Wait, who won the dingdang pool?

Mon fritos,

Sorry to leave you all hanging, there. I have no excuse, I guess I just wore out. Also, if I'm not winning it just seems like, you know, what's the point? Now that's a bad attitude, I'll grant you, but I never pretend to be a better fellow than I am. I find it very, very useful to keep your expectations low.

Anyhoo, if you can cast your collective minds back a few weeks, Kentucky was making other teams look like the Washington Generals. (Ever see the Simpsons episode where Homer is sitting on the couch watching tv (as I am now), when he says, "Ah, the Luftwaffe, the Washington Generals of the History Channel." Makes me tear up just remembering it.) Back to the point - Kentucky. The short answer is that the people who, like John Coleman, picked Kentucky to win the whole dang thing got themselves 6 big points for the final game. There was a lot of shaking going on up and down the standings, as you'll see below.

So, Obama didn't win, which would have been embarrassing. Ruth wound up tied with the President, which strikes me as funny for reasons I can't explain. Dana lost out by a point. Liz beat Matt by a point and her children by more, which must be going down hard in Pittsburgh. BUT THE REAL NEWS HERE IS THE JOHN COLEMAN IS YOUR WINNER!!! Last year it was John's daughter, the fair Rosalie. Can the Prown Colemans four-peat, with Sarah P and Willow winning the next two? Seems likely, to be frank. But this year belongs to John. John Coleman, come on down, you're queen for a day!

Remember, now, everyone's a winner (except for the 29 of who damn well lost). A trophy for John, and a participation ribbon for the rest of us. We'll get you next year, Prown Colemans. [Poolmeister shakes fist with determination and anger here.]

Be well, dear friends.

C

The Trophy

Here it is. The Trophy. Who am I sending it to? John?

Who's watching tonight?

Anyone? Anyone? [Sound of crickets.] I guess, on balance, and now that it doesn't matter poolwise, that I'm rooting for Kansas. I just can't forgive Adolph Rupp, and I suppose I never will. Go Kansas!

Who else?

C

Alas, poor Dana...

All,

Well, the ball bounces the way it bounces, and that's all there is to it. Deep, no? With Kansas beating OSU, Kentucky over Louisville, and all of a sudden, the pool standings are kind of upside down. That's a long way of saying that Dana isn't going to win (and much, much, more importantly, neither am I). How does the world look going into Monday night's final, you ask? Check it out below.

Yesterday's games were pretty fun, although I'll admit to watching them both with one eye. I really thought until the very end that OSU would pull it out. Kentucky looked pretty unbeatable for much of its game. I'm probably as good as that Davis kid on Kentucky, he's just a hair taller, and I guess that makes all the difference. Two geniuses to congratulate: HENRY and JOHN are the only two people in the pool who picked both teams in the final game. Nicely done, fellows.

The short answer is, though, that if Kentucky win, Chris P. Dykes, a/k/a/Oklahoma Slim, is our winner. If Kansas wins, the Dewitts all poop themselves with excitement, but John Coleman, the Nebraska Mauler, takes home the prize, edging out DD by a mere point. I believe I'm right in saying that JC is the only actual Kansas grad in the pool, so he's entitled. My (admittedly failing) memory tells me they've both won before, but that memory could come from one of the many parts of my brain now seriously misfiring. So, it's an Oklahoma guy or a Nebraska guy winning the pool by picking a Kansas team or a Kentucky theme. Is that much red state stuff disturbing to anyone besides me? Can't someone in, say, Vermont, win by picking Amherst to win the whole thing? Why can't that happen? Red states, bah. And don't bother reminding me that John lives in Connecticut with the rest of the Prown-Coleman clan, and that Chris Dykes is a fine, blue fellow in a wacky red state, it just isn't the same.

So, we're down to KS v. KY, John Coleman v. Chris Dykes, for all the marbles. Good luck to you all.

See you all at the blog tomorrow night for the big showdown.

C