Sunday, April 14, 2024

Final Four Chronicles: Questions & Answers

 


So, the Final Four is complete, with UConn winning its second consecutive national championship, your Final Four crew have all safely returned home, and most of the sporting world has moved to the Masters, the NBA Playoffs, the WNBA draft, the NFL draft, or something else.  But, we here at WeMakeItRain have received a number of questions about our trip, so as a service to our followers, we have brought back the Q&A, first (and only) done in NEW ORLEANS 2022.

So, on to the questions ...

Q:    Your first entry says 2 of the 3 members of WeMakeItRain were in attendance.  Who was missing?  

A:    Hopps.  He could not attend.  In fact, he has only made one post on WeMakeItRain, and that was back in September 2007.  He might not actually be a part of this site any longer!

Q:    Your first entry also says that 3 of the 4 members of the coaching staff attended.  Who was missing?

A:    Also Hopps.  He would have been dismissed from the coaching staff already if Kev-O even hinted at the fact he wants the gig.  But, he absolutely abhors Southwestern Central.

Q:    You always tag Alison and Racecar in your posts, but no mention of them during your chronicles.  Why not?

A:    They did not attend.  We tag them so they know what we are up to.

Q:    Who writes the entries?

A:    We all contribute our memories of the days, the content of the posts, and editorial control.  

Q:    Does everything about which you write actually occur?

A:    Absolutely.  Everything is 100% true.  We may control content for time and space, but nothing is made up.

Q:    Why do you insist on the accuracy of the time zones and the time changes?

A:    We do not.  Pepster does, mostly to raise the ire of Sinickal.

Q:    Even when all in the same time zone, there are sometimes references to time zones.  Why don't I get it?

A:    It goes all the way back to New Orleans, 2003, when Pepster flew into New Orleans from Florida and stated that he was thirsty, blaming it on the change in time zones.  Then, later that week, the clocks sprung forward, making everyone thirsty one hour earlier, you know, because of the time change.  Been a line ever since.  [Ed. Note - The "spring forward" from standard time to daylight savings time used to occur in the first weekend in April.  It has since been moved up in the calendar.]

Q:    What do you think of Phoenix as a Final Four host.

A:    We enjoy the area.  Some fun times in Scottsdale, some great golf, and great weather.  Events are way too spread out.  We shouldn't have to drive an hour to the event from all of the best social areas of the city.

Q:    I didn't see a mention of the Road to the Final 4 5K.  Did you run again this year?

A:    Again?!  That's funny.

Q:  What team was represented the most?

A:    Purdue, and it wasn't even close!

Q:    Pepster - my boyfriend's mom is going to read this.  You can't post jokes like the one about Lebanon!  Ok, so not so much a question as a comment.

A:    We don't have to answer if it isn't a question.  But, from Pepster's brother:  "Leba-bomb, amirite?"  

A:    OK, we'll answer.  We aren't trying to offend anybody at all, just noting occurrences that we find interesting, fun, funny, noteworthy, or just worth mentioning.  We don't think anybody is really offended, especially the commenter's boyfriend's mom.  But if so, we will try to take that into account next year.

Q:    Speaking of next year, where is it being held, and are you going?

A:    San Antonio, Texas, and absolutely.  Some of us will definitely be there, and hopefully all.  

Q:    How did you like your AirBnB?  Was it in a good neighborhood?

A:    Great location:  Old Town Scottsdale.  Close to groceries, restaurants, bars, walk-up late night burrito joint.  Just amazing.  We solved the flaw of the window treatments.  The only real problem was the security system, which set an alarm off every time we opened the door to the back patio.  We could stop the alarm quickly, but not allowed to disarm it because of regulations to prevent children from drowning.

Q:    What was the best food you ate?

A:    SumoMaya Sunday Brunch.  Easy!

Q:    Did you have any local beer?  If so, what were your favorites?

A:    We really didn't have that much.  Too much travel around the darn metropolitan area wastes time that could have been spent drinking.  That being said, the Scottsdale Blonde Ale was good, and Sinickal introduced us to "Long Drink," which is a Finnish style gin mixed drink served in a can.  Pretty good.

