The Final Four Chronicles: Day 5 - The Departure

 

Not gonna lie.  This trip has been exhausting.  Not going to be much for the Departure, or at least not as much as in past chronicles.  But, we owe it to our readership, and to ourselves, to at least publish something.  So, here we go.

4:29 (C.D.T.) - OMG ITS EARLY:  Kev-O leaves for his flight to Chicago.  Yes, its an early flight, but it is for work, so it was either that or miss the Championship game.  Good choice Kev-O.

Also very early:  It may be early, but at least Kev-O got to have breakfast together with Tubby Smith at a burrito spot in the airport! 

06:00 - Kev-O wheels up for Chicago.

06:45 - Sinickal is up.

07:00 - Tony awakens and sees the door to Kev-O rooms closed.  Immediately panics.

07:00:30 - Phew.  Kev-O is gone.

07:30 - Pepster arises.

0730 - Sinickal is cleaning out the refrigerator. Late night drunken shopping at the Circle K and food deliveries from Taco Cabana may not have been our best idea. The inventory remaining in fridge includes six egg and bean burritos, a sausage egg and cheese biscuit, several candy bars, and a lot of Miller Lite and Bud Light. It's like we are reliving our late 20's here. 

07:30 - 08:30 - Prepare AirBnB for exit, and watch Bill Simmons' podcast. This house was interesting in that the washer and dryer were outside in the carport area. The instructions for exiting the house included stripping the beds and putting all dirty laundry on top of the washer. Outside. 

08:46 - Say goodbye to our lovely old home on Calhoun Street.

09:00 - At the Newstand for breakfast and coffee.  Breakfast sandwich here costs $17, but was we are on the way to drop Pepster at the San Antonio airport, we are kind of stuck.

09:06 - Sandwich arrives and it is HUGE!  Understand the $17 now.  Bacon, egg and pimento cheese sauce.  It is delicious!

09:50 - Drop Pepster off at airport.

11:15 - While on the plane for his 10:58 flight, the captain of Pepster's flight makes an announcement that the flight will be delayed an hour - until 12:15, since there is a ground stop at Fort Lauderdale international due to weather.  Apparently Miami airport is affected too.

11:18 - Some already served older men just start chanting, "It's Great.  To Be.  A Flo-ri-da Gator!"  Nonstop.  Well, they had their fun.

11:33 - Kev-O notes that his total sleep for the night/day was 5 hours, including the 45-minute nap he had in the cab from the airport.

12:16 - Pilot on Pepster's flight now announces that there is an additional thirty-minute delay, but that we will take off at 17:45.  As everyone does the calculations, Pepster has to reassure those around him that 17:45 announcement was Greenwich Mean Time, which would still be in thirty minutes.  (HE HOPES - GULP?!).

12:28 - Tony drops Sinickal off at airport in Austin

12:45 - Pepster is wheels up to FLL.

12:46 - Sinickal has finally gotten through TSA. Ignores the CLEAR line which has several hundred people in it. TSA Pre isn't a better option, so Sinickal ends up in the priority boarding line at regular TSA. Only a couple of people in the line, but now shoes come off and laptops come out. So common. 

12:58 - After a short wait and a waiver for being at the airport too early, Sinickal sits at the bar in the Delta Sky Club. Orders a bourbon and soda and says to the bartender "don't lose track of that bottle. I will be here a long time!"

16:34 - Pepster wheels down in FLL.  Airport is a shitshow thanks to the ground stop.  We literally stop on the runway for 20 minutes until the tower can tell the pilot where to hide the plane - since no gates are available.

16:51 - Sinickal is wheels up to DTW

17:23 - Pepster is finally at the gate.

17:45 - Sinickal is at the Detroit Sky Club, which closes in 15 minutes. Is able to grab a drink and get a bite to eat. While eating, the staff keeps coming by and placing more food on my table saying that it is going to be thrown out so take all you can. Club is wild at closing.

18:50 - Sinickal is wheels up to DCA

18:26 - Pepster finally retrieves luggage.  That ground stop almost ruined this airport.

