And the Winner Is: The Tournament Squares Pool

Congratulations Matt Hopps! You matched the final score of an absolutely horrendous final game last night and won the big prize in this pool.

Hail to the Victors?

I don't have a lot to say about that game other than eww! And if you think that was a hard game to watch on TV, be thankful you weren't there in person. At one point during the game, a drunken kid was running on the concourse telling everyone that this isn't a football game! I wasn't convinced that he was telling the truth. If they were throwing footballs at the rim, it might have been more entertaining. 

Alas, we have a champion. Michigan was the best team all year and deserved that win. UConn was a pest. A past champion playing with a muscle memory that let everyone know that they were not going away quietly. The fact that they were down 4 points with the ball with less than 30 seconds left in that game is a miracle!

That's enough about that game. I just need to get my head right for Detroit next year and hope that we get back to high-level basketball in the Final Four. Although we keep getting close finishes in games, we haven't seen really well played game in quite some time.

On to the Squares. Below are the final tallies for square wins. If you are a winner this year, I will be sending Venmo payments over the next several hours. 

Maybe I Think Dominance is Sexy: The Tournament Squares Pool

Two years ago, I wrote in this space that dominance should look like the UConn run to back to back national championships. That two year run included 12 consecutive NCAA tournament wins by double digits and a six game win differential in 2024 of +140. That point differential is the highest in the history of the NCAA tournament. 

The 2023 UConn team was outstanding. The 2024 UConn team was absolutely insane. And, I didn't think we would see anything like it for quite a while.

Well, the University of Michigan has entered the chat. Wow! 

I have thought for quite a while that this team was a juggernaut, and last night seemed to validate everything that I have seen from them all year. This with their best player injured and the entire front line in early foul trouble against Arizona.

Do you remember back in November and December when this team was putting up unreal tape against their out-of-conference schedule? 

Do you remember when they beat San Diego State by 40, Auburn by 30 and Gonzaga by 40 on consecutive nights in a Las Vegas tournament? I watched it and knew then that this Michigan team was the real thing. And now, they are the first team in NCAA tournament history to score 90+ points in 5 straight tournament games. Oh, and they won them all by double digits. 

They aren't going to get to a +140 point differential, but the Wolverines have been absolutely dominant in this tournament run.

So, I guess it is fitting that this juggernaut will face UConn tomorrow night for the national championship. 

UConn is not a patsy here. They will be playing in their third national championship game in four years. This is the first time this has happened since Kentucky did it from 1996 through 1998. A sore spot for your tournament host who still can't believe that Tony Delk hit those 6 3-pointers in the first half of that 1996 final game against Syracuse. Still hurts. A lot. 

Anyway, I am really looking forward to this final. Hopefully, it be more entertaining than the two games last night. 

As for the squares pool, we had two first time winners last night and neither was me. 

One more game to go!

Also, for those of you who follow the chronicles of the Southwestern Central Scorpions basketball program, please visit the newly opened merch store. 

--Your Tournament Host

Hey Jon, Is Something Stuck In Your Throat? The Tournament Squares Pool

When I woke this morning and turned on the television, the first thing I heard was NBC Journalist Willie Geist with this gem.

"Every time Duke loses on a buzzer beater, an angel gets its wings." 

Yeah. If you hate Duke, and many of you do, you had a great evening yesterday. And for those of us who hate both Tiger Woods and Duke, it was an amazing weekend! 

I am still trying to process what happened in the second half of that game. Duke at one time lead by 19 points, Cameron Boozer was doing anything he wanted and UConn made only one of its first 18 3-point attempts. I watched every second and still have no idea how they got back into this game. Or how they ultimately lost. This game was amazing! 

JUST HOLD THE INBOUNDS PASS AND WAIT FOR THE FOUL. THEY HAD TO FOUL!

To put this in perspective, #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament that led by 15 or more points at halftime were 134 - 0 all time. 

The other confounding thing about this Duke run is how they are collapsing to lose games. Duke's last four loses are as follows:

• Lost to Houston in last years Final Four after leading by 14
• Lost to Texas Tech after leading by 17
• Lost to North Carolina (who just fired its coach) after leading by 13
• Lost to UConn last night after leading by 19

I have no idea what to make of this. From the UConn side, I guess that is what a champions heart looks like. Or as better said by Stugotz on Twitter:

The other game was probably only interesting to a few of us that think Michigan is the best team in the tournament, had the over in the game, or were rooting for their square to hit. That was a dominant performance including a 21-0 run in what was a near perfect 1st half. 

As for the squares pool, your tournament host is still winless this year. It is the only important thing about the pool but, I guess I should post the winners from yesterday.

This is going to be exciting! We have a really good Final Four set for Indianapolis and the hosts of the two pools on the blog will be in attendance!

Look to this space for a live blog of our activities in Indianapolis, continued updates on the pools, and special surprised in the next day or two. 

--Your Tournament Host

Everybody in the 313, Throw Your Hands Up: The Tournament Squares Pool

I am really sorry for the delay in updating the pool today. I had to catch a really early flight this morning to Detroit to attend a relatives' funeral and I had no breaks to post until late in the afternoon. 

No matter, we are here and it is fitting that I had to come to Detroit Metro today since I have thought for months that the University of Michigan is the best team in the country. They are my bracket pick to win it all. 

It's a quick trip, but I have been in the airport (Romulus), Oak Park, Southfield, Eastpointe, Hamtramck, and a number of locations on the East Side. 

Have I been searching this hotel, the streets and the bars for hints of Hail to the Victors? Hell yeah I have! 

Am I searching ethnic neighborhoods looking for 7-footers of Spanish or German descent to see if they are related to centers playing for the team? Maybe. 

After that Arizona beatdown of Arkansas, am I concerned? Not even a little.

Look there are two juggernauts in this tournament and a number of really good teams that can win. This tournament is as talent rich as any we have seen in a number of years. There were two great finishes last night and two coaching blunders (same games), and I can only hope for more tonight.

As for the squares pool, your tournament host has not broken into the winners circle yet and this is making me anxious. For those of you who know me, an anxious host is a bitter and petty host. Let's hope that I can get a winner soon.

Good luck tonight everyone!

--Your Tournament Host

Cinderella Wears a Cement Slipper: The Tournament Squares Pool

We are on to the Sweet 16 and the most important lesson we have learned is that the impact of NIL and the transfer portal is significant! Early evidence suggests that the power conferences are going to dominate the NCAA tournament for the foreseeable future and there just doesn't seem to be a way to produce true Cinderella's anymore. Small school success will be ever more difficult because they will not be able to attract or hold onto real talent. 

It is true that Texas (11 seed), Iowa (9 seed) and Tennessee (6 seed) upset higher ranked teams to play in the second weekend, but like EVERY other school remaining, they are from power conferences. Teams playing in this year's Sweet 16 hail from the following conferences:

This is only the second time that the Sweet 16 has been made up of only power conference teams. When was the last time it happened? Last year. Yeah, Sorry George Mason, no second weekend basketball for you possibly ever again. 

