Took the Money & Ran

After weeks of anticipation for you all I am sure, the final installment for 2014 from our March Madness MC. Hoop stars, I’m sure by now everyone is thinking that I pocketed the money in hopes that no one would call me out, well…. I got called out, thanks Rodell. Truthfully though, I haven’t forgotten about you fine people, and I’m proud to say that the lucky winners have their well-earned green on the way. It was a wild final four to say the least, and I’m more than happy, for just one shining moment, to harken back to the days of college basketball… oh, how I miss it. As most of you know already, number 1 overall seed Florida tanked on final four Saturday, losing to 7 seed UConn, a team of unmatched destiny, and as a result put the nail in the coffin of CannonVA tourney challenge 2k14, essentially handing the title to John and Will. Yet, Jennifer and Josh still had a shot if Wisconsin was able to beat an upstart Kentucky team who looked equally as destined to reach the final game. The Badgers came just 1 point shy of their first championship berth since 1941, as deja-vu struck the Kentucky wildcats. With just 5.7 seconds to go and Wisconsin up 73-71, Aaron Harrison spotted up from the left wing and drilled a 3 pointer to crush the badger dreams and with it the green dreams of Jennifer and Josh. It was the third game winner in a row for Kentucky and nearly the exact same scenario of the final seconds in Kentuckys elite 8 win over Michigan, unreal. It couldn’t possibly ring true 1 more time… We found out Saturday night who the winners would be, it was John and Will tied for 1st place and Mike holding on to 3rd. The only question going into championship Monday was who would win the tiebreaker and take home the top prize of $180. It was up to the final score, a final score which was wildly over guessed by the bulk of the pool, as defense showed it’s prominence with all on the line. UConn inevitably continued their dream tournament in glorious fashion, out-playing Kentucky in virtually all aspects, and relying on the unmatched dominance of gutty senior and unanimous all-tourney selection Shabazz Napier. The huskies found a way to get it done, beating the scrappy bluegrass squad 60-54, becoming the first #7 seed to win college basketballs most coveted hardware. We would find out 1 day later that the Husky women would make it a sweep for the second time in the last 10 years. It’s good to be a UConn fan. And so, we can officially crown the winners of CannonVA tourney challenge 2k14. Will and John as champions and Mike in a very heated battle for 3rd place. Congrats to the three of you. The tiebreak was almost a draw as Will’s final number came to 141 and Johns final number, 144. With the final score adding to 114, Will was able to edge out John by just 3 points, and with that scores the healthy margin of cash. I’d like to give a major shout out to Andrew, who’s final score projection, was, far and away, the closest at 58-52, well done AB, if only you had a few more points to your name. See below for final standings, for those of you tied, I used your final scores to determine pecking order, and, more importantly bragging rights. Thanks to all for joining in on the fun this year, it brings me great pride knowing the overwhelming interest in the best tourney challenge of the greater northeast. And thanks also for putting up with my endless novel updates. I do hope that they were enjoyable. Until next year, keep dreamin’ of those 40s…. Sorry, skeeball reference, but equally applicable to all arenas of life. Oh, and speaking of 40s, I’m still out $40. Without naming names, I’m sure you can figure out who you are, below. Thanks again! March madness MC, out! 1. Will D 87 pts $180 (final score 71-70) 2. John F 87 pts $120 (final score 76-68) 3. Mike Z 83 pts $70 4. Molly B 82 pts 5. Jennifer B 80 pts 6. Brent A 78 pts 7. Josh W 77 pts 8. Erik M 77 pts 9. Greg T 77 pts 10. Chad B 76 pts 11. Beth R 76 pts 12. Barbara A 75 pts 13. Carrie P 75 pts 14. Brian W 75 pts 15. Peter M 73 pts 16. Scott D 72 pts 17. Rodell P #2 72 pts 18. Andrew B 70 pts 19. Ashley D 70 pts 20. Preston T 68 pts 21. Rebecca F 68 pts 22. Kelly M 68 pts 23. Scott T 68 pts 24. Greg K 64 pts 25. Chris H 64 pts 26. Matt T 61 pts 27. Ryan M 60 pts 28. Rodell P #1 60 pts 29. Katie T 60 pts 30. Kristal E 60 pts 31. Ed A 58 pts 32. Justin T 57 pts 33. Lindsay M 55 pts 34. Abby M 53 pts 35. Bob F 53 pts 36. David P 48 pts 37. Deborah M 45 pts