Q:  For which team were you cheering?

A:    Sinickal was boisterously in favor of Syracuse.  Kev-O and Pepster were ABD, "Anybody but Duke."  Tony was in favor of Texas.  Now, all that being said, we wanted to see really good basketball, and that didn't really happen.  UConn was too dominant.

Q:    Did anything stand out in the games?

A:    Zach Edey gets every call, and Stephon Castle can play!  Mark Sears is pretty good too.  DJ Burns may not have been the best DJ on his team - that honor belonged to Horne.

Q:    What did you mean by "magical pheromones?"

A:    Some people just have a flair for the dramatic.

Q:    How did Pepster get the 1904 Olympics question about St. Louis correct.

A:    We don't know.  He somehow knows more about the Olympics than a normal person should.

Q:    Why did you call the person in the passenger seat of the Waymo a sociopath?

A:    Ok, listen.  The Waymo is just a version of a rideshare, just without a driver.  So, you sit in the back if it is just you.  That is what you do.  If you want to be playful, then you sit in the driver seat and scare all the other drivers around you.  But you do not - under any circumstances - sit in the front passenger seat!

Q:    What is the airport cheat code?

A:    If we told you and everybody started doing it, it would no longer be the time-and-effort-saving cheat code, now would it? We will say that Sinickal travels A LOT!

Q:    On the Departure Day, Sinickal noted the amount of people in Coach House drinking at 10:45 a.m. Weren't you there at that time drinking?

A:    Yes, but we were flying out of Phoenix that day, and days of air travel don't count.  Also, Sinickal and Pepster were there together, not by themselves like the others.

Q:    Who IS the second best NBA player from Duke?

Q:    Wait, who is the best NBA player from Duke?

A:    Grant Hill, duh!

Q:    Ok, that makes sense.  Who is the second best NBA player from Duke?

A:    Pepster believes it is already Jayson Tatum.  Sinickal believes that Tatum has to show he can win first, so he throws out Shane Battier.  Elton Brand was very good.  All of us believe it could be Zion Williamson if he continues to stay healthy. Carlos Boozer had a nice career, but not to that level.  We all also discount Kyrie Irving because he only played 11 games at Duke.  Kev-O believes nobody should speak about Duke, ever.  In all honesty, given their success in college, Duke does not have a great body of NBA alumni.

Q:    Did you ask why there was a dump truck in the bar?

A:    No, we did not, because it was apparent it was there for the bike show.  However, shouldn't every bar have at least one dump truck at all times?!



Friday, April 12, 2024

Final Four Chronicles: The Departure

 

The time has come for our crew to depart, and although we had a great time, we are more than ready to get back to civilization.  But, it is possible something fun, funny, or interesting occurs on our ways home.

Tuesday, April 9

22:03 - Kev-O notices that the Purdue fans on his flight are big mad.  Complainting that "Hurley doesn't do it the right way.  He touched a player [Edey] and that should have been a technical foul.

22:04 - Kev-O immediately realizes that this is why they lost by double digits.

22:05 - Sinickal tells him to mention that Edey commits assault 10 times a game and it is never called.

22:06 - Sinickal also notes that Kev-O's answer tells us that Purdue is big AND mad, not just big mad.

22:08 - From Kev-O, "Oh no.  Dude is like 5'7", which is confusing because I don't know how he got inside the building on January 6.

Wednesday, April 10

04:30 E.D.T. (approx.) - Kev-O wheels down in Atlanta.

06:00 P.S.T. - Both Pepster and Sinickal are up.  Tony is likely on a work call.

07:00 - Papa Si and Anne are up.  Anne starts preparing breakfast.

07:48 - Sinickal and Pepster go to Basher's for orange juice.  Pick up orange juice only.

07:57 - Sinickal and Pepster back at the house.  Walk into the house without the orange juice.  Return to the car.

07:58 - Anne asks if we got the text about buying jelly; we did not.

08:02 - Anne cooking breakfast reminds us of the first time we attending a Final Four together, in New Orleans, 2003, where Pepster's aunt Sylvia cooked us breakfast each-and-every morning.  Sinickal reminds everyone that Syracuse won that year behind Carmelo Anthony.  Anne remarks, "Has it been that long since Syracuse has won?"

