Weekly Picks

san francisco -4 LOS ANGELES RAMS
buffalo -2 MIAMI
new orleans -5 TAMPA BAY
SEATTLE -9 arizon

BEST BET
LOS ANGELES CHARGERS -7 oakland

Weekly Picks

los angeles chargers -6 1/2 NEW YORK JETS
seattle +5 DALLAS
cleveland +6 1/2 CHICAGO
NEW ORLEANS -5 1/2 ATLANTA

BEST BET
jacksonville -4 SAN FRANCISCO

Weekly picks

Bengals

Steelers

Jets

Chiefs

Best bet

Texans

Weekly Picks

tampa bay +2 1/2 ATLANTA
new england -8 1/2 BUFFALO
MIAMI -1/2 denver
philadelphia -5 1/2 SEATTLE

BEST BET
OAKLAND -6 1/2 new york giants

Weekly Picks

I haven't been paying much attention this season nor tabulating my points, but I should catch up eventually. Hopefully this week will get me motivated.

cleveland +7 1/2 CINCINNATI
Call it a hunch, but I think the Browns could actually win this week.

buffalo +10 KANSAS CITY
Things have to get better. And the Chiefs haven't exactly been dominating lately.

tampa bay +10 ATLANTA
I still don't believe in Atlanta.

PHILADELPHIA -13 1/2 chicago
The Eagles have been destroying teams.

BEST BET
OAKLAND -4 denver
The Broncos are atrocious.


PHILADELPHIA/chicago over 44
KANSAS CITY/buffalo under 46 1/2

Weekly picks

Chiefs

Bills

Eagles

Seahawks

Best bet

Lions

Weekly Picks

green bay +5 1/2 CHICAGO
The Packers can't be that bad without Rodgers, can they?

ny jets -2 1/2 TAMPA BAY
The line on this moved big time. But I have gotten these teams wrong too many times to keep making the same mistakes.

BUFFALO +3 new orleans
Love a good home dog but can rarely find one I like.

dallas +3 ATLANTA
The Falcons just aren't any good this year. We have to stop waiting for them to turn it around. Dallas will still be able to run without Zeke because their offensive line is good.

BEST BET
miami +10 CAROLINA
This is risky but I just don't believe in the Panthers.

Weekly Picks

tampa bay +7 NEW ORLEANS
Seems like a lot. But may I am just wrong on these two teams.

PHILADELPHIA -7 1/2 denver
I wouldn't take this game normally because I don't like picking against backup QBs, but in this case I think we know what we are getting with Osweiler.

CAROLINA -2 1/2 atlanta
The Falcons have not put it together this season.

los angeles rams -4 NEW YORK GIANTS
Todd Gurley versus a depleted Giants team.

BEST BET
TENNESSEE -3 1/2 baltimore
Hoping the Ravens are not the team we saw smoke Miami 40-0.

Weekly Picks

san francisco +13 PHILADELPHIA
The 49ers lost every game close until last week. Weather could be a factor. Plus Eagles dismantled Redskins on Monday Night, I always like to pick against teams coming off good Monday night performances.

BUFFALO -2 1/2 oakland
Bills defense is good. Raiders have struggled, got lucky to beat the Chiefs.

KANSAS CITY -7 1/2 denver
They have to stop losing right? They are really good, Broncos seem bad.

NEW ENGLAND -7 los angeles chargers
When in doubt, pick the Patriots.

BEST BET
indianapolis +10 1/2 CINCINNATI
The Bengals shouldn't be giving 10 and a half points to anyone.

PHILADELPHIA/san francisco under 45
NEW ENGLAND/los angeles chargers under 48
SEATTLE/houston over 45 1/2
KANSAS CITY/denver over 43

Things Just Ain't the Same

Diesel in Maine in 2007:



Diesel in Maine in 2008:


Diesel in Maine in 2009:


Diesel in Maine in 2010:


Diesel in Maine in 2011:

Diesel in Maine in 2012

Diesel in Maine in 2013

Diesel in Maine in 2014:

Diesel in Maine in 2015:

Maine in 2016:

Maine in 2017:

Weekly Picks

Going with an early pick and making it my best bet. Check back Sunday for the other four.

PITTSBURGH -5 cincinnati
A little unsure of this one because of an inconsistent team coming off a big win, but I like the matchup.

GREEN BAY +4 new orleans
Backup quarterback theory at work here.

dallas -6 SAN FRANCISCO
The 49ers are just brutal.

denver -1/2 LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
The Broncos will bounce back.

