random rumblings » March Madness

Ok CBSSports.com, you can take a breathe…

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:55:42 +0000

Ok CBSSports.com, you can take a breather now, I didn’t listen when you notified me 3 times that my March Madness pools were set up, or the next 3 times when you notified me the brackets are ready, or the last time when you reminded me not to forget to enter my picks. Seriously, do you really need to notify me once for each league I’m in, including a league I haven’t managed for 3 years?!

And, without further ado, the Final Four picks… Kansas, West Virginia, Duke, Syracuse.

And the winner will be… Syracuse squeaking out a nailbiter against Duke.

Sports Shorts

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:27:22 +0000

What a great day for sports, we have opening day for baseball, the NCAA Tournament Final and an impressive list of people voted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. The NCAA Tournament Final is turning into a dud as I type this, but that doesn’t take away from the millions of people wondering what the final score will be hoping they win their bracket… and the money that comes with it. My bracket was lost before the Elite 8 games were over. Speaking of the Sweet 16, I’ve added some pictures here from the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games in Indianapolis. Of the 3 games I got to see I’d say the Elite 8 game was the best and most unexpected with Michigan St. pulling off a victory over Louisville.

Opening Day is one of those days, sort of like Memorial Day weekend, that tells us summer is right around the corner. And the Mets, who pulled off a win today against the Reds, have the makings of a championship team. Ok, maybe I’m being a homer here, but their bullpen is going to make them tough to beat. The 8th and 9th innings are almost a slam dunk. The Mets will have 9 offensive innings to win each game while the opposing team will have only 7, it makes everything so much easier for the rest of the team.

And what an impressive list here — Michael Jordan, David Robinson, John Stockton, Coach Jerry Sloan — all voted into the Hall of Fame today. I’d be hard pressed to find another year with a group that impressive, just don’t expect me to do the research to find a year that rivals this one.

With that, I’m off to watch the end of the NCAA final.

Elite 8

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:48:02 +0000

Off to see the Elite 8 matchup of #2 Michigan St. vs. #1 Louiville in the Midwest regional final. At this point I’m out of the running in both of my brackets so I have nothing riding on this game.

Sweet 16 at Lucas Oil Stadium

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:46:00 +0000

Last night I got to take in the sights and sounds of the NCAA Tournament live in Indianapolis, IN at Lucas Oil Stadium. The tickets, which cost about $125, were for 2 games on Friday night (Sweet 16) and the Elite 8 game on Sunday. At first, when I bought the tickets, I was a little concerned about watching a basketball game in what is essentially a football stadium. Those concerns turned out to be warranted. The most recent basketball games I’ve been to were at the Pepsi Center in Denver. For a few years I would purchase a ten-pack of tickets to check out the Nuggets. The tickets were upper deck at mid-court. Even in the upper deck, with the steep slope of the stands, there was still a good view of the court. The set up a Lucas Oil Stadium left a lot to be desired. Our seats were in the corner of the court, on the first level, many rows back. The court itself wasn’t even centered on the “football” field, so the one corner was close, but we happened to be on the far corner. There was barely any slope from the court to our seats so getting to see the game required some work. To make matters worse there was no alcohol served at the game. What was the NCAA thinking with that decision?!

As for the games, the first game pitted #1 Louisville vs. #12 Arvizona. This game was pretty much a dud from the start as Louiville put the full court press on Arizona, didn’t give them a chance to breath and blew them away. It was so bad I was yawning early in the second half. The second game, which was #2 Michigan St. vs. #3 Kansas, started a bit slow but had me on my feet at the end hoping to see a classic March Madness buzzer beater. The buzzer beater didn’t happen, but it was fun to watch as Michigan St pulled off the win. Of the 4 Sweet 16 games on Friday night the Michigan St. vs. Kansas game turned out to be the only good one, with all the other games turning into blowouts.

Next up: #1 Louisville vs. #2 Michigan St. on Sunday.

Sweet 16

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:39:34 +0000

Later today I’ll be heading over to Lucas Oil Stadium to watch March Madness live for the first time. I’ll be rooting for Louisville to win today and, in another location, Syracuse to pull off a win in the South. With wins by Louisville and Syracuse the Big East might have 5 teams in the Elite 8. Take that ACC! Pix to come, maybe even a few during the game.

March Madness

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:01:18 +0000

Just a few minutes ago I bought tickets to the NCAA basketball regional finals in Indianapolis, IN. Am I the only one that can’t wait for March Madness?!