FINAL FOUR

Hoop stars, Well, the regional finals over the weekend happened to narrow the field of contenders considerably, and today was known bracket wide as massacre Monday. I even received requests for flowers to be sent for the funeral services of a few brackets that crumbled in historic fashion. With Arizona, Michigan, and Michigan State all losing, the majority of dreams were crushed, especially with that Michigan State loss. Brian Wolf was sitting pretty after the round of 16, in first place and his champion intact. Come Monday, he finds himself in 14th position with no points left to be had. With the fall of Wolf, we now find ourselves back in familiar territory with Forgy and Will retaking at tie for first place. Unfortunately for those two, there are no points left to be had. The door is open for those with Florida and Wisconsin advancing. Saturday started off as expected, with overall #1 seed Florida taking care of the overmatched Cinderella squad from Dayton Ohio, 62-52, punching the first ticket to North Texas. The second game, however, was one for the ages. Top seed Arizona took on 2 seed Wisconsin in what would turn out to be a battle for the ages. Each team trading blow for blow deep into the second half. But much of the game, it became apparent that the Cats simply had no answer for the 7’-0” Badger center Frank Kaminsky, who aside from looking like he drools (the profound words of our defending champ Rodell), went absolutely bananas on a shellshocked Arizona squad, scoring 28 points, including 3-5 from beyond the arc. Yes…. Big boy can even hit the triple! Wisconsin won in an overtime thriller, 64-63. Had it not been for Kaminsky, Arizona would have surely advanced, heroic performance. Sunday proved even more exciting as we were treated to two marquee matchups, Michigan State vs. UConn and Michigan vs. Kentucky. Two critical games that would inevitably determine the fate of many pool goers. Michigan State took the floor first as the final four favorite out of the east region, and for most of the game proved worthy of the third slot in texas next weekend. But something odd happened to the Spartans. A historically well coached team that doesn’t often make mistakes, started making them, in epic fashion. Turnovers, lazy play, missed free throws, stagnant defense. For UConn fans, this was a highly unlikely dream that came so gloriously true and set the stage brilliantly for the baby face assassin known only as Shabazz. The kid, once again delivered and sent the much maligned and gravely under rated UConn Huskies to the final four. In the Midwest we were treated to yet another Kentucky moment, as the 8 seeded wildcats, yet again, came from behind to pull a shocker, this time over 2 seed Michigan. The Wolverines dominated most of the game, with Big 10 player of the year Nik Stauskaus raining in 24 points, en route to a 13 point advantage. Kentucky battled back though, quite valiantly, and with the game tied at 72 with just under 10 seconds left, we were staring another regional final OT game square in the face…. Until that supremely ill-advised, masterfully defended, fall away three pointer by freshman guard Aaron Harrison, found the bottom of the net. Game, set, match. Aside from last years championship loss, Michigan fans haven’t felt this much pain since the timeout heard round the world, Chris Webber, 1993 title game. And so we’re down to four, Florida, Wisconsin, UConn and Kentucky. No one was able to pick more than two correct final four teams, but two, somehow, someway were able to keep their championship game unblemished, those two are Jennifer and Josh, both with Florida beating Wisconsin, both with significant chances at scoring some cash. I’ve played out each of the 8 scenarios with the top 3 finishers below. It’s now just a 8 person race with John, Will, Mike, Jennifer, Josh, Erik, Greg T, and Brent battling for three spots. See below for scenarios and final four standings, those in red have locked in their final point totals. Best of luck to those still in the running! 1. John F (87 pts) 2. Will D (87 pts) 3. Mike Z (83 pts) 4. Molly B (82 pts) 5. Jennifer B (80 pts) 6. Brent A (78 pts) 7. Josh W (77 pts) 8. Erik M (77 pts) 9. Greg T (77 pts) 10. Chad B (76 pts) 11. Beth R (76 pts) 12. Barbara A (75 pts) 13. Carrie P (75 pts) 14. Brian W (75 pts) 15. Peter M (73 pts) 16. Scott D (72 pts) 17. Rodell P #2 (72 pts) 18. Andrew B (70 pts) 19. Ashley D (70 pts) 20. Kelly M (68 pts) 21. Preston T (68 pts) 22. Rebecca F (68 pts) 23. Scott T (67 pts) 24. Greg K (64 pts) 25. Chris H (64 pts) 26. Matt T (61 pts) 27. Ryan M (60 pts) 28. Rodell P #1 (60 pts) 29. Katie T (60 pts) 30. Kristal E (60 pts) 31. Ed A (58 pts) 32. Justin T (57 pts) 33. Lindsay M (55 pts) 34. Bob F (53 pts) 35. Abby M (53 pts) 36. David P (48 pts) 37. Deborah M (45 pts) Scenario 1&2 Kentucky over UConn OR UConn over Kentucky 1. John F (tiebreak) 2. Will D (tiebreak) 3. Mike Z Scenario 3 & 4 Florida over Wisconsin OR Wisconsin over Florida 1. Jennifer B 2. Josh W 3. Mike Z Scenario 5 & 6 UConn over Wisconsin OR Wisconsin over UConn 1. Jennifer B 2. Josh W 3. John F / Will D (tiebreak) Scenario 7 Florida over Kentucky 1. Mike Z 2. Jennifer B 3. Josh W / Erik M / Greg T (tiebreak) Scenario 8 Kentucky over Florida 1. Mike Z 2. Jennifer B 3. Brent A Chad (March Madness MC)