Couple of other notes from the weekend:

• America's University has it's man! Welcome back to the Dome Gerry McNamara. Hopefully, we will meet you with some improved NIL commitments and set you up with a chance to really succeed.
• I will pat myself on the back for things I have written in this space in the past that continue to be true. 
• Kansas is not good is not good and that fouling strategy at the end of the St John's game was poorly executed and an indication of poor coaching
• I will continue to believe that Virginia is a trash fire that probably should have lost to Wright State on Friday
• Even with losing Florida last night, we still have a pretty chalky Sweet 16. I should have learned this would be the case a couple of years ago.
• For the second time in three years, I get the chance to remind you that an 11-seed is NOT a Cinderella. We are done with those Possibly forever. 
• Olivier Rioux, the 7'9" Florida Center recorded a DNP Coaches Decision yesterday. The only conclusion that I can draw other than he just doesn't like basketball is that I don't know ball at all.

As for the Squares Pool, the results are below. We have some people racking up a bunch of early victories! Congratulations to Tony Lasch, Karl Kailing and Ryan White as they are our only three time winners so far.

We have a couple of days to catch our breath, then we are back at it! Happy Monday everyone.

--Your Tournament Host

System Error: NCAA Tournament Squares Pool

Unfortunately, we are having some issues that require my attention at the Commissioner's Mansion and I didn't have a chance to write a post today. Here are the winners from Saturday's games:

Good luck today everyone! 

--Your Commissioner

A 40-Degree Day of Basketball: The NCAA Tournament Squares Pool

To quote the philosopher Stringer Bell, yesterday was "like a 40-degree day. Ain't nobody got nothing to say about a 40-degree day. Fifty? Bring a smile to your face. Sixty? Shit, they is damn near barbecuing on that motherfu&$er. Go down to 20, they get their bitch on. Get their blood complaining. But forty? Nobody give a fu&k about 40."

Yesterday, I watched some of a lot of games. Went to dinner and missed a few games. Saw the really important stuff like the end of the Kentucky-Santa Clara game and gladly didn't see more than a couple of minutes of the Florida-Prairie View game. Well, I did see Olivier Rioux enter the game in garbage time for Florida and record 2 points, 2 rebounds and an assist. I still can't understand that situation. He is 7'9" and cannot get on the floor! Friends have told me that my obsession with him is unnatural, and I get it. But as I wrote last year, this has to be considered the most incredible story in sports. I still believe that. 

But I digress. The point I was trying to make is that yesterday was a 40-degree day. When everything was done late last night all of the favorites advanced, save a couple of 9 seeds beating 8 seeds. 

Chalky ball with some standout performances. Most notable to me was Tarris Reed from UConn. 31 points and 27 rebounds last night against Furman, and UConn needed every bit of it. Reed outrebounded the Furman team and it is the first 30/25 in the NCAA tournament since Elvin Hayes did it 58 years ago. Just a dominant performance.

As for the squares pool, the Day 2 results are below. This wraps up Round 1 meaning that games are now worth 50 points.

On to Round 3. Good luck everyone!

--Your Tournament Host

A Sad Day One Notebook: The NCAA Tournament Squares Pool

As many of you know, I am a proud alumnus of America's University - also known as Syracuse. Unfortunately, our men's basketball program is currently in a down period and while this is my favorite time in the sports calendar, this is a sad time.

Despite it all, I have to believe that this situation will all work itself out and we will get back to prominence. Eventually. I hope. Damn, I really hope it happens soon! 

Why did I start this post this way? Well, it informs how I have to watch the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament this year. I have the goal of doing some advance scouting of potential coaches to help recover the glory of America's University. With that, here are some of my notes from the first day of games:

• First, watching 16 games each on Thursday and Friday, and 48 games total over the first weekend is a job. I am out here grinding! Yesterday featured three different bars and my basement for viewing. Thirteen HARD hours.
• The first bar of the day, Walters Sports Bar was live! High Point University had the largest watch party yesterday with at least 25 bougie, purple clad alumni losing their minds. There was a lot going on in this game. High Point played from behind and in critical situations without fear and with great confidence. Definitely a sign of outstanding coaching. Is the next stop for Flynn Clayman an interview at America's University?
• Also, what about Wisconsin. My lord! Wisconsin has lost in the first or second round of the tournament in 6 of the last 8 years. And, one of the years that they didn’t make the tournament was because there was no tournament due to COVID. They are a disaster for a major conference program! 
• Nebraska? The only early window blowout? As noted by friend of the blog Kev-O, Nebraska basketball has existed since 1896. This was their first NCAA tournament win.
• Louisville survived the University of South Florida yesterday, but they are in trouble in this tournament! USF couldn't buy a basket in this game and we discovered that Louisville can't handle full court pressure. USF shot just 39% from the field and 15% (5 for 33) from 3 yesterday. Putrid. And they were still in this game. Solid coaching performance from Upstate NY native Bryan Hodgson. Is his next stop an interview at America's University?
• What an effort from Sienna yesterday. They simply ran out of gas at the end of that due to a lack of depth. Four of the five starters played all 40 minutes of the game and Gerry McNamara only made his first substitution with 0:10 left in the game to give a foul. Even Jon Scheyer had to admit he had been outcoached by the Syracuse alumnus. Does this mean that the next stop for Gerry McNamara is an interview to be the next coach of America's University?
• How about McNeese? Also a valiant effort that waned late. I would be willing to entertain a interview with Billy Armstrong to lead America's University, but only if Amir Khan is hired also as a paid graduate assistant. You remember our favorite student manager from last year, don't you?
  
  
• How about the old guys? Tom Izzo is still getting it done. He is only 71? He has been head coach at Michigan St for 31 years. And talk about stability, the school has only had two coaches since 1975. On the other end of the spectrum is John Calipari. Everywhere he lands, he builds the exact same long, athletic team. Acuff and that Arkansas team are going to be a tough out.
• BYU's AJ Dybantsa is a beast! He scored 50% of his teams points and it needed to be more. Also, did anyone else note that the BYU basketball team represents like the French National Soccer Team?

  

  
  
• St. Louis! And Robbie Avila! I wonder if we can get Josh Schertz out of his extension and get him into America's University for an interview. 
• After watching that North Carolina debacle, I feel like I am going to have to start talking about them like I do the University of Virginia. As a dumpster fire. If you don't remember my tirade about that, you can revisit it here.
• What about Michigan, Texas A&M, Houston, Illinois and Gonzaga you ask? Yeah, I watched them. 

With the first day of games completed, we have our first slate of winners. Congratulations to Mick Magee and Kyle Armstrong for being multiple winners on Day 1. 

On to Day 2!

--Your Tournament Host

NCAA Tournament Pool - 2026 - The Road to Indy (Pre-Tournament Sosa Household Brackets)

 

The NCAA Tournament Pool for 2026 recap/results will be posted here.  But for now, to invalidate any accusations of cheating when I win, the 4 brackets of the Sosa Household are posted here.

Tune in for all of the tournament reports to follow.

NCAA Tournament Pool - Sosa Family Brackets

For fairness purposes, I always post my household family's brackets, so nobody can accuse me of doctoring up our picks or of cheating.  Although having never really won in a long time should be enough evidence of that, enough of you are trash talkers that I am going to avoid any potential problems.  There might be a few more "Sosa" entries by noon tomorrow, but those are family members that I really, really want to beat, and they don't live in my house, so no need to embarass them publicly by including their brackets.  Here we go!