8:20 - Breakfast is served.

8:22 - Anne proclaims that the Saga of the Jelly is solved.

8:58 - Discussion regarding nuclear power plant explosions.  Don't ask.

9:04 - Sinickal tells Anne that she should just move somewhere completely surrounded by nothingness, like the panhandle of Oklahoma, perhaps the northeast corner.

09:36 - To the airport for Tony's flight.

10:08 - See a guy riding a horse, in the middle of a field, outside a trailer park.

10:18 - Airport cheat code!

10:27 - Drop off Tony.

10:46 - Pepster and Sinickal at Coach House.  Live baseball on television.  Gotta love west coast time!

10:47 - Sinickal notes that he just loves the amount of people out drinking at this time in the morning during the middle of the week is astounding.

11:19 - To Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers for lunch.

11:24 - Enter Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers.

12:00 - Tony wheels up to New York.

12:47 - Exit Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers.  Sure we talked about stuff, but too exhausted to really realize and remember what it was.

12:59 - Pepster enters airport.

13:32 - Four girls in line for the jetway, looking like they came off of a girls weekend/week.  Two of the girls are wearing hats that say, "Dump Him!"  We hope it wasn't a bachelorette party!

14:00 - Pepster wheels up to Houston.  Nobody on his flight is wearing any college gear.  Final Four is definitely over.

18:30 C.D.T. - Pepster wheels down in Houston.

18:00 E.D.T. - Tony wheels down in New York.

19:20 C.D.T. - Pepster wheels up to Fort Lauderdale.

10:45 E.D.T. - Pepster wheels down in Fort Lauderdale.

00:10 - Pepster arrives home.

22:00 P.S.T. - Sinickal wheels up to DC.

Thursday, April 11

9:03 E.D.T. Sinickal is wheels down in Washington DC. We are a wrap for the 2024 Final Four Chronicles.

NCAA Tournament Pool - Final Standings - OFFICIAL!!!

 

Here are the standings after the championship game.  Although I do not expect anything to change, I do want to take the weekend to double-check to finalize everything, especially since we have a tie for third, so I have to go calculate the tiebreaker.  But, I didn't want everyone to think I forgot about the pool while in Arizona.  Congratulations - at least for now - to Dan Barsky of Miami, Florida, Paul Cummings of Palm City, Florida, Jim Coleman of Boynton Beach, Florida and Brigadier General Kareem "Monty" Montague, of Hickham Air Force Base, Hawaii.  3 of those 4 will win a portion of the proceeds, and have been notified separately of the situation and of the timing.

Final Pool Results/Standings

1.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 154

2.  Paul Cummings 2 - 153

3.  James Coleman - 149  - WINNER BY TIEBREAKER!!!

ALL EARNINGS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED IN THE METHOD YOU SUBMITTED TO ME.

4.  Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 149

5.  Paul Cummings 3 - 146
     Ty Hedgpeth - 146
     Si Nichols - 146

8.  George Fox 2 - 143

9.  Brian McMahon - 137
     Jeff Plamondon - 137
     Cheryl Spuhler - 137

12.  Natalie Moon - 136

13.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 131
       Jeremy Spuhler - 131

15.  Justine Frank - 130
       Javier Rodriguez - 130
       Measha Williams 3 - 130 

18.  Matt Hopps - 128
       William Pujals - 128
       Rich Samuels 1 - 128

21.  Rich Samuels 5 - 126

22.  Alvaro Gonzalez - 125
       Dawn Lamb - 125
       Sean McInerney 2 - 125

25.  Silas Nichols - 123

26.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 120
       Brittany Sosa - 120
       Sasha Moon - 120

