Is anyone paying attention heah?

Sasquatch all around, everwheres. Don't go camping ever again.

Spouses and siblings

All,

OK, so Billow wins the big chimichanga. But what about all the side bets, bitter rivalries and petty bickering that really make the tourney hum? Here's your scorecard:

Scott 104, Kate 92
John 94, Sarah 55
Steve 93, Dana 57
DavidP 89, Sarah 55
Liz 88, Matt 86
Dayle 87, Gena 74
Calvino 79, Henry 71
Alexander 65, Acy 44
Rosalie 50, Willow 35

And now the one that really matters:

KNOTT 92, Maggi 45

Sometimes life is unbearably sweet.

As ever I remain,

Yours in vindication,

Knott the Poolmeister

All over, including the shouting

Well, friends, another tourney has come and gone. I've finished out of the money again, but no matter. We have a winner, congrats Bill, and we've had some good, clean fun. Who can complain? Me, for one. I wanted to win. Dangit.

Here's how the 2007 Hoop Tournament Pool ended up, after the Florida win tonight:

---------------R5----2nite-----Total----Champ Pick

1.	Bill	106	0	106	OSU
2.	Silet	94	10	104	Florida
3.	John	84	10	94	Florida
3.	Mike	94	0	94	OSU
5.	Steve	83	10	93	Florida
6.	Kate	92	0	92	OSU
6.	Knott	92	0	92	Gtown
6.	Ruth	82	10	92	Florida
9.	DavidP	89	0	89	OSU
10.	Liz	88	0	88	Gtown
11.	Dayle	77	10	87	Florida
11.	Dykes	77	10	87	Florida
13.	Matt	86	0	86	Gtown
14.	DaveW	82	0	82	Gtown
15.	Calvino	79	0	79	Kansas
16.	Hank	76	0	76	UNC
17.	Gena	74	0	74	Memphis
18.	Henry	71	0	71	Kansas
19.	Alexander	65	0	65	Old Dominion
20.	Dana	57	0	57	UCLA
21.	Sarah	55	0	55	Pitt
22.	Rosalie	50	0	50	Penn
23.	Maggi	45	0	45	UNC
24.	Acy	44	0	44	Maryland
25.	Willow	35	0	35	Kansas

Interesting, no? Lots of movement in the final rounds, but in the end, it was Bill outpacing the pack. Good lad. The silver loving cup, bejewelled diadem, ermine cape, sash, ceremonial sword and sceptre are all on their way to you at Eton. Wear them in good health for the next year.

Now how do I make the time pass until next year?

Depressed a little,

C

Bill wins! Bill wins! Bill wins!

All,

Rule Britannia. Rule Billtania. Our friend across the pond, Bill O'Hearn (or Billow, as he is in my mind) is your 2007 NCAA Tournament Champion! Congrats to you, my friend. We all owe a tip of the hat to our man Billow.

Here's where we are after the semis:


--------------R4-----Semis------R5 -----Champ Pick

1.	Bill	98	8	106	OSU
2.	Mike	78	16	94	OSU
2.	Silet	86	8	94	Florida
4.	Kate	76	16	92	OSU
4.	Knott	84	8	92	Gtown
6.	DavidP	73	16	89	OSU
7.	Liz	80	8	88	Gtown
8.	Matt	86	0	86	Gtown
9.	John	76	8	84	Florida
10.	Steve	67	16	83	Florida
11.	DaveW	74	8	82	Gtown
11.	Ruth	74	8	82	Florida
13.	Calvino	71	8	79	Kansas
14.	Dayle	69	8	77	Florida
14.	Dykes	69	8	77	Florida
16.	Hank	76	0	76	UNC
17.	Gena	74	0	74	Memphis
18.	Henry	71	0	71	Kansas
19.	Alexander	57	8	65	Old Dominion
20.	Dana	57	0	57	UCLA
21.	Sarah	55	0	55	Pitt
22.	Rosalie	50	0	50	Penn
23.	Maggi	45	0	45	UNC
24.	Acy	44	0	44	Maryland
25.	Willow	35	0	35	Kansas

More tomorrow when I ought to be working. I'm off to sleep now, depressed that the Georgetown loss left me mathematically eliminated. I thought this might be my year. Congrats also to The Wrinkler. Scott and Kate, who all put in star performances. For those of you who just can't get enough Tracy-Hepburn in your lives, or for those who need something to add drama to Monday night's YawnFest Finals, the outcome of the the title game determines the outcome of what must surely be a bitter Kate/Scott rivalry. I'm rooting for Kate. Sorry Scott. Go Buckeyes.

later,

Meister, loser again

Peanut butter disproves evolution

Sorry, only a few games left and my chance to impart important information.

