ESPN Group is Live

Despite Georgia getting no teams in the Tourney and SC only getting the Tigercubs dancing, we will hold the annual McDowHoops smack down.  Those from Georgia can plead sleep deprivation and just post pictures of their kid.

I'll send a link tomorrow, but for those who can't wait, the group name McDowHoops has been created on ESPN Tourney challenge website.

The password is the McDow hometown, all lowercases, no spaces.

Will

Teams?

Can someone remind me what teams are McDowHoops ones? Here's my recollection (tell me what I'm forgetting): IN: Boston College Syracuse Duke Tennessee Pittsburgh OUT: Winthrop South Carolina George Washington George Mason Roanoke Georgia Tech Citadel Davidson Washington State Yale Does MA have a Memphis connection? What else is there? Will the South Carolinians support Clemson? :) Seems like a tough year on the school loyalty front. Personal note: this year I'll also be pulling a little bit for Ohio State (Abby and I are taking up jobs there next fall), Binghamton (central New York connection), and Portland State (they offered me a job).

Impending Madness

I'm ready for y'all. I've been studiously avoiding watching anything but Pitt games so that I will have an excuse for losing again this year. Go Panthers!

Coming soon: McDow Hoops 2009

Stay tuned...

I missed it!

I missed the exciting final, unfortunately, due to time zone issues. Sounded like a great game. I have received several emails from students expressing their state of depression after UNC's collapse. Even worse, Dick Vitale was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. I liked the blog, as you could probably tell. But others should chime in about next year... maybe with an email to me or Will (as Dodie suggests). Thanks for the memories!

Postmortem

Will and Piers, thanks for spearheading this friendly competition. I thought the blog was great, and hope others did too. And by "others," I mean the people who didn't post. Email is more accessible for some folks, but I think the tradeoffs are probably worth it. Will and Piers, you might want to poll the non-posters to get their thoughts. It'd be great to have a few more voices talking smack next year. Some final thoughts: 1. Congratulations to Maggie Lou for beating Abby! 2. I'm feeling charitable this morning, so I'm not going to issue final grades. Sorry, Mook. Or, if you want, consider everyone to have received an "A." Even Ole, Sarah, and the Mysterious Crawford. However, ask yourselves: if you enter a bragging rights pool and never brag, did you really enter? 3. In the bragging-rights pool run by our Goucher friends, the winner is referred to as "Sir" for the rest of the year. "Sir Jay" is handing the title this year to "Sir Natalie." I think that is pretty funny. Much as I shudder at the thought of a "Sir Raskin," we should consider a similar award for coming in first place in McDow Hoops. (But you're too late for "Sir Clarkson" this year... Clarkson.) 4. Lauren's top five: Dode, D. McDow 1129 Will, karma stinks, M. Gumbinner 1103 Hipster Pickster, C. McDow 1102 Jim Goff, W. McDow 1100 Will_McDow, W. McDow 1075 The actual top five: Hipster Pickster, C. McDow 1110 Frank Maguire was right!, J. Gumbinner 1090 Leslie McDow, W. McDow 1070 RPI or RIP?, C. McDow 1060 Dode, D. McDow 990 5. What the heck was Frank Maguire or McGuire right about?

Those Tigers Have No Charity Stripes

The Memphis Tigers might practice their free throws in the off
season. Their poor shooting from the line killed them.

Holy cow!

Amazing shot from Kansas. A three-pointer with 2.1 seconds to go. We're going to OT!!!

Halftime Enchiladas Finished; ready for second half

Having been absent for most of the tourney, I might not have much standing to ask, "Where is everyone?"  Just 20 minutes of smack left.

Who's not rooting for the school where you can beat your feet in the mud?

Hillary scores!

Congrats to the Hipster!

Clarkson shares his top picks with none other than Hillary Clinton, who has Kansas and Memphis in the championship, with Memphis winning it all.

In the last few contests, Clinton managed to outpace Obama, 870 to 780, with 160 PPR (to Obama's zero PPR -- he had UNC beating UCLA in the championship).