 

Final Four Chronicles - The Departure

Day 5 - Tuesday, April 5

Yes, it is the day of departure from New Orleans, but that doesn't mean there still isn't stuff to do, say, see, or hear!!!!

5:30 - Kev-O arises for his early trip to the airport.

7:00 - Kev-O wheels up to D.C.

8:15 - Pepster arises.

8:30 - Racecar calls Pepster and asks, are you going to any museums or cemetaries?  [Ed. Note - We do love the World War II Museum in New Orleans, we just didn't have the opportunity to see it this trip.]

9:00 - Sinickal comes downstairs.

10:45 - Uber to Sinickal's hotel, the Queen and Crescent (Sinickal's flight out is tomorrow morning.)  As an aside, we did clean up the AirBnB, which was easy to do, but we were amazed at some of the checkout instructions, things like - set thermostat to 70, take all trash to the bins outside, put all dishes in the diswasher, remove all signs and clean up all confetti and glitter.  What did they think we were doing?

10:49 - Song comes on radio and Pepster mutters to Sinickal, "Strong start for a song."  Driver thinks we are complaining so he just changes the station saying, "Is it too early for this song?"

11:02 - To Acme Oyster House for lunch, but Acme Oyster House is closed.  Oh well, next trip.  To Felix's.

11:03 - Enter Felix's.

11:12 - First batch of oysters arrive.

During lunch - lots of talk about Tiger Woods - who stated he was going to play the Masters - and talks of states and various laws pending or being lobbied regarding their age of consent for marriage.  All but 6 allow marriage for girls under the age of 18.  ONLY 6!

13:30 - Walk into Fat Tuesday's as an homage to a previous Key West trip.  We do not want a sugary Fat Tuesday drink, but we can get a beer to go.  Except ...  all tables have been removed as have all beer/wine.  Sugary slushy drinks to go only.  We pass.

13:33 - Enter Cornet's.

 13:41 - This pulls up right outside our window at Cornet's ...

So that he doesn't miss out we send this pic to Kev-O, who immediately texts back, "I wonder where he was January 6!"

14:56 - Couple walks in wearing Kansas gear.  Sinickal asks, "Have they taken away your trophy yet?  It has been 24 hours."  Followed by, "At least Mark Emmert would have gotten the name of my school right."  [Ed. Note - for those that didn't hear, when awarding the championship trophy to Kansas University, the President of the NCAA, Mark Emmert, announced Kansas City University.]  Pepster goes to remark that at least "Emmert might know which state Kansas is in," when we see the guy is wearing a shirt with the phrase "Great State of Kansas" over the outline of the State of Missouri.  Apparently this guy is one of us.

15:01 - Bad Boys on tv at Cornet's - without sound - but we both look up and the "I wanna be, I wanna be like Mike" scene is on.

15:05 - A guy at Sinickal's club gets his first hole-in-one today.  Sinickal mentions that his club has hole-in-one insurance, and everyone in the club is charged $2 each to go toward drinks for the hole-in-oner and his foursome!  

15:09 - Enter Cantina.  BOY IS THIS PLACE LOUD!  

15:10 - Pepster and Sinickal to each other, "What?"  "What?"

15:13 - Leave Cantina.

15:31 - Enter Bandstand.  This place was closed when we passed it earlier.  Glad it is open now.  And it has the champagne of beers!

15:36 - Sweet Home Alabama.  Some band always place this song when we are in Bandstand.  The make-up of this band is a bit different than the last couple of times.

15:51 - A dude in Kansas gear is still celebrating the victory by trying to dance.  It isn't working.

 15:55 - Enter Front Door.  (The name of the establishment, not just the location of the door.)

15:55:10 - 4 for 4 on bartenders.

15:59 - Pepster's flight is delayed from 19:55 to 22:05.

16:00 - Sinickal says, "Good.  Now I have a dinner date."

16:23 - Band plays Dust in the Wind by Kansas.  Dude just yelled out, "You're my boy, Blue!"  As people go to dap him up he admits that he just repeated a line that his girl just told him.

16:57 - Shoes untied.

17:00 - Enter The Beach.

17:01 - A whole conversation over the second person plural as bartender uses ya'll.

17:04 - 4 1/2 out of 5.

17:17 - Three people at the bar do a shot with the bartender and toast, "We should have stayed in school!"

17:20 - People down the bar complain that their beers are not cold.  Bartender comes back to ask if our beers were cold.  They weren't.  After explaining to her that they were not without trying to sound like they are complaining, bartender looks at Pepster and says, "You have a way with words my dude."

17:28 - Enter Dickie Brennan's for dinner.  Sit at bar.

17:30 - Rory the bartender introduces himself and asked if we were in town for the Final Four.  He says he was rooting for the blue team.

18:00 - As Pepster orders a twist of lemon with his Buffalo Trace, Pepster and Sinickal remember that the bartender from Bourbon House on Monday evening said, after we ordered Elijah Craig with a twist of lemon, "Oh, you are the twist of bourbon guys!"  [Ed. Note - This is the second consecutive Final Four in which we were somebody's guys.  At Bourbon House in New Orleans we are the "Bourbon with a twist of lemon guys."  At Runyon's in Minneapolis in 2019 we were one waitress' "Jameson Guys."]  Not sure how we forgot to put that in yesterday's blog post.

18:19 - Pepster takes a call from Racecar, who mentions that Tiger Woods is playing in the Masters.  She just starts to refer to him as "Little Big League!"

18:31 - Guy at the bar in a discussion with two other bar patrons says that he is, "Staying at I T O S, or some other hotel that is letters!"

18:34 - Couple next to us talking about George Foreman's names for all his kids and the lady says, "Can you imagine, Angie, Angie, Angie, Angie and Angie?"

18:40 - Another lady at the bar makes the comment that "All wine distributors look alike!".  [Ed. Note - this is the second consecutive Final Four trip that some version of "All ____ look alike " has appeared on our blog post.  In 2019 it was at Gigi's in Minneapolis, when the waitress confused Sinickal and Dr. Pepper.]

18:44 - Lady, who we assume is named Angie from the previous conversation, is a bit confused as to which direction Rory is delivering her appetizers.  "I never know if someone is coming from the back or the front."

18:58 - Lady on the other side is from St. Louis.  She finds out Sinickal is a Cubs fan and says, "Wrigley would be a cathedral of baseball if the would rebuild it like Busch Stadium."

19:35 - I thought you said a plastic fuck.  (Referring to a plastic fork in a to-go order.)

19:38 - Leave Dickie Brennan.

19:57 - Arrive at Queen and Crescent, a Marriott property.  Sinickal's room is not yet ready.  You may recall we arrived there just before 11:00.  Sinickal receives free drinks because of the delay.

18:00 - Free Buffalo Trace's.  Yes with a twist of lemon.

20:20 - While Pepster is outside waiting on his Uber to the airport which is 1 minute away, Earth Wind & Fire's Fantasy is on the airwaves from the hotel.  A great way to end the trip.

21:16 - Guy at the bar outside the gate is talking to a couple saying that he ran into Felix's when they opened at 11:00 today and has been eating and drinking all day.  He had to have seen us there, as we were in the front bar. 

