Monday, March 17, 2008

What Gheorghe is Thinking, March Madness Edition

I love Airwolf as much as the next guy, but I'm tired of looking at that post. (Also, I don't love Airwolf as much as the next guy - I barely remember it. I am quite fond of that giant pink helicopter from Riptide, though.) Since we're only 72 hours away from the greatest two days of the year* (* - we're required by law to use that construct, and despite the fact that I happen to believe it, even I've grown tired of the amateur hour schtick associated with the first Thursday and Friday of the tournament. Combined with St. Patrick's Day, it's gonna be a banner week for poseurdom.)

Friend of G:TB Jerry has stepped up with a typically dead-on take on the March Madness phenomenon, especially the overplayed bracket meme. Like him, I'm historically brutal in submitting successful brackets, though I did manage to parlay my interest in the tourney into a reasonably profitable revenue-skimming operation during my college years. So do be sure and take the next several comments with a healthy portion of skepticism.

In terms of teams with realistic chances to have some success, I'm rooting hard for Baylor, Butler, George Mason (duh), and Pittsburgh. Baylor's pretty obvious - Scott Drew's kids are the feel-good story of the decade. Butler, too, is clear - A.J. Graves is even scrawnier than me. Pittsburgh, well, I just like the cut of their jib.

I'm hoping West Virginia, Kentucky, and Miami flame out early. Hate the Huggins. And just don't care for either of the others. I'd put North Carolina and Memphis in here, too, but rooting against them won't do any good. (Though keep an eye on Jarvis Varnado and Mississippi State if they get to Memphis in the second round.)

As much as it pains me, I've got a 'strong sell' recommendation on Gheorghetown. Call it a hunch. They'll get past the Gonzaga/Davidson winner easily, especially if it's Davidson, but I don't think they beat Wisconsin.

Stanford and Louisville are really good (and, in a bonus, both Cardinal(s)). Final Four good. Stanford beat UCLA in the regular season, despite the fact that the record shows otherwise and had them dead to rights in the Pac 10 final. The Cardinal are (is?) big and deep. With David Padgett healthy, Louisville is experienced, balanced, and well-coached.

Teams I think will overperform their seeding (by doing more than just winning in the first round): Clemson, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Baylor, Louisville, Stanford.

Teams I expect to gack: Oklahoma, Marquette, Memphis, Tennessee, Miami.

No real screw-jobs from the committee, though it's a bit disappointing to see three mid-major vs. mid-major contests in the first round. At least three will be going through, I suppose, so there's a silver lining for you. Butler as a 7 makes no sense whatsoever, but neither does Indiana as an 8.

Tiger Woods. Good at his profession. The fine men and women of Bear Stearns. Not so much. Godspeed to our colleague Rhymenocerous as he stands firmly in the breach, protecting hearth and home from marauding Chinese arbitraguers in these uncertain times.

And finally, apropo of nothing, I caught the first two episodes of John Adams last night. Aside from the fact that a bald Paul Giamatti is most disconcerting, those bastards at HBO have sucked me in for another 6 weeks. The acting is phenomenal, the story intense (the gravity of the scene in the time immediately after the Continental Congress voted for independence, well, talk about one shining moment), and details spot-on.

Slainte, then, as we leave you with a little from Shane MacGowan and the boys on this bogus but festive holiday: There's some takes delight in the carriages a rolling/Some takes delight in the hurley or the bowlin'/But I takes delight in the juice of the barley/And courting pretty fair maids in the morning bright and early.

49 comments:

T.J. said...

Pig Vomit as our 2nd President?

rob said...

indeed. he's awesome.

T.J. said...

I'm not a fan of all the post-bracket bitching and wining, but Tennessee got fucked with that #2 seed.

And the Duke-love is apparent even on the selection committee. Unreal.

T.J. said...

That would be "whining"...

rob said...

duke has a walk into the sweet sixteen, and even then would play the worst 3 seed in xavier. agreed in full, sir.

ucla, howevah, will drum them senseless.

Dennis said...

Yeah, they really got "hooked" by being in the WEST region, bamas.

zman said...

I don't understand how DC and Tampa are in the western region while Denver is in the east and the south. Tampa is in the midwest as well. Should we send these schmucks a map?

I am unhappy that the Phatriots have to fly all the way to Denver to play their opening round.

T.J. said...

Settle down Dennis.

Jerry said...

pod system = stupid poop

T.J. said...

Dennis and I will be at the DC games Thursday afternoon...and Geoff will be at the Sat DC games. Question - will there be booze at these games?

Jerry said...

If 2002 is any indication, I'd recommend stuffing airplane bottles in your socks.

T.J. said...

That should go over well in the work luxury box.

Jerry said...

I didn't realize that you were one of those stuffy corporate fat cats that has ruined sports. I'm just a common man who wanted to get drunk, so I put rum in my socks.

T.J. said...

I'll go for vodka...and a 80 oz Sprite.

rob said...

"i'm just a common man who wanted to get drunk"

amen, brother. amen.

rob said...

ah, yes, the diabolical "west" region, where duke plays in acc country for the first two rounds before having to go to phoenix, which offers no particular advantage to the number 1 seed in terms of partisanship. i weep for duke's misfortune.

T.J. said...

Nice work by Cuse earning that #1 seed in the NIT.

Dennis said...

Hold on little fella...are you telling me that Duke will have at least equal fan base in Arizona as UCLA??

