Weekend Review

When I was in grade 9 I had the opportunity to go on a trip with my Outdoor Ed class. It was a fantastic trip down to the Canyon Lands of Utah. We spent a week hiking through the the beautiful red rocks and huge stone spires. There was only one problem, it was over the final week of the Tournament.

Now I was only a few years into the love of the tournament so it was still fresh and exciting. You know the feeling when you just discover something that you love, you can get enough of it. Now-a-days we would go on the internet and find a blog to follow, surf over to YouTube and watch some videos, and wake up at absurd hours of the morning to watch a choppy live feed just to feel connected to your new found love. For our more seasoned crowd it's like going to the library to rifle through the card catalogue then following the dewy decimal number to the Encyclopedia Britannica where you could get 10 year old information about your new passion. Regardless you know the feeling.

So I was in that phase of obsession when I went on this trip, and in my naivety I thought that it wasn't a big deal. A game was a game and I wouldn't miss much. I would just catch the highlights in the next Sports Illustrated. Little did I know that the final game would come to define the career of one of the NBA's big stars.

It was 1993 and the final had #1 Michigan pitted against Dean Smith and his Tar Heels of North Carolina. 20 seconds left. Webber walks and gets away with it. He races down the floor to the baseline and calls a time out that the Wolverines do not have and gets a technical foul, sealing the fate of Michigan and giving Dean Smith his second National Championship. That's when I knew that a game wasn't just another game, especially in the tournament.

Chris Webber was never the same, even though he was drafted first overall he was never able to shake that stigma that he choked in big games.

Speaking of choking, the Georgetown Hoyas forgot that they were playing basketball on Friday. They were down as many as 25 in the second half to #11Virginia Commonwealth. To be totally fair, #6 seeds went 1 for 4 this tournament so maybe it was the seed that let them down.

Going into the games Thursday I kept hearing that the selection committee, who set the brackets, had a difficult time setting the seeds. There were a very few teams that could be classified "the best in the nation". The majority were just kind of OK. Now an OK team could whip the pants off of any college team in Canada, but there is nothing in this years tournament that compares to that Michigan team of 93. Webber, Rose, Howard, Jackson, and King. What a line up. But what we have seen over the past four days of action would indicate that this years teams are fairly even.

You just need to look at the match ups for the Sweet Sixteen that will be starting in a couple of days. Sure there are three #1's left and three #2's but there is also a #5, #8, #10, two #11's and a #12. And just like the tournament teams some of the GEMBC favorites have hit the skids with one already out of contention.

Heading into the Sweet Sixteen here's how we stack up.

Andrew Clark (of the Breakfast Club fame)is leading the way with 35 wins, Al sits one behind at 34 and I'm 1 further back at 33 one point up on my dad. There is a three way tie for 5th with Elaina, Jason and Jeff. Andrew sits at 30 wins tied with Mark who was dealt a big blow by having both of his championship teams being knocked out this weekend. With those losses Mark is officially out of contention with his max number of wins dropping to 34. Dan, who turned his back on his beloved Florida Gators, is sitting at 29 wins while Pete (who took up the Florida banner that Dan so heinously threw to the ground) keeps him company at 29.
We had one late entry that is in the mix as well, Kelly is running middle of the pack but has a great chance to move up in the next couple of games. His bracket is safe and sound in my mother-in -laws office so I'll post his totals as soon as I get home.

Have a good week and check back on Friday of a recap of the first of the Sweet Sixteen games.

Let the Tourney Begin!

Everyone has a story about the Tournament and how they came to love it. I remember a spring evening in 1991 when I was just a kid going out for a bike ride and my dad sitting down to watch the game. I had a UNLV Running Rebels hat that I had got the year before after the Shark and his boys had won the tournament. They were looking strong going into the Final Four against a Duke team that they beat for the National Championship the previous year. Riding around the block I thought that the Rebels were invincible. Then I got home and found out that Duke had pulled off what many argue was the biggest upset in NCAA history. Thus began my love of the Tourney.

So Day 1 at the 2011 Tournament started the way so many opening days do. Right from the outset there were close games. Of the first three games one was tied at half and the other two were two point leads, and continued on til the final buzzer of the night. 16 games yesterday and of them 5 were determined by 2 points or less!

The biggest of upsets was #13 Morehead State taking out #4 Louisville. Now if you had been paying attention to the my invitation e-mail, you would have seen that I totally called that one. Mark and Pete took my encouragement to heart and got that one right saving them the anguish of having to admit that they chose the Cardinals to go deep.

The next big upset of the day was Vanderbilt losing to Richmond. Richmond hasn't been in the tournament for a while but they have a history of upsetting big teams. In 84 they upset Sir Charles and his Auburn Tigers. In 1991, they upset the #2 Orangemen of Syracuse. and in their last appearance they upset #3 North Carolina which included the likes of Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Eric Montross.

After leading by 11 in the first half, Vandy let the Spiders creep back in and with 13 minutes left in the second half took the lead for good. It remained close for the rest of the game, Richmond's lead never growing to more than 4.

We still have 47 games to be determined but after the first 16, here is how we stand. Al, Mark and myself are sitting at 15 victories. Jeff Stands alone at 14 while Jason M and Pete sit at the middle of the pack with 13 wins. There is a log jam at the 12 victory mark with Andrew, Dick, Elaina and Mr Breakfast Club, Jason. Mr Duggan rounds out our crew but with so many games left to play he'll have a chance to jump to the top as early as this afternoon.

There are a couple of good games underway already today, including a close one between Oakland and Texas. Check back tomorrow for an update on all today's action.