BEST BET
kansas city -3 OAKLAND
When you have the best team in the league coming off a loss and giving a field goal to a reeling opponent, you take that fuckin game. I know a lot of people don't like road favorites in division games, but those are just words.

MIAMI/new york jets under 38 1/2
GREEN BAY/new orleans under 47 1/2
SAN FRANCISCO/dallas under 48 1/2
NEW ENGLAND/atlanta over 56 1/2

Song of the Week

"Unforgettable" - French Montana featuring Swae Lee
Can anyone settle an argument? Mrs. Poop and I cannot agree if he says he's had enough "gumbo" or "combos."

Dick Stockton is Ron Burgundy

Longtime NFL announcer Dick Stockton made a bit of a gaffe during the Rams-Jaguars game.



I am not entirely sure what happened here, I actually doubt he was a teleprompter in the booth, more likely a piece of paper, which makes it even sillier to not just read those words, but to not realize he'd made a mistake.

I'm Veronica Corningstone.

Weekly Picks

Went 3-2, missed the best bet. This is the week I need to reverse the slide to keep a pretty decent season going.
tampa bay -1 1/2 ARIZONA
It's going to take me a little longer to be convinced that the CornPrices aren't actually a good team.

green bay -3 MINNESOTA
Have you watched Aaron Rodgers play football?

miami +13 ATLANTA
The Falcons just haven't been good enough this year to justify this spread.

DENVER -11 1/2 new york giants
The Giants are lousy and decimated. I would never pick against them otherwise.

BEST BET
new england -9 NEW YORK JETS

I need it to be a very bad weekend for New York football. But I still think the Jets are bad and I know the Patriots can score a lot of points on anyone.

Last Week: 3-2 (2 points)
Season: 12-13 (13 points)
Best Bets: 0-1 (3-2)
Home favorites: 0-0 (4-3)
Home underdogs: 0-0 (0-1)
Road favorites: 0-1 (3-4)
Road underdogs: 3-1 (5-5)

I don't really like any totals this week.
Unders: 1-1 (6-4)
Overs: 0-2 (2-6)

Song of the Week

"Marmalade" - Macklemore featuring Lil Yachty
"Watchin Toy Story 3, that's a great fuckin movie"
Good Tom Brady deflategate reference in the video.

Weekly Picks

First bad week of the season, it happens. Hopefully we can rebound this week.

new york jets +1/2 CLEVELAND
Maybe the Jets really aren't that bad.

green bay +3 DALLAS
I trust Rodgers in big games.

tennessee -2 1/2 MIAMI
Dolphins appear to be brutal.

seattle +1 1/2 LOS ANGELES RAMS
Not sure the torch is ready to be passed.

BEST BET
buffalo +3 CINCINNATI
I don't get this spread. Bills are pretty good. I know people worry about traps, I just call em as I see em. Last Week: 1-4 (0 points)
Season: 9-11 (11 points)
Best Bets: 0-1 (3-1)
Home favorites: 0-1 (4-3)
Home underdogs: 0-0 (0-1)
Road favorites: 0-1 (3-3)
Road underdogs: 1-2 (2-4)

Unders: 1-1 (6-4)
Overs: 0-2 (2-6)

Song of the Week

"Runnin Down a Dream" - Tom Petty
"Felt so good, like anything was possible"
Rest in peace, Tom Petty

Playoff Predictions

AL Wild Card:
Yankees over Twins

AL Division Series:
Astros over Red Sox
Indians over Yankees

AL Championship Series:
Astros over Indians

NL Wild Card:
Diamondbacks over Rockies

NL Division Series:
Cubs over Nationals
Dodgers over Diamondbacks

NL Championship Series:
Dodgers over Cubs

World Series:
Dodgers over Astros (6 games)

Weekly Picks

Still perfect on best bets, but we've got some tricky games this week.

oakland +3 DENVER
I still think the Raiders are a very good team. They got embarrassed in a nationally televised game so bettors fled them. We'll see this week if their offensive line really is that bad.

TAMPA BAY -3 new york giants
I almost never pick against the Giants but they are so brutal this season, this spread seems too good to pass up.

philadelphia +2 LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
The Eagles seems ok, the Chargers seem terrible, and worse yet, they always make mistakes to lose games.

indianapolis +13 SEATTLE
This is just a hunch that the Seahawks offense isn't good enough to put enough points on the board to cover this big number.

BEST BET
jacksonville -3 NEW YORK JETS
The Jets are awful. Don't let one week fool you.

