I was watching the Padres get mopped up by the Dodgers so here's what I missed...
North Carolina has won the championship and most of the day's discussion has revolved around Tyler Hansbrough. Either he won't make a good pro or how so many people hate his guts. Well I don't care about the NBA. As for hating him, he did blow up part of my bracket by knocking off Oklahoma and then hammering Villanova, so there is justifiable dislike. I don't care for Carolina but I don't see how people can say they dislike this guy.....he brings so much effort to each game, how can you not like him? My lasting memory of him will be when he was spewing blood after getting his face destroyed against Duke....he popped right up though, ready to get some....
Oh yea...no thanks to UPS I finally got that 'Nova Nation T-shirt....I'm wearing it.
I enjoyed the tournament. Though it may make it more compelling, you don't have to have monumental upsets in order to be entertained. The tournament was really solid up until the Final Four so here's to 2010...Go Nova!
Early thirty-something sports fan seeks vengeance.
Actively pursuing the prospect of seeing UPS's head on a stick. A big must is someone who can also deliver, in person, the individual in charge of shipping for the Villanova Online Store by 5:47 Pacific Standard Time.
I know what UPS could do for me!
It could stop dispensing with the hollow promises of prompt shipping and actually deliver (both figuratively and literally). News flash for my compadres in brown: we're living in dire economic times so you better begin to adhere to business practices that save your company unwarranted costs. Allow me to offer some free consultation:
PEOPLE WORK FOR A LIVING!!!!! Do not deliver packages that require signatures before 3pm.
When you leave that little crapola sticker that says you attempted delivery....actually STICK IT TO SOMETHING!!!! I find those stickers out in the rock garden all of the time. How can I contact UPS if I don't see that sticker? Either start using a Costanza approved adhesive that will actually keep the notification in place or offer your drivers a class on "THE UPS WAY: HOW TO APPLY LABELS LIKE A MAN And OTHER MANLY THINGS"
When you attempt to deliver a second time........see FREE PIECE OF ADVICE #1!!! We're STILL at work before 3pm!
When a customer does call in on a Saturday to arrange pickup.....HOW ABOUT YOU BE THERE!!!! How can you survive in a global market without delivering on Saturdays or having a branch open to serve the public?!!!!!
When I call you on Saturday morning and your A-hole Automaton tells me that I can come and pick up my NOVA NATION T-shirt your business should try this:.....let me grab it on MONDAY!!! Why do I have to wait until TUESDAY? The NCAA tournament ends MONDAY, April 6th!
UPS......You have completely FUCKED UP MY SHIT and you're costing yourselves time and money by making trips to my home at times when I'm NEVER there!
How can I claim to be a legitimate Villanova fan without one piece of garb? I live in San Diego and I need that T-Shirt! I ordered it 9 days ago approximately 4 minutes after the destruction of Duke and I wanted to wear it at least for tonight's National Semi-final and now, UPS, you're telling me that, should the Wildcats advance, I can't even sport it for the National Championship game on Monday Night? You get a giant F-U-, UPS !
Which brings us to the Villanova Online Store..... I bought a T-shirt that costs $9.95 .....why on earth is a signature required? It could have been slipped under the gate or flung on to the porch but instead, because of your precious little requirements, I have to watch 'Nova/NC in a state of nakedness! You might think the weather is perfect out here but it will cool off substantially by the time of tonight's Tip.....F-U-2!
UPS and the Villanova Online Store: Your insolence will lead you to the corporate graveyard where all others in this depressed economic era currently have one foot.
“At the end of the day, I want to win,” Moorad says. “I won't rest until the Padres win a World Series ... I think you can win even in a smaller to medium-sized market (like San Diego) with a smaller to medium-sized payroll. We just have to be better and smarter than our competition.”
-Jeffrey Moorad(new Padres CEO and eventual owner)
With our 4th or 5th starters yet to be named and an untested bullpen we find ourselves apprehensive. As March comes to a close the Padres still lack any kind of speed and have power so dubious that the reasonable man must take stock and note that the prospects for the 2009 season are disheartening. There is reason for hope, though.
Spring is a time of renewal and, as such, also a symbol of hope. All you should really need though is the above quote to instill that glimmer of hope. Note the words that new Padre CEO Jeff Moorad chooses: never does he say that he is "looking to remain competitive in the NL West" or that "there's no reason that we can't be competitive". Those are the refrains of a previous regime...Jeff Moorad says he wants a World Series and he won't rest until the Padres get one. We like the sound of that. We recommend reading the remainder of the UT article to get a feel for why "the times they-are-a-changin'". Modest start preceded Moorad's rise [San Diego Union Tribune-Mark Zeigler]
However, if you still cannot muster some positive vision for the short term that's O.K. too.......complain away! As a Padre fan you've earned the right. You were told to vote "Yes" back in 1998 and the future would forever be bright. But it's 2009 and the "Bark Park" novelty has worn off to the casual fan so we're left with the same old cost cutting measures of days gone past. With a $40 million dollar payroll we will trudge through a weak NL West and compete against a Dodger team that just paid Manny Ramirez over $20 million.......we need not do the math for you.
