Mario, MD. The Game of Popping Pills

In lieu of my recently acquired NES system, I have decided to give reviews of different games throughout the weeks to come. I will rank each game based on several categories. The basic concept or object of the game. Replay-ability. Glitches. Two player capability/effectiveness. and finally, its influence on future games for more modern systems i.e. Sega, N64, PS2, XBox.

Without further ado, I present one of my all-time favorite games, Dr. Mario.

The object of Dr. Mario is to drop pills onto each other to kill viruses. Here is the catch: only four of the same colored pills lined up horizontally or vertically will kill the virus. Once your tetris-esque game board fills up to the top, the viruses kill you. Think of it as a cureable cancer type game, where kids learn the intricacies of treating viral infections. (17 out of 20, for its simplicity, ability to inspire children to pursue careers in medicine)

Re-playability: Dr. Mario is a game where you can play over and over and over and it does'nt lose its flair. It is remarkable how addictive it can be, rivaled perhaps only by Tetris. Especially if you are a decent player. I could probably go a good 25-30 levels in one session. (19 out of 20)

Glitches: Not too many glitches in this game, if any. The music tracks are obnoxious especially after a good three hour period. "you've got to pray just to make it today" is a catchy little song to sing for one of the tracks. At times there will be a double colored spree of pills that drop, but that is built into the game I am sure. (20 out of 20, it is difficult to mess up a game that is so basic).

Two Player capability: High marks here. Like many nintendo games, two player mode is more fun then single player mode. The key to this feature in Dr. Mario is the split screen, head to head action between two doctor warriors. Line up two 4 pill "scores" and you drop 2 randomly colored half pills on your opponents screen. Talk trash by saying things like "Ha! that pill helped me you idiot, keep on getting double scores!" or "Two viruses left, you better start medicating better". My all-time "Sore Loser/Winner" play is in this game. Let's say I am about to win with one pill left to drop and my opponent has no chance to come back. I will drop my pill and let it float to the bottom, gloating in victory while I watch the slow agonizing death of my opponent. Turn it around and do the same thing to me? I will drop pill after pill as quickly as possible, pulling a Clint Eastwood in Million Dollar Baby to my patient, killing myself before you can relish the sweet taste of a zero virus victory. (20 out of 20, excellent two player game, maybe ranking behind only Contra).

Influence: Dr. Mario is such a simple game. It's "Joey" to Tetris' "Friends", but a much more likeable "Joey" that people actually watch. There aren't too many simple, addictive video games out there with the 2 dimensional 4 color schemes portrayed in Dr. Mario. As technology improved, so did the graphics and complex story-lines leaving Dr. Mario a vintage Classic. (14 out of 20, as I am sure there are games for kids aged 5-14 based on the drop and disappear concept made popular by DM and Tetris.

Overall rating: 90- This game is one of my all-time favorites, so simple yet so life-saving.

Picks of the Day 3/26

6-2 in the Regional Semi-finals. Duke lost and Carolina won. Not a bad start to the weekend.
Should be four great games today and tomorrow, five if you include my game at the Sportsgarden at 3:30 pm.

Regional Finals
Arizona (+5) v Illinois
Louisville (-9) v WVU

UNC (-10) v Wisconsin
Kentucky (-2) v Mich St.

OVERALL- 30-27

Random Thought 3/25

You know those individually-packed Starburst candies, the kind you used to get when you went trick-or treating? One of the worst feelings in the world is when you open one up to find not one but two "yellow" fruit chews, the least popular of all flavors. Conversely, a great feeling is when you discover two red chews or a slightly less great red and pink combination.

Tourney Reflections

This March Madness has been more like March Bad-ness. With the exception of every game that West Virginia has been a part of, there have not been any memorable finishes. I remember last Sunday when each team won by 9+ points during one 4-game playing period. The Wake-WVU game was incredible and possibly exciting enough to make up for a shitty opening 4 days, especially since I bet heavy on Wake (-4) at half which they covered by 8 points or so.

Kansas almost pulled off a Hill to Laetner finish, Cuse got upset, Carolina rolled and I tore up both of my brackets. That was my summary for the 4 days. Sure, I drank enough to kill a small cow but I remember most of what I watched.

Some suprising trends:
Big Ten actually has a decent chance of grabbing 3/8ths or 37.5% of the Elite Eight spots.
The two remaining Big East teams aren't UConn and SU but WVU and Villanova.
The biggest shocker for me wasnt Vermont or Bucknell, but Cincinatti and Bob Huggins actually advancing to the second round for the first time in 17 years.
Wake lost, didn't see that one coming. Gonzaga yes of course, Wake not so much.

Villanova v UNC tomorrow.............Dan v EA.........Big East v ACC....a storybook finish.

49 Games Deep

So we are 49 games in after 2 rounds (plus play-in game) of semi-entertaining college hoops, and so far I am a solid 24-25, very close to my prediction of 32-32 last week.

We here at "Random Thoughts" apologize for the lack of postings the last few days. Intelligent readers will realize that our columns have suddenly came to a halt after Friday night's Vermont win over our beloved Orange. I have not spoken to either Paul or Dan, whom I assume are both in some type of cave or man-made hole most likely in the fetal position trying to understand why they support Coach Boheim and his seemingly Roy Williams-esque collapse.

But enough about the past, tonight resumes the Madness that is March and I have my 8 picks, 2 of which I feel strong about, 4 of which I think I might win, and the final 2 I have no idea what will happen.

By the way, I am fourth to last out of 77 pools at work...its been a great ride so far!

Locks
Mich St (+4.5) v Duke
Texas Tech (-2) v WVU

Semi-Locks
Louisville (-1.5) v UW
Wisc Mil (+11) v Illinois
Nova (+10) v UNC
Kent (-4) v Utah

Un-Locks (hmmm..hahaha.....ha)
Arizona (+1.5) v Ok St
Wisconsin (+2) v NC State

I will have some reflections on the first 2 rounds later tonight.

"Spring Break: Shark Attack"

Not sure if anyone knew, but there was a tremendously awful movie on after college hoops titled "Spring Break: Shark Attack". I will give you one guess as to what it was about. If you said "Spring breakers getting attacked by sharks" then you are correct.

This wasn't the worst movie I have ever seen, but it is up there with "Welcome to Mooseport" and "2 Fast 2 Furious" and "Miracle" (it just wasn't believeable to me). I think they said the word "Spring Break" roughly 1300 hundred times before the first commercial break. It would have made one helluva drinking game had I not been hungover from 3 straight days of 10 hour boozing sessions.