Last Week: 2-3 (3 points)
Season: 8-7 (11 points)
Best Bets: 1-0 (3-0)
Home favorites: 0-1 (4-2)
Home underdogs: 0-0 (0-1)
Road favorites: 1-0 (3-2)
Road underdogs: 1-2 (1-2)

MINNESOTA/detroit over 42 1/2
ATLANTA/buffalo over 48 1/2
TAMPA BAY/new york giants under 44 1/2
ARIZONA/san francisco under 44 1/2

Unders: 0-2 (5-3)
Overs: 2-0 (2-4)

Song of the Week

"Congratulations" - Post Malone featuring Quavo

Weekly Picks

Another decent week, nailing those best bets really changes everything. Got a little bad beat on total lack of offense in second half of two games in which we had the over (NE-NO and TB-CHI), but otherwise doing pretty ok. Was actually thinking of picking Rams in Thursday night's game. Glad I didn't.

houston +14 NEW ENGLAND
I know the Patriots love to blow people out but I think the Texans defense will keep them in it.

CAROLINA -5 1/2 new orleans
I know Cam Newton isn't off to such a good start but the Saints defense should be good for what ails him.

tampa bay +2 MINNESOTA
The CornPrices have some key defensive players on the injury report, but they shouldn't need too much help to shut down the Vikings without Sam Bradford again.

seattle +3 TENNESSEE
This could be one I have to completely change my view on both teams after this game.

BEST BET
kansas city -2 1/2 LOS ANGELES CHARGERS
I really like Kansas City and the Chargers always seem to find a way to lose.

Last Week: 3-2 (4 points)
Season: 6-4 (8 points)
Best Bets: 1-0 (2-0)
Home favorites: 2-0 (4-1)
Home underdogs: 0-1 (0-1)
Road favorites: 1-1 (2-2)
Road underdogs: 0-0 (0-0)

INDIANAPOLIS/cleveland under 42
CAROLINA/new orleans over 46 1/2
GREEN BAY/cincinnati under 46
DETROIT/atlanta over 50 1/2


Unders 5-1
Overs 0-4

Song of the Week

"Thunder" - Imagine Dragons

Weekly Picks

A pretty good start to the season with 4 points. But now the question becomes which performances that we saw in Week 1 portend something larger for the remainder of the season and which are aberrations to be ignored.

new england -6 NEW ORLEANS
Patriots will rebound. Not so sure about the Saints. More on this game later. Hint: we're taking the over even though it's an astronomical 56 1/2 points.

PITTSBURGH -5 1/2 minnesota
It's the oldest trap in the book, team looks surprisingly good on Monday night and everyone thinks they're great. And Sam Bradford's health also an issue here.

dallas -2 1/2 DENVER
I just don't trust Trevor Siemian.

JACKSONVILLE +1 tennessee
I am certainly not sure about this one but I wouldn't be shocked if the Jags won this game at home.

BEST BET
TAMPA BAY -6 1/2 chicago
The ExpensiveCornPrices are still my breakout team for this season and that extra week off won't slow them down.

Last Week: 3-2 (4 points)
Season: 3-2 (4 points)
Best Bets: 1-0
Home favorites: 2-1
Home underdogs: 0-0
Road favorites: 1-1
Road underdogs: 0-0

CAROLINA/buffalo over 43
NEW ORLEANS/new england over 56 1/2
PITTSBURGH/minnesota under 45
TAMPA BAY/chicago over 43 1/2
DENVER/dallas under 42
SEATTLE/san francisco under 42

Unders: 3-0
Overs: 0-1

Song of the Week

"You & I" - Sons of Maria
You all know how I feel about the creative use of a sample. This is surely the best work anyone has ever done with Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car."

Weekly Picks

Welcome back for another season of barely adequate picks. Crazy line movements for week 1 which is so difficult anyway.
Bonus for this season, I'll be throwing in an undefined number of over/under picks.

HOUSTON -5 jacksonville
I think the Jags will suck again this year and Houston should probably be 9-7 again. Tom Savage won't be great but he should be good enough. Just worried that morons bet on Houston thinking they will be galvanized by Harvey similar to what happened to the Saints after Katrina.

LOS ANGELES RAMS -4 indianapolis
I think the Rams will be improved. I think the Colts will be bad, especially without Andrew Luck.

pittsburgh -9 CLEVELAND
The Steelers are much better than the Browns.

carolina -5 SAN FRANCISCO
The Panthers will have a bounceback year and the 9ers will still suck.

BEST BET
MINNESOTA -3 new orleans
Not really sure about this one as a best bet but I don't love any of the other 4 games more.

Totals:
BUFFALO/new york jets under 40
TENNESSEE/oakland under 50 1/2
CLEVELAND/pittsburgh under 46 1/2
DALLAS/new york giants over 47 1/2

Song of the Week

"Rolex" - Ayo & Teo
Terrible song but the kids seem to like it.

