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?!

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.

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!

The Final Four Chronicles: The Interregnum

 

It is the day between the games, or as Kev-O refers to it, "My Favorite Day of the Weekend!"  We know we have brunch reservations, and we know we are going to see Papa Si and Anne.  I wonder if there will be any interesting basketball news today.  [Ed. Note - There will be.]

07:00 - Pepster awakens.

07:22 - Big Wigg, already showered comes outside to the patio.  Our first vacation cigar of the day.

08:20 - Sinickal comes out of his room to join the crowd.

08:35 - Sinickal is talking to Big Wigg and Pepster about golf, and more specifically about this prediction Sinickal made back in 2011 about TIGER WOODS.  He begins telling a story about a bet he made with a friend of his that Tiger would not catch Jack Nicklaus (Sinickal taking the side that he wouldn't).  That bet was made so long ago with Tiger not winning enough majors that the person he bet has died.

08:36 - Pepster opines that it is an easier bet that Tiger Woods catches syphilis before he catches Nicklaus.

8:38 - Tony, who has been up for awhile, enters the fray.

08:39 - Followed by Kev-O.

09:31 - Planning on which sports bar to go to prior to brunch so we can see as much of the women's championship as possible, and settle on Zipps.  Pepster immediately perks up because he thinks that is where Sir Mix-a-Lot and his crew went in the song My Posse's on Broadway.  Turns out, it isn't.  The line is "But Taco Bell was closed, the girls was on my tip.  They said go back the other way we;ll stop and eat at Dick's."  The entire crew is so disappointed that Pepster messed up this lyric.  But nobody more disappointed than Pepster.  Well, at least we have an excuse to post some Mix-a-Lot. 

09:56 - Strolling through social media looking for tidbits on the women's game and Pepster comes across this post from one high school basketball teammate to another.  "G - let's bet.  I got South Carolina.  You can have Iowa and the refs!"

09:57 - Pop into Tacos Jalisco for some breakfast tacos and/or burritos.  We picked it partly because it was close.  And, it really was.  We could have walked.

09:59 - Turns out we can order the breakfast burrito with asada AND chorizo!

10:03 - This is REALLY good.  Nice little dive with a walk-up counter, and it is open late night.  This could be an important thing to remember.

10:19 - Strange guy with unmatching workout clothes walks into and out of the bathroom with a strange bag.  As he walks out, he goes and stands in the parking lot just looking around, and gets into a car that randomly pulls up.  Tony thinks this is strange.  Sinickal notes, "The Italian sitting with his back to the wall and facing the front door is pointing out shady behavior!"

10:26 - Sinickal telling a story about a scientific study his friend insists he read about magical phermones possessed by redheads.

10:28 - Sinickal and Kev-O remember that they forgot to tell us about how an accordion player was playing live in the Minneapolis airport on Friday - at 7:45 in the morning!!!

10:30 - Mexican music videos playing on the television in Tacos Jalisco.  One comes on in which the lead singer in tactical gear with a V/R headest kills someone, and then dances over him dressed as a furry.

10:31 - As we exit Tacos Jalisco, Kev-O states that he had never before seen a Nissan Rogue tac'd out.  Tony notices the K-9 on duty sticker on the back door window.  

10:37 - Dunkin' Donuts for some coffee for Sinickal and Kev-O.  The woman working the drive thru had a lot going on with her look and fit.

10:41 - At a stoplight next to the "Champagne Train", a pink-painted school bus designed for parties.  Women are dancing, screaming and twerking.  Tony opens his window.  Kev-O does not.

11:24 - Discussing games from last night and Sinickal points out a tweet that notes the most notable thing about Forrest Gump is that he graduated from Alabama.

We also pick up on a discussion we had last night about the best woman basketball player ever.  Pepster and Sinickal start off the conversation with there could only be two answers.  Then he says that someone in his club brought up Anne Myers.  That person is wrong.  It is Cheryl Miller or Diana Taurasi.  Nobody else.  This translates into a discussion of Dawn Staley's cumulative playing and coaching careers.  Just outstanding!

11:58 - Enter Zipps.  Told we can't stand at the bar because it is a "walkway".

11:58:30 - Exit Zipps.

11:59 - Enter Clancy's.  Pretty full, but not packed.  We are able to get a table.

12:05 - A man standing at the corner of the bar during the national anthem on television.  Since people are still talking and ordering food and drinks and workers generally doing their jobs, he yells out, "Be quiet, I am trying to listen to the song!"

12:06 - Kev-O looks back at him, and he is not wearing shoes, and his belt is in his hand.

12:07 - We decide he must be an Iowa fan.

12:08 - He leaves the bar after the anthem and never returns to Clancy's.  He just popped in for the anthem!

12:10 - Dawn Staley looks like she took her jacket from a Missy Elliott video.  Twitter finds out the jacket costs $5,370.

12:15 - A Great Value Brand Freddie Mercury exits Clancy's.

12:16 - Tip-off.

12:16 - First Iowa basket, this is an obviously Iowa-heavy crowd.

12:32 - One guy at the corner of the bar cheers for South Carolina.  He must be our reinforcement.

