It's almost that time of year again: March Madness! The brackets will be released with the 68 teams vying for the national championship. This year, many are vying for more. Billionaire Warren Buffett is offering a billion dollars to whomever can pick a perfect bracket. It's a rare and difficult feat, as so many upsets happen.
I wrote a while back how exciting the Cinderella teams make the tournament. However, it can be quite frustrating for those whose bracket may be busted.
Here are some tips for someone who has picked the champion a few times, and even picked the entire West Region correct once, upsets included.
1. A 16 has never beaten a 1 seed
This could be the year it happens, especially with the way the prospective #1 seeds have been playing as of late. However, don't count on it though. You can go ahead and safely pass the #1 seeds into the next round.
2. All four #1 seeds rarely make the Final Four.
It has happened a couple of times, and may happen again this year. However, analyze your matchups carefully, and don't just assume that the four #1s are gonna cruise through their respective regions.
3. Watch certain matchups for upsets and bracket busters.
Every year a #12 seed beats a #5, and a #10 beats a #7. The 6s vs 11s are also ones to watch. Analyze the teams, their schedules and such, and see which ones are most likely to fall.
4. Look at all intangibles
This includes: how close to home they are playing, their last 10 games, strength of schedule, conference, coaching and overall leadership on each team. The veterans typically rise up and play better, especially the second weekend. People are already discounting Wichita State due to their watered down schedule for example. However they have a lot of veteran, hungry players and an awesome coach in Gregg Marshall, whom I know well. Other coaches such as Boeheim, Donovan, Calipari and Coach K will have their teams ready to play. The individual and potential matchups are key.
5. Pay attention to big wins by mid major schools
The mid major schools such as Wichita are typically the most exciting to watch, and the ones with the most to gain and the least to lose. Do a little research and see how they performed this season against the power conferences, and even last year in the tourney. These are the teams that can mess up a bracket. VCU, Gonzaga, Creighton and others will not be a slouch for any teams.
Ok now bring on the brackets! I hope I can help someone win their office pool, tournament pick em group, or even that billion dollars.
What are some tips that have helped you in your past brackets?
-They better not talk about Mayweather and Mosley!
-Hell yeah UFC, now there’s a sport
-I love these highlights!
-I love these tributes to those in sports that have passed on.Glad they showed Wooden and Steinbrunner
-OK these previews are too damn long.Get to the show PLEASE!
-Seth Myers talks like a little whiny wimp that used to get stuffed in trash cans in high school
-Shaun White looks like Carrot Top
-Did Seth just take a shot at Kim K?
-He mentioned the Lakers, Yankees and Duke.I HATE all THREE! #fail
-These Brett Favre old jokes are lame
-What’s up with Tim Tebow wearing the Tar Heel colored Elvis outfit?VINTAGE!
-TO looks like Pee-Wee Herman with a purple tie
-Tracy Morgan has that look like “I should be up there, but Chris Rock has messed up hosting white award shows!”
-Stoudemare looks like Ray Charles with those shades
-I forgot Stuart Scott was married to a white girl and she’s hot
-More Kardashian jokes!
-That blonde in the peach dress has a great rack!
-Wait is that Christina Applegate?
-Murphy’s Law strikes again: the ONE awards shows I comment on, no one else is.I’m seeing crickets on FB and Twitter
-I still say Bosh looks like an alien without his trademark dreads #fail
-That model looks like such a little person besides Bosh
-I really like the “John Wall” dance.One of few dance moves I have
-Chris Johnson looks like Lil Jon.YEAAAH!! WHAT? WHAT?
-Did Chris Johnson just thank uStream and Twitter? And shouted out his Twitter handle, @chrisjohnson28
-OK Paul Rudd and Steve Carrell are spoofing the LeBron decision interview
-Now are the Cleveland Cavaliers supposed to be the NBA’s equivalent of Chilis? And if the Heat are Outback, are the Lakers the Cheesecake Factory?
-OK and Kyle Busch just looks like Pee-Wee Herman in the face and head.That’s one pale white dude!
-Is Greg Stink MacGruber?
-What the Hell is this performance, who is that and waddup wit that hair?
-Here comes Lindsay Vaughn and Shawn White (I mean, Carrot Top)
-I like CCR.Good theme song for Best Record Breaking Performance
-Deana Favre is cougarlicious!
-Even Brett is looking like “who the Hell won this record-breaking award over me?”
-Mark Ingram (Heisman winner) has absolutely no neck
-What is up with all of the SNL cast cameos?Andy Sanberg as an octopus? Seriously?