22:11 - Pepster wheels up to FLL.

Final Four Chronicles - The Finals

 Day 4 - Monday, April 4

Championship Sunday!  Let's get after it!

7:55 - Sinickal arises.

8:15 - Pepster arises and comes downstairs.

9:15 - It's time for Winning Time.  Two episodes.

10:22 - Kev realizes the water is out.  Property management group tells us it is due to some construction up the block, but should be back on in an hour or so.

11:29 - While on the front porch, Kev-O almost witnesses a shooting.  A car pulls out of the Stab-and-Slam and almost hits a bicyclist that is clearly driving on the wrong side of the road.  Guy in car yells, "Wrong side of the road" to the bicyclist, who dismounts and walks toward the car.  A car door opens for someone to exit and Kev-O comes inside, "so he doesn't catch a stray!"

11:42 - Start walk to Acme Oyster House.

12:04 - Way too long a line at Acme Oyster House.  We need to find somewhere else to eat.  Lots of restaurants, but harder than you would think to find one.  Some are way too busy, some are closed on Mondays.

12:37 - Sinickal asks, "How much exercise is too much.  I am going to have to work off this exercise with some food!"

12:43 - A little wait at Crescent City Brewhouse.  We want to check to see if the bar has availability so we go inside what is apparently not an entrance.  Guy immediately rushes over and ropes-off the area in which we entered right behind us.

12:53 - Waitress with apparently some managerial authority is talking to the bartender about some problem table.  She tells him what to do (take care of all his other tables/bar customers first, then go to the problem table - apparently they just jumped the waiting list and sat down on their own, so the staff said they would have to wait a bit to be served.)  Waitress said, "We are not gonna get our panties in a bunch!"  Saw that we could hear the conversation and looked at us and said, "We are going to need them for the rest of the day!"

12:58 - The shucker isn't working at Crescent City Brewhouse.  So what started out at as lunch at Acme Oyster ends sadly with - no oysters.

13:08 - Boudin balls and alligator.  Still Louisianaing it up!

13:39 - We decide the beer is not very good.

13:42 - Nobody is buying our spare ticket.  We decide we should e-mail Coach K, as he doesn't have one for tonight!

13:56 - Will, a fellow member of Sinickal and Kev-O's golf club, joins us.  He came in last night just for the Final game.  He went to North Carolina and is decked out in Carolina blue.

13:44 - Kev-O asks us if we saw the bartender and the rooftop bar in the Virgin hotel on Saturday night be escorted out by management.  We did not.  Apparently the bartender might have been on something, and decided to get into it with a Duke fan.  Twice.  

14:14 - Apparently Tom Lennon is the bar manager at Crescent City Brewery.

14:26 - We explain Southwestern Central to Will.  Kev-O is still flabbergasted.  (This discussion lasts for quite some time0)

14:34 - Will decides he wants to try to get us actual coaching jobs at other schools.

14:37 - Will wants us to be on Last Chance U.

14:38 - Will is a great hype man.

14:39 - Kev-O still angry about Southwestern Central being in the northeastern panhandle of Oklahoma.

14:54 - Discuss the hog festival that was apparently in town this weekend.  We think it might have had bacon and ribs, but we don't know because we didn't go.

15:35 - Will is energized talking about playing in a golf tournament with a former member of their club also named Silas.  Apparently this Silas has some length in his golf game and plays at a +6.  Will says, "Yes, I know that you hit that drive 337 yards!  You know what is 337 yards away?  Those people's yard!!!

15:38 - "You smoked the ball, yeah, but IT'S OUT-OF-BOUNDS!"

15:39 - Will is having some type of Nam-like flashback over this tournament.

15:43 - Leave Crescent City Brewhouse.

15:49 - Will heads back to his hotel, we continue to our spot.

16:15 - Back at the AirBnB, we still don't have water.  Property Manager Nicole meets us at the property.  She says she is there to investigate.  Talks to the contractor down the street.  It'll be one more hour.

16:40 - Pepster takes a 20 minute nap.

17:15 - Still no water.  Gonna clean up as best we can, apparently.

17:37 - WE HAVE WATER!

18:00 - Head out into the mix.

18:04 - Carolina fan on one of the balconies yelling a little too hard at a Kansas-jersey wearing fan on the street.  About the Carolina fan Sinickal says, "He was hitting it a little too early for a 8:20 tip-off!"  Kev-O replies, "He looks like he will tell you his daddy is a lawyer!"

18:25 - Arrive at Bourbon House.

18:47 - Will rejoins us.

19:05 - Lady next to us puts salt and pepper in her cocktail sauce, for her raw oysters.  Doesn't she realize that the cocktail sauce and the horseradish combined add the spiciness for the oysters.  I mean, what is she doing!  She hasn't even tasted it yet. Pepster is way too angered about this than he needs to be.

19:09 - Ambulance right outside the restaurant on Bourbon Street.  Bartenders begin to ask, "what happened?"  Kev-O says, "Coach K's back must be hurting again!"

19:22 - Start walk to stadium

19:28 - See a young woman in a tight pink dress on a corner of an intersection by herself.  Nothing only looks about of place, but something seems amiss.  The light turns in her favor and she starts sashaying across the intersection.  And we see there is a guy on the other corner filming her walk.  Damn tik-tokkers.

19:36 - Stopped by the light and another intersection and a guy with a microphone is preaching.  As the light turns in our favor he gets to, "Jesus is the path!"  We tell him that, "The path is right here," and continuing walking.

19:47 - Enter stadium.  [Ed. Note - Entering the stadium was incredibly easy.  I don't know if it was because they had a number of entrances to spread out the crowd or some other factor(s), but ingress both nights was quick and easy.]

19:55 - Arrive at our seats!

20:08 - Preservation Hall Jazz Band performing the National Anthem!

20:20 - Tip-Off; radio silence.

20:58 - Sinickal and Kev-O go to the bathroom.  [Ed. Note - We don't always go to the bathroom in pairs, but stadium rules prohibit more than 2 drinks per person, so to buy 3 beers 2 people have to go in pairs.]  While Kev-O is washing his hands, a guy steps up next to him and proceeds to wash his hands down to the elbow, like he is prepping for surgery.  Another guy in ostrich boots and looks like he plays in a band says, "You are a thorough sumbitch!"

21:19 - Halftime performance by the Human Jukebox - the Southern University band.  [Side note, during the semi-finals Kev-O thought it was a missed opportunity that the Southern band did not perform.  Now we know why they didn't!]

22:39 - Dajuan Harris, Jr. stepping out-of-bounds is some Chris Webber-level mistake!

22:45 - Kansas wins!

22:47 - We change locations so we have: (a) a better view of One Shining Moment; and (b) easier egress afterward.

23:13 - One Shining Moment

23:18 - Make our way out of the stadium.

23:38 - Stop off at the Roosevelt Hotel Bar.  There is 1 bartender.  Place is relatively small, but packed.  She is working, but there is no way she can keep up with this crowd.

23:42 - Sinickal jawing with a good-natured Kansas fan by saying, "At least we got to keep our trophy!"  Kansas fan agrees this could be a good point.  [Ed. Note - For those that don't know, Kansas is under investigation by the FBI and the NCAA for potential criminal charges and other violations.  Sinickal's comments were spurred by a tweet he saw at halftime that read, "Bill Self is coaching like he wants to lose the game so that his championship doesn't get vacated next year!"