13:01 - Good game in the first half.  If they didn't show the score we would never have thought South Carolina was up.

 13:31 - Leave for our brunch reservations at SumoMaya.

13:45 - Enter SumoMaya.  This brunch is AMAZING.  Seriously, check out THIS MENU.  You pay for an entree, and they bring unlimited tapas-style appetizers to the table.  Just first-rate food with a great atmosphere.  Danielle and Trey join us for brunch.

15:15 - Remarking to Trey that his people - Purdue fans - are here in droves.  He says he is pretty proud.  Tony says it is because they are looking for an excuse to leave Purdue.  Kev-O notes that they call it West Lafayette, not Best Lafayette.

15:16 - Kev-O telling a story about the first time he brought his wife Susan home to Kentucky, and that when they arrived in Lexington, Tony interrupts with, "you put her on a horse!"

15:47 - Leave SumoMaya.

16:07 - Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers.  Different one than before.

16:15 - Sinickal's long-time family friend Don shows up.

16:24 - Don, who is originally from St. Louis, starts talking about his grandfather who graduated college in St. Louis in 1904.  Asks us if we know what happened in St. Louis in 1904.  Pepster knows this one - it was the Summer Olympics!

16:30 - Don says that "One of my kids loves Amsterdam."  He is asked which kid.  He names his son, then says, "My other kids have problems traveling outside of Scottsdale!

16:34 - Waitress asks if we need another round, looks at Kev-O's drink and says, "Your drink looks sad."  Pepster adds, "Drinks tend to look like their owner."  Kev-O responds, "I may be sad, but I am also not deaf!"

16:35 - Papa Si and Anne, Sinickal's parents arrive.

16:36 - Sinickal introduces Kev-O to his parents as "Hopps' replacement".

16:39 - Papa Si, seeing our shirts - asks how we are connected to Southwestern Central.  Answer, "We created it!"

17:34 - Long discussion about the Dali/Key Bridge accident.

17:53 - Papa Si regaling us about the restaurant at the Fairmont Princess at which he had a very expensive lunch while looking at a potential condominium in the same complex.  Sinickal says, "If you can't afford the burger, you can't afford the condo."

17:55 - Don says to Kev-o about buying a house in the 5s - you can't even sit in Scottsdale for $500,000.00!

18:32 - Sinickal to Anne, his Mom, "You didn't have a problem beating me and trash talking."  Her response, "That's 'cause you couldn't play!"

19:03 - Long discussion, continued from the day before and earlier today, who is the second best basketball player from Duke?

19:20 - Long Barbershop talk.  Papa Si exclaiming that he still goes to the barbershop.  "I have hair on the side!"

19:22 - If Ice Cube and Queen Latifah don't say it happened, then it doesn't happen!  Sinickal's comments on barbershops.

19:28 - After a long argument made by Anne, Papa Si responds, "My point was ..."

19:48 - Leave Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers.

19:50 - As we pass a store alongside the road, Tony asks if it is open.  When told yes, he says, "Oh, I thought it was midnight!"

19:54 - A DOG IS DRIVING A CYBER TRUCK!!!

19:57 - We find out that John Calipari is discussing the head coaching position at Arkansas.  Remember, Kev-O is a Kentucky alumnus and Pepster is a long time Kentucky basketball fan.  They are crestfallen.

19:59 - The group discusses Calipari replacements, and Jay Wright is first on our list.  Danny Hurley comes up and Sinickal, forever twisting the dagger, says, "Why don't you throw money at Danny Hurley?  Except, for him, that would be taking a step down!"

20:15 - Back at home.

21:11 - Start watching #BlackAF

21:15 - Confirmed Calipari is going to Arkansas.

21:16 - Kev-O needs a minute.  Steps outside.

21:16:18 - Tony to Kev, "Just put the cig out before you fall into the pool!"

21:19 - Kev-O realizes, "There is not enough whiskey in the world for me right now!"

21:45 - Kev-O decides to hit the hot tub.  Pepster joins later.

22:51 - Kev-O and Pepster leave the hot tub to go to bed.  Kev-O ends the evening with, "Arkansas, huh?"

Arkansas, huh, indeed!!!

2024 NCAA Tournament Pool Results Round 2/Day 1

 

If you are looking for upsets, yesterday was not your day to watch basketball, as seven of the games resulted in the better seed winning.  The only exception to that 5-seed Gonzage defeating 4-seed Kansas, and even then Gonzaga was a betting 4 1/2 point favorite - if anybody is into that sort of thing.  What that game did do is elimate one of our potential champions for the third day in a row, as did North Carolina's methodical dismantling of Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans.

Our remaining champions are:  ALABAMA, Auburn, ARIZONA, BAYLOR, CONNECTICUT, CREIGHTON, DUKE, Florida, Florida Atlantic, GONZAGA, HOUSTON, ILLINOIS, IOWA STATE, Kansas, Kentucky, MARQUETTE, Michigan State, NORTH CAROLINA, NORTH CAROLINA STATE, PURDUE and TENNESSEE.

