All Blog vs. Comments

Just wanted to weigh in and say that I like this all-blog format.  MUCH better than digging through comments.  What do others think?

Mook

Monday Morning Quarterbacking

I know better than to use a football metaphor on a basketball blog but this is Monday. A review of the standings and the remaining possible points shows who is really in this game. This post did not review the method picks and some of the people who appear out of it. There are no warranties express or implied as to the accuracy of these figures, but combining points earned to date with remaining possible points shows that the potential winner is Dodie who could amass 1470 points. He is closely pursued by Maggie with 1460 possible points and in third place in the possible points derby is yours truly the no longer "sicker picker" but now touting himself as possibly the "slicker picker" with 1430 possible points. Back at 1410 is Jeff and M. Jenkins (who I believe to be the bracketologist formerly known as "Catfish." Jim Goff could get back in the race with his 1400 possible points and Will remains a possbility at 1390. The allegedly "Mysterious Mr. Crawford" remains high in the actual points but is lagging on possible points at 1360. Rumors are that he is consulting legal advice on defamation suits against some of the posters on this blog. Todd who is second in the actual standings is way back in possible points at 1330. Our current winner and only one in the pool who loves the ACC more than Billy Packer is Lauren. In remaining possbile points she has only 123o. Reports are that she is now saying, "It is the W's that count not the possbile W's." There are a couple of points that were overlooked in the excitement about the actual games. Why have the high point people been so quiet? Why does Gregg Raskin talk about pulling for the underdogs and pick Georgetown over Davidson? Why does Jeff name his bracket "Frank McGuire was right? Why did no one post Hillary's bracket? Will she disclose it when she discloses her income tax returns? Or did she not want to publish a bracket taking a stand on the Arkansas - UNC game? Who is Leslie going to pick when Tennessee comes up against the Davidson Wildcats? Is Piers following his beloved Syracuse in the NIT? The SEC has really been a bust and Tennessee is lucky to still be alive this morning. They have had four teams go home after two games and are now tied with the Southern Conference and the A-10 with one team remaining. Is there is anyone out there who will not be pulling for the Davidson Wildcats to win a couple of more games? Clarkson

Was it all a bad dream?

While it's just now late evening for you east coasters (and ealier for anyone further west), it's already morning here in smoggy Mumbai.  I slept terribly last night, tossing and turning.  Guess I must have been sleep walking when I got up to eat my Hoya-flavored crow...

 

Maggie, it's very true - you must smack talk while you can...

 

Mook - my winning-it-all team is gone already - Rincon

Elbow room

Well, earlier today I was bunched in with a number of other people, tied at 13th. But now I've separated myself from the pack, at 20th. Thank goodness for Maggie Lou and Franklin, or I'd be in last place (excepting method brackets). For once Butler didn't do it. Louisville looks like they're doing the Big East proud. Pitino was once an assistant under Jimmy Boeheim, and so I'm now fully behind them. In case you haven't appreciated Pitino before, let me help you: Georgetown, on the other hand, should take a couple of extra days before going home. Leslie had a very good day, to say the least. But I'm not spinning Rocky Top again.

Raskin on Underdogs

Raskin, you didn't get enough feedback on your underdog question. All those upsets stole your thunder. Anyway, the fact that you are now rooting for underdogs (and what was Pitt, anyway?) means that, when it comes to sports, you are an incurable and hopeless romantic. Just as you are in real life. By the way, Davidson is a small town in Oklahoma.

Oy.

Well, I may be tied for 5th place, but I don't have that many potential points remaining, so I'm going to continue my underdog rooting. Go Davidson! That Curry guy is sweet! Where is Davidson, anyway?

Moving Up to the Big Time

Dodie and I have moved in a tie for 5th with our prescient pick of the Davidson win. Dodie and I also have more possible points remaining. That will all end for me if Miss State continues to beat Memphis, who I have winning it all.  Piers' UNC team doesn't seem to know how to score but neither does Arkansas.
            Clarkson
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

I hear that they say that you should talk smack while the smack talking is good. My standing might not look so great, but I'm slowly creeping up from behind. How about Davidson!?! I didn't pick them, but I my hat is off to those brave few that did.

Onward and Upward

Just back from Philly, where I was of the off the grid, so I missed Friday's smack.

Let me be the first to congratulate Coach K and the boys for helping bring some much needed change to the coaches attire in the Sweet 16.  The rigid requirements of the coat and tie are too antiquated for the modern game of b-ball.

Sitting in the middle of the pack, but just 60 points out of the lead, and third highest points possible.  Just like an experienced jockey; right where I want to be...

Watch out... Here comes Stewball.

(don't worry mom, I'm still drinking water, no wine for me)

Davidson is King.