19:31 - Pepster arrives at home.

20:10 - Kev-O checks in from Chicago. His sales meeting attended the Cubs baseball game this evening. Kev-O didn't have warm enough clothes for the game and arranged with Sinickal to buy back a Cubs jacket that he purchased for the game. Unfortunately, the "Cubs gear lost to a Brooks Brothers sale in Chicago O-Hare Airport." 

21:15 - Sinickal arrives at home. 

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Kev-O gets rebooked on flight number 2 out of Chicago Midway, and the tequila bar forgot to keep their queso warm.  This reminds Kev-O of some things we forgot to mention on Finals night, namely that Ted Cruz was in attendance.  Since Texas teams always lose whenever Ted Cruz attends, Kev-O had originally dubbed him the Cancun Cooler.  After today's episode, Kev-O revises that to the Cancun Queso Cooler.

Friday, April 11, 2025

At some time, Tony will get to fly back home to New York, after spending the rest of this week in meetings in Austin, Texas.

The Final Four Chronicles: Day 4 - The Finals

 

We survived our meat coma and are raring to go.  Today is the Finals.  The culmination of the entire college basketball season, the culmination of every NCAA Tournament gambling pools, and the zenith of our trip.  Who will win:  The Florida Gators or the Houston Cougars?!

07:30 - Pepster awakens.

07:45 - Sinickal comes out of his room.

08:10 - Tony comes downstairs.  With laundry.  One of the "joys" of travelling a lot for work is you have to find a way to get some laundry done.

09:30 - The Bourne Identity is on.

11:11 - Watching The Right Time with Bomani Jones.  He has this gem about Houston's win over Duke, "Houston did it for everybody that has ever been raised right on this earth!"

11:13 - And this one, "Cooper Flagg doesn't feel nearly as insufferable as you would expect someone named 'Cooper Flagg' to be."

11:52 - Enter the Ridge at the Hill for lunch.

12:06 - Kev-O says that Southwestern Central is like the beignets we had at NOLA yesterday, fluffy and substantial on the outside, but lacking any substance on the inside.

12:20 - Sinickal to Tony, "You are just using a fork to eat french fries to taunt us right now."

12:51 - To the Riverwalk we go.

12:57 - Pepster is talking about his issues getting a seat reserved for his flight home. Sinickal suggests that he must be flying Southwest. Pepster replies "I wish!"

13:12 - Enter Mad Dog's British Pub.

13:13 - While walking up to the bar, each of us hit a Florida fans' Cowboy hat that was sticking into the aisle as he was wearing it, because IT WAS IN THE AISLE.  He looked at us as if we did something wrong.  Buddy, that hat is wrong.

13:22 - Techno dance remix of "I Won't Back Down!" Eight Gator fans just pulled a Sally from When Harry Met Sally

13:26 - Tony asks the bartender if they have Topo Chico.  She says, "Yes!"  Comes back, "No."  Maybe some downstairs?

13:28 - Throwback stained glass at the British pub.

Maybe the "God Save the King" one is on back-order.

13:39 - So many people wearing Florida hockey sweaters.

13:52 - They don't really like Ted Cruz in this part of the state.  This is in the bathroom.

13:53 - We think Ted Cruz and Rick Pitino are related vampires.

14:08 - DJ plays Kendrick Lamar, and at the correct part, nobody in the bar is chanted "O-V-Ho".  We are so disappointed, and none more disappointed than Pepster.

14:09 - Never mind.  More disappointed.  Nobody else yells out "A-Minor!"  That is a worse omission.

14:30 - Crazy discussion on the Intricacies of Monitoring the Transfer Portal for NAIA schools.

14:46 - We remember the discussion we had about Zach Collins at River North Icehouse yesterday while watching the Bulls game.  Sinickal says, "That is a good-looking white man.  6'9".  NBA player.  Just running through the Chi.  I fully expect to see in the news come playoff time that "Collins is out for 2 to 3 weeks.  Unspecified STD."

14:49 - Free Green Tea shots!

15:12 - Free Coors Lites.