In the first game of the day, the Dayton Flyers put up a bit of a fight against the Arizona Wildcats, but in then end Arizona's depth was too much and they won 78-68.  In the next game Gonzaga's offense was surgical in its precision 89-68 defeat of the Kansas Jayhawks which, admittedly, was missing its leading scorer Kevin McCullar, Jr.  After this, North Carolina crushed Michigan State 85-69 and Iowa State outlasted Washington State 67-56.

Then, the fun began!  11-seed North Carolina State beat Cinderella-darlings Oakland 79-73, a game in which Oakland's Trey Townsend was easily the best player on the Court playing all 45 minutes.    Close game, overtime, threes falling all over the place ... if you thought this was going to be the best game of the day, you might have been right as this game was followed by an ugly Tennessee 62-58 victory over Texas and Illinois absolutely shellacking Duquesne 89-63, which wasn't even that close.

And then, the magic happened.  Creighton, coming off a season in which they missed the Final Four by one shot, played host to 11 seed Oregon, who had to rip through a run in the Pac-12 tournament to even qualify for this tournament,in PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.  This game had runs, masterful - even dominating - individual performances, great unselfish team play, and it was close.  So, overtime wasn't enough.  How about DOUBLE OVERTIME!!!  And, since the North Carolina State - Oakland game was in the same arena, lots of free basketball for the fans.  This was the first time the same arena hosted multiple overtime games during the tournament on a single day since 1997!  Oregon's stars N'Faly Dante (28 points/20 rebounds) Jermaine Cousinard (32 points/8 rebounds) carried the Ducks all game - scoring every single point for the team in the second half, and all but 2 in the overtime periods.  But it was too much as Cousinard was visibly spent in the second overtime.  I would have felt sorry for him if it wasn't for the fact the Creighton's Ryan Kalkenbrenner, Baylor Sheierman, and Trey Alexander all played all 50 minutes themselves!!!  In the end, Creighton prevailed - and Your Tournament Host was extremely tired!

This means no bonus points for our pool.  It also makes for a very boring "Pick of the Day" award.  Gonzaga wasn't really an underdog despite being the lower seed - besides most of the pool had them.  That would leave NC State as an 11-seed making the Sweet Sixteen as a potential pick of the day, except that was chosen by 13 people, most of which are not even alumni (looking at you Cassi Spruill of Fairfax, Virginia, who apparently took along herr friend Clair Bullock from Columbus, Ohio into Wolfpackdom).

So, where does that leave us?  Well, Quinn Jackson of Reston, Virginia was the sole entry to select Oakland into the Sweet Sixteen.  That was a bold pick that was only eliminated due to an overtime loss.  But, it was still a loss.  Since no single pick stands out, our award for "Pick(s) of the Day" is going to go to .... George Fox 2 of West Palm Beach, Florida, who went an amazing 8-0 yesterday.  That's right, a perfect day by The Fantastic Mr. Fox helps him move up the leaderboard.

Given the lack of upsets and the fact only a couple of games were close, the round was pretty ho-hum.  But some of the stats coming out of the games were absolutely amazing.

Stats of the Day

11.  Washington State was 20-2 in games in which they held teams under 70 points.  Except, they held Iowa State to 67 and lost.  Make that 20-3.

10.  With NC State's victory over Oakland, the 11 seed is now 7-0 All-time over the 14th seed in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

9.  N'Faly Dante and Jermaine Cousinard of Oregon scored every single point for the team in the second half, and all but 2 in the overtime periods.

8.  Gonzaga scored an amazingly efficient 1.39 points per possession in defeating Kansas.

7. Dyaisha Fair of Syracuse scored 32 points in her first round tournament win in the women's tournament, the high scorer in a day in which a record 13 players scored over 25 points.

6.  Ryan Kalkenbrenner, Baylor Scheierman, Tre Alexander of Creighton played 50 minutes, N'Faly Dante of Oregon played 48, Jadrian Tracey or Oregon played 46, and Trey Townsend of Oakland played 45.  All putting in WORK!

5.  Tennessee forced Texas into 17 turnovers!

4.  On the other end of the spectrum, Iowa State committed only 1 turnover between the 4:30 left mark in the first half and 5:45 left in the game.

3.  With his 12 assists, Ryan Nembhard sets the single-season assist record for Gonzaga, surpassing Josh Perkins.  If you set a season record, you will probably be mentioned here.

2.  Same with career record.  Ryan Kalkenbrenner set the Creighton career block shots record previously held by Benoit Benjamin.

1a.  Oregon did not shoot its first free throw until there was 26.4 seconds left in regulation.  And only then because Creighton was intentionally fouling.

1.  Creighton has not had a player foul out in 53 straight games!!!

Hmmmmm, Benoit Benjamin ... Creighton.  Let's flash back to him.  Benoit Benjamin played at Creighton from 1982-1985, and, despite never making an All-American team while in college ended up being selected 3rd overall in the 1985 draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, ahead of people like Chris Mullin, Charles Oakley, Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, A.C. Green, Terry Porter, Arvydis Sabonis, Uwe Blab and Manute Bol.  (Just had to add Blab because it is fun to say).  He managed to play 15 seasons in the NBA for 9 different teams, never making much impact except being 7-feet tall.  Well, that's not a good history lesson.