But just the fact that I watched most of it, was a true testament to the effectiveness of advertisements over a 96 hour time period watching the same 6 commercials over and over. Just look at what it has done to me:

Along with watching the SB:SA last night, I went out and bought the new "Hootie and the Blowfish" that came out in 1995 after stopping for dinner at BK. I also opened up a Roth IRA with Fidelity and test drove the new G6. To make matters worse, I went into the bad part of the city with a bag of groceries, schooled some black dude in hoops, offered him a Coke and then got my ass kicked by him and his crew.

Thaaaats Good Marketing!

Remember When......

This was posted 2/21
"…Whatever the reason, I think the Orange may be in trouble this year come tournament time. Unless..........
-Warrick and G-Mac need to drop for at least 20 pts a game each.
-McCroskey and Roberts need to realize they are playing organized hoops and take better shots.
-Edelin needs to play at least 20 minutes a game giving G-Mac and Pace the much needed rest. Saturday against UConn those two guys along with Warrick played the entire game and we all saw the result.
-Craig Forth needs to get more touches inside the paint. I can’t stress this point enough.
-Syracuse needs to get lucky and draw a weak region. Then they need to hope for upsets and play higher seeds until the elite eight. Then they need to pray.Bottom line, my prediction is a second round exit to a mid-major conference champ like Gonzaga, SIU, or Utah."

“Syracuse could possibly lose the first round matchup against Vermont and I am going to leave it at that.” – posted 3/14

I don't want to rub salt in the wound, but I saw this coming. As soon as SU drew Vermont in the opening game, I felt it. Most small conference teams when they find out they are playing a top flight team clap and cheer but understand that they are probably going to get destroyed. Watching Vermount celebrate their draw on Selection Sunday, you could tell that they believed they could beat Syracuse. And they did.

Lets look at how they did it. The physical play and the fact that the refs were allowing it to go on didn't bode well for Warrick though he had a great game putting up 21. Edelin not being there meant another 44 minute game for G-Mac who looked extremely tired late in the game, barely even getting his arms up on D. Vermount matched up well against SU, a fundamentally sound team that played tough D and could shoot the 3. I believe Cuse could have beaten any other higher seeded team in the tourney, but not Vermont, they got screwed.

Boeheim might be over-rated too, I hate to say it. He had the press going late in the game, getting steals, easy lay-ups but as soon as they got the lead, they dropped to the 2-3 zone and let the Catamounts pick it apart like they were doing for most of the game. I actually lost the game for Cuse when I called the Sorrentine half court 3 pointer. I think my exact words were "why are they not pressuring the ball, they are going to run the clock down and hit a 3", immediately followed by the shot that killed the Orange. I thought the guys watching the game with me were going to give me the ol' tar and feather job.

For the record, everytime that Spring Break, Shark Attack promo comes on I make fun of the last scene where we see approximately 1200 sharks all with their fins above the water like "Jaws". That is so over the top, it would never happen I always comment. But then last night on CNN, we see hundreds of sharks down in Florida gathering for Spring Break. It was wild, two prophetic forecasts in one day.

Enough already, every team in the tourney looks beatable except for UNC. Miss St looked tough too, I stand by my upset prediction for tomorrow over Duke.

Secound Round Picks
BC (-3) v UW-Milw , Wake (-9.5) v WVU, Cincy (+3) v Kentucy, Neveda (+11) v Illinois, Pacific (+6.5) v Wash, Arizona (-7.5) v UAB, Oklahoma (-4) v Utah, Texas Tech (+3) v Gonzaga.

UConn (-4) v NC State, Iowa St (+16.5) v UNC, Florida (+1.5) v Nova, SIU (+9.5) v Ok St. Miss St (+9) v Duke, Bucknell (+9.5) V Wisconsin, Vermont (+7.5) v Mich St, Lous (-1.5) v Ga Tech

Should be a great weekend.

Arrasian Foolishness - Exiled

I'm in the basement of the Pepsi Center webcasting the ECAC men's hockey semifinals. (Cornell won the first game 3-0. Colgate plays some other team now, I don't care who. Go Cornell.) I have no television. I'll be watching the scoreboard on ESPN until Fyall tells me I'm using too much bandwidth and causing the hockey game to buffer for the (seriously) 1000 viewers watching the hockey. If SU loses to Vermont and I never see Hak in an orange uniform again, I will immediately leave here and drive to Worcester MA and murder Taylor Coppenrath.

I think I'll do a running diary of me NOT watching the SU game. But I have to do it in notepad or else I'll use too much bandwidth.

My name is Paul. I own a webcasting company, and today it ruined my life. (But only if SU loses.)

Villanova 34, New Mexico 11.....Halftime

I think a starting lineup of our blog team would put up more than 11 points against Villanova. To make matters worse, I made this my "pick of the day" causing my two buddies and myself to put 150 bucks of actual money on New Mexico (+6). As the Simpsons would say, "Gohoyoyoy (while grabbing shirt collar).

16 Games Deep

Picks: 7-9

My brackets left in tact: 2

Biggest upset of the day: Cincinatti actually winning their first round game.

Arizona and Oklahoma look good, Illinois and Washington look bad.

Today should be tremendous.....lot of drinking, lot of basketbal, lot of mundane blogging by me.

Sorry.

8 Games Deep

The Baseball & Steroids scandal on CNN and ESPN2 is tremendously entertaining.

Picks: 3-5
Upsets: 0-1
Beers: 7
Big East:1-1

BC looked pretty impressive, though they were playing a team with 4 white guys on the court at the same time.

A #1 seed should always beat a #16 by more than 20 points. Washington will lose in the next two games, take it to the bank!

Four Games Deep

Very quick thoughts after watching the first four games of the tourney.

Big East: 0-1 What a suprise!
EA's Elight 8: 1-1
Bets: 2-2

Kentucky looked ripe for a secound round upset and I am sticking by my Oklahoma Final Four pick.

Alabama goes deep into the tournament every 7 years. Last year they went to the E8, the next 6 they will lose in the first round. Take it to the bank!

Maybe my posts will be funnier as the day goes on and I get more drunk.

Arrasian Foolishness - Bracket Notes

I'm just going to put this stuff down for the record so I can claim bragging rights in the shocking event that I'm actually right.

1st round Upsets (in order of liklihood)
1. Ohio over Florida
2. UTEP over Utah
3. New Mexico over Villanova
4. Vermont over SU

2nd round Upsets
1. Pitt over Washington
2. NC St over UConn

Final Four
SU
Kansas
Gonzaga
OK St

SU over OK St for the championship

It could happen!

Arrasian Foolishness - 16+ teams that won't win the title

After creating 4 equally terrible brackets today, breaking down into tears, then playing video games for 4 hours, I came to a realization.

2005 is going to be the first year where no one wins the NCAA tournament.

See, there are certain specific flaws with each team. I am going to list them for you now.

