Hoosierdom looking for that next Big Red coach.

IU just got turned down by a guy who's only been coaching at a "major" program for a couple years, a guy who is probably just about everything the Hoosier faithful want in a coach- squeaky clean, young, midwestern and well, Caucasian. But they couldn't land him, making the list of guys who have turned them down about twice as large as the list of guys who want to end up at IU; this once proud program has fallen that far. And the only coach who has publicly said he'd be interested is John Calipari, who of course Hoosier fans would never accept because he's shady...and from a big city. But the real news is that Sean Miller seems to be saying he's not interested either. I know talk is cheap, but god I hope this is true:

“I will be at Xavier,” Miller said after his team lost to UCLA Saturday. “I’m looking forward to coaching at Xavier and continuing on with what we’ve done for years behind me and what we’ve done this year.”

Really, I used to like IU basketball. Okay, maybe that's too strong a term. They didn't bother me, or at least their fans didn't. But after the last six years of seeing these morons parading around town in their Texas Tech sweaters, all I can say is I am a Xavier fan.

Results after Round Four - Dykes and Ruth perched atop the list

Friends,

Well, well, Round 4 is over, the Final Four is set, and for the first time ever all four 1 seeds made it in. How boring. What is a tournament without someone like a Davidson making it in the FF? Ah well, we can't ask for everything.

Chris Dykes and Ruth Dewitt, two green eyeshade wearing, fantasy ncaa hoop league playing, Vegas odds line following professional gambler types are now leading the field. Isn't clawing your way to the top of the pool by picking all four 1 seeds just a little, well, sissypants? Maybe I'm just jealous. I'm the Salieri to your Mozart, I guess.

Here are the standings after four rounds. Only three more games left:

	Name	R4D1	Sun	Total
1	Chris Dykes	69	8	77
1	Ruth Dewitt	69	8	77
3	Kate Lewis	72	4	76
4	Jonathan Knott	68	4	72
4	Sarah Bowman	64	8	72
6	David Prown	63	8	71
6	Favorites	63	8	71
6	Mike Winkler	67	4	71
9	Steve Backs	69	0	69
9	Tim Bowman	65	4	69
11	Willow Coleman	63	4	67
12	Bill O'Hearn	62	4	66
12	Cal Dewitt	62	4	66
12	Calvin Dewitt	58	8	66
12	Matt Peterson	66	0	66
16	Chris Knott	65	0	65
17	Sarah Prown	60	4	64
18	Scott Silet	59	4	63
19	Hank Zelenka	62	0	62
19	Henry Dewitt	54	8	62
19	Maggi Jackson	58	4	62
22	Dayle Zelenka	53	8	61
23	Liz Rambeau	56	4	60
24	John Coleman	54	4	58
25	Harrison Lewis	55	0	55
25	Sophie Peterson	55	0	55
27	Dana Duffy	49	0	49
28	Acy Jackson	48	0	48
29	Gena Zelenka	45	0	45
30	Ned/Kate O'Hearn	37	0	37
31	Rosalie Coleman	33	0	33
32	Ellie/Ben Peterson	32	0	32
33	Alexander Knott	26	0	26

I'll try to get out a list of who's picked what for the Final Four. That may or may not happen, but I'll do what I can.

Later,

CAK

Yeah they won, but those are some seriously ugly uniforms!

Sunday picks

OK, folks, here we go. Sunday picks. Both of my teams have already lost (Pitt and Georgetown, thank you very much) so my only interest in today's games is to ensure that I don't lost too many places to the rest of you. It's all about me, as if you didn't just know that.

Here are today's picks:


10. Davidson - Ellie/Ben (I'm totally rooting for Dav. & Ellie/Ben)
1. KS - Maggi, Favs, Mike, Dykes, all Dewitts, SarahP, Jonathan, Liz, SarahB, Willow, John, Dayle, Hank, DavidP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. GTown - Knott, Acy, Rosalie, Matt, Sophie, Tim, Harrison, Scott, Kate
14. Cal St. Fullerton - Alexander
3. Wisconsin - Dana, Bill, Gena
4. Vandy - Steve
16. Portland St. - Ned/Kate



1. Mem - Favs, Dykes, Ruth, Henry, Calvin, Bill, SarahB, Tim, Scott, Dayle, Kate, DavidP
2. TX - Maggi, Mike, Steve, Cal, Ned/Kate, Rosalie, SarahP, Jonathan, Matt, Liz, Willow, John, Hank
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Pitt - Knott, Acy
9. Oregon - Alexander
8. MS St - Dana
11. KY - Gena
14. Cornell - Ellie/Ben, Sophie
3. Snodfart - Harrison

Good luck. Go Davidson!!!

