Second Hand Roids Bracket

Lets see if I can pick the winners of all the games from the Sweet Sixteen to the finals and win $1M from Yahoo!

SWEET SIXTEEN

North Carolina v Washington St--UNC will roll here. I don't think they will top the 100 point mark against this stingy defense, but I also don't think Washington State can hang with the boys from North Carolina. My pick--UNC.

Tennessee v Louisville--Louisville will win in a close one. Louisville is just playing too good right now. I think they will give anybody a run for their money at this point. My pick--Louisville.

Kansas v Villanova--'Nova's run will end here. KU is a very balanced team that is playing very well right now. My pick--KU.

Wisconsin v Davidson--I think this will be a real close game. Stephen Curry will once again prove to be too much for his opponent. Davidson will win this one in either OT or towards the end of regulation. My pick--Davidson.

Memphis v Michigan State--Memphis will shoot over 50 free throws and only make about 25-30 of them. Memphis will be the first 1-seed to falter and go home. My pick--Michigan State.

Texas v Stanford--Stanford and it's twin towers, the Lopez brothers, will hold off a very good Texas team. Once again Brook Lopez hits the winning shot from the baseline. My pick--Stanford.

UCLA v Western Kentucky--UCLA will roll the Hilltoppers back to Kentucky. This one shouldn't even be close. My pick--UCLA.

Xavier v West Virginia--This will be the best game of the Sweet Sixteen. Both teams are playing extremely well. Joe Alexander will have a great game, but Xavier will pull it out in the end. My pick--Xavier.

ELITE EIGHT

North Carolina v Louisville--I think Louisville has actually been playing better as a team this tournament. Rick Pitino will lead yet another team to the Final Four. This will be the game of the Elite Eight. My pick--Louisville.

Kansas v Davidson--Stephen Curry will go off, but the Wildcats will not be able to stop Kansas. Kansas will win this game before the second half is half over. My pick--Kansas.

Stanford v Michigan State--Stanford shoots free throws better than Memphis and Michigan State will foul a lot, as is their style, and Stanford will use those free throws to advance into the Final Four. My pick--Stanford.

UCLA v Xavier--UCLA has not looked very good since the first round. Xavier will outlast the Bruins and advance to the Final Four. My pick--Xavier.

FINAL FOUR

Kansas v Louisville--Kansas will prevail here in an OT battle. Look for a last second winner from Chalmers. My pick--Kansas.

Stanford v Xavier--Stanford's twin towers will keep Xavier in check and Stanford will advance to the Finals in another squeaker. My pick--Stanford.

FINALS

Kansas v Stanford--Kansas' outside shooting will be too much for Stanford. The Lopez brothers will keep Stanford in this game to the end, but KU will prevail. My pick--Kansas.

Well, there you have it. My revised NCAA tournament picks. Hopefully I will do better than my first two rounds.

ROIDS

Roids conducted it's draft this past Saturday. My team is Roid Rage and I was late to the draft so the first 10 rounds or so were auto-drafted for me by the computer. The teams are:

Roid Rage--Me
Fever Pitch--The wifey
Sonsof Bitches--friend
chicksdigthelongball--friend
Mattingly23--friend
tbd--friend


Round 1
1. Álex Rodríguez Roid Rage
2. Jimmy Rollins SonsOf Bitch...
3. Johan Santana chicksdigthe...
4. Hanley Ramírez Mattingly23
5. Josh Beckett Fever Pitch
6. José Reyes tbd

Round 2
1. Albert Pujols tbd
2. C.C. Sabathia Fever Pitch
3. David Wright Mattingly23
4. John Smoltz chicksdigthe...
5. Chase Utley SonsOf Bitch...
6. Matt Holliday Roid Rage

Round 3
1. Miguel Cabrera Roid Rage
2. Jake Peavy SonsOf Bitch...
3. Ryan Braun chicksdigthe...
4. Prince Fielder Mattingly23
5. Troy Tulowitzki Fever Pitch
6. Ryan Howard tbd

Round 4
1. Alfonso Soriano tbd
2. David Ortiz Fever Pitch
3. Carl Crawford Mattingly23
4. Carlos Beltrán chicksdigthe...
5. Dan Haren SonsOf Bitch...
6. Grady Sizemore Roid Rage

Round 5
1. Vladimir Guerrero Roid Rage
2. Jonathan Papelbon SonsOf Bitch...
3. Roy Halladay chicksdigthe...
4. Brandon Phillips Mattingly23
5. Manny Corpas Fever Pitch
6. Ichiro Suzuki tbd

Round 6
1. B.J. Upton tbd
2. Manny Ramírez Fever Pitch
3. Carlos Lee Mattingly23
4. Andruw Jones chicksdigthe...
5. Francisco Rodríguez SonsOf Bitch...
6. Mark Teixeira Roid Rage

Round 7
1. Lance Berkman Roid Rage
2. Erik Bedard SonsOf Bitch...
3. Brandon Webb chicksdigthe...
4. Curtis Granderson Mattingly23
5. Gary Sheffield Fever Pitch
6. Magglio Ordóñez tbd

Round 8
1. Víctor Martínez tbd
2. Kazuo Matsui Fever Pitch
3. Álex Ríos Mattingly23
4. Jeff Francoeur chicksdigthe...
5. Trevor Hoffman SonsOf Bitch...
6. Brian Roberts Roid Rage

Round 9
1. Russell Martin Roid Rage
2. Derrek Lee SonsOf Bitch...
3. Chipper Jones chicksdigthe...
4. Justin Morneau Mattingly23
5. Garrett Atkins Fever Pitch
6. Aramis Ramírez tbd

Round 10
1. Adam Dunn tbd
2. Derek Jeter Fever Pitch
3. Bobby Abreu Mattingly23
4. Vernon Wells chicksdigthe...
5. Carlos Zambrano SonsOf Bitch...
6. Chone Figgins Roid Rage

Round 11
1. Carlos Guillén Roid Rage
2. Ryan Zimmerman SonsOf Bitch...
3. Todd Helton chicksdigthe...
4. Cole Hamels Mattingly23
5. Eric Byrnes Fever Pitch
6. J.J. Putz tbd