-Andy Sanberg is about as funny as Bob Saget, minus the extreme profanity
-Danica Patrick needs to comb her dang hair #thatisall
-Chris Berman could recite the recipe for boiling water and make that exciting.Soo much enthusiasm
-Glad Jim Joyce and Armando Gallarga are making peace.Joyce looks a lot like Wilford Brimley, and dang Gallarga is tall!
-I always thought figure skating was a hot sport, and got even hotter in 1994 when Tonya Harding took out Nancy Kerrington and her horse teeth (that’s right, Chad Burgess, I said it!)
-I didn’t know Bill Clinton was at the FIFA 2010 World Cup
-OK so that guy is Landon Donovan! I can’t help it, I don’t really watch soccer.
-Good Lawd Lisa Leslie could play in the NBA with the guys RIGHT NOW!
-There’s Tebow again with that leisure suit!
-So this band is, uh, something Monet?
-Ashley Green and Tracy Morgan, this should be interesting
-WOW, Ashley Green is smoking!
-Tracy Morgan, my cat Tiny is funnier than you sleeping!
-Always nice to hear Eminem rap over an awards highlight
-And “Cinderella Man” by Em is the business!
-Clint Black doing a Chariots of Fire rendition? OK country music already makes folks feel sad enough, is this really necessary?
-January Jones’s legs are almost as skinny as the microphone stand
-Alright Carrot Top just won an ESPY!
-And I thought I knew sports up, down, left, right.I don’t know half the folks in the audience, smh
-They can keep the camera on Deana Favre all night long!
-Gotta love high school football highlights.So ready for it all to begin!
-OMG that’s sooo sad about Ed Thomas!!! Dude went schizo on his coach.
-That’s sweet how the whole town still consoled the Beckers.At least they realized mental illness is a serious thing, and maybe one day people will stop beingjudgmental of those that have these evil illnesses.OK off of that soapbox.
-Maya Moore is one of the few cute women’s basketball players.I’d take her out any day, any time.
-OK Will Ferrel, another SNL alum.
-Take the camera off of Lisa Leslie, PLEASE AND THANK YOU!
-So is this going to be the next character Will Ferrell plays in a movie?
-And now he’s with Monae!
-Emmanuel Streekie is too FINE!! Legs for years!
-I so have to start watching Entourage! Or at least read Maxim.I know Ms. Emmanuel has been in that mag.
-Is the WNBA still revelant?My over/under on how long it will be before the league folds is 3 years, under.
-The Winter Olympians are REALLY dominating the awards tonight.
-With a few exceptions (like the emotional Arthur Ashe award presentation), this year’s ESPYs has just been bleh so far.
-OMG they are NOT spoofing the Blind Side!
-LOL!! The Dark Side!
-The hot gal in the peach dress from earlier is SI’s swimsuit model Brooke Decker
-I’ve noticed that they’re using a lot of corny comedy mixed with eye candy during this year’s ESPYs.The eye candy I like of course.Don’t really care for the comedy.
-And the great play goes to the old man, Brett Favre.Show Deana again, please!
-Greg Lewis looks like a slightly-lighter Kadeem Hardison
-Sam Jackson, yeahh u MFers!
-Guess where George Karl comes from? UNC baby, go Heels!
-It’s sad what cancer can do to folks.Karl has so much courage.
-Wow even Danica looks hot, even with that jacked up hair
-Luke Wilson, what’s up with the hobo beard?
-And Danica looks like ole girl from The Ring with that crazy hair
-Drew Brees is having another boy, cool!
-Exit quote from Brees “And I would like to thank ‘WHO DAT’ nation!”
-The Saints won “Best Team” ESPY.“WHO DAT” nation does it again!!! Thank God the Lakers didn’t win team of the year, or the Damn Yankees (RIP Steinbrunner).
-Am I the only one that noticed these extra long acceptance speeches?They need exit music like most of the other award shows?
Before I begin this blog (on a rare Saturday night), I have a few things to get off my chest. First, I'm blogging tonight instead of Sunday due to the fact that I'm resting up for the final night of my weekend long birthday celebration. Therefore, I didn't want to be blogging on my birthday night. Second, I appreciate and welcome you guy's feedbacks. Keep it coming as it makes me a better blogger. I welcome the positive as well as the negative comments. I want to continue my overall writing skills and believe it or not, you guys are a major part of that.
With that said, on with the blog, which begins with an age-old song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-gsdLSSQ0
Remember when this was one of the many anthems of the summer? Going out to the ball park? Enjoying cotton candy, franks, and getting those huge pointy-fingers! Wearing your caps and visors to ward off sunburn? That's all part of the game of baseball, America's past-time.