Standings after Saturday - Kate! Kate! Kate!

My Peeps,

Well, now, there's a new headline emerging. Kate Lewis, in her sophomore Pool appearance, has opened up a lead on the rest of the field. Kate, oh Kate, what's your secret? Do you feel a little bad about trouncing Scott and Harrison, your fella and your brand new son? No? Good for you.

I won't get to watch today's games, which is a bummer. Hope you've arranged your lives better than I have mine. Have some chili cheese Fritos for me.

After Saturday's games, then, here are the standings:

	Name	Sat	Sun	Rnd 4
1	Kate Lewis	64	8	72
2	Chris Dykes	61	8	69
2	Ruth Dewitt	61	8	69
2	Steve Backs	61	8	69
5	Jonathan Knott	60	8	68
6	Mike Winkler	59	8	67
7	Matt Peterson	58	8	66
8	Chris Knott	57	8	65
8	Tim Bowman	61	4	65
10	Sarah Bowman	60	4	64
11	David Prown	59	4	63
11	Favorites	55	8	63
11	Willow Coleman	59	4	63
14	Bill O'Hearn	54	8	62
14	Cal Dewitt	58	4	62
14	Hank Zelenka	58	4	62
17	Sarah Prown	56	4	60
18	Scott Silet	55	4	59
19	Calvin Dewitt	54	4	58
19	Maggi Jackson	50	8	58
21	Liz Rambeau	52	4	56
22	Harrison Lewis	51	4	55
22	Sophie Peterson	51	4	55
24	Henry Dewitt	50	4	54
24	John Coleman	50	4	54
26	Dayle Zelenka	53	0	53
27	Dana Duffy	45	4	49
28	Acy Jackson	44	4	48
29	Gena Zelenka	41	4	45
30	Ned/Kate O'Hearn	33	4	37
31	Rosalie Coleman	33	0	33
32	Ellie/Ben Peterson	32	0	32
33	Alexander Knott	26	0	26

Enjoy the last regional final games, meine gute freundes. (I know no German, but that's my best guess. Anyone help out there?)

Behave yourselves and don't forget the chili cheese Fritos. I mean it.

C

not so nimba marimba

Wisconsin let me down but I always got South Carolina! I'm so hoping one of you out there saw this with Steve and me. It's way worse than either of us remember.

Saturday's picks

People,

It's all winding down. It's Round 4 already. Time goes by quickly, doesn't it? Sad to think that after tomorrow, there'll only be 3 games left, and I'll be mired in 87th place. Another year, another crappy performance by me.

Here are the picks for today:


1. UCLA - Everybody else
3. XU - Dayle
-------------------------------
2. Duke - Acy, Henry, Calvin, Cal, Ned/Kate, SarahB, John, Hank
10. Arizona - Alexander (my own son picks Notre Dame and Arizona. Sheesh.)
4. UConn - Rosalie, Liz, Sophie, Willow
13. San Diego - Ellie/Ben



1. UNC - Everybody else
3. Louisville - Harrison, Scott
----------------------------------------
5. Notre Dame - Alexander, DavidP
6. Oklahoma - Dana
8. Indiana - Gena
14. Boise State - Rosalie
2. Tenn - SarahB, Tim, Dayle
11. St. Joe's - Ellie/Ben


Let's hope tonight's games will be closer than last night's.


Cheers,

C

The Late Edition - Standings after Friday

Gang,

I'm sorry, I'm sure you think I'm a terrible shirker for not getting the Friday results and the standings out sooner, but it's a travel day for me. I'm now in my hotel room in DC, waiting to go out to dinner with some French law professors I don't know. Yawn. So, this is my moment.