So, hmmm, where to go next.  Well, the record Kalkenbrenner broke was for blocks.  The blocks leader for a single NCAA Tournament history is ... Jeff Withey from Kansas in 2012 with 31?  Yeah, that's not interesting either.  Especially since Anthony Davis is tied for second with 29, also from 2012, and Kentucky beat Kansas in the finals.  What could be interesting is that Joakim Noah is also tied for second with 29 in 2006, the year that the UCLA Bruins cheerleaders were mocking him for being ugly - something they took from me - but I have already told that story in previous blogs.  (Ask me if you don't know or don't remember).

Wait, here is something.  In 1992, a behemoth of a man-child set the single-game blocked shot record for the NCAA Tournament by swatting 11 shots against BYU.  That man, Shaquille O'Neal.

In the first round in Boise, Idaho, LSU, the seven seed, played BYU in the first round, with the Tigers beating the Cougars 94-83, behind soon-to-be number 1 draft pick Shaquille O'Neal's triple-double of 26 points, 13 rebounds and the aforementioned 11 blocks.  Maurice Williamson, the only other Tiger in double figures scoring, paced the team with 30.  This set up a second round matchup against number 2 Indiana.  The Hoosiers defeated LSU despite Shaq's 36 point, 12 rebound, 5 blocks performance.  Indiana was able to win behind its own 30-point effort from Calbert Cheaney - holder of one of the best baseline jumpers I ever saw - supplemented by Alan Henderson's 19.

Indiana would go on to defeat the 3rd seeded FSU Seminoles in the Sweet Sixteen 85-74, with Calbert Cheaney scoring 17, and unheralded Eric Anderson leading the way with 24 off-the-bench.  This might have been FSU's best ever non-Covid year basketball team, with Sam Cassell, Bob Sura, Douglas Edwards, and Rodney Dobard four of the starters and Heisman-trophy winning quarterback Charlie Ward playing significant minutes off-the-bench.  Coach Pat Kennedy always said that if Sura could see the rim from the parking lot he would put it up.  Indiana then advanced to the Elite Eight, where they boat-raced the 1-seed, Pac-10 champion UCLA 106-79, behind Cheaney's 23 and 22 from wunderkind Damon Bailey.  That UCLA featured Tyus Edney, Tracy Murray, American Pie singer Don McLean [Ed. note - not the American Pie singer], and a young Ed O'Bannon, who the tournament - and later the NCAA - would hear a lot from in later years.

In the Final Four in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Indiana would give a huge fight to Duke, losing 81-78.  Indiana succombed to Duke and Bobby Hurley's 26 points and only 8 from Christian Laettner - first game post-Kentucky shot [Ed. Note - I STILL HATE CHRISTIAN LAETTNER].  Speaking of 30s for 30, Duke went on to defeat Michigan 71-51, but nobody cares about those winners.  The staring lineup of the runners-up - Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson, Chris Webber, and Juwan Howard - might go on to become famous for something or other.  Hint:  It's The Fab Five.

Those guys were some players ... and speaking of players ...

Players of the Day

10.  Caleb Love, Arizona - 19 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

9.  Jaylen Wells, Washington Stae - 20 points

8.  Jack Gohlke, Oakland - 22 points, 8 rebounds (6 three-pointers)

7.  Steven Ashworth, Creighton - 21 points (10 in overtime!!!)

6.  RJ Davis, North Carolina - 20 points

5.  DJ Burns, North Carolina State - 24 points, 11 rebounds at 6'9", 275 pounds

4.  Terrence Shannon, Illinois - 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals

3.  Jermaine Cousinard, Oregon - 32 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists

2.  Trey Townsend, Oakland - 30 points, 13 rebounds

1.  N'Faly Dante, Oregon - 28 points, 20 rebounds

Note, the top 3 players all played on losing teams!!!

Because the games were primarily uneventful, interesting social media was quiet except for all of the Fire Calipari stuff.  So ... let's say goodbye to Jack Gohlke.

Social Media/Quotes of the Day

1.  Goodbye Jack Gohlke - may you forever be remembered in hell for beating Kentucky, and by everyone else for a heckuva a tournament run.

Ok, so let's get to the standings.  Double-check your scores and contact me if you have any questions or if you think I missed something.  I will be happy to double check.

