR’S BRACKET! New year, new bracket, now that I have some time here’s how it looks-even though I’m playing the Yahoo game as usual I’m also doing ESPN Tournament Challenge for the first time, that’s the one I refer to here:
Round 2 Results:
Games: 16
Correct Picks: 7
Incorrect Picks: 9
Points: 380 out of 640
Ranking: 2,132,140
Percentile: 55.4%

Highlights & Lowlights of my picks:
Busted: Kansas. Northern Iowa has essentially ended my tournament. Cost me my National Champion.
Busted 2: Villanova. No miracle comeback against St. Mary’s. Another Final 4 pick out.
Busted 3: Pittsburgh. Makes 3 of my Elite 8 out.
Well, There’s Still: Kentucky. At least they cruised so they’re still on track to lose in the National Championship in my bracket.

The picks above sum it up, my bracket is done for the year. Well, there’s still Yahoo Sports Second Chance Tournament Pick ‘Em! A fresh bracket from the Sweet 16 on!

Round 3 update coming Friday or Saturday.

March Madness 2010 Bracket Update: Round 1

First up, if you read the post you were reading yesterday, and quite a few were…THAT WAS LAST YEAR’S BRACKET! New year, new bracket, now that I have some time here’s how it looks-even though I’m playing the Yahoo game as usual I’m also doing ESPN Tournament Challenge for the first time, that’s the one I refer to here:
Round 1 Results:
Games: 32 (not counting play-in)
Correct Picks: 24
Incorrect Picks: 8
Points: 240 out of 320
Ranking: 473,480
Percentile: 90.1%

Highlights & Lowlights of my picks so far:
Upset Special!: Cornell. They were my 12 over 5 pick and came through against Temple. Luck runs out next round, I think, but good win for them.
Oh Yeah: St. Mary’s, Washington, Georgia Tech. My other upset picks that all came through.
Whew: BYU. Wavered a lot between BYU & Florida and couldn’t remember who I picked until after the game. It was BYU.
Oops: Utah State & Montana. Utah State was my other 12 over 5 pick, thought they had a good chance on paper to take down Texas A&M and then Purdue. Not happening. Montana was my pre-tournament SHOCKER SPECIAL! They drew a pullable upset in #3 New Mexico and I had them reaching the Sweet 16 beating Washington too before those dreaded Dukies finished them off. Close but not quite, they lose by 5 to New Mexico.
Mulligan!: Vanderbilt. Gave some thought to picking Murray State pulling the upset. Not enough thought. Nice win.
Ouch: Notre Dame. Figured with Luke Harangody back they’d have an easier time against Old Dominion. Nice win for the semi-locals but it cost me half my Sweet 16 in the South (Montana).
Busted: Georgetown. Disappointing/disgusting/despicable on so many levels. Ohio should’ve been a walkover game, not walked over! So much for them beating Tennessee before losing to Ohio State.
Maalox Moments: Villanova-Robert Morris & West Va.-Morgan State. Villanova was in ulcer-inducing trouble until managing to hang on in overtime, they just couldn’t make shots. Even though they shot horribly, give Robert Morris the credit they deserve for nearly pulling a Hampion. On paper they lost. Mentally though, and emotionally, they won. Hopefully they held their heads high after this loss. Morgan State had the upset going through the first half, only problem was West Va. showed up at halftime and Morgan State left.

Celebrity Competitions: I’m participating in 3 celebrity groups against some of my favortie ESPN personalities. Here’s how I’m faring in each group:
Mike & Mike On ESPN Radio:
Mike Golic Score: 240, 90.1%
Mike Greenberg Score: 210, 37.7%
My rank: 11856. Tied with Golic, beating Greeny.

ESPN Around The Horn:
Jim Armstrong: 240, 90.1%
JA Adande: 240, 90.1%
Kevin Blackistone: 230, 77.9%
Jackie MacMullan: 230, 77.9%
Tony “Old Spice” Reali: 220, 59.8%
“Texas” Tim Cowlishaw: 220, 59.8%
Bill Plaschke: 210, 37.7%
Gene Wojo: 200, 20.6%
Woody Paige: 200, 20.6%
Jay Mariotti: 200, 20.6%
Michael Smith: 190. 9.5%
My rank: 7154. Tied with Armstrong & Adande, beating everyone else.

ESPN PTI:
Michael “World Wide” Wilbon: 200, 20.6%
My rank: 5428. I’m ahead of my man World Wide Wilbon! I do find it a little funny that Wilbon stayed loyal to his Big 10 roots (he’s a Northwestern man) and picked THE Ohio State University to win it all. And for those wondering, apparently Mr. Tony (Kornheiser) didn’t do a bracket.