23:44 - Sinickal tells Kansas fans that they are going to have to return the nets also.

23:52 - Charles Barkley enters the Roosevelt Hotel Bar.  People are gawking, taking pictures, trying to talk to him.  All he is trying to do is walk to the bar to get a drink.  Sinickal remarks, "I would go say hi but I actually know him.  [Ed. Note - Sinickal does know him.  They have played golf together several times and run in similar circles in Scottsdale.]  Barkley immediately leaves because it is too crowded.

23:56 - Lone bartender yells to the doorman - "Don't let anybody else in!"

23:58 - Exit the Roosevelt Bar and enter Bourbon street for the trek home.

00:00 - See a guy wearing a shirt that says, "2-0 curveballs are why I have trust issues!"

00:04 - Sinickal strikes up some smack-talk with a girl wearing Kansas gear.  He tells her not to get too comfortable with the trophy as the championship isn't going to last long.  She says that she actually goes to Clemson so she is used to things not lasting long.  Sinickal responds, "That sounds like an indictment of the men on your campus!"

00:07 - Enter Le Bayou for a drink, some A/C, and really because Pepster needs a break from all this walking.

00:18 - See a couple at a table decked out in Kansas gear.  He is sweating profusely.  Kev-O remarks that "This is supposed to be the best meal of their life.  I wonder why the sauce is so spicy!"

00:19 - We decide they are just eating alfredo!

00:20 - Sign in the men's room warns of the dangers of drinking during pregnancy.  THE MEN'S ROOM!

00:27 - Begin the sojourn back down Bourbon.

00:38 - "Who invited the guy from Street Fighter 2.

00:41 - Contemplating the 3-piece chicken from the Stab-n-Slab as we walk past NOLA Poyboys.

00:42 - Enter NOLA Poboys.  No chicken tonight.

00:45 - Couple in line behind us in Kansas garb, so Sinickal starts talking about the possible sanctions and vacating the title - "We don't actually care, we just picked a team."  She says that he actually went to Oregon State.  Sinickal, "Oh, no wonder you need to pick a winning team!"

01:10 - Arrive back home, PoBoys in hand.  Kev-O went with the shrimp PoBoy, while Sinickal and Pepster ordered the "Da Yat", which is a shrimp PoBoy smothered in gumbo!  These hit the spot.

01:28 - Off to sleep!

Sosa Family Brackets - 2022 NCAA Tournament

For quality control. 

2019 NCAA Tournament Pool Standings - Round 1/Day 1

Hello all - and welcome to the first report of the 2019 NCAA Tournament Pool hosted by, well, Your Tournament Host.

We have a good pool this year, with a good amount of newcomers and returnees - with two of our newcomers being incredibly precocious, as they were not yet born this time last year.  A number of our entries have four legs (Biscuit, Jacey, Cubbie. Mac, Duncan, Mango, Abigail, Barkley - and maybe some others).  We have expanded into a new state and a new commonwealth this year (New York, Massachusetts) and vastly expanded our representation from North Carolina. 

Speaking of North Carolina - I want to give a shout out to Glen Merchant, Duncan Merchant, and Mango Merchant, who managed to turn int their respective brackets yesterday morning, despite preparing for the GRAND OPENING of their ax-throwing/craft-beer establishment in Asheville, NC called Axeville Throwing Club.  Here's hoping they had a great opening and continued success, all while watching their respective favorite teams in the tournament!

Unfortunately, we have also expanded our inability to follow all of the directions and the rules.  So many people violated one rule or the other, that you can just go ahead and assume that you did.  In fact, Jenna Finkelstein of St. Petersburg, FL wrote to me about her and Jeremy Spuhler , also of St. Pete, "We aren't very good at following directions!.  You aren't the only ones Jenna.  No worries though, as I think everything is sorted out and we are ready to go with our final count of 121 entries.  The standings below only indicate 120, but Karen Katz - as per her usual - she mailed me her bracket.  It was postmarked Monday and arrived yesterday, but after I started scoring.  She will be included in the next update.

All of that is still better than Bradley Deutchman of Washington, D.C., who e-mailed me the following:

I have a few questions to make sure I understand how this works:

1)  Play-In Games 

How many points do I get for correctly picking the winners of the Play-In games?  I didn’t see it in there.

Also, as for the first round Play-In picks, I’d prefer to specify “generally” and I hope you can respect my choice to do so as all our choices must be respected.

2)  Scoring

Is this the same scoring system as last year?

3)  I would like to get 4 points for second round picks and 20 points for 3rd round picks.  Please effectuate these changes for me.

4)  Guaranteed Upset

Two questions.  First is more philosophical.

How can you really quantify “upset”?  I can tell you from, at least, my personal dating experience, when I accuse someone of being upset, I’m usually told I’m wrong.  

Also, I would prefer to designate my “Guaranteed Upset” in a triangle instead of a circle in respect to the “Triangle Offense.”  I do not know what the “Triangle Offense” is but I recall hearing it has something to do with Michael Jackson and winning.

Thank you for your attention to these items.  I expect there will be no problem fulfilling my requests.

He spent more time on the e-mail than he did on his bracket, as he ultimately did not send me one.  (If you did - please re-send with the e-mail time stamp from your original e-mail).

For our champions, we have 16 different teams selected, with most of the love going to the State of North Carolina.  More people selected Duke than any other score, with North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia and Gonzaga getting significant love.  Surprisingly we have multiple selections of Florida and Florida State, with single entries selecting Houston, Purdue and Syracuse.  Yes your heard that correctly, we had someone select Syracuse.   That means for the second consecutive year someone lost a champion on opening day!  Sorry Edy Pecan of West Palm Beach, FL, you have the worst selection of the day.  We can't blame you entirely, as there was a significant issue with the Orange that occurred last minute (see below).  Our champions (with remaining teams in bold) are:  Duke, Florida, Florida State, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Villanova, Virginia.

In addition to Edy Pecan, I want to make a special note of Colonel Kareem Montague, of Hickham Air Force Base, Hawaii and Justin Yung of Raleigh, North Carolina, for their traitorous selections of Yale to beat LSU.  Alumni of Harvard should never pick Yale for anything - and I mean anything. Serves you right that Yale shot 8-37 from three point range (including 1-10 for Miye Oni, a junior who was considering entering the NBA draft).  After that performance, I want to stress the word WAS.

We like to have a lot of fun here at our tournament pool, and it is fun to look at basketball as a game.  But, sometimes real life intervenes.  That happened twice yesterday, and I mention it because it greatly affected the games (at least one), and perhaps more going forward.  First, Syracuse senior point guard Frank Howard was suspended indefinitely for failing a drug test.  This came out yesterday.  We know how long indefinitely is, though, since Syracuse is out!  The second dose of real life occurred in the Florida State locker room after their first round victory over Vermont, when star Phil Cofer learned of the death of his father after a long illness.  We wish the Cofer family well during this ordeal, and hope that it does not affect the team to negatively going forward.

