Tossing batting practice, while wondering who the fifth, sixth, and seventh teams are in and out of the NCAA tournament.

I have majored in bracketology since I was about 9, (thanks Dad) and completed my final core requirement to graduate last year by spending the opening weekend of the tourney in Vegas, “watching, just watching” games, so I think I have a pretty good grasp on the NCAAs. But it drives me nuts whenever I see the last four in and last four out column.
If you’re a fan of any other bubble (I promise not to use that word again in this blog) team do you feel better, worse, or unfulfilled after seeing that update?

Who has a cooler, but more useless job to society, Draft Exper Mel Kiper Jr. or Bracketologist Joe Lunardi?

With a 10 hour bus ride to Mississippi to look forward too this weekend I should have ample time to work on my fool proof Bill Jamesian pool strategy, that is almost guaranteed to have at least 12 sweet 16 teams correctly identified.

Who is the Dutch Al Michaels? and how do you say "doyou believe in miracles?" in Flemish?

See even teams ARod begs off of, can't win the big one. No matter what now though the US can't be the most disappointing team in the tournament. And the Sox get David Ortiz back a little earlier. A win win for all Amierican Sox fans involved.

Last week it was too cold, this week it’s damn hot, judging by the fact I look like a lobster from a weekend in Tennessee. But clearly my car has yet to understand the change in geography and with it climate.
I got into it the other day and the digital temperature said it was 39 degrees and had the snowflake icon.
It was in fact 77 degrees.

After a weekend in Volunteer country, I think my retinas are permanently tinted Creamsicle orange.

I finally saw the infamous Rabun county and the Tallulah Gorge this week. The scenery was incredible, but my god I thought the flux capacitor had been activated on the bus and sent me back 125 years.
That area of the world makes Vermont look like Manhattan.

So A-Rod’s having surgery huh, eh, he still sucks.

It was hard not to root for North Dakota St. in the Summitt league final the other night. They’re in their first year of Division 1 tournament eligibility, and they send out a full whitewash of five Caucasian starters.
They epitomize a Norman Dale coached team, rebounds below the rim, solid passing and screening etc.
Is it a stereotype to also announce that they lead the nation in three-point shooting? Is that kind of assumed, like Pitt leading the nation in rebound margin?
Were NDSU and Pitt matched up in the NCAAs there wouldn’t have been a more contrasting set of styles since the 1954 Indiana State high school title game.

I know I said it was hard to root against NDSU, but I did for two simple reasons.

1. I have family closely related to the University of North Dakota, and you’re only allowed to root for one, I think.
2. In writing the Summit league preview for Blue Ribbon a year ago, I picked Oakland to win it, and despite being a year late, I feel vindicated. Slightly.

There are plenty of good seats still available for the Braves home opener, and after seeing one of their commercials I know why. It was one of those fan interview deals, where they ask everyone what they love about the Braves, and you mostly got your standard answers of Derek Lowe, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, but there was one that stuck out.
The shapely blonde woman in her twenties who claims she loves watching Bobby Cox; After all there's nothing sexier than a 70 year old man waddling out to make 3 pitching changes a night

According to a recent study organized religion, in America, particularly those who identify themselves as Christian has dropped 11 percent in the last 15 years; meanwhile I'm praying before games, something doesn't quite add up

Driving to Tennessee though the mountains was like going through the Berkshires only for three hrs. It was basically every ride I ever took to Ludlow to visit a former significant other’s mother, minus the sense of impending doom and misery hanging ominously in the room.

So TO has been banished to Buffalo huh? That seems appropriate, there are only two reasons to go to Buffalo, one is if someone offers you millions of dollars and there are no offers anywhere else. The other is if a woman will willingly date, or have sex with you, and again you can't find anyone anywhere else.
TO has done one, and a friend of mine is the other.

I am glad we didn't have to spend countless days and weeks speculating that the Pats might swoop in. I would have eventually talked myself into it, but selling my soul like that would have only been worth it were we to finish what we started with that whole unbeaten business.
Now I can go back to hating him unequivocally; if Ralph Wilson has a sense of humor, or actually has gone into dementia (he is 137 years old and played before helmets) he'd sign Michael Vick too.

By request we’re adding more photos to the blog, and with that, is this week’s photo of my friend from college the immortal (only in his own world,) Ryan who hails from Rhode Island which he will immediately tell you upon introduction.

Ryan is the son of a town elected public official, and one of the great tacklers in the history of his High School football, from his safety position. I think the term yards after catch was invented to convince Ryan to play basketball in college. He also possesses a microscopic collegiate baseball era of 46.00 over 10 innings, in two separate seasons four years apart.
On the basketball court he was an excellent sixth offensive option for the EC Lions, right after blatantly kicking the ball out of bounds when the other four players couldn't score.
Professional (or for that matter collegiate) sports were obviously not his calling, but avoiding real work of any kind, certainly is. (After all he’s the son of an elected official) thus he is currently working as a Hollywood extra, albeit in the Northeast. While he is largely unfamous now, soon enough could be added to the favorite parlor game of citizens of Rhode Island.
I am talking of course, of the six degrees of __________ (insert semi famous, in the real world, but rock start status in RI, athlete, actor, singer or disgraced imprisoned Mayor) game.
If you meet almost anyone from Rhode Island, they can connect themselves to Rocco Baldelli, Chris Ianetta, James Woods (I’m running out now but you get the idea).
Ryan’s goal is to someday be in that game, and not for having played high school volleyball against Bishop Hendricken when Rocco was a senior.



Pictured here is Ryan in his familar blank stare "working" in a scene for a new movie about a NYC subway hijacker starring John Travolta as a lunatic. Here it is difficult to discern what Ryan is doing or thinking, but you the reader can help.

a) is he staring at Travolta’s ass
b) Not doing anything heroic, because he’s a coward
c) Biding his time until he’s a star beyond just his own dreams
d) Disappointing his father because he is not using his degree whatsoever

All other options or captions are welcome in the comments.

Lastly, a shout out to my beloved Green Wave hoop squad for winning the south sectional and earning a trip to the Garden for the EMass finals. Since its been 13 seasons since I went a whole year without seeing a game, I guess we know I was as big a curse to my high school basketball program as I have been to my parents.