Darren Pare's 33 Summers

As part of the twitter feed for the Four6Three I ran into the author Darren Pare who is as friendly a person as he is gifted a writer. His content and style easily captured my attention as I read 4 of the chapters to his new book 33 Summers online. Whether you are a casual reader like myself or more of a book worm like my brother I believe it is worth a read. In order to find out more about the book check out the synopsis and links below.

33 Summers by Darren Pare

What does it take to make it in baseball? Jack Mathis shares the dream of many a young boy: he wants to be a major league baseball player. Jack possesses loads of talent and dreams of one day wearing the pinstripes of the New York Yankees. But his dream throws him some curves when he has to overcome family problems, trouble with the ladies, alcohol and drugs. Jack’s father was a former minor leaguer whose career ended in injury. A control freak, he lives vicariously through his son. Does Jack have the will to overcome his problems and realize his dreams, or will he be just another jock who never makes the big time?

Follow Darren on twitter @ http://twitter.com/dpare71

Here is the link to preview the 4 Chapters online.

Find the book on Amazon.

If you like the chapters leave a comment and let us know what you think we will pass it on to Darren or better yet buy the book and rate it.
Best of luck Darren and thanks for letting the Four6Three feature your book.
Cache Walker

If you have a book, blog, movie, song, juggling act, or anything else you would like featured let us know and we will run it through the Four6Three panel of experts and if it makes the cut we will feature you and what your doing.  Yes, Dan Brown we are talking to you.  Thanks again Darren. 

College Baseball

Spring is here and that means College Baseball is too.  College Baseball does not get enough love so we are going to try and give what it deserves.  The SEC has a great document they post every week, that shows all four of the major polls on one page.  The bold schools are SEC schools, but the poll shows everyone. 

Arizona State tops three out of four polls while Virginia leads the Baseball America Poll.  Baseball America is a little different in that it puts more emphasis on who will be the national champion rather than who is the best right now.

The SEC is definitely the deepest conference with as many as 8 ranked teams in one poll and no fewer than 6 in all polls.  The ACC is not far behind with 5 ranked teams in each poll lead by Virginia and Georgia Tech who are both in the top 5 in both Polls. 

There is still a lot to play as conference play is just getting under way. If you want to check out a great blog dedicated to College Basball go to The College Baseball Blog.  Tell them the Four6Three sent ya. 

Strange Foursome

Ever showed up to the golf course as a single and gotten put in a foursome where you don't know any of the other three.  About halfway through the round you realize that the other three don't know each other either.  That is the kind of Final Four we have for college basketball completely different stories for each of these teams and none of them or their coaches would feel comfortable hanging out with the others. 

Duke is a basketball blue-blood who has not made the trip to the Final Four since 2004.  Why Duke will win it all? Teamwork, Talent, Toughness, Tenacity, and inTangibles.  Duke is the best balance of all facits of the game.  Although they may not be the best at any one thing Duke is really good at all of them. Also being the bigget name left in the tournament Duke won't be afraid of anyone. 

Michigan State is the next closest in basketball tradition and although does not have the titles that Duke does in recent history the Spartans have been to 6 of the last 12 Final Fours.  They are used to this atmosphere after all they are here every-other year.  Michigan State just finds a way to win.  If it is close with a few minutes left the Spratans like their chances and I do to. 

West Virginia sticking to their name has not won a championship since Jerry West played for them, now his son a reserve will try to be the West on this championship team.  This team is tried and tested.  The Big East Tournament Champions made it through that on-slaught and have since weathered even the likes of the great Kentucky Wildcats.  West Virginia will not play a team more talented than Kentucky, but the question remains can they stop a team that plays team basketball the way Duke does. 

Butler has been a great bracket buster program for the last few years, but steadily has been moving in on top ranked status.  This is different though this is the Final Four and Butler is the first little guy since George Mason to be there except Butler has a chance to win it all.  Home sweet home.  Butler will be playing in front of a home crowd in Indy.  The arena is 6 miles from Butler's campus.  This will either be a huge advantage or the pressure may cause the Bulldogs to crack. 


Later on in the Week the Four6Three makes our picks. 

Friday Farewells for March 26, 2010

This late edition of Friday Farewells is brought to you by Bricktown and the Mick (OKC knows what I am talking about).

Farewell:

Terrific Finish. Has there been a better game in recent memory than Xavier vs. Kansas State? Big shot after big shot with the game on the line. This was a fun one for sure. The only sorrow here is it had to end and someone had to lose.

Effort. Saint Mary’s apparently thought the season ended last week and packed it up before getting shellacked by the Baylor Bears. Don’t get me wrong Baylor is a great team, but they did not play the same team that beat Villanova last week. Sad when Cinderella leaves the Ball at least we still have Northern Iowa at least until the clock strikes midnight.