It remains to be seen what mileage her campaign will get out of this. Is there a metaphor here? Could she pull off a similar upset with the superdelegates?

And the Winner Is??

The post claiming victory said it was from Will. I got confused when Clarkson didn't sign his name (though I should have recognized his writing style). Congrats to Clarkson! -Mook

From Nell

I agree wholeheartedly with Mary Croom.  We have really funny and witty people in this family and extended family. I am sorry that I did not get more involved with the blogging, but unlike Clarkson, I don’t have a nifty blackberry to stay on top of communication where ever I am.  In fact the state of South Carolina mistakenly thinks that this blogging thing is just a social activity and has blocked the site from our office network.  How am I supposed to stay cutting edge sharp and competitive??  So I know both my bracket scores and blogging grade are not up to McDow standards.  There’s always next year.

And isn’t it Clarkson claiming victory?

Nell

Honorable Mention

I realize that there is still another game to be played before the tournament is over. But Will has already claimed victory, so I thought it time to start in with the Honorable Mentions. We have A LOT of funny people on this blog but by far, I found Stew-Baller's post on March 30th to be the funniest: Of course, I'd probably be inclined to skip class too if my Professor kept pausing his lecture to blog about his losing bracket. So Todd, as you are working on the final grades, I'd like to put in a good word for my funny cousin. -Mook

Yowzer

I'll just say Clarkson deserves everything he gets. I'm in Heathrow Airport and thought I'd check in. This is great! Way to go underdogs! Go Memphis!

We Have a Winner!

Memphis by 2?  UNC by 3?  Don't listen to a bunch of gamblers when the  sage advice of the Hipster Pickster is available.   Many of you wrote me off. I will let Lauren be the final word on the math but I must respectfully suggest that we have a winner and it is yours truly. Only four of us have our chosen campion in the final game. One of those is Maggie Lou. 
      The mysterious Crawford couldn't keep up after a blistering start. His parents should have read him the story of the tortoise and the hare.
         I am deeply humbled by my victory and I could not have done it without my team mates.  I took it one game at a time and played within myself. As they say when the going gets tough the tough get going. The game is not over until the fat lady sings and she sang for UNC early tonight though they attepted a come back. To all UNC fans: which North Carolina school gave Kansas the best game?
      Piers should know that McDow is a Scottish name.  That picture looked a little like the forming of the food line at Thanksgiving.
       The Memphis-Kansas game should be a good one. If anyone wants to learn more about bracetology,  I would be willing to trad some picking tips for some blogging lessons.
       I still think Davidson was the story of the tournament. They did great and I am sorry they weren't playing tonight. Next year The Citadel will break their long streak and make it to the Big Dance.
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld

PPR = Zero; Smack Talk = Zero

I find, oddly, that with my PPR now being nothing, I have nothing to offer for smack... -Mook

Pee-yu

I am glad that UNC was playing in San Antonio. They stunk it up so
bad I'd be worried about the our dear residents of Carrboro and
Durham being gassed by the noxious vapor. And Psycho T was psycho,
thinking somehow at the end that he could win the game solo.

I picked UNC to win it all, and they almost came back tonight, but
their first half was horrible. Not much else to say.

The Line

Just checked the betting lines: Memphis to win by 2 UNC to win by 3 Looks like the professional gamblers think UNC is far more evenly matched than the sMaCkDOWn poll would lead you to believe.

Are the McDows Scottish?

It just occurred to me that my trip to Scotland could be a McDowHoops pilgrimage of sorts. Minimal research suggests that the McDow clan was a basketball powerhouse during the reign of James VI. Known as sore losers but excellent marksmen, their strategy was to intimidate their opponents into forfeiting. Below is a picture of the McDow clan after a rare loss.

I'm not totally sure, but I think Clarkson may have just jinxed both Memphis and Kansas

Good thing I'm off to Scotland from Saturday until next Wednesday, so I won't have to watch one of those perennial powerhouses UNC or UCLA win it all. Yawn.