I was just innocently sitting here eating peanut butter on Ritz crackers - how could I have foreseen what this meant for all of mankind.

http://scienceblogs.com/mikethemadbiologist/2007/03/creationist_sez_peanut_butter.php

Pompoms, Pyramids and Peril

Just something to keep in mind, as we cheer our teams to victory.

From NY Times
Emergency room visits for cheerleading injuries nationwide have more than doubled since the early 1990s, and the rate of life-threatening injuries has startled researchers.

How startled are they, really?

Meathead all the way!

As I see it, I've got as much chance winning rootin' for the Meathead Supermans as for my first picks.

Who picked whom? In basketball. In the pool. You know, this weekend? Final Four?

Dear Multitudes,

Sorry, I've been a little absent this week. Very little hoop chatter. I gather everyone's gearing up for the Final Four with beer, pizza, chili and loose fitting jeans. Every year about this time I promise to send out a list of the Final Four picks. I usually neglect (or forget) to actually do so. Not this year, brothers and sisters. Remember that semifinal games are worth 8 points, picking the champ gets you 10. It's a wide open field, as the picks table will show you. Here 'tis:

	Player	R4 Totals	Runner Up	Champ
1.	Bill	98	UCLA	OSU
2.	Matt	86	UCLA	Gtown
2.	Silet	86	Gtown	Florida
4.	Knott	84	Florida	Gtown
6.	Liz	80	Florida	Gtown
7.	Mike	78	Florida	OSU
8.	Hank	76	Oregon	UNC
8.	John	76	UNC	Florida
8.	Kate	76	Florida	OSU
11.	DaveW	74	Florida	Gtown
11.	Gena	74	UCLA	Memphis
11.	Ruth	74	Memphis	Florida
14.	DavidP	73	Florida	OSU
15.	Calvino	71	OSU	Kansas
15.	Henry	71	Gtown	Kansas
17.	Dayle	69	Memphis	Florida
17.	Dykes	69	TX A&M	Florida
19.	Steve	67	OSU	Florida
20.	Alexander	57	OSU	Old Dom.
20.	Dana	57	UVA	UCLA
22.	Sarah	55	Wash. St	Pitt
23.	Rosalie	50	Kansas	Penn
24.	Maggi	45	Kansas	UNC
25.	Acy	44	UNC	Maryland
26.	Willow	35	USC	Kansas

Good luck out there.

Poolmeister

Jack and Dick

For what it's worth - Nixon was born January 9th. Me? The 8th along with Elvis.

Liz, Bill and Knott sandbagged by the Grey Lady

OK, so the three supergeniuses who picked all of the Final Four teams correctly wake up this morning feeling pretty good about themselves. Leaping Liz Ramblin' Rambeau, Billy Bob Limey-pants Lafcadio O'Hearn, and Chris "Stud among horses, man among mice" Knott wander down to their respective breakfast tables for a quick bite and a glance at the front page of the New York Times, when their eyes, disbelieving, fall on this piece of journalistic crap:

SO YOU PICKED THE FINAL FOUR? JOIN THE CLUB

Well, bite me, New York Times. Here's the link.


I shouldn't have to put up with this. I'm not going to win the pool, for once in my stinking life I picked all the Final Four teams, and now I have the NYT mocking me. The NYT!!! They wouldn't know sports if sports bit them in the underwear, and now they have the temerity to mock me? (I mean, of course, us.)

Sheesh, I may have to reconsider my subscription. First, no comics, now this. What's up, Sulzberger?

C

Standing after the regional finals

Dear cavaliers and roundheads,

So, the Final Four is set. Three of us (Liz, Bill and yours truly) picked all four teams correctly. Aren't you embarrassed? Bill is now a limey, living in England, no access to American hoop. I am a skirt-wearing, damp-eyed nancy-boy who knows the names of more dead Polish mezzo-sopranos than tournament point guards. Liz picks games based on strength of English Department, quality of novels set in each school's state, and architectural interest of campus buildings. What I'm saying here is that the people who know the most about hoop didn't get the Final Four right, and the three of us hackers did. Shame on you.