First of all, with a few popular exceptions, lets throw out all the 5 or lower seeds. Not going to happen this year. They're all even worse than the teams I'm about to touch on now.

Second, I'm going to do this in a power order based on which teams I see as most talented and dangerous.

1. UNC - Roy Williams is going to win a title. But it's going to have to be with an overachieving team at this point. He's blown too many chances with even better teams (remember Vaughn and Pierce and co?) for this to be the year.
2. UConn - I don't want to play them. But I have a sense that they peaked a little too early this year. And they're not quite as talented as their recent play might lead us to believe. Ben Gordan was too good for them to win without a PG like him.
3. Duke - K is the opposite of Williams. He can only win with top notch talent. This lovably scrappy team doesn't have it.
4. OK St - John Lucas is insane and erratic. Joey Graham is solid but a level below the Simien's, May's, and Warrick's of the world. Just not good enough to be the best.
5. Wake Forest - It's never good when ESPN says about their defense, "The Deacons haven't been the best at stopping opponents..."
6. Illinois - Since 84, no team has won the title with 1 or 0 losses. You have to be tested during the year. The Big 10 sucks. Great PGs make great frontcourts into champions. Illinois lacks a great frontcourt.
7. Kansas - Good enough to beat the top two teams on my list. Not good enough to avoid a silly loss somewhere (N. Iowa in round 2? NC St in round 3?), or to beat a red hot 03 cuse-like surprise team.
8. Washington - See my Illinois comment on needing a great frontcourt. Also see the Gonzaga game for evidence that Washington is probably not even the best team in their state. No defense: Loyola-Marymount put up 93 points on the Huskies!
9. Syracuse - Hak, Gerry, and Pace are sure things. But they need the sophomores. And the sophomores just aren't quite consistent enough to win 6 in a row.
10. Gonzaga - I drool at the potential of the Morrison-Turiaf frontcourt. But I've lost faith in the Zags in the tourney after two straight, sobering upsets. They aren't going to suddenly win the thing. They'll do better this year though.
11. Kentucky - Kentucky, and the SEC with them, are past their prime. Check out recent results. 2001: lost as 2 seed to 6-seed USC in sweet 16. 2003: lost as 1 seed to 3-seed Marquette in elite eight. 2004: lost as 1 seed to UAB in 2nd round.
12. Arizona - Great inside-outside combo; maybe the "SU" of the west sans the depth. Guard Stoudamire and win.
13. Louisville - They deserved a higher seed because of numbers, not because of talent. Despite always being hyped as a sleeper, Pitino has only won one game with these guys in two dances. C-USA does not produce champs. (Lucky they're moving to a conference that does.)
14. BC - I really liked BC until I remembered that Al Skinner is a tourney underachiever. (Here are the numbers on that.)
15. Oklahoma - Highest seed that I can't name one player on. Oh yeah, Bookout! He's white...
16. Florida - Ohio is knocking them out in the first round. MAC forever!!!!
17. Pitt - I'm sure this is just Big East bias, plus the fact that they beat us twice, but I think Pitt is really good. Krauser is DANGEROUS. Troutman is dirty and can D up any of these elite forwards. Taft has talent.
18. Villanova - Are we cooled on them yet? No? They might go on a run. But you can't win a title with a coach who's never won a tourney game, right? (Jay Wright is 0-2) That region is too tough.
19. Georgia Tech - You can't be that inconsistent during the season then expect to suddenly be able to win 6 in a row. Georgia Tech won 7 in a row to start the season (best teams they beat were Michigan and Georgia). They only won as many as 3 in a row once after that.

So there you go. No one is going to win. Tomorrow I'll tell you about my backup theory (if someone does win, who it will be. Plus my top 4 potential upsets.).

Vegas Bookies v EA

Here we go with my first 32 picks of the tourney.

DAY ONE
Illinios (-27) v FDU, Neveda (+1) v Texas, East Kent (+16.5) v Kentucky, UCLA (+3.5) v Tex Tech, Alabama (-5) V Wisc-Milwaukee, Niagara (+12.5) v Oklahoma, Winthrop (+13) v Gonzaga, Utah (-3) v UTEP, Creighton (+2.5) v WVU, Arizona (-5.5) v Utah St, Iowa (+3) v Cincy, Pacific (+3.5) v Pitt, LSU (-3) v UAB, Wake (-18) v Noogs, Penn (+6.5) v BC, Washington (-20) v Montana.

This is exhausting, especially because I do 12 minutes of research on each game.

DAY TWO
Louisville (-11.5) v LA-Lafayette, NC State (-4.5) v Charlotte, Ohio (+11.5) v Florida, Minny (-1) v Iowa St, SIU (-2.5) v St Marys, Ga Tech (-5.5) v GW, Bucknell (+14) v Kansas, Ok St. (-19) v SE Louisiana, UConn (-18) v UCF, Duke (-26.5) v Deleware St, ODU (+8.5) v Mich. St, Vermont (+9.) v Syracuse, Miss St (-2) v Stanford, New Mexico (+5) v Nova, Wisconsin (-7.5) v Northern Iowa.....UNC (-28) v Oakland, forgot about my boys.

There you have it, I will be happy if I go 16-16.

Quick Summary of my brackets.

Elite Eight Teams: Alabama, Arizona, Louisville, Wake, UNC, Kansas, Syracuse, Oklahoma

Final Four: Zona, Wake, UNC, Oklahoma...UNC v Wake....UNC- NCAA Champions

Upsets:
FIRST ROUND-New Mexico over Nova, Penn over BC, ODU over Mich St. UCLA over Tex Tech
SECOND ROUND- Nevada over Illini, UCLA over Zaga, Miss St over Duke...thats right, two #1 seeds get dropped.

Keep in mind that I have never come close to winning any March Madness pools at work, at home or even abroad....but this year is the year for me, I can feel it. Good luck to all in your brackets, I will be on a four day bender starting around 12:15pm tomorrow so any posts after that point will be incoherent babbling about how my picks are all wrong.

Arrasian Foolishness - Threat Level: Orange

It is time for me to tell you about my beloved Syracuse. You can learn the most about a team by looking at its defeats, its weaknesses. Syracuse did not lose to an unranked team all year, the only Division 1 program that can claim this.

Loss #1: OK St in MSG, 74-60
This one was incredibly intense for 35 minutes. Having watched more OK St games, I think the cowboys played the game of their year, hitting us with Big East-like physicality. In the end we lost because OK St went on a little run at the right time, and because the defensive intensity was so high, we immediately panicked.