Song of the Week

"Issues" - Julia Michaels
"Bask in the glory
of all our problems
cuz we've got the kind of love
it takes to solve them."

The Best Thing Someone in a Mets Hat Has Done All Year

Joe Garcia of Spring, Texas was saved from the floodwaters of Hurricane Harvey by a rescue boat.
First, he loaded some belongings onto the boat, then turned back for one more prized possession, his German Shepherd, Heidi.

Song of the Week

"Location" - Khalid

Song of the Week

"Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Bonnie Tyler

Song of the Week

"Redbone" - Childish Gambino
An example of a great beat somewhat ruined by stupid lyrics.

Song of the Week

"Body Like a Back Road" - Sam Hunt

She Loves My Smile, No Matter How Chipped My Tooth Is

We finally found Aaron Judge's Achilles heel. And it's not his achilles heel, it's his tooth.
Judge, who is about a foot taller than Brett Gardner, took Gardner's helmet right in the kisser during the celebration after Gardner homered in the bottom of the 11th to give the Yankees a 6-5 walkoff win against the Rays.



Judge is all right and will resume his duties as the face of baseball just as soon as he gets back from the dentist.

Jim Boeheim Plays Poker

A twitter user named @rockymtnpro spotted Jim Boeheim at the Wynn Poker room.

Apparently Boeheim was playing 1-3 No Limit Hold Em with great luck and questionable skill.
According to the twitter traffic, he cracked kings twice in one orbit.
On one hand he defended his big blind with 10-deuce to a 5x raise. He called a 25 dollars c-bet after flopping a ten, and he open-jammed for 113 dollars on the turn 2. The player with the kings called. First off, I can't imagine him being a very balanced player since he favors the same strategy in all situations, all the time. Second, I don't think he would have a very good poker face.

Song of the Week

"Despacito" - Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee
You might like this new song, no one's playing it or talking about it.
Note: Sarcasm, this song has nearly 3 billion views on youtube as of the date of this post.

Song of the Week

"Unstoppable" - The Score
2017 World Series of Poker on ESPN theme song

Song of the Week

"People Everyday" - Arrested Development
"My date was going great at my soul was at ease."

Song of the Week

"The Cure" - Lady Gaga

Song of the Week

"Classic" - The Knocks

Song of the Week

"Shook Ones" - Mobb Deep

RIP Prodigy

Song of the Week

"Papa Was a Rolling Stone" - The Temptations

The Dumbest Thing in Sports

Kyrie Irving: Cavs got extra motivation from Warriors’ ‘chatter'

There is absolutely no way the Cavs were "motivated" by any of the things the Warriors may have said or done. Even if they say it helped motivate them, I am sure it had zero affect on their performance.

For all sorts of reasons, we tend to prescribe value to things that have no value. Particularly when we try to explain drastic differences in performance, we lean on mental factors as a crutch. If being down 3-0 in the Finals wasn't enough to motivate the Cavs to perform at their best, no words from Draymond Green would have helped.

Not even when Steph Curry allegedly pantomimed pooping on the Quicken Loans Arena floor at the end of Game 3.

Hilarious High Five

Jeremy Corbyn tries to high five someone, but she moves her hand.


Reminds me of this special moment from our wedding

Song of the Week

"All-Star" - Smashmouth
The only reason to play this awful song is to announce that Chase made the All-Star game of his baseball league.

Important News News

Scott Pelley is being replaced as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Anthony Mason will replace him on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is found.

Song of the Week

"I'm The One" - DJ Khaled featuring Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne

Song of the Week

"Hey Jealousy" - Gin Blossoms

If You Don't Expect Too Much From Me, You Might Not Be Let Down

The first time Dwight Gooden let me down I was 8 years old. He missed the 1986 World Series victory parade and subsequently got suspended for the first two months of the 1987 season.
30 years later, he's still a disappointment.

I signed Chase up for a pitching clinic with Dwight Gooden. It was supposed to be one hour of instruction, and one hour of meet and greet.

Gooden never showed up. We got a refund and since we were there anyway, their instructors worked with the kids, so Chase got some free pitching lessons.

And he also got a life lesson, if you don't expect too much from people, you might not be let down.

Song of the Week

"Black Hole Sun" - Soundgarden

Big Bart's Belly

Bartolo Colon left his start against the Blue Jays after five innings with a stomach ailment.
“It’s been kind of a head cold, headache-type thing and today my stomach was really ill as well,” Colon said through an interpreter. “We’re not really sure what’s going on.”

Song of the Week

"Mama" - LunchMoneyLewis
"I'm still her baby, even though I'm grown."

Song of the Week

"Wanna Luv You" - Kofi Black
This song samples "Computer Love" by Zapp and "Only You" by 112.
It's very new, only posted on youtube 6 weeks ago and only has 2,500 views.
And he's from Staten Island, according to an old article from the Advance.

Song of the Week

"The Waiting" - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Hail-ey to the Victor

For the second time in 3 years, a small child has won our ESPN tournament challenge group. In 2015 it was Nat, Hailey triumphs in 2017, with her newborn sister in fourth. My sister-in-law Mrs. Bates finished second. You will see your beloved hero, me, in 5th place with my real, actual bracket. That seems good, but I finished 5th among 5 of us who picked North Carolina to win it all. And I would have been even worse had I not mistakenly picked Kentucky to beat Wichita State in the second round.
Mrs. Poop was the highest finisher among those who didn't pick North Carolina. Nevertheless she remains our only 2-time champion. But with this crop of young talent we have in our group, she likely won't be alone for long.

2016: Master Bates
2015: Nat
2014: Billy
2013: TON
2012: Reissberg
2011: Mrs. Poop
2010: Vacated (I forgot to keep accurate records)
2009: Mrs. Poop
2008: Pa Beers
2007: Michael

Song of the Week

"Blessed" - Jill Scott
"I went to sleep stressed,
woke up refreshed
I'm so blessed, yeah yes"

I Knew All of These

The clever clue writers for Jeopardy! like the internet attention when Alex Trebek recites song lyrics, particularly rap and hip hop songs, which is why the show recently featured a category called "90s R&B hitmakers." Alex read the lyrics, contestants had to provide the performer of the song from which the lyrics came.

I Must Be the Only Person on the Internet

Usually the internet is a place where a diverse marketplace of ideas comes together creating a robust, thoughtful, intellectual discourse.
Just kidding, of course, but I was surprised at how overwhelming the reaction was in favor of United Airlines passenger David Dao.
Yes, I agree that United's policies are foolish and unfair. Yes, I agree the airline, if it really needed the seats for its own employees, should have offered a far more generous "bump" incentive than $800.
And yes I sympathize with anyone who buys a ticket, boards a plane and is then kicked off the flight against his or he will. I think we're all in agreement up until now.
But once the airline makes it clear the Dr. Dao has to leave the plane, that the flight will not take off with on it, that he will be "re-accomodated," Dr. Dao has to behave like a human being and walk off the flight.
All the terrible things that happened to him after that, the smashing of the nose on the armrest, the two embarrassing videos (one with shirt pulled up, one with incoherent ramblings and a bloody nose), the crush of media attention, the disclosure of his previous arrest and the embarrassing personal details all come back to his decision to force security to drag him off the plane.
Because he could have avoided these unfortunate circumstances just by behaving like an adult, I think a lot of the blame falls on him.

Enough Already

Syracuse basketball fans are in for several more years of rude condescension and unbending adherence to a system that every opponent knows is coming.
That's because Jim Boeheim knifed his most loyal assistant in the back and then stepped over his grave.
Mike Hopkins waited patiently for Boeheim to retire, and when the old man finally announced he would coach for only 3 more years, 2 years ago, Hopkins was named the coach in waiting.
But suddenly, a few days after the end to a disappointing season, Mike Hopkins accepted the job to be the head coach at Washington. Almost as suddenly, Syracuse offered a new contract to Jim Boeheim, which he happily accepted.
While everyone is saying the right things, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Hopkins would not have left if he was 100% sure he was getting the job after next season as promised.
For whatever reason, he must have felt there was at least some chance he was going to get screwed so he took a head coaching job while he could get one.
Clearly, Boeheim still wanted to coach, and Hopkins knew it. Boeheim, it seems, did nothing to try to keep Hopkins, offering nothing in the way of assurances he would get the job, and he certainly wouldn't do something as noble as retiring immediately, so instead Syracuse lost its head coach in waiting and is stuck with several (many) more years of the Jim Boeheim era.

Song of the Week

"That's The Way I Feel About Cha" - Bobby Womack
"and your friend Annie Mae..."

Song of the Week

"No Problem" - Chance the Rapper featuring 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne
A lot of people seem to make this guy out to be last great hope for rap music, but I don't see it. This song isn't bad though.