Round 12
1. Hunter Pence tbd
2. Nick Markakis Fever Pitch
3. Joe Nathan Mattingly23
4. Rafael Furcal chicksdigthe...
5. Orlando Cabrera SonsOf Bitch...
6. Daisuke Matsuzaka Roid Rage

Round 13
1. John Lackey Roid Rage
2. Torii Hunter SonsOf Bitch...
3. Brian McCann chicksdigthe...
4. Joe Mauer Mattingly23
5. Chris Young Fever Pitch
6. Justin Verlander tbd

Round 14
1. Takashi Saito tbd
2. Aaron Harang Fever Pitch
3. José Valverde Mattingly23
4. Pat Burrell chicksdigthe...
5. Matt Kemp SonsOf Bitch...
6. Joba Chamberlain Roid Rage

Round 15
1. Tim Lincecum Roid Rage
2. Billy Wagner SonsOf Bitch...
3. Mariano Rivera chicksdigthe...
4. Scott Kazmir Mattingly23
5. Chris Young Fever Pitch
6. Roy Oswalt tbd

Round 16
1. Francisco Cordero tbd
2. Félix Hernández Fever Pitch
3. Bobby Jenks Mattingly23
4. Kelly Johnson chicksdigthe...
5. Travis Hafner SonsOf Bitch...
6. Yovani Gallardo Roid Rage

Round 17
1. Ian Snell Roid Rage
2. Pedro Martínez SonsOf Bitch...
3. Javier Vázquez chicksdigthe...
4. Kelvim Escobar Mattingly23
5. Jorge Posada Fever Pitch
6. Brett Myers tbd

Round 18
1. Fausto Carmona tbd
2. Ben Sheets Fever Pitch
3. James Shields Mattingly23
4. Jeff Francis chicksdigthe...
5. Brad Penny SonsOf Bitch...
6. Francisco Liriano Roid Rage

Round 19
1. Phil Hughes Roid Rage
2. Aaron Rowand SonsOf Bitch...
3. Huston Street chicksdigthe...
4. Rich Hill Mattingly23
5. Matt Cain Fever Pitch
6. Chad Cordero tbd

Round 20
1. A.J. Burnett tbd
2. Brad Lidge Fever Pitch
3. Matt Capps Mattingly23
4. John Maine chicksdigthe...
5. Kenji Johjima SonsOf Bitch...
6. Chad Billingsley Roid Rage

Round 21
1. Carlos Mármol Roid Rage
2. Kosuke Fukudome SonsOf Bitch...
3. Jason Isringhausen chicksdigthe...
4. Rafael Soriano Mattingly23
5. Joakim Soria Fever Pitch
6. Dustin McGowan tbd

Round 22
1. Robinson Canó tbd
2. Carlos Peña Fever Pitch
3. Ian Kinsler Mattingly23
4. Miguel Tejada chicksdigthe...
5. Joe Borowski SonsOf Bitch...
6. Corey Hart Roid Rage

Round 23
1. Michael Young Roid Rage
2. Todd Jones SonsOf Bitch...
3. Stephen Drew chicksdigthe...
4. Jason Bay Mattingly23
5. Adrián González Fever Pitch
6. Brad Hawpe tbd

Round 24
1. Paul Konerko tbd
2. Hideki Matsui Fever Pitch
3. Dan Uggla Mattingly23
4. Jarrod Saltalamacchia chicksdigthe...
5. Willy Taveras SonsOf Bitch...
6. Édgar Rentería Roid Rage

Round 25
1. Nick Swisher Roid Rage
2. Tim Hudson SonsOf Bitch...
3. Alex Gordon chicksdigthe...
4. Adrián Béltre Mattingly23
5. Howie Kendrick Fever Pitch
6. Rickie Weeks tbd

Round 26
1. J.J. Hardy tbd
2. Mike Lowell Fever Pitch
3. James Loney Mattingly23
4. Ken Griffey Jr. chicksdigthe...
5. J.R. Towles SonsOf Bitch...
6. Dustin Pedroia Roid Rage

Round 27
1. Jered Weaver Roid Rage
2. Carlos Delgado SonsOf Bitch...
3. Aubrey Huff chicksdigthe...
4. Ted Lilly Mattingly23
5. Chien-Ming Wang Fever Pitch
6. Jeremy Bonderman tbd

I have a very good offensive club, but my pitching is a little thin at this point. I added Eric Gagne and Rafael Betancourt and dropped Jered Weaver and Chad Billingsly. Both of which will help in my saves and holds category. Jered and Chad I have put on my watch list in case they start doing exceptionally well. I will keep you posted on the happenings in this league.

Busted Bracket League

If you would like to join my busted bracket league just follow this link, or if you prefer, just register on Yahoo and enter this group ID--1709 and leave the password field blank. Here are my busted bracket picks. HA! I will post these on Thursday after the games start. Here is a recap of what I picked in the full bracket league.

EAST
UNC v Wash St--UNC
Louisville v Tennessee--Louisville

UNC v Louisville--UNC

MIDWEST
KU v Clemson--KU
USC v Davidson--USC

KU v USC--KU

SOUTH
Memphis v Pittsburgh--Pittsburgh
Stanford v Texas--Stanford

Stanford v Pittsburgh--Pittsburgh

WEST
UCLA v Drake--UCLA
Xavier v West Virginia--Xavier

UCLA v Xavier--Xavier


Of course not all of those games are the teams that are actually playing, but those are the ones I officially picked when the brackets closed last Thursday.

Round 2 Action--Sunday

Last day of games until next Thursday when the Sweet Sixteen begin.

North Carolina v Arkansas--No contest, yet again. North Carolina blows through Raleigh with back-to-back 100 point efforts. Final score--UNC 108, Arkansas 77. My pick--UNC, 1-0.

Louisville v Oklahoma--Louisville ran all over Oklahoma. They played so well that Rick Pitino just sat on the bench and watched with delight. Louisville scored 44 points in the first half---Oklahoma scored 48 for the game. Final score--Louisville 78, Oklahoma 48. My pick--Louisville, 2-0.