All blowouts yesterday. (Can you remember back that far?) Boring, boring, boring. Nobody got all four games right, but a number of you eggheads got 3 of 4, which is pretty good.

Here are the standings:

	Name	R3	R4D1	Total
1	Kate Lewis	55	9	64
2	Chris Dykes	55	6	61
2	Ruth Dewitt	52	9	61
2	Steve Backs	55	6	61
2	Tim Bowman	55	6	61
6	Jonathan Knott	51	9	60
6	Sarah Bowman	54	6	60
8	David Prown	50	9	59
8	Mike Winkler	53	6	59
8	Willow Coleman	50	9	59
11	Cal Dewitt	52	6	58
11	Hank Zelenka	49	9	58
11	Matt Peterson	52	6	58
14	Chris Knott	51	6	57
15	Sarah Prown	50	6	56
16	Favorites	46	9	55
16	Scott Silet	49	6	55
18	Bill O'Hearn	48	6	54
18	Calvin Dewitt	45	9	54
20	Dayle Zelenka	47	6	53
21	Liz Rambeau	43	9	52
22	Harrison Lewis	48	3	51
22	Sophie Peterson	45	6	51
24	Henry Dewitt	41	9	50
24	John Coleman	41	9	50
24	Maggi Jackson	41	9	50
27	Dana Duffy	45	0	45
28	Acy Jackson	44	0	44
29	Gena Zelenka	41	0	41
30	Ned/Kate O'Hearn	30	3	33
30	Rosalie Coleman	30	3	33
32	Ellie/Ben Peterson	29	3	32
33	Alexander Knott	26	0	26

Today's picks in a moment.

Capitolly yours,

C

Going to the Dance

Remember when you could do this? I will never do this again.

Go Davidson!!! Go Ellie/Ben, the geniuses!!!

Man, how beautiful is that? Davidson beats Wisconsin, by far the most boring team in America. What a bunch of Frankensteins those dudes are.

And how about Ellie and Ben putting their heads together to make the only correct prediction. Ellie/Ben 1, rest of the field 0. Good job, chilluns. Now go to bed.

Yeehah!!!

Meister

Today's games - who picked whom?

People,

Now look, I have a job here. And I need to get back to it before the people who tell me what to do start to notice. You do need, I know, to have an idea of who is picking winners and who isn't. So here goes. And then I, your humble meister, have to get back at it. Sigh.


1. Kansas - Everybody else
12. Villanova - Nobody
---------------------------------------------
13. Siena - Acy, Ellie/Ben
8. UNLV - Alexander, Dana, Gena, Rosalie
9. Vandy - Steve
16. Portland State - Ned/Kate
5. Clemson - Tim



3. Wisc - Dykes, Dana, Ruth, Bill, Gena, both Sarahs, Steve, Willow, John, Hank
10. Davidson - Ellie/Ben (could be the genius pick of the tournament)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Georgetown - Everybody else
14. Cal. St. Fullerton - Alexander
6. USC - Steve, DavidP


1. Memphis - Everybody else
5. Michigan State - Nobody (no love for the Big 10)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Oregon - Alexander, Gena, Rosalie
8. MS State - Dana, Ellie/Ben
16. UT-Arlington - Ned/Kate
4. Pitt - Knott, Acy, Mike, Cal, SarahP, Matt, Harrison


2. TX - Everybody else
3. Snodfart - Dykes, Dana, SarahB, Tim, Harrison, Scott, Dayle
---------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Cornell - Acy, Ellie/Ben, Sophie
11. Kentucky - Alexander, Gena
10. St. Mary's - Bill

Good luck, everyone.

C

Thursday results and standings thus far - and a new genius among us!!!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen,

Ah, now this is more like it. Things are tightening up, pool-wise. The first 16 places are separated by a mere 6 points. What is so rare as a close pool? Lovely, lovely. One note, my swell cousin Sarah and her equally swell husband Tim are right at the top. I think I neglected to mention to them that Pool Rookies are officially ineligible to win. It's in the rule book, you can look it up.

And who, you may be asking, is our new Genius? Why, our own Steven Mark Backs, that's who. Mr. Backs, normally a baseball guy, picked all four games correctly last night. He was the only one of us to do so. Take a bow, Steven Mark Backs.