Standings after Round 2/Day 1

1.  Braeden Helland - 66

     Blake Jackson - 66

3.  Brian McMahon - 65

4.  Marcus Jackson - 64

     Allison Parker - 64

6.  Jody Cox - 63

     Bill Ganoe - 63

8.  Josh Zdrowak - 62

9.  Measha Williams 3 - 58

10.  Jeff Plamondon - 57

       Rich Samuels 4 - 57

       Amanda Staudt - 57

13.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 56

       Kevin Dick - 56

       Bill Ganoe 1 - 56

       Ty Hedgpeth - 56

       Chris Simmons - 56

18.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 55

       Paul Cummings 2 - 55

       George Fox 2 - 55

       Miles Jackson - 55

       Max Macon 3 - 55

       Day Yi - 55

       Bubba Zdrowak - 55

25.  Mark Holbert - 54

       Quinn Jackson - 54

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 54

       William Pujals - 54

       Justin Yung - 54

30.  James Coleman - 53

       Bill Ganoe 2 - 53

       Kingfish Parham - 53

       Pepe Sosa - 53

       Cassi Spruill - 53

       Keith Zdrowak - 53

36.  Joel Chernoff - 52

       Carolyn Fowler - 52

       Jacey Reynolds 2 - 52

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 52

       Skip LaForte - 52

       Rich Samuels 5 - 52

42.  Alvaro Gonzalez - 51

       Dave Piasecki - 51

       Ashley Poer - 51

       Cheryl Spuhler - 51

       Jeremy Spuhler - 51

47.  Paul Cummings 3 - 50

       Matt Hopps - 50

       Javier Rodriguez - 50

       Rich Samuels 2 - 50 

       George Walks 4 - 50

       Measha Williams 1 - 50

       Measha Williams 2 - 50

54.  Paul Cummings 1 - 49

       Silas Nichols - 49

       Marcus Spruill - 49

       George Walks 3 - 49

       Keith Wynne - 49

       Amy Zdrowak - 49

       Keith Zdrowak - 49

61.  Justine Frank - 48

       Max Marion 1 - 48

       Si Nichols - 48

       Rich Samuels 3 - 48

65.  John Hedgpeth - 47

       Max Macon 3 - 47

       Sean McInerney 2 - 47

       Matt Okell - 47

       Lee Pagan - 47

       Ryan Rodriguez - 47

71.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 46

       Jacey Fowler (1) - 46

       Dan Laishley - 46

       Max Macon 2 - 46

       Sasha Moon - 46

       Brittany Sosa - 46

       Lily Spuhler - 46

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 46

79.  Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 45

80.  Melissa Gaynor - 44

       Tyler Giamberini - 44

       Rich Samuels 1 - 44

       Logan Spuhler - 44

       George Walks 2 - 44

85.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 43

       Nick Kuehl - 43

       Max Marion 2 - 43

       Max Marion 4 - 43

       Chris O'Neil - 43

       Jessica Samuels - 43

       George Walks 1 - 43

92.  Clair Bullock - 42

       James Garvin - 42

       Shane Jernigan 1 - 42

       Karen Katz - 42

       Michael McNally - 42

97.  Jenna Finkelstein - 41

       Adam Jorgensen 1 - 41

       Adam Jorgensen 2 - 41

       Dawn Lamb - 41

       Derrick Lowe - 41

       Max Macon 1 - 41

       Kisha Marzouca 1 - 41

       Jane Reynolds - 41

       A.J. Ripin - 41

       Jamie Toole - 41

107.  Katie Kollmeyer - 40

         Cheryl Spuhler - 40

         Jonathan Wasserman - 40

         Mike Wolff 1 - 40

111.  George Fox 1 - 39

         Max Macon 4 - 39

113.  Barbie Curlett 2 - 38

         Chris Pettit - 38

         Savannah Grace Pressly - 38

116.  Guy Hughes - 37

         Mike Wolff 2 - 37

118.  Daniel Barsky 2 - 36

         Colleen Giamberini - 36

         Coco Wynne - 36

121.  Anne-Marie O'Neil - 35

         Barkley Sosa - 35

123.  Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 34

         Dave Marzouca 2 - 34

         Natalie Moon - 34

126.  Brent Bellinger - 33

         Noel Martinez 1 - 33

         Hannah Sosa - 33

129.  Barbie Curlett 1 - 32

         Arlene Amo Hopps - 32

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 32

         Sean McInerney 1 - 32

133.  Noel Martinez 2 - 31

         Dave Marzouca 1 - 31

135.  Stephanie Henderson - 30

         Jason Spuhler - 30

137.  Alyssa Hopps - 25

2024 NCAA Tournament Pool Results Round 1/Day 2

 

Welcome back all.  We have concluded the first round with some more surprises, but before we get to the tournament update, I have an update to the pool  We now have 137 entries.  "So Pepster, how did we increase in entries after the tournament has started" some you might ask.  Well, it is because I received the bracket from Karen Katz of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the mail, postmarked March 19.  She is now included in the standings.

Day 2 gave us some incredibly exciting games, the kind we missed on Thursday.  It all started in the 8/9 game pitting last year's darling Florida Atlantic against Northwestern and we got some free basketball.  Although Northwestern curb-stomped FAU in overtime, the game was back-and-forth most of the day.

Northwestern was not the only smart boys advancing to the second round as Yale outlasted SEC champion Aurburn 78-76, as Auburn Tre Donaldson missed 2 free throws with six seconds remaining that would have tied the game despite John Poulakidas of Yale pulling his best Jack Grohlke.

Another incredibly close - and exciting - game was Colorado over Florida 102-100 with Florida's Walker Clayton, Jr. making a three-pointing to tie the game at 100 with 9 seconds left followed by KJ Simpson rushing dow to hit the eventual game-winner with 3 seconds remaining.  A last-ditch heave by Clayton, who had 33 points in this game - came dangerously close as it hit the backboard.

