So it's official. With Syracuse blowing it against Butler last night, my bracket (which looked to be a pretty good one) is now simply a collection of teams who've lost. The fruits of my failed labor can be seen here, along with a bunch of people I went to grad school with, if you're so inclined. Warning: we really suck at basketball stuff!
Speaking of such matters, there was a story about a 17-year old autistic teenager in Chicago who apparently had a perfect bracket through the first and second rounds of the tournament (NBC Chicago). As he picked 'Cuse to win, however, now apparently nobody in the country has a perfect record. At least this kid still has a B+ in bracketology while the rest of us are wearing a collective dunce cap. 2010's tournament insanity (which my friend Eric, football fan and avid reader, firmly declares happens "every three years or so") has caused me to add a new term to my list of definitions for various stroke-inducing games in the Bouncy Bouncy Sport: a Bracket Buster.
Will #4 Purdue vs. another #1 seed be like Moulin Rouge, where the ideals of Freedom, Beauty, Truth, and Love dictate that the Duke loses at the end? Source: someone's flickr account I found on Google. Nice picture, don't sue me even though the pun was bad, k?
A bracket buster is any game that fits the definition of a sniper kill, but where the disparity in seeding is especially dramatic. Generally, one of these games involves a #1 or 2 seed that everyone picked to make the Final Four being smoked by someone seeded below #5. Kansas losing to #9 Northern Iowa in the second round this year is a Bracket Buster. St. Mary's (#10) shooting down #2 Villanova would also qualify. If you've put a lot of money on a Bracket Buster game only to see the Busted team get subsequently smashed through the floor, odds are you've probably gone ballistic and will soon be appearing in a very different kind of court.
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Moving from the court onto the field, everyone's heard the news: LT is now a jet after their bizarre release of Thomas Jones, and the Bears acquired Chester Taylor, Julius Peppers, That Safety From the Colts, and That Tight End Whose Last Name I Can't Pronounce, leading to rumors that OC Mike Martz wants to trade Greg Olsen for a high draft pick, which is arguably the dumbest trade ever, because you don't know what the draft's going to be like and the team needs everyone they've got to act as a receiver. Mike Martz, if you read this: Trading Olsen for anyone is like trading a computer for a bag of sand. You can't really do anything with sand, but you can clobber someone on the head with it if they do something stupid. Additionally, rumors are swirling around the the Eagles are interested in trading Donovan McNabb, who would like to play for the Vikings. (NFL.com) Of course, nobody knows what Brett Favre is doing, which complicates the equation as usual. And then we've got Brady Quinn being traded to the Broncos (dumb), the Browns signing Jake Delhomme (dumber), and the Bears cutting CB Nathan Vasher - only after giving him a huge roster bonus (dumbest) - what is this, the NFL equivalent of a severance package?
And then there are the new postseason overtime rules! (Chicago Tribune) The NFL voted earlier this week to change the rules so that, in the playoffs, if a game goes to overtime, that the receiving team must score a touchdown in order to win - no kicking for three, and none of these not-shanking sinks the ship shenanigans. Of course, if a team fails to score and is forced to punt, or turns the ball over somehow, the opponent can still win with a field goal. Most teams are in support of the new rules. Up next on the NFL's legislative block: Alliterations in football blogs: clever commentary, or groan-inducing gimmicks?
And then there's Ben Roethlisberger. According to the sports buzz, there are allegations Big Ben assaulted a woman at a Georgia nightclub. Now it's turned into a huge scandal of sex, lies, and (apparently) videotape. (ESPN) Some wonder how much trouble this is actually causing for the Steelers, who have signed backup QB Charlie Batch to a 2-year extension, and it's raising a lot of questions about what exactly happened (ie, an actual incident vs. someone out for money vs. hearsay vs. he said-she said vs. some massive conspiracy involving the League Commissioner, etc). Of course, I wasn't there, and I'm not Roethlisberger/the plaintiff/a lawyer on this case, so I'll maintain neutrality, just like I do in politics, where I sit and listen to both sides of the story and, after feebly offering my opinion, eventually argue that because I'm not a member of congress, I should not be forced to debate healthcare reform or immigration or whether or not college football should be on a playoff system.
I conclude this with a personal anecdote. Because of parking difficulties at the Large University Where I Work, I had to park in some obscene place earlier this week (on March 24th), and walk to work. Upon walking home at 5:30 PM past the practice fields, I observed the football team, dressed in their finest display of our school colors, literally kicking off spring practice as they booted field goals and extra points through the uprights. Folks: only about 5 months until we kick off for real, and only 27 days until the draft!