Standings follow, attached hereto.

big fluffy cotton candy hugs and rainbow bunny kisses from me, everybody (it's snowing up here right now and I'm ready to murder. I think I've snapped.),

C

	Name	Rnd 2	R3D1	Total
1	Chris Dykes	49	6	55
1	Kate Lewis	46	9	55
1	Steve Backs	43	12	55
1	Tim Bowman	46	9	55
5	Sarah Bowman	45	9	54
6	Mike Winkler	44	9	53
7	Cal Dewitt	46	6	52
7	Matt Peterson	43	9	52
7	Ruth Dewitt	46	6	52
10	Chris Knott	42	9	51
10	Jonathan Knott	42	9	51
12	David Prown	41	9	50
12	Sarah Prown	44	6	50
12	Willow Coleman	47	3	50
15	Hank Zelenka	43	6	49
15	Scott Silet	40	9	49
17	Bill O'Hearn	39	9	48
17	Harrison Lewis	39	9	48
19	Dayle Zelenka	41	6	47
20	Favorites	40	6	46
21	Calvin Dewitt	39	6	45
21	Dana Duffy	39	6	45
21	Sophie Peterson	42	3	45
24	Acy Jackson	35	9	44
25	Liz Rambeau	37	6	43
26	Gena Zelenka	35	6	41
26	Henry Dewitt	38	3	41
26	John Coleman	35	6	41
26	Maggi Jackson	32	9	41
30	Ned/Kate O'Hearn	27	3	30
31	Rosalie Coleman	30	0	30
32	Ellie/Ben Peterson	29	0	29
33	Alexander Knott	26	0	26

Tomorry's picks

Gang,

Four games tomorrow, people. Get out the Cheetos, fire up the television machine, and settle in for some hoop. Below are everyone's picks for tomorrow's games. There are a lot of us, so the formatting will look a little weird, but that's just something you're all just going to have to deal with, capiche?

I'm hoping my genius picks in tomorrow's games will catapult me from the middle of the pack all the way up to total mediocrity. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Here goes:


1. UNC - Everybody else
4. Washington St. - Rosalie
----------------------------------------
5. Notre Dame - Alexander, DavidP
8. Indiana - Gena
13. Winthrop - Ellie/Ben


3. Louisville - Knott, Winkler, Steve, Bill, Matt, Liz, Sarah B., Harrison, Scott, Hank, DavidP
2. TN - Maggi, Dykes, all 4 Dewitts, Sarah P, Sophie, Tim, John, Dayle, Kate
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. American - Acy
11. St. Joe's - Alexander, Ellie/Ben
6. Oklahoma - Dana, Gena, Jonathan, Willow
14. Boise State - Ned/Kate, Rosalie


1. UCLA - Everybody else
12. W. Kentucky - Nobody
----------------------------------------
5. Drake - Acy, Dayle
13. San Diego - Alexander, Ellie/Ben
4. UConn - Hank, Ned/Kate, Rosalie, Liz, Sophie, Willow, Hank


3. XU - Maggi, Steve, Gena, Jonathan, Tim, Dayle, Kate, DavidP
7. West Virginia - Knott, Ellie/Ben
--------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Duke - Everybody else
10. AZ - Alexander, Mike, Rosalie
6. Purdue - Dana, Matt, Sophie
14. Georgia - Scott

And that's that. Good luck out there, Round 3 Poolies. Hoist a beer for the Mainers, and we'll return the favor.

xoxox,

Meister

Traveling Poolie

Ok, I'm soon off to North Carolina. I'm going to Duke tomorrow to parade up and down the quad toasting their humiliating loss! Also, I plan on eating all of the BBQ...all of it. But curiously, and hopefully not prophetically, to get to NC from PA I have to take a train, then a plane, and then I'm renting an automobile.

Wish me luck...

Eileen made me do it

He's a rocketman....not a singer.

Fainting Goats video

Not that I'm keeping track, but I think it's been 9 years, eight days, and 12 hours since I've led the pool. I'm enjoying my lead while I have it, but I can always fall faster than a fainting goat.