All three of these games have one thing in common, they knocked out a champion in our pool.  Multiple people selected Florida Atlantic, Auburn and Florida.  Our remaining champions are:  ALABAMA, Auburn, ARIZONA, BAYLOR, CONNECTICUT, CREIGHTON, DUKE, Florida, Florida Atlantic, GONZAGA, HOUSTON, ILLINOIS, IOWA STATE, KANSAS, Kentucky, MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN STATE, NORTH CAROLINA, NORTH CAROLINA STATE, PURDUE and TENNESSEE.

Other close games include last year's finalist San Diego State defeating UAB 68-65, and Grand Canyon defeating Saint Mary's 75-66.  Grand Canyon joins Yale as being upsets worth bonus points in our pool, as was James Madison with its 11-point victory over 5 seed Wisconsin.  People in our pool had everyone of the upsets, and each of these upsets was guaranteed by multiple people, meaning lots of movement in the standings.  Another game of note is that 6th-seeded Clemson handily beat New Mexico 77-56 to be the only 6 seed to advance to the second round, as the 3 other 11 seeds all won on Thursday.

As I mentioned, multiple people selected each of yesterday's three bonuses, and several even selected each as a guarantee.  But, since way more people selected James Madison and Grand Canyon that Yale, those that selected Yale get special mention.  Those include George Walks 1 of West Palm Beach, Florida, Jeff Plamondon if Lincoln, Rhode Island, Barkley Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida Coco Wynne of Delray Beach, Florida and Rich Samuels 1 of Palm Beach Gardens, FL.  They receive special mention, but the "Picks of the Day" Award goes to Cassi Spruill of Fairfax, Virginia, Day Yi of Forest Hills, New York, and Max Marion 4 of West Palm Beach, Florida.  Congratulations and now - You are all dead to me.  On a side note, I asked Barkley Sosa how on earth she can live under my roof and select Yale - FOR ANYTHING - and she responded, "I pick all the dog and wolf mascots that I can."  I went back and reviewed her bracket, and although accurate - still not an excuse.

In fact, entrant Kisha Marzouca of Boynton Beach, Florida, a college classmate of mine, texted me to say "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IVY LEAGUE BASKETBALL?!?! yasssss this is the only time a Harvard person will be happy for Yale"  She is a much better person than I.

Day 1 Kentucky loses; Day 2 Yale wins.  This tournament got me feeling like a Mint Condition song, which coincidentally was on the radio when I did a breakfast run this morning.

And yes, I was at a red light when I took that picture.

And, since I am obviously in a cheerful mood, I will give an "Anti-Pick of the Day" award.  In the running was Colleen Giamberini of Boynton Beach, Florida and Alyssa Hopps of Quincy, Massachusetts who both slected Grambling over Purdue, but, that pick took guts.  Going out on a limb should be rewarded, not ridiculed, especially since we all know Purdue can lose a first round game as a 1-seed; they did it last year.  So, instead, the "Anti-Pick of the Day" award goes to Joshua Zdrowak of Tallahassee, Florida by way of Orlando, Florida who picked Auburn.  Why was this such a bad pick?  It is because he picked Auburn to win the Florida Atlantic-Northwestern game!  Congratulations Joshua!

Social Media Posts/Random Quotes of the Day

5.  Facebook post from a college classmate ... "It's weird to root for Yale for any reason.  I have a reflexive distaste for Yale -- until March Madness starts up.  And then Ivy League prode takes over.  It feels very unnatural but, to paraphrase Whitman, 'Do I contradict myself?  Very well then I contrdaict myself (I am large.  I contain multitudes...)"  - Much bigger person than me.

4.  Auburn basketball alumnus Charles Barkley, "We're not gonna lose to the smart kids, I'll tell you that!"

3.  When a play from Auburn-Yale game comes on the television and a zoom-in on a Yale player, Hannah Sosa of Riviera Beach, Florida commented, "He looks like he goes to Yale."  That's my girl.

And, since I am still not over the Kentucky loss

2.  From Twitter sent to me by Kevin Dick of Alexandria, Virginia, calling John Calipari the "Italian Doc Rivers."

1.  This was posted in the other pool run by this blog, but it needs mentioning here ...

Yeah, this tournament is killing me.

Stats of the Day

6.  Tre Donaldson from Auburn was shooting 82.9% from the free throw line when he stepped up and missed two free throws with 6 seconds left in game and Auburn down 2 to Yale.

5.  Zach Edey of Purdue pulled down 21 rebounds.

4.  Ryan Langborg from Northwestern scored 12 points - IN OVERTIME - as Northwestern downed Florida Atlantic.

3.  Iowa State Freshman Audi Cooks scored 40 points as Iowa State came back from a 20-point deficit to defeat Maryland in the women's tournament.

2.  Colorado had 14 assists in its first 14 made field goals in the first half against Florida.  (Finsihed the half 14 assists/17 made field goals).