Loss #2: at Pitt, 76-69 AND Loss #4: v. Pitt 68-64
In both games, we led and even dominated for large stretches. The second game required a pretty insane performance by Krauser to close the gap. Bottom line is we couldn't handle Pitt's defense, which is the epitome of Big East's intensely physical D. (Side note: Pitt can make a run in the Albuquerque region because they are the only ones who play any defense. They will be stopped if the non-Big East refs call a tight game and put them in foul trouble.)

Loss #3: UConn 74-66 AND Loss #6: at UConn 88-70
The first game marked The Leap for Terrance Roberts, to borrow an SG term. Mookie played well too, which allowed us to stay in the game. We would have won if the game had been played 5-on-5 instead of 8-on-5 (SU had 9 more fouls than UConn). The second game was tied at half. Then the 2nd half was the only time the whole year, besides the final 5 minutes of the OK St game, when we were not in a basketball game. Both games UConn won with their great frontcourt and their physical play. Also, Calhoun owns Gerry.

Loss #5: at BC 65-60
This game and the 2nd Pitt game, Hak had 12 points. Since those two games he hasn't scored any less than 20. He only went to the line 4 times in those two games. Since then, he's been in double figures for FTAs in 5 of the 6 games. I think we can all agree he's played the best basketball of his life over that stretch. Overall, our frontcourt stunk in the BC loss. We lost on the boards by 9, and we only made 8 ASTs. That's a tribute to BC's good, physical interior D.

Key word: physical
So how do you beat us? Be physical with Hak like dirty ol' Chevon Troutman is. Have forwards and/or centers who are more physical than Forth-Watkins-Roberts like UConn does. Clog the lane and put your best defender on Gerry to make all his shots tough like Calhoun does. Basically, watch the tapes from the UConn games.

And then watch the tape from the last UConn game and be afraid, because UConn did all that and still got blown out of the water for most of the game. What happened? Watkins and Roberts got better. They can match UConn's frontcourt physicality now. Roberts can score a little, maybe a lot if he had the chance. Watkins is a force on the glass. McCroskey looks comfortable with his minutes off the bench and can hit a 3. So can Hak (don't laugh). Suddenly, Gerry isn't our only shooter. Even D-Nic finally got one to fall against WVU, and who knows if he can carry that into the tourney. Our sophomores arrived. That's why we beat UConn. Finally, they are playing like Jim said they would. And if they keep doing that, we're going to be a tough out.

Prediction:
I am afraid of Coppenrath having a special ending to his great career PLUS the fact that VT's coach is retiring, which ALWAYS is a clue for an upset in March. But coming from the green mountains of Vermont, Coppenrath has only seen creatures like Darryl Watkins in his nightmares. I say he gets squashed.

Michigan St just lacks the talent.

Duke will be the game of the region. I picked Duke with my initial gut pick on Monday, but my official pick will probably be SU.

And I think both Kentucky and OK are over-rated. No way OK is better than OK St. And Chuck Hayes will be stymied by our zone.

Overall, there is a chance Hak is the best player in the entire region right now, which is always a good thing to have in basketball. If Terrance and Mookie keep playing strong, and Gerry doesn't have to do it all as our #2 guy, we can make the final 4.

That's where the run stops, because we won't beat UConn again, and UNC or Kansas has the big guys to thwart us as well. Florida is getting beaten by Ohio, as I'm sure Dan is picking. We'd beat Nova, if they made it that far. We wouldn't beat Bucknell, because they did something we couldn't: beat Pitt in Pitt.

Whatever happens, I'll always love Craig Forth.

Vegas Bookies vs. EA

64 games, 64 spreads...coincidence? I think not. I am not going to waste my time betting on the NIT or the NBA or the NHL...oh wait, forget about that last one. I am going toe-to-toe with the oddsmakers and only one of us can come out on top. The Madness is here. In the words of the immortal Shang Tsung " IT HAS BEGUN!!!!!!!!"

March Madness

Oakland (-6) v Alabama A&M...whoever wins this one, gets their asses kicked by Carolina.

YESTERDAY 2-2 MONTH TO DATE 49-35-1 YEAR 84-89-4 MONEY -1390

Random Thought 3/15

One of the worst feelings in the world is when you have "spread" in Contra and accidentally jump or run into "F" or "R". I like to immediately kill myself and start again with my regular gun that shoots incredibly slow moving bullets. Especially if I use the cheat code for 30 lives which as we all know is UU,DD,LR,LR,BA,BA,Select,Start.

Fred Hickman is the "Craig Forth" of Sportscenter. He looks like he should be a good player but when he starts talking you begin to wonder if he would make it past the first round of "Dream Job"...yet he still has a starting spot in the rotation. It's sheer lunacy.

I love this time of the year when the NCAA tournament creates an advertising avalanche of alliterative marketing. See, even I have started to incorporate alliteration into my daily speak, its contagious. Here are a few of my favorite campaigns. March Mania! Bracketology Bonanza! Roundball Ridiculousness! and the lesser used, Hoops Holocaust-themed Sale!

Random Thoughts - The Madness of March

The biggest factor in this year's Selection Sunday was Bob Bowlsby, Iowa AD and head of the committee. He gave his Hawkeyes a bid over Indiana "just because"* and he put Illinois with every team that backed into the tourney with the exception of Oklahoma St. Mich St a 5, Wisconsin a 6, Minny a 9, expect the Big Ten to jump out to a 5-0 start after the first round, followed up with everyone losing...thats right, everyone. Nevada is really good and will beat Iillinois, you heard it hear first.

* - not an actual quote from Bowlsby but just something I envision him saying if he were ever asked the question why Iowa got in not Indiana.

UNC has a rough bracket and I will admit their coach is known for underacheiving and the team lacks the throat-slashing instinct...but that doesn't mean that they won't come out of the East unscathed. I don't understand how Dan could say that UNC will " fold like a deck of cards" in the Sweet Sixteen but he can also see the Top 3 seeds in the East winning it all. I am assuming that "winning it all" means winning the Championship, and that the "Top 3 seeds" means UNC/UConn/Kansas, and that "see" means....well you get my point. It doesn't seem to make any sense. Its like the previous paragraph where I said Illinois has an easy draw but they will lose in the second round. I have no idea what the hell is going on.

Wake Forest has the best draw in my opinion..much better than if they were a #1 seed. They will have to beat only one good team to get to the Elite 8 if that. Gonzaga is better off as a 10 seed Cinderalla team, they cannot win when they are favored, it is bizarre. In contrast, Washington might have to beat a tough 2nd round opponent (Pitt/Pacific) and then most likely Ga Tech or Louisville. I can't see them advancing too far in the tourney.

Syracuse could possibly lose the first round matchup against Vermont and I am going to leave it at that.