All but Eight. One by one they have been eliminated until after tonight there is only eight. It has been too much fun to watch them drop.

Best Player. The best player in the country Evan Turner is out of the tournament in a close loss to Tennessee. This proves once again in college hoops TEAM reigns supreme. This is sad because he is fun to watch.

One Seeds. There is only two one seeds left and Duke still has some work to do tonight against Purdue. Only one number one seed in the Elite Eight is crazy. Two down, two to go.

Nets attendance. Even though it left long ago Nets’ ownership is doing what they can to drive the few that remain away. As if watching the Nets wasn’t bad enough. Although, the Nets are now running a new promotion Friday Fight the CEO Night this should be exciting and bring Nets fans in droves. Aghhhhh!

Jack Bauer. Fox has cancelled 24 after 8 seasons. Apparently with the Trillion Dollar Healthcare bill the government can no longer afford the number one weapon in the war on terror. Yes, Jack will enter retirement and America will be taken over with a few weeks. No tears only fear that Axis of Evil has finally defeated us.

Bracket Domination. Butler sealed my fate by taking out my pick for national champion Syracuse. It looks like I will have to wait until next year. Well I can’t win them all. I am taking this harder than I let on, but I will do the mature thing and pretend like it didn’t happen and just remind everyone I won the Bowl Pick’em.

Want to read past Friday Farewells here you go.

And The National Champ is ….Iowa!?!

Saturday night a new national champ was crowned and the score was not even close, in fact it was decided long before the tournament was even over. For those of you now scanning your brackets franticly looking for Iowa and trying to figure out when you hit your head hard enough to miss the last two weeks of college hoops don’t fear. We are not talking about the big dance. No, the winners here would never call what they do dancing or use other terms like Sweet Sixteen or Cinderella (all though they do use the Honeymooner). These young men are all grit. No they are not in the military, but for some of them basic training might be considered easy, at least they wouldn’t have to monitor everything they eat by the ounce. Many of these young me wrestled several times a day and then had to still make weight the next day only receiving a one pound increase per day, which equals about one bottle of Gatorade.

College wrestling is still alive and well and hopefully growing. While most were watching second round tournament games, collegiate wrestling was crowning its national champions. It was impressive to see that the National Championship matches were shown in primetime on ESPN. Those who wanted to watch tough young men battle it out were finally able to. Where else can you get two undefeateds vying for a national title? Only in wrestling! Congratulations to Iowa and to College Wrestling.

Paper or Plastic?

Nets CEO has words with fan wearing a paper bag.


When I saw this headline I wondered three things (1) people still pay to go to Nets games; (2) did that bag have eye-holes; (3) what were those words…

Thanks for still attending even though you’re obviously too embarrassed to still show your face.

Thanks for not choosing plastic attendance has dropped enough.

How would you manage the worst team in sports?

You stoked about our chances of winning the lottery for the #1 draft pick?

I’m sorry.

How many point underdogs would we be if we played UConn’s women?

We almost pulled one of off tonight for you, came just short, only lost by 20.

We are this close to be being bad.

How would you feel about us scheduling local high school teams?

How bad do you think we would lose to local high school teams?

How about local girls high school teams?

You ever play… I mean playground, church, gradeschool, rec league, ever?

You don’t happen to have an extra bag for me?

What size shorts you wear?

Can you shoot with that bag on your head?

Are they selling those in the arena?

Is that an official Net’s bag or a knockoff?

Would you like to go to the locker room and have, well what we call, players sign your bag?

Make sure you come out Friday and see if the Lakers can beat us by 50.

I had a bag too, but got nauseous in the second quarter.

Well if it was something unpleasant I can understand, the CEO I am sure is frustrated and needed to vent and the guy in the bag was probably the only person in the seats.

SAY IT AIN’T GONE JOHN!

UMass and Memphis would like to let Kentucky in on a little secret. If John Calipari leaves Kentucky any Final Four trips that he makes while wearing blue might walk out the door with him. The NCAA has officially denied Memphis appeal to not vacate their 38 win season in 2007-08 including Memphis Final Four Trip. Calipari the famous recruiter, great motivator, and winning coach can now also be known as the only coach in NCAA history to have Final Four Trips vacated at two different schools. When Coach Cal leaves town he takes everything with him and we mean everything; recruits, victories and Final Four banners. Kentucky may enjoy the benefits of the kind of turnaround few if any besides Cal can manage in just one year, but what will be the long-term costs. The real question is whether anyone in Lexington even cares? Probably not, their heads are too high in the Kentucky blue clouds dreaming dreams of a spring trip to Indianapolis.

POLICE HELP MY BRACKET!

