On the road!

Those of you who know matt and me can attest to the fact that we don't get out much. So it's just exciting to be in the car without the three children. It's a rainy night in the southern tier and we're in traffic leaving Cornell, following more traffic up to Syracuse.

I say Cornell will win by 8. Matt predicts Cornell by 2 because "they must win by 2.". Some of you will recognize that he is making fun of his wife in that comment. We agree that Cornell may well be killed tonight.

Last night we had a call from the coach's wife, asking if we have our tickets. When matt said no, she called Steve, who was at PRACTICE, the night before DEBUTING In the SWEET SIXTEEN, to make sure he got that sorted out. So if we lose tonight it's because the coach was busy getting us our tickets.

When we moved to Ithaca ten years there was one fan in the stands, our friend pat leahy. When the Harlem globetrotters came to town (and sold out) the team had to practice in the high school gym. So there's lots of excitement around these parts. More soon!

IPhone blogging

Just testing. This technology is something else!

Big Day in Ithaca

HI all. I'm trying to do this new "blogging" thing I've just heard about. Matt and I will shortly be driving to Salt City (did you know that's what the natives call Syracuse, NY?) to watch some other game and then Cornell vs Kentucky! Watch for us on tv, we'll be wearing red. I am going to try and liveblog (!) from my iPhone; Mike assures me there's an app for that. Go Big Red!

Belated greetings from Oklahoma

Ok, let's see. After a string of days last week in the 70s that saw us working in the field, we were hit by a storm this weekend that dumped 6 inches of snow on us and knocked out our internet until moments ago.

So, let me catch up on hoops. How bad did Kansas slaughter Northern Iowa?

Oh.

Oh dear.

Back to gathering firewood.

Friends, Romans, Countrymen,

Lend me your bottle opener. Saturday was a wild day in the tourney, with three fantastic upsets. Nobody picked UNI to beat Kansas, nobody picked St. Mary's to beat Villanova, and only our own beloved Dana Duffy picked Washington to beat New Mexico. Why did she pick them? Well, she does have family in Washington State, but my guess is that she remembers Steve Alford's hair from his playing days, and knew that a fellow using that much product has to suffer at least some ill effects from it seeping down into his brain. That's my theory. Dana, what do you say?

With three of the eight games essentially surprising the field, it follows that not a lot of points were scored yesterday. Sarah Prown and Gena Zelenka managed to get 10 points, and are thus the Day Three Nostradamuses (is that the proper plural? I'm stumped, but this is my best guess, even though my spell checker doesn't like it much.) The rest of us ranged between 2 and 8 points, so there wasn't a ton of movement in the standings.

Will we have another wild day today? I hope so, even though it plays hell with my bracket. I love seeing the little guys win. I hope you're all planning a quiet day in front of the tube today. There's a lot of hoop to get through. After today, there are just 15 measly games left, I'll be mathematically eliminated, and we'll move away from email and to the blog exclusively. Let's hear from you all out there.

Talk to you soon,

Yours in Poolishness,

co-meister

Here are the current standings:

Rank	Name	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Total
1	Acy	13	15	6	34
1	Bill	12	14	8	34
1	John	12	14	8	34
1	Matt	15	15	4	34
1	Sarah P.	11	13	10	34
6	Dana	13	14	6	33
7	Liz	20	10	2	32
7	Ruth	10	14	8	32
9	Gena	10	11	10	31
9	Jonathan	15	12	4	31
9	Maggi	13	14	4	31
12	Cal	11	13	6	30
12	Dayle	11	13	6	30
14	Alexander	11	12	6	29
14	Knott	10	11	8	29
14	Mike	11	12	6	29
17	Dutch	10	12	6	28
17	Favs	9	13	6	28
17	Kate	11	11	6	28
17	Scott	10	14	4	28
21	Dykes	12	11	4	27
21	Sarah B.	8	13	6	27
21	Steve	9	14	4	27
24	Harry	12	11	2	25
24	Henry	7	12	6	25
24	Rosalie	13	10	2	25
24	Tim	8	13	4	25
28	Willow	8	12	4	24

Villa No Va

Sorry for everyone who had these fellows going a long way. It's been a tough tournament for Catholics. Who's left? St. Mary's, of course. XU. Anyone else? Notre Dame out, Georgetown out, Villanova out. I'm sure I'm forgetting some schools here. I'm ecumenical in my approach, I want all the religious schools to lose. Everything. All the time. Denomination makes no difference to me. I'm bighearted that way.