15:13 - DJ plays Baby Got Back.  Sinickal remembers that back in the day, white girls with small assess on the dance floor trying to twerk.  Pepster chimes in, and when a guy starts to push up on her and she backs it up, guy gets injured!

15:18 - DJ LAZ!!!

15:19 - Pepster tells a story about DJ LAZ being from Miami and getting in an accident resulting in him now having one leg shorter than the other. Sinickal is angry that he can't come up with the correct G-Reg, 7th Floor Crew joke.

15:30 - Time to journey to the Hard Rock.  This is the University of Florida's home bar.

15:36 - While waiting to order a drink at the bar, a much older gentleman walks up to Pepster to ask him if he could order a margarita on the rocks for his wife.  Pepster asks if he can have the wife's number.  Man responds, "I don't know it!"  After that line, yes, we can order a margarita for your wife.  Guy tries to hand Pepster money, Pepster says, it's OK.  Your response was hilarious.  Turns out the guy lives in Pepster's home town, and the lady he gave the margarita to was a smokeshow.  Turns it it was his daughter-in-law.  Not sure why he called her his wife, but we are too many drinks if for a psychological evaluation.

16:00 - Sinickal meets another Syracuse alumnus and they start a Let's Go Orange chant.

16:11 - On to County Line Barbecue.  Sinickal and Pepster immediately recognize this place as the location where we crucified Hopps back in 2018.  You can see some of that HERE!

16:12 - We tell Kev-O about the curcifixion story.

16:18 - Tony and Sinickal's friends from the "Profession" join us.  Marty and Craig were in town as sponsors of a golf tournament.

17:54 - Leave County Line.

17:55 - As we are walking the Riverwalk, we hear Freestyle coming out of Fat Tuesday's - Lil Suzy and Gucci Crew!

18:04 - Pepster receives a text from Racecar.  It reads, "Have so much fun.  Go Gators.  Don't be sloppy.  That was for the Gators not you.

18:08 - Tony's friend from the "Profession", Diane, joins us for the walkup to the game.

18:28 - Enter Francis' Bogside.  You might remember this is the official Duke bar for the weekend.  Pepster orders a Makers rocks, splash of Duke tears.  Waitress says that they are only serving simple drinks this weekend.  We think Pepster's order broke her.

19:06 - We are disappointed that we did not keep a running tally on cougars spotted.

19:37 - Leave Bogside for stadium.  It's two blocks away.

19:51 - Tipoff.  We forgot to get a picture.

Radio Silence during game.

20:44 - Houston dance team dances to Teach Me How to Dougie.

21:01 - Second half starts.  After only 4 fouls in the first half, there is no way anybody can get into foul trouble.

22:09 - Florida wins!!!

22:13 - While making our way into the lower bowl to watch One Shining Moment, we pass a guy wearing a "Girls Are Drugs" tshirt.

22:21 - Olivier Rioux stands on his own two feet to cut the net.

22:23 - One Shining Moment.  They have like 4 total plays from the Finals.  Definitely had to re-cut that to add some good plays from the earlier rounds.

22:42 - Leave the Alamodome.

23:10 - In the car.

23:30 - Home already, after some seriously Brooklyn driving by Tony to get us out of the parking lot!

23:31-00:00 - Final beers and reminiscing as we prepare for next year.

ROCK FIGHT!!! The NCAA Block Squares Pool

 

We have a champion?

Sure. Congratulations Florida, you won a nearly unwatchable rock fight. In person, it was an even more brutal watch. Foul after foul in the second half. So many missed shots throughout the game. And Houston, what the hell were you doing in the last 10 minutes of that game?!

We were trying to figure out what was going on inside the stadium in the second half of this mess. After a poorly played, but efficient 1st half (4 total fouls called), we could only assume that CBS called down to the floor to remind the refs that they had ad sales to get through. 

The 2nd half of that game opened with 5 fouls on Florida inside of the first 3 minutes of play. Then a technical foul on the Florida bench. Ten next 12 fouls called in the game went against Houston putting their two big men on the bench and tilting the action in favor of Florida. Apparently, working the refs really does work!