Elite 8

Hoop junkies, After a wild Friday night of basketball, the elite 8 is officially set, Michigan, UConn, Michigan State, and Kentucky joined Florida, Dayton, Arizona, and Wisconsin in the elitist of groups within just 1 victory of a final four berth. The night was definitely not for the faint of heart. We saw Michigan and UConn advance in the early games over Tennessee and Iowa State respectively. UConn continued its surprise run by handling a depleted Iowa State squad playing for the second game without star center Georges Niang. The huskies, behind a virtual lock for 1st team all-tourney, Shabazz Napier, continually bullied the oversized Cyclones. While Iowa State made a late rally, they were unable to hit free throws down the stretch and the 7 seed from the east advanced to the regional final. Props to Rebecca and Greg T for being the only ones to have the Huskies dancing to the elite 8. In the other early game, Michigan squeaked by 11 seed Tennessee by the narrowest of margins, 73-71, leaving big blue fans on the edge of their seats to the bitter end. The Wolverines enjoyed as much as a 15 point lead well into the second half, before the Vols made a furious rally to cut the lead down to a single possession late. However, it must have been the stroke of midnight because the orange glass slipper shattered as Tennessee left the floor wondering what could have been. Michigan advanced to its second straight elite 8 appearance and was poised for the prospective rematch of last years title game with Louisville. Only thing standing in the way of that destiny were the upstart 8 seed Kentucky wildcats… The dream matchup between bitter interstate rivals Kentucky and Louisville was realized almost out of fate. It’s as if the basketball Gods willed this epic rivalry into being when the stakes were highest. The hype didn’t disappoint. The first half was solid, as both teams exchanged blow for blow, with the defending champs taking a 3 point lead to the locker room. But the second half, my friends, left little to be desired, it simply had it all, pressure threes, tenacious dunks, gutty steals, it was a battle for the ages, true gladiator stuff. For those who were lucky enough to stay awake into the wee hours (Ed…. cough), it was a treat to say the least. With Louisville seemingly in control of the game, up 7 points with just over 4 minutes left, it was gut check time for Caliparis blue grass squad, and the wildcats delivered, in impressive fashion. Kentucky ended the game on a 15-3 run, squashing all dreams of a repeat for the Cardinals of Louisville, who lead the game for all but 65 seconds, wow. And so the 8 seed from the Midwest dances on to face 2 seed Michigan on Sunday for a shot at the final four. Congrats to Mike Z, Rodell #2, and Justin for accurately selecting the cats to the elite 8. For most though, the Louisville loss dealt a crushing blow especially, current 3rd placer Will and battling for the basement Abby who had the cards winning it all. The final game pitted final four favorite Michigan State against 1 seed Virginia in the east bracket. This game, just like Kentucky / Louisville did not disappoint. The Spartans controlled the game for most of the first half, leading by 4 at the break. Virginia came out strong in the second half and pushed the Spartans blow for blow down the stretch. However, in this game, the victory was clinched, not blown, from the free throw line. If you’re going to win a championship, you must make the easiest shot on the court. Michigan State did just that down the stretch and was able to squeak by a crafty UVA squad, who most definitely overachieved this season. And so we move on to regional finals today and tomorrow, with the final four to be set Sunday night at the conclusion of the Kentucky / Michigan game, tip 5:05 EST. See below for updated standings. Brian has taken the lead with 8 points last night, however he had Louisville in the championship game, so it’s still anyones game. The 5 of you highlighted below are the elite few who have your final four still intact, specific teams adjacent, incredible job. That means, these 5 have the most points still available. Those of you in red…. Well, that’s it. For Lindsay and Deborah, they have officially exhausted all resources, their brackets are done, RIP, funeral services to be scheduled, no further points to be had. For Deborah, she’s clinched at least a share for last place, impressive none the less. Bob may just owe her lunch, for saving his sports practice leadership, he still needs either Florida or Michigan State to win to alleviate himself of a tie for last. Curl that mustache for good luck Bob. Florida and Dayton tip tonight at 6:09 EST, just 4 hours from now. Good luck to everyone still in the running. We’ll have a clearer view of whos legitimately in the running coming Monday morning. Here’s to continuing the madness! Savor every last second, it’s gone all too soon… 1. Brian W (75 pts) 2. John F (71 pts) 3. Will D (71 pts) 4. Erik M (69 pts) 5. Chad B (68 pts) 6. Beth R (68 pts) 7. Mike Z (67 pts) Florida, Arizona, Michigan State, Kentucky 8. Molly B (66 pts) 9. Jennifer B (64 pts) 10. Rodell P #2 (64 pts) 11. Scott D (64 pts) 12. Ashley D (62 pts) Florida, Arizona, Michigan State, Michigan 13. Brent A (62 pts) Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan 14. Andrew B (62 pts) 15. Josh W (61 pts) 16. Greg T (61 pts) 17. Matt T (61 pts) 18. Kelly M (60 pts) Florida, Arizona, Michigan State, Michigan 19. Rebecca F (60 pts) 20. Rodell P #1 (60 pts) 21. Preston T (60 pts) 22. Kristal E (60 pts) 23. Barbara A (59 pts) Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Michigan 24. Carrie P (59 pts) 25. Scott T (59 pts) 26. Peter M (57 pts) 27. Justin T (57 pts) 28. Chris H (56 pts) 29. Greg K (56 pts) 30. Lindsay M (55 pts) 31. Ryan M (52 pts) 32. Katie T (52 pts) 33. Ed A (50 pts) 34. David P (48 pts) 35. Bob F (45 pts) 36. Abby M (45 pts) 37. Deborah M (45 pts)