I love the experts that go out on a limb and take Illinois, Duke, UNC, and their sleeper, Wake Forest. Way to get ballsy boys, keep up the good work. The reason why teams are #1 is because people expect them to make it all the way. No one is going to have a final four that includes Miss. St, Oklahoma, Arizona and Bucknell. No one that is, except me.

I tried to organize an NIT pool at work today, no one seemed interested.

Arrasian Foolishness - The Wrath of Al

My friend, Al, the inanimate gnome, is going to go Keyser Soze on the selection committee members and their families for the ridiculous snub of Buffalo. Let's match up their specs with the two strangest inclusions in the bracket: Northern Iowa and UAB.

NORTHERN IOWA
Record: 20-10
Conf Record: 11-8
RPI: 40
SOS: 60
v. RPI 1-100: 6-7
Last 10: 7-3

UAB
Record: 21-10
Conf Record: 11-7
RPI: 59
SOS: 118
v. RPI 1-100: 7-6
Last 10: 5-5

BUFFALO
Record: 22-9
Conf Record: 14-8
RPI: 32
SOS: 82
v. RPI 1-100: 8-9
Last 10: 8-2


I mean, I don't even have to argue against Buffalo over UAB. The numbers speak for themselves. Somewhere, Joe Lunardi is nodding his head. As for Northern Iowa compared to Buffalo, I think the committee needs to put a little more weight in conference tournament performance when settling the bubble. Call it the "Notre Dame Factor:" if you can't beat a team worse than you in your conference tournament when your bid is on the line, you don't deserve a bid. Northern Iowa lost in the quarterfinals of the MVC to SMS. Buffalo beat every team except Ohio in their last 10 games, and almost beat Ohio in the MAC championship. If Al were animate, he'd be nodding too.

And don't get me started about why Ohio should have at least an 11 seed, not a 13 seed. Florida is in trouble in the first round.

"The BlueDevil's Advocate" starring Coach K and Keanu Reaves

The amount of calls that goes Duke's way in every single game that they play is sickening. It's like steroid use in baseball back in the 80's. Everyone knows its going on, but no one ever says anything about it. Even loyal Duke fans have to admit that yesterday was the most blatant call to go Duke's way in the history of college hoops. Less than a minute left, one point Duke lead, a foul is called on Jarret Jack before the ball is even inbounded on Reddick. Replays showed that Jack barely even touched him, Reddick actually grabbed one of the other Tech players and fouled him....but what happens? The zebras put the best free throw shooter in the history of the NCAA on the line and he of course nails them both. I am suprised they didn't call an intentional foul on Tech or say that J.J was in the act of shooting a 3 and give him three shots at the line. The worst call I have ever seen at a time when Duke needed it the most. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit. Two other times when there were blatant errors. Tech was called for a charge and on the inbounds play, the Duke player shuffled his feet on the end-line. This is okay after a made basket BUT this was a foul so he had to stay set or it was a travel. Paul Hewitt saw it as did most of the fans, I even saw a 7 year old girl making the traveling motion with her hands. Then later in the second half Reddick threw the ball out of bounds and the ref said it was deflected. It was like no one could believe that the Great J.J. passed the ball into the stands. Brutal, absolutely brutal.

Coach K. is the anti-christ, it just came to me. He is the real-life Al Pacino in "The Devil's Advocate". Can't you just picture him whispering into a ref's ear something in ancient Aramaic and the ref gets a glazed look over his eyes like one possessed and immediately starts calling every foul for Duke. Trust me, this is what happens at every Blue Devil's game. I wouldn't be suprised if they win the national championship and Coach K takes over the world and unveils himself as the devil incarnate.

Laugh if you will, but just wait and see what happens.

I have no time right now for a rebuttal to Dan's post of why UNC will win the championship and why the Big East will be out by the Elite Eight but it will come later today.

Picks of the Day 3/13

Awful day yesterday, a frightening 2-8...and UNC lost.
Thaaats sports gaming!

NCAAB
Ga Tech (+3.5) v Duke
Florida (+2) v Kentucky
Texas Tech (+6) v OK State
Wisconsin (+7) v Illinois

YESTERDAY 2-8 MONTH TO DATE 47-33-1 YEAR 82-87-4 MONEY -1370

Good comeback with an 8-4 night, UNC survived, Syracuse will win the Big East Championship and Michigan won their alumni game yesterday...so all three of my "teams" were victorious. Wohoo! Also Mich. St and Nova lost, proving once again how smart I am. Lot of good stuff today including a binge drinking session by three out of the four bloggers on this site tonight. Should be a slow day of posts tomorrow and I apologize ahead of time.

NCAAB
Minnesota (+13) v Illinois
Arizona (-2.5) v Washington
Kansas (+2.5) v Ok St.
St. Joes (+2.5) v GW
Buffalo (-2.5) v Ohio
Syracuse (-5) v West VA
NC State (+6) v Duke
UNC (-8.5) v Ga Tech....don't know why I am doing this, they couldn't even beat Clemson by 8.5
Pacific (+3) v Utah State
Hampton (+1.5) v Deleware St.

YESTERDAY 8-4 MONTH TO DATE 45-25-1 YEAR 80-79-4 MONEY -690

Shoot Me An Email

This will possibly become a weekly column featuring a running conversation via email between two of the team bloggers, EA and Kevin aka _SKY_. Enjoy the "pilot" post of this morning's dialogue.

E-wouldn't it be great if our readers knew how funny we were on a daily basis through the medium of electronic mail....or e-mail as the kids call it?

K- but then our respective employers would know how much time we wasted emailing each other back and forth

E-true, i never thought about it that way. thats a very good point.

K-whats that noise in the background?

E-ummmmmmmm...........im shredding evidence. how'd you hear that through email?

K-i didn't hear it, I could sense it. anyways, this is one helluva good idea by the way, I am totally sure that our readers will love this column...oh by the way, this is heavily saturated with sarcasm.

E- That's funny Kev, I didn't realize you had a quota for the # of times you say "by the way" in emails...keep up the good work. back to your point, its tough when only person, namely me, provides entertaining prose. you are right though this is boring. i think this may encourage day-drinking to help our creative side shine, which would also lead to the quick termination of our jobs. maybe this was not the best idea.

K- you know what would also encourage drinking during day-light hours...UNC getting upset by Clemson this afternoon.

EA- HA! I bet you 4 dollars that UNC wins by at least 30 points.

K- Deal (while motioning to his co-worker with his thumb grinding his forefinger and middle finger indicating the universal sign for "money in the bank". )

Picks of the Day 3/11

Yikes, rough night yesterday but Syracuse looked good and Texas shit the bed which was fantastic. I hate Texas. Lot of games on tap today. I will prob update this when the lines come up for the later games but for now, this will have to do.