The stories are true, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent and sure why not let’s protect the guilty too.
A completely unknown sports blog writer spent Friday night of the NCAA tournament riding shotgun in a squad car. Have you ever tried to keep track which teams are winning and how your bracket is doing while going to a code 12 on the 265? Well it’s intense (or so I have heard and by the way that is not the real code either that is classified, but it is a number 1-100). There is nothing like trying to find out if Louisville is beating Cal while going to a noise ordinance call. Even better is finding out about Michigan State and New Mexico State while issuing a citation.

It was a cool night with a storm moving in and there was something strange in the air (possibly Cajun steak on the breath of the blog writer). It started with getting the attention of a police officer in his vehicle to let the writer into the police station. The writer waited in the breakroom until the sergeant came and asked if he wanted to sit in on a staff meeting. The staff meeting would be symbolic of the night in general, basketball mixed with police work. In the corner sat a giant big screen tuned to the only station played in work places during the month of March, CBS. As the officers learned about special areas to focus on and people and vehicles to be on the lookout for, the blogger was distracted by Michigan State vs. New Mexico State and the tiny ticker in the corner of the screen informing of all the recent and current scores.

The writer was assigned to his officer, who proved to be an all around great guy and great officer, and waited by the breakroom while the officer started the vehicle. Then they were off. First stop a side street off a main thoroughfare where the speed limit changes. This was radar gun paradise and sure enough Duke was up big. Five minutes in and they had the lights going that first stop is thrilling. Then as Georgia Tech was closing on Oklahoma State and they were leaving the stop they were dispatched to a car accident. There is nothing more thrilling than a double-digit seed making a run to the Sweet Sixteen and a full siren and lights run to a scene. As you are accelerating and cars are pulling to the sides the blood really gets to pumping and the adrenaline kicks in (or so they tell me).

Accidents are unfortunate even without injuries, because people have been scared, their property smashed, and embarrassment for having messed up. This was similar to the range of emotions the blogger was feeling as he received a text message informing him that Louisville, who he had making a run to the Sweet Sixteen, was losing to Cal. After the accident the officer was dispatched to a noise disturbance, as the officer went to check on the problem the blogger sat in the vehicle. Something eerie happened in two parallel worlds at what must have been the exact time a text informed the blogger that Louisville had been defeated the officer stepped in puke. Again all two similar the blogger’s bracket was puked on the same time as the officer. As disappointing as not being able to wear a bulletproof vest the blogger’s bracket was now destroyed.
What could possibly cheer up the officer and the distraught blogger, both feeling a little nauseas at this point? Surprisingly it was the police world that provided a lift to the spirits of both. A driver decided to run not one not two, but three stop signs in a row. It was something miraculous the third one ran as the lights were flashing, much like a last second shot hurtling through the air with lights flashing and horns sounding the triple non-stopper is a sight to behold.

It just goes to show you at the end of the day whether you win, lose, or step in puke there is something beautiful and exciting to hang your hat or police utility belt (yes it is just like batman's) on every day.  If you ever get the chance to take a ride along with the police or a last second shot don't pass. 

Conbracketlations!

Mad ups to the ultimate sheet of integrity who ended the weekend in first place in the ultimate bracke challenge!  We would also like to acknowledge the cellar dweller Chewbacca you managed 21 of 48 games correct, somehow still losing to someone who had North Texas and Siena in the championship.  Everyone is basically still alive as long as you have a chance to win the championship.  Regardless the first weekend leader still gets our respect and our anger.

If any of you had Northern Iowa over Kansas let us know as you have a special award waiting for you in the Four6Three storage unit, aka my fridge.

Friday Farewells for March 19, 2010

This week's edition of Friday Farewells is brought to you by the Big Dance (just don't tell them). 

This week we must say our so long to so many so let's get to it.

Farewell:

33 Teams.  Over one half of the 65 tams in the NCAA Tournament will be finished at the close of today (depending on your time zone).  We are glad they came and thrilled at their effort sadly they are one and done.  If only there was some way they could still be playing like a Consolation Bracket.  Too many tears to count, but the Buzzer Beaters that sent some of them home were pretty awesome.

Winthrop. After losing to Arkansas Pine Bluff your trip to the Big Dance was over before the music really ever began.  Ahh the joy of playing in the play in game, a game that CBS won't even show.  Gone is your chance to go .500 in the tourney oh well misery loves company and 31 more will join you as one and done. 

Big BEast.  The Big East was regarded as the Big BEast for most of the year yet in tourney time they have quickly been renamed to the conference formerly known as the Big BEast or the Big LEast whichever you prefer.  Always sad to lose a catchy nickname that required little to no creativity, but our sorrow is brightened by an equally lame nickname. 

Mike Bellotti. Oregon's Athletic Director, resigned today and will join ESPN as an analyst.  Maybe the prison visits to Duck football players were becoming too much.  One year as an AD we still think of him as Coach.

Boring Opening Day. Last years snooze fest is over as yesterday provided one of the best in recent memory with upsets, overtimes, and buzzer beaters.  No sorrow for this departure! YAHOOOOOOO!