      How about the Davidson Wildcats?  That was quite a game.   I doubt that it gets me back in contention, but it was fun watching it  
                       Clarkson
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

The Mysterious Crawford

"L. Crawford," most likely an imaginary entity according to the poll at right, picked Butler to beat Tennessee and will pull into the lead if Butler wins. Who is this mystery man, woman, non-human animal, or figment?

Raskin Underdog

Your rooting for underdogs now that Pitt is out reveals that you have no money at stake in McDowHoops. And your pleeding to Clarkson shows you've adopted the underdog mentality even on the blog.

Hey Clarkson

Stop sending abortive half-posts to the blog! You're superseding my interesting "Underdogs" post.

Re: Davidson

I meant to include my name. Clarkson
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld


----- Original Message -----
From: McDow, Clarkson
To: 'willandleslie.mcdowhoops@blogger.com' <willandleslie.mcdowhoops@blogger.com>
Sent: Sun Mar 23 15:04:30 2008
Subject: Re: Davidson

As you may have figured, that was my post.  At least I am looking good at 14:25. Bad call it should have been a charge.
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld


----- Original Message -----
From: McDow, Clarkson
To: 'willandleslie.mcdowhoops@blogger.com' <willandleslie.mcdowhoops@blogger.com>
Sent: Sun Mar 23 14:56:07 2008
Subject: Davidson

It is going to be Davidson all of the way. 
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Underdogs

Now that Pitt is out, I'm finding myself rooting for all the underdogs even though it could hurt my chances in the sMaCkDOWn. What do you think this means about me?

Re: Davidson

As you may have figured, that was my post.  At least I am looking good at 14:25. Bad call it should have been a charge.
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld


----- Original Message -----
From: McDow, Clarkson
To: 'willandleslie.mcdowhoops@blogger.com' <willandleslie.mcdowhoops@blogger.com>
Sent: Sun Mar 23 14:56:07 2008
Subject: Davidson

It is going to be Davidson all of the way. 
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

Davidson

It is going to be Davidson all of the way. 
--------------------------
Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

How's Obama Doing?

In his pool. Don't ask about Pennsylvania.

If he were in the Audacity of Hoops pool, he'd be tied for tenth with Maggie, Jenkins 1 / N. Jenkins, and Clarkson's RPI or RIP. I don't have time to work out his PPR... I leave that to someone without a five-month-old at home.

Ooo-de-lally golly what a day

After yesterday, I'm nervous about the Big East, but I think it's G'Town's game. As the Davidson fight song reveals, they play fair and square. And despite recent research that nice guys finish first (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1723979,00.html?xid=rss-topstories), we all know better: Reminder: if you post via email, sign your name in the email-post, so we know who it's from.

Coming home to busted brackets

Happy Easter! We're on the way back from VA not only with bracket
problems but with a spare tire too. Hoping the team with the highest
GPA will make a run. That's Davidson but still hoping the Vols come
through today too.
Leslie

Sorry Dodie

Dodie:  Not only is Davidson NOT going to beat the Hoyas today, the Hoyas won't be beat for the rest of the season. ..

Mook - 1160 points to go - Rincon

 

 

(So, I didn't ever REALLY think that Georgetown would win it all.  But with BC out and Notre Dame in, I had to pick someone.  And there certainly isn't a rule that you have to believe the smack you talk, right?)

This one's for Clarkson

Since I'm apparently not out of this pool yet, I thought I should get in on the posting action.

 

So this one's for Clarkson and all the other Billy Packer haters out there...

 

http://videos.newsobserver.com/index...yer&id=1782183

 

The Real Leaders

Although Lauren, the mysterious Crawford, and I are technically in the lead going into today's Easter games, the real leaders are the ones with the highest PPR (possible points remaining, I assume). They are:

Maggie
Jeff
MC
Dodie
Jenkins 1 / N. Jenkins (Nellie, is this yours, in addition to the Nellie bracket? Is it Nell?)



The photo has no relevance to the post.

Dode Poised to Break Out of Seven-Way for 13th place; Davidson to Dominate

This may be as good as it gets for me, so I better speak up now. I'm
in a seven-way tie for 13th place, but as a close reading of the
stats will show, I'm only in a five-way tie for first in the Possible
Points Remaining category. So for a little parsing, that means that
although I am 60 points behind the current leader (Lauren Fair-
Weatherly McDow) and 50 behind the second place (C. Lindsay Crawford--
you can take our women but you can't take our pool), I can still
score 1160 points whereas they can score only 920 or 1180,
respectively. And we all know that the super delegates will line up
behind me.

