Oh, I Think So

"March madness" continues with the NCAA "road to the final four" being littered with the "bodies" of fallen "sure things."  (Ah, four sets of quotation marks in one sentence; my own personal-worst record.)  Butler buttered Florida's popcorn and Connecticut used a butter knife to smear Arizona on toast.  Kentucky totally bitch-slapped North Carolina.   The Jayhawks (rock chalk) of the University of Kansas played Virginia Commonwealth who made the team from Lawrence look like farmboys who'd never been to the big city; the Kansas fans were stunned and one of the players was crying.  Do I care?  Not so much. I got myself into two tournaments as they were free.  I'd never done this before and amazingly still ended up with 5.8% of the players worse than me.  What does this say?  It says that I still suck but there are those who suck harder.  Strangely, for the women's tournament, where my ignorance was at 99%, I fared better, but only...

In keeping with the theme of not knowing much of anything, I signed up for a couple of free contests online to predict the outcome of the men's and the women's NCAA tournaments and am doing about the same on both of them, i.e. I won't be on TV and my name and picture won't be in the paper, but I didn't totally embarrass myself either.  If I were to just do nothing but pay close attention all year long to every college hoops game, the result would probably be about the same.  I say Ohio State and the University of Kansas will play the final game and the Jayhawks (rock chalk) will be victorious.  Michigan State was beaten by UCLA in the first round but the Lady Spartans could still tear it up so again I urge go Green!  Go White! -------------------------- Isn't life filled with surprises?  For me it was shingles.  I don't sit around and feel crappy for an extended period of time.  I feel crappy as I assess the type and firmness of the crap and then c...

It is here, ladies and gentlemen:  March Madness, when men's college basketball goes viral in every nook and cranny of these United States and illegal gambling, i.e. office pools, flourish.  The committee met in Indianapolis and they looked at head-to-head factors, performance factors, and playing factors and, long story short, Michigan State University, headed by Tom Izzo who is going for the 14th time, is IN  and will play UCLA on Thursday in Tampa.  Ohio State, number one in the country, of course got in and, yeah, the University of Michigan but I don't care about them.  Go Spartans; go green; go white. I have been so bold as to register for a NCAA basketball beat-the-sportscaster contest.  Stay tuned to see how sensationally bad picks can be. ------------------------------- The Chicago Bulls are headed to the playoffs and Derek Rose could get his first MVP award.  The Chicago Blackhawks are now in fourth place and could be heading to the playo...

Practice, practice, practice.  That's how you get to Carnegie Hall and that's how you get to the NBA playoffs.   The Chicago Bulls just won a game that swept the series against the Miami Heat; the Heat with the alleged holy three of basketball; the Heat who cannot seem to be cohesive.  In other words:  neener, neener, neener, egomaniacs, the Bulls creamed your corn. Whevever I watch highlights of any basketball game, I am often impressed with the passing game at the hoop.  It is insane!  How did that guy know to send it to that guy and that guy to the other guy and the other guy to the fourth guy, who gets a basket?  Practice and a good coaching staff that makes them run drills all season long and play and shoot and shoot and play so that whatever comes up, they can handle it.  The Bulls are a tight unit and each man knows what the others do best and play accordingly and full-out. The Heat has three supernova stars of the NBA galaxy....

I wish a very happy birthday to my oldest friend, Mrs. X (not her real name, y'all), who today turns the same age as me.  Welcome, Missus, I say, to the continuation of life!  Mrs. X and X (nope, also not his real name), her dear husband, live about one hour outside of Tampa.  They used to live one hour outside of NYC but they grew weary of the weather and commuting in that weather decided to relocate to sun and warmth.  When I called this morning, Mrs. X was walking their dog, Princess (yes, her real name is Princess, and she is royally well behaved), so X and I had a spirited political discussion, something we both enjoy.  The bottom of line of that discussion is this:  (1) there are many liars in politics and in talk radio; (2) while it is the American way to come from nothing and succeed beyond one's wildest dreams there will also be haters hating on you if they are jealous or just stupid haters; and (3) Mrs. X really loves X.  A lot. ...

The notion of getting season tickets for the Bears appeals to me intellectually.  In reality, season tickets for the Bears would mean enduring a harsh climate in the latter part of the season as there is no roof at Soldier Field.  Then I thought about what might be a better idea.  Season tickets for the Blackhawks AND season tickets for the Lyric Opera.  Both are near my workplace.  Both are of interest to me.  Both have civilized patrons (I work in a major train station and the Hawks fans are very well behaved in the building and out in front while they wait for the bus to United Center and, well, headbutting and rudeness doesn't seem to occur to opera fans).  Both offer a huge spectacle.  And I can't afford decent seats at either venue. I have enjoyed fourth row seats at the Lyric Opera and it is magical.  I have endured upper balcony seats at the Lyric Opera and while I enjoyed the music and the show, the seats up there are particuarly n...

1.  I've been to Bears Training Camp in Bourbonnais; I don't need to go again.   The Bears hardly seem to appreciate the effort the fans make to get to Bourbonnais, parking in distant lots and walking great distances to stand in the summer sun, only to be ignored by their heroes who would not be heroes at all -- just guys with thick necks and memory issues from too many concussions -- were it not for their fans. 2.  Statistics are for immediately after the game and off-season comparisons.  During the game, before the game, even the day after the game, it's just dick measuring. 3.  If I watch the game or see highlights later, the outcome is not affected.  I am interested, I care, but if I go to Target or a movie, or have a nice meal while a game is being played, the Bears will play the way they were going to play. 4.  The NFL must get serious about concussions.  When I read a series of detective books and the protagonist is knocked ...