Round 2 update coming Monday.

Confuseyus: NFL & NCAAF Weekend Predictions (9/10-9/13)

Confuseyus

Saturdays and Sundays. They’re once again about the pigskin. And laundry. And some yard work. But mainly, they’re about the pigskin. And maybe you should clean the garage while you’re at it. Anyway, what better sport for Joe Average Junkie to prognosticate over than football? Confuseyus like picking football like average Joe, although Confuseyus get late start on posting predictions, meant to start with college last week but got too into Navy coming oh-so-close to sinking THE Ohio State University. So we’ll officially start here with predictions for NFL Week 1, which starts tonight, and College Week 2. The college predictions will be only for Top 25 matchups featured in the Yahoo Sports College Football Pick ‘Em game. Let’s pick some pigs!

March Madness Bracket Update: Final & Wrap-up

After each day of the NCAA Tournament (days when there are games) I’ll update the status of my bracket and how it’s holding up so far. Click below for the final wrapup after the National Championship and how I did overall this year:

March Madness Bracket Update: Final 4

After each day of the NCAA Tournament (days when there are games) I’ll update the status of my bracket and how it’s holding up so far. Click below to read how things are after the Final 4:

March Madness Bracket Update: Quarterfinals Part 2

After each day of the NCAA Tournament (days when there are games) I’ll update the status of my bracket and how it’s holding up so far. Click below to read how things are after the second half of the quarterfinals:

March Madness Bracket Update: Quarterfinals Part 1

After each day of the NCAA Tournament (days when there are games) I’ll update the status of my bracket and how it’s holding up so far. Click below to read how things are after the first half of the quarterfinals:

March Madness Bracket Update: Round 3 Part 1

After each day of the NCAA Tournament (days when there are games) I’ll update the status of my bracket and how it’s holding up so far. Click below to read how things are after the first half of round 3:

March Madness Bracket Update: Round 2 Part 2

After each day of the NCAA Tournament (days when there are games) I’ll update the status of my bracket and how it’s holding up so far. Click below to read how things are after the second half of round 2:

March Madness Bracket Update: Round 2 Part 1

After each day of the NCAA Tournament (days when there are games) I’ll update the status of my bracket and how it’s holding up so far. Click below to read how things are after the first half of round 2:

March Madness Bracket Update: Round 1 Part 2

After each day of the NCAA Tournament (days when there are games) I’ll update the status of my bracket and how it’s holding up so far. Click below to read how things are after the second half of round 1:

March Madness Bracket Update: Round 1 Part 1

After each day of the NCAA Tournament (days when there are games) I’ll update the status of my bracket and how it’s holding up so far. Click below to read how things are after the first half of round 1:

Ready For Some March Madness?

You know I am! As of this post we’re just 5 hours from getting the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament underway! As always I’m looking forward to catching as many games as I can on TV and online. As for who I’m picking, not a lot of upsets this year but I may regret picking who I did to win it all. My complete bracket entered in Yahoo Sports Tournament Pick ‘Em can be viewed after the jump:

http://98.136.70.92/t1/viewprintbracket?tid=4355&c=1&ts=1237461305&sig=H0zsuGkEnh6GSwssJ.ry1nI72JU-&uy=mailcalldc%23c8

You need Adobe Reader to view it as it’s a PDF. And remember to take it to KFC with you if you go to get 30 Hot Wings for $15.99.

Enjoy the games and hope your brackets don’t get busted!

Standing Pat At The Top Of The Summitt-First To 1000!

Might be a very bad pun in the title, but it feels so good to be able to post about it now, because it happened on her second try last night-Tennessee women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt, center in picture getting the “Confetti Gatorade Bath” from 2 of her players, became the first NCAA Div. 1 basketball coach, men’s or women’s, to reach 1,000 career wins. Her resume to date is virtually unrivaled in all of major college hoops, some notable numbers:
Record to date, including last night: 1000 wins, only 187 losses. That’s a roughly 84.2% career win percent.
NCAA Championships won to date: 8. That’s an average of one every 4.3 years. Tennessee has won the last 2 women’s titles.
SEC regular season titles won to date: 14.
SEC tournaments won to date (gives automatic NCAA tourney spot to winner): 13.
Seasons with at least 30 wins: 18.
Average number of wins per season, excluding this season: 29. So far this season, last night included: 17.
Average yearly record excluding this year so far: 29-5. Tennessee is 17-5 this year.
NCAA Final Four appearances to date: 17.
Number of Lady Vols players since 1976 who have not gone to at least one Final 4: 0.
Number of Women’s NCAA Tournaments Tennessee has not played in under Summitt: 0. That’s 27 of 27 made, and every year they have made at least the 3rd round (16 teams).
Graduation rate of Lady Vols players under Summitt all-time: 100%. EVERY PLAYER who has ever played for Summitt has graduated from Tennessee with a degree.
Olympians she’s produced: 12.
Players who later went pro (ABL, WNBA, overseas): 43.
Ridiculously funny yet very enjoyable publicity stunts done in support of the men’s hoops team: 1. One of my favorite Summitt moments ever, a couple years ago she showed up dressed as a cheerleader at a Tennessee men’s hoops home game to support coach Bruce Pearl and his team. Pearl returned the favor. He also was in attendance last night, as was former Tennessee football coach Philip Fulmer and Billie Moore, who coached Summitt in the 1976 Olympics.
Number of years she has left in her: At least 5. That was another of her rewards last night-a 5-year extension she signed to stay at Tennessee. She actually was signed through 2012, but this one keeps here there through 2014-what would be her 40th season-and gives her a slight pay raise and bonuses later on.