2017 MLB Season Predictions

NL East: New York Mets
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Cards: Washington Nationals over Colorado Rockies
NLCS: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago Cubs

AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Houston Astros
AL Wild Cards: Seattle Mariners over Texas Rangers
ALCS: Boston Red Sox over Cleveland Indians

World Series: Boston Red Sox over Los Angeles Dodgers

NL MVP: Kris Bryant
AL MVP: Mike Trout
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
AL Cy Young: Chris Sale
NL Rookie: Tyler Glasnow
AL Rookie: Andrew Benintendi
NL Manager: Bud Black
AL Manager: AJ Hinch
NL Comeback: Matt Harvey
AL Comeback: Michael Brantley

He Can Coach My Kids Anytime

I used to think of Kansas State coach Frank Martin like this:

Now I think of South Carolina coach Frank Martin like this:

It all changed for me when Martin was asked, essentially, what's wrong kids these days?

Martin responded: “You know what makes me sick to my stomach? When I hear grown people say that kids have changed. Kids haven’t changed. Kids don’t know anything about anything. We’ve changed as adults. We demand less of kids. We make their lives easier instead of preparing them for what life is truly about. We’re the ones that have changed. To blame kids is a cop out.”

Demanding, understanding, with an occasional yell. That's my kind of coach.

When kids come into this world, they don't know whether they should be spoiled or hard-working. We make them that way by the challenges we allow, and don't allow them to face.

Frank Martin has the right idea. He can coach my kids anytime.

The Search is Over

After years of looking for the best gore and scouring pictures of bull fights and the Running of the Bulls for pictures of people with bullhorns lodged in uncomfortable places.
We don't need to bother anymore. Here is the best (worst?) we should ever hope to see:

Matador Antonio Romero got an 11-inch bull horn right up the ass.
He needed full rectal reconstruction.

I guess he never saw "The Breakfast Club."

Song of the Week

"Touch of Grey" - Grateful Dead
"I will get by."

Song of the Week

"No Particular Place to Go" - Chuck Berry
"Cruisin and playing the radio, with no particular place to go"

Something That Really Cooks

Chuck Berry, who has died aged 90, was rock’n’roll’s first guitar hero and poet. Never wild, but always savvy, Berry helped define the music. His material fused insistent tunes with highly distinctive lyrics that celebrated with deft wit and loving detail the glories of 1950s US teen consumerism.

He is survived by his wife, Themetta “Toddy” Suggs, whom he married in 1948, four children, Ingrid, Chuck junior, Aloha and Melody and cousin Marvin.

Tournament Thoughts: Second Round Sunday

We finally got the good games and the upsets we wanted.

I think we have the declare the offense vs. defense a draw.

South Carolina beat Duke, Arkansas gave North Carolina a game, but UCLA beat Cincinnati easily.

One tournament is a small sample, but man the ACC had just about has bad a tournament as you can have. Not only did the 5 bottom teams lose, three of the biggest upsets so far were ACC teams. Out of 9 teams to start only 1 remains. Out of 9 teams from the ACC and SEC, 6 remain.

Joel Berry got away with a ridiculous travel. And it came at a crucial time, pushing the lead from 1 to 3.



Alex English had a busy weekend, watching his son AJ play for Iona against Oregon, and then seeing his alma mater South Carolina beat Duke. Too bad he wasn't wearing this awesome jersey though.

One of Rhode Island's best players, Hassan Martin, is from Staten Island and went to Curtis High School.

Tournament Thoughts: Second Round Saturday

So it took until the third day but finally we got the thrilling upsets and fantastic finishes for which the tournament is revered.
But let's start at the beginning.
I love Verne Lundquist but he is losing his fastball. He misread the promo for "Kevin Can Wait." Even though it was about cooking, he said Chief Kevin, instead of Chef Kevin. Then made the same mistake again today, before correcting himself. Though we liked when he suggested the West Virginia band learn how to play "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?"

When people were talking about seeing "Beauty and the Beast" this weekend I thought they meant Verne and Allie LaForce. LaForce by the way, has come a long way since we first profiled her, marrying former Mets reliever Joe Smith, and progressing nicely in her career.

We should take it easy on Verne though, poor guy got hit in the face by a basketball during warmups.



Villanova a huge disappointment in their title defense. For years they had underachieved and finally broke through, but then reverted back. They become the first #1 seed to get knocked out on the first weekend since Kansas lost that memorable game to #9 Northern Iowa in 2010.

Wisconsin probably deserved a better seed, they have a really good team.

Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, shown a lot on TV at the Northwestern game because her son Charlie Hall is on the team.

But not nearly as much as the Northwestern crying kid.