29.  Max Macon 2 - 118
       Rich Samuels 2 - 118
       Rich Samuels 3 - 118

32.  Miles Jackson - 117
       Chris O'Neil - 117
       Day Yi - 117

35.  George Fox 1 - 115
       Max Marion 3 - 115
       Keith Wynne - 115

38.     Justin Yung - 114

39.  Rich Samuels 4 - 112
       Jason Spuhler - 112

41.  Adam Jorgensen 1 - 111
       Lee Pagan - 111
       Barkley Sosa - 111

44.  Colleen Giamberini - 110
       Measha Williams 1 - 110

46.  Marcus Spruill - 109
       Amanda Staudt - 109

48.  Barbie Curlett 2 - 108

49.  Noel Martinez 1 - 107
       Shane Jernigan 1 - 107

51.  Chris Simmons - 106

52.  Keith Zdrowak - 105

53.  Bill Ganoe 3 - 99
       Kyle Henderson 2 - 99
       George Walks 3 - 99
       Amy Zdrowak - 99

57.  Barbie Curlett 1 - 98
       Kyle Henderson 1 - 98
       Allison Parker - 98

60.  Jenna Finkelstein - 97

61.  Jacey Fowler 1 - 96
       Blake Jackson - 96
       Shane Jernigan 2 - 96

64.  Marcus Jackson - 94 
       George Walks 4 - 94

66.  Paul Cummings 1 - 93
       John Hedgpeth - 93
       Katie Zdrowak -93

69.  Braeden Helland - 92
       Max Marion 1 - 92

71.  Adam Jorgensen 2 - 91

72.  Daniel Barsky 2 - 90
       Joel Chernoff - 90
       Bill Ganoe 1 - 90
       Dan Laishley - 90

76.  Matt O'Kell - 89
 
77.  Logan Spuhler - 88

78.  Jane Reynolds - 87
       Cassi Spruill - 87

80.  Josh Zdrowak - 86

81.  Kevin Dick - 85
       Carolyn Fowler - 85

83.  James Garvin - 84
       Mark Holbert - 84

85.  Brent Bellinger - 83
       Anne-Marie O'Neil - 83

87.  Measha Williams 2 - 82
       Mike Wolff 1 - 82

89.  Jody Cox - 81
       Dave Piasecki - 81

91.  Karen Katz - 80

92.  Ashley Poer - 79
       Pepe Sosa - 79
       Bubba Zdrowak - 79

95.  Skip LaForte - 76
       Biscuit Zdrowak - 76

97.  Tyler Giamberini - 74
       Katie Kollmeyer - 74
       Sean McInerney 1 - 74
       Jacey Reynolds 2 - 74
       Lily Spuhler - 74
       Jonathan Wasserman - 74

104.  Jessica Samuels - 73

105.  Stephanie Henderson - 72
         Arlene Amo Hopps - 72

107.  Dave Marzouca 1 - 71
         Kisha Marzouca 1 - 71

109.  Michael McNally - 70
         Coco Wynne - 70

111.  Derrick Lowe - 69
         Ryan Rodriguez - 69
         Jamie Toole - 69

114.  Clair Bullock - 68

115.  Nick Kuehl - 67

116.  Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 66
         Melissa Gaynor - 66
         Quinn Jackson - 66
         Chris Pettit - 66

120.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 65
         Kingfish Parham - 65

122.  Savannah Grace Pressly - 64
         Cheryl Spuhler - 64

124.  Max Marions 2 - 63
         George Walks 1 - 63

126.  George Walks 2 - 62

127.  Max Macon 3 - 61
         Max Macon 4 - 61

129.  Kisha Marzouca 2 - 60
 
130.  Max Marion 4 - 59

131.  Guy Hughes - 55

132.  Mike Wolff 2 - 51

133.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 50

134.  Noel Martinez 2 - 49
         A.J. Ripin - 49

136.  Hannah Sosa - 45

137.  ALYSSA HOPPS - QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS - 35 POINTS - CLINCHED LAST PLACE AND RETURN OF ENTRY FEE

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

The Final Four Chronicles: Play Day

 

Your crew has extended its ordinary trip by a day.  The reason for this is mostly to hang out with Papa Si and Anne, but also to sneak another round of golf into this trip.  We might be running out of steam, be we will give it a shot.  A warning to our more sensitive readers, there is a small bit of cursing near the end, but that particular moment has to be captured exactly, or else it won't have the same effect.  You know, journalistic integrity.

05:30 - Tony is up.  Hits the hot tub.