NCAAB
UNC (-16) v Clemson
Va Tech (+8) v Ga Tech
Missouri (+10) v Oklahoma
Buffalo (PK) v Western Michigan
Minnesota (+2.5) v Indiana
Florida (-2.5) v Mississippi St.
Villanova (-5.5) v West Virginia....too late to jump on the Nova bandwagon?
Arizona (-11) v Oregon St
UVA (+15) v Duke
NC State (+4) v Wake minus C. Paul
UConn (-2) v Syracuse...did anyone see last Saturday's game?
Colorado (+16.5) v Ok St.


YESTERDAY 2-5 MONTH TO DATE 37-21-1 YEAR 72-75-4 MONEY -1050

Picks of the Day 3/10

I came home for lunch only to find myself at half-time for both ESPN games...pretty good planning dont ya think? But I am able to get my picks...which is nice.

I was 35-54-3 in February. In May, I already have 35 wins but an astounding 38 less losses. Truly remarkable comeback!

NCAAB
UConn (-11) v Georgetown...my prediction UConn 83, Gtown 17
Syracuse (-11) v Rutgers
Miami (-3) v UVA
TX A&M (-3.5) v Kansas St.
FSU (+7.5) v NC State
Pittsburgh (+1.5) v Nova...we will see how good Nova really is tonight.
Colorado (+9.5) v Texas

YESTERDAY 3-2 MONTH TO DATE 35-16-1 YEAR 70-70-4 MONEY -700

Picks of the Day 3/9

Another winning night, it is starting to make me think that I should start the real account back up. Then I look at last month and realize why I stopped.

NCAAB
St. Bona (+15.5) v Dayton
Seton Hall (+2.5) v Georgetown
Rutgers (+8.5) v ND....winner takes on Cuse, lets hope for an upset!
Memphis (-10) v St Louis
Fordham (-3.5) v Duquesne

YESTERDAY 3-2 MONTH TO DATE 32-14-1 YEAR 67-68-4 MONEY -780

Picks of the Day 3/8

The continuation of solid betting by me is uncommon. In response to Dan's thoughts, the Big East will get more teams in the tourney sure, but you are kidding yourself if there is more than one final four in the league (UConn). The ACC is not as strong top to bottom but Wake UNC Duke all have a great chance to make it to the final weekend. I love SU but like I have said many times before, if they fall behind to a decent team (not Rutgers) then they will be in trouble.

UNC may not win it all this year, and it will be all Roy Williams fault. I have never been anything but critical of his coaching and I am suprised the Dan would think otherwise. Speaking of over-rated coaches, Coach K is getting some thought for Coach of the Year and my question is why? He has two first team all-Americans and potential players of the year in Reddick and S. Williams. People who say he has no talent on his team are communists or at the very least, socialists. I hate Duke.

NCAAB
Penn (-1) v Princeton
Louis-Lafayette (-1) v Denver
Wisc. Milwaukee (-9) v Detroit
San Jose St (+9) v Hawaii
Brown (PK) v Yale

YESTERDAY 4-2 MONTH TO DATE 29-12-1 YEAR 64-66-4 MONEY -860

Random Thought 3/8

I think a great way to evaluate yourself as an employee is to predict what round you would be taken in if your department had a fantasy draft. I would like to think I would be a late first or early second rounder. I have the skills and work ethic...but my lack of experience will keep some of the supervisors from taking me as a lottery pick.

UNC-Duke II

I was going to do a running diary for this game but mid-way through the first half I gave up and focused on the game. I did jot down some notes howerver and hopefully I will be able to capture the true drama that took place in what has become the greatest rivalry in all sports.

First off, CBS broadcasted the game which means I couldn't put any money on humerous Dickie V prop bets. Also, Roy Williams decided to start his five seniors, a classy move but one that gave Duke an early 5-0 lead and made me second-guess my bet on Carolina. Has Duke lost a game by more than 7 points in the last 10 years? Somebody do the research and get back to me on that.

Anyone else think that Shelden Williams looks EXACTLY like Ken Griffey Jr. on "The Simpsons" when he was addicted to nerve tonic?

Here are some highlights:

David Noel hits a long jumper, Jackie Manuel slams one home and Duke subs in two white guys simultaneously, all within a 15 minute window....I am visibly shaken by this sequence of events as this is not supposed to happen....ever!

Carolina takes its first lead with 9:12 left, I prematurely start the "Its all over" chant.

JJ Reddick hits his fourth three of the half, I start to quietly weep in the corner. Then the Burger King commercial with Hootie and Brooke Burke comes on and I contemplate slitting my wrists.

Reddick misses a free throw!!! Carolina fans clap out loud with vigor!!! Exclamation points get thrown around without regard!!! Yeah!!

Carolina 47, Duke 41 at the half, so far so good...May is amazing and Reddick hasn't scored in the last 5 minutes, that couldnt possibly extend into the second half....or could it?

Daniel Ewing has insanely huge nostrils, how much crack could you possibly snort with those things, damn!

"Airball...Airball....Airball" UNC fans chant as Reddick misses yet another shot. Zero points by the All-American in the second half by the way.

Lee Malchionni hits 5 three's in the second half, the last of which brings the score to 73-64...I have no idea whats going on, the last 20 minutes have been a blur. We might be looking at a rematch with Duke Saturday in the semis instead of Sunday. I wish cyanide pills were sold over the counter.

J.Williams with the tip-in, M. Williams swishes two from the stripe and May gets three the old-fashioned way and its 73-71. Felton makes the first free throw, misses the second M-Dubs grabs the offensive board and hits a shot off glass AND ONE! My dear lord, this is unbelievable baby!!!!!!! Where is Dickie V when you need him? Reddick misses a three to win, and Carolina prevails! Tears of joy stream down my face as I watch the crowd storm the court. I now know how B.C fans felt after they beat Syracuse and I apologize for ever criticizing them. March Madness has begun.

Picks of the Day 3/7

What a day of upsets yesterday! Not too bad of a call on the Illini huh? Remember..."Ohio St (+7) v Illinois...upset in the making?? " Tremendous. More on that later in the night. On to the picks as Championship Week really starts to heat up.

NCAAB
VCU (+4) v Old Dominion
Creighton (+1.5) v Sw Missouri
Niagara (-3.5) v Rider
No. Illini (+9) v Buffalo
Gonzaga (-5) v St Marys
Ohio (-10.5) v Marshall

YESTERDAY 4-1-1 MONTH TO DATE 25-10-1 YEAR 60-64-4 MONEY -1040

Arrasian Foolishness - Conference of Ridiculosity

I didn't provide a running diary of the SU-UConn game because I didn't watch the SU-UConn game. Let me explain...