Wow, you're silly. And not in the good way.

rob said...

i'm saying that it would be a lot worse for duke if the regional was in anaheim or l.a. or san diego than it will be in phoenix. ucla may (*may* - you know damn well that duke's got a national fan base) have some advantage, but it won't be like the one texas will have in houston or carolina will have in charlotte.

i know dukies are required by law to deny the existence of any favorable conditions, but find another 2 seed with an easier route to the elite 8. double dog dare you.

rob said...

tribe got robbed by the nit. again.

rob said...

maryland with an nit 5-seed. guh.

if vcu can get past uab, they could get to the final four.

Dennis said...

By "earning" a 2 seed, you are supposed to have an advantage in getting to the elite 8. That's the point of seeds. I'm glad you bring up Texas though, because that IS a perfect example of a 2-seed getting hooked. I'd be super pissed if I was Memphis having to play a LOWER seed in their frickin backyard in the regional final...

rob said...

sure, an advantage compared to the other teams in your region - not compared to the same seeds in other regions. but thanks for the primer on "seeding". quite helpful.

nobody's arguing that texas didn't get a break - they did, but they've got stanford where duke gets xavier. but if you're seriously arguing that duke has an equivalently difficult road to the elite 8 as the other #2 seeds, then we will simply need to agree to disagree, good sir.

i might have to root for some sort of mildly annoying apocalyptic event when duke faces wvu in the second round. nothing life-threatening, but maybe a robust chicken pox or dystentary.

T.J. said...

If you're gonna steal something, make it as entertaining as this:

EASTPOINTE, Mich. (AP) - Police in suburban Detroit are looking for a 6-foot-tall glass of Guinness. Don't worry, it's work-related. A green, pint-glass-shaped Guinness costume has been reported stolen from an Eastpointe resident's garage.

It's valued at $3,000 and had been flown to Michigan from Ireland to be used as advertising. Eastpointe Police Lt. Leo Borowsky says it is believed to be one of only two such costumes in the U.S.

zman said...

And Eastpoint Police Lt. Leo Borowsky knows a lot about the US population of beer costumes.

Whitney said...

Here's a point you may have missed about the Duke seeding: if you look at every other team in their region, those teams' collective road record, and take into consideration UCLA's record against teams outside of the Top 25, I think you'd have to agree that every Duke player and their entire fan base is gay.

Think about that, huh?

rob said...

sort of belaboring the obvious, though, isn't it?

T.J. said...

The Nuggets dropped 168 on the Sonics yesterday?

Wow.

T.J. said...

I like it when Seth Davis agrees with me:

Underrated: Siena. If you watched the Saints wallop a very good Rider team in the MAAC championship game, you know how dangerous this team can be. Siena has very little size (no starters taller than 6-foot-7) and experience (only one senior), yet it has four different players who are capable of scoring 20 or more points. Since they play a five-out, none-in style offense, they can lose to anyone when their threes aren't falling, but you could say that about a lot of teams -- including their first-round opponent, Vanderbilt.

rob said...

lotta eggs going into that basket for teejay. hope the saints pull through for you, my friend. or else...wauggggh.

T.J. said...

Yes, my entire bracket (and life) will be crushed by a Saints loss. Especially since I have them in the Final Four.

T.J. said...

Ah yes, the Jets are at it again. Catch 18 passes all of last year? No worries, here's 3 million bucks for that awesomeness:

Looking to add depth to the tight end position, the New York Jets added former Pro Bowler Bubba Franks to their roster, according to several New York-area media reports.

After catching a career-low 18 passes last season with the Packers, Franks is expected to be a backup behind Chris Baker this season.

Franks was cut by Green Bay last month. He was due to make $3 million in base salary.

Dennis said...

I haven't even looked at a bracket yet...

UKWP *AIRWOLF* said...

Not taking life too seriously or anything (bit like Dubyah and his amateurs in the Fed trying to steer what's left of our economy into oblivion) but sure, at least I'm enjoying the awesome new, digitally remastered Airwolf soundtrack that they've just released called 'Airwolf Themes' which you can download off Apple iTunes Store, or from their official website where there are great teaser samples, http://www.airwolfthemes.com/

rob said...

surgefilter. greatest bot ever. or most random blogstumbler in history. webcam, you, on the other hand, suck.

Greg said...

Is surgefilter content related? I've never heard of any living person caring about Airwolf that much.

T.J. said...

I think SurgeFilter is Whit/Bruno.

Jerry said...

The distance from LA to Phoenix is about the same as the distance from Washington to Cleveland.

T.J. said...

NY Governors - just can't keep it in their pants.

rob said...

i think it's a tri-state thing. you see the stories about mcgreevey's three-ways? the good people of connecticut better keep their heads down. unless there's a different third state in that particular three-way.

rob said...

just saw this headline:

NY Yankees paid more for A-Rod than JPM did for Bear Stearns

whoa.

Dennis said...

Jerr, while you're gathering useless information, can you find the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow please? It's really been bugging me...I'm particularly interested in the African swallow, not the European swallow. Thanks.

zman said...

monty python sucks

Geoff said...

Hear hear...

Greg said...

JPM got Bear Stearns for a steal. I heard their building alone is worth $1.5B.

Whitney said...

Not everybody likes Monty Python, it's true. There's no accounting for taste, as they say.

I will say that virtually each of the funniest and most erudite people I've come across in my 37 years enjoys the Pythoners wholeheartedly. It makes fondness for the troupe's work (or lack thereof) a bit of a gauge, which is convenient.

zman said...

I guess I'm both dry and uneducated.

Geoff said...

But whit, I don't find you remotely funny and you love them. Please explain.

mbgreer said...

We all think that our team got a bad draw. It doesn't matter, the best teams on that day won period. The bottom line is that the best 4 teams that are still playing are and were the the best teams playing in March.
mbg