Archive for March 30, 2008

March Madness ‘08: Gambling Horror

Posted in Sports on March 30, 2008 by Hamburglar

Kansas just held off Davidson to become the fourth #1 seed in the 2008 Final Four. This means exactly one thing:
These ladies’ brackets are destroying yours.
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The Tourney is Boring

Posted in Sports on March 30, 2008 by Bill Arkansaw

UNC 68, WSU 47

Louisville 79, Tennessee 60

UNC 83, Louisville 73

Kansas 72, Villanova 57

Davidson 73, Wisconsin 56

Kansas 59, Davidson 57

Memphis 92, Michigan State 74

Texas 82, Stanford 62

Memphis 79, Texas 65

UCLA 88, Western Kentucky 78

Xavier 79, West Virginia 75 (OT)

UCLA 76, Xavier 57
The point of listing all these scores is to show that of the twelve (12) Sweet Sixteen (16) and Elite Eight (8) games that have been played there have been two (2) that were n close.  Even the major upset (Davidson over Wisconsin) was sort of a blow out.

When the tourney started, I was explaining to an Australian friend of mine that it is basically the best sporting event that the USA has (with the possible exception of the baseball playoffs) because everyone has a bracket and thus some investment in the thing and because all kinds of crazy things happen. That just hasn’t happened. The Final Four (4) had better be cataclysmic or else. . .

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71.5 to go

Posted in Our Meaningless Lives, Sports with tags , , on March 30, 2008 by Bill Arkansaw

I’m an A’s diehard, but I’m sanguine about their chances. They aren’t going to be great this year, but I’ve figured out a good way to deal with it. I took the over on the over-and-under on the number of wins for the A’s for the season: 72.5

This has the potential to keep the entire season interesting, even as the A’s slip dozens of games behind the rest of the division each win will bring them ever closer to winning me money. After the split in Tokyo, I only need 72 more wins and I’ll be in the money.  And unlike normal baseball seasons where everyone is rooting for something amorphous like “the playoffs,” I have a fixed goal:  being eight games or fewer under .500

Go A’s.

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The Secret Service Looks Like the Secret Service

Posted in 2008 Election, Our Meaningless Lives on March 30, 2008 by Bill Arkansaw

There’s a building at the top of the hill that I live on in San Francisco called “The Summit.” It is a tall building on the top of a tall hill and I suspect from the top there are pretty incredible views. The building itself is blot on the landscape, but that’s neither here nor there. The guy who lives in the Penthouse is George P. Shultz was Nixon’s Secretary of the Treasury and Reagan’s Secretary of State. I was driving around the neighborhood looking for a parking spot and there are all kinds of cops at the intersection in front of The Summit. This isn’t a neighborhood were there is typically a lot of police activity. I realize that there is a limo parked there with like 15 guys in dark suits and sunglasses and I realized that they all had to be Secret Service, because everyone in San Francisco wears business casual. Some republican warlord must have been visiting Shultz and the Secret Service was hanging with the limo. The point is that the Secret Service dresses in real life just like they do in the movies. They should hire a fashion consultant.

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America is with Davidson Against Kansas

Posted in Sports on March 30, 2008 by dswidler

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Margaret is a Kansas Jayhawk fan and David is a college basketball fan. They will debate whether Davidson deserves to be America’s lovable underdog when they play Kansas for a trip to the Final Four:

David: Davidson is the feel good story of the NCAA Tournament, probably of the sports year. Everyone outside of Lawrence will be rooting for the Wildcats this afternoon.

Margaret: The Jayhawks have been through a rough couple of rebuilding years. Davidson may be the feel-good story, but the Jayhawks are, ironically, self-less. Their teamwork makes them one of the most talked-about teams of the year.

David: Yes, I agree that Kansas fans have suffered without a championship in recent years, however, the Tournament is all about rooting for the underdog. Right now Kansas is a corporation, hey are the Yankees, and Davidson represents the little guy. Kansas will be back the next year, the next year, and the year after that– Davidson is the team right now.

Margaret: Are you drunk? Oh no, wait, that’s me! Long live KU!!!! ROCK. The Jayhawks are not the Yankees. That is a completely different sport. I reject your analogy. Thpbpbppp.

David: In conclusion a Davidson victory will make this year’s tournament a truly memorable event, a Kansas victory will make it just another in a long line of cookie cutter, yet wonderful,  Final Fours.

Margaret: In conclusion, Rock Fucking Chalk! KU rules, Davidson drools! Whee!

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