I have a friend, Al. He has special powers, including the ability to stonewall people into crushing defeat. (For my definition of "stonewall," please see the Larry Sellars scene in The Big Lebowski. i.e. Walter: ...language problem here. Little prick's stonewalling me!) He stonewalled Rutgers in the 2nd half of SU's great comeback victory earlier this year. He stonewalled Kent State when I went to Buffalo to see the Bulls play a few weeks ago. And so even though I wanted to see the SU-UConn team, Al pointed out that the Bulls needed to beat the Zips much more than we needed to beat the UConn Fat Peoples. And since Al is an inanimate plastic garden gnome, I had to drive him out there.

Here is a picture of Al, along with various other characters from my infamous trip to St. Louis in December, 5 Days, 3 Naps. You can also find a picture of Brady, a 2004 Buffalo grad and our Buffalo host.

It was senior day, so I'll give a shout out to Turner "MVP" Battle, Danny "Hustle" Gilbert, Jason "Anonymous Starting Guard" Bird, and Mark "Lovably Bombastic Tall White Guy" Bortz. Watch UB in the MAC and, with a lot of luck, the NCAAs. You'll fall in love with Turner and Danny, too.

Unlike SU, Buffalo wisely places the student section on the visiting bench end. That means they have to shoot on our basket in the 2nd half, and the bench gets to listen to us the whole game. Most importantly, it also meant that they would be playing right into Al's stonewalling in the 2nd half, when Al is most effective.

Al's stonewalling is so powerful that it can affect the good guys just as much. So we were careful to keep Al on the floor, facing away from the court while UB played towards us. Akron made a little run in the 1st half before we realized Al had been kicked and spun around. That was remedied, and the Bulls pulled to within 1 at the break. Perfect.

Meanwhile, we had picked out 2 targets on Akron. One easy one was Cedric Middleton, younger brother of Bulls' guard Ron Middleton. Brady was all over the "Ron-ny's bet-ter!" chant. Later, we would up that to "your mom loves Ron more!" Cedric found most of the stuff we threw at him pretty funny, and responded with a tied-for-game high 17 points. Oops. However, he was guarding his brother who hit 5 huge threes in the game.

Our other target was this dumpy, 6-4 white shooter named Bubba Walther. He is one of those guys who, when they're on the bench, like to jump up and down when something good happens. He got our attention when he blew a kiss to some guy in a Shockey jersey who was heckling him. Shockey-jersey aside, we UB fans (even pretenders like me) gots to stick together.

So in the 2nd half, with Al taking care of defending the entire Akron team, we went on the attack. Brady and I got several simple "Wal-ther! Wal-ther!" chants going during some timeouts to get his attention. Then whenever it was quiet enough for him to hear us, we started yelling for the coach to put in Walther. Finally, with Al's stonewalling catapaulting the Bulls to a double-digit lead, Walther got back in the game. He promptly missed a 3 (barely rimming out thanks to Al's effect) then had to go diving for an errant pass out of bounds. Next timeout, we all told him how great his minutes were. He eventually came back out and hit a three, but then he didn't get back on defense, allowing a fast break bucket, and he came back down and missed a three, then moments later he threw a hilariously bad inbounds pass accross the court to the Buffalo bench. That was it for Walther. He finished 2-10 from the field, with 1 TO, and was visibly agitated on the bench for the rest of the game, to our unending delight. We just kept riding him. There's no mercy when it comes to heckling. What's he going to do, run into the stands and punch me? Speaking of which, I told Brady that, if we ran down and heckled him as they walked into the tunnel after the game, I thought there was a 50/50 chance we could get him to throw a punch at one of us. Now THAT is entertainment!

Thanks to Al, the Bulls won 72-56. Al is now 3-0 in games he has taken an active role in. His powers aren't even that surprising to me anymore.

Meanwhile, chaos was breaking out around the MAC. The best team (Miami) lost to the worst team (Marshall), but still kept the top seed in the conference, because Ohio lost to Kent State. The end result was Miami alone in first, and six (6!) teams with the 2nd-best record of 11-7. Two more are 10-8. Plus, the two worst teams in the conference had victories against one of those top 9 on the final day of the regular season. Bottom line is this: the MAC is great basketball, and two teams should come out. Somehow, the insane parity must be taken into consideration. Two teams must get in. I say it's Miami and whichever 11-7 team makes the finals (or wins the MAC, obviously, if it's not Miami).

Pics Of the Day 3/6

I continue to tear through the month of March...its pure madness!

NCAAB
UNC (-7) v Duke...I think this will be a close game or a blowout...or something in between. GO HEELS!
Wake Forest (-2) @ NC State
Ohio St (+7) v Illinois...upset in the making??
FSU (-3.5) v Virginia
Mizzou (+8) v Kansas
Kentucky (+3) @ Florida

YESTERDAY 5-2 MONTH TO DATE 21-9 YEAR 56-63-3 MONEY -1330

"The Season- Team Discovery Channel"

Game 2- After a thrilling 5 point victory last week, TDC took on "Team Douchebag" in Week 2. I spent the morning at work getting pumped up for the game by listening to 50 Cent's new album for 4 straight hours. It didnt matter however as our team was throttled by 40+ points.

These guys were up throughout the entire game but you wouldn't know it from their actions on the court. They were screaming at us on each shot, settin back picks with their elbows out, and complaining about fouls. The worst part was every single player reminded me of college ballers that I can't stand.

There was Brian Cardinal out of Purdue who would take charges and dive for loose balls out of bounds. He even looked the part, acward and slightly balding. Then there was Christian Laetner, who I am pretty sure had something like 35 points, 12 boards and 22 blocked shots. He was still driving to the basket with 2 minutes left and the score was 75-38. The best part was that they were still clapping and getting excited about each basket, complimenting each other for their great play. I think they might have stayed around after the game to work on set pieces and out of bounds plays.

My line was troubling....maybe one for a bakers dozen (1-13) with maybe 2 boards. I was trying to foul out of the game so I could go home in complete disgust but the ref wasn't calling anything. I did get a technical foul which would really piss off people who had me on their fantasy team...I hit a three, my only make of the day, and walked off the court thinking that this was hockey and we could sub on the fly...."T" it up for EA! Two free throws and now we are in danger of not covering our 45 point spread.

Brutal game, nothing fun about it....I felt like Longwood playing Wake Forest last week. I know, I know too much Longwood bashing but I can't help myself.