So what does this mean for today? Davidson needs to beat
Georgetown. Not even Leslie, a once-loyal Davidson grad had the
chutzpah to call this one. But you can count on the boys from
suburban Charlotte to send the Hoyas packing. (Only Clarkson, as
both the Hipster Pickster and the Offense Wins, had the foresight,
wisdom, courage, and vision to stand with me in this correct choice.)

Come game time, you can watch Dell Curry light up another 40, and
watch the Georgetown retreads retreat.

-Dode

An Experiment

Per Todd's good suggestion, today let's try the post-only method. That is, if you have something to say (this means you L. Crawford), don't comment on someone else's post, but make your own post. This will make reading everyone's contributions easier. At the end of the day, let me know whether you thought this was better or worse. Clarkson, your life should be make easier, because to post you need only send an email to that special blog email address, and you shouldn't need to go to the comments section at all. We'll only know if it's better if we try it! Happy Easter!

Comments vs. Posting - A Middle Ground?

Several have suggested that checking all the comments on the blog is a bit cumbersome; that having everyone post to the blog might be too hard; and that email isn't the solution either.  Just a friendly reminder that people can email their thoughts to the blog such that they show up like a post but with the convenience of email.  Like this one.

 

-Mook

Lookin' Good

The one bad thing about WSU's dominant performance is that CBS cut away to broadcast a closer game. Oh well. Go Stanford! Two minutes left, 69-68 Marquette.

A for effort

As Lauren wrote on the previous post: "I cannot believe Duke let a team whose coach didn't have on a collared shirt and tie beat them!" Let the loathing begin.

(Of course, sorry Will.)

Siena beats Vandy, Franklin scores 10

Franklin picked Siena in the first round, and they did not disappoint. And neither did Alex Franklin, a starting forward for the Saints, who put in 10 points (6 FG, 4 FT). Now Franklin also has Siena winning in the second round. He thought they would be beating a 5-seed from the ACC (Clemson), so a 12-seed from one of the mid-majors (Villanova) should not be a problem . Once this happens, Franklin's standing in McDowHoops should revive and get him back to the high teens, low twenties.

Cadbury Eggs My A---

I am heavy into my bracket and then see something on the blog about Cadbury eggs. That has to be some Yankee invention that has nothing to do with basketball. Maybe some missguided person is trying to lure the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving crowd. A more logical vote would be what my nom d' brackett should be. Hipster Pickster is not producing the W's. I strongly considered "sicker picker" but that sounds more like a person working with the nose rather than the bracket. My next choice was "Loser Choser." Sounds like a defeatest name. Any suggestions? That ought to give somebody the opportunity to take a shot.

Here is a picture of two girls who may be interested in Cadbury Eggs, but I am sure that they like chocolate ones better.

Who are we rooting for?

First, BC, GW, Syracuse, USC, and GTech (not to mention the Yales, Roanokes, and (ahem) Citadels of the world) didn't make the tourney this year. Second, George Mason and Winthrop have lost. That leaves: Washington State (Todd; also Pac-10 in general) Davidson (Leslie) Tennessee (Leslie (and MA?)) Duke (Fairweather Will's adopted team) Who else has team loyalties or dislikes? What am I missing? BTW, I am a Big East supporter, but no love for Notre Dame. (And I am not a UNC fan (except against Duke), despite attending Chapel Hill.)

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Time to learn a new fight song...

Winthrop-WSU Comment Thread

Tell me you aren't checking out the 'guns' on those Cougars...

Comments are open. Right now it's 16-15 WSU with 7 mins. left in the first half.

[Update: 29-29 at the half! Excitement excitement!]

[Second Update: Well it was down to the wire, but WSU squeaked out the win. Or at least that's what I assume - I flipped over to watch Duke get lucky as Belmont threw the ball away in the closing seconds.]

Obama's Bracket

Obama's campaign has released his bracket. He's picking UNC all the way.

More important, Obama's going with Winthrop! I may have to reassess my high opinion of him. (Click on the image, Raskin, to see a larger version.)

Winthrop - The Giant Killer

Here is some information off of the ESPN site on Giant Killers:

Washington State (4) vs. Winthrop (13)The GK Take: Winthrop lacks the punch of the group that beat Notre Dame last year. While they scored a perfect nine then, they only earn five points this time. The Eagles' 7.4 ppg scoring margin and .99/1 A/TO ratio are minor flaws, but they've got a low winning percentage (.667) and have won only a single game by five points or less (or in OT) all season.The Human Touch: Something tells us Winthrop is the pick here, but it's probably because Washington State is just plain boring to watch. Still, the Cougs are experienced (they start three juniors and two seniors) and tough defensively—and they actually score more per game (67.1) than do Randy Peele's slow-poke Eagles (65.6).

I have put my picture up to add authority to my posts. Thomas says that if you see me in a suit that you will take my messages much more seriously. I was also jealous of Maggie Lou who has her picture up.

