Big 6

The last time the Dores were in the Big Dance, they were a 6 seed, and rode it all the way into the Sweet Sixteen. This time, they get 11th-seed George Washington in the opener, and then the winner of Washington State-Oral Roberts.

If the shots are falling, I think this is going to be another Sweet 16 year. If they’re not, I think they could go out in the first round. It’s hard to believe that this is the same team that could knock off six of seven ranked opponents and then lose twice in a week to Arkansas, especially with seniors at the helm – I expect this kind of inconsistencies from diaper dandies, not proven commodities – but it is what it is. Hopefully Stallings can coach ’em up enough to get through the first weekend.

Also, it’s a SHOW that Duke still rates a 6. That’s a reputation seed, not a merit seed, and I don’t see them getting past the second round…

I think Ohio State looks like the easiest road thus far – and if they stay hot off their Big Ten tournament win, they could run the table.

More later when I have time to digest the brackets…

Minibreak

Down the coast to see Mark & Cindy. And Zoe, who has gotten bigger and adorable and personable. Nice to get away for a bit, and I even got a couple of nice pictures with a borrowed w810i which will be my new phone (and hopefully lead me to take more pictures!)

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The countdowns continue…

Vandy’s got the #2 seed in the SEC tournament, but they’re limping across the finish line. Hope they will straighten up. Meanwhile, women’s hoop has won their conference tournament (again!) and baseball is tightening its grip on #1, so the alumni gathering on Friday should be fun for all. (Yes, I’m actually going to a San Francisco Vanderbilt Club event. I’m 35 now, it’s time to find proper pastimes for someone of my age and deportment that don’t involve closing the pub.)

Meanwhile, my occasional bouts of cellphone glee are making it tougher than ever to wait for the iPhone. I know I don’t NEED a new phone, but I want one anyway. =) However, the necessity of being able to sync it with my MacBook means that almost none of the new hot phones will do for me unless there’s an iSync update or somebody writes a functional 3rd-party plugin (and given the dearth of success getting my old L2 to sync, I am not sanguine about the prospects for that working – even if the carrier-gimped Motos from Cingular were worth buying).

Old so old before my time…;]

Sick. -ish.

V. sick. However, am somewhat improved by Vandy’s win over UK on Senior Day. (Vandy has won the last four against Kentucky. FOUR. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.) They only took the lead at one point, but it was the last point, which is all that matters. Should have thought to go out to the car and listen to it. Meanwhile, I have a chiro appointment and an eye exam on Monday and a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday to see if this is sinus infection, or allergy, or what – and if I need to see an allergist for the first time since the Carter administration and maybe see about getting shots for this.

I gave up soda for Lent, by the way, so I’m going to be grouchy as nobody’s business until…well, probably until Easter.

Dynamite!

I would also be remiss not to point out that on the same day that Vandy men’s basketball re-enters the polls (AP #17, coaches #21), the Vandy men’s baseball team found themselves ranked #1 in Baseball America‘s college baseball poll.

Go back and read that again. #1. In. The. Country.

And to think when I arrived, McGugin Field didn’t even have lights.

Proof, if any were needed, of what I’ve said all along: there is absolutely no reason that top-flight academics and top-flight athletics cannot coexist in college sports, and anybody who says otherwise is using academic standards as a crutch for an inability to close the deal. A lesson somebody could stand to take to heart in the West End of Birmingham.

Birthday presents

Half a life ago, this was going to be the birthday I announced my candidacy for President in 2008. I was supposed to be the sitting junior Senator from Alabama, too…it’s tough not to look at Barack Obama and think that he stole my gimmick. But long story short, there’s not really a lot of things to ask for when you’re 35 and you’ve got a house and a car and a wife and such. =)

So I ordered my birthday present just now: a Celtic home shirt. Maybe the sponsor will change, but the Hoops are forever – so I anticipate getting plenty of wear out of it. Besides, I can wear a soccer shirt and look just fine – but any other kind of jersey just makes me look like a dork. Hopefully it shows up by the 1st – that and a couple of nice dinners and I’m happy to roll another year over the odometer.

I don’t normally do this…

…because I spent years and years wearing black on Valentine’s Day, and I don’t buy into the Valentine-industrial complex at all, and if you really love somebody, you have 365 Valentine’s Days a year so there’s no need to get wacky on a random date instead of your actual anniversary (or anniversaries as the case may be). Nevertheless…

BE MY VALENTINE ROO!!

There. =)

Cellphone Glee Subsided

As most of you know, I have a little cellphone problem. In that I have had about two dozen of them in the last 10 years and never seem to be satisfied with any of them. Whenever I think I’ve found THE ONE, it turns out to be too bulky, too short of battery life, too cumbersome, or just have some weird problem like the Moto side-button beeps. And so I have come to the conclusion…

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