Perfect Bracket. Like the fountain of youth always alluding me perfection left my bracket as Vanderbilt was making their departure.  Thanks a lot Murray State. Why...Why...WHY...! 

Missed Last Weeks Farewells get them here...

Day 2 Underway

The Second day of the Big Dance is off and rolling. 
Continuing with the theme from yesterday Cornell upset Temple, however they did so in undramatic fashion.
Xavier proved too much for Minnesota although the Gophers tested the Musketeers.
West Virginia showed why many think they have a legitimate shot at making a Final Four run defeating Morgan State by 27. 
Three down fifteen still to go!

Best Opening Day Ever?

Yesterday proved to be a terrific opening day even by March Madness standards, but was it the greatest ever?  It is difficult to say for sure, but it was definitely the best in recent memory.  The thing that made yesterday so great was not the fact that a 14 and a 13 both won.  It isn't the fact that 7 lower seeds beat higher seeds.  It wasn't the fact that the Big East took a big whooping, going 1-3 yesterday thanks to Nova's overtime defeat of Robert Morris.

So what made yesterday so special? It was the fact that 9 games were still in doubt with under two minutes to go in regulation.  Many of the other 7 games were competitive much of the way.  Was it the best day ever? I don't remember a more competitive day that provided more drama.  Let's hope that the rest of the tourney isn't a let-down after all of the excitement.  At this point it might take the Golden Lions of Arkansas Pine Bluff sending the Blue Devils of Duke packing for day two to surpass day one. 

Late Night Recap

Today's action concluded with 8 games this evening 6 of which were worth the price of admission.

Kansas acted like a number one overall seed with a 90-74 win over Lehi.
Kentucky followed suit with a blow out victory over East Tennessee State.
Texas and Wake Forest went to overtime where Texas grabbed the lead and control before the Demon Deacons stormed back and then hit a jumper with under 2 seconds left to win 81-80.
San Diego State and Tennessee battled to the very end before San Diego States desperation three fell short.
Northern Iowa beat UNLV by 3 in a well played well fought game that was close all the way.
Washington upended Marquette by a deuce 80-78.
In a day of close games the upset of the day was not close as the Bobcats of Ohio defeated Georgetown by 16.
In the night cap Montana was down big at half against New Mexico, but battled back to provide one more exciting ending, but ultimatley came up just short. This concluded a day that saw buzzer beaters, upsets, overtimes and great basketball.
Will tomorrow's games be as good as today...there is only one way to find out.

Today's Bracket Leaders are Nickster and The Ultimate Sheet of Integrity picking 12 out of 16.  In a topsy turvy day this is quite an accomplishment as a reward for their efforts we would like to offer them a Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter at a low introductory price.  Nice work, tomorrow we'll see if your luck holds. 

Second Session

The Second Session is in the books.  It provided us with this years first blow out and first buzzer beater.  Kansas State dominated North Texas while Vanderbilt was upset by Murray State by an 18 footer at the buzzer.  St. Mary's and Baylor both advanced by 9 in the South Region defeating Richmond and Sam Houston respectively.  Butler closed the late afternoon with a double-digit beatdown of UTEP. 

Let's hope tonight provides more drama, upsets, and great games.

The First Set of Games

The first set of games have gotten the party started & so far the party is a wild one.  There was an upset Old Dominion over Notre Dame; a double overtime thriller between BYU & Florida in which the Cougars held on; and the makings of a shocker with Robert Morris and Villanova going to overtime before Villanova  was able to hang on by 3 (I have to give props to Peach's Picks for going with Robert Morris). 

Lets hope the rest of the day goes as well.  Right now Murray State is giving Vandy a run up by 4 at half and Sam Houston State is beating Baylor by 1 at half so buckle-up.

Dance Updates

The Four6Three is hitting the dance floor to get our groove on and cover all the tourney action so you can get some work done and we can get well... lets just say we'll be using the boss button.  Those of you that like to tweet check out TheFour6Three on twitter too.  Enjoy the magic and the music; happy dancing! 

Four6Three Bracket Information

Bracket Information for the Four6Three on Yahoo.

Group ID#: 69209
Password: gometsgo
 
Please just enter ONE BRACKET Thanks and Good Luck.
 

BRACKET NOT BRACKETS

It's time to take a stand America! It's a critical time and the country is facing a crisis of a magnitude we have never seen.  We must take a lesson from our President who is on a mission to rectify this wrong by setting a good example.  Whether you agree with Pres. Obama's politics or decisions is irrelevant to this discussion he has taken time out of his busy schedule to teach the American people a critical lesson.  He has been criticized for taking the time to fill out bracket on ESPN with Andy Katz because he has more important things to do.  What can be more important than teaching the American people to FILL OUT ONE BRACKET and stand by that bracket! 

