In the last post, there was some discussion of what it would be like to “do over” one’s NCAA tourney picks after seeing everyone in action.
ESPN’s Gene Wojciechosky has done just that. As it turns out, he likes Kansas and UNC too.… Read the rest
My 35 correct picks out of 48 is nothing to write home about, but it is four better than where I was last year this time and leaves 7 of 8 of my Elite Eight picks intact and all of my Final Fours. I’ve learned to respect USC basketball a little more this weekend, was thrilled with my signature pick (Winthrop over Notre Dame) and delighted in watching the ‘Dores (gotta love that Lionel Ritchie!) play through to the Sweet Sixteen as I boldly predicted. As much as I hate to admit it, UNC’s depth and talent are going to be tough to overcome.… Read the rest
Good mourning to you all. As you might expect, I will not be available today. I’ll be busy putting up some drywall over that new hole in our family room wall that, oddly enough, is exactly the same size as my head.
Truly, it cuts like a knife.
A few pre-tourney appetizers to get things going:
I have my share of March Madness Memories, both good and bad.
Among the bad–last year, when I finished dead last in my own pool and looked on in agony as the fabulous Blue Devil duo of Redick and Williams ended their otherwise stellar careers on a down note to LSU.
But anytime your favorite team plays deep into the tourney or wins it all, it’s a good year; and needless to say, as someone who bleeds Blue Devil Blue, my good years far outweigh the bad. Of course, barring divine intervention, Duke will not go far this year (I have them making the Sweet 16 after eliminating perennial tournament underachiever Pitt, then falling to UCLA), and considering my poor track record in prognostication, I turn my attention this morning to some good March Madness memories from the past.… Read the rest
THE Ohio State University coach Thadd Matta didn’t take very good care of the gum during Sunday’s game with Wisconsin.
However, as you can see, he recovers very nicely, Thadd gummit!
Now don’t go wagging your finger at Thadd Matta. You’ve probably done the same thing (or worse). The only difference is that you didn’t have a couple of million people watching.… Read the rest
There is an evil I have seen under the sun…
Fools are put in many high positions,
while the rich occupy the low ones.
–Ecclesiastes 10:5-6
I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift,
or the battle to the strong.
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.
–Ecclesiastes 9:11
A few days ago on this blog, JRB issued his chilling jeremiad vis a vis the haughty Gators:
Very often in the course of human history, as Ecclesiastes teaches, the wicked are elevated while the righteous are made to suffer. We see in scripture that God favors the oppressed while Satan tempts the evil with dominance over others and the promise of great riches and temporal prestige.
We learned in the enlightenment that power corrupts and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Behold the University of Florida Gators. Dread the day of your judgment.
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to try to stay on JRB’s good side.… Read the rest
I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.
–Walt Whitman
For a while it was Boston Tea Party II, but an Eagle run made it relatively close in the end. But still, we’ve got a pulse and the topsy-turvy ACC is shaken up a bit more. Perhaps all that talk of Duke being “on the bubble” hath been overdone.
Now I’ll have to turn right around and pull for BC against Carolina on Saturday–this is all very confusing.
To Number Two Son, who apparently became quite concerned over my health and that of other family members when my upper brain shut down as Duke’s 24-point lead dwindled to six and I began rearranging the family room furniture, I offer these words:
Next time, duck a little quicker.… Read the rest
I know some of you are sitting around salivating over the prospect of my mentioning this, so I thought I would go ahead and get the dirty (Duke) business over with.
I might add, as if it weren’t as obvious as a Tar Heel working the French fry machine at McDonald’s, that this wouldn’t even be news if Duke wasn’t so stinkin’ good year in and year out anyway.
So, what does a loyal fan do when his beloved team tanks in February? He sucks it up and passes right through the fire with them. ‘Tis always darkest before the dawn.… Read the rest
Oh well, one out of two ain’t bad.
UNC’s Lady Heels ran into a whole “latta” trouble last night on their home floor, losing 64-53 to the Lady Devils in a battle of unbeatens. At 25-0, the Duke women now must do what they have been unable to before–close things out in the Final Four. I have a feeling that this is their year.
It’s probably no coincidence that one of Duke’s best players has the last name of Harding. It wouldn’t be the first time that sort of convergence has taken place.
He-devils or she-devils, it makes no difference to me.… Read the rest
I had to chuckle when I read this.
As Greg Fielder demonstrates, you’ve got to be careful what you say these days, what with the internet and all.
Oh well, I guess everybody’s got to have a shtick.… Read the rest
Thanks to Jenny V for sending me this video of the crowd at Rhodes Memorial Field House singing the Star Spangled Banner (A Cappella, of course) prior to the Harding v. Henderson State game this past Saturday.
If anyone knows of another athletic venue in the country where the entire crowd sings the U.S. National Anthem in four-part harmony, please let me know.
O say, can you sing? If you’re a member of the Church of Christ, you bet your Bible Belt bottom you can.
*This post is dedicated to those very special Harding alumni who break into hives and apoplectic fits at the site of the Stars and Stripes and/or the singing of the National Anthem and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance anywhere on, or near, the grounds of the Harding Campus.… Read the rest
If this can be believed, then today is the day an eager Crimson Nation spots puffs of smoke issuing forth from Denny Chimes. Where there’s smoke, there’s a hire.
As soon as the planes start lifting off and landing, I’ll let you know.
Meanwhile, it’s 16 degrees with a 4 degree wind chill factor in Huntsville this morning. For you weather buffs, those are the same conditions as International Falls, Minnesota, long-considered the cold standard in the United States. Contrary to the song, we really don’t have too many “frosty mornin’s” in Dixie any more, and we’ve got the lightweight, ineffective coats to prove it.… Read the rest
