My Field of 65

Alright folks it is done....The committee has a tough job this year. A few notes before i reveal my results

Last Four In: Maryland, Va Tech, Illinois State, Houston
Last Four Out: Kansas State, UMass, UAB, Ohio State

I didnt have Maryland in until they won tonight...Their schedule is modestly favorable and i'm thinking the committee gives the ACC the benefit of the doubt. The Hokies really would benefit themselves if they won at Clemson. The Terps took the place of Kansas State whose record isn't as good and will probably continue to fall off.

I really struggled putting in the last 10 teams and there is no reason VCU couldnt get an at-large if they lose in the CAA title game somehow. Their resume matches up with a lot of the other teams that i had when i got down to the 14 at-larges. The Rams have the quality wins and the good RPI. Plus all of the talk about helping Nova because of their BS call against G-Town...the ODU non-call should be a factor as well.

Alright to the field of 65
America East: UMBC
A-10 (2) : St. Joe's (tourney champ), Xavier
ACC (6): UNC (tourney champ), Duke, Maryland, Miami, Clemson, Va Tech
A-Sun: E. Tennessee State
Big 10 (4): Indiana (tourney champ), Wisky, MSU, Purdue
Big 12 (5): Kansas (tourney champ), Texas, Baylor, Texas A&M, Oklahoma
Big East (8): Louisville (tourney champ), Notre Dame, G-Town, UConn, Marquette, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, WVU
Big Sky: Portland State
Big South: Winthrop
Big West: Fullerton
CAA: VCU (duh)
C-USA (2): Memphis (tourney champ), Houston
Horizon: Butler
Ivy: Cornell
MAAC: Niagara
MAC: Kent State
MEAC: Hampton
MVC (3): Southern Illinois (tourney champ), Drake, Illy State (NOTE: 3 is a stretch but i'm covering my bases...most likely a 2 bid league but this scenario might bring 3)
Mountain West (2): UNLV (tourney champ), BYU
NEC: Wagner
OVC: Austin Peay
PAC-10 (5): UCLA (tourney champ), Wazzu, USC, Arizona, Stanford
Patriot: Navy
SEC (6): Tennessee (tourney champ), Miss State, Kentucky, Vandy, Arkansas, Florida
Southern: Davidson
Southland: Stephen F. Austin
Summit: Oral Roberts
SWAC: Alabama State
Sun Belt: South Alabama
WCC (2): Gonzaga (tourney champ), St. Mary's
WAC: New Mex State

Now with regards to VCU....They need to watch the Sun Belt, Southern, West Coast and Horizon league tourneys....They need to hold form. I'd say that Davidson, Gonzaga, St. Mary's and Butler all have precedence over the Rams.

As part of this pool i did...you also have to pick an elite 8, final 4, champ and a wild card so here they are:

Elite 8: UNC, Indiana, Louisville, Memphis, UCLA, Tennessee, Georgetown and Drake
Final 4: UNC, Louisville, G-Town and UCLA
Champ: UNC
Wild Card: Gonzaga

Thoughts? Tear it apart?

Blogging from the Bracket Bunker...

Alright, i'm hunkered down in my apartment with a modest amount of paperwork in order to get my field of 65 done....The reason i'm doing this is for my yearly preparation of the Pre-Tourney Pool....I've picked most of my conference champs (VCU included) and now i have 14 bids left after putting in the definite at-larges...

Continuing my work now...but 14 bids still left.

Tournament Field of 65

Alright folks, on Thursday i'm going to lock myself into my own bunker and predict the 65 teams heading into the tournament. I think there are a few conferences and areas of concern for VCU and the other mid majors. The ACC for one may get more teams then they deserve....the big east is the same as well...

Also, conferences like the Horizon and West Coast need to hold serve because St. Mary's, Gonzaga and Butler will all get in no matter what.

After Thursday, i will update the bunker results daily depending on the results of the day. We'll see how easy this is....Mr. Joe Lunardi....except i'm not going to be biased towards St. Joe because they write your paycheck.

Pre Tournament Pool....

Alright, i'm sending a challenge out to the listeners who read my blog. It's March Madness time and i'm doing a different kind of pool. It's a pool I have done for multiple years and have had the pleasure of winning once. It's not your ordinary kind of pool though as for this you pick the teams in the tournament and conference winners. It's a lot of fun. The pool costs $10 to do but you can do it for free....just don't expect to win any money.

Information is at http://www.dknofish.com. The pools are due at the end of the month with the money due in March. Check out the website for all of the information.

I'll even help those of you with the smaller conferences as well.

I don't get the bar scene....

Alright, so let me rant for a minute:

So I went out tonight and met this chick that i was being set up with by my friends and we met at this downtown bar and let me just say i was put into a complete lose-lose situation...Before we get to that though, let me just say i don't get the many nuances of the bar scene....

First off, why the hell do bars have to be so damn small? What the hell is quaint about a place where you can feel the person next you literally in your shorts. Now granted there are the times a hot blonde is rubbin up against you but then there are those times when LeRoy the damn tattoo parlor guy is all up in your junk and hasnt showered since puberty. I don't understand why i have to be put in a place where talking to someone up close you still have people literally throw you aside to get to where they are going in there.

Next, I don't get the whole process....you go out....get drunk...spend $60 on a bunch of beers and then what? Sure it's fun and all but it's expensive and what the hell do you get out of it. I watched this girl and her friend drink shots of stuff they didnt even like and were gagging on....$8 shots they didnt like! Then you got the people who drink too much and can't handle it as i watched one girl yak all over herself in a bar stool and then fall down the stairs...WHAT FUN...WOO-HOO....Sure, it's okay though, she had fun doing it! Then you have to tip toe around the urine and puke on the streets on the way to your car.

Finally, there's the awkwardness of hitting on females or being in a group of them. For example, tonight, the woman i met was with her friend who had these two guys hitting on her. At one point, she proceeded to forcefully get the one's hands off of her. So yeah, if that escalates into something more....me being the only guy in the group would have had to do something which i don't really want to do. So yeah, that was awkward and then what do you do if they hit on the girl your grindin on?

Actually, i forgot something...the drivers who drive home drunk. Apparently a lot of people do it. Whether it be the guy whose car was towed in front of the bar because he hit a light pole or the guy who was driving down one of those narrow city streets and nearly pulled a Ricky Bobby and drove off of both sides of cars....Honestly, 60-70 percent of the people in the bar were in no shape to drive home and i bet half did.

These reasons are why i can't survive in the bar scene.

Greatest time in sports approaching....

Folks, the sports world is just getting ready to heat up with the approach of conference tournaments and the upcoming baseball season. For most of you, baseball season is filled with promise. Only about 15-20 fanbases have playoff dreams...i unfortunately am not involved with one of them...

We move on though...VCU is in the hunt for one of those coveted 65 spots for the postseason. In this space, we will chronicle their chances and other teams who could stand in their way.

Last nite while most of you were asleep, two teams went at it that could joust with the Rams for an at-large bid. St. Mary's and Gonzaga played in werehouse like conditions as I don't believe the Gaels paid their light bills. Seriously, both of these teams deserve bids and both will cause havoc for the teams they are unfortunately paired off with. Gonzaga, year after year, brings forth young and exciting teams and has played a tough schedule. Despite losing last night, they are still in a good position for a bid. So is St. Mary's who beat both Seton Hall and Oregon this year. Get to know Patrick Mills and Omar Samhan. These two teams are for real and will represent the mid majors well.