Of course, with the internet broadcast, maybe I'll be up at 2AM watching the final.

I think there may be some haggis in my near future! Will and Leslie just let me know if you want me to bring some back for you.

"Don't look back. Somebody might be gaining of you."

For those of you who have long since counted me out, I have done some math as they taught me at Central Elementary School in Rock Hill. Lauren and Georgia Tech math could prove me wrong, and it would not be the first time, but the Hipster Pickster is still alive and well at least until the first game is played on Saturday. I have three teams left in the final four and picked Memphis and Kansas to win Saturday with Memphis winning the championship. No one ahead of me has this deadly duo in the finals nor do they have Memphis winning it all. Therefore, if I am correct for these three games, I pick up 400 points and finish with 1270. Jeff would pick up 120 and finish a distant second. Leslie and my RPI method pick would also pick up 120 and finish behind me. None of the other leaders, including the Mysterios Crawford, would get any additional points. No team this year has beaten Davidson this year and then lost their next game. So Kansas is a shoe into the finals. Memphis is the place I was married and where Will and other famous personages were born. How can they lose? Only if they eat too many ribs from the Rendezvous waiting for the game to start could they possible lose. Therefore, my bracket is much alive and well. I am not sure if anyone can win if they lose any of the remaining games so my chances are as good as anyone's.

Half explanation

Todd, your chair throwing insight only captures part of Dodie's picture. What about the "plus" sign? I think that Dodie is trying to say that Bob Knight's throwing chairs has been a positive thing for basketball. Unless the "plus" sign is really a cross, in which case Dodie's point must be that Knight has been unfairly crucified for his throwing chairs, by those who don't understand him. Unless the "plus" sign is really a stylized tree in winter, in which case Dodie's point is that chairs are made from trees. Cricket in NYC. Just another sign that we need to tighten up our immigration policy! Looks like UNC is the favorite among our crowd. I also take it that means we'll all be rooting against them!

Without citing sMaCkDOWn, NYC Schools add Cricket League

City adds sport; suggest new al-time best player.

On Wednesday, the Department of Education inaugurated cricket as its newest league sport, with about 600 high school students playing on 14 teams during a 12-game season. The first matches, held in Queens, featured teams from John Adams, Richmond Hill, Aviation and Newcomers High Schools.

The Department of Education said New York is the only public school system in the nation to offer competitive cricket.

“The grass-roots American kids who are not 6-foot-10 and 300 pounds can play this,” he said. He pointed out that perhaps the best cricket player in history, Donald Bradman, who played for Australia in the 1930s and 1940s, was 5-foot-7.

I don't get it.

Someone (Dodie?) explain the chair to me. Is the plus sign supposed to be there? It shows up in Firefox but only half of it appears on Explorer. 10:34 update: Wait a sec. Bobby Knight throws chairs. Right? Right? Hey, does this guy know basketball or what!

For Clarkson, from Piers's Post Below

+

Because everyone needs some encouragement

HRC Wants to Bowl Against Obama

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=865c05efa09d24cd3235ef937af596a63a55fff2 (I'm somewhere between Piers and Clarkson in blogging. I'm not sure how to put the video in here.)

"This isn't Nam. This is bowling."

Piers, could it be that you are posting in an attempt to move this photo lower and lower on the blog?

The best bowlers ever, in my book:

No Piers, *this* is the best bowler ever:

Where is everybody?

How do you say "no respect" in Sri Lanka?

Poor Muttiah Muralitharan. Not a single vote as best cricketer despite being the greatest bowler ever. Actually, this is the greatest bowler ever:

But the main thing is that Imran Khan has been confirmed as cricket's best. Time for a new poll.

Bam-Bam Obama

He's got such a big head, what an easy target! (See picture below in Todd's post.) I think I can take him . (And people think he's a black militant, sheesh! Just look at the guy!)