Florida came from 12 points down in the 2nd half to win this, and their defense down the stretch was outstanding. Still, what in the fu&k was Houston doing offensively in that game? Their offense consisted of dribbles and handoffs 25 feet away from the basket for the majority of the shot clock, then an awful and contested shot heaved at the rim with the hope of an offensive rebound. It seemed to be the most reliable play they had for the last 12 minutes of the game.

Worse to watch was the ending. Houston's last three possessions in the game ended without a shot. 

What did we just watch?! 

I don't know, but I guess I was just happy to be in person to watch 7' 9" Olivier Rioux cut down his portion of the net without using the ladder. Again, he is a walk-on and a redshirt at the University of Florida. That is insane.

Sports are insane. 

Congratulations Gary Ventimiglia! With three blocks won including the final, he is our big winner in the block squares pool. A list of all of the winners during the tournament is provided below.

I will be closing the tournament throughout the day. If you are a winner, you will receive your award via the method you paid your donation to the tournament.

As always, it has been a joy to host this tournament and I hope that those of you reading the posts enjoyed the engagement. We will see you down the road.

--Your Commissioner

2025 NCAA Tournament Pool (Preliminary Results)

 

As I sit on the plane on the tarmac because of a groundstop for weather in Fort Lauderdale, I will give you the preliminary pool results.  Give me some time this week to go do final recalcualtions of those brackets at the top, and then I will send out the winnings.

1.  Measha Leonardo Williams - 184

2.  Paul Cummings - 170

3.  Steven Usma 2 - 165

4.  Matt Hopps - 163

5.  George Walks 3 - 162

6.  Justine Frank - 159

     Jane Reynolds & Carolyn Fowler - 159

     Measha Donatello Williams - 159

9.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 158

10.  Guy Hughes - 157

11.  Alyssa Hopps - 155

12.  Pepe Sosa - 154

13.  Mike Wolff 2 - 152

14.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 151

15.  Vincent Plamondon - 150

16.  Rachel Bornn - 149

17.  Xavier Conway - 148

18.  Max Macon 3 - 147

       Sean McInerney IIII - 147

       Silas Nichols - 147

21.  Mark Holbert - 146

22.  Shane Dogmillionaire - 145

23.  Jazz Piasecki - 144

24.  Kyle Henderson 1 - 143

       Dave Wilson - 143

26.  Max Macon 1 - 142

27.  Katie Kollmeyer - 141

28.  Brent Bellinger - 138

       Kevin Dick - 138

       James Garvin - 138

       Lily Spuhler - 138

       Jonathan Wasserman - 138

33.  Jenna Finkelstein - 137

34.  Sean and Barbie McInerney - 136

       Jeremy Spuhler - 136

36.  Preston Holbert - 134

       Jason Spuhler - 134

38.  Dan Barsky 1 - 133

       Dave Piasecki - 133

       Mike Wolff 1 - 133

41.  Benny Frank Finkelstein - 104

42.  Jonathan Cox - 132

43.  Martha Kroesen - 130

44.  Shane Jernigan - 129

45.  Caroline Spuhler - 127

46.  Kingfish Parham - 126

       Barbie McInerney - 126

       Ashley Poer 2 - 126

       Brittany Sosa - 126

       Stacia Wilkaitis - 126

51.  Max Macon 4 - 125

52.  Theo Frank - 124 

       Hannah Sosa - 124

54.  Christina Gomez - 123

       Adam Jorgensen - 123

56.  William Pujals - 122

       Cheryl Spuhler - 122

 58.  Javier Rodriguez 2 - 121

        Rich Samuels 1 - 121

        Day Yi 2 - 121

      