Sorry Nova buffs.

Cornell. Ever heard of it?: Day Two results and Round One standings

Ah friends,

32 games down, only 31 to go. It's seemed fast this year, hasn't it? The crush of the first few days is almost behind us. Yesterday, Day 2, was a little more typical than the upset-crazy Day 1. There are only three upsets yesterday, and two of those were 10 seeds beating 7 seeds, hardly an upset at all. The one supergroovy upset was goofy old Cornell taking a pretty good Temple team apart. Go Ivies. Not since the days of those good Penn teams about a decade (remember Bruce Lefkowitz?) have the Ivies had much to cheer about. Go Cornell.

Given that one real upset, there were only 17 points available yesterday. A couple of geniuses, Acy and Matt (both of whom picked before the games were actually played) got 15 of the 17 points. A bunch of the rest of you (Maggi, Bill, Ruth, Dana!, Steve, Scott, and John) got 14 points. The rest of us were, well, craptacular. Those of us at the bottom aren't miles behind (yet) but a few things have to break our way soon or no glory for us.

Liz remains at the top of the heap, but has been caught by her husband, with Acy right behind. It's going to be a good race at the top of the standings, and about 2/3 of the group is within easy striking distance.

Iowa wins the wrestling championship (again), I have about 20 hours of hoop to watch today and tomorrow, it's 65 degrees and sunny here in Maine. What could be better? (My picks could be better, but I'm not complaining. Much.)

After Day 2, then, here's where we stand. See below.

Let's all have a safe Round Two out there.

C

Rank	Name	Day 1	Day 2	Total
1	Liz	20	10	30
1	Matt	15	15	30
3	Acy	13	15	28
4	Jonathan	15	12	27
4	Maggi	13	14	27
4	Dana	13	14	27
7	Bill	12	14	26
7	John	12	14	26
9	Dayle	11	13	24
9	Cal	11	13	24
9	Sarah P.	11	13	24
9	Ruth	10	14	24
9	Scott	10	14	24
14	Rosalie	13	10	23
14	Harry	12	11	23
14	Dykes	12	11	23
14	Alexander	11	12	23
14	Mike	11	12	23
14	Steve	9	14	23
20	Kate	11	11	22
20	Dutch	10	12	22
20	Favs	9	13	22
23	Knott	10	11	21
23	Gena	10	11	21
23	Sarah B.	8	13	21
23	Tim	8	13	21
27	Willow	8	12	20
28	Henry	7	12	19

While you wait...

While you wait for the scores from Day 2, click the post's title link to read a story about a sport that really matters - wrestling - where my Iowa Hawkeyes have just clinched their third straight national championship and their 23rd in the last 35 or so years. Now wrestling (or wrasslin, if you happen to live in Indiana) may not be the marquee sport that hoop is, but maybe that's just because nobody can beat Iowa. Maybe.

Hoop results soon.

Day One results and standings

Freundles,

So, Day One is over and we're part way into Day Two. Where does the time go? Work, I guess, and sleep and toothbrushing and Guinness. Now that I type it out, that's a full day.

Anyhoo, it was an exciting opening day, no? 7 upsets out of 16 games, including 14 seed Ohio whupping up on Georgetown. If your bracket is now wrecked because GTown is out, don't fret, you're not alone. The Day One genius is Liz Rambeau (more on that in a moment), and for the first time in modern memory, picking all the favorites (the Favs pick below) would have landed you very near the bottom. Awesome.

As for scoring, remember that all the games where a 1-10 seed wins is worth 1 point. That's the 7 games won by the favored team, plus hte UNI, Wake Forest and St. mary's wins (9, 9 and 10 seeds, respectively. Feels like the St. Mary's pick should've counted for more than one point.) Three games were worth 2 points (Murray State, Washington and Old Dominion), and the Ohio game was worth 3 points. That makes 21 possible points.