Dykes

End of Round Two - who's a genius? (not me) Who's a dud? (me)

Dear ones,

Ah well, 48 games down, only 15 left to go. I'm hopelessly mired in the middle, thank you very much, and once again, that damn Chris Dykes has popped out into the lead. Is it just me or does every year seem to feature either Sarah Prown or Chris Dykes lapping the rest of the field? I'm a seething cauldron of jealousy and rage, if you didn't just know that.

Today was a fun day, all things considered. There were a couple of surprising outcomes, and a few Poolies distinguished themselves. Our youngest member, Master Harrison Lewis, was the only one among us who foresaw the Villanova victory. Poolienova picks Villanova; a nice bit of symmetry, that. Ellie/Ben Peterson (not a hermaphrodite or transgendered Poolie, rather one pick shared by two sibs) and the oh-so-swell-but-way-too-ubiquitous (does "ubiquitous" take a qualifier of degree?) Sarah Prown picked Davidson. That one seems completely off the wall to me, even though it turned out to be right. Shows you what I know. Nobody picked Western Kentucky to get this far. Hats off to all you geniuses in the field.

After Round Two, then, the standings are:

	Name	Sat	Sun	Rnd 2
1	Chris Dykes	39	10	49
2	Willow Coleman	39	8	47
3	Cal Dewitt	36	10	46
3	Kate Lewis	36	10	46
3	Ruth Dewitt	36	10	46
3	Tim Bowman	36	10	46
7	Sarah Bowman	35	10	45
8	Mike Winkler	36	8	44
8	Sarah Prown	32	12	44
10	Hank Zelenka	33	10	43
10	Matt Peterson	33	10	43
10	Steve Backs	33	10	43
13	Chris Knott	32	10	42
13	Jonathan Knott	34	8	42
13	Sophie Peterson	32	10	42
16	David Prown	31	10	41
16	Dayle Zelenka	31	10	41
18	Favorites	30	10	40
18	Scott Silet	30	10	40
20	Bill O'Hearn	31	8	39
20	Calvin Dewitt	31	8	39
20	Dana Duffy	37	2	39
20	Harrison Lewis	31	8	39
24	Henry Dewitt	28	10	38
25	Liz Rambeau	29	8	37
26	Acy Jackson	31	4	35
26	Gena Zelenka	33	2	35
26	John Coleman	27	8	35
29	Maggi Jackson	24	8	32
30	Rosalie Coleman	26	4	30
31	Ellie/Ben Peterson	25	4	29
32	Ned/Kate O'Hearn	21	6	27
33	Alexander Knott	20	6	26

Tomorrow's another working day, and the start of another working week. Less labor, more hoop, that's my wish.

Later, all.

C

New category - blog post of the week

I know this is somewhat new and radical. But I am thinking this could add a layer of cred to the blog - best post of the week. And I even have a post in mind - see, I'm not in the pool so my mind is focussed somewhere else.

But I have to state my preference - The Lawrence Welk song. I've been humming it the last fortnight and sending it to people I know and care about. If this was agreed on, I would want a photo - of the person or them with their peeps, a brief biography and any publications they might have generated professionally (not requisite). Who is this person? What motivates them? I've been working as the keeper of faculty papers and it has affected my perspective on life.

Go UNC! They're not already out, are they?

Sorry, Dana. I just never listened to Abba.

Round Two, Day One

People,

The third day of the tourney has ended. And what a day Day Three was. Duke lost (bwa ha ha ha ha), UCLA almost lost, Notre Dame lost (I love it when they lose), and the incredibly meager Big 10 got two wins yesterday. Amazing.

Big genius yesterday was a new entrant, my groovy cousin-in-law Tim Bowman. Sarah Bowman is the white sheep of my family; smart, hardworking, good-looking, successful; all the things the rest of the Knotts just aren't. She's the Marilyn Munster of the Knott family. Tim, yesterday's genius, is her hubbie. For those of you who don't know them, they live in Bloomington. Sarah works with Steve at MCPL, and Tim is getting his Ph.D. in whatever they now call the school that used to teach Library Science. I suppose it's Something Information Something, but the point is, smarter people go there than when we were all there. I suspect nobody in Tim's program brings leftover fruit in a Playmate cooler to distribute to lunchmates, for example. Anyhoo, Tim got 7 of 8 games correct yesterday; a damn fine showing.