61.  Bill Ganoe 3 - 120

       Alvaro Gonzalez - 120

       Marcus Jackson - 120

64.  Sean McInerney III - 119

65.  Braeden Helland - 118

       Dan Laishley - 118

       Measha Raphael Williams - 118

68.  Brandon Satterwhite - 117

       Bubba Zdrowak - 117

70.  Dan Barsky 2 - 116

       Eric Inge - 116

       Kisha Marzouca - 116

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 116

74.  Measha Michaelangelo Williams - 115

75.  Chris Simmons - 114

       Marcus Spruill- 114

       Steven Usma 3 - 114

78.  Kline Kroesen - 113

       Logan Spuhler - 113

80.  Steven Usma 1 - 112

       Steven Usma 4 - 112

82.  Sean McInerney II - 111

83.  Kyle Henderson 2 - 110

84.  Colleen Giamberini - 109

       Natalie Moon - 109

86.  Sasha Moon - 108

87.  Ty Hedgpeth - 107

       Chuck Whitcomb - 107

89.  Paul Cummings 2 - 106

       Salvatore Plamondon - 106

       Joshua Zdrowak - 106

92.  Joel Chernoff - 105

       Karen Katz 2 - 105

94.  George Walks 2 - 104

95.  Christina Zanzig - 103

96.  Dustin Lansing - 102

       Si Nichols - 102

98.  Rich Samuels 2 - 101

99.  Max Macon 2 - 100

       Justin Yung - 100

101.  Javier Rodriguez 1 - 98

102.  Jacey Fowler II - 96

         Allison Parker - 96

         George Walks 4 - 96

105.  John Hedgpeth - 94

106.  Jeff Plamondon - 93

107.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 91

         Karen Katz 1 - 91

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 91

108.  Day Yi - 90

109.  Jim Coleman - 89

         Katie Zdrowak - 89

 113.  Sean McInerney 1 - 87

          Biscuit Zdrowak - 87

115.  Ashley Poer 1 - 85

         Keith Zdrowak - 85

117.  Quinn Jackson - 84

118.  Carolyn Fowler - 82

         Jane Reynolds - 82

120.  Jacey Fowler I - 81

121.  George Walks 1 - 77

122.  Tyler Giamberini - 75

123.  Jessica Samuels - 74

         Amy Zdrowak - 74

125.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 73

         Dave Marzouca - 73

127.  Chris LaForte - 71

128.  Ferris Spuhler - 69

129.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 66

         Amanda Staudt - 66

131.  Stephanie Henderson - 63

132.  Luna Frank - 60

133.  Wes Wiggins - 59

134.  Barkley Sosa - 41

2025 NCAA Tournament Pool Semi-Finals Results

 

Final Four Standings (Post-Semi-finals)

1.  Measha Leonardo Williams - 156 - FLORIDA

2.  Max Macon 3 - 147 - HOUSTON

3.  Paul Cummings - 142 - FLORIDA

4.  Brent Bellinger - 138

5.  Steven Usma 2 - 137 - FLORIDA

6.  Matt Hopps - 135 - FLORIDA

7.  Preston Holbert - 134 - /FLORIDA

8.  Dan Barsky 1 - 133 - HOUSTON

      George Walks 3 - 133 - FLORIDA

10.  Jonathan Cox - 132

11.  Justine Frank - 131 - FLORIDA

       Jane Reynolds & Carolyn Fowler - 131 - FLORIDA

       Measha Donatello Williams - 131 - FLORIDA

14.  Bill Ganoe 1 - 130 - FLORIDA

15.  Guy Hughes - 129 - FLORIDA

       Shane Jernigan - 129 - HOUSTON

17.  Alyssa Hopps - 127 - FLORIDA

18.  Kingfish Parham - 126

       Pepe Sosa - 126 - FLORIDA

20.  Theo Frank - 124 

       Mike Wolff 2 - 124 - FLORIDA

22.  Brent Bellinger 2 - 123 - FLORIDA

       Christina Gomez - 123

       Adam Jorgensen - 123

25.  Vincent Plamondon - 122 - FLORIDA

26.  Rachel Bornn - 121 - FLORIDA

       Javier Rodriguez 2 - 121

       Rich Samuels 1 - 121

       Day Yi 2 - 121

      

30.  Xavier Conway - 120 - FLORIDA

        Bill Ganoe 3 - 120

        Alvaro Gonzalez - 120

        Marcus Jackson - 120 - HOUSTON

34.  Sean McInerney III - 119

       Sean McInerney IIII - 119 - FLORIDA

       Silas Nichols - 119 - FLORIDA

37.  Mark Holbert - 118 - FLORIDA

       Dan Laishley - 118

       Measha Raphael Williams - 118

40.  Shane Dogmillionaire - 117 - FLORIDA

41.  Dan Barsky 2 - 116 - HOUSTON

       Eric Inge - 116

       Kisha Marzouca - 116

       Brigadier General Kareem Montague - 116

       Jazz Piasecki - 116 - FLORIDA

46.  Kyle Henderson 1 - 115 - FLORIDA

       Measha Michaelangelo Williams - 115 - HOUSTON

       Dave Wilson - 115 - FLORIDA

49.  Max Macon 1 - 114 - FLORIDA

       Chris Simmons - 114

       Marcus Spruill- 114

       Steven Usma 3 - 114

53.  Katie Kollmeyer - 113 - FLORIDA

       Kline Kroesen - 113 - HOUSTON

55.  Steven Usma 1 - 112

56.  Kevin Dick - 110 - FLORIDA

       Kyle Henderson 2 - 110 - HOUSTON

       James Garvin - 110 - FLORIDA

       Lily Spuhler - 110 - FLORIDA

       Jonathan Wasserman - 110 - FLORIDA

61.  Jenna Finkelstein - 109 - FLORIDA

       Colleen Giamberini - 109

       Natalie Moon - 109

64.  Sean and Barbie McInenery - 108 - FLORIDA

       Sasha Moon - 108

       Jeremy Spuhler - 108 - FLORIDA

67.  Ty Hedgpeth - 107

       Chuck Whitcomb - 107

69.  Paul Cummings 2 - 106 - HOUSTON

       Salvatore Plamondon - 106

       Jason Spuhler - 106 - FLORIDA

       Joshua Zdrowak - 106

73.  Joel Chernoff - 105

       Karen Katz 2 - 105 - HOUSTON

       Dave Piasecki - 105 - FLORIDA

       Mike Wolff 1 - 105 - FLORIDA

77.  Benny Frank Finkelstein - 104 - FLORIDA

       George Walks 2 - 104

79.  Christina Zanzig - 103

80.  Martha Kroesen - 102 - FLORIDA

       Dustin Lansing - 102

       Si Nichols - 102 - HOUSTON

83.  Rich Samuels 2 - 101

84.  Max Macon 2 - 100

       Justin Yung - 100

86.  Caroline Spuhler - 99 - FLORIDA

87.  Barbie McInerney - 98 - FLORIDA

       Ashley Poer 2 -98 - FLORIDA

       Javier Rodriguez 1 - 98

       Brittany Sosa - 98 - FLORIDA

       Stacia Wilkaitis - 98 - FLORIDA

92.  Max Macon 4 - 97 - FLORIDA

93.  Jacey Fowler II - 96

       Allison Parker - 96

       Hannah Sosa - 96 - FLORIDA

       George Walks 4 - 96

97.  John Hedgpeth - 94

       William Pujals - 94 - FLORIDA

       Cheryl Spuhler - 94 - FLORIDA

100.  Jeff Plamondon - 93

101.  Bill Ganoe 2 - 91 - HOUSTON

         Karen Katz 1 - 91

         Kisha Marzouca 2 - 91

104.  Braeden Helland - 90 - FLORIDA

         Day Yi - 90

106.  Jim Coleman - 89

         Brandon Satterwhite - 89 - FLORIDA

         Bubba Zdrowak - 89 - FLORIDA

         Katie Zdrowak - 89

 110.  Sean McInerney 1 - 87

          Biscuit Zdrowak - 87 - HOUSTON

112.  Ashley Poer 1 - 85

        Logan Spuhler - 85 - FLORIDA

        Keith Zdrowak - 85

115.  Quinn Jackson - 84

         Steven Usma 4 - 84 - FLORIDA

117.  Sean McInerney II - 83 - FLORIDA

118.  Carolyn Fowler - 82

         Jane Reynolds - 82

120.  Jacey Fowler I - 81

121.  George Walks 1 - 77

122.  Tyler Giamberini - 75

123.  Jessica Samuels - 74

         Amy Zdrowak - 74

125.  Arlene Amo Hopps - 73

         Dave Marzouca - 73

127.  Chris LaForte - 71

128.  Ferris Spuhler - 69

129.  Dave Marzouca 2 - 66

         Amanda Staudt - 66

131.  Stephanie Henderson - 63

132.  Luna Frank - 60

133.  Wes Wiggins - 59

134.  Barkley Sosa - 41

The Final Four Chronicles: Day 2 - The Semifinals

 