06:10 - Pepster is up.  Leaves the mother-in-law suite where he has been staying to head to the main house.  Tony in the hot tub scares him to death.

06:25 - Sinickal is out of his room.

06:30 - Kev-O comes out of his room.

Some work, some phone calls, some packing.  We have to check out of the AirBnB.

08:57 - Head up to Papa Si and Anne's to drop off our luggage and continue to golf.

09:52 - Enter Legend Trail.  Told by the staff that, "The snakes are out!"

10:00 - Inexplicably remember we forgot to add a story from brunch on Sunday, so we will add it here.  As we leave, Big Wigg tries to retrieve his car from the valet, which was parked immediately adjacent to the valet stand.  The valet had locked his key fob inside somehow, and Big Wigg could not open the doors.  After much consternation, Sinickal downloads an app, which ultimately unlocks the doors.  The irony here is that Big Wigg made a conscious decision to take his car because it is way more fun to drive than his truck, and given the great weather we have been having, the car won out.  Not sure what we would have done had technology not won out.

10:22 - We remember we also left off this story from brunch.  Somehow, amazingly, for the third time this trip, the topic of Diddy comes up. Remembering that he hasn't even been arrested yet, Pepster remarks that one person has been arrested, that being a former Syracuse player.  Sinickal retorts, all of our schools have their things, remember Vivek Ramaswamy went to Harvard!"  Ouch.  Interestingly he chose Ramaswamy instead of like, Ted Kaczynski.  Sinickal notes that the Unabomber went to Michigan.  We check to confirm.  He went to Harvard for college and Michigan for his Masters' and Ph.D.  Somehow, we are both right in the same argument, again.  We should re-tell the Indianapolis Meridian/Canterbury Hotel argument.  Ok, not now. Back to today.

10:48 - Tee-off time!


10:50 - Tony tees off.  Re-injures his back.  Short day for him.

11:45 - First approach of the beverage attendant on hole 6.  Some issues with inventory on items we ordered.  Pepster easily just switches to something else.  She says, "Thanks for being so easy!"  Sinickal retorts, "That's what his wife said!"

14:48 - Kev-O with back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16.

15:07 - Finish golf.  

15:15 - Driving around North Scottsdale between Legends Trail and and Sinickal's parents house and Sinickal is noting some of the unique neighborhoods, including the one where the houses come with their own hangar for a private airfield.  Some of the houses have allowances for the planes to drive right up to the house itself.

15:16 - Sincikal points out an RV garage on another house.

15:21 - Enter Roadhouse, a hideaway bar.  So, Scottsdale had it's bike week last week, ending Sunday.  I bring this up because Roadhouse is a biker bar/dive bar, and must have had a huge celebration as workers were tearing down scaffolding, stages, etc.  It is also the local Chicago Bears bar!

15:23 - Tony orders a Guinness.  When informed that they have no Guinness [Ed. Note - It isn't that type of place] - he orders any Stout.  Ends up with a Dos Equis.

15:24 - They must have had an enormous celebration.  And, we are not sure how they fit an entire dump truck in this bar!

16:05 - Sinickal noted that Google saw an upswing in searches for "My eyes hurt" the day of, and after, the solar eclipse.  Tony notes that people have nothing between the ears.  The bartender, overhearing our conversations responds immediately, "They have a brain, it is just perfectly smooth, with no bends, folds, or curves."  This might be the smartest cut-down we have ever heard

16:17 - We ask for the check so we can head to Papa Si and Anne's.  Same bartender asks, "Are you cheating on me!"

16:25 - Heading to Sinickal's parents.  Rudy's barbecue awaits!  Ribs, beef, sausage and all the fixin's.  Plus Sinickal's family friends Don and Yvonne, and Ed and LaRue, in addition to Papa Si and Anne!  Lots of food and good company.

18:07 - Kev-O ends up in a discussion about the UK coaching predicament, vis-a-vis the recruits.  Kev-O, who just really wants a coach first, explains that the recruits can go wherever they want, and likely one or two will go to Arkansas, or wherever their second choice was.  They can do this because they aren't even students yet.  Kentucky has no control over their decision.  Lamenting how things worked back in the day, Ed decides to do a little research and calls his friend ...THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF ENFORCEMENT FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERNCE!  Now that is just showing off.  [Ed. Note - Kev-O was correct.]