Tennessee v Butler--Butler should have won this game. Close game throughout with several lead changes. Tennessee hit some late free throws to ice it. Final score--Tennessee 76, Butler 70. My pick--Tennessee, 3-0.

Villanova v Xavier--'Nova took it to the Saints and kept them at bay the whole game. Siena tried to make a small comeback in the second half, but Villanova never let them mount any thing substantial. Final score--Villanova 84, Siena 72. My pick--Clemson, 3-1.

Georgetown v Davidson--Awesome baby, Awesome!!! Stephen Curry is the player of the tournament so far. 70 points in two games. Again, he decided to wait until the second half to start playing, but it didn't matter. G'Town is a great defensive team, they also shot 63% from the field, but they couldn't stop the Curry Express. Davidson forced 20 turnovers and committed just four. Final score--Davidson 74, G'Town 70. My pick--Davidson(I changed this about 1 hour after I saved my original bracket), 4-1.

Western Kentucky v San Diego--The other 12 v 13 battle(Villanova and Siena was the other). Western Kentucky use 29 points from Courtney Lee to earn their first Sweet Sixteen appearance in 15 years. Final score--WKY 72, San Diego 63. My pick--Drake, 4-2.

Texas v Miami--Miami staged a great comeback effort. They were down by 17 with just over 4 minutes left in the game. Poor ball-handling and bad shooting down the stretch almost cost Texas a Sweet Sixteen appearance. They hit a few clutch free throws to hold of the Hurricanes. Final score--Texas 75, Miami 72. My pick--Texas, 5-2.

Memphis v Mississippi State--Memphis should have been the first #1 seed to fall and almost cost themselves the game. Mississippi State scored five quick points to pull within 3 with about 20 seconds to go. Poor free throw shooting almost did Memphis in (they shot a pathetic 47% from the charity stripe). They held on to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Final score--Memphis 77, Mississippi State 74. My pick--Memphis, 6-2.


Another good round for me. 6-2 on the day and 35-13 for the tournament.

Round 2 Action--Saturday

So round one had some huge upsets and some teams plugging along like these games are just more games in the season. Let s see how I did this day.

Washington State v Notre Dame--Washington State was clearly the better team today. The Fighting Irish didn't put up much fight in this game. Harangody was horrible and looked nothing like the Big East POY, which is the major reason the Irish were never in this game. Final score--Wash St 61, Notre Dame 41. My pick--Wash St, 1-0 today.

Kansas v UNLV--UNLV kept it close until halftime and only trailed by five going into the second half. KU stopped toying with the Runnin' Rebels and put this game out of reach early in the second half. Of course UNLV made it easier with tow of it's 10 players fouling out with around 9 minutes left in the game. Final score--KU 75, UNLV 56. My pick--Kansas, 2-0 today.

Wisconsin v Kansas State--Michael Beasley did his best to keep K-State in this game. He scored 23 of the Wildcats 55 points. Too bad Wisconsin scored 72. K-State never really got into this game as the Badger D kept them out of rhythm the whole game. Final score--Wisconsin 72, K-State 55. My pick--USC, 2-1 today.

I would have picked K-State if I had picked them to win the first round game.

West Virginia v Duke--Duke was way over-seeded in this tournament. They had a good year, but they should have been a 4-5 seed, where they probably would have been upset in the first round the way they played. WVU had no trouble sending Duke back to North Carolina to watch the rest of the tournament from their couches. Final score--WVU 73, Duke 67. My pick--WVU, 3-1 today.

Xavier v Purdue--Good close game throughout. Xavier hit some clutch free throws and shot 54% from the field for the game to edge the Boilermakers. Final score--Xavier 85, Purdue 78. My pick--Xavier, 4-1 today.

UCLA v Texas A&M--The Bruins survive their second round match-up and I do mean survive. They trailed by three at halftime and had to rely on a key block to keep the Aggies from sending the game into OT. A&M almost beat the number one seed despite shooting only 43% from the charity stripe and having their shots blocked eleven times. UCLA's Kevin Love had 7 blocks on the game, many coming towards the end of the game. Final score--UCLA 51, Texas A&M 49. My pick--UCLA, 5-1 today.

Pittsburgh v Michigan State--DAMMIT!!!!! Son of a bitch. Michigan State out rebounded the Panthers and help Pitt to a dismal 12% shooting from behind the arc and just 33% from 2-point land. Neitzel couldn't be stopped in the closing minutes as he helped the Spartans hold off a late Panther rush. Final score--Michigan State 65, Pitt 54. My pick--Pittsburgh, 5-2 today.

DAMMIT all to hell!!!! I had Pitt going all the way to the finals. Nothing like having one of your favorites lose early to fuck up your bracket.

Stanford v Marquette--The Cardinal rallied to force OT then waited until the last second to finish off a tough Marquette team. Brook Lopez finished off an amazing night by hitting the go ahead jumper from the baseline with about 1 second to go. Trailing by 6 at the half and without their coach for the second half and OT, the Cardinal climbed aboard the Lopez train and rode it to the finish. Final score--Stanford 82, Marquette 81. My pick--Stanford, 6-2 today.


Aside from the Pittsburgh debacle I did rather well today. 6-2 today and 29-11 overall.

Round 1 Action--Second Day

Day 2 provided some good games and some bad ones. Lets see how the games turned out.

North Carolina v Mount St Mary's--North Carolina eeked out a close one here. Final Score--North Carlina 113, Mount St. Mary's 74. My Pick--North Carolina, 1-0 on the day.

Indiana v Arkansas--Sampsonless Hoosiers were no match for the Razorbacks who ran all over them. Final Score--Arkansas 86, Indiana 72. My Pick--Arkansas, 2-0 today.

Oklahoma v St Joseph's--I thought this was going to be a better game. OU ended up being too much for St Joseph's. Godbold picked this game to start becoming a force. Final Score--OU 72, St Joe's 64. My pick--St. Joe's, 2-1 today.