Yes, we are here for fun and camaraderie, but it is all about the games - AND BOY WERE WE TREATED TO TWO GREAT ONES (at least the endings).  But, we will get to that.

07:00 - Sinickal awakens.

07:30 - Pepster comes downstairs.

07:42 - Liz, who was too tired to drive home last night, stayed in our spare bedroom.  She departs for home.

08:00 - Kev-O comes downstairs, all showered and ready for the day.

08:44 - Talking football and in somehow defending Bryce Young in that he just has a horrible team around him.  To prove it, Kev-O starts asking us (a) if we know who some of the players on their roster are; and (2) if we know where they went to college.  Pepster gets way more right (3) than he should have, but we went through like 20 people on the roster.  It is putrid.

0:900 - Nothing like a pre-10:00 Fat Joe reference.

09:45 - 8 mile is on, and it is the final rap battle scene!

10:12 - Everybody screaming "3-1-3.  Fuck Free World!"

10:30 - No Crossover:  The Trial of Allen Iverson.  Got to start off with a basketball 30-for-30.

11:00 - Heading to the Pearl for breakfast.

11:12 - Find $14 per 24-hour parking.

11:24 - Enter Southerleigh.  It turns out that Southerleigh received a Michelin Bib Gourmand.  And they are very proud of that.  Something "Michelin" is on every apron, and other accoutrements of the employees.

11:25 - See a Happy Hour table tent that advertises $1 wings.  Sinickal asks the bartender if those are available now.  Bartender says no, only on happy hour during the week.  Sinickal goes - well that was my next question.

11:42 - Tony drops fork, with sausage link still attached. Tony nearly jumped out of his skin trying to catch the falling fork. This was way funnier than it should have been.

11:52 - Our primary orders arrive (2 chicken and waffles, 1 sausage hash and 1 fried chieken-egg-cheese-bacon sandwich), and it is good.

13:03 - Tony comes back from the restroom and says, "You should never take a phone call while you are grunting in the bathroom."

13:05 - Sinickal and Tony's friends arrive, whom they know from "The Profession." Rozbeh and Krystina have their 2-year daughter Riley with them and although she is super tired, she is high fiving, toasting, and giving kisses to everyone. She is having a ball and so are we. 

13:25 - Sinickal relays the story from Krystina and Rozbeh's wedding of another of their geotechnical engineering friends, who asked Allison "Do you work outside of the home?"  Allison only is able to reply with, "Do you mean do I have a job?"

13:53 - A group of Houston fans walk in with a shirt that reads:  "Ready 4 more" - More what?  Final Four losses?

13:58 - Great discussion on the overrated academic credentials of the University of Virginia.

14:28 - Group picture before we all have to spilt up.

15:21 - Uber Ordered.  Not giving up this precious parking space.

15:37 - Driver immediately calls us to negotiate a route and a drop off point. He takes a weird route, but gets us really close to where we wanted to be in the Riverwalk!

15:41 - Holey Moley?  Kev-O asks.  "You mean like the Steph Curry tv show?"

15:41:15 - Yes, it is.  We are not here for indoor mini-golf, but they do have beer!

15:58 - Start our way up out of the Riverwalk and toward the Alamodome.

16:27 - Stop into Francis Bogside Irish Pub, one of a string a bars just a couple of blocks from the dome.  Turns out it is the Duke home bar.  Interestingly, the bartender only pours Kev-O, who is wearing his Kentucky shirt - a half pour.