I felt terrible about how often they showed him and how they milked his anguish. Thought it was a little too much. Turns on the kid is the son of the athletic director. And he's 11 years old. And I hope he never loses that youthful passion and enthusiasm.

Now to the important part of that game: the terrible non-call on a clear goaltending. It was clear and obvious, Zach Collins's hand was through the hoop when he contested that shot. The refs blew it. Perhaps the ref on the baseline was screened by the bottom of the backboard, perhaps he was looking for body contact, I don't know how all three of them missed it.

And it was a huge play. Massive turning point. Should have been a 3 point game with 5 minutes left. Instead after the technical on Chris Collins (no relation to Zack) it was back to 7 and Northwestern couldn't climb the hill. But despite the call Chris Collins cannot come onto the floor like that during play. The ref had to tee him up, no choice.

Arizona looks really good. Even though they got pushed by a good St. Mary's team, I like their talent. They may be lacking a true point guard but they have players everywhere around the court.

Kyle Guy and his manbun made Mrs. Poop's All-Hair team.

And his teammate Ty Jerome is on my all-name team.

If Mrs. Poop had an All-Name team (she doesn't) she would choose Florida's Gorjok Gak.

Because it reminds her of the gak from Double Dare.

Thank God Virginia lost. What a boring team to watch. 39 points? Really? Glad I will never have to watch London Perrantes play again.

Check out Caleb "Biggie" Swanigan's middle school highlight reel.



He had a lot of struggles earlier in life, and seems to have overcome them. He's lost 100 pounds, maybe has more to lose. But he is a fantastic player who can shoot and pass much better than we expect for someone of his size.

We ended the night with a good one. Two good athletic teams running up and down the floor. Exciting finish to the day. Let's hope for more tomorrow.

Tournament Thoughts: First Round Friday

I am never disappointed with the NCAA tournament but this was the most underwhelming first round I can remember in years. No upsets of a top 4 seed, and only 1 12 seed won, and they were actually favored.

And the big teams that won for the most part weren't even challenged. North Carolina won by 39, Kansas by 38, Duke by 22. And the two teams that were "challenged" were UCLA and Kentucky and they still won by 17 & 9. And Kentucky's win wasn't even that close.

Hopefully, the better teams advancing means more good games in the later rounds.

And it wasn't just the top seeds, the close matchups, didn't yield any super-exciting games, none went to overtime. For the second straight day, one of the most exciting finishes was marred by bad play.

Seton Hall had so many unfortunate things happen in the final 40 seconds, the culmination of which was a questionable call, but they lost more because of their own mistakes than those of the officials.

Here's why: they led by 8 with 6 minutes left, they led by 8 with 9 minutes left. They had the lead and the ball with 80 seconds left. Then they turned it over, and allowed the go-ahead layup. They had the ball again, and turned it over on a travel. So that's two turnovers in 1 minute with the game on the line, before the officials got involved.

And then, the call happened. Seton Hall had to give a foul, trailing by 1 with the shot clock off. Desi Rodriguez tried to foul but instead he put two hands on the back of Barford and their feet got tangled simultaneously. By the letter of the law, this should have been ruled a flagrant, a clear push with no attempt to play the ball. By the spirit, no foul, it's late in the game, teams need to foul, contact wasn't excessive.

Look at it from the other side. Imagine you're Arkansas. A guy does exactly what is written in the rule book as a flagrant foul, but they give him leeway based on discretion, and you somehow lose. Wouldn't Arkansas have a much bigger case to freak out? You can't tailor the rules to the situation.

And for Seton Hall, the most likely case is ball back, down 3, 20 seconds. Not great odds. Which is why Seton Hall blew this game before the referee's call was made.

If Marquette's Andrew Rousey went on Jim Rome's show, would he call him "Ronda?"

Every time the announcers talked about Cincinnati's Troy Caupain, it sounded like they were saying cocaine.

Similarly I thought Kevin Harlan had a Freudian slip when excitedly referring to Baylor's Manu Lecomte. "Look at le cunt!"

On to round 2, hoping for some better games!

Tournament Thoughts: First Round Thursday

Sickening end to Vanderbilt vs. Northwestern. Matthew Fisher-Davis will not quite join Chris Webber, due to enormity of the situation, but certainly his blatant foul with 25 seconds left and his team LEADING by 1, will go down as one of the most boneheaded moves in tournament history.

No big upsets today. You can't really consider Middle Tennessee an upset since they were favored, and Xavier was only 2-point dogs, not exactly Cinderella stuff. All the 4 seeds won their opening round games. That's the third time that's happened in the past 4 years.

My biggest regret of the first round is that Albany lost their conference final to Vermont, and I don't get to put Dallas Ennema on my all-name team.

