You Win Some, You Lose Some

Dammit Clemson.

I've only got two losses on my record for 12 match-ups right now and one (Butler) was relatively inconsequential, but dammit Clemson I had you in my Final Four! You were doing so well this year and even though you had a rough go at the ACC Tourney, I thought you'd rally for The Dance!

Whatever. I did call the Maryland over California result so I guess the ACC hasn't totally let me down. Now I just need UNC to follow through against LSU and my bracket won't be a total mess...

Still, if I think my 10-2 record thus far is dismal, my mini magic eight ball is shooting .500. It picked Butler over LSU as well, but it had Maryland over Cal. So essentially the mini magic eight ball is about even with flipping a coin at this point...

At any rate, here's my bracket (click on it to see the full-sized image):


With Clemson out, I'm going to amend my South region and put 2 Oklahoma over 10 Michigan, then 3 Syracuse over 2 Oklahoma, then 1 UNC over 2 Oklahoma. If UNC can squeeze past LSU and get Lawson back, I don't know if there's anyone who can slow them down before the Final Four (not that I really thought Clemson would but you know you have to take a few risks on these things, otherwise it's not exciting...or painfully devastating when bad picks make you look like an idiot).

Also, for those of you keeping up with our other bracket at home, the last of the three spots in the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions Finals will be decided tomorrow night. My two favorites (Ben Bishop and Aaron Schroeder) unfortunately fell into the same semi-final threesome, so only one of the two will take on Larissa and Dan (aka Eyebrows McGee) in the finals.

Ben is the underdog, with just four wins during the regular season, while Aaron and the third contestant Mark Wales have five each. Still, I think he'll be cooler under pressure than the other two, so I'm going to lay my money on the dark horse in this one.

As for the finals next week...I'm giving it to Larissa. She's gutsy but realistic on the wagers, quick on the buzzer, and of course she knows her stuff. She trampled her opponents tonight and even with a commanding lead going into Final Jeopardy she risked a lot and was the only one of the three who knew the answer (Anubis, the Jackal-headed Egyptian God).

Alright sports fans! That's all for tonight! You know where to find me tomorrow--Jeopardy at 7:00 p.m. and 5 FSU vs. 12 Wisconsin at 9:55 p.m.

Later days,
Shan