16:30 - Sinickal walks out back to discover that Duke has used the patio areas in the back to link four bars together. All one big Duke bar. This makes Kev-O very unhappy. He doesn't need another reason to hate private equity.

16:34 - Discussed possible majors of some of the Duke fans we see.  That is all.

16:42 - Stop one Duke fan to ask, "Why are you wearing Carolina blue Jordans?"

16:43 - Tell another group of Duke fans to, "Not get cocky.  You only have Cooper Flagg for a few more days.  Maybe 1!"

16:49 - Discuss possible reactions by Duke fans if Kev-O makes, and wears, his "Christian Laettner was offsides" t-shirt.

16:54 - In Alamodome.

17:08 - In seats!!!  We are way up!

17:09 - Dude about 12 rows in front of us wearing a Harvard Jeremy Lin jersey.  Sinickal remarks that you couldn't even buy one of those when he was playing for Harvard.

17:10 - Tipoff of Florida-Auburn!

17:11 - Radio Silence for the first half.

17:11:05 - Pepster says, "A 7'9" guy would have won that tip!"

17:12 - Who are we kidding.  Kevin had this gem, "Is there a limit on ear size for males to be admitted to Auburn?"

17:13 - And, we found the blimp parking!

17:19 - From up here we can't tell the difference between Condon, Haugh, and Handlogten.  Chinyelu, though ...

17:52 - The McNeese State team manager comes up the stairs.  He is two seats in front of us and is a star.  We watched him take pictures with practically everybody.

18:39 - Auburn player flops.  Tony says, "Shoot him like a horse!"

18:57 - An older Duke fan was walking down the stairs.  He stops, puts on his sunglasses, and then puts two hands on the railing as he goes step-by-step, Kev-O asks if he is repelling.

19:49 - Florida wins behind Walter Clayton, Jr.'s 34 points and Alijah Martin's mesmerizing slam over two defenders.

20:25 - Auburn kids sitting next to Tony do not return to their seats for game 2.

20:26 - Tipoff Game 2.

21:19 - Kev-O, observationally, "Do they not teach college guys to wear a belt anymore?"

21:44 - On the concourse, Sinickal encounters members of the USA Basketball Under 19 team. They are trying to pick up some University of Houston students. Elite work from the young men.

22:43 - Put back dunk!!!!  WOW!!!

22:50 - HOUSTON WINS!!!

22:57 - As we are outside the Alamodome making our way off the campus, we pass an older guy with a really big Southern drawl talking on the phone.  he says, "They were crying like a little bitch!" Kev-O then walks into a pole.

23:04 - Head back to Francis Bogsides - Duke's home bar.  The bourbon tastes just a little sweeter.  Tony orders a vodka - ginger ale - with Duke tears!

23:42 - Head to Yardhouse, as it is the closest above-street access point to the Riverwalk.

23:43 - On our way out of Bogsides, Pepster starts a "Fi-re.  Shey-er!" Chant.

23:51 - Enter Yardhouse.  It is crowded!

23:52 - Exit Yardhouse.

00:09 - Pass by a Mobile smoke shop.  Think food truck, but for weed!

00:15 - Enter Dick's.

00:23 - We are in the streetside entrance, which has a bar for about 15 people.  Lots of Houston fans in this area of Dick's.  One of the particularly friendly Houston fans is from South Africa.  We tell him to take Elon back.

00:23:20 - "Elon is f'in American.  He is yours now!"

00:29 - White boy walks into Dick's wearing a "White Boy of the Year" hat!

00:57 - Acquiesce.  It's a big word like mayonnaise.

01:10 - Sinickal and Pepster explain the story behind Pepster's 2003 R. Kelly joke to Kev-O.

01:25 - Head home.

01:40 - Kev-O orders Taco Cabana breakfast tacos. Shooting for Bacon,egg and cheese. Uber Eats shows that the delivery person is on a bike. on the interstate. Shows up completely wrong order, but hey free tacos...