Anyway, the Silet threat seems to have passed, Favs is out of the tournament, Bill is crushing the field, and Maggi has been mathematically eliminated from any chance of finishing better than me. It's a funny old world.

Here's where we are:

--------------Sat---Sun--Total

1.	Bill	86	12	98
2.	Matt	74	12	86
2.	Silet	74	12	86
4.	Knott	72	12	84
5.	Favs	76	6	82
6.	Liz	68	12	80
7.	Mike	72	6	78
8.	Hank	76	0	76
8.	John	70	6	76
8.	Kate	70	6	76
11.	DaveW	62	12	74
11.	Gena	74	0	74
11.	Ruth	62	12	74
14.	DavidP	67	6	73
15.	Calvino	65	6	71
15.	Henry	59	12	71
17.	Dayle	63	6	69
17.	Dykes	63	6	69
19.	Steve	61	6	67
20.	Alexander	51	6	57
20.	Dana	57	0	57
22.	Sarah	55	0	55
23.	Rosalie	44	6	50
24.	Maggi	45	0	45
25.	Acy	44	0	44
26.	Willow	35	0	35

Anyone still interested? In the tournament, I mean? (The pool never pales, of course.) I don't really care who wins the championship, I'm ashamed to say. I wish I did, but I feel as though I don't really have any emotional tie to any of these teams. I'll watch the last three games, but I probably won't yell myself hoarse as I have in some years past. Maybe I'm just getting old.

Don't send congrats to Bill just yet. There are a few ways in which someone could overtake him. Keep your eye on Mr. Liz, Matt Peterson, our most Kennedyesque entrant. He's sitting nicely in second, and is poised to snatch the lead from Bill, who may or may not be our most Nixonesque entrant. I'll send around a message outlining who picked whom when I get a second.

Behave yourselves.

C

Mike Hunt's dentist located in West Haven, CT

Our mighty Jayhawks vanquished, or, rather, mine, since S went to a somewhat tonier school...and unable to find any 3.2 beer, we went shopping in beautiful West Haven.

(S now harassing me for using 'vanquished.' Similar to harassment I received last night for playing 'Wings over America' at high volume after R and W had gone to sleep.)

OBGYN love

Steve and I received a bottle opener where a Bushism is released every time you open a beer. But this I just could n't believe really happened, but, yes, sadly yes.

Oh yeah, go UNLV!

Sunday's picks

Friends,

I'm going quickly here. I'm on my own with Alexander, who loves to bang on the laptop keyboard. Acy is in a play today (she's awesome, by the way) and Maggi's in the audience. Wish me luck here.

Two games today. Let's see who picked whom:


1. Florida - Everybody and his brother
3. Oregon - Gena, Hank, Sarah
------------------------------

2. Wisconsin - Maggi, Willow
7. UNLV - Dana
4. Maryland - Acy
12 Old Dominion - Alexander


1. UNC - Maggi, John, Hank, Calvino, Kate, Mike, Acy, Gena, Favs
2. GTown - Knott, Acy, Scott, Bill, DaveW, Liz, Matt, Ruth, Henry
---------------------------------------------------------------
3. Washington State - Steve, Sarah
8. Marquette - Dana
4. Texas - Dykes, DavidP
7. BC - Rosalie
5. USC - Willow


Whew, I made it. Of course, he's in a heap, bawling his eyes out, but at least I've finished Pool business for a while. First things first, right? Now, more Elmo.

C

Results and standings after Saturday's games

Folks,

We're getting down to it, and the wheat is starting to get firmly separated from us chaff. Yesterday, there were only two games, with UCLA and Ohio State making it out of their regions and into the Final Four. Remember that regional final picks are worth 6 points each, national semifinal games worth 8 and picking the champ right gets you 10. Based on that, yesterday's games were worth a total of 12 points. 5 of us got both of them right; Bill (now crushing the field), Liz, Hank, The Wrinkler and, well, little old me. Aw, shucks.