1.  Northwestern scored 19 total points in overtime over Florida Atlantic.  That is the same exact number of points as they scored the ENTIRE FIRST HALF!

 Players of the Day

Honorable Mention - Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn -Ejecting for hitting a Yale player.

10.  Eddie Lampkin, Colorado - 23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists

9.  Tyrece Radford, Texas A&M - 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists

8.  Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State - 32 points, 8 rebounds

7.  Johni Broome, Auburn - 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

6.  Will Clayton, Jr., Florida - 33 points on 10/17 shooting and 7/7 free throw line

5.  Kam Jones, Marquette - 28 points

4.  Ryan Langborg, Northwestern - 27 points - 12 in overtime

3.  John Poulakides, Yale - 28 points on 10/15 shooting; 6/9 from three point range

2.  Mark Sears, Alabama - 30 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists

1.  Zach Edey, Purdue - 30 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks

So, looking at this list gives me the thought for the NCAA Tournament history lesson.  I watched a lot of the Florida-Colorado game, and Colorado's Eddie Lampkin is a force.  He is listed at 6'11 and 265 pounds, but I would bet his a good 25 pounds heavier than that, but not really fat.  He is super-light on his feet, and possesses a devasting bump-and-spin move which is virtually unguardable.  He reminds me a bit of former Boston College standout Danya Abrams, who albeit a bit shorter than Lampkin, was every bit as stocky and light on his feet.  He played at Boston College from 1993 - 1997, and during the 1993-1994 year Boston College had some very unique and interesting sports successes.

It all started on November 20, 1993, when the number 1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team traveled to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to play the 17th-ranked BC Eagles.  Boston College built a 38-17 lead into the fourth quarter with only 11 minutes left in the game.  Notre Dame came roaring back to take the lead 39-38.  Eagles quarterback Glenn Foley led the team on a last-minute drive that almost never happened as one of his passes bounced right off the hands of Notre Dame linebacker Pete Bercich.  Two completions to tight end Pete Mitchell and one to Ivan Boyd set up a 41-yard field goal which David Gordon converted as time expired to knock off the top ranked Irish.

Later that winter, the Boston College Eagles defeated the then number 1 ranked Boston University Terriers in hockey, setting up this story ...

Boston College entered the tournament as the 9-seed, and opened in the first round against 8th-seeded Washington State in Landover, Maryland.  Washington State was paced by Isaac Fontaine's 17 points as the Cougars narrowly lost to the Eagles 67.  Boston College had a monster game from Bill Curley with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while getting 17 points and 7 assists from point guard Howard Eisley.  Freshman Danya Abrams contributed 7 points and 9 rebounds in 37 minutes played for a team that was not very deep.  This victory advanced Boston College into the second round - where number 1 seed North Carolina awaited.

This Tar Heel team was loaded, and after playing a 71-51 warm-up game against Liberty in the first round, North Carolina's stars looked like they were just going to waltz into the Final Four.  Future NBAers all over the roster, UNC started Derrick Phelps at the point, Donald Williams and Brian Reese on the wings, Rasheed Wallace at the four and Eric Montross in the middle.  Jerry Stackhouse and Jeff McInnis came off the bench, as did sharpshooter Dante Calabria - who I have played against in league ball - to make the Heels way more talented and deeper than the Eagles.

But, I probably wouldn't be including this game in this post if the normal happened, and the Eagles shocked the basketball-watching world, winning 75-72.  North Carolina was paced by Eric Montross scoring 16 points, and Jerry Stackhouse contributing 15 off the bench.  Rasheed Wallace and Jeff McInnis also finished with double digit points.  Boston College, however, rode its starters as they scored all 75 of the teams points - led by Gerrod Abram's 21.  Bill Curley had 18 with Howard Eisley and Malcolm Huckaby adding 11 each.  The reason for the post - Danya Abrams scored 14 and had a team-high 10 rebounds - all while guarding Rasheed Wallace.

From there Boston College advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in Miami, Florida, where they defeated the 5th-seeded Indiana Hoosiers 77-68.  Abrams only scored 6 points in this game, but Eisley scored 18, Huckaby and Abram 15, and Curley 11 to defeat the Alan Henderson led Hoosiers.

Advancing to the Elite 8, the Eagles lack of depth and the SEC Champion Florida Gators ended BC's hope of a Final Four 74-66.  Abrams contributed 14 points and a team-high 9 rebounds to go along with Bill Curley's 20 and Howard Eisley's 19, but it wasn't enough.  For Florida, Craig Brown had 21 and Andrew DeClerq had 16 to pace the Gators.  For basketball fans, though, the highlight was watching Danya Abrams go head-to-head with Gator behemoth Dametri Hill, both of similar size and stature.  More wrestling than basketball, these two giants definitely pushed each other throughout the entire game.

Florida went on to lose to Duke in the Final Four, which in turn lost to Arkansas in the championship game 76-72.  That Arkansas team was one of the most exciting teams I have watched, Scotty Thurman, Corliss Williamson, Corey Beck and Dwight Stewart, but that is a story for another day.

