More second round shortcomings?

So, my Dogs get the privilege of playing 1 seed Memphis today. When you play your way into the 8 seed, that's what happens. The game will feature loads of defense. Memphis has an awesome offense. State's has a disturbing tendency to be hit-or-miss. There's a slight chance State wins. But we can always dream. And now, a cheap shot from the Memphis-UAB post-game shenanigans.

Play of the Tournament by the Hilltoppers!

Woo hoo. Even the science and engineering nerds in the building were yelling when this went down. Sadly, I had just stopped watching (and went back to my actual job) when it happened.

The 12 seed does it again! I'm in the only town in America where this doesn't help my bracket at all! Time to celebrate and hope my 'Dogs can keep up the streak today.
Oh, and here's some instant analysis as this thing is tearing up the 'net right now.
With Leather
The Quad
The Big Lead (which WKU ironically squandered during the second half)
EDSBS (Orson writes about hoops?)
Storming the Floor
King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Awful Announcing
Deadspin
Hell, even my mom just e-mailed me a story about this.

A Day Late, Buck Short Tourney Wrap-Up

First, enjoy St. Patrick's Day

Georgia wins the "Tornado Tournament" on their arch-nemesis' home court, too. They equaled their conference win total for the season in just three days. Sure, I cackled when they took burst Ole Miss' bubble. I snickered when they outlasted Kentucky. I swore at the TV when they beat State. And I found myself rooting for them in the finals against Arkansas. If they lost, they weren't even eligible for the NIT, they were considering firing their coach last week, and now they're in the big dance, as one of the six teams in from the "weak" SEC. For my questionable bracket picks that no one will read, and fewer should pay attention to: I like 10 seeds Davidson, St. Mary's, 11 seeds Baylor (and maybe St. Joe's), and 12 seeds Temple plus my homer pick WKU. Also, look for State to beat Oregon on Friday and then lose in all-too-typical nailbiter fashion to Memphis. Plus, congrats to Gordon, Rhodes and Varnado for making another all-SEC roster. And while you're watching the first round games, and are wondering when a game is really over, here's a handy guide for you (complete with a calculator).

What. The. Hell?

So, that was an eventful, suspense-filled game.
Mississippi State Beats Alabama 69-67 in OT. Other than the thrilling overtime action, not much notable happened, except for the 'nader that passed through downtown Atlanta, making a mess of the Georgia Dome and surrounding areas, forcing the league to postpone the UK-Georgia game until today. The rest of the tournament games will be played at Georgia Tech in front of "400" fans of each team (plus the band and cheerleaders), which will no doubt piss off tons of the SEC's notoriously even-keeled fanatics. Watching the UK game now, it's kind of surreal seeing a conference semi-final played in an intra-squad scrimmage type of setting.

You can't get away with this kind of thing

...even if you do live in Pearl.

from the way-funnier-than-LOLcats failblog.

And finally, how does a team accurately commemorate the ten year anniversary of Bryce Drew Day? By getting upset in nail-biting fashion again (and that Valpo game was a decade ago? I feel ancient now).

Congrats to the Bulldogs

(from the Clarion-Ledger) You know, I'm flattered Charles, but lots of people have the same reaction when they realize that's the scene of my graduation. Moving on.

Good job on winning the West. Here's to a good showing in Atlanta and a decent seed in the tourney. Now, if I might have a word with my alma mater: Please, try and make it past the second round of the tournament this time. I've seen you blow it at that point in every conceivable way. Lose to an upstart big-name program playing closer to home than they deserve (Texas), let a scrappy bunch of underdogs hang around the whole game to win at the last second (Butler, damn 12-5 match up), have a red-hot team shoot lights out the whole day (Xavier), play a big name close the whole time, only to fall short at the end (Duke). I've seen it all. Sure, some of those teams were better than this group (talent-wise and record-wise, at least). I'm even willing to put my $ on the line and keep you out of the second round in my office pool. That's right, my superstitious ass will take a dive on this one, just meet me halfway.
Also, enjoy this article featuring some of the "greatest" infractions in SEC history on this list. If we all try really hard, I'm sure we can trump the Big 12 in terms of shadiness (assuming Oklahoma and Nebraska don't go on some crazy 1980's style binge).

Didn't see that one coming (but neither did anyone else)

So, nothing like a relaxing evening at home...listening to a heartbreaking overtime loss. Hopefully State has got the buzzer-beater loss out of their system BEFORE the tournament this year. How the hell do you make nine three pointers in a row? After missing the first six attempts? It's not human. Oh, how quickly I forgot that the benevolent, all-knowing creator hates my sports teams:

My teammates did a great job of finding me when I was open, and God took care of the rest.

Riiiiight. I'm sure Yahweh also caused State to shoot 15/28 of their free throws.
Hopefully they can demolish LSU in Starkville, and get a few wins in the SEC tournament. I just don't want to be a 5 seed. Yes, even as a scientist, I'm that superstitious when it comes to that kind of thing.
Well, at least I'll always have boneheaded moves by the Raiders to keep me entertained. 50 million for a tackle on some of the statistically worst SEC defenses EVER? Okay. Care for an underachieving, injury-prone receiver while you're at it? Sweet.

Breaking bold new ground

and posting from work
Something I wouldn't have done at the old job.
Speaking of the former employer...

A statistical look at why football games on CBS seem to take forever.

Take a gander at the hexapus (because the name sextapus would send eighth graders into giggling fits)

And tonight, I'll be listening while the SEC West champ Bulldogs play the Top 25 ranked Vanderbilt. For some reason, the game isn't on TV, I guess the SEC decided that two teams with winning records,and a stake in the final standings isn't as much of a ratings draw as some underachieving big-name schools.