Here's where we are after yesterday:

-------------R3-----Sat---Total

1.	Bill	74	12	86
2.	Favs	70	6	76
2.	Hank	64	12	76
4.	Gena	68	6	74
4.	Matt	68	6	74
4.	Silet	74	0	74
7.	Knott	60	12	72
7.	Mike	60	12	72
9.	John	70	0	70
9.	Kate	64	6	70
11.	Liz	56	12	68
12.	DavidP	61	6	67
13.	Calvino	59	6	65
14.	Dayle	63	0	63
14.	Dykes	57	6	63
16.	DaveW	56	6	62
16.	Ruth	62	0	62
18.	Steve	55	6	61
19.	Henry	59	0	59
20.	Dana	51	6	57
21.	Sarah	49	6	55
22.	Alexander	45	6	51
23.	Maggi	45	0	45
24.	Acy	44	0	44
24.	Rosalie	44	0	44
26.	Willow	35	0	35

Today's picks will be out as soon as I can peel the dumb baby off me. Don't hold your collective breaths.

C

Saturday's picks

Guys and dolls,

Only two games today, Kansas v. UCLA and OSU v. Memphis. (When did Memphis College become Memphis State University, and when did Memphis State University become University of Memphis? Read your Paul Fussell if you want to know why it happened.) We're pretty evenly split on these games, so expect some movement in the standings.

By the way, among the notable absences from the pool this year I did want to particularly call out Big Calvin, Cal Dewitt. His wife Ruth, and sons Henry and Calvino are steaming through the field. But where's Cal? Here's my theory; concomitant with his leftward political drift has come increased fecklessness, flip-floppery and wobbly-kneed weakness similar to his new political allies. Welcome to the left, Cal. What we have here, in short, is that Col. DeWitt has cut and run from the pool. Next thing you know, he'll be watching basketball with John Murtha, Jane Fonda and John Kerry. We lefties are pleased to have you, and let me know if you need to know where to find Air America on your radio dial.

Here are the picks:

1. Kansas - Maggi, Ruth, Calvino, Henry, Rosalie, Willow, John, DavidP, Kate, Scott, Favs
2. UCLA - Knott, Gena, Dana, Dykes, Wrinkler, Bill, Liz, Matt, Hank

---------------------------------------------
3. Pitt - Steve, DaveW, Sarah
6. Duke - Acy (homer pick)
10. Gonzaga - Alexander (I think Z is his favorite letter).
4. Southern Illinois - Dayle



1. Ohio State - Thirteen of us
2. Memphis - Gena, Acy, Ruth, Dayle, John
-----------------------------------------------------------------
9. XU - Maggi
4. UVA - Dana
3. TX A&M - Dykes, Scott, Matt, Henry (the He-man's club with their He-man team)
14. Penn - Rosalie, Willow

And there you have it. All I care about now is finishing ahead of my bride. Keep your fingers crossed for me, please.

C

Results and standings after Round Three

Dudes and dudettes,

Round three is over, and what a weird outcome; 4 1-seeds, 3 2-seeds and a 3-seed. I'm too lazy to find out, even though I'm sitting at the computer, but can anyone remember a result like this? Makes picking a little strange, and skews the results in the sense that Favs is way up at the top.

Bill, Scott, John, Gena, Hank and The Wrinkler all picked all four of yesterday's games correctly. That's amazing for this late in the tourney. As you can see, Bill and Scott remain deadlocked at the top. John is in an epic battle with Favs (Favs disappears after tomorrow, of course), so John's looking good. I'll have to go back to review what the Rules Committee decided about late round points, but the thing to remember is there's lots of room for movement still, so don't concede anything to your spouse, friend, child, parent, etc. There's plenty of play left in the game.

So, after 56/63 of the tourney has passed, here's where we stand:

------------Thu----Fri--- R3

1.	Bill	62	12	74
1.	Silet	62	12	74
3.	Favs	61	9	70
3.	John	58	12	70
5.	Gena	56	12	68
5.	Matt	59	9	68
7.	Hank	52	12	64
7.	Kate	55	9	64
9.	Dayle	57	6	63
10.	Ruth	53	9	62
11.	DavidP	55	6	61
12.	Knott	51	9	60
12.	Mike	48	12	60
14.	Calvino	50	9	59
14.	Henry	50	9	59
16.	Dykes	51	6	57
17.	DaveW	47	9	56
17.	Liz	47	9	56
19.	Steve	52	3	55
20.	Dana	48	3	51
21.	Sarah	46	3	49
22.	Alexander	42	3	45
22.	Maggi	39	6	45
24.	Acy	38	6	44
24.	Rosalie	38	6	44
26.	Willow	32	3	35

Today's picks coming soon.

xoxox,

C