I’ve never really been able to figure out why (but a big part of it was back in I think the 90s when HBO Sports did a great documentary special on Summitt and the Lady Vols), but I’ve always been a big fan of Summitt and she’s always been my favorite college basketball coach. I guess it’s the many things about her as a coach-she’s like a mother to her players, compassionate and there when they need support but also gives them tough love on the court when they don’t play up to par but always supportive of the team, she’s been a true pioneer in building and expanding women’s basketball, and with everything she does she still finds time for motherhood (her son is almost always on the bench with her at home games, but had to be absent due to his own high school game). She treats Tennessee like a family, and it showed with everyone in attendance last night (only her son-noted above-and her mother-illness-were absent). And most of all, she’s a hard worker. There’s just nothing to dislike about her. And considering she’s only 56 and will be coaching at least 5 more years, who knows how much higher she can climb before it’s over. 1100 wins is a given, as well as possibly reaching 10 titles, which would tie her for the most championships ever in college hoops, men’s or women’s (John Wooden leads there with 10, Summitt’s 8 is 2nd all-time). And to top it off, she showed a bit of her humor post-game in saying she thinks getting #1000 is why men’s all-time win leader Bob Knight wants to come back. (Knight has 902 career wins) Either way, Summitt likely will be on top for a long time…it not all-time. She deserves it all and then some. A great coach, a great teacher, a great woman, among many other great things. I join her many fans and supporters in congratulating Summitt on this incredible milestone and continue to wish her all the best in the future on & off the court.

The BCS Is Over: Long Live The Champs! And The BS!

Call it an “Urban” Legend: Florida won it’s 2nd BCS Championship in the last 3 years under Urban Meyer and 3rd overall national title last night with a 24-14 win over Oklahoma. So as the old saying goes, it’s all over but the shouting. And there’s plenty of that: The final polls are out and while Florida is #1 in the AP Poll, which does not necessarily recognize the BCS Champion as it’s national champion (the AP Poll is not a part of the BCS formula), voters put the only unbeaten team this season in 1-A/FBS, Utah, at #2. Let the fun begin. After every BCS game the winner was playing the “We’re #1! card. Pete Carroll did it for USC. They’re #3. Mack Brown did it for Texas. They’re #4. Kyle Whittingham did it for Utah. They’re #2 but did get 16 1st place votes. Utah fared worse in the coaches polls, which counts in the BCS-#4. Now would’ve been a good time for another “And 1” playoff game here, the national champion against the should-be national champion and the only undefeated team. As for Florida-Oklahoma, I haven’t seen the game yet so I won’t comment on just how good a #1 Florida is yet, but it was lower-scoring than I expected. As my tiebreaker for Yahoo College Bowl Pick ‘Em I had to predict the final score-I said 41-38 Florida. These teams were combining to average around 100 points a game! Yeah, I hate games where offense-minded teams actually play defense. Anyway, let the debate rage on…and I have watched a replay of Utah-Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Utah is my #1. And as for the other BCS bowl winner, Virginia Tech, not sure if Frank Beamer made the “We’re #1” case. Frank, here’s your motto: “We’re #15”. And to me you’re not a DC-area team. So stay silent.

For those curious, the final AP Poll went like this (1-25): Florida, Utah, USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, TCU, Penn State, Ohio State Oregon, Boise State, Texas Tech, Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, Oregon State, Missouri, Iowa, Florida State, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Michigan State, BYU.

(FYI: This might be the last sports post for a while, I’m switching back to “MMA Mode” now for a while as several MMA events are coming up over the next month, so most or all the entries for a while will be MMA-related)