Lately in the sporting world, baseball has taken a backseat. It has for years in the rural, inner-city, and urban communities, where the focus is football, basketball, and not many other sports. After the NBA Finals and NBA Draft, the dog days of summer are considered just a hiatus until training camp begins for the NFL and college football. Right now in sports, the main storylines have been Lebron James leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to attempt to win his first championship with the Miami Heat and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Even with the Homerun Derby and the MLB All-Star Game upcoming this week, the "boys of summer" aren't getting much respect lately.
Baseball is considered by some to be a game with "not enough action" and where there isn't many athletes anymore. Back in yesteryear, many pro baseball players except for some like the famed Babe Ruth were in excellent shape, played pretty much every game in the regular season and playoffs, and could run the bases well. Now you have as many CC Sabbathia's as you do Chone Figgins and Ichiro's. It seems the major headliners in the MLB lately are anybody from the defending champion New York Yankees, their rival Boston Red Sox, and Stephen Strasburg, the newest minor-league pitching sensation (whom my beloved Atlanta Braves took it to on June 29). Beyond that, baseball hasn't received much attention lately, although it is still considered the third-most popular sport in America.
Many Americans no longer play major league baseball anymore also. Many Latinos and East Asian players fill MLB rosters. And very few black athletes (outside of guys like the retired and controversial Barry Bonds and Torri Hunter) play as well. Therefore, you lose a broad fan-base as well. I won't even go into how summer vacation can hurt attendance at ball games.
Another deterrant in the MLB quandry is the LOOONG regular season. Each team plays 169 regular season games between April and September, with the playoffs being in October. If you're a pro baseball player, you basically have a game at least 5 games out of each week during each month. Those can get taxing to even watch, let alone play.
However, here are some of the positives of pro baseball. One is the thrill of seeing a homerun go across the park. Guys such as Barry Bonds (the current record holder) A-Rod, Ryan Howard, and Prince Fielder are extremely exciting because they bang lots of homeruns each season. However, the sport received a black eye when Jose Canseco of the famed "Bash Brothers" of the late 1980s wrote his best-selling book "Juiced". He exposed several baseball players, himself included, for using steroids such as HGH. This eventually led to a widespread investigation and stricter testing of the entire MLB. They have since found steroids of some form in A-Rod and Manny Rodriquez's systems. But none of this cases are more popular than Barry Bonds. Although it has yet to be confirmed whether or not the current leader for most homers in a career was juicing, there is much suspicion. However, until he is proven guilty, he should be left alone, let the record stand, and let the homers continue.
Also, the famed no-hitter gets plenty of attention during a MLB game. It is considered a "jinx" if one talks about the pitcher possibly earning a no-hitter about the 3rd inning. Not many no-hitters occur during a 169-game season, so when one is about to take place, EVERYONE is paying attention. Furthermore, everyone except the opposing team and fans wants to see it occur.
The game of baseball is an extremely stat and record-driven sport. I honestly had stopped watching a lot of baseball, especially since my Braves had started a downward spiral. That is, until I started playing fantasy baseball in 2008. I was then forced to pay attention to every game, statistic, and player, even on the minor leagues. It made the sport more exciting and I was a true fan again (at least of every team but the Yankees, although I've owned at least one Yankee player since I began).
Baseball, like many things in life, is what you make of it. It, also like many sports, is much better in person. I attended the Braves game in June 2001 with two of my friends when Cal Ripken Jr. was making his farewell tour. It was an exciting one, especially when EVERY camera in the stands at Turner Field were flashing whenever Cal got up to bat. I only wish there was an MLB franchise closer than Atlanta. I've been to a Charlotte Knights minor-league game. While it was fun, I would rather see my Braves, or any other MLB team (the Yanks included) play.
So I encourage you to give the sport another look if you're not already doing so. Watch some Baseball Tonight on ESPN. Read the baseball section of the sports page. Tune into the MLB channel if you have DirecTV. And finally, try watching a complete 9-inning game. There can be more than meets the eye!
Now don't get me wrong here, football and basketball are still my favorite sports, and I look forward to watching some action on the gridiron. However, until (and when) football starts, baseball will do, as it is my third-love in the sporting world. After all, it is summertime, and baseball is still American's past-time.
It's now time to go set my lineups for tomorrow in my MLB fantasy leagues. But remember that the MLB players are dubbed "the boys of summer" for a reason. Hard to beat that with a Louisville slugger.