Abrams was named first team All-Big East his next three seasons, and went on to play professionally for 11 years in various leagues around the world, and is currently in Massachussetts coaching.

So, back to the interesting year for Boston College, they defeated teh number 1 team in football, hockey, and basketball in the same season.

So, enough history...  on to the Standings... Please double-check your results as I do make mistakes.  I am happy to go back and review if you think I missed something.

Standings After Round 1/Day 2

1.  Braeden Helland - 56

2.  Blake Jackson - 54

     Marcus Jackson - 54

4.  Brian McMahon - 53

5.  Allison Parker - 50

6.  Jody Cox - 49

     Bill Ganoe 3 - 49

8.  Measha Williams 3 - 48

     Joshua Zdrowak - 48

10.  Miles Jackson - 47

       Rich Samuels 4 - 47

12.  Daniel Barsky 1 - 46

       Quinn Jackson - 46

14.  Jeff Plamondon - 45

15.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 44

       Ty Hedgpeth - 44

       Shane Jernigan 2 - 44

       Chris Simmons - 44

19.  Scott Bieterman 2 - 43

       Amanda Staudt - 43

       Max Marion 3 - 43

       Bubba Zdrowak - 43

       Katie Zdrowak - 43

24.  Joel Chernoff - 42

       Kevin Dick - 42

       Skip LaForte - 42

       William Pujals - 42

       Justin Yung - 42

29.  James Coleman - 41

       Paul Cummings 2 - 41

       Bill Ganoe - 41

       Kingfish Parham - 41

       Dave Piasecki - 41

       Ashley Poer - 41

       Pepe Sosa - 41

       Cassi Spruill - 41

       Jeremy Spuhler - 41

       Day Yi - 41

39.  Paul Cummings 3 - 40

       Kyle Henderson 1 - 40

       Mark Holbert - 40

       Rich Samuels 5 - 40

43.  George Fox 2 - 39

       Silas Nichols - 39

       Cheryl Spuhler - 39

       Keith Wynne - 39

47.  Carolyn Fowler - 38

       Justine Frank - 38

       Matt Hopps - 38

       Michael McNally - 38

       Si Nichols - 38

       Jacey Reynolds (2) - 38

       Javier Rodriguez - 38

       Rich Samuels 2 - 38

       Lily Spuhler - 38

       George Walks 4 - 38

       Measha Williams 1 - 38

58.  Paul Cummings 1 - 37

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 37

       Max Macon 3 - 37

       Marcus Spruill - 37

       George Walks 3 - 37

       Amy Zdrowak - 37

       Keith Zdrowak - 37

65.  Melissa Gaynor - 36

       Shane Jernigan - 36

       Dan Laishley - 36

       Max Marion 1 - 36

       Sasha Moon - 36

       Rich Samuels 3 - 36

       Brittany Sosa - 36

       Logan Spuhler - 36

       Measha Williams 2 - 36

74.  Matt Okell - 35

       Lee Pagan - 35

       George Walks 1 - 35

77.  Karen Katz - 34

       Max Macon 2 - 34

79.  John Hedgpeth - 33

       Max Marion 4 - 33

       Sean McInerney 2 - 33

       Ryan Rodriguez - 33

       Jessica Samuels - 33

84.  Scott Bieterman 1 - 32

       Clair Bullock - 32

       Jacey Fowler 1 - 32

       James Garvin - 32

       Tyler Giamberini - 32

       Rich Samuels 1 - 32

       Cheryl Spuhler - 32

       George Walks 2 - 32

       Jonathan Wasserman - 32

       Biscuit Zdrowak - 32

94.  Jenna Finkelstein - 31

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 31

       Nick Kuehl - 31

       Dawn Lamb - 31

       Derrick Lowe - 31

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 31

       Chris O'Neil - 31

       Jane Reynolds - 31

       A.J. Ripin - 31

       Jamie Toole - 31

104.  Colleen Giamberini - 30

105.  Adam Jorgensen 1 - 29

         Adam Jorgensen 2 - 29

         Max Macon 1 - 29

         Max Macon 4 - 29

         Max Marion 2 - 29

         Kisha Marzouca 1 - 29

         Barkley Sosa - 29

         Mike Wolff 2 - 29

113.  Katie Kollmeyer - 28

         Chris Pettit - 28

         Savannah Grace Pressly - 28

         Mike Wolff 1 - 28

117.  George Fox 1 - 27

         Coco Wynne - 27

119.  Guy Hughes - 25

         Hannah Sosa - 25

121.  Daniel Barsky - 24

         Barbie Curlett 2 - 24

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 24

124.  Anne-Marie O'Neil - 23

125.  Barbie Curlett 1 - 22

         Arlene Amo Hopps - 22

         Dave Marzouca 2 - 22

         Natalie Moon - 22

         Jason Spuhler - 22

130.  Brent Bellinger - 21

         Noel Martinez 1 - 21

         Dave Marzouca 1 - 21

133.  Carolyn Fowler & Jane Reynolds - 20

         Sean McInerney 1 - 20

135.  Alyssa Hopps - 19

         Noel Martinez 2 - 19

137.  Stephanie Henderson - 18