Day One Genius Liz Rambeau picked 15 of the day's 16 games correctly, and finished with a gaudy 20 out of 21 points. Far behind her, with 15 points each are my brother Jonathan and Liz's hubby Matt. Now Matt and Liz co-habit, watch the same amount of hoop, read the same newspapers, and still, Liz has 33% more points than Matt. What accounts for that difference? Nothing I can see, with the possible exception that Matt really handicapped his own efforts by actually picking winners before the games had been played. You read that right, I'll wait if you want, Henry James style, to read that sentence again just to make sure you got it. Liz's picks came in this morning. Maybe I'm committing a serious post hoc, propter hoc fallacy here, but I suspect that picking winners after they've won gives you a leg up. Your witness, counselor.

Just kidding. We all know Liz is ramrod straight, unwilling to cut ethical corners, and utterly uninterested in basketball. In fact, I think Liz might be faintly embarrassed to win the pool, even though she'd be pleased as anything to beat her husband. I'm sure Liz will continue on her current 93.75% accuracy clip.

Slander aside, congrats to Liz and all the rest of you who picked well. I didn't do so hot, but it's just Day One. I'm not discouraged.

In a couple of days, Calvino and I will switch over to the blog exclusively, but until then, here are the Day One standings:

Name	Day 1
Liz	20
Jonathan	15
Matt	15
Maggi	13
Acy	13
Dana	13
Rosalie	13
Bill	12
Harry	12
Dykes	12
John	12
Alexander	11
Dayle	11
Mike	11
Cal	11
Kate	11
Sarah P.	11
Knott	10
Ruth	10
Scott	10
Dutch	10
Gena	10
Favs	9
Steve	9
Sarah B.	8
Tim	8
Willow	8
Henry	7

5 upsets in the first 11 games - it's Madness!!!

Man, my picks already stink, but who cares? Go Ohio, Murray State, St. Mary's, Old Dominion, even good old Northern Iowa. It's like a kid (or Dana, before she serioused up about the pool) pick bonanza.

Love this. If only we had some hint-o-crack doritos in the house.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

Get the ball! Get it! Get the ball!

Atta boy!

All Hail Sophie Mac!!! (or, And a little child shall lead them...)

All and sundry,

You know how I love to quote my bible, especially the Book of Isaiah. Just kidding.

After last night's thumping of the Big 10 by the ACC (again. Can you imagine the crap I have to endure over stuff like this in my very own house?), there is a new order. A torch has been passed to a new generation. Our champion, and the winner of the biggest trophy I can order up here in Maine, is Sophie Peterson. Parents Liz and Matt and sib Ben trailing behind, Sophie trounced us all. Congrats to you, young person. Kudos also go out to Master Calvin Dewitt for his fifth place finish. Two juniors in the Top 5, it's a new day, people.

Only four poolies picked UNC to win the whole thing: Sophie, Chris Dykes, Maggi and me. We each got 6 points, leaving the final standings looking like this:

	Player	R5	Final	Total
1	Sophie	84	6	90
2	Sarah P.	85	0	85
3	Maggi	78	6	84
4	John	81	0	81
5	Calvin	79	0	79
5	Steve	79	0	79
7	Dykes	70	6	76
7	Ruth	76	0	76
9	Knott	68	6	74
10	Tim	73	0	73
11	Scott	70	0	70
11	Willow	70	0	70
13	Katie/Justin	69	0	69
13	Liz	69	0	69
15	Gena	67	0	67
15	Hadiya	67	0	67
15	Kate	67	0	67
15	Michael	67	0	67
19	Ben	66	0	66
19	Cal	66	0	66
19	Matt	66	0	66
22	Dayle	63	0	63
23	Jonathan	62	0	62
24	Acy	57	0	57
24	Sarah B.	57	0	57
26	Henry	52	0	52
27	Rosalie	51	0	51
28	Bill	50	0	50
29	Dana	48	0	48
30	Alexander	36	0	36
31	Harry	34	0	34

One more thing: This will be my last year as sole Poolmeister. Next year, in keeping with our theme of passing the torch, I will be joined by Co-Meister Calvin Dewitt. Please welcome him to our ranks. With his co-meistership, Calvin (who will be, I think, 10 years old for next year's tournament), has taken on a host of adminstrative responsibilities, but also receives commensurate powers. For starters, Calvin is now a full member of the Rules Committee. Don't let the power go to your head, son.