Louisville v Boise State--Louisville looked better than they have all year in this rout of Boise State. A deep bench will put Louisville far into the tournament. Final score--Louisville 79, Boise State 61. My pick--Louisville, 3-1 today.

Butler v South Alabama--This game was a blowout from the beginning. Butler never let South Alabama get into a rhythm and moved on to the second round. I thought this game would have been closer. Final Score--Butler 81, South Alabama 61. My pick--South Alabama, 3-2 today.

Tennessee v American--American was trying to pull off the huge upset. They actually had a chance in this game and were down only one with around 4 minutes to go. Then they just disappeared. I hate to see these underdog teams play great for about 35 minutes then turn to shit the final 5 and let the score get out of hand. This game was a lot closer than the score indicates. Final Score--Tennessee 72, American 57. My pick--Tennessee, 4-2 today.

Clemson v Villanova--What can I say upsets were in the air in Tampa. 'Nova ends the nightmare for the higher seeded teams by beating Clemson and becoming the fourth lower seed to win in Tampa on the day. Final score--'Nova 75, Clemson 69. My pick--Clemson, 4-3 today.

Vanderbilt v Siena--Siena destroyed Vanderbilt. The Saints led from start to finish and proved that the Commodores can't shoot away from their home arena. Final score--Siena 83, Vanderbilt 62. My pick--Siena, 5-3 today.

Gonzaga v Davidson--Stephen Curry baited the Bulldogs into thinking he was just going to have a mediocre game, he had 10 points at halftime. He exploded for 30 fuckin' points in the second half. He was raining three's and any other shot he took in the second half and helped Davidson pull off the mild upset over Gonzaga. Final Score--Davidson 82, Gonzaga 76. My pick--Davidson, 6-3 today.

Georgetown v UMBC--UMBC had thoughts of an upset and actually led in the game about 5 minutes in. Then they realized they were playing a 2-seed and started playing like a typical 15-seed. Georgetown pulled away from there and won. Final Score--G'Town 66, UMBC 47. My pick--G'Town, 7-3 today.

Memphis v TX Arlington--Another one seed blowout. Final score--Memphis 87, TX Arlington 63. My pick--Memphis, 8-3 today.

Mississippi St v Oregon--This game could have gone either way. Oregon blew their chance to advance to the second round by not playing defense in the second half. The Ducks had a 10-point halftime lead and let the Bulldogs outscore them by 17 in the second half. Final score--Mississippi State 76, Oregon 69. My pick--Mississippi State, 9-3 today.

Miami (FL) v St. Mary's--St. Mary's led by 5 at the half. They decided they didn't need to play any defense in the second half and let Miami drop 51 points on their ass in the second half. They lost. Final Score--Miami 78, St Mary's 64. My pick--St. Mary's, 9-4 today.

Texas v Austin Peay--Blowout city. Texas led from start to finish. Final Score--Texas 74, Austin Peay 54. My pick--Texas, 10-4 today.

Drake v Western Kentucky-- Un-fucking-believable. Western Kentucky pulls the huge upset over 5-seed Drake. Drake fought back from a 16-point deficit to force overtime. They had a 1-point lead with 2 seconds on the clock. How the hell do you let a team get the ball all the way down the damn court to just outside the arc? Ty Rogers hits the game winning three to give WKU the dramatic win in OT. Final Score--WKU 101, Drake 99. My pick--Drake, 10-5 today.

UConn v San Diego--You have got to love the underdog. Tampa saw all four underdog team win their games. San Diego was the second team to take out a higher seed on the day. They followed Western Kentucky's win over Drake with their own shocker. UConn forced OT and De'Jon Jackson gave the upstart Torero's a upset win at the buzzer in OT. Final score--San Diego 70, UConn 69. My pick--San Diego (another pick I changed at the last minute), 11-5 today.

11-5 on the day and 23-9 for the first two days. Not bad, but it is far from first in my bracket league. The UConn loss helped since at least one person had them in the finals.

Round 1 Action

The first 16 games are in the books. Some close ones and some disappointments for me. Lets break the games down a little.

Notre Dame v George Mason--Notre Dame jumped on George Mason early and never looked back. This one was never really close as Notre Dame finally wins a first round game. Final score--Notre Dame 68, George Mason 50. My pick--ND, I'm 1-0 so far.

Washington State v Winthrop--Someone forgot to tell Winthrop that there was a second half. After going into halftime tied at 29 the Winthrop Eagles score a pathetic 11 points in the second half and get blown away by Washington State. Final Score--Wash St 71, Winthrop 40. My pick--Wash St, 2-0.

Kansas v Portland State--KU became the first team to hold off the upset. They jumped all over Portland State right from the start and held on to win by a measly 24 points. Final Score--KU 85, Portland State 61. My pick--KU, 3-0

UNLV v Kent State--The real Kent State left Ohio late and they had to pull 5 guys from the stands to play the first half for them. The result....a 31-10 halftime deficit. By the time the real team showed up, the UNLV players were relaxing in a hot tub back at their hotel. Final Score--UNLV 71, Kent State 58. My pick--Kent State, 3-1.

USC v Kansas State--Who the fuck is Bill Walker? I know, I know...he averaged 16 points during the season, but was never talked about. All anybody ever talked about was Michael Beasley. Beasley wins this contest against Mayo. Next time they play each other will be in the NBA. USC was never in this one thanks to Walker in the first half and Beasley in the second. Final Score--KSU 80, USC 67. My pick--USC, 3-2.

Hhmmm...USC was a team I had beating Wisconsin in the next round....shit.

Wisconsin v Cal St Fullerton--Wisconsin played some tough D and took control of this one early. One of the many yawners of the day. Final Score--Wisconsin 71, Cal St Fullerton 56. My pick--Wisconsin, 4-2

Michigan State v Temple--Michigan State keeps Christmas from coming to early for Temple in Denver. They keep the Temple star from being even a remote factor in this game and rough up the Owls. Final Score--Michigan State 72, Temple 61. My pick--Temple (I switched to Temple just before the brackets closed...dammit), 4-3

Pittsburgh v Oral Roberts--Rough and tumble Pittsburgh man-handled the Golden Eagles. Oral Roberts was out-played from beginning to end. Final Score--Pitt 82, Oral Roberts 63. My pick--Pitt, 5-3

Good thing Pitt looks like the Pitt from the beginning of the year since I have them going to the Finals.