We say fill out your bracket not your brackets. It is perfectly acceptable to enter that bracket into as many contests as you would like. However, what is not acceptable is entering a bracket with Baylor in the Final Four on one bracket and being knocked out in the first round in another. The point of picking a bracket is not to play the odds and cover all opportunities, but to pick the winner in every game. Picking multiple brackets is wrong in so many ways.  I think of the great men in this country's history, who if alive today I am sure would only fill out one bracket.  Would a man who walked miles to return coins say that Duke is making the Final Four on one sheet and have Louisville beating them in the second round on another? NO! It is a matter of INTEGRITY. 

How can you think Baylor will make the Final Four in one Bracket and yet think they will not win a game in another. Have some guts and make a determination of who is better and who is going to win each matchup and stick with it.

Some would say my odds of winning are better if I do different teams in each bracket, this is true if your first bracket is no good. If you are good at picking though and not just relying on luck then picking who you truly think is going to win is your best shot at winning each and every bracket you picked. I understand those that enter 10 different brackets in a tournament that gives out money to the winner. In this case I blame the tournament.  As participants though I feel we are worried too much about what our bracket can do for us.  Ask not what your bracket can do for you; ask what you can do for your bracket. 

It is completely unacceptable to say things like, "oh it’s okay if Kentucky loses cause I have them losing in the second round in one of my brackets". If you are entering multiple brackets, which is borderline cheating, you have to pick which one you are staking your reputation on. Make a decision and stick by it. We all hate fairweather fans an fair weather bracket picking is even worse.  Those not willing to choose a bracket should be floated out to sea with as many life preservers as brackets as they filled out. The catch is only one of those preservers actually floats. 

All of you are welcome to join the Four6Three yahoo bracket tournament. You must enter today and you must only enter one bracket. Its Bracketo-a-Bracketo.  The Winner will get a lot of face time and bragging rights on the Four6Three.

Expert Advice

Last night ESPN was kind enough to help everyone with their brackets by providing a 3 hour special with a panel of 8 experts discussing and voting on who would win the NCAA tournament. For a team to move on to the next round the 8 experts would vote on who would win each matchup. The results were astounding.

This panel of experts went chalk basically the whole way. Their Elite 8 was the four one seeds and the four two seeds. The Final Four was the four one seeds. The winner was Kansas the number one overall seed beating Kentucky the number two overall seed.

Thank you captains of certainty! This just in the lower the number next to your school’s name the better you are supposed to be. This would have really helped to know last year when four number one seeds made it to the Final Four for the first time ever. Will it happen again twice in a row? No! The experts decided, what we all know, the higher seeds are better teams than the lower seeds. These guys did a fantastic job if this was a selection committee special, but it wasn’t. Telling me that Kansas and Kentucky are really good, Duke has an easy bracket, and Syracuse is a tough matchup for its opponents, is like telling me that I should eat healthier. I know those things are true, but it does not mean they are going to happen. This would have been a tremendous show for anyone who has never heard of the NCAA tournament and was looking at their bracket for the first time.  I doubt, however that any rookies tune in for the 3-hour special and if this was their purpose they could have done a 5-minute segment on SportsCenter.  If the Elite Eight is all chalk I will write an apology to the panel of morons on this show, if it isn’t I expect them to apologize for wasting my time.

Who ya got?

The Four6Three is asking all of you experts out there who will win the NCAA tournament.  The bracket is out and the contests are starting we are interested to know your thoughts and your winner.  Drop us a line on Twitter or leave us a comment and we will post what everyone thinks.  It's okay to disagree with each other as well so let the debate begin. 

Quack Attack!

LaMichael James the speedy running back for the Oregon Ducks plead guilty to harrassment charges.  Also do in court the same day is the starting quarterback Jeremiah Masoli along with an ex-receiver for burglary of a frat house. These are the latest charges in a crime spree involving Oregon Duck football players. The placekicker Rob Beard pleaded guilty to a charge involving his participation in a street fight. A linebacker was charged with drunk driving and defensive end Matt Simms was kicked off the team after pleading guilty to striking a man he thought beat up the kicker. Then of course there is Legarrette (Bonehead) Blount who went Mike Tyson on a Boise State player after a game then tried to take on fans, staff, security, state troopers and anyone else related to the state of Idaho on his way out of Bronco Stadium.

What is going on Eugene? At the current rate they can use everyone's mug shots for this year's program. The population of Ducks in captivity is rapidly rising. Lane County Jail is soon to open its own Duck exhibit. Maybe they could pay for some of the extra costs by selling some of those pellets in the quarter machines to feed the Ducks. Another possibility is the University adding a county lock-up fee for all Oregon athletes. The obvious question is who is at fault, administration, coaches, players, or all of the above?

