Bracketology with Aaron: Part 1

The 1^st round of the tourney is over. Not too many surprises from how I see it. My bracket is still very much alive. The Midwest bracket took the brunt of the upsets but no worries for me because my team out of this region Michigan State is still kicking. The second round should be much more of an indicator of who will go far and who is just holding on by their fingertips.

Let’s review some of the big wins and potentially unexpected losses from the first round. In the Midwest region, I had Siena over the Buckeyes of Ohio State. The Buckeyes are very young and Siena has done the unexpected in the tourney before, beating Vanderbilt last year. Arizona was too much to handle for Utah as I expected. The Wildcats underperformed in the regular season but I expect them to get back to the Sweet 16 this year. USC was another team that I would have bet money on in the first round. The Trojans are on a roll and Boston College just wasn’t that good this year. The two games in the Midwest that I missed were Dayton and Cleveland State. Wake Forest decided not to “wake up” for their game and Dayton’s win demonstrates another instance of a Tom Izzo disciple getting big wins in the tourney. Dayton’s coach Brian Gregory was on the bench with Izzo for many years before getting the job with the Flyers.

Moving on to the West region I came out unblemished. The one game that was most difficult to pick in this region was the Washington vs. Mississippi St. game which ended up being much less of a game than expected. Based on my ties to the Huskies and their scrappy never give up style of play I went with Washington and it proved worth it. I also had the Aggies over BYU. To me this was a given because Brigham Young is just not meant for basketball. It’s not in their blood. Winning is in the blood of the Maryland Terrapins who always seem to stir it up in the tourney. I have them losing to Memphis in round two but I could easily see an upset in that one.

Halfway down and two more regions to go. In the East region, Pittsburgh gave me a slight scare with their lackadaisical play against East Tennessee State but talent prevailed. In the next game I chose Oklahoma State over Tennessee. The Cowboys are on a roll and Tennessee seems to enjoy “volunteering” their spot in the next round each and every year. I picked Wisconsin over Florida State although I think the Badgers could possibly be the ugliest team to watch in every sport. Somehow they get the job done though. Texas is another team like Arizona that flopped in the regular season but has potential and therefore I had them moving on. The most difficult pick in this region was the UCLA vs. VCU game. Let’s face it, UCLA is just not good this year and they are riding on tradition. I picked them over VCU reluctantly in the first round but I would bet money they are out come Sunday.

Last but not least we have the South region where UNC showed Radford who their daddy is by stomping them 101-58 without their best player Ty Lawson. They will face LSU in the next round who I had losing to Butler. I thought the 3-point shooting of Butler would turn the lights out on LSU but I was mistaken. I did however pick the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky to beat Illinois. You can’t stop a guy with a name like Orlando Mendez-Valdez! The only other game of question was the Michigan vs. Clemson game. Nobody could predict this game with any real confidence. These two teams are the most inconsistent and inpatient teams in college basketball. They chuck 3-pointers up from half court and both are known for throwing some elbows at opponents. I did pick the winner Michigan in this one but that was just a pick out of a hat. Michigan will not be able to handle Oklahoma in round two and will be handed a ticket home come Sunday.

That concludes this Bracketology session for the 1st round games. The 2nd round starts today (Saturday) and this round will be much more of an indicator of who is real and who is just playing “unreal”. Here are some of the teams I have in the sweet 16 besides the obvious #1’s: Arizona, Kansas, Michigan State, Purdue, Missouri, Memphis, Wisconsin, Villanova, Duke, Gonzaga, Syracuse and Oklahoma. With this said, I think that Washington could definitely take out Purdue and I could see Texas beating Duke. As stated earlier I think Maryland could end Memphis’s glory ride. USC will give Michigan State a run for their money but will fall short in the end and the Spartans will move one step closer to the Final Four in Detroit.

SLOPPY!!!

Last night I was at the gym doing a 2hr bike ride on the stationary bike. I got off the bike and went right into a run outside. My nice little run quickly turned crazy as I began to get pelted with ice chunks that were coming down at fast speeds. As the ice poured down harder and harder, I felt as though I was getting jabbed with needles all over my face. It was sunny when I went into the gym so never did I think I would be getting hit with ice balls later. I had shorts on but luckily I had a coat. The plan was to hop on the #73 bus that would take me directly to my house. As I ran up the hill passing another bus that was churning its wheel stuck on the hill I reconsidered getting on the bus. I kept running as the ice balls kept picking up intensity and size. There was now ½-inch of sloppy slush covering the pavement. The ice to the face was blinding me more than normal and I was having trouble seeing the sidewalk below me. I kept going despite the unsafe conditions.

A mile up the road, I crossed an intersection and I heard someone ask, “Hey do you have a cigarette?” I replied, “No, I definitely don’t smoke.” The girl replied back, “Did it look like I was making eye contact with you? I wasn’t talking to you.” Chuckling to myself, I thought, “Well, I never make eye contact with anyone but I am still talking to them.” I decided not to explain the situation but rather kept trudging up the sloppy incline hoping that a bus would come because my feet were soaked. My face wasn’t bad at all because I couldn’t feel it. So many ice balls had hit me that my body had told itself to stop sending pain signals to my face.

Finally, after 41minutes of sloppiness I returned to my cozy apartment. The bus never passed. I don’t think I was running that fast. Maybe I should stop taking public transportation and just start running everywhere. We’ll have to see. I do know that my nice little run turned into a sloppy mess with slush flying everywhere and ice balls falling from the sky like we were back in the ice age. I am still alive though. Alive and kicking up here in crazy Seattle.

Going Solo for the First Time

After 8yrs of living in your typical run down and always messy college house I have finally made a step up in the world to my own place. No roommates to remind me to do the dishes or to leave the dishes for me. Its all on my own now. I think I am done with the 12 person Real World Seattle house from Craig’s List. I think I am done with wandering from house to house carrying my life with me on my back. Lastly, I think I am done spending more time on the bus than all other places combined. Now, don’t get me wrong I will still spend enough time on the bus to have more crazy stories to tell. The stories may just be more spread out. The process of house hunting was a little more involved and strategic than you may expect. My requirements are different than most. Most people want a nice peaceful neighborhood that is very safe and free of crime and any suspicious people. Most people want an area where they feel they have their space and aren’t so crammed together. I on the other hand wanted quite the opposite. I needed a place where everything was jammed packed as close as I could get it. Where I didn’t have to strain to travel anywhere. I needed a place where all bus trips were transfer-free and buses were plentiful. Looking at these requirements and the way our society functions you should quickly realize that the place I am describing normally sacrifices a little on the safe and peaceful side. Those that use public transportation a lot seem to enjoy themselves just chill’in around the station. These types of places also tend to be situated around major gathering spots such as malls. Gathering spots are non-discriminatory. People of all types, suspicious or not, like to gather. When people gather things occasionally happen. That’s just how the cookie crumbles! So, if you guessed that I live near a mall where there are restaurants, grocery stores and a bus transit center right around the corner than you guessed correctly. I just moved in to my own solo apartment 7 miles north of downtown Seattle in a neighborhood known as Northgate. Northgate is actually a pretty nice area. I exaggerated a bit on the crime and cleanliness. It is a perfect location for me at this point and I am really excited to be going solo for the first time.