Go Bobcats!

I don't care about my bracket, I just want Georgetown to lose. 

Ouch!

I don't think I've ever started off this badly. It is something to be tied
with the likes of the Chicken Curse Lives and Devastated in Durham. But, I
guess the good part is that there isn't any way to go but up.
Am I missing something? Did Thomas and Charlie not enter the tourney?

I am blaming Clarkson and the curse.

Nell

 

Sorry, Editor Piers

This is Nell and how do I post so that my identity is known? 

 

I am not enjoying these CBS announcers for the Richmond-St Mary's game.  They have spent most of  the game chattering about how great St Mary's is.  It would bother me less if the Spiders weren't down by 7.  What the heck is a Gael??

 

Nell

Yes!

I have to talk smack now, because I'm away all weekend. I'm liking my picks so far. Who even knew there was a state called Murray?

Great start

to March Madness. Two of the three games completed go into overtime. Old Dominion knocks out ND and Robert Morris did themselves proud, a 15 seed coming mighty close to knocking out a 2 seed. And now Murray State leads at half. It is a good afternoon to be home from work!!

[Editor's note: Please sign your name to posts if you are not posting in a way that will automatically generate your particular name. Otherwise we won't know whom to smack with our talk. -Piers]

This is what a collapsed Catholic gets...

... for picking Notre Dame to go far. A loss to Old Dominion! They seemed to be on a roll. Best player back from injury, the rest of the team playing well. I've always despised the (Fighting) Irish. This is what I get for not letting my deep-seated animosities guide my picks. Now I can't even be happy that they lost. I'm a mess. What a disaster.

The Chicken Curse Also Plays Basketball

        The lowlight reel on Piers' post is some of the worst moments is Carolina football history. The curse also plays basketball as demonstrated by a beating we took as a # 2 seed by Copin State.  To prove it was no fluke the mighty Gamecocks returned the following year as a #3 seed and lost to # 13 Richmond.  Nell and Nellie, this is a commercial venture and not a family love feast. On my regular bracket I have Richmond winning the opening game. On My Chicken Curse lives bracket I have them going to the final four. I love the Spiders and hope that they win it all, however, for a modest fee I could change allegiances.  Meanwhile my cry is "Go Spiders!"  I really like that Richmond team.

 

        To prove the curse lives there are three games going on. My team is losing all three. I could be out of this thing by nightfall and will get my talk in while I am able.

 

                                                                                Clarkson

 

Richmond!

Glad to see everyones picking up with the smack talk already.  Hopefully I'll be able to do a little myself this year, with Richmond in the tournament!  Chuck will be here in Richmond this weekend so we will definitely be watching lots of basketball.

On another note, the Spiders may not take home the National Championships in basketball, at least noone can beat us in this bracket:

http://www.theawl.com/2010/03/real-america-march-tuition-madness?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheAwl+%28The+Awl%29

Nellie

Chicken Curse - Big Dance = Chicken Dance

It may not be enough to get USC into the Tourney this year, but I think the above equation suggests what must be done for next year. Bend your elbows and dance, Clarkson, dance. For more on the chicken curse, visit: http://chickencurse.com/Worst_of_the_Curse.html I believe GT is peaking alright, peaking at the belles of the ball through a hole in the wall, wondering how to get invited in. -Piers PS Glad to hear Barbie has infected someone else's house, too. [UPDATE] PPS it would help my smack talk if I knew how to spell "peek"

Aggie rhymes with Maggie

Ella and Bea both have their picks in.  Each is going with the Aggies to the Final 4 (although different Aggies).  Hard to resist a team that's practically named after your mom.

 

Ella surprised me with the Wildcats winning it all, while Bea went with the Muskateers because she likes the commercial for the Oscar Winning film "Barbie and the Three Muskateers."

 

 

 

Don't forget the Spiders

 McDow's and associates have an addition to Pier's list and a new team to pull for this year. They will be fun to watch--The Richmond Spiders.  Clarkson, don't put them as winners on your Chicken Curse bracket.  I think Nellie is the only current college student in our group and I think she and the Spiders need the support from the rest of us.

 

And Randolph, if you had wanted to meet Andie McDowell, who was known to us as Rose McDowell, you should have hung around the stable more. She was in my riding class.  However, I believe you were about 5 or 6 years old at the time.

 

Let the games, and especially the smacktalk, begin!!