Marquette v Kentucky--Kentucky made it close behind the fantastic play of Joe Crawford. It wasn't enough as Marquette hit their free throws late in the game and hold off a feisty Kentucky team. Final Score--Marquette 74, Kentucky 66. My pick--Marquette, 6-3

Stanford v Cornell--YAWN!!!!! What a terrible game. Cornell tried hard, but couldn't keep up with Stanford. Final Score--Stanford 77, Cornell 53. My pick--Stanford, 7-3

UCLA v Miss Valley St--There was absolutely no doubt in this one. MVSU might as well have saved there bus money as they score a paltry and pathetic 29 points. That is the fewest points in like 50 years and the fewest in the shot clock era. UCLA looked good. Final Score--UCLA 70, MVSU 29. My pick--UCLA, 8-3

BYU v Texas A&M--Texas A&M rode the play of Josh Carter to the second round. They held off a spunky BYU team with some late free throws. Final Score--Texas A&M 67, BYU 62. My pick--Texas A&M, 9-3

Xavier v Georgia--Xavier looked ugly in the first half and trailed Georgia by 9 at halftime. They composed themselves and came out a different team in the second half and dominated Georgia, who couldn't keep their magical run going. Final Score--Xavier 73, Georgia 61. My pick--Xavier, 10-3

Purdue v Baylor--Baylor ran a lot of teams into the ground during the regular season, while Purdue use a good back-court game to control the pace. Purdue decided to play Baylor's style of game and ran away from the Bears from the get go. Final Score--Purdue 90, Baylor 79. My pick--Baylor, 10-4

This loss sucked. I really thought the Baylor Bears had a better team than this.

West Virginia v Arizona--West Virginia wore down the under-manned Wildcats. Final Score--WVU 75, Arizona 65. My pick--WVU, 11-4

Duke v Belmont--WOO HOO!!!! What a game. By far, the best game of the first day. Belmont blew the chance of a fucking lifetime. They led by 1 with about 20 seconds remaining. However, they could not close the deal and allowed Gerald Henderson to go end-to-end for an easy layup to give Duke the victory. Final Score--Duke 71, Belmont 70. My pick--Duke, 12-4

Too bad, I would have taken the loss to see Duke get upset as a 2 seed in the first round.

So my record through the first 16 games is 12-4. Hopefully the second set of 16 games will be better for me.

Let the Madness Begin!!!!!

The greatest sporting event, at least of March, is upon us. I don't really watch college basketball during the regular season, but I do follow and keep up with the teams. The following is the bracket I have entered into my online tournament league.
Click the title of the post if you would like to join us--the more the merrier. Group ID is 60640 and leave the password field blank.

Here are my picks within this league.

EAST REGION
First Round Winners:
North Carolina--Duh!
Arkansas--I hate Indiana, but I think the Razorbacks are the better team as well.
Notre Dame--I hate Notre Dame, but they have a good enough team to make it out of the first round. They should be able to ride Harangody, Big East POY, a few rounds at least.
Washington State--Had a horrible conference record but were lights out outside their conference. Going 13-1.
St. Joseph's--The Sooners are hurting and the Hawks are deadly from outside.
Louisville--Rick Pitino. Good coaching of a good team is always good for at least one win. Granted the Cardinals are a really good team. Should have no problem with Boise State.
South Alabama--I think these teams are pretty evenly matched so I picked the upset just to be different. Either one (South Alabama or Butler) is good for only one win anyway.
Tennessee--The Vols are hot and are the only team to beat Memphis so far this year. Very good team.

Second Round Winners:
North Carolina--UNC is probably the tournament winner in a majority of the brackets. Could be a good game as Arkansas did take out Tennessee in the SEC tournament.
Washington State--I hate Notre Dame. Washington State's shooting takes the advantage of Harangody away.
Louisville--Rick Pitino. St Joe's run ends against the Cardinals. Louisville is too tough defensively.
Tennessee--South Alabama or Butler should not be a problem for the hot Vols. Yes they lost in the SEC tournament, but that was a fluke.

Regional Semi Winners:
North Carolina--Washington State will not be able to answer for Hansbrough.
Louisville--This will be a great defensive game. I think Louisville's offense is just better enough to pull this game out.

Regional Finals Winner:
North Carolina--The best team of the region earns their trip to the final four.

MIDWEST REGION
First Round Winners:
Kansas--Duh!
Kent State--Evenly matched teams, but if UNLV gets cold from downtown, then it will be over quick. Kent State produces a lot of turnovers.
Clemson--Nova has had some good runs, but they should not be in this tournament. They got here on name only. The Tigers will have there way with the Wildcats.
Siena--My Cinderella team. Vandy can't shoot the ball away from their home court and Sienna doesn't turn the ball over. Should be a good game.
USC--Beasley is the best in the nation hands down, but he can only do so much. No help from his teammates will equal an early exit for K-State.
Wisconsin--I'm not too keen on the Badgers but they have a solid team and should handle CSU Fullerton with ease.
Davidson--Davidson is better than people realize and should pull off a mild shocker against Gonzaga.
Georgetown--The Hoya's should have won the Big East, but they ran into the buzzsaw that is Pittsburgh. They will fare better in this tournament.

Second Round Winners:
Kansas--Kansas should have no trouble keeping Kent State grounded. Their superior defense and offense will prevail.
Siena--The Saints will pull off their last upset in beating Clemson. Tigers are one of the best rebounding teams though, so if the Saints mis the mark too much I will be wrong.
USC--The Badgers will not be able to contain Mayo who will light them up and lead his team into the Semis.
Georgetown--The Hoyas should take the wind out of the Wildcats' sails. Davidson didn't really play anybody outside their conference so a powerhouse like G'Town will be a big problem.

Regional Semi Winners:
Kansas--The best team in the bracket will not have any trouble with Siena or Clemson or Villanova or Vanderbilt.
G'TownThe Mayo era at USC comes to a close with the Trojan's loss to Georgetown.