But at least we have Bacon.

The first member of Mrs. Poop's All-Hair team is Justin Tillman from VCU.

And his teammate Jonathan Williams would be there if Mrs. Poop liked beards.

For fundamentals no one beats Florida's Canyon Barry who shoots free throws underhand, as his father Rick used to do. Oh, and Barry set the Florida record for most consecutive free throws. For the record, Rick had sons Scooter, Brent & Jon with his first wife, Canyon is from wife #3, Rick must have been about 50 when Canyon was born.

Underhanded free throws are something Florida-Gulf Coast's Demetris Morant might want to consider.



Arizona looked good, Nevada looked fun and maybe Wisconsin can give Villanova some trouble. That's it for a very chalky day 1. Let's see if more upsets await on Day 2.

Song of the Week

"Something Like This" - The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

No One To Blame But Themselves

The Syracuse Orange will be watching the NCAA Tournament for the second time in 3 years (not the way Jim Boeheim wanted to spend his latter years, but that's another post for another time).
The Orange were squarely on the bubble with an 18-14 record. Working against them, 4 horrible losses (St John's, Georgetown, UConn and Boston College), a poor road record (2-11) and a miserable RPI (80-something), which would have been the worst RPI to ever get an at-large berth, breaking the record they set last year.
But working in their favor, Syracuse finished 10-8 in the top conference, won 6 games against the RPI top 50 and was a completely different team that they were in November and December.
But when you lose 14 games, and blow several chances at a statement win, or even an easy clinching win, and don't get it, you really can't blame the committee.
Every team ahead of the Orange has pros and cons when rated head-to-head.
My only issue is with what seems to me to be some inconsistency in the criteria from year-to-year. It seems like last year SU was rewarded for big wins, this year those didn't matter as much. Perhaps the committee didn't want to keep stretching their criteria for the same team, and certainly it didn't seem like last year's Final Four run mattered at all.
But at least I have the Virginia game saved on my DVR.

Daniel Was The Real Bully

I have seen "The Karate Kid" many times, and like you, I always hate sympathy for Daniel LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio) because I thought he was harassed, bullied and physically assaulted by the evil Johnny (Billy Zabka).
Turns out I had incredibly misinterpreted what really went on:



And they didn't even mention that Daniel kicked Johnny in the face, in clear violation of the rules of the tournament.

If you like looking differently at movies you thought you knew, check out this trailer for the Shining.

Which is Better: New York City or Greensboro

A leader who is often surly, nasty, dismissive and vindictive towards the media. He often picks fights with the media, especially over petty issues. And he mocks anyone who questions him.

Yes, I am talking about Jim Boeheim.

After his team lost in the ACC tournament he explained why he thinks the tournament should be in held in big cities every year.



The city of Greensboro responded with a snarky tweet:

Now personally, I believe representatives for a city should behave with a little more civility, but I understand that this is the culture of our youth, especially on Twitter, and you don't get attention if you don't "clap back" or retweet.

But in Boeheim's defense, he was asked the question. And it seems like someone followed up asking specifically about Greensboro. Sure he didn't have to answer so rudely. He made fair points which would have been better received had he not doused them with jerkiness.

The Greensboro Grasshoppers, a single A affiliate of the Miami Marlins will host "Jim Boeheim (No) Value Night" on April 11.

All fans with a valid Syracuse, NY Driver's License will be given a free ticket, $20 in food and beverage vouchers, and a pre-game meet and greet with retired Hall of Fame Bat Dog, Miss Babe Ruth.

"Contrary to what Jim Boeheim thinks, Greensboro is a great place and we want to show off our city, our ballpark and our southern hospitality to our friends from Syracuse. We know that not all of them are whiners and grouches like their basketball coach," said Grasshoppers Team President and General Manager Donald Moore.

Boeheim will be honored during the "Whine of the Game" that night sponsored by Carolina Pediatrics of the Triad. "We may invite the coach to attend, although his presence will bring us no value, none," Moore continued. "I suspect he may already have plans to be at a game in New York, Washington, or Atlanta that evening and unable to come."

Song of the Week

"Lush Life" - Zara Larsson

Their Mothers Were So Proud

The good boychicks on the World Baseball Classic teams representing Israel had us all kvelling after they removed their caps for Hatikvah and put on kippot.

They also won their first 2 games, against South Korea and Taipei, making it very likely they will advance to the second round of pool play.



Readers of this blog will be most familiar with current Met Ty Kelly and former Met Ike Davis. Staten Island's own Jason Marquis is the ace of the pitching staff.