Nell

 

An Offer You Can't Refuse

        I have returned from our nation's capital where in less than one week I demolished all thoughts of March Madness turning into March Gladness by  bringing with me the only curse longer lived and more dangerous than the previous curse known as "The Curse of the Bambino."  Of course I refer to that most infamous of curses, the one known to South Carolinians as "The Chicken Curse."  In my week of basketball in DC I witnessed the mighty Gamecocks go up by 18 points in the second half only to blow the game to the Alabama Crimson Tide.  I attended a live game in which GW lost to VCU in a tournament for those who don't get in the NIT.  It was worth the price of admission to hear Jeff yell at the Ref that he would never get a chance to referee the real tourney with calls like that. My final humiliation was to go home from the GW game to watch Winthrop (the school that brought my mother to Rock Hill and started all of this), our beloved Eagles who produced in my brain visions of being the first 16 to beat a number one seed.  We had Duke in our sights, but instead got blown out in the play in game.  Some students were heard partying after the game and chanting, "We are number 65."  My only consolation is that Winthrop was the first of the 65 teams to learn its fate.  Being in the Big Dance is great even if one is asked to leave while the band is still tuning their instruments. By the way The Citadel had a winning record this year and won their opening game in the Southern Conference Tournament, but they may have the record for most years in the NCAA without a tournament appearance.  Their record and their honor are intact. 

 

        The above is just a long winded way of saying, "The Chicken Curse lives."  It not only lives but it follows me whenever I pull for a team. Now that Gamecock fans do not have a team playing even in the NIT, we have started a new business. For a slight fee that can be negotiated, I will agree to place your teams opponent as the winner in my bracket entitled "The Chicken Curse Lives" and cheer for that team avidly, thereby guaranteeing victory to your team.  I have discovered that I have the rare power to transfer the Chicken Curse to other teams.  I can not let such power go to waste.  If you want to help your bracket contact me before noon. Due to the fact that some people have real money bet on these games, (unlike McDow Hoops in which the loss of pride is sufficient incentive) I am only permitted by federal authorities to accept one game per customer.  I will be open for business until noon today. Check my bracket the Chicken Curse Lives. 

 

        Once the business end of this is concluded I plan on joining Randolph in raising my smack talking to a new level. 

 

        I have enticed a new entrant, my old roommate Bo Bo who now goes by the much more dignified Beaux Beaux.  Watch for his entry. 

 

                                                                                                                                                Clarkson

 

There's a new dress code this year

The best sign of the ACC Tourney:

Deadline approaching

Be sure to get your brackets entered into ESPN before noon on Thursday. I noticed this evening that a number of brackets list a total of 0 PPRs (Possible Points Remaining). If that is yours, it means you probably didn't save your entry correctly. And kudos to the person who created the scoreboard on the side panel. Now the blog is finally useful.

GT: Great Tournament

My guys are peaking at the right time, and the loss to Duke in the ACC tourney (lucky shots, bad calls) will inspire them to even great heights.

Must say: watching UNC fans cheer like crazy in the NIT when they were merely hanging on against W&M's Tribe was amusing. How the mighty have fallen.

And don't knock Andie McDowell. She was one of my first movie crushes after her amazing portrayal of Jane in "Greystoke", co-starring with the consummate method actor, Christopher Lambert. Only later did I find out that her voice had been dubbed over by Glenn Close. And to think she was in Rock Hill for several years going to Winthrop! Can't believe I missed the chance to meet her.

Looking forward to a great tournament and even better smack talk!

Randolph

Who are we?

Maybe it's just because I'm forgetful, but I like to be reminded of who the relevant teams are this year... No BC, Davidson, Memphis, GW, USC, or (cough cough) Citadel this year. For just the 38th straight year, Yale missed out, too. Winthrop's tournament run sadly followed the same trajectory as Andie McDowell's recent career. But we've got: Syracuse Washington Georgia Polytech Tennessee Pittsburgh Dook Any others we need to be acutely aware of (i.e. not counting secondary allegiances and temporary crushes)? I am still developing my Buckeye love, and would be glad to see them do well, but they come second to Syracuse. Please add to the list.

Looking for Inspiration

With my team (BC) not in the running this year and not having watched a single b-ball game all season, I was lacking in inspiration when I went to fill in my bracket. The fact that I wanted two brackets this year only exacerbated this feeling. So I filled out one semi-serious bracket (MookMcD) based on, well, I'm not really sure what. Then, I went back and made a bracket choosing schools whose names had the most letters in common with mine (Mary McDow Rincon). In the case of a tie, I chose the higher-seeded team.