Friday Farewells for March 12, 2010

This weekly edition of Friday Farewells is brought to you by your local grocery store because groceries are what you eat (you guessed it Jo Gates didn’t pay up).


Farewell:

UConn and UNC. Two very distinguished programs were ousted early in their respective conference tournaments. Neither of these schools will be making the NCAA Tournament this year. Rebuilding year is a nasty word around these two campuses because they so rarely do it, but hopefully they will return to some sort of dignity and the big dance soon. Two Carolina blue teardrops.

Speculation over Jim Calhouns future. He’s back, he says for many more years. This is good news for Husky fans and bad news for the rest of the Big East. We love speculation, but when health issues are factored in we are glad to see it go.

Jose Reyes. First hamstringitis and now thyroid problems, Reyes is 6-8 weeks away from baseball activity. Never good to see someone have health problems. On the other side if you want to hear from someone who truly cares check out TheFour6Three on twitter our TWEETER DJ is Mets fan, because this is one blog where the Mets don’t get much love. I might be sad if I, well, hmmm… nope I got nothing.

Common sense. If common sense were common everyone would have it. Ben Rothelisberger and Allen Iverson wish this were the case. Between drinking themselves into horrible situations and not ever wanting to take responsibility for their actions these two could really use some decision making skills. Life coaches everywhere could be cashing in on these two. Sad to see the state of stupidity of what we call celebrities and stars.

Tourney Losers. Too many to name or even remember you came to your conference tournament needing to win it to get into the big dance. Goodbye too to your hopes and dreams. Hello spring break. One tear for each of you.

Manhood. Remember the days when a football team that was really talented and tough would take any team on, anywhere, anytime. Well apparently the anytime is a problem for Alabama. YES ALABAMA the defending National Champs. They complained to the SEC this week that they play 6 teams coming off bye weeks. SO WHAT? You are the number one team in the country. Last time I checked if you are the best you have to prove it. It really stinks to be number one and a sissy. Curl up tonight and watch a double feature of Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail and cry your elephant size tears on your crimson pillow. Its time to be MEN again.

Cable TV Shows. Running on a schedule no one can figure out, we will sadly watch re-runs or do something productive with our life until you return in two months. Come on you can do it.

Missed last week's Farewells... here you go.

Pre-Dance Drama!

The big dance is closing in and the conference tournaments, despite dilluting the field, are filled with big time drama. Last night, Quinnipiac was upset by Robert Morris in a hard fought closely contested game. Robert Morris will make their second consecutive trip to the dance. The Big East Tournament is always full of drama, but has been fairly reserve this year although Marquette did get a scare from St. Johns.

The game with the most bang last night was Montana and Weber State. Yes, I did just mention those two schools in the same post. The bang came in the second half when Weber State imploded losing despite having a 40-20 halftime lead. There were a few questionable calls down the stretch, but come on Wildcats you doubled Montana in the first half. Doubling some team in basketball is like lapping them in a race. No one loses being a lap ahead. This was as suprising an explosion as a guys girl-friend getting blown up in a plane (White Collar Season Finale). The crowd in Ogden was stunned and I can't blame them. To lose this way on your own home court is heart breaking.

Sid The Kid

I am puzzled by Sidney Crosby's recent refusal to go on to the Tonight Show with David  Letterman.  NHL is suffering in the ratings, hockey just had a tremendous increase in interest, and Crosby is the NHL's most popular player, yet he refuses to promote the sport or the NHL.  Either Crosby cares neither about money or the NHL, or has no understanding of business.  This is the second time he has refused to go onto the Tonight Show.  Maybe he prefers Leno.  The NHL has momentum from the Olympics, but how long will it last?  I am left pondering whether Crosby will save the NHL or whether his media shy personality will destroy any hopes it has of returning as one of the big four.

CONSOLE THIS!

Is anyone ever consoled by winning the consolation bracket?

If you look up consolation in the thesaurus, you will quickly find words like comfort, solace, relief etc. Congratulations after playing one bad game and then winning three straight we will name you the winner, no not of the tournament, but of the Bracket of Solace. Consolation bracket, ever present in high school state championships has to be the stupidest thing in sports. Either send the losers home or give them a chance to come back, but don’t keep them playing for a place that no one can define.

Once a year, Idaho and countless other states dust off 90 year old brackets that look like this to inflict their archaic ways and foolish mistakes on future generations. 

Not only is this unfair to the team to go 3-1 in a tournament and get consoled for doing it, but it is incredibly unfair for the team that wins its first game and then goes home after the second. The consolation news for them is on the bus ride home they can listen to the team that they beat still playing. Does this make any sense to anyone? Especially in a varsity high school state championship this system is ludicrous. Young men and women should, at least by the age of 16-18, have learned how to deal with playing one game and going home. If this is too harsh then make the tournament double elimination and let the team that lost the first game as well as the team that won still have a chance at the championship.