Terrific 12

Hoopsters, Last night we whittled the field of 16 down to 12. The first team to clinch an elite 8 spot was those surprising flyers of Dayton who handled 10 seed Stanford with relative east 82-72, proving that speed and quickness can beat size if you have the shooters and ability to finish at the rim. Now the pride of Dayton Ohio is just 1 win away from a final four appearance. Lindsay M must be beaming with hometown pride at the moment, even if she picked her alma mater over the fliers in round 1. Although Dayton will get a tough test on Saturday as they face #1 overall seed Florida. If the Cinderella somehow finds a way to keep dancing, all hell will break loose, as brackets will burst worldwide. The Florida win over UCLA was just another breath of fresh air for most, but our defending champion Rodell, must be stewing over his boneheaded decision to take the Bruins to the championship game, might just seal his fate. On the other side of the bracket, in the west, we saw Wisconsin crush an overmatched and overachieving Baylor squad 69-52, as the Badgers gave the Bears a little taste of what Baylor did to Creighton last weekend. All but 7 had Wisconsin in the elite 8. It was a tough pill to swallow for Bickell, who was the only one to have Baylor advancing. Had the Bears found a way to win, the one they call “tickle” would have made a huge jump up the standings. And then there was Arizona who did right by the majority of our pool, with the exception of those very few who said that surely….. surely Oklahoma State would beat the cats… What could have been. The 1 seed in the west got by a scrappy San Diego State squad who pushed them hard into the final minutes. For Forgy, who had SDSU winning, it was a tough loss, because now we have a 3 way tie for first place with John, Will, and Brian. The top 18 are only separated by 12 points, a lot of shuffling still to be seen. Tonight, 4 more games before we round out the elite 8. Tip of Tennessee vs. Michigan is set for 7:15. Let the beautiful madness continue!! Best of luck to all. See below for updated standings. 1. John F (67 pts) 2. Will D (67 pts) 3. Brian W (67 pts) 4. Chad B (64 pts) 5. Beth R (64 pts) 6. Molly B (62 pts) 7. Erik M (61 pts) 8. Josh W (61 pts) 9. Scott D (60 pts) 10. Mike Z (59 pts) 11. Scott T (59 pts) 12. Greg T (57 pts) 13. Matt T (57 pts) 14. Jennifer B (56 pts) 15. Rebecca F (56 pts) 16. Preston T (56 pts) 17. Chris H (56 pts) 18. Carrie P (55 pts) 19. Ashley D (54 pts) 20. Brent A (54 pts) 21. Andrew B (54 pts) 22. Peter M (53 pts) 23. Kelly M (52 pts) 24. Rodell P #1 (52 pts) 25. Greg K (52 pts) 26. Rodell P #2 (52 pts) 27. Katie T (52 pts) 28. Kristal E (52 pts) 29. Barbara A (51 pts) 30. Lindsay M (51 pts) 31. Justin T (49 pts) 32. Ryan M (48 pts) 33. David P (48 pts) 34. Ed A (46 pts) 35. Abby M (45 pts) 36. Deborah M (45 pts) 37. Bob F (41 pts) Chad (March Madness MC)

Round 3

Hoop stars, First of all, I want fess up and personally apologize to Brian Wolf, whom I left off the second round rankings. Must have been his intimidating bracket that made me subconsciously misplace it. Not to worry, all is right now, although he has passed by most of the field with his 13 bonus points from 4 upset picks. As we gear up for the sweet sixteen, set to tip in less than 24 hours!, there is need to, once again, catch up with the 3rd round happenings. While we saw 7 low seed upsets in the second round, the third round exhibited much greater big name carnage, as Syracuse, Kansas, Villanova, and # 1 seed Wichita State went down in shocking fashion. Although, Wichita State was matched up with a Kentucky team that began the season ranked #1 in the nation. I can appreciate the intellect of this year’s pool as 12 of you correctly picked the Wildcats to advance, well done. Others were not so lucky, like Beth who was livin’ the dream and sittin pretty Friday night, but come Sunday, her dreams may have been dashed with Wichita State as her champion. Or “what about Bob”, who also had the shockers winning it all. Notorious for his outlandish picks over the years, the mustache made much more reasonable selections this year, yet somehow finds himself battling for the basement. And then Lindsay, oh boy…. Also a believer in Wichita State, she now finds her bracket nearly finished, only able to score a maximum of 12 points out of a remaining possible 96, ouch. Villanova came into the tourney as a bit of head scratcher. Most felt the cats weren’t too deserving of a 2 seed, and UConn quickly confirmed the hesitation as Shabazz Napier went bananas on a seemingly overmatched Villanova squad. That “upset “ didn’t hurt few in the pool, as most had the cats out well before the final four, except for 1 drowsy mountain man, who must have slept through the early tourney analysis. Thacker rolled the dice on Nova, and paid mightily. Picking them to win it all was a long shot, now I’m just hoping to get that $10 before he falls asleep again. Congrats though to Greg K, Greg T, Rebecca, Molly, Jennifer, and myself for accurately advancing UConn.. And so the sweet sixteen is set, including 3 double digits seeds: #10 Stanford who slayed a shaky Jayhawks squad, #11 Dayton who may just be playing the best basketball of the tourney so far, and #11 Tennessee, who has yet to be tested, crushing both opponents en route to a match up with 2 seed Michigan. Props to Andrew, Brian and yours truly for having Tennessee still alive, and major props to the Longhorn himself, Preston for being the ONLY one to have Dayton flying in the sweet sixteen. It’s still anyones game, as all but 11 have still their championship game intact. Most teams still alive goes to Will D and Brian W for having 12 of 16, incredible job! And, it seems we must be family because the only perfect regional brackets left are Jennifer and myself, accurately navigating the east bracket. Biggest drop of round three was Bob, who fell a staggering 26 slots. Not even the mustache could save that freefall. Biggest rise was Greg K who moved up 9 slots, although, the Wichita State final four could hamper his chances. See below for up to date rankings. Bring on the madness! 1. John F (59 pts) 2. Chad B (56 pts) 3. Will D (55 pts) 4. Brian W (55 pts) 5. Preston T (52 pts) 6. Beth R (52 pts) 7. Mike Z (51 pts) 8. Molly B (50 pts) 9. Erik M (49 pts) 10. Greg T (49 pts) 11. Josh W (49 pts) 12. Matt T (49 pts) 13. Rodell P #1 (48 pts) 14. Jennifer B (48 pts) 15. Rodell P #2 (48 pts) 16. Scott D (48 pts) 17. Scott T (47 pts) 18. Lindsay M (47 pts) 19. Andrew B (46 pts) 20. Deborah M (45 pts) 21. Rebecca F (44 pts) 22. Greg K (44 pts) 23. Chris H (44 pts) 24. Kristal E (44 pts) 25. Carrie P (43 pts) 26. Ashley D (42 pts) 27. Brent A (42 pts) 28. Peter M (41 pts) 29. Kelly M (40 pts) 30. Katie T (40 pts) 31. Barbara A (39 pts) 32. Ed A (38 pts) 33. Abby M (37 pts) 34. Justin T (37 pts) 35. Bob F (37 pts) 36. Ryan M (36 pts) 37. David P (36 pts) Chad (March Madness MC)

Round 2

Hoop fans, Apologies for keeping everyone in the dark until now, no excuses, you all deserve better. Since we’re now a full 3 rounds into the madness, there’s quite a bit of catching up to do, not to mention unveiling the most important details, the CD VA tourney challenge standings. Stay tuned for a 3rd round update, but for now, I’ve got to give props to those who dominated the 2nd round on Thursday and Friday, the two most glorious days of the year. We saw a total of 7 upsets with double digits seeds advancing: (10) Stanford, (11) Dayton, (11) Tennessee, (12) Harvard, (12) North Dakota State, (12) SF Austin, and the most shocking of all (14) seed Mercer knocking out (3) seed Duke, adding to the extensive list of disappointing first round exits of the infamous blue devils. While many in the pool correctly picked Dayton, Harvard, North Dakota State, even SF Austin, only 1 was able to summon the basketball Gods and roll the dice on Mercer, that one was Beth, who was able to utilize the 5 bonus points to catapult her into second place after round 2. Incredible job, without a doubt THE pick of the second round. While most brackets are still very much alive, the first two days proved crushing to a select few including Deborah who picked VCU and Duke to the final four with VCU winning the whole thing, ouch! And yours truly, who, despite my better judgment picked my beloved and beleaguered Cowboys to reach the final four. Picking with the heart can prove demoralizing, especially when OK State has NEVER beaten those white boys from Washington, unreal. I will say, that I appreciate the sentiment from those who went out on a limb to pick against Gonzaga, including fellow alums Ashley, Jennifer, and Carrie. The only consolation is that they went on to get stoned by number 1 Arizona last night. But, I might just take an 8 point loss over that gut wrenching, last minute 2 point loss, the favored Buckeyes of Ohio State had to endure, after what looked like a sure victory was in hand. I feel your pain Lindsay and Andrew. All in all, bad weekend for the OSU’s. At least Preston got to savor the second rounds only buzzer beater, as his Longhorns downed Arizona State on a last second tip in. Unfortunately, the horns ran into Michigan two days later. Surprisingly, that monumental Duke collapse, was but a small ripple in this years tourney challenge, as only 3 picked the devils to the final four, Deborah, Katie, and Ed. However, the weekend games proved much more disastrous, but that’s for another email, sit tight. The champion of the second round was the Flea Flicker himself, John Forgy, guy went absolute nuts, picking 5 of the 7 upsets correct, missing only Mercer and Stanford, unreal. Also, props to those who had perfect regional brackets. Jennifer, Scott T, Josh, Will and myself correctly picked all 8 matchups in the East. Molly, Deborah, Beth, Mike Z, and Rodell nabbed a clean slate in the West, but most impressively Preston, by some divine force beyond himself, picked a perfect South region, including all 3 upsets in that bracket: SF Austin, Dayton and Stanford. Well done PT, well done. See below for standings. Note, these are not current standings, just after two rounds of play. 3rd round update as well as compiled and scored PDF bracket to come later this evening. I’m sure everyone is eager to see just how they stack up against the competition. Sadly, we have to wait 3 more days for more basketball. Until then, keep the madness alive!! Second Round Standings: 1. John F (39 pts) 2. Beth R (38 pts) 3. Chad B (34 pts) 4. Lindsay M (33 pts) 5. Preston T (32 pts) 6. Matt T (31 pts) 7. Will D (31 pts) 8. Molly B (30 pts) 9. Bob F (29 pts) 10. Mike Z (29 pts) 11. Greg T (29 pts) 12. Deborah M (29 pts) 13. Rodell P #1 (28 pts) 14. Rodell P #2 (28 pts) 15. Katie T (28 pts) 16. Erik M (27 pts) 17. Josh W (27 pts) 18. Scott T (27 pts) 19. Kristal E (26 pts) 20. Jennifer B (26 pts) 21. Chris H (26 pts) 22. Brent A (26 pts) 23. Andrew B (26 pts) 24. Scott D (26 pts) 25. Peter M (25 pts) 26. Rebecca F (24 pts) 27. Ed A (24 pts) 28. Carrie P (23 pts) 29. Barbara A (23 pts) 30. Abby (23 pts) 31. Greg K (22 pts) 32. Ashley D (22 pts) 33. Justin T (21 pts) 34. Kelly M (20 pts) 35. David P (20 pts) 36. Ryan M (20 pts) Chad (March Madness MC)

March Madness 2014

As the madness of March & the NCAA tourney is unwary I am handing the controls of my blog over to my brother for his yearly basketball commentary. I will be posting Chad's ever entertaining March Madness play-by-play emails here. I must confess I am a couple of days behind, but none the less I hope you enjoy! Hoops junkies, Thank you all for joining the #1 rated NCAA tourney challenge of the greater northeast. It gives me great pride to announce a new participation high at 36! This means our pot will be $360. Anyone who wants to donate another 999,999,640, we’ll have an even billion dollar bracket! Further, I’d be happy to lower the stakes, you do not have to have a perfect bracket to win. Just let me know… Until we land that money, we’ll go ahead and stick to the $360 to be divvied up to the top three finishers. We’ve already seen two upsets today with the Buckeyes goin’ down to 11 seed Dayton and Cincinnati falling to 12 seed Harvard. Tough… TOUGH day at the Meyer household, I’ve gotta say, in fact tough day for the entire underpants state. Good thing Dayton was able to shine on Ohio a bit. Congrats to John Forgy and Brian Wolf for being the only ones to correctly pick both upsets, notching a total of 7 points in the process, well done. Although, Harvard happened to be a sexy pick as 12 made that selection. Spoiler alert for those who picked the #1 overall seed to win it all…. Florida happens to be on the ropes against Albany, tied midway through the second half. Stay tuned… Again, thanks for joining, and happy watching / streaming. Don’t let work get in the way too much. PRIORITIES people! This magical time comes just once a year. Enjoy the madness! Go Pokes! Chad (March Madness MC)