18:21 - Papa Si comes out to the patio where we are eating, but he comes from a different direction than everyone else enters the patio.  Sinickal asks him why he came from the other direction, when he has company in the main room.  Papa Si responds, "You still have to go to the bathroom when you have company!"

18:26 - Papa Si delivers this gem, "Doctors find out what you love to do and then they tell you not to do that anymore!"

From here on out it is just all 10 of us in various conversations and having a blast, from Angel Reese, to Uber versus taxi, to public transportation in general, to moving back to cities, to basketball results, to nothing and everything.  Then ...

19:35 - Don's son calls and Don picks up.  His son says something that had to have been, What are you up to?  We hear Don say, "We are all trash talking!"

20:11 - Head to the airport to drop off Kev-O for his flight.

20:48 - Drop off Kev-O.

20:49 - Car with the license plate FBIAGNT stops in front of us.  UConn supporters jump out.

21:23 - Back to Raodhouse.

21:24 - Those workers moved quickly.  All of the scaffolding and temporary event stages are gone.  AND SO IS THE DUMP TRUCK!  Must have only been in the bar for the bike show.

21:46 - A guy and his guitar steps onto the small stage to perform and asks the crowd - all 8 people mind you - if they have any requests.  Random shouts out, "Tenacious D's Fuck Her Softly!"  Performer complies by playing that song.

21:49 - 22:12 - Guy plays a lot of Nirvana.  He is actually pretty good.

22:12 - We call it a night, and head back home.  Long weekend.

The Final Four Chronicles: The Finals


Well, we have made it to the Finals, where the top 2 teams for most of the year have lived up to their expectations and defeated 62 other teams [Ed. Note - 66] for the right of playing for the national championship.  But, before we get to the finals, there is golf, and an assortment of other wanderings around.

05:00 - Tony has a work meeting.  The wonders of working for an international conglomerate for which time zones don't exist!

06:00 - Kev-O and Pepster awaken to see that every single person they each know has texted them about Calipari heading to Arkansas.

06:32 - Sinickal, Pepster and Kev-O head out to golf.  Unfortunately Tony's back is not cooperating.

06:40 - Sinickal tells Pepster and Kev-O to remind him about Allison's outgoing voice-mail message from college.  Pepster asks, why don't we just call her now.  We do.  She is a little under-the-weather and hoarse, and can't stop laughing about at our request.  This is 4 minutes of hilarity, in which we don't ever hear what the message was.  We have to wait until later.

06:46 - Allison calls Silas back and leaves her college outgoing message on his voice-mail so we all can hear.  It was a personalized version among her and her roommate to Young MC's Bust a Move.  Hilarious.  And, a reason to post THIS!

06:52 - Enter Talking Stick.  A little history behind it ...


06:58 - Tell the pro shop attendant that our 4th will not be with us because he threw his back out.  We tell the attendant that we hope he can make the game tonight.  Guy makes a funny joke about about whether or not Tony can play tonight so he could make a bet on the game.  We all miss it.  Need some coffee.

07:03 - Sinickal is looking forward to a round of just roasting Kev-O about Calipari going to Arkansas.  Although Pepster is in the denial stage, Kev-O is clearly in the angry stage.

07:07 - Breakfast sandwiches in the recently renovated and re-opened clubhouse bar.  Place looks amazing.  Sandwiches are good, too.  We realize we missed dinner last night.

07:50 - First tee.  Radio Silence.


08:22 - Kev-O introduces Sinickal and Pepster to a "Transfusion."

08:55 - OK, so not completely radio silent, but the black guy tells the white guy, "I think it is a little flatter than you do," as they are both reading similar lengthy putts for birdie.

12:15 - Finish golf.  Nice track.  Kev-O played well.  Sinickal loosened up as the round went on, and Pepster finished strong.  Back at it tomorrow.

12:17 - One of the cart attendants tells the story of how he was clinically dead after an accident on August 17, 1999.  We are not entirely sure where this story even came from, and Kev-O manages to walk-away without seeming rude, leaving Sinickal and Pepster to fend for themselves.