The reason the double elimination tournament is frowned upon is the anti-climatic championship it presents with one team having to beat the other twice. Then follow what the pattern used by the most successful tournament in sports, NCAA Basketball, and do a single elimination tournament. Instead of inviting 8 teams to state tournaments bring 16. Not only will it double the revenue generated by the host city, but it will double the use of the popular cheer “We’re going to state, We’re going to state”. Priceless. Rather than having the 4th place or is it 5th place team (we may never know what place consolation truly is) being required to lose their first game, let’s console the teams on the way home with a trip to Wendy’s for a frosty and let the teams that need cheering and not consoling have the spotlight and the trophies.

Stupid Stat of the Night

The team UConn women's team has beat the most times during their record setting 71 consecutive wins.  Wouldn't that just be who they played the most? Congratulations Notre Dame & Louisville you won or rather lost the most.  Thanks for that enlightening tidbit ESPN. 

Four6Three Fantasy

Please join the Inaugural (big word for first ever, but hopefully not last) Four6Three Fantasy Baseball League. If you would like to join, please notify us by posting a comment or sending us a tweet. It should be good times and it should provide your boss with one more reason to fire you. Whether that is for not inviting him or her to play or for using work time for fantasy research is up to you. Please play, but please play responsibly!

Friday Farewells for March 5

Friday Farewells for March 5, 2010 brought to you by Joseph Gates. (Come on people the high bid was 2 cents & Gates you better pay up.)

Farewell to:

Allen Iverson.  Iverson will not make a return to the 76ers this year.  Look for him at an And1 tournament near you. Sad to see a great career end like this.

Pinched Nerve in Manning's Neck.  Peyton Manning had a pinched nerve in his neck repaired and should make a full recovery in time to complete all of his off-season commercials.  Phew that was a close one. Good riddance nagging neck injury.

Shaquille O'Neal.  The big aristotle gets the big digit operated on and that is going to cost him and the Cavs BIG TIME.  A little sad because its Shaq, but as long as he comes back for the playoffs the rest will probably do him good.

Self Responsibility.  Why blame yourself when you can blame a whole city? The new Mariner Milton Bradley agrees.  In what has to be the quote of the week Bradley said, "Two years ago, I played, and I was good. I go to Chicago, not good. I've been good my whole career. So, obviously, it was something with Chicago, not me." Obviously, it was all that wind Milton. Bradley hit .257 last year but hit .296 in Chicago.  You will have to find another excuse however for why you played so poorly on the road.  Future quotes, "I only play poorly during day games or under the lights."  Feeling we are just noticing the departure of something that left long ago. 

NFL playing career.  Jacob Hickman has chosen other pursuits over the NFL.  Hmmm priorities and wanting something besides football.  Goodbye NFL, Hello Bright Future.

Number 23.  Lebron James will bid farewell next season to #23 and will introduce #6.  Is this classy or just a Kobe-Cat?  I'm not sure, but I sense the latter. How many times do we say goodbye to this jersey number?

Familiar Faces and Familiar Places.  Half the NHL changed places at the NHL deadline.  Seriously look at this list of people that changed teams.  There were no big names that really jumped out at you, but a lot of movement nonetheless.  Next year the NHL trade deadline should be sponsored by U-Haul.  It is so hard to see you go, what's your name again?

Brittney Griner.  Baylor's Griner through a haymaker to Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle's face in a women's basketball game.  The Four6Three can also probably kiss Griner's regular season and possibly post-season as well.  Griner is famous for her dunking ability found on youtube.  Congratulations you finally got women's basketball some attention good and bad.  I can't tell whats more disappointing to me the fact that a 6 foot 8 girl clobbered another player or that I haven't seen one article with the title- Griner Cuases Shiner ( The best I've found is Dan Shanoff's "One Shiner Moment"). Brittney are you sure you didn't just transfer to Baylor from New Mexico's women's soccer team? No tears here, unless she hits me in the face YEEOWH!

Jason Terry.  Terry the Mavericks guard will be out a short time after surgery to repair a broken orbital bone in his face.  I know you're both in Texas, but Jason please don't hangout with Griner  Mav's fans hope he is back soon as for me... okay I do too.

Missed last week's farewells..... here you go.

March Madness

This is all about being mad.  I am not talking about crazy, fanatic, or anything else that relates to college basketball.  I am talking about livid, upset, want to beat your face in mad.  I am talking Coach K losing to Maryland last night mad (woops so maybe it does relate to college basketball). 

The key when an individual is mad at someone else is to deal with it in appropriate way.  By appropriate is it better to stay calm or deal with it in the way that makes you feel best.  Well for John Daly it is definitley the latter.  This is why we all love John. 

So what did John Daly do when a reporter ripped him and listed all of Daly's indiscretions in a recent article?

