Thursday, March 31, 2005

The next time I do a covers audio round, you'll thank me for this; otherwise, just be warned that I enjoy finding the least essential covers ever recorded.
Self-indulgence in a different form
Yesterday was a day of discovering my personal connections to the sports and pop cultural worlds (as tenuous as that might be).

First off, congrats to Craig for his appearance on the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions, my second friend to show up in the competition (with at least a couple of more acquaintances to show up soon). But I'll let Craig tell the story and give away any spoilers for those who haven't seen it.

Secondly, it was good seeing the most prominent alum from my high school who didn't resign in disgrace calling the McDonald's All-American Game, which featured another fellow Falcon. The guy was a beast on the inside for the time I saw him. (And when the heck do we get 7-foot, 300-pound centers to my high school?) I guess I'll be following UConn for the next couple of years.

Oh yeah, I was just as surprised as anyone else watching the work site was advertised during the game.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Just a couple of links to share for now while I'm working on TRASHionals questions:
-- The local alt-rock station celebrated Easter with the countdown of the Top 25 Songs That Laid the Biggest Eggs. Surprisingly, I only own less than half of the list, but seven of the top 10.
-- My friend Steve may have let his regular blog fizzle away, but now he's got a wedlog going.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

-30-
I now find it quite amusing that this is the symbol for "the end" in much written copy, especially since I just hit that magical number today. I don't feel all that much different, although there is this nagging feeling that I should be more "grown up" at this age. Then again, knowing some of my other friends and colleagues that are older than me, I guess I shouldn't worry too much about it -- age really is just a number. Plus, I'm sure I can still pass for much younger, so I don't necessarily have to worry about lying about my age for a while (no need to be perpetually 29).

It is also amusing that I'm now hitting the first real round number age people care about and make cards for. For instance, how did 18 and 21 become such landmark ages, while 20 is rather inconsequential?

Saturday, March 19, 2005

More madness
Would've had an earlier update, but technical issues at work kept me even beyond some of my latest late-night posts. Finished the first round 26-6 and tied for first in a couple of pools, but I lost three of the last four games and an elite eight team in the mix (Kansas). However, my out-there Final Four pick Georgia Tech is alive, much to the chagrin of GW alums JD and Tim. But Bucknell was my only big buster so far -- and my Sweet 16 surprise Vermont made me look good (if only Bill Raftery were calling the game to scream "Onions" on T.J. Sorrentine's ridiculous 30-footer).

I didn't pick both upsets, but Stewart Mandel did and he found someone else at a bar who also picked Bucknell, making for a fun watching experience.

Friday, March 18, 2005

Commercial appeal
After a while, most of the ads running during the NCAA Tournament just meld together, but I'm still trying to figure out who the girl is in the McGriddles ad, although I think it's Hilary Swank's sister in Million Dollar Baby.

BTW, is it a good idea to even compare a woman to a McGriddles sandwich? Given my experiences with said sandwich, I don't know if it's the comparison you want to use to grab a guy on the rebound.

And speaking of ads, how in the heck does three seconds of a Pepsi ad get a girl her own fan blog and subsequent radio interviews and Maxim spread? But at least it's not a blog about this Pepsi girl.
You'd think that with all the weird notices that appear on my cable box that they would've mentioned there was a second channel for NCAA Tournament games (channel 999 in this case). It's not like having all four games at once, like on DirecTV, but having two to flip to (plus having the score panel at the top of the screen), makes it a decent watching experience.

So now through 20 games, I'm at 17-3 -- losing with Minnesota today. I guess I should've come up with an easy way of picking some midrange games -- if they lost to Northwestern, I shouldn't pick them. But if they have a former Northwestern player, go with them -- Ed McCants of Wisconsin-Milwaukee being the latest ex-Cat to light up in the tournament.
Fantasy becomes reality?
I suppose if the stats-based guys are starting to run major league front offices, why not give a job to an astute fantasy player?