From real life heartbreak to basketball heartbreak - WHAT ON EARTH WAS UP WITH A.J. HARRIS?  Harris, a guard for New Mexico State, drove the length of the floor with six seconds to go down 2 to Auburn, and got to the basket uncontested where a layup would have tied the game. Instead, Harris passed it back out to a guarded Terrell Brown who proceeded to miss the potential game-winning three.  Brown, however, was fouled by the Auburn defender and would receive 3 free throws to potentially win the game.  After missing the first and hitting the second, Brown missed the third to keep New Mexico State down 1, but Auburn knocked the ball out-of-bounds with 1.3 seconds left giving the Aggies one last shot, which ended in a wide-open corner three, which was airballed.   If Harris hits the layup, they are tied with 3 seconds or so left, and likely go to overtime.

In the karma department, the Louisville Cardinals, which school is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with former coach Rick Pitino, lost to the the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are currently coached by Richard Pitino, Rick Pitino's son.  Somewhere the vampire that is Rick Pitino is smiling. 

Minnesota was a lower seed, and 9th seeded Baylor defeated the aforementioned Syracuse, but the real upset of the day was number 12 Murray State defeated 5th seeded Marquette.  Now, apparently this was not too unforeseen, as this game was by far the most picked guaranteed upset in our pool (followed closely by Oregon).  As you will see in the standings, a lot of people received 5 or 10 bonus points for this win.  Murray State, led by a triple double from guard Ja Morant - who will easily be a top 5 draft pick this year - won 84-63, and frankly it wasn't even that close.  Morant finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 16 assists to record only the 9th triple double in NCAA Tournament history and the first since Michigan State's Draymond Green did it in 2012.  Green, now an NBA champion with the Golden State Warriors, was the first triple double since 2011, when Draymond Green did it.  I do believe that Ja Morant is the best religious leader-named hoopster since God Shammgod played at Providence College.

Today's history lesson brings us to another NCAA tournament triple double involving a soon-to-be top 5 NBA draft pick in a game involving the Marquette Warriors.  Marquette, the three seed in the midwest, played the number 1 seeded Kentucky Wildcats in the regional final in Minneapolis, home of this year's Final Four.   Winner moved on to the Final Four.  As an aside, this was a particularly important game as I was already headed to the Final Four in New Orleans that year, with a chance to cheer for Kentucky (my favorite team for those that don't know).  I was travelling with Silas Nichols of Washington, D.C., who is an alumnus of Syracuse University, which would qualify for the Final Four that year behind freshman sensation Carmelo Anthony.  (Syracuse would ultimately win).  Being on opposite sides of the brackets meant a Kentucky - Syracuse final was possible until, the Flash appeared.  Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 29, with 11 rebounds and 11 assists as Marquette defeated Kentucky 83-69 to earn their trip to the Final Four.  Wade left Marquette after that Final Four appearance and was drafted 5th in the NBA draft by the Miami Heat, behind such other legendary players as the aforementioned Carmelo Anthony (3rd to Denver), Chris Bosh (4th to Toronto), LeBron James (1st to Cleveland) and the immortal Darko Milicic (2nd to Detroit).  There is no way the Pistons don't regret this draft.

As stated earlier, a bunch of people selected Murray State to advance, so that is the best overall single pick, and too many people to name guaranteed that pick as their upset, earning 10 bonus points.  In light of this fact, I will give the coveted "Pick of the Day" Award to Debbie Igdaloff Nieman of Boca Raton, Florida and Kingfish Rod Parham of Snellville, Georgia, both of whom correctly picked 15 of the 16 games from yesterday.  Interestingly, they both had the Murray State upset, but not as their guarantee, and they both missed the Villanova game, as they both selected St. Mary's for the upset.  Villanova won 61-57, to keep alive their hopes for a repeat championship.

Even though they did not win the "Pick of the Day" Award, we do have a six-way tie for first.  Congratulations to Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds of Greenacres, FL, Marcus Jackson of Reston, VA, Duncan Merchant, of Asheville, NC, Steven Usma #1 of Miami, FL, Harrington Wax III, of Asheville, NC, and Mike Zachary of Jacksonville, FL. 

As far as the brackets as a whole, only one team was selected by all of the entrants yesterday, and that was Michigan State.  This means that some people picked Abilene Christian to defeat Kentucky, and Farleigh Dickinson to defeat Gonzaga.  Those didn't happen, but I like the gumption.

I hand score the brackets, so it is possible that I may have made a mistake.  I know, I know, you are surprised that I am fallible.  Feel free to bring any questions you have to my attention at sosalaw@yahoo.com.  I will re-visit your sheet and re-score.  Keep in mind, though, that while if I find a mistake in your favor I will give you your proper points, but if I find a mistake in the opposite direction, I will make the appropriate downward correction.  Also, let me know if I mis-spelled your name.  I would like to correct it if I did so.

1 - Carolyn Fowler and Jane Reynolds - 24
     Marcus Jackson - 24
     Duncan Merchant - 24
     Steven Usma #1 - 24
     Harrington Wax III - 24
     Mike Zachary 24

7 - Jacey Fowler #2 - 23
     Philip Kroesen - 23
     Col. Kareem Montague - 23
     Matt Nieman - 23
     Allison Parker - 23
     Ashley Poer #2 - 23
     Steven Usma #3
     Measha Williams #2 - 23

15 - Coby Kroesen - 22
       Skip LaForte - 22
       Brittany Sosa - 22
       George Walks #3 - 22

19 - Kline Kroesen - 21
       Silas Nichols - 21

21 - Debbie Igdaloff Nieman - 20
       Kingfish Rod Parham - 20
       Kyle Sheehan - 20
       Measha Williams #3 - 20

25 - Scott Bieterman - 19
       Scott Hansel - 19
       Dave Piasecki #2 - 19

28 - Carolyn Fowler - 18
       Brian Hinaman - 18
       Matt Hopps - 18
       Robert Hosmer - 18
       Katie Kollmeyer - 18
       Max Macon 1 - 18
       William Pujals - 18
       Jeremy Spuhler - 18
       Robert Tanen 1 - 18
       Robert Tanen 2 - 18
       Steven Usma #4 - 18
       George Walks #5 - 18
       Jonathan Wasserman - 18

41 - Eric Inge - 17
       Ty Leatherman - 17
       Max Macon #2 - 17
       Max Marion #1 - 17
       Jane Reynolds - 17
       Brittany Sosa - 17
       Michael Spicer - 17
       Steven Usma #5 - 17

49 - Bill Ganoe - 16
       Hilary Kroesen - 16
       Max Macon #4 - 16
       Max Marion #2 - 16
       Mango Merchant - 16
       Chris Petit - 16
       Steven Usma #2 - 16

56 - Pepe Sosa - 15

57 - Anthony LaPira - 14
       Dana Mandelbaum - 14
       Meredith Tanen - 14
       Krystal Travers - 14
       Measha Williams #1 - 14
       Justin Yung - 14

63 - Jennifer Armstrong - 13
       Rachel Bornn - 13
       Jenna Finkelstein - 13
       James Garvin - 13
       Alvaro Gonzalez - 13
       Martha Kroesen - 13
       Glen Merchant - 13
       Dave Piasecki #1 - 13
       John Santucci - 13
       Barkley Sosa - 13
       Cheryl Spuhler - 13
       George Walks #2 - 13
       George Walks #4 - 13
        Josh and Katie Zdrowak - 13