Congrats again to our winner, Sophie. Your trophy is on the way to you. You should get it sometime before you graduate from college.

Cheers,

C

Victory is Sweet

Just Good Parenting

First, congratulations to Sarah Prown, who has won the pool more often than anyone else. Our family has a lot of work to do to catch up to your record. And a big thanks to the poolmesiter and site organizers.

But most importantly, congratulations to our own Sophie Mac, Ithaca's finest guesser! Let's not worry that she can't drink a toast to her own success (much less stay up and watch the game); her parents are more than willing to do it for her. I believe there was a recent study that found a direct correlation between fine parenting and offspring doing well in the NCAA pool--can one of you librarians find that? Not that Matt and I want to take credit for Sophie's brains or beauty--but then, who else should?

Now, how much was the kitty, again?

Big News

First off, a big congratulations to Sarah P. and Sophie...that is, if you can hear me from those lofty heights. Chris pisses and moans, but last I looked he stomped a good portion of the pool, including your truly this year. Hmph. Of course, I have an excuse. And here it is....

I was distracted this year by the fact that I was busy getting myself a new job. Earlier this week, I accepted the position of Executive Director of the Traverse de Sioux Library System headquartered in Mankato, Minnesota. I will be merging the aforementioned Regional Public System with the Southcentral Minnesota Library Exchange (SMILE), a multitype system. In other words, we'll be handling delivery, professional development, automation, innovation and advocacy for all libraries in the Southcentral nine county area. Once successfully merged, I get to show the Mn Legislature that it was all a good idea and get them to rewrite the funding statutes. I start on June 1st.

Yep, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

I don't have a new address yet, but I do have a new email address, which will overlap with my current one for the next few months. It is dzelen@tds.lib.mn.us.

Dayle

Maggi is the Portland, Maine side bet winner

A sad day for us all. Maggi has won the Pineloch Drive side bet in the pool. (Actually, she mathematically eliminated the rest of the house about two weeks ago, which is pathetic.)

The bet this year, which included me, Maggi and Acy, was that the winner gets to pick the evening's entertainment for two solid weeks. Whatever movies, games, books, etc., the winner wants goes. There were several limits and caveats; Maggi was not allowed to make the evening's fun mopping floors or wiping down baseboards or anything sickening like that. Acy was not allowed to inflict too much Partridge Family on us (she knows it's cheesy, but likes to watch and laugh at it.) I was forbidden to make the family sit through a Red Dwarf marathon (that limitation still mystifies me a little - who wouldn't want to watch Red Dwarf?).

But Maggi has won. It's not the prize, it's crowing, the mockery, the derision, that makes this such a valuable win for her. She hasn't actually taken to wearing some kind of crown or carrying a scepter, but the final game isn't until tonight.

A sad day, indeed.

Humbly,

C

Championship game

All,

If you're still following along, here's an updated chart of who picked whom:

THE BIG CHIMICHANGA - The Championship Game

2. Michigan State - Sarah P
1. UNC - Knott, Maggi, Dykes, Sophie
------------------------------------------------------------
1. UConn - Calvin, Willow, Rosalie, John
3. Villanova - Nobody
4. Gonzaga - Alexander
1. Pitt - Acy, Dayle, Liz, Matt, Mike
1. Louisville - Steve, Sarah B, Gena, Kate, Ruth, Bill
3. Missouri - Dana, Jonathan
3. Kansas - Henry, Hadiya, Tim, Cal
2. Memphis - Ben
2. Oklahoma - Katie/Justin
4. Washington - Harry

The fog clears...

Poolites,

I only have a minute here. We're off to buy Alexander the new bike and a new toy train he was promised if an when he used the potty for the first time. That happened this morning. It's a big day at our house, believe me. If he'd held out for another few months, we would've promised him a new car on his 16th birthday, a big allowance and all the french fries he can eat. But he caved.