12:28 - Pass a restaurant called "Dilla Libre" which signage claims they are the "Quesadilla Champions of the World!"

12:32 - At a red light and the woman driving the car next to us has no left hand, yet she is working her phone and eating a burrito all while driving!

12:37 - Arrive at home to clean up and head back out for lunch and Glendale - THE FINALS!!!

12:45 - Kev-O decides he is going to lean into the skid and just wear Kentucky gear and tell every UConn fan, "Thanks in advance for your coach!"

12:53 - Kev-O decides to tell every fan of every team that, except for Purdue.  Nobody wants Matt Painter.

13:29 - Head out to lunch.  Going to downtown Phoenix.

13:37 - Kev-O realizes, "We could hire Dawn Staley!!!"

13:38 - Sinickal tells him, you are going through about 25 stages of grief.  Thinks of when he should bring up to Kev-O that, "You could hire Kim Mulkey!"

13:39 - We notice that we have seen a way larger number of people with a missing limb than we would ordinarily see in our regular lives.

13:40 - We pass a shirtless guy at a bus stop who is just approaching the street and flipping off every car in traffic.

13:46 - We also notice a whole lot of people just dragging luggage around town.

13:47 - We pass a Waymo with the rider in the front passenger seat.  We decide she is a sociopath.

14:12 - Enter the Arrogant Butcher in downtown Phoenix.  This is the UConn host bar.  It is quiet.  Guy makes a crack at Sinickal who responds, this bar has UConn energy - which is none.  We leave.

14:18 - Enter Chico Malo for some food.

15:15 - Start to leave Chico Malo.

15:16-15:26 - Have a long conversation with a former UConn player who graduated from 1995, who we cannot identify, even after later viewing the roster.  He says he was Kevin Ollie's roommate.  Much smack talk among schools occurs.

15:18 - Guy is seriously bragging about the run that Connecticut is going through in the last 2 to 3 decades and says, "There must be something in the water."  Kev-O snaps, "Syphilis."  Guy replies, "No, there's no syphilis.  A couple of crabs, I ain't gonna lie!"

16:13 - Parked at State Farm Stadium, or technically WestGate Center outside of the Stadium.

16:21 - Buffalo Wild Wings, again.  Easiest place to get into in WestGate.

16:53 - Pepster notices a guy wearing a "23" Iowa State jersey.  Sinickal states that it is too bad he isn't wearing a "23" jersey for the best player from Iowa, Roy Marble.  The two extoll the virtues of Marble as a player.  Kev-O says, "I don't know if you two are doing a bit, or if you are serious!"

17:00 - Old-timer sitting next to Sinickal is a St. John's fan who went to Fordham at his first Final Four.  Lots of good basketball discussion, until this, "Matt Painter is a good coach."

17:28 - Get tab.

17:48 - Finally get to pay tab.  Walk to State Farm Stadium begins.

17:53 - Lawrence Taylor just asked us for tickets.  Kev-O says, "Anyway kids, don't do crack!"

17:55 - Evangelist preaching about how you would love and cherish someone that paid your monetary debts, we should do the same for someone that took your sins away.  Pepster yells out, "I'll take False Analogies for $800 Alex."

17:56 - See another evangelist with a microphone.  Kev-O asks, "Is that a Trump Bible?"  Guy basically tells Kev-O he is going to hell.  Kev-O says, "See you there!"

17:57 - Guy is now being annoying and just really trying to single us out as we are trying to walk to the stadium, saying we need Jesus in our lives.  Sinickal tells him that Jesus just went 4-4 against the Astros.

Note, our comments are not against religion or even religiosity, but rather these evangelists that show up with a microphone outside big events are the absolute worst.  We see them every year, and most of them aren't even properly citing scripture, and are really just making things up.  We wonder what they did wrong in life that they thought they had to make up for it in this manner.

17:59 - Enter the outside security perimeter and a guy sees the orange "S" on Sinickal's shirt and says, "Hey, Superman!"

18:02 - Inside the stadium, on the escalator, and Sinickal starts his first "Let's Go Orange!" chant.