On to the Cuse game....it wasn't a big suprise that they lost, but they got their asses kicked. I remember at one point when Pace made a duece to bring it to within 10 or so, I thought SU would be making a run. But then UConn brought the ball up court and looked at SU's 2-3 zone and probably laughed inside. You can NOT get back in the game playing a 2-3 zone, letting UConns guard pass it back and forth for 25 seconds with no pressure. The Huskies hit for a jumper after 30 seconds and the slight run that the Cuse made is worthless. Do they not practice any other kind of zones...or maybe the man to man defense is too complicated for these guys? Jimmy B needs to look at some type of pressure half-court defense or the Orange will lose the first game they fall behind in. G-Mac pulling up for three after three will not work especially when he isn't hitting anything.

Oh well...UNC-Duke tomorrow...........I am sure I will have much more to bitch about.

Picks of the Day 3/5

They should make a movie about my friday bets....they could call it "Friday Night Lights"...not a bad idea. I hit 4 out of 5 picks which makes me something like 11-3 the last three Fridays.

My "lock" bet last night finally made me look smart with NC- Char (+9) actually beating Davidson by 7.

NCAAB
Michigan (+3.5) v Iowa
Buffalo (-4) v Akron
UConn (-5.5) v Syracuse...if SU loses this game, they will lose to a 4 seed in the second round of the tourney....if they win, they will still lose but to a 6 seed, which is much worse. Prove me wrong Cuse, prove me wrong!
Va Tech (+3.5) v Maryland
Brown (-3.5) v Cornell
Penn (-14) v Harvard
Ok St. (-11.5) v Texas...Texas sucks still.

YESTERDAY 4-1 MONTH TO DATE 16-7 YEAR 51-61-3 MONEY -1610

Picks of the Day 3/4

That's more like it! I am really uncomfortable winning money on back to back nights so I "threw" last night's picks and went 2-3...with my two wins by a total of 2 points. But my hopes are high as the Ivy Leaguers toss around the leather tonight. Great post by the way, Dan! You really capture the spirit of college kids supporting horrible basketball teams. Only my brother at 2-25 Bonaventure and my friend* from 1-30 Longwood can truly feel your pain.

NCAAB
Brown (-4) v Columbia
Penn (-18) v Dartmouth
Harvard (+9) @ Princeton
Yale (+6) v Cornell....Sorry Danny, the Fighting Red or Big Red or whatever the hell they are called suck
Nc Greensboro (+9) @ Davidson

There are approximately 125 games being played tonight as the smaller conference tourneys get under way, theoretically I could lose tens of thousands of dollars if I bet on them all so I am going to stick with my Ivy League picks and the Davidson "lock" for tonight.

I probably don't have to remind you all of the huge college hoops weekend ahead of us. Syracuse @ UConn tomorrow followed by UNC v Duke Sunday. I expect two running diary columns following each of these games...Paul I am talking to you in re: to the Cuse game.

*- I would never associate myself with anyone from Longwood, this is a fictional "friend" that I created for satirical purposes only.

YESTERDAY 2-3 MONTH TO DATE 12-6 YEAR 47-60-3 MONEY -1900

Picks of the Day 3/3

Alright, now I am starting to get scared. Last night, I hit 5 out of 7 picks for a startling 77% accuracy rate to start off the month of May. The "black history month" theory might turn out to be true.

NCAAB

Charlotte (+10) @ Louisville...the battle of the top seeds in Conf. USA square off with a 10 pt margin? Look for a close game at the very least, maybe even an upset.

UNC (-22) v FSU...The Heels are 17-9 against the spread this year

Pacific (-3.5) @ CS-Fullerton

UCLA (-6.5) v Oregon St

Miami (+15) @ Duke

YESTERDAY 5-2 MONTH TO DATE 10-3 YEAR 45-57-3 MONEY -1770

Random Thought

I try to incorporate the quantifying words "fortnight" and "baker's dozen" into my daily speech.

Not many people know that the "Oscars" are also known as the "Academy Awards". Well, I guess most people know that but some people don't. Nicole is the only one who will find that funny. Because she didn't know that.

"In theory" is a great way to start the sentence, Communism works.

When people say something like "what are the odds that we get out of work on time today?" I like to very quickly reply, "Seven to two"...like there were actual Vegas odds on that scenario. People get confused.

Is there any chance that "The Pacifier" with Vin Diesel opens the weekend at #1 in the box office? Most people would say no, but I think that if Morgan Freeman narrated it, then it would be a hit.

Picks of the Day 3/2

Hell froze over last night as I went a powerful 5-1..........I will let that sink in for a moment or two.

I have also decided to track my picks on a monthly basis instead of weekly, if only because it is much easier to tell what month today is than what week today is, if you catch my drift. I am going to ride my hot streak with some tough calls on tonight's games.

COLLEGE HOOPS
Buffalo (+4) @ Ohio...the Bulls always cover (knock on virtual wood).
Ga Tech (+9) @ Wake Forest...if I could bet the money line on Tech I would, look for a big upset tonight!
Uconn (-11) v Georgetown...I am a career worst 0-8 betting against UConn, so this will probably be the night where they fail to cover and the streak continues
LSU (-1.5) @ Ole Miss...never bet on a team that has "Ole" or "Longhorns" anywhere in their name
K. State (+17) @ Kansas...Kansas will be up 45 points with 5 minutes to go and still find a way to not cover, trust me.
UVA (+3) v NC State...yet another ACC squad gets eliminated from NCAA consideration (VA Tech, Ga Tech, NC State, Maryland...they are dropping like flies, literally....or is it figuratively?)
Tx A&M (+14) @ Ok. St...I won't win this one, I guarentee it, just watch.

YESTERDAY 5-1 MONTH TO DATE 5-1 YEAR 40-55-3 MONEY -2150

Picks of the Day 3/1

A pretty rough "Black History Month" for me in terms of gambling. Personally, I blame my active role in the African American community for keeping me busy this whole month and not allowing me the 2-3 hours of necessary prep time to make my bets. I really think that I am going to turn it around this month especially with the Madness coming up soon.

For some reason, I decided to delete my picks from last night but if anyone remembers I did pick the two nationally televised games correct (Pitt and Oklahoma). Funny thing is, I woke up this morning knowing that I started 2-0 with hopes of a good night but then I discovered that I got swept with NBA 0-3 to end the day 3-4. Could be worse I guess.

COLLEGE HOOPS
Va Tech (+5.5) @ Clemson
St Joes (+7) @ GW
Providence (-9) v St Johns
Indiana (+10) @ Wisconsin
Cleveland St (+13) @ Ill. St.
Mississippi St (+4) @ Arkansas

YESTERDAY 3-4 WEEK TO DATE 3-4 YEAR 35-54-3 MONEY -2540

Quote of the Day

This isn't a new daily column but I was browsing the internet (on my lunch break of course) and I just had to post this quote. Read the entire article here

“They appear to be the typical grandma and grandpa individuals. However, they sell marijuana,” O’Bryan said.