I am coming around again on the basketball. I like Calipari's slicked hair. If I can't root for Pitino's hair, I might as well root for the next best thing.




Also, a Memphis win offers me some respectability (I picked them to win). I know respectability doesn't count for much amongst McDows (though at least Dodie made an effort to "marry up").

The fan and the know-nothing

Jeff will win it all as long as UCLA takes the championship. However, in order to avoid a tie with me, he needs Kansas to beat UNC. If the championship game is UNC vs. UCLA, and UCLA wins, then we tie for first.

Meanwhile, even Piers is beating Obama and Clinton. Obama scores up at 780, while Clinton's at 630.



P.S. Who the heck is the namesake of Jeff's bracket, Frank Maguire?

P.P.S. After a bit of web research, is it Frank McGuire, who recruited Jewish and Catholic players from New York to come down and whip some butt in the Carolinas?

P.P.P.S. Todd's photoshop grade: D

Piers Has a Good Point

But I wonder, was McDow Hoops ever based on an interest in basketball? -Mook

A Nice Surprise

Wow, what a nice feeling to walk in from a long evening of work at the coffee shop to find that I've jumped all the other Jenkins, and of course, the mysterious el Crawdad.

Piers, I hope your not going to let those net-heads get away with running down to Texas just because the Heels keep winning.  And some one told me that Chapel Hill was academically rigorous.  Of course, I'd probably be inclined to skip class to if my Professor kept pausing his lecture to blog about his loosing bracket.

PT News Wire: Fans Across America Lose Interest

Blogsville, USA. With the four #1 seeds in the Final Four for the first time ever, and with three perennial favorites among them, the climax to this year's college basketball season is promising to annoy the heck out of everybody who doesn't already root for those four stinking teams. Captain 'Cuse, a Blogsville resident, said, "For those of us with no money on these games, do we really give a rat's bottom if the mighty UNC beats the all-time winningest UCLA in the final, or vice versa?" He then added, speaking for many, "What we need is some good off-court shenanigans to make this interesting again. I mean, I'd root for the team that arrived in San Antonio underhanded because half their team was suspended for being caught in a strip club." Reminded that Memphis has not experienced the same level of success as the other programs, Captain 'Cuse recalled why he was for them in the first place. "But," he added, "half their players getting caught in a strip club would seal the deal."

Heartbroken for Davidson

They played well but just couldn't pull it through. Now I'm back to my bracket and hopefully in the running for some money at work with Memphis, UNC and Kansas still in it. Keep up the talkin guys! Leslie

I prefer my Curry hot

What happened on that last play??? I was *sure* that Davidson was the kind of team to have a nice play to run to get a good last shot. But Curry held the ball like he had no idea what to do. Argh!

What a heart breaker

Wow, now that was a great game. Leslie, you should be proud. I'm hoping that the lack of blog traffic is because everyone was so riveted to their televisions because that was quite a game.

Go Davidson!

I'm with Dodie, who wouldn't pull for Davidson at this point? I'm looking to Memphis for my only way to the top. I think I'm the only one towards the top of the heap that picked them to win it all. So, go Memphis!

Back in the Game

Dodie has provided me the blog by e-mail and on the way back from Smith Mountain Lake I will try to get back in the game though this may be dated.
      Piers, the vote here is to flunck all Heels fans who miss a class. Anybody unwilling to take an F for the team is unworthy of going. Give them something that will make them remember.  Nobody remembers the B's but who can forget an F. While talking about grades, there was some talk about avoiding D's.   Well, there is a good way to avoid a D and another method that I tried in high school. I don't recommend it.
      Dodie' percentage may be a bit low and that is OK so long as Silas is hitting 100 %.  Keep it up Silas.
       I am slightly hurt that no one sent a sympathy card for my bracket. I trust my team Memphis State is still alive though I have no access to the score. Mary Ann promises to have me in front of a TV when Davidson plays.  They are a wonderful story. Let's hope it gets even better.
                          Clarkson
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld