Archive for March, 2009

Tonight was a night that many a bracket went busto. I’m really happy for Villanova, they’ve been a legit sleeper all year long and I’ve got two friends that went there, Mr. Megan and Craz-arian, so good for them. Elite 8 is no joke and they beat up on Duke pretty good. With a miracle I might be watching them in person Saturday. I aint counting on it, but i’m hopeful for a miracle. If anyone has any tickets they don’t want, you know where to reach me (sports@capenews.net). Me and a certain 7-year old would certainly be happy to take them off your hands.

As for my chances of winning the office pool, well that went to nil. I loved Memphis all year long and thought that they were the best team in the tournament, but Mizzou took a page out of Dwayne Johnson’s book and laid the smacketh down. Even the money I could be saving by using Geico couldn’t make me feel good about that right now.

But, hey, it’s tourney time and you’ve gotta love tourney time, even when your bracket goes busto.

Sorry for the lack of posts of late. I’ve been made the Mashpee guy, along with my Falmouth duties, and the workload is a bit more than usual. I’m getting to it all, but the posts for the spring may be a little more spaced out as I’m going to be a bit busy going back and forth and to and fro.

By the way, if you want to win a basketball championship at any level, your team has to hit free throws. It’s a must. Just ask Memphis. Two years in a row their inability to hit freebies has cost them dearly. They’re not called “free” for nothing. They’re not contested, unless you count the fans with the balloons behind the basket.

It’s that time of year ago when Eagle One and I try to sound like we know what we’re doing when it comes to picking these things. Take all of this with a grain of salt, but these are our predictions. Know this, we love this stuff and we can’t wait to watch the games. Friday night, at the Eagle’s Nest, Two pizzas, some sodas and some hoops. Good times ahead …

Midwest Bracket

Eagle One says: As much as everyone loves Morehead State, I’m leaning towards Louisville in a nail-biter. Not a lot of games that I love, but I’ve got two decent upsets, with No. 12 Arizona beating No. 5 Utah and then No. 11 Dayton topping No. 6 West Virginia. And I’m not a homer, I’m taking USC to beat BC because I just don’t think that BC is gonna get it done and they’ve been too up and down. Call it a hunch, call it what you want, call it my big toe throbbing.

Maclone: There’s two games that I love, BC-USC and Ohio State-Siena. I think both of those games are gonna be a lot of fun to watch, and I am a homer, and I think BC has gotten up for the big games, so I’m taking the Eagles there. Ohio State has made a fan of me just because of clubtrillion.com, which you should check out if you haven’t before. Other than that, I’m pretty much going straight with favorites in this one, and think Arizona will lose to Utah because it’s been a tough year for John McCain and I don’t think it’s going to get any better.

Our Sweet 16s: EO: Louisville, Wake, Kansas, Mich. State. Maclone: Same.
Our Elite 8s: EO: Wake, Kansas. Maclone: Louisville, Kansas.
Champ: EO: Wake; Maclone: Louisville.

West Bracket

EO Says: UConn’s got a pretty easy march to the Elite Eight, there first three games don’t include any heavy lifting. As long as they stay off too many meds and Jim Calhoun doesn’t have to take an unscheduled pay cut they should be just fine. Frank Purdue and the rest of the Purdue Boilermakers will be crying in their chicken because I’ve got Northern Iowa with the big upset in the 12/5 game. The MVC produces a bracket buster every year and that trend goes on. Other than that it’s pretty straight forward although I’ve got the 9 and 10 seeds winning, but those are pick-em’s anyways.

Maclone Says: This bracket is about as exciting as watching a watching Dick Vitale go through his voice warm-up exercises. Sure it’s something you don’t see every day, and it could be memorable, but there better things to do with your time. The lineup of games just isn’t sexy, kind of like Vitale. Other than Maryland winning, which like EO said is a pick-em, I got all favorites. As for the second round, that’s when it gets exciting. I’m looking forward to Marquette-Mizzou and Maryland-Memphis, those are going to be great matches.

Our Sweet 16s: EO: UConn, N. Iowa, Marquette and Memphis. Maclone: UConn, Purdue, Mizzou and Memphis.
Our Elite 8s: Both: UConn and Memphis.
Final Four: EO: UConn. Maclone: Memphis.

East Bracket

EO Says: I got a shocker coming out of here, but we’ll get to that. This might be the toughest bracket, along with the south. Pitt and Tennessee march and then the rest of the favorites as well move in round one. But in round two, I got the darlings that are Villanova saying it ova and the Dookies moving on.

Maclone says: It aint ova for Nova. The Cats are tough and they’re going deep, but unfortunately Pittsburgh is just too solid this year. They’ll win the region, but the region is not easy at all. The Colonial has been a great conference of late (hello George Mason) and I think that VCU pulls off the upset over UCLA, which has a lot to do with the fact that I think that the Pac-10 played like a pretty good high school conference this year. They’re soft and they don’t play anybody. Actually west of the Mississippi you’d be hard-pressed to find a legitimate contender. It’s pretty much by the books after that, although I think Nova beats Duke in the sweet 16 because it seems like every year Duke finds a way to lose a game it should win during the second weekend.

Our Sweet 16s: EO: Pitt, Xavier, UCLA and Duke. Maclone: Pitt, Xavier, Nova and Duke.
Elite 8: EO: Xavier and UCLA. Maclone: Pitt and Nova.
Final Four: EO: UCLA. Maclone: Pitt.

South Bracket

EO Says: Long live the big ugly red thing, Western Kentucky’s mascot, which is the best mascot in college sports. That’s my lone first round upset, but I love those guys. The top four seeds all march on and it’s all about North Carolina and Tyler Mans-boro. I also think Syracuse goes deep.

Maclone Says: For once in his life, Eagle One nailed it on the head. WKU is my favorite upset special in the first round, and I’ve also got Temple, the 11, beating Arizona State. Again, I think it’s been a long year for John McCain. Other than that, though, I love UNC in this bracket as long as Ty Lawson gets his foot right. Even though the Tar Heels are playing Radford, out of the mighty Big South (sorry, that’s my conference) I think they’ll survive if he sits. The one team that’s hard to figure in this bracket is Gonzaga. They’ve been the darlings for so long that I think they’ve gone from underrated to overrated and they could get beat early. Let’s see if Akron can zip them up. I’m on the fence, but EO says I have to make a decision and since I don’t think they can beat Carolina anyways, let’s take the Zips.

Sweet 16: EO: UNC, Gonzaga, Syracuse, Oklahoma. Maclone: UNC, Western Kentucky, Syracuse and Clemson.
Elite 8: UNC and Syracuse.
Final 4: UNC (both).

Final Four Thoughts

EO: Why are they having the Final Four in Detroit. Who would want to spend a vacation in Detroit? It might be the most depressing city in America right now. Unless you’ve got a gun and bullet proof vest and a way out of town, and a fifth of whiskey to wash away the blues, there’s no reason to be there.

As for the games, I think UNC dominates UCLA and advances easy and I think UConn kills Wake Forest.

In the title game, it’s Tyler Mans-boro and the Heels winning 80-73.

Maclone: Yeah, I’d rather spend the weekend doing my taxes on Riker’s Island while getting a vasectomy than going to Detroit again. I spent one evening in the Motor City going to a Tiger’s game and am happy to report that every car that was parked in the “private parking lot” had our own personal street person to take away the cans. He asked to share a beer with us, and we had to do this for fear of being attacked. I was happy to leave the city alive.

I think the team that’s leaving with the trophy, and their heads on a swivel as they exit on the arena, is going to be Memphis. I think they are just too talented and athletic and that this is their year. They’ll win the game between the two slickest head coaches of all time (Calipari v. Pitino) in the Final Four and edge Carolina, who will beat Pitt by about 10.

So that’s our take. Enjoy the games, and realize that every word you just read will probably be null and void come Monday because of the total unpredictability of this tournament. And I love it.

I’ve got a shamrock stamped on my right hand, a Ireland Rugby jersey on and I wore my green Red Sox hat today. Also I headed to Liam Maguire’s in downtown Falmouth this afternoon with the family, Brown Dog and Crazarian. Good times.

Tomorrow’s bracket day at The Musings, which is something I always look forward to. I love March Madness and cannot wait for the tourney to begin. I watched nearly every game I could consume over the weekend and got my start tonight when Liberty won in the CIT over Rider. We’re in the Elite Eight baby (so what if they only invite 16 teams, we’re in the battle to be No. 98 baby).

Whoever allowed the Chicago Bulls to wear green uniforms on St. Patrick’s Day against the Celtics needs a smack. How the drunks at the bars are keeping up with the action is beyond me. Everytime I look up I think that the C’s have scored, yet somehow they’re in the middle of a one point game right now.

Also wanted to send a little love to one of the greatest poker accomplishments that I’ve ever seen. Some guy from Germany, who goes by the screen name Boku87, took action that he could turn $100 into $10,000 in just 15 days, never playing a sit-n-go tournament that cost more than $16 to enter. During that time he played over 7,000 games, playing up as many as 52 games at the same time, and got the job done, in 14 days. Not only did he collect the $9,900 he earned, but he also won something like 35K on side bets against people that didn’t think he could do it. If I ever had to play that many games in two weeks I’d be asking to be put out of my misery by the third day, it’s just too much time in front of the computer, and it can’t be good for you. The dude must have a computer for a brain, but he got the job done and it’s impressive.

I’m getting old, that’s all there is to it.

It’s not the lines under my eyes or the occasional gray hairs I pluck from my stubble that brings me to this realization. No, it’s the fact that I can’t keep the days straight any more.