Finally, I am adding one more picture to show that I am eligible to be a President's Scholar at Georgia Tech.

Maggie and Franklin's Picks

For those of you filling out last minute brackets looking for insight from some precocious prognosticators, here is a behind the scenes look at Maggie and Franklin's selection process. (They made these last night in the car on the way home from a long day of visiting new schools and a play day with some George Mason history faculty kids.)



Franklin liked Indiana, because he knew that Aunt Mook would want them to win. (She lives in India. India, Indiana, what's the difference?) They will go to the Final Four and loose to the Bears (UCLA)
Franklin also picked American, for seemingly patriotic reason. (There may be no other reasons to pick a 15 seed over Aunt Leslie's gunning Volunteers.)
Siena also earned Franklin's favor. I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that he met a very cute 5-year-old named Siena at one of the kindergartens he visited. She is the daughter of one of my colleagues and took an instant shine to Franklin.
Gonzaga was a shoe-in for the Final Four. Must be because it is so close to Gonzalo, one of Franklin's friends at school.
Franklin placed second as a two year old, so even if he matches his age again, he's still fourth.



Maggie Lou, it turns out, was even cagier. She had urged Franklin to pick Clemson because Hillary Clinton (Clinton, Clemson, sounds the same? Both have been divisive in South Carolina) is her candidate for President. After she had gotten through most of her bracket, however, she admitted that she had watched the Clemson-Duke game with Bibi Croom and Granpa Sandy. "Clemson was goooood," she said. That must be why they're playing Memphis for the national championship.
Maggie is also a Connecticut girl, born and (so far) raised, so she couldn't leave the Huskies out in the cold. And there is a certain logic to her picks. If Mississippi Valley State (a 15 seed) does knock off UCLA (1) and Texas A&M (9)), I agree that Connecticut could take them.
She also showed some love for George Mason, one of the few campuses besides Yale's that she has been on more than once. She'll dance the Patriots all the way to the Final Four (again, although she did not point out the GMU has more Final Four appearances than Duke in the last two years.)
Like Franklin two years ago, she matched her age (five) with her finishing (fifth), and she'd like to do better than seventh this year.

Brackets, Webcast, Schedule

See new poll! Don't forget to make a bracket! See link on upper right. Group name (McDowHoops) and password (Clarkson's hometown written with no space). If your entry doesn't say PPR is 1680, then you haven't filled it out right, I think. Games can be watched online (free and legal) here: http://ncaasports.com/mmod/?source=mktg_mmod08_vip2_lvhp&refcode=mmod08_vip2_lvhp Schedule 12:20 PM ET No. 14 Georgia at No. 3 Xavier 12:25 PM ET No. 16 Portland State at No. 1 Kansas 12:30 PM ET No. 12 Temple at No. 5 Michigan State 2:30 PM ET No. 11 Kentucky at No. 6 Marquette 2:50 PM ET No. 11 Baylor at No. 6 Purdue 2:55 PM ET No. 9 Kent State at No. 8 UNLV 3:00 PM ET No. 13 Oral Roberts at No. 4 Pittsburgh 5:00 PM ET No. 14 Cornell at No. 3 Stanford 7:10 PM ET No. 11 Kansas State at No. 6 USC 7:10 PM ET No. 15 Belmont at No. 2 Duke 7:20 PM ET No. 13 Winthrop at No. 4 Washington State 7:25 PM ET No. 9 Texas A&M at No. 8 Brigham Young 9:40 PM ET No. 14 Cal State Fullerton at No. 3 Wisconsin 9:40 PM ET No. 10 Arizona at No. 7 West Virginia 9:50 PM ET No. 12 George Mason at No. 5 Notre Dame 9:55 PM ET No. 16 Mississippi Valley State at No. 1 UCLA

"They Like What They See"

The Washington State Cougars, everybody. Next off-season maybe they should work on their shooting.

Mook's Day!

Here's what you get when you search for basketball and birthday on YouTube. Happy birthday Mary Croom!

Nobody Told Me BC was Out...

I filled in my bracket this morning in an effort to legitimize my smacktalk. This was my most un-inspired year. No one mentioned that Boston College didn't make it in... And since BC people NEVER NEVER NEVER pull for Notre Dame, I had to give my vote to Georgetown. And after Pier's pressure, I picked Winthrop over WS. But that put Winthrop against Mason. With Dodie at Mason (and my hoops knowledge so low I didn't even realize MY team wasn't in the tourny), well it was Mason. It all seemed to go downhill from there.

Best of luck to people who follow hoops. In this cyberworld, I hope to pull up a chair next to Todd Keithley and just enjoy the show.

Mook