Here then, are the results and standings after Day Three. Sad to think that after today, there'll only be 15 games left. Poolwise, it looks as though Chris D., Willow, Dana and the horde of you a point or two behind them, are locked in a titanic struggle for supremacy. Those of us well back are looking for the Cheetos, popping open another YooHoo, and deciding whether a shower is really necessary on a day like today.

Enjoy the day.

Poolboss

	Name	Rnd 1	R2D1	Total
1	Chris Dykes	27	12	39
1	Willow Coleman	27	12	39
3	Dana Duffy	27	10	37
4	Cal Dewitt	26	10	36
4	Kate Lewis	24	12	36
4	Mike Winkler	26	10	36
4	Ruth Dewitt	26	10	36
4	Tim Bowman	22	14	36
9	Sarah Bowman	23	12	35
10	Jonathan Knott	24	10	34
11	Gena Zelenka	25	8	33
11	Hank Zelenka	23	10	33
11	Matt Peterson	27	6	33
11	Steve Backs	25	8	33
15	Chris Knott	22	10	32
15	Sarah Prown	26	6	32
15	Sophie Peterson	26	6	32
18	Acy Jackson	23	8	31
18	Bill O'Hearn	21	10	31
18	Calvin Dewitt	23	8	31
18	David Prown	21	10	31
18	Dayle Zelenka	21	10	31
18	Harrison Lewis	23	8	31
24	Favorites	24	6	30
24	Scott Silet	24	6	30
25	Liz Rambeau	23	6	29
26	Henry Dewitt	22	6	28
27	John Coleman	21	6	27
28	Rosalie Coleman	22	4	26
29	Ellie/Ben Peterson	23	2	25
30	Maggi Jackson	18	6	24
31	Ned/Kate O'Hearn	19	2	21
32	Alexander Knott	18	2	20

Day Two results, Round One totals

Dearest Poolies,

Ah, Round One is over. As usual, I'm in the crapper, but I'm not at the bottom, so I guess that's ok. As dull as Day One was, Day Two made up for it and more. Six upsets, including two 12 seeds and two 13 seeds moving on. It was amazing to me how many people picked those games. I was going to list everyone who did, but it just would've been too long a laundry list.

That said, there was a genius pick yesterday. Together, sibs Ellie and Ben Peterson managed to pick all six upsets correctly, an almost unimaginable (by me, anyway) feat of prognostication. Congrats to our budding Nostradamuses. (The fact that the juniors love to pick the upsets more or less uniformly does not blunt their accomplishment, at least not in my eyes.) They have, as you might guess, shot up the standings.

After Round One then, the standings are:

	Name	R1D1	R1D2	Round 1
1	Chris Dykes	14	13	27
1	Dana Duffy	12	15	27
1	Matt Peterson	12	15	27
1	Willow Coleman	17	10	27
5	Cal Dewitt	16	10	26
5	Mike Winkler	12	14	26
5	Ruth Dewitt	15	11	26
5	Sarah Prown	14	12	26
5	Sophie Peterson	12	14	26
10	Gena Zelenka	14	11	25
10	Steve Backs	13	12	25
12	Favorites	14	10	24
12	Jonathan Knott	11	13	24
12	Kate Lewis	16	8	24
12	Scott Silet	14	10	24
16	Acy Jackson	12	11	23
16	Calvin Dewitt	13	10	23
16	Ellie/Ben Peterson	6	17	23
16	Hank Zelenka	14	9	23
16	Harrison Lewis	11	12	23
16	Liz Rambeau	11	12	23
16	Sarah Bowman	14	9	23
23	Chris Knott	12	10	22
23	Henry Dewitt	10	12	22
23	Rosalie Coleman	12	10	22
23	Tim Bowman	14	8	22
27	Bill O'Hearn	11	10	21
27	David Prown	12	9	21
27	Dayle Zelenka	12	9	21
27	John Coleman	12	9	21
31	Ned/Kate O'Hearn	8	11	19
32	Alexander Knott	7	11	18
32	Maggi Jackson	10	8	18

Let's hope Round Two is as fun. If I get a chance (I have a two year old climbing over me more or less nonstop) I'll try to get out a message showing who has picked what today. Don't hold your collective breath(s).

Later, my pets.

CAK