I seriously went through most of the day thinking that it was Wednesday. I looked at the magnet Celtics schedule on my fridge and was excited that I’d be home to watch the Celts-Heat tonight, to see Dwayne Wade and Paul Pierce got at it.

Then I checked the ESPN web site and couldn’t find the game. What the heck?

Of course, it’s not being played until tomorrow.

What’s worse is that last night I came home and put on the TV expecting to see The Office, which is on Thursday nights.

There is an explanation to all of this. I work for a newspaper, where we always think a day ahead. Whenever I write today in a story, I mean the day of publication. Tomorrow is actually Saturday or Wednesday, because the paper comes out on Friday and Tuesday. It just gets to be jumbled, and really confusing.

Don’t even ask me the number of the day. I’m lucky if I can keep up with the months, and then daylight saving time really screwed with my inner clock. The daily grind makes about as much sense to me as the guy who walks in on the singing fish and the guy in the chair in the Filet-o-Fish ad.

We’re close, very close. Selection Sunday is just seven days away and I’m dreaming of brackets while watching Carolina and Duke battle it out right now. UNC just went up by seven with 4:15 left and it’s been a dogfight, which is what we love this time of year.

My Liberty Flames got eliminated from the Big Dance on Thursday night, losing to VMI, which stinks, but the blow is softened since one of my college roommates is an assistant coach at VMI. Ol’ Jason Allison is the head recruiter for the Keydets, which is not one of the easier jobs in America. A Keydet has no time to himself at all, just one hour a day of “free time” per day, no cell phones are allowed, and they are woken up by reveille at 6 AM every day and have to be in bed at 11 PM. I don’t know how Jay gets players to go there, but he does and the team was very good this year. They lost in the Big South title game to Radford in a fun game to watch (about 200 points scored between them). Watch out for Radford as a potential upset team. They play well and have a big man with some talent. With the right match-up they’ll be trouble.

I’ll be doing some bracket talk on TV next Sunday most likely. The Falmouth cable access channel sports guys asked me if I could come in to break things down with them and I think I’m going to do it. Having just about 15 minutes to digest the whole thing is not going to be easy, but it’s fun and it’ll give me a chance to get ready for the Big Dance.

By the way you can look forward to the usual breakdown article with Eagle One for the day after St. Pat’s. And I’m also thinking about trying to get the sales people to help put together an NCAA party somewhere in town. I’ll let you know about that.

Anyways, it’s going to be a fun week. BC has a huge week ahead in the ACC tourney, I think they need to win a game. I think Providence needs a win in the Big East, if not two. I’m looking at Carolina, Memphis and Oklahoma as number ones right now off the top of my head. I can’t wait for the tourney to start. Awesome baby.

yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve been slacking with the blog lately. I know this.

This time of year involves quite a bit of traveling around the countryside to see tournament games and sometimes stuff like the blog falls by the wayside, which I know is killing a certain state trooper out on Route 3 as he has time to kill between DUI arrests and loves to read the Musings.

First how about some Youtube. Last week the FHS boys’ basketball team won one of the most exciting games I’ve seen in a long, long time on a buzzer-beater by Nellie Baptiste at the horn. The video’s actually pretty good, and I didn’t even notice when I was at the game that he gives a little pump-fake before unleashing the bomb. In the paper I said it was 30-feet, now I’m thinking more like 35 or 40.

Tourney hockey on Friday night and a chance for the Falmouth boys to skate into the south championship game if they beat Braintree. It should be a great game as it pits the two and three seeds in the tourney. If Stevie Laliberte — who his schoolmates are calling Stevie Crosby in their chants — has another game like his last one (4 goals, 1 assist) then it’s in the bank. Of course if Laliberte isn’t scoring Shawn Price probably is, so I like their chances.

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Fantasy baseball time is upon us. I’m putting together my keeper list from last year (we can keep 10 players at the auction prices we paid, but the contracts are only good for two years and then you have to offer them up as restricted free agents. It sounds more complicated than it is). I’m trying to make my final decisions right now. I’ve got some great talent to choose from, but I’m trying to spend the fake money wisely. I’ll break down the roster later.

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Starbury. Oh where to begin? Do I like the signing, maybe. I’m not really sure. I have my doubts whether or not Stephon Marbury can be a real part of a team. He’s never won anything before and he’s always been the focus of the team, be it good or bad. The question is whether or not he can buy into a defense-first type of team and follow the leader and not try to do his own thing. If it were based solely on talent then I’d love it, but it’s not. It’s bigger than that.

And then there’s the star tattoo on his head. It’s one thing to explain body art to a seven-year old when it’s on their arms, but when it’s on their heads it’s just hard to do it, and kind of funny. “Why does he have a tattoo on his head Dad?”

How do you answer other than “maybe he’s crazy.”

The only other people I can think of with tats on their heads are all nuts. They’re either professional wrestlers, death metal performers, circus acts or Mike Tyson. Not exactly a list of potential Mensas.