We were lied to so feel free to deliver your bellows of rage. Don't let guys on the radio tell you that you should only be extolling the favorables on account of a new ownership group easing into place and April just on the horizon. Be cynical. Be skeptical. It's the Padres 40 year anniversary...you've earned it.
We're hopeful though, and satisfied that Jeff Moorad is at the helm. Check out the following audio:perhaps it will quell your pessimism.
There's another thing that is quite outstanding about Moorad....he received his law degree from..........wait for it........Villanova! The bracket was blown up today but it is on life support with the "Villanova in the finals" selection. It looks like a Michigan St/Villanova final will be needed. Go Nova!
The week has ended and we can all agree that life is Too Short to not envision a little hope on the horizon...
Editor's Note: The bearded fella sitting next to Senator McCain is Jeff Moorad. Moorad claims that the Senator knows more about the Diamondbacks than most people in the Arizona front office which explains precisely two things:
D-Backs's poor showing in 2008.
McCain's inability to differentiate between the Sunni and Shia sects of Islam (keep your eye on the ball Mr. McCain)
Dear Jay Wright, Relax.......my bracket is in tact but I've repudiated the Louisville pick...if, God forbid, Villanova cannot secure the 2009 NCAA Championship but I win my pool I will hold true to my word: that $45 will go to a Villanova endorsed charitable endeavor or the Wildcat booster program. I'm in it for the long haul.....my 'Nova Nation T-shirt should be arriving on Monday.
What!? This guy's bracket is only going to net us $45 bucks!
What an awesome game. Big East basketball is a battle and boy is it fun to watch. Next Stop - Final Four; Villanova Defeats Pittsburgh, 78-76
The Wildcats return to the Final Four for the first time since 1985.
March 28, 2009
BOSTON, Mass. (AP) - Scottie Reynolds made a half-court dash for the game-winning shot with 0.5 seconds left, leading Villanova over Pittsburgh 78-76 Saturday night and back to the Final Four for the first time since its shocking run to the 1985 championship.[Read On]
Now that I've annexed myself to the Villanova Nation and renounced my Louisville pick I have a couple bones of contention. As part of the family I shall now take this opportunity to opine:
Not enough Wildcat Cheerleader photos available to the general public. This must be addressed and as such a new member of The Nation I don't know if I can act as the ombudsmen on this one. The 'Nova website is hardly a viable option so I made due with what I scavenged...
4:05 pm Tip-off Saturday I'm goin' with 'Nova...don't call me a Homer!
One of Villanova's most notable alums is Howie Long. I have long since forgiven his Raider-ness and his indelible charisma that some how made mullets acceptable to '80s youths...
......as I said.......I can live with the aforementioned indiscretions (even the fact that he's a Native Masshole), but I must, at some point, draw a line in the sand and say,
"Enough is enough. At the risk of Excommunication before even the most informal of Baptisms, I make my stand here! Influential Villanova alum, I say! Your fine institution is being tarnished by Howie Long and his........I can't even say it.......just watch...
.....by Howie Long and his dick-headed-ness!"
Seriously, if a guy started grilling me in the parking lot of a Costco with such condescension, there's no doubt he'd be getting the, "Fuck Off!", of his life......even if it WAS a giant of a man who attended Villanova University.....that's Villanova....my new team.
Yer bein' a dick, Howie. It's making me want to buy Ford or Dodge. Please stop this man and his commercial enterprises, honorable Villanova alumni......
Editor's Note: Currently I am up by seven points on the Commander-in-Chief
I am no expert on college basketball but this is what I do know:
I needed Memphis to beat Missouri tonight.... but I was sure they were in for a long night when I saw the Mo. starting line-up: Three guard set- no player shorter than 6'5". That's all I needed to be certain that one of my Final Four picks was FUCT!
Duke is an absolute SHAM! Every year they rely so much on the three that the shooter's touch eventually wears off. They have no inside game at all and they play like castrated bulls because of it.....I bet Blue Devil fans wish it were 1992 and they had big man Cherokee Parks. What a Joke! Taking Villanova was the safest pick of my bracket.....and now they get a Pitt team they handled by 10pts during the regular season.
I also know that this guy.... .....,guard Greg Paulus should payback his scholarship for embarrassing Duke University so badly....dribbling off his knee, firing passes out of bounds, desperation fouls due to a lack of athleticism..... He is in fact the worse player in the United States.