77 - Alyssa Ave - 12
       Dan Barsky #1 - 12
       Dan Barsky #2 - 12
       Luis Briones - 12
       Paul Cummings - 12
       Adam Jorgensen - 12
       Chris Kroesen - 12
       Michael Litsey - 12
       Max Macon #3 - 12
       Sasha Moon - 12
       David Olson - 12
       Griffey Parker - 12
       Ashley Poer #1 - 12
       Rich Samuels #1 - 12
       Rich Samuels #2 - 12
       Ira Schulteis - 12
       Jordyn Sheehan - 12
       Samantha Sheehan - 12
       Traci Sheehan - 12
       Hannah Sosa - 12
       Tara Telliott - 12
       Biscuit Zdrowak - 12
       Joshua Zdrowak - 12

100 - Jean Calixte - 11
         Liz Carew - 11
         Jacey Fowler #1 - 11
         Bill Ganoe #2 - 11
         Arlene Amo Hopps - 11
         Cubbie Kroesen - 11
         Hilary Kroesen #2 - 11
         Mac Kroesen - 11
         Sean McInerney - 11
        Edy Pecan - 11
        Jeff Plamondon - 11
        Jessica Samuels - 11
        Melanie Scherr - 11
        George Walks #1 - 11
        Wes Wiggins - 11
        Katie Zdrowak - 11
        Keith Zdrowak - 11

117 - Chad Phillips - 10
          Abigail Sosa - 10
         Jason Spuhler - 10

120 - Amy Zdrowak - 9

The Finals

It's championship Monday, and we are wondering if we are going to see our fourth consecutive quality/exciting Final Four matchup.  Here's a hint - we don't, as whistles were in abundance.  The referees are clearly the MVPs.  Let's just say that we had a much better day than the referees.

6:45 Pepster awakens.

7:15 Sinickal rises - but does not awaken.  Everyone else follows shortly behind.

7:15 - 10:30 We all do a little bit of work as it is Monday, which makes it a work day.

9:15 The Dan Lebatard show has the following polls:

       1.  Which is better, first place or second place?

       2.  Is the golf snitch the worst person in the world?

Pepster clearly answers "Yes" to the latter.

10:00 - 12:00 Nonstop laughs as a How I Met Your Mother mini-marathon is on television.

12:45 The road to Glendale, but first a stop for lunch with Big Si (Dad).

12:58  Arrive at All American Modern Sports Grill.

13:01  Tony orders Guinness, to settle his stomach.

13:05  "Hello Friends".  The entire crew realizes that Masters week has begun, and toast to that.  Contemplate what would happen to the world if we were to win the Final Four and Masters tickets lotteries in the same year.

13:07  Sinickal regales us with the story of the time Hopps placed a winning bet in Vegas for him and, after losing the ticket, paid Sinickal back for the price of the bet.

13:18  Big Si inquires if there is grilled cheese on the menu, and the bartender - Candace W - responds "We have a kids grilled cheese.  We don't have a big boy grilled cheese".  Little did we know that this was just the beginning.

13:19 After discussions with the group about how the restaurant does not have onion rings or Heineken (we did not want any Heineken anyway), Pepster orders a side of onion rings.  Candace instinctively raisers her pimp hand, but quickly lowers it.

13:20  Hopps orders a steak salad with an extra side of steak.  Basically he is Fletcher ordering a steak sandwich, a side a fries ... and a steak sandwich.  Unfortunately Candace would not let us put it on the Underhills tab.

13:21  Tony calls time of death on the Red Sox season.

14:00 While using a container as a makeshift wing plate, Sinickal remarks it was only because he didn't have a wing plate. After being pointed to a white plate right in front him that was clearly hidden because it was sitting in the open on a white countertop, Sinickal remarks, "All white things look alike to me".  Sinickal then asks Candace, who made a face at that remark if she was white.  Candace replied, "Only the worst parts".  She is fitting in nicely with the group.

14:03 Discussing the pending baseball season, especially since all of us support different teams.  Hopps turns to Pepster, the Marlins fan, remarking "Aren't you a pitcher short?"

14:08 Sinickal is contemplating ordering something else small, and inquires if they sell cups of chili.  When informed that cups of chili are not an option, he asks how big the bowls are, to which Candace responds by pointing to a bowl ordered by a guy next to us at the bar.  Sinickal determines, "That's a little too big" to which Hopps responds, "That's what she said".  Candace, not missing a beat, counters.  "She never said that!".  It is officially open-season on Hopps.

14:13 Hopps to Candace, "Can you tell them to stop picking on me?"  Candace, "Mom, Dad, tell them to stop picking on me."

14:31 Hopps finds out that Candace is 1/4 Asian, which as we all know from previous posts is Hopps preference.  He informs Candace of his preference to which Candace asserts, "So he is the bigot and misogynist in the group."  Hopps, trying to redeem himself states "what good is sex without misogyny."  Pepster, speaking slowly says, "No Hopps.  She said misogyny, not massagyny."

14:38 Hopps, as a reminder of previous nights, sent a picture that he took of the shot girl to Sinickal.  Sinickal leans over to show Tony and Pepster.  Hopps leans over as he wants to see too.  Sinickal says, "Dude, you just sent it to me."

14:39  Revisiting our previous discussion, Candace tells us that "Usually guys that date exclusively Asians are ... insecure".

14:41  Hopps tells Candace that the onion rings taste great.  Candace instinctively returns fire.  "We do not have onion rings you piece of shit".

14:43  We find out that the 1/4 Asian in Candace is Filipina.  Hopps and her discuss that the Phillipines themselves are a hidden gem, and cheap.  Hopps says that he is going for a month next year, and that it is going to cost about $50.  Candace inquires, "So, are you saving up?"  Hopps is just getting blistered.

14:52  A cougar walks in and sits next to this really young guy that is not her son (or at least we hope not) that has been at the bar for a while.  Tony tells Sinickal that she must be another Chicago fan.  Well, "At least she likes the Cubs".

14:54  Some discussions among the group about languages that we collectively speak; the discussion spawns from last night's Tagalog episode.  Candace hears that Tony speaks fluent Italian, comes over, looks at Tony and says, "Italian is my kryptonite".  Tony - not picking up on this blatant signal - says, well, nothing.  Hopps:  "He is no longer allowed to make fun of me!"

14:55  Sinickal glosses Tony "Koothrappali".

14:59  Candace comes back, declares that she is just like Jamie Lee Curtis' character in A Fish Called Wanda, and even starts her own impersonation of that character.  Koothrappali again says nothing.

15:02  Candace informs us that it is now Happy Hour and asks if we want more beer.  Sinickal states that "We are not dissuaded by price from drinking big."  Candace:  "Alright tough guy".

15:22  As The Philadelphia Phillies Odubel Herrera reaches the plate on one of the games on the televisions in front of us, Sinickal and Pepster decide that only home runs that include a bat flip should count and they immediately try to figure out the most efficient way to calculate this for the season.  Herrera hits a shot that goes off the way for a double.  So close.