Regional Finals Winner:
Kansas--They are too balanced for the Hoyas to keep up.

SOUTH REGION
First Round Winners:
Memphis--Duh!
Mississippi State--Good match-up here could go either way. Oregon could just as easily win this game as the Bulldogs.
Michigan State--Temple is a decent team, but Tom Izzo is one of the best tournament coaches of all time.
Pittsburgh--My sleeper of this bracket. The Panthers have their two best players back from injury and are playing their best basketball of the year right now.
Marquette--Another Big East team. Kentucky will be a crowd favorite, but they just do not have it this year.
Stanford--The Cardinal should send the Ivy League rep (Cornell) packing easily. Ivy League teams have not won a tournament game in a long time.
St. Mary's--St. Mary's is great at stopping the three and Miami is good at shooting them. Stopping or at least altering shots is easier than making them....St. Mary's will win.
Texas--Beat Tennessee, UCLA, and Kansas(once). Shouldn't have any trouble with Austin Peay.

Second Round Winners:
Memphis--Ducks or Dogs....doesn't matter. The Tigers will eat them alive (as long as they don't have to win it from the line).
Pittsburgh--Here come the Panthers. Rough style will be too much for the Spartans.
Stanford--The Cardinal and their twin towers (Brook and Robin Lopez) will be too much for the under-sized Eagles.
Texas--Texas is too good to lose this early.

Regional Semi Winners:
Pittsburgh--I always liked Panthers better than Tigers. The physical style of Pittsburgh will keep Memphis at the line. Memphis sucks from the line. Game to Pittsburgh.
Stanford--The twin towers will prove the difference. Defense will be the key and Stanford had one of the best D's inside the arc.

Regional Finals Winner:
Pittsburgh--Again, the physical style of Pitt will get the twin towers into early foul trouble making it easier for the Panthers to score.

WEST REGION
First Round Winners:
UCLA--Duh!
BYU--Pick'em game between BYU and Texas A&M. Another 8v9 match-up that is way to close to call.
Drake--Drake is lights out from beyond the arc. Even with some cold shooting they should be able to make it past the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky.
UCONN--San Diego is no match for UConn. UConn is the #1 blocking team in the country and plays some tough D.
Baylor--Fluke loss to Colorado in the Big 12 tourney. Baylor is much better than their 11 seed.
Xavier--Georgia played WAY above themselves in the SEC tourney. The Minutemen will shoot their bubble out and bring them crashing back to earth.
West Virginia--WVU is the better team and will keep Arizona from playing in Phoenix later in the bracket.
Duke--Coach K.

Second Round Winners:
UCLA--The Bruins will run over whoever they face in this round.
Drake--UConn plays great D against the short stuff, but Drake will bomb the Huskies right out of the building.
Xavier--Minutemen are well balanced and should end Baylor's run. Probably will be a pretty high scoring game.
West Virginia--Joe Alexander will dominate the boards and any pathetic body Duke gets close to him. Duke relies too much on their 3's and has no defense what-so-ever. They also have absolutely nobody to challenge Alexander in the paint.

Regional Semi Winners:
UCLA--Too much for the Bulldogs of Drake. Drake may be able to rain the 3's on you but they also have to stop the multi-faceted offense of the Bruins....something that won't happen.
Xavier--The Minutemen are more balanced and more disciplined than the Mountaineers. Close game that will go Xavier's way in the end.

Regional Finals Winner:
UCLA--Dominant team that will dominate. Even more balanced than Xavier. Will move into yet another Final Four.


FINAL FOUR
Game 1:
Kansas--Kansas will finally end their futility against North Carolina. Defense will be the key to the Jayhawks win. The Jayhawks play better D than the Tar Heels and have a good enough offense to out score North Carolina in the end.

Game 2:
Pittsburgh--The beast from the Big East will pound the Bruins into the ground. As long as the ref's don't hand the game to UCLA (like they did in the PAC-10 tourney) then Pitt will grind the Bruins down over the course of 40 minutes.

FINALS
Kansas--Kansas will play the rough style of Pitt and still beat them. The Jayhawks are the best in the nation in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

WOO HOO!!!!! Bonds not going to the Hall!

Barry Bonds announced yesterday that if the #756 baseball is entered into the baseball Hall of Fame with an asterisk then he will boycott the building and any ceremony should he be inducted. This is awesome. First off, he should never be inducted in my opinion. I hope he never sets foot into the building, he doesn't deserve it. I can't stand this steroid monkey. Now I know he hasn't ever been tested positive and has never admitted to taking steroids, but come on folks. It is ssssoooooooo obvious that he took steroids that he might as well just admit it and get it over with.

In case you hadn't heard, Mark Echo (the fashion giant)bought the baseball and had fans vote for what to do with it. The choices were:

1. Blast it into space.
2. Mark it with an asterisk. Then give it to the Hall of Fame.
3. Give it to the Hall of Fame unmarked.

Well, as you have probably guessed, option number 2 won the fan voting. The Hall of Fame has said it would take the ball, which is what prompted this wonderful response from the anti-Christ himself.

Holy Crap!!!!!

This is one of the most amazing plays I have ever seen.

Baseball Awards

American League

MVP--Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees--This is a no-brainer. He may be a Yankee, but he had an incredible season and without him in the Yankee lineup they would never have even sniffed the playoffs.

Rookie of the Year--Delmon Young, Tampa Bay Devil Rays--This was a close one. I ended up giving it to Young because he had the better numbers overall. Pedroia would have gotten the award if the post season were included. Matsuzaka would have received it had he had a better W-L record and a lower WHIP.

Cy Young--Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox--Close one between Sabathia, Carmona, Lackey, and Beckett. I gave it to Beckett because he won 20 games and was lights out in almost every start he had this year.

Manager of the Year--Terry Francona, Boston Red Sox--WORLD SERIES CHAMPION! 'Nuff said.