18:18 - Introduction of the UConn starters.  Pepster realizes that the dapman is the most underrated player on the college basketball team.  Sinickal remarks that he is the Get-Back Coach of college basketball.

18:21 - Tip-Off, and radio silence.


18:31 - From the Jumbotron Kev-O points out that Bobcat Goldthwait is cheering for UConn.

18:37 - Annoying UConn trust fund kids are standing the entire game.  Lots of people behind them getting angry at this point.  So we tell the kids they are getting in the way of the fans behind them, and there are appropriate times to stand and cheer based upon the ebb-and-flow or rhythm of the game, but just not the entire game.  They demonstrate that they do not understand rhythm.  Kev-O adds, "Also, get a haircut!"

19:10 - It is halftime and UConn wins 36-30.

19:20 - Tony notices that the UConn cheerleaders are very diverse.  They have every shade of white.

19:35 - We realize that UConn is going to go on a run, and that we might be able to make a decision to beat the foot traffic at the under-12 timeout.

19:50 - Exit the Stadium.

19:51 - As we are exiting the stadium we see that Carson Palmer's number is retired - BY THE CARDINALS!  This is ridiculous.

19:55 - As we are walking to Westgate a younger guy in a Purdue shirt was also leaving and asked for whom everyone that was leaving, i.e. us, was cheering.  We see his Purdue shirt, and he says he had to leave because he got kicked out.  He gave the double-bird to a UConn fan in the men's room.

19:58 - Kid, seeing Kev-O's UK fit, asks if Kentucky was going to hire Rick Pitino.  Kev-O and Pepster contemplate multiple felonies.

19:59 - Kid, asks Kev-O if he went to school there, since, you know, most UK fans didn't.  We all laugh because "game recognizes game."  Kid dropped a serious grenade, and deserved some credit.

20:01 - Enter Yardhouse, find four seats at the bar.  Good choice to leave early as this game is really over.

20:31 - UConn wins.

21:03 - One Shining Moment, not a lot of basketball plays this year in the montage.

21:15 - Leave Yardhouse.

21:48 - Leave parking lot.

Time Unknown - Arrive at Big Si and Anne's house to pick up a car, as we will need multiple cars for our luggage and golf clubs tomorrow.

Time Further Unknown - Arrive at our house, in bed within 30 seconds!

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

THIS is What Dominance Looks Like: The NCAA Block Squares Pool

Twelve consecutive NCAA Tournament games won by double digits. 

A win differential of +140. The highest in tournament history (they were +120 last year).

Lost three guys from the 2023 team to the NBA and came back better.

THIS is what a dominance looks like.

The UConn men's team now has six National Championships in the last 25 years. The is tied for third all time with North Carolina, and trailing Kentucky with eight and UCLA with eleven. The notable piece here is how good UConn has been in era of the 64/68 team tournament. There have been two dominant teams since 1995 when the tournament expanded to 64 teams, Duke with five championships and UConn with six. No other team has more than three. And considering that UConn has done this with three different coaches, it is absolutely incredible what is going on in Storrs. 

Oh, and just for giggles, the men's and women's teams combined are 17-1 in national championship games!

Purdue? Well, lets just add them to the long line of Big Ten "almost got one's." The Big Ten has now lost its last eight finals game appearances since Michigan State's national championship win in 2000. Unfortunately for the Big Ten, that isn't even the most recent national championship for one of its schools as the University of Maryland beat Indiana (yup, a Big Ten school) in 2002. They then joined the Big Ten in 2014. 

I have spent years in this space trashing the Big Ten as a conference, and Virginia and Purdue as underachieving dogs in this tournament, but if you are gambling on them annually in this tournament, you likely also live on the streets since you can't afford anything else.

Congratulations to Andrew Capuana for winning the final game this year! With another successful Block Squares Pool in the books, we move on to the Master's. This truly is the best week in sports. 

Thanks everyone! And see you next year.

--Your Tournament Host


Monday, April 8, 2024

The Block Squares Pool

Just a note to remind everyone that UConn is the Home team tonight against Purdue. This is established by the overall seeding for the tournament as published by CBSSports.com. 

—Your Tournament Host