15:35  While looking at one of the accoutrements we brought for the tournament, Big Si (Dad) asks Sinickal where he got it.  Sinickal tells him, "Amazon, where I get everything".  Pepster asks Sinickal to go to Amazon to buy Koothrappali some game.

15:37  Big Si (Dad) talks about his Aleska and how she doesn't really respond.  Sinickal tells him that it is "Because it is pronounced Alexa".  Big Si (Dad), "You guys don't miss any opportunity, do you?"

15:49  "Show me your MomFax".

15:53  The Los Angeles Dodgers Yasmani Grandal hits his second home run of the game, promptly flips his bat.  Sinickal and Pepster high five while Pepster remarks that he knew his Cubans would not let him down.

15:54 Speaking of Cuban baseball players.  Sinickal doing some research on bat flips, finds out that earlier in the Dodgers' game Yasiel Puig batflipped after being intentionally walked.  INTENTIONALLY WALKED!

16:01  The group bids adieu to Big Si (Dad), and head off to Glendale.  A much longer lunch than we expected, and we forgot about rush hour.

17:10  As we make the exit to the stadium, we see two older gentlemen at the light well in front of us both get out of their car. Since the car is in our lane we are hoping it isn't car problems.  Then we see a shadowy figure come out from under the underpass, talk to the two men, and then the men get back in their car.  We think they just stopped to buy meth.  Apparently a nearby cop did too, because he walked over and made the guys pull over after the light turned green.

17:15  We learned and we adapted since Saturday.  We are parked.  A bit farther out in the outlet mall parking lot, but still in the same basic vicinity as Saturday.

17:21  Thank you for everything you have!

17:23  End up walking at the same pace as a blonde girl from North Dakota who is walking to meet her friends.  Her and Koothrappali strike up a bit of conversation during the walk.  Hopps, "NOW he starts to throw game?"

17:39  While out on the patio of Bar Louie pre-gaming, a girl in a South Carolina dress walks by in the promenade of Westgate Plaze.  Another guy looks at her and says, "Go Cock".  The sophomoric jokes about South Carolina's mascot were myriad this weekend.

18:11  Inside University of Phoenix Stadium.  Sixty-Six percent success rate tonight, up from 50% Saturday night.  We have learned and adapted.

18:15  While in the concessions line for our gametime soda, two ladies end up in line behind us.  One has a baby blue UNC on her cheek, is wearing a baby blue UNC shirt and is obviously rooting for UNC.  Her friend with a baby blue UNC on her cheek, moves over her long hair off her shoulder so that we can see her garnet bra strap.  She is a South Carolina fan.

18:17  While still discussing their fandom, one in our group says, "Go Cock" to which she adds, "ssssss.  Cockssssss".

18:19  Sinickal inquiring of the South Carolina lady asks if her face burns because of the temporary UNC tatoo.  She responds, "I've had worse things on my face."

18:20  UNC fan, mad because we won't let her skip in line since she is actually a fan of one of the teams, and because her friend is getting more attention, leaves the line.

18:21  Game time - Radio Silence.

Notes from the first half:  The kids behind us from Saturday return.  They are much more subdued.  Strangely - it is this game that they choose to not complain about the ref.  My guess is they had a talking to by their parents before gametime.

A Gonzaga fan - and likely current student - who is in the very last row, yells at Joel Berry II "How's your history class?"  Hopps knowing that there is no way Berry can hear this guy yells back, "How's your physics class?"

Notes from the second half:  Good Lord there are so many fouls.  Just ridiculous.  This ranks up there as one of the worst finals games ever.  Sinickal and Pepster debate whether that winner is Connecticut-Georgia Tech or Maryland - Indiana.

A critical jump ball that awarded North Carolina a crucial possession late in the game was an incorrect call as Kennedy Meeks' hand was on the out-of-bounds line before the jump ball was called.  Sinickal says he is going to e-mail the NCAA to make them overturn the play and assess North Carolina a 10 point penalty.  Yes, we are still livid about the Lexi Thompson ruling.

One Shining Moment showed exactly 3 plays from the championship game.  It seemed like a long time for them to show One Shining Moment, so we believe they had to re-cut some footage as they just didn't have enough plays to fill the allotment reserved for the championship game.

The loudest cheer during One Shining Moment was for Luke Maye's game-winning shot in the Elite 8 against Kentucky.  This means that the loudest cheer for all of the highlights for a southern school was when a white guy hit a shot.

Deadspin countered with Dumb Shining Moment, an over 2 minute long video showing just every foul call from the game.

21:28 At Buffalo Wild Wings patio to let some of the crowd out of the area.  A Gonzaga sorority is on both sides of a makeshift barrier between the patio and the street.  Half of the sorority is sitting down in a parking spot outside the fence.  We see exactly what is going on.  They are waiting on a table, and only those over 21 can be on the patio drinking and those sitting in parking spot are not 21 yet.  They are going to be sitting for a long time.

21:30 Guy walking down street in front of Buffalo Wild Wings with an attractive companion.  He's wearing a basketball jersey with "Ammo" on the back.  Probably shooting blanks.

21:35 Two young male Oregon students - definitely inebriated, are trying to woo the sorority by yelling loudly, "What is a Tar Heel anyway?"  Hopps looks at the guy and says, "Champions".  Drunk guy, struggling for a response looking at Hopps' Red Sox shirt, says "What is that?".  Hopps responds, "Also champions."  Oregon dude, "Oh yeah, but that's the wrong sport.  Go to Opening Day or something".  Sinickal turns around and this guy sees his Syracuse shirt.  He goes in on Sinickal with, "They weren't even in the Final Four".  Sinickal, "At least we have won one".  These two guys are now embarrassed and leave the sorority girls.

21:42 "America, Fuck Yeah!"

21:50 Guy walks up wearing a North Carolina onesie, and the sorority flocks to him. This guy is in his 40s and this leads to the line, "You don't have many of us in Spokane".  Sorority member, "You are right." Hopps, "If you had a couple of more of us you would have won tonight.

21:51 While watching the guy in the North Carolina onesie, Sinickal declares that he is purchasing a Syracuse onesie, and growing a James Harden beard. We are all looking forward to San Antonio 2018

22:03 Sinickal asks one of the outdoor bartenders if he can leave his beer on the table while he goes to the men's room. She says "That's fine, but I am going to roofie it." Sinickal gives her some life advice. "If you tell someone you are going to roofie them, it becomes a pick-up line."

22:14 Calamine lotion.

22:20 The Gonzaga girls finally get their table! As they are walking in someone asks why they are all wearing American flag decorated clothes. One responds that Gonzaga's colors are red, white and blue, like America. Sinickal remarks that it is not like America, it's Spokane.  She says, "I don't get it".  Sinickal says, "I know."

23:23  Head to the downtown Pheonix "Legends Entertainment District".  This is not legendary as most places are closed.  We are told that Copper Blues is open so we go.  We are then told they have no food.  Bartender sends us to Seamus McCaffrey's as they serve food until 2.

23:55  Sit at the bar at Seamus McCaffrey's.  Ask for a menu.  "Sorry guys, kitchen is closed".  We leave.

23:59  At Hanny's and not only do they serve food until 1, they are packed.  Yeah food.

00:38  Contemplate heading to the host bar, decide to call it a night.  San Antonio is only a year away.