Opening Weekend

Good morning!  Quick update as we move forward into the Sweet 16.  Despite SEC teams losing a record number of games in the first round, it is also sending a record number of teams to the Sweet 16.  I guess that's what happens when you send basically the entire conference to the big dance.  In fact, there remains a decent chance for an all-SEC Final Four.  Will be an interesting storyline to follow, for sure...

As we head into this next round of games, congrats to Green Chile Girl, who leads the pack with 292 points!  Still a lot of basketball to be played, but her Final Four remains intact and she's well-positioned to move forward!  Right now, the only bracket doing better is that of Tyrod Taylor of the NY Jets.

Some (relatively) good news -- almost everyone (everyone except for Less is More, in fact) outperformed the Coin Flip Bracket and all but 7 brackets did better than the Mascot Bracket, two of our favorite barometers for futilty.  On the other hand, Bugs Bunny (yes, THE Bugs Bunny) is destroying most of us, so there's that.  Also, more than a 1/3 of you are being beaten by Nickelback, and if that's not just the most demoralizing thing, I'm not sure what is.

There haven't been a ton of upsets, particularly big upsets, so how would you have done if you just went with the favorite for every game?  Answer: unremarkable.  The ALL CHALK bracket is in 90th place -- respectably in the top 1/3, but not near being in the money at the moment.  It does have its Final Four intact, so it does have the potential to rise.  Similarly, the bracket that favors the SEC sits firmly in the middle of the pack despite having so many teams in the Sweet 16.  Emphasizes the importance of picking those 8-9 games and getting a few upsets along the way to give your score a boost.

Despite having different brackets, Travis and Jason Kelce have ended up tied at this point in the competition, along for former President Obama.  All are around 200th place, though, so not really a flex for anyone.

I thought this was pretty cool.  This Liberty player was waiting to enter the game as time was winding down.  The result was not in disupte, and there was a chance the clock would not have stopped to give him the opportunity to playin the tournament.  So, the ref stopped the game to "clean up a wet spot on the floor" so he could come in.  Great stuff!

That's all I've got for today -- enjoy the games today, and on a totally different note, Happy Opening Day for all who celebrate!

Jamie