National League

MVP--Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies--Could have gone to Jimmy Rollins (Phillies) or even Prince Fielder (Brewers), but I thought Holliday meant more to the Rockies than the other two did to their respective clubs. Without Holliday the Rockies don't make the playoffs. Sure Hawpe, Helton, Atkins all had decent years, but none of them had the season Matt had. Rollins had Howard and Utley who both had monstrous years as well and Fielder had good stats, but couldn't carry his team when they needed him to.

Rookie of the Year--Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies--Troy had a ginormous year for a rookie, but so did Ryan Braun. The thing that put Tulo ahead in this race was his fielding. He committed only 11 errors, to Braun's 26, in over 800 chances and led the best fielding team in MLB history. Braun had some gaudy numbers considering he didn't come up until May, but Tulo's numbers were good as well and his fielding was far superior.

Cy Young--Jake Peavy, San Diego Padres--Only 19 game winner in NL and only starter with a sub 3.00 ERA. No one else was close for this one.

Manager of the Year--Clint Hurdle, Colorado Rockies--Clint did a masterful job in keeping the Rockies focused early in the season and mid-season when they had a 9 game losing streak.

Poll for week 10/29-11/4

I have added a new poll for this week.

And then there was one.....

BOSTON WINS THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!

Over the weekend the Boston Red Sox finished their dismantling of the Rockies for their second World Series title in 4 years. Matsuzaka and Lester pitched wonderful. Okajima had some trouble with Holliday and Atkins, but Papelbon, who I think should have won the MVP, shut down the Rockies to earn a save in both games.

Lowell had a great series, but I believe Papelbon deserved the MVP more. He came in the last three games and completely shut down the Rockies, allowing only a couple of hits and ZERO runs. Each game he pitched almost 2 innings and earned the save in all three games. Two of the games he protected a 1-run lead and kept the powerful Rockies lineup in check.

The Rockies were never really in any of the games. The score makes the games look closer than they actually were. Aside from some late inning heroics by Holliday, 3-run jack to make game 3 6-5 for about 2 seconds, and Atkins, 2-run jack to make game 4 4-3, the Rockies never looked like they were more than spectators. The bats never really got going and the pitching was mediocre at best overall. Jimenez in game 2 was great and Corpas seemed to be on, but the rest of the staff might as well have stayed in the bullpen for all the good they did.

I am very happy that I did not have to wait for another 86 years before my beloved Red Sox won another title.

New Poll

I changed the poll to add an answer for the Rockies winning.

As cool as the other side of the pillow

BOSTON WINS 2-1.

Schilling was as cool as the other side of the pillow. He went out and painted the corners and the lower part of the strike zone. When he missed it wasn't by much. Aside from a rough first inning he held the once powerful Rockies lineup to 4 hits in 6+ innings. Papejima then closed the rest of the game for Boston. Papelbon ended the 8th inning with a beautiful pick-off of Matt Holliday. Once again it is proven that great pitching wins playoff games. The BoSox bats were not in high gear last night but they scored just enough to win behind some lights out pitching.

I have to give Ubaldo Jimenez (Uba) credit for not looking like he was about to piss his pants. He was calm and composed the whole time he was on the mound. He started losing control of his pitches the more the BoSox made him work, but he never lost his composure. I was very impressed, as I have been the whole time he has been in the majors, with his performance. The bullpen pitched much better than in game 1 and kept the BoSox from adding to the lead.

The biggest problem for the Rockies right now is that they can't get their sticks (bats) going. Of course when you are swinging twigs instead of sticks it is hard to hit anything. Holliday, he went 4-4, was the only one who seemed to have returned from the time suck the Rockies have been in since the start of game 1, but he forgot you should never break towards the next base if the pitcher hasn't even thrown the ball yet.

Game 3 will be here at Coors Field and all the Bostonians making the trip will be highly disappointed with the beer selection. Coors Light flows from every nook and cranny within Coors Field. There are about 2 "Beers of the World" carts on the main concourse that will sell out of Sam Adams, and any other non piss-water beer, before the first pitch. Daisuke Matsuzaka will be on the mound for the BoSox and Josh Fogg will go for the Rockies. Dice-K is due for one of his uber performances and the BoSox bats will tear Fogg and his mediocre stuff apart. I predict another blow-out for game 3......Boston 11 Colorado 2.

A ginormous can of "Woop Ass"!

That is what Beckett opened up on the Rockies last night. "Oh shit!!!" was the general expression on the faces of the Rockies players as they attended their first ever World Series game. I say attended because you can't really call their performance last night as playing--at least not on a professional level. Beckett and the Sox demoralized the Rockies 13-1 in what was a close game until it started. Beckett struck out the side in the top of the first and Boston scored 3 times in the bottom of the first to ice the game.

Beckett was the lights out pitcher he has been his whole post season career, mowing down rocky after rocky and then calmly walking off the field. Atkins and Helton shook the cobwebs out enough to get a few hits, but the over-matched Rockies never really threatened Beckett and couldn't seem to figure out he was throwing mostly fastballs.

Pedroia became the first rookie to EVER lead off the World Series with a home run and that was just the beginning of the end of game 1. Every single BoSox starter had an RBI, except Lowell, and a hit, except Ellsbury. By the 5th inning they had set the record for most extra base hits in a World Series game with 9.

Now I know the Rockies had 8 days off to dread their impending doom to the American League Champion, but that is no excuse for forgetting how to play baseball. They did practice and have simulated games, which is more than I do for my job when I am on vacation yet I still manage to remember how to work.

Francis found out what it was like to make mistake pitches to a team that can actually hit the ball. Arizona couldn't hit the ass end of an elephant with a beach ball let alone a baseball. Philadelphia had the same problem the Rockies had last night, they just had there "Oh shit!!!!!" reaction in the Division Series.

Morales came in and thought each inning only needed two outs instead of three. He quit pitching after the second out and the BoSox dropped 7 runs on the board. Of course Morales probably didn't expect Speier to walk home three of the people he put on base. Speier decided to pull a Rick Ankiel and walk everybody he faced giving the BoSox 13 runs, 11 of which came with 2 outs.