Note: I did this without using any scratch paper to tally letters, and based on the abbreviated name on the ESPN website. I concede that there are a couple of mistakes, but I'm done with the bracket part and eager to move on the the smack-talking part.

-Mook

Hello McDowHoops 2010

If everyone is Irish on St. Patrick's Day, then everyone is Southern Scotch-Irish Presbyterian for March Madness.  That's right, McDowHoops is back.  But the clock is winding down, so it is time to heave your game winning three pointer before the buzzer sounds. 

Have you followed basketball at all this year?  I surely have not.  I am living in Zanzibar, and the whole island did not have electricity from December 10 until March 8, a twelve-plus week period that coincided with basketball season.  I have heard something the Ohio State University is making waves with a new guy named Turner, and that's just the Philosophy Department.  It turns out that basketball knowledge is useless in office pools, as the New York TImes explains (based on a recent article in The Journal of Applied Social Psychology).  So please enter not to show off your knowledge, but to prance a little on the smack-walk.  All you need to do is complete your entry on the ESPN site and you're on the way.  

Last year's big winner was Maggie Gumb!nner whose humility and restraint in blog posting is to be deprecated.  While we admire her soothsaying, we'd like more smacksaying.

A Little Confused

I know it's way past my bedtime, and I'm a little bit sleep-deprived, and trying to work through "pregnancy brain", but I just can't seem to find Boston College on the bracket. Any chance someone at ESPN made a mistake?

-Mook

Partaaayy!

Let the Eagles soar! For all you Rock (n Roll) Hillians... From heraldonline.com: "Winthrop will hold another party Sunday at the Winthrop Coliseum to celebrate where the team will play its next game.

Want to go?

Find out where the Winthrop Eagles will play during a selection show celebration Sunday at the Winthrop Coliseum.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. There will be refreshments.

The NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show starts at 6 p.m. CBS plans to broadcast from the coliseum."

Anticlimactic

Despite the fact that I did very little posting here this year (only in part because I did very little proper predicting), I do check the blog every day to see what others have to say.  March (and April) Madness is one of my favorite times because of McDowhoops and sMaCkDOWn.

All that being said, I am more than a little disappointed that there was no victory smack from the winner (Maggie!).  Has anyone ever come close to 98% in this thing?  Well, except for Lauren, who had 92%!!  Besides beating people who spent a serious amount of hypothesizing about conferences, photo-shopping cereal boxes, posting pictures of other college campuses, and searching YouTube for pertinent videos, (and that guy who didn't spend enough time entering his daughter's picks) your percentages alone are impressive on their own.

How about a little recap?

Mook

Clark Kellogg is annoying

He just said that UNC is "the epitome of the spurtability team". Who says things like that? Earlier he said he expected a competitive, hard fought contest. No kidding, Clark. He was also oblivious in the UNC-Villanova game, never mentioning just how important the foul trouble on Scottie Reynolds was for the Wildcats in the first half. Clark didn't seem to realize that Reynolds went out of the game for 4 minutes in the first half, during which time UNC's lead doubled. And so forth. Where's Raftery when you need him? UPDATE! The New York Times agrees!

On this plan even the Citadel might get in the tourney

That's from The Onion.

Let's Rumble

Once again, I am promoting a comment to a post. This is from Nell: Margaret, let's rumble. It is actually my second bracket that I call my impulse bracket in which I choose Mich State to win it all. I chose UNC on my original bracket that I actually put a bit of thought into. But now I am really pulling for Michigan and for all those in the only state with a higher unemployment rate than South Carolina. (Of course their governor will actually accept the stimulus money and those folks might someday see some relief.) So if the underdog wins, will it help to feed any families? Maybe not, but what reason could anyone have to actually pull for UNC except for the selfish aspect of seeing our name at the top of the list. So come on Margaret and admit that you really want Michigan to take it all.

Nell vs. Margaret

We enjoyed watching the UNC-Villanova game, though Meredith's dad did not enjoy it in the least. (There was some swearing involved.) My quick estimate of the standings is that Margaret will win if UNC wins, but if Michigan wins, Nell will pull off a stunning upset, leaping into first place. I'll continue unburying comments that I'd like to see as posts. Here's Ron's response to Piers's comment that Ron's a moral reprobate for choosing UConn: ----- If somebody came to me in August 1939 and said "Hitler's planning on invading Poland - wanna make a gentlemen's bet on who wins?" am I a Nazi if I call it right? Or if Todd Keithley challenges Mike Tyson to a fight, am I a rapist if pick Tyson? Am I a lawyer if I pick Todd? At day's end the scoreboard does all the smack-talking that needs to be talked. I refer you all to my bracket and the standings for "comment." SCOREBOARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ----- The scoreboard is telling a different story now, Ron, but at least you bragged once while you could. I'd like to see Margaret and Nell start trading insults but I think the odds of that happening are pretty low.

Jonah, Felix, and Lauren

Just a small point, but Lauren's (wonderful) rankings have Jonah the Whale ahead of Felix the Cat by one spot, when I think in the real rankings they are (and will remain, with 0 ppr each) tied. Felix picked Wake Forest to win it all, while Jonah picked Duke, so I do like to think of Felix as first among equals (in 18th place).

What if college basketball had a bowl system?

For our mid-week slow-down, a nice attempt to follow through on a thought suggested by The Onion (click here): a listing of all the basketball 'bowl' match-ups we might have seen if there were no NCAA tournament. At least the not very Gamecocks would have gotten a bid! Outback Bowl, Tampa, Fla. Penn State (26-11) vs. South Caroliona (21-10)

Paging Dr. Birnbaum

The smack has picked up beautifully around here! I particularly enjoyed Margaret asking Dodie whether he spent more time photoshopping his cereal box than picking his bracket. Although Margaret thought it might be poor manners to smack down her cousins from her #1 spot, I believe there's nothing better than smack from the lead. Which brings me to Dr. Ron Birnbaum. I'll pose again the question I asked last year: If you enter a bragging-rights-only pool but never brag, did you really enter? Also, here's a comment by Piers that I didn't want to get buried (I think it's safe to say that Ron is not checking the comments on this blog): Paging Dr. Birnbaum! As the only one to pick UConn to win it all, there is a VERY good chance you'll be sitting atop McDowHoops. Better get in now if you want to maximize limelight. (Unless, of course, you think the NCAA will do everything in its power to keep those rule-violators from winning the championship. You really must be a moral reprobate to have picked UConn to win it all.)

Calipari to Kentucky

Would you want to be stuck in Memphis?

Lauren's Predictions

At Todd's request, here are my predictions.  This is based on the assumption that we'll each continue to pick wins at the same rate we've picked wins so far in the tournament.  Here's the formula:

Current points + ((Current points divided by possible points so far; this is each person's proven winning percentage) x (PPR))

Bracketologist	Current rank	Predicted final rank	Predicted final total
MMGumby 3, M. Gumbinner	1	1	1388.75
HarborBirnbaum 1, R. Birnbaum	2	2	1350
gte233v 1, L. McDow	3	3	1305
keithleykeithley 1, T. Keithley	5	4	1215
*SC Education Bracket, T. McDow	11	5	1155
Deese Picks Are Winners, S. Deese	8	6	1086.25
winner or whiner?, N. Jenkins	10	7	1072.5
A-10 > SEC, J. Gumbinner	12	8	1058.75
*Will.I.Am.Still.Alive, W. McDow	14	9	1031.25
*Jim Goff-PawPaw's Picks, W. McDow	16	10	1031.25
Prez_O_Picks, W. McDow	17	11	1031.25
randmcgt 1, R. McDow	20	12	1003.75
NIB (nell's impulse ), N. Jenkins	21	13	990
nbjenkins 1, N. Jenkins	26	14	921.25
Ol' Cat-Stew, M. Jenkins	6	15	900
Mr. Pick , e. black	9	16	877.5
AU is in. Mason is not., D. Leonhardt	13	17	855
BIG BAD BRIAN 53 , B. Richards	15	18	843.75
Maggie Lou Wins, D. McDow	4	19	810
Captain 'Cuse, P. Turner	7	20	790
Jonah the Whale, D. Leonhardt	18	21	740
Felix the Cat, D. Leonhardt	19	22	740
*e.fitzbasketball, E. Fitzpatrick	22	23	700
Dode Has Nose for Pickin', D. McDow	23	24	690
molvigo 1, O. Molvig	24	25	680
*Leslie, W. McDow	25	26	670
Yankee Interloper, G. Raskin	27	27	640
MookMcD 1, m. rincon	28	28	590
Pops, C. McDow	29	29	550
BigEastDream, P. Turner	30	30	550
Domable, D. Rincon	32	31	550
The Underdog, T. McDow	31	32	510
RUSHwantsO'sBRACKETtoFAIL, D. McDow	33	33	400
eleanor's mascot prefs, O. Molvig	34	34	370
googlelovesamerica, E. Fitzpatrick	35	35	300