.....and there is one more thing I know: This is how I say, "Go 'Nova!"
Go 'Nova!
Damn my Louisville selection over the Wildcats!
I pick 'Nova each and every year for a couple wins (dating back to the ill-fated busted bracket of 1995: Final Four pick of a Kerry Kittles led Villanova team...ouch! Curse Old Dominion!) and now I'm claiming 'Nova Nation as safe haven......they have now become the only team outside of San Diego that I support and I don't feel bad about saying it based on the loose kinship of Augustinian Friars and The San Diego Friars.......having rationalized my new found allegiance, I officially renounce my 2009 March Madness Bracket. If victorious I shall donate all proceeds to the Roman Catholic Church or a Villanova approved charity...
Villanova must crush Duke tonight to keep my bracket viable...to begin eliminating all of these Jags who went straight Chalk with their picks.
So as I was reading an article about Jay Wright's contribution to the city university along with the 'Nova athletic department's infusion of cold cash I noticed the sidebar story placed in the philly.com website..........Philadelphia Eagle Cheerleading tryouts.
The opportunity to remind Boston fan that they just got smacked by a team from California will not be passed up... USC-72 BC -55
Meanwhile, our bracket came crashing back to Earth...after a 14/16 showing on Thursday, Friday gave us a dismal 10/16 for a 24pt first round showing. That puts us in OUR usual 1st round 22-25pt range.
All Final Four teams are alive but three wayward Sweet Sixteens were dismissed.....curse you Seminoles and Owls.....and the early loss of an Elite Eight-er is a gut-buster! Damn Huggins led Mountaineers!
The FSU/Wisconsin game was fantastic as was the Sienna/Ohio St. 2OT thriller....Kid from Sienna had ice in his veins sinking 3-balls multiple times as the clock ticked down (The World's Ombudsmen says he picked Sienna into the Final Four.....We picked Louisville to win it all....Sienna versus Louisville tomorrow....There can only be one!).
As this goes to post, Villanova looked fantastic this morning and Memphis is mopping the floor with Maryland....so we've got that going for us.
Side-note: In 'Bracket Wars',The Collective is up by 5 points on President Barack Obama.
Unbearably close calls with both 'Nova and Memphis!!!
With the Wildcats meeting Louisville in my final and the Tigers in the F4 that would have destroyed my 2009 bracket. Survived and advanced......that's all you have to do. Just barely squeaked out the Western Kentucky game over Illinois--Hilltoppers tried to blow it--but they survived and advanced.
Finishing day one with 14 wins and 2 losses, I'm up two games on President Obama. I missed the Clemson/Michigan game by a nose and was really off with my Mississippi State choice over Washington. As far as the Michigan game goes, I stand by it....The Big Ten is junk. I thought that MSU was an undervalued 13 seed and the perfect storm was in place against a team from The Pac-Ten in the midst of a down conference year (see....anyone can talk out of their ass and make it believable! 14/16 on day one Whaddup!!?? Bring it on Barry!). On to day two...
Check out the following links below:
The first one is a site dedicated to the objective analysis of polling data to try and predict the outcomes of elections. The writer's name is Nate Silver and he also writes for Baseball Prospectus (see 619 Sports for a look at SABR-metrics on MLB network as analyzed by morons earlier this week). The FiveThirtyEight article is interesting (see: ridiculous) in that actual statistical regressions were performed on Obama's bracket.....were his picks kickbacks to those crucial states that got him elected? You be the judge.....
The Cherry Picker in Chief Obama NCAA Bracket Suggests Bias Toward Schools From Swing States [FiveThirtyEight.com]
The second link is obviously from YouTube. Watch Obama go step by step in filling out his bracket. I just think its funny that this was turned into a special...... and then after #44 announced his Carolina 2009 champion pick he proceeded to put them on blast for busting his bracket last year. That's funny.....and what's funnier you ask? Mike Krzyzewski's reaction.
Obama's Bracket Analysis with ESPN's Andy Katz [YouTube]
“At the end of the day, I want to win,” Moorad says. “I won't rest until the Padres win a World Series ... I think you can win even in a smaller to medium-sized market (like San Diego) with a smaller to medium-sized payroll. We just have to be better and smarter than our competition.” 
.....,guard Greg Paulus should payback his scholarship for embarrassing Duke University so badly....dribbling off his knee, firing passes out of bounds, desperation fouls due to a lack of athleticism..... He is in fact the worse player in the United States.
Eagle Cheerleader is how I say, "Go 'Nova!". 
The opportunity to remind Boston fan that they just got smacked by a team from California will not be passed up...
