Weekend Observations

The first weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament is in the books and my bracket looks like dogsh*t.  I must admit Cleavie Wonder has been poisoned by his own medicine bottle.  I let the trash talking, the finger pointing, and the name calling get under my skin.  I made irrational decisions and took unnecessary risks when filling out my bracket.  I wanted to shut up my competitors and re-establish myself as the foremost bracketologist on planet Earth.  The results have been less than impressive.

Although I will take a large share of the blame these college kids have to look at themselves in the mirror as well.  Those Georgetown guys need to have their scholarship status re-evaluated.  Nobody loses to a 15 seed without getting cussed out by the alumni.  It may not seem like it, but John Thompson's seat is starting to get warm.  Pittsburgh blew a golden opportunity to end up in the great 8 with a disappointing loss to Wichita St. and Kansas St. couldn't win a first round game IN KANSAS CITY!  Wisconsin folded like a house of cards and Syracuse (finally) played like a top 10 team.  I can't take the blame for those outcomes.  That's just part of the Cinderella dance.  I'm way back in my group standing for the time being, but Cleavie Wonder will make a significant push in the round of 16.  4th place is still within reach.  Here are some observations over the weekend.

Ben Howland is out as coach of the UCLA Bruins.  Although Howland took the Bruins to back to back final four appearances a few years ago the fans and alumni in Westwood were not amused by their first round exit this year.  Everyone seems to think the heir apparent for the job is Shaka Smart.  Let's see if he's smart enough to take advantage of the opportunity.

Elvis Dumervil is A Raven!  After a fax machine snafu cost him a chance to sign with a Super Bowl contender Elvis ended up with a team in a rebuilding phase.  Sure the Ravens just won a Lombardi trophy, but they've basically gutted their team this offseason.  The Broncos have a much better chance of playing the Seahawks in New York next year than the Ravens do.  Sometimes modern technology can let you down.

The Miami Heat won their 26th game without the services of D Wade.  It appears the Heat are very cognizant of their chance at immortality.  Now that I see they are taking the streak very seriously their chances of succeeding have increased exponentially.  A Wednesday game at Chicago and a Friday game at San Antonio will go a long way to determining their fate.

Florida Gulf Coast is without question the big story of the tournament.  This is not a good thing for those NBA GM's waiting to watch the ping pong balls in June.  The fact that a little school with no basketball history is the main topic of discussion lets us know there is virtually no talent in this upcoming draft.  If you see someone with star potential from here on out please don't hesitate to contact me.