A. Send him a pair of his glow in the dark pants

B. Just let it slide and crack open a Diet Coke 

C. Try to beat the reporter up at a popular Buffalo Wing Establishment

D. Twitter about what a jerk the guy is and post his cell number for Daly fans to call

If you guessed D because it was the longest you are wise. 

Daly did what we all wish we could do, but either we didn't have the number or we thought better of it.  That is what makes Daly so great he does what we wish we could, like rip a 400 yard drive and then drink a Coke on the way to the ball.  At last count the reporter said he had recieved around 30-40 messages from Daly fans, but no threats.  No threats? Come on people what good is a nasty message without a threat?

I may start taking this strategy with my current job hunt.  For every job I don't get I may start listing the number for the interviewer.  I like the sound of this.   

Penguin Fans Pay Patriotic Tribute

The Pittsburgh Penguin fans did the classy thing last night welcoming home their hockey team as the NHL returned to play last night.  The loudest cheer,however was not for Sydney Crosby the Penguins star, who scored the gold medal goal in overtime Sunday.  No, the loudest cheer was for a player from the other team.  The Buffalo Sabres' goalie Ryan Miller was given a deafening ovation for his work as goalie for team USA.  Miller was sensational at the Olympics and almost single handedly put the U.S. in the gold medal game.  Miller had the night off for some much needed post-Olympic rest, but the fans still paid a patriotic tribute.  The ovation was described as playoff loud and overwhelming. 

Penguin fans proved that although NHL allegiances are strong, nothing besides blood can bonds us as well as being fellow Americans.  There is something about being American that can take all of our differences and set them aside.  The commonalities of being American are great from enjoying the freedoms we have and from being willing to fight and die to protect it. 

There is nothing Pittsburgh has against Crosby he is their guy and they will cheer him on to what they hope to be another Stanley Cup.  Penguin fans love Crosby they just love America more.  

What day is it?

I appreciate Cache filling in for me yesterday, it was yesterday right? I was out of commission with my latest illness. No it was not another bout of Post Super Bowl Syndrome, but something more severe.

I am irritable, drowsy, and sensitive to any light brighter than the glow of the TV. I am having difficulty concentrating, neck pain, headaches, and not sure of the current date and time. No, I did not fall down my stairs or get in a car accident both of those would have required leaving my house the last two weeks. I have come down with DVRITIS a very severe case. I blame Bob Costas and Al Michaels mostly. DVRITIS shares a lot of symptoms with major head trauma. Thanks to the modern miracle that is the DVR/TIVO I was able to watch every single match, lap, shot, jump, turn, spin, and slap-shot of the Winter Games from qualifiers to medals. It changed my life.

I now am aware of what good lap times are in a women's 3000 meter speed skating. I am also aware of all of the rules for disqualification and advancement in short-track. I know how many medals each country won and which athlete won them. I know about Gander, Newfoundland and their kindness to all during a time of peril for our country, 9/11. I know about the Mounties, sled dogs, and maple leafs. My knowledge has truly expanded. The unfortunate part is I can't remember which bag of chips I ate last or which can of soda might have something left in it. I don't know what day it is, what time it is except Vancouver time of the last event I watched.

The closing ceremonies ended a few minutes ago, which should tell me it is Sunday night, but I didn't watch it live. Thus, I am lost in my own home. I still remember where the fridge is thankfully, but I can't remember the age of my daughter or my own age for that matter. The age of my daughter is difficult without knowing generally what day it is because it changes constantly. My own age, well often times after DVRITIS and head injuries, traumatic experiences are forgotten.

Let this be a warning, please use your DVR with care or you to may suffer my fate. Who am I talking to? Oh no here I go again.

If you or a loved one is suffering from DVRITIS and would like to a part of class action law suit please contact a DVR Attorney near you.*
*No, there is not a real class action for this disease, yet.

Thank You....

After two solid weeks of DVR'd Olympics we have a few thank yous to hand out....

Thank you Apolo Ohno for making the bandana this years Roots hat


Thank you Steve Holcomb for becoming the white average looking males hero

Thank you Mary Caruthers for taking my focused hate off of the Canadians with your quick journalistic tid bits.

Thank you razorback basketball for letting cam know what being a mets fan is like

Thank you ski arialists for making anything I have ever done seem mundane.

Thank you Olympic curlers for making me realize how dirty my kitchen floor is.

Thank you figure skating. Now abc family won't have to show Cutting Edge 1,2,3, or 4 for at least a week.

Thank you Bob Costas for coming out of hiding every 2 years.

Thank you US hockey for making me enjoy hockey for at least two weeks of my life.

Thank you ski jumpers for making me try and lean forward every morning in the shower.

Thank you Vancuver for having better weather than Arkansas while hosting the winter olympics. Al Gore I blame you.
-Posted by Cache Walker