Lauren

Alma Ada Mada Mater

For all you latte sipping, NPR listening liberals out there trying to be the average man by pickin' your bracket and watchin' the hoops, your favorite Saturday night date went to the interlecutulal capitol of the Midwest this week. Check out Appleton on this week's Prairie Home Campanion. They even had some of those people who sing with out no muzak. I think Piers calls 'em a cup a fellas. As for me, I'm ready for some baseball.

Hopped up on Sugar Smacks

That's my excuse for losing to Dodie (and just about everyone else). Props to the whole McDow family for Maggie, who is in 34,712nd place nationally. I'd hope the smartest representative of your whole clever clan could've done better than that.

Comment to Dodie's post

Since I think it was suggested we comment as a new post: Dode, did you spend more time picking your bracket or photoshopping your picture onto the Sugar Smacks box?

Posting to a Blog Is Not Easy for Oldtimers

Last night I was home from a meeting in DC and anxious to add to the misinformation that goes on this blog, but couldn't figure it out.  My bracket is so far into the toilet that my plumber can't find it.  While everyone was excited about 'Nova (since being sent to 'Nam, I hate words shortened by leaving out the first syllables), I looked at the bracket and figured that UNC would win it all and either Leslie or Maggie would win depending on whether Louisville or Michigan State won today.  Now that Louisville has fallen, it will be Maggie winning it all unless the UConn Huskies can salvage some of the Big East's pride.  By the way where were the "over rated" cheers from Michigan State?  Anyway, if Connecticut wins instead of UNC, the Birnbaum entry looks good unless it is disqualified for lack of smack support.  If Pitt wins so does Cat Stew, oh I forgot they are gone.  If Louisville wins  Captain (ex)Cuse wins.  

I am not going to win this year but my daughter Maggie will win this year and next year it will be Ella's turn so we can be the first family  to have three generations win three years in a row.  Ella is practicing by regularly singing the "Ramble Song."

Thomas is commended for trying to boost academics with his South Carolina Academic Picks. Only trouble is that his only final four team is Connecticut and they only graduate 23% of their African American players and 30% overall.  Dodie had a point that they talk about student athletes but when was that last coach to get fired for failing to graduate the so called student athletes?   I doubt if the people on the top of the blog want a lecture on values from those of us who have no bracket left.  We do have to admire Maggie Lou for sticking with her loyalties though her pushy father would not let her chose her beloved Pitt. Now how anyone can love Pitt is beyond me.

My best to all of those still competing. For me and the South Carolina Gamecocks we will wait to next year. For me and The Citadel Bulldogs we are waiting for next century or is that the last century.

Clarkson

Give me a smack and I'll smack you back.

Basketball fans. My platform for smackdaliation just grew immeasurable higher when the Louisville Cardinals failed to live up to their high billing and handle Michigan State. My bread is in the oven and I am about to be toast. I am comfortably tied for 14th place and have a grand total of zero more points available. And I am not even good at losing. I'm the second highest ranking person with zero possible points left. Once again Piers is my better. But that is not what this post is about. I will wallow in self pity over on Twitter. With only 140 characters. I am here to set the record straight. Maggie Lou still wanted Pitt to win. She was disappointed with their loss, but when she heard that she was still highly ranked, she shrugged and did what any sensible person would do: she said the serentity prayer. Or at least she channelled it. Smiling with a this-is-not-what-I-wanted-but-I-guess things-might-turn-out-OK grin. And then when I told her that Louisville also lost, she looked up from the game she was playing with Franklin and said, "Oh well. I don't even like basketball anyway. Its so stupid. All you do is throw that ball through the hoop." She will think differently when she learns to type faster. On ad alma materum attacks. Please. Especially looking for the false equivalents (Georgia Tech's intramural champ vs. Lawrence's varsity). What about Georgia Tech's stoner frats? I am sure they could not hold a smoldering doobie to what LU could roll out. Or hot midwesterners with a nasal twang. Nothing. Regardless, it is pointless. Piers even goes after Chuck Stew for his crunchy college's lack of smackitude. What does one's college say about them? Not much. And certainly the athletes, er, student-athletes, don't represent the school. Even at some of the oldest and most famous universities in the country, the social and intellectual lines between the recruited athletes and the regular students is wide. And I know because Todd's roommate was one. The last point should carry over to academics too. Florida State is now getting fried for academic improprieties for their athlete-students, and I am sure that they are not any worse than the other schools in their conference and all that play at their level. (Spare me the Duke stories, Will. I smack my hands on your court.) A reliable source in Chapel Hill has informed me of the high level of intervention that comes from the athletic department for students in big time sports. And I am sure the SUC and the Big Least are as bad or worse. I realized during the election that what we hate about politics is what we hate about college sports. In politics, they pretend its about ideas but it's really about winning. In college sports, they pretend that they care about academics, but it's about winning. Principles go out the window when they help the ball go through the hoop. And those back benchers who keep complaining about the lack of smack: everyone likes talking about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. Todd called some people onto the electronic carpet, and that is good. But this is a collective venture, and unless you put your hyperbole where your common sense used to be, we're no where. Having put in my 200 cents, let me add to Todd's roll call: Clarkson, where are you? Don't tell me you don't know how to blog. You at least know how to send email, and your responsible son explained how to do it via email here. Thomas, what about you. You respond "to all" via email at a drop of a hat. Consider my backward baseball cap dropped. Looking forward to hearing from you all.

Todd - It's been too long...

... Since you've been to Rock Hill.  The picture on the top of the blog is NOT Duke.  

Of course, having chosen Syracuse to win it all, I wouldn't necessarily mind a change of scenery.

Mook

I agree that the smack talking has been a little disappointing this year. Maybe it is because a lot of us were in Rock Hill the first weekend. In my opinion, that is always the best time to talk smack because the possibilities are endless. I have stayed away from the smack talking because I am in first place. I have to say, I much prefer talking smack from way back in the pack. For some reason, talking smack while in first seems like it is in poor taste. Not to mention what happens when my bracket falls into oblivion with no way of recovering (thank you Villanova and I need a win from Michigan State today). This year, I have decided to put aside my distaste for UNC and picked them to win the whole thing. While I feel good about that choice, there is just something that just can't get excited about pulling for them. With that said, I thought for sure that at least one of you bozos would have taken over the lead by now. I picked my bracket in about ten minutes in the midst of packing us all up to go to SC while I had a slight fever. Surely one of you could make better picks than that!

Updates I'd like to see

After today's games are over, I'd love to see the following updates: 1. Lauren: Will you be running your predictions again this year, based on remaining available points, to tell us who is likely to win? 2. Dodie: When will you tell us how Maggie Lou responded to Pittsburgh's loss? It's a really interesting question if Louisville wins. After today's games, let us know whether Maggie Lou is an idealist, sticking to her principles no matter what, or a pragmatist, happy with a bracket that's accidentally still in the running. 3. Ron: I know you're busy with your residency, but I'm still hoping for one post out of you. 4. Erin: Our hats are off to you for wading in with a smart-alecky comment about oldsters passing as youngsters. Keep up the good work! 5. Will: Is this your blog or not? If you don't make a few more cracks, I will petition for an update of the Duke photo atop the blog, replacing it with this lovely shot of Syracuse: 6. Abby and Margaret: You can't tell me you don't know how to blog -- I read your blogs every week! Throw some posts up here. 7. Finally, Mary Ann made a comment that I thought should be aired as a post (possibly for self-serving reasons), so I'm promoting it here (along with Piers's response): Mary Ann: As a casual observer of the March Madness, I agree with some other contributors that the smack talk has very disappointing this season. I care nothing about who wins what game but I love to read the banter. This year it has been slow to say the least. Are so many of you depressed over your standing in the brackets that you cannot get up the energy to contribute some read-worthy smack? If it weren't for Piers and Todd, I would quit logging onto this site. Piers: Our basketball smack may not be so good, but our smack smack is flourishing, it seems.

Bracket = busted

But that just frees me up for more of the real purpose of this exercise, which is taking the rest of y'all down with me. So beware. Long live the Pitt Panthers!