Anyhoo, now that you're up to date on our domestic travails, back to hoop. Only Sarah Prown, that genius, got both games right yesterday, which explains why she's hurtled into first place. You'll be able to work this out on your own, but the short answer is that if Michigan State wins tomorrow, Sarah wins in a rout. If UNC wins, Sophie MacGregor Peterson (did I spell that right?) is the big winner, the first pool winner ever not old enough to drive or drink a beer. Now that would be a thing to savor, wouldn't it?

After the semis, then, here are the standings:

	Player	R4 Total	Semis	Total
1	Sarah P.	75	10	85
2	Sophie	79	5	84
3	John	76	5	81
4	Calvin	79	0	79
4	Steve	74	5	79
6	Maggi	73	5	78
7	Ruth	76	0	76
8	Tim	73	0	73
9	Dykes	65	5	70
9	Scott	70	0	70
9	Willow	70	0	70
12	Katie/Justin	69	0	69
12	Liz	69	0	69
14	Knott	63	5	68
15	Gena	67	0	67
15	Hadiya	67	0	67
15	Kate	67	0	67
15	Michael	67	0	67
19	Ben	61	5	66
19	Cal	66	0	66
19	Matt	66	0	66
22	Dayle	63	0	63
23	Jonathan	62	0	62
24	Acy	57	0	57
24	Sarah B.	57	0	57
26	Henry	52	0	52
27	Rosalie	51	0	51
28	Bill	50	0	50
29	Dana	48	0	48
30	Alexander	36	0	36
31	Harry	34	0	34

Moment of gloating...

Yay for Michigan State!!!

The Meister asked why on earth I picked them to beat my homestate team, our local pride and joy, the only team that a native nutmegger should root for?

I'll tell ya why... Michael Moore told me to do it! Oh, and Connecticut sux eggs. I learned that in high school. :)

Final Four picks!!!, Get'em here...

All right, hoop fans, this is it; the last three games. We have a cluster of prognosticators at the top, all eagerly awaiting news of who picked whom. The rest of us are eating chips and looking for the remote in the couch cushions. It's really two different worlds by this point in the tournament, no?

Here are the Final Four picks:


2. Michigan State - Sarah P (what a genius pick. What made you think of this? Amazing.)
1. UConn - Calvin, Sophie, John, Liz, Rosalie, Willow, Acy
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Memphis - Knott, Dayle, Dykes, Ben, Katie/Justin
1. Louisville - Maggi, Steve, Tim, Sarah B, Matt, Gena, Kate, Ruth, Silet, Mike, Bill
9. Texas A&M - Alexander
3. Missouri - Dana, Jonathan
3. Kansas - Henry, Hadiya, Cal
4. Washington - Harry


3. Villanova - Nobody
1. UNC - Knott, Maggi, Steve, Dykes, Ben, Sarah P, John, Sophie
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Gonzaga - Alexander
3. Syracuse - Dana, Bill
2. Oklahoma - Rosalie, Willow, Katie/Justin
5. Illinois - Gena
6. UCLA - Harry
1. Pitt - Acy, Dayle, Henry, Calvin, Hadiya, Tim, Sarah B, Liz, Matt, Kate, Ruth, Silet, Cal, Mike


THE BIG CHIMICHANGA - The Championship Game

2. Michigan State - Sarah P
1. UConn - Calvin, Willow, Rosalie, John
3. Villanova - Nobody
1. UNC - Knott, Maggi, Dykes, Sophie
------------------------------------------------------------
4. Gonzaga - Alexander
1. Pitt - Acy, Dayle, Liz, Matt, Mike
1. Louisville - Steve, Sarah B, Gena, Kate, Ruth, Bill
3. Missouri - Dana, Jonathan
3. Kansas - Henry, Hadiya, Tim, Cal
2. Memphis - Ben
2. Oklahoma - Katie/Justin
4. Washington - Harry

Scott Silet, my friend, who do you have winning the whole thing?

I think that's that. Quite a few people have a shot at sneaking in there for the win, so good luck to all the potential winners.

I believe I may still be able to pull out the pool win with a couple of lucky outcomes, so look for me shooting up to first from twentieth place. Yeehah!

Have fun out there. Let's have a little blog chatter out there. It's been too quiet this year.

Yours in poolishness,

C