The Rockies came to Fenway last night rested and relaxed right up until game time. Then they took their seats and watched Beckett pitch ridonculously. The Rockies were not effected by an 8 day lay-off. What happened is they got handed an old fashioned beat-down. A ginormous can of "Woop-Ass" was opened up by the BoSox.

Schilling will be pitching for the BoSox tonight against Ubaldo Jimenez. The can of "Woop Ass" Schilling uses is a bit smaller than Beckett's these days, but it is still enough to beat the lowly Rockies. The Rockies are sending another rookie to the mound, Morales was the first one, to be slaughtered by the powerful BoSox lineup. Jimenez had to be sent out early in last night's game to find his own can of "Woop Ass" for tonight. Apparently the Rockies didn't think Jimenez could handle the sight of Beckett's can and didn't want to subject him to the horrors of the BoSox hitters. The BoSox should take care of business again tonight and win by the score of 9-6.

FUCK the Rockies!!!!!

I was all set to root for the home team and my second favorite team, the Colorado Rockies, even though they are playing my favorite team, the Boston Red Sox, in the World Series. I have been a Boston fan for 24 years and a Rockies fan for 10. I was ecstatic when both teams made the World Series.

All I needed now was a World Series ticket. For the past two days I have been trying to access the shit-ass ticket broker the Rockies chose to use, some lame-ass company based in California. My wife and I were both trying to access the site in order to buy 2 tickets to game 3. If the site had stayed up and we just had not been able to get in then it wouldn't bother me, but no, the dumb-ass Rockies had to open up the online ticket buying to everyone in the fucking world. The server gets bombarded on Monday and crashes, or does it? The Rockies claim to have been attacked......FUCKING DUH! They were attacked by 9Million rabid fans seeking World Series tickets. What did they think was going to happen, everybody was going to get a ticket and be merry? Monday ticket sales were stopped by the team after about 500 (mostly Bostonians) out of 60,000 were sold.

Tuesday begins the next quest for World Series bliss. The wife gets in to purchase tickets THREE times and the site locks up just long enough for the counter that holds your tickets to expire. "GET THE FUCK OUT" say the Rockies. "We didn't want your kind (a true fan) at the game anyway". So we keep trying even though our faces are red from being slapped by the Rockies repeatedly for two days. Eventually we hear they are selling 1500 tickets a minute and then all the games are sold out. What a bunch of shit.

So now due to the ineptitude of the front office of the Colorado Rockies I will be rooting for my favorite team. I am also considering NOT purchasing season tickets. This team apparently only cares about the bottom line. Now I know it is a business and making a profit is important in keeping the business around, but dammit fans are the reason the business stays in town. Without the support of fans, professional sports teams would be non-existent and once again the Monforts have let it be known that the fans don't matter.

I say everybody from Colorado boycott the World Series. Let all the Bostonians fly out here and cheer for my beloved Red Sox at Coors field and when Boston clinches their second World Series title in 4 years the Monforts can look around at the sea of red and wonder what happened. Where did the all the Rockies fans go? We went to the sports bars and the family room to watch the World Series with true friends and family.....because since we live in Colorado we couldn't get tickets.

Cody Hawkins: A Product of Nepotism or the Real Deal?

Cody Hawkins begins his college quarterback career at the University of Colorado today in the biggest game of CU's season, arch-rival Colorado State University. Sure Nebraska and Oklahoma are big rivals, but the rivalry between the University of Colorado and Colorado State is as heated, and sometimes just as bloody, as the legendary feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. Losing to CSU is like Alabama losing to Auburn, it is that big of a deal.

So can Cody keep his perfect record as a starting quarterback going, he is 59-0 as a started dating back to youth league, or will he fall flat on his face and suck like my wife thinks he will? There has been mixed reaction to his being named the starter; some say he is only starting because he is "The Hawk's" son and others think he legitimately earned the starting gig. I have never seen him play, but I have read about him and his backup Nick Nelson and their battle for the starting job for weeks now. I believe he has really earned it and so does the rest of the team, which is the most important thing. I was impressed by his poise under the scrutiny of getting the starting job. He seems really down to earth and knows there is a lot of pressure on him to win. He seems to be just arrogant enough to win and not let it go to his head.

My wife thinks he got the job only because he is the coaches son. She believes his inexperience will be his downfall. Here are a few of her quotes about it:

"Youth League is a lot different from the college ranks"
"He is gonna suck"
"He only got the job because he is the coach's son"
"The QB coach had the final say? Bullshit!

I think he'll get the job done.

Top 10 TE for FF07

10. Owen Daniels--Was good on a bad Houston team last year, will be better on an equally bad Houston team this year.

9. LJ Smith--One of Donovan McNabb's favorite targets when both of them are healthy. It is his contract year so he will do everything he can to be in games.

8. Randy McMichael--Bulger won't look to him much between the twenties, but Randy should get tons of chances in the red zone to show off his catching ability.

7. Chris Cooley--Jason Campbell loves throwing to Cooley and it helps that Cooley catches everything thrown to him.

6. Kellen Winslow--Should provide a nice short option for Quinn. Which means they will develop a good repoire, which means Quinn will look for him in the red zone.

5. Todd Heap--Baltimore's top red zone target. He runs great routes and runs well after the catch.

4. Jeremy Shockey--Required to block too much. The Giants need to let him run more routes and be Manning's go to guy. If that happens then he will have a great season. If.

3. Vernon Davis--Alex Smith is improving with every snap. Vernon can fly and is strong so he should be open plenty for Smith to throw to all over the field. He could blow up in '07.

2. Tony Gonzalez--No surprise here. Croyle may be a very green rookie QB, but Gonzo always gets his catches and has the athleticism to give his young QB a great target.

1. Antonio Gates--Even less surprise at this. Gates is the best TE hands down. He has a great QB to throw him the ball and is the other cornerstone to the passing game (LT is the other). Expect another big year from Gates.

Win # 350

Congratulations to Roger Clemens on his 350th career win. I know a lot of people think he could be juiced, but unlike the anti-christ Clemens has always been a big guy. Heck if he can get into a groove he could pass 370 wins. So look out Warren Spahn the Rocket is coming for ya.