Yahoo's contest with the Giants is very intriguing, since it does show that the fantasy world is being more accepted by baseball bigwigs (although there is that new deal with MLBAM that's causing quite a stir among those running fantasy games -- and why nothing launched until mid-February).

A couple of thoughts come to mind with this, though:
-- The one-year contract is nice, but while being in the front office could be a dream job for many people, is $30K (plus an extra $15K cash prize) enough for the winner to move the Bay Area?
-- Which type of fantasy baseball is better training for this type of job -- a draft league or an auction league? Given the nuances of salary structures, wouldn't a good auction player have a leg up on succeeding on this type of job over a draft player? On the other hand, I'd be waiting for those bizarre bidding wars you'll see in an auction ($29 for Shane Andrews is still my all-time favorite).
-- Depending on demeanor, would said winner be in constant contact with Bud Selig trying to change rules or challenging trades?
-- Finally, one last tangential note: On the cover of Baseball Prospectus, it says something to the effect of "The Bible for Fantasy Baseball." While it provides plenty of great analysis, how much can you consider it a "bible" if it doesn't provide any wins or RBI stats in the player profiles when it's a critical part of most leagues? (Yes, I know about the flaws in emphasizing individual wins and RBIs. On the other hand, can I get in on a fantasy league that provides VORP as a category?)
More madness
So I finished the day 14-2, one of my best first-round performances in a while, although having just three "upsets" overall helped, but I did hit all three of them -- UAB, UW-Milwaukee and Nevada. I whiffed on UCLA (Bob Knight is starting to win in the first round again) and Iowa (sometimes riding the hot hand doesn't always work).

That means I'm going to get obliterated tomorrow, especially since I do go out on a limb with a few of my picks. Early prediction -- I go 9-7 and lose a Sweet 16 team or two.

On another note, here's a reason why the Catholicism Wow bracket strategy isn't that great an idea after all.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Early tournament blogging
I'm not going to be as detailed as Bill Simmons for obvious reasons, but here are some thoughts from the first few hours of the madness:
-- I went 4-for-4 in the first slate of games. The 12 seed strikes again as UW-Milwaukee beat Alabama -- one of the easier upsets for me to pick.
-- Thank goodness I don't live in Lexington anymore. I wonder what the buildup for the UK-EKU matchup was like there?
-- I like the running scores stripped across the top of the screen, even if it is a bit much in the sensory overload and sometimes forgetting the score of the game I'm actually watching. The scores help out when you don't have a satellite package, for instance, but CBS has been good in switching from game to game.
-- Eventually I'll get around to ripping the CBS commercials like everyone else, but I'm barely paying attention right now.
-- It looks like I made a good choice in not taking the Ivy League team for the first time in ages. But Iowa is making me look a bit bad, but it's hard to pull for Bob Huggins. UTEP could be a nice team, but why did they go with the shade of Tennessee orange for the jerseys?
-- Geez, how many guys are named Jason Williams in college hoops these days? And is Duke's J-Will going to be doing any NIT games? (I doubt they'll give him a tournament game, but it is the one time out of the year I get to hear from Jim "Mister" Spanarkel.)

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

If you get 30 points ... you're welcome
Been working on TRASHionals stuff, along with other things for work, which explains the lack of posts (plus the usual laziness).

Charlie has his set of "Travels With ..." bonuses, but I think I could match him based on my most bizarre set of three "celebrity" encounters in one day (especially for someone not in the entertainment business or covering the Super Bowl) ...
-- First off, while at the doctor's office for a checkup, I ended up having some tests done at the same time with S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-Fil-A.
-- Then it was off to the one encounter I knew I'd have -- watching my friend Mark win his Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions game with him and a bunch of others at a local bar. (Since the show airs at 4:30 here in Atlanta, we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves.)
-- Finally, while out and about later in the evening, I stumbled across this guy, who may not look that big in the ring, but is a pretty big guy in person, which was a main reason why not to go up to him -- just let him be.

Oh yeah, this is my new desktop image at work. Too bad I